Kaizen #63 - Layout Rules in Zoho CRM

Kaizen #63 - Layout Rules in Zoho CRM

Hello and welcome to another week of Kaizen!

This week, we will be discussing Layout Rules in Zoho CRM.
If you need to modify the layout of a module based on user inputs, or to show or hide sections based on the value of a specific field, we have got just the perfect solution for you.

What is a Page Layout?

In simple terms, a page layout is a template where you can add, choose and arrange the fields and sections that will be displayed in a module. Depending on your application requirement, you can either edit the standard layout, or create custom layouts.

What are Layout Rules and why you need them?

Layout rules are a set of criteria that you define to modify the layout of a module. These rules help you keep your layouts clean and clutter-free. Often, you may need to set up dynamic layouts, where the value selected for one field determines the subsequent sections and fields. 
For example, in an automobile rental company, the field requirements for a two-wheeler will differ from the ones for a car. By using layout rules, you can display only the relevant sections and fields based on the type of vehicle being rented. This article will use an automobile rental company as an example to explain Layout Rules.

Who can access Layout Rules feature?

Only users with permission to Customize Zoho CRM profile can access this feature.

How and when are Layout rules triggered?

You can trigger the rule when the chosen primary field meets one of the following conditions.
  • is
  • isn't
  • contains
  • doesn't contain
  • starts with
  • ends with
  • is empty
  • is not empty
You can trigger the following actions when the criteria are met:
  • Show Fields - To show specific fields. For example, show the Number of Helmets field only if the Helmets Required is YES.
  • Show Sections - To show specific sections. For example, display the Four wheeler section only if the vehicle type is Four wheeler. 
  • Set Mandatory Fields - To set specific fields mandatory. For instance, make the car type field mandatory if the vehicle type is Four wheeler.
  • Show Subforms - To show specific subforms. For example, to show the Accessories Required only if the user chooses to rent accessories.

How to create Layout Rules?

  1. Go to Setup > Customization > Modules.
  2. Select the module.
  3. Go to the Layout Rules section and + New Layout Rule.
  4. In the New Layout Rule pop-up, enter the following details:
    1. Rule Name
    2. Rule Description
    3. Select the Layout to which the rule is applicable.
    4. Choose the primary field that controls the rule.
    5. Choose a condition to initiate the rule.
  5. Click Next.
  6. In the Rule Page, click + Trigger an action.
  7. Select the action and choose the corresponding section/field/subform according to the action you have selected.
  8. Click Save.


How to trigger more than one action with a condition?

With a single condition, you can trigger more than one action by repeating steps 6 to 8. For instance, if the vehicle type is two-wheeler, you can show the two-wheeler section, and make the bike-type field mandatory.

How to add more criteria to a condition?

To add more than one criteria to the condition, click on Edit Condition after initiating the rule. For example, you can show the Number of seating rows field only if the car type is MUV/SUV AND the seating capacity is greater than 4.



Note : You can add a maximum of five criteria in each condition, combined using AND or OR. You can use the primary field for only one criterion, and this criterion can only have AND operator with others.

How to add more conditions?

To add more conditions and actions depending on the same primary field, click on Choose an option and add them. For example, if the Vehicle Type is Four-wheeler, show the Four wheeler section of the layout.



How to make a field mandatory?

Apart from showing specific fields, sections or subforms, you can also make a field mandatory depending on a condition. For example, you can make the Number of Helmets field mandatory if the Helmets Required field is checked.



Layout Rules in action


The image illustrates the effects of the layout rules. Two-wheeler or Four-wheeler sections are shown depending on the value of the Vehicle Type field. The Number of Helmets required field becomes mandatory if Helmet Required field is checked. If the car type is MUV or SUV, AND the Maximum seating capacity is more than 5, then the Number of seating rows field is displayed.

API support for Layouts and Layout Rules

If you do not specify the layout while creating a record using API call, the standard layout will be applied by default. If you specify a layout, the record will be assigned to it along with mandatory field check configured for that specific layout. In either scenario, the Show Field/Section/Subform layout rules applicable will be applied to the view record page in the UI. 

Mandatory Field Layout Rules

In order to apply the mandatory field rules, you must include the apply_feature_execution key in the input JSON. This is supported for Insert, Update and Upsert Records API from v2.
Currently API support is only available for Mandatory Field Layout Rules, during inserting or updating a record. 
Here is the sample JSON to create a record applying the layout rules.


 {
    "data": [
        {
            "Email": "patricia.boyle@zoho.com", 
            "Name": "Patricia",
            "Name1" : "Matt",
            "Mobile_Number" : "999999999",
            "Vehicle_Type": "Two wheeler",
            "Bike_Type": "Standard",
            "Helmets_Required": true,
             "Layout": {
                "name": "Standard",
                "id": "4876876000002670001"
            }
        }
    ],
     "apply_feature_execution": [
       {
           "name": "layout_rules"
       }
   ]
 }


In this example, the system will throw the following MANDATORY_NOT_FOUND error since we have made the Number of Helmets field mandatory if the Helmets Required field is True.


 {
    "data": [
        {
            "code": "MANDATORY_NOT_FOUND",
            "details": {
                "layout_rule": {
                    "name": "Helmet Mandatory Rule",
                    "id": "4876876000002695023"
                },
                "api_name": "No_of_Helmets"
            },
            "message": "required field not found",
            "status": "error"
        }
    ]
 }


You can use apply_feature_execution key in the Update and Upsert Record APIs to apply mandatory field rules to those records created without apply_feature_execution key.

Show Field/Section/Subform Rules 

API support is currently not extended to these rules. When using API calls, you can add values to all fields, even if they are hidden by layout rules.  Get Records API returns all the fields in the layout. In other words, using APIs bypasses layout rules for Show Field/Section/Subform.

Points to remember

  • You can include the primary field of one layout rule in the "Show Field" and "Set Mandatory Fields" actions for other layout rules, but not as a primary field for another rule.
  • The Record Owner field or a multi-select picklist field cannot be the primary field for a rule.
  • Layout rules are active when creating a record manually and when creating a record through the API. However, when using the API, only mandatory field rules are applied. Layout rules are not available for records generated via import, webforms or lead convert page. Refer to Layout Rule Exceptions for more details.
  • When you edit a primary field associated with a layout rule, and if the actions triggered include making one or more fields mandatory, the system will capture these mandatory fields via a pop-up prompt. For example, when you edit a record, and change the Helmets Required from No to Yes, the Number of Helmets Required field will be captured via a pop-up prompt.
  • You cannot use Layout Rules on Auto Number, Lookup, Multi Select Lookup, User Lookup, Formula, File Upload and Multi Line field types.
  • Layout Rules are applicable for create, edit and view pages.
We hope you found this post useful. We will meet you next week with another interesting topic!
If you have any questions let us know in the comment section.

Related Links



    • Sticky Posts

    • Kaizen #197: Frequently Asked Questions on GraphQL APIs

      🎊 Nearing 200th Kaizen Post – We want to hear from you! Do you have any questions, suggestions, or topics you would like us to cover in future posts? Your insights and suggestions help us shape future content and make this series better for everyone.

    • Celebrating 200 posts of Kaizen! Share your ideas for the milestone post

      Hello Developers, We launched the Kaizen series in 2019 to share helpful content to support your Zoho CRM development journey. Staying true to its spirit—Kaizen Series: Continuous Improvement for Developer Experience—we've shared everything from FAQs

    • Kaizen #193: Creating different fields in Zoho CRM through API

      🎊 Nearing 200th Kaizen Post – We want to hear from you! Do you have any questions, suggestions, or topics you would like us to cover in future posts? Your insights and suggestions help us shape future content and make this series better for everyone.

    • Client Script | Update - Introducing Commands in Client Script!

      Have you ever wished you could trigger Client Script from contexts other than just the supported pages and events? Have you ever wanted to leverage the advantage of Client Script at your finger tip? Discover the power of Client Script - Commands! Commands

    • Kaizen #165 : How to call Zoho CRM APIs using Client Script

      Welcome back to another exciting Client Script post! In this post, we will discuss one of the most frequently asked questions: How do you call Zoho CRM APIs from Client Scripts? In this kaizen post, 1. Ways to make calls to Zoho CRM APIs using Client

    • Recent Topics

    • Vendor Assignment issue for staff in User Roales

      there is a limitation in software that we can't assing Vendors to our staff - we can only assign Customers on staff wise!! There is a limitation of this software that in case i want to assign limited vendors to my staff - it's not possible. Either i will

    • Zoho Desk Community Portal Not Displaying Custom Styling Correctly

      Hi Zoho Community, I’m struggling to get a custom community portal in Zoho Desk to display my branding and styling correctly, and I’d love some help troubleshooting this for a client’s support portal. Details: Setup: Zoho Desk (Professional plan, latest

    • Remove or hide default views

      I'm looking to only have the views pertinent to my organization. Is there a way to show only my custom views (or separate them to a different area or something)? If not, this should be a feature as switching from Zendesk we had this option...

    • Function #46: Auto generate list of lapsed customers using Custom Button

      Hello everyone, and welcome back to our series! Customer retention is one of the key factors that impact the long-term success and sustainability of a business. High customer retention rates indicate satisfied customers, quality products or services,

    • Zoho Analytics - Bill Table

      Hi I am new to Zoho and mainly work in Books. Recently learned of Zoho Analytics and am exploring it to create reports that would be useful for me. For example, I want to create a bills cash forecast by week for cash flow planning. When I start to create

    • Before Going To The Qc stage , site ready ness file upload mandtoty how to achive this in the blue print transition

      Before Going To The Qc stage , site ready ness file upload mandtoty how to achive this in the blue print transition Is it possible on click of the predelivery Transition show the alert message if site ready ness file upload empty also not move the stage

    • Announcing new features in Trident for Windows (v.1.28.5.0)

      Hello Community, Trident for Windows is here with exciting new features to help you stay productive and make collaboration simpler. Let’s dive into what’s new! Slash commands are now supported in the Cliq module. You can now use slash commands from the

    • Create static subforms in Zoho CRM: streamline data entry with pre-defined values

      Last modified on (9 July, 2025): This feature was available in early access and is currently being rolled out to customers in phases. Currently available for users in the the AU, CA, and SA DCs. It will be enabled for the remaining DCs in the next couple

    • Zoho Leave Policy > Portugal maternity Leave 120 days or 150 days

      Hello All In this Portugal maternity Leave policy, the government allow employee to apply 120 days they will have 100% paid salary if they apply 150 days they take 80% of the paid salary minimum 1 days and maximum 120 days or 150 days Should i setup this

    • Override Auto Number field?

      We are preparing to migrate from Salesforce. In Salesforce, we auto-generate a unique number on our Opportunities (Potentials). If the Opportunity results in a contract, we use that unique number as the Contract number. There are some situations where

    • Convert time to string and remove second

      Hello everyone, I have a question that I can't figure out on my own. How to convert time into string (singleline) and remove second. Like HH:mm. If I convert it as below, the result becomes null. Thank you very much. input.Time.tostring("HH:mm") result:

    • Has anyone imported items and included the storage bin?

      We have a large amount of Inventory Items. We would like to import these into Zoho Inventory but while we can import the majority of data, the storage bin refuses to map. Has anyone successfully imported the data and mapped the bin?

    • Introducing Zoho Commerce 2.0 — It's more than just selling!

      Hello! We are proud to launch Zoho Commerce 2.0, a reimagination of how online businesses look, feel, and function. This launch is both timely and symbolic, as we reaffirm our commitment to empowering small and medium enterprises with powerful, yet simple-to-use

    • Backorder For Composite Items

      Hello If i released SO for composite item and use backorder feature of zoho inventory then it should backorder child item items of composite and not composite item.This is basic of backordering.I conveyed this to zoho call center but no solution yet.

    • Terms & Conditions add a rule.

      Hi I'd like to format my T&C's to auto format a Deposit amount based on the Total. "Quotation is valid for 7 days from the date of issue. A 75% deposit ( R .00 )is required to confirm the booking. The remaining balance ( R .00)is due upon project completion.

    • How can I create a button in a widget that pops up a form created in ZOHO Creator when clicked?

      I know that using HTML snippets, clicking the button can pop up the form. However, the same code does not work in the widget. <button><a href="#Form:form2?zc_LoadIn=dialog">Add</a></button>

    • "SPF record exceed the allowed limit of 10"

      Hi, I was wondering if there were a "universal Zoho SPF record" that would allow all my configured Zoho services that email things to meet this limitation ? or do I have to have an entry for mail, com, billing, etc?

    • Zoho Inventory Feature Roadmap Visible To All

      Hello, please consider making your feature roadmap visible to us users so that we know what to expect in future. This may appease current users who are seeking clarification on feature implementation dates, so that they can make an informed decision whether

    • send file to ftp or another external service

      i'v created a zoho creator application for take a picture and rename it by phone. Now i need to send Each renamed pictures to my ftp or to specific folder on google drive...then, delete it from creator. (every picture recived it will processed by another program and stored on my Erp) HOW CAN I DO ??

    • Customer address in Zoho Bookings

      Hello,  Is it possible to add customer address information to the Zoho bookings appointment screen? Or have it pull that information automatically from the CRM? We are wanting to use this as a field management software but it is difficult to pull the address from multiple sources when it would be ideal to have a clickable address on the appointment screen that opens up the user's maps.  It would also be advantageous for the "list view" to show appointment times instead of just duration and booking

    • Allow Changing Appointment Status from "Completed" to "No Show" or Other Valid States

      Hi Zoho Bookings Team, We hope you're doing well. We would like to submit a feature request regarding appointment status management in Zoho Bookings. 🎯 Use Case Sometimes, an appointment is mistakenly marked as Completed, but later we realize that the

    • Feature Request - Improved booking layouts, specifically for individual booking links

      I would like to see more layout options and specifically to have the meeting description beside the calendar booking function, when sharing booking links to specific consultations/meetings. Below is a screenshot from Calendly. I love this layout and it

    • Set Conditional and Dependent Rules for Issues in Zoho Projects

      An Issue Layout is a customizable form to add and update information about a specific issue. The fields in the issue layout can be changed dynamically based on user requirement using the issue layout rules. Consider a scenario where an electrical fluctuation

    • Accounting on the Go Series-56: e-Way Bill Module in the Mobile App – A Handy Solution for Indian Businesses

      Hello everyone, Managing e-Way bills just got more convenient with the Zoho Books mobile app! For businesses operating under the GST regime, e-Way bills are essential for tracking the movement of goods. Previously, you had to log in to the web app to

    • Currency transition

      We are using Zoho CRM in Curacao, Dutch Caribbean. Our currency is currently the ANG. Curacao will be transition ing from using the ANG (Antillean Guilder) to using the XCG currency (Caribbean Guilder) on March 31st 2025, see: https://www.mcb-bank.com/caribbean-guilder.

    • Copying records from a Custom Module into Deals

      Hello, I recently created a custom module to handle a particular type of order/transaction in our business. Having got this up and running I've realised that it would be much better to use the Deals module with a different layout instead. We've entered

    • Creator App on Mobile - Workflow "On Create / Edit - On Load" not triggered ?

      Hi Everyone, I built an application to track assets, which is used both at the office (desktop) an in the field by technicians (mobile app). In the field, technicians open an existing form and add rows to a subform at some point. One field they have to

    • HOW TO VIEW INDIVIDUAL COST OF NEWLY PURCHASED GOODS AFTER ALLOCATING LANDED COSTS

      Hello, I have been able to allocate landed costs to the purchase cost of the new products. however, what i need to see now is the actual cost price (original cost plus landed cost), of only my newly purchased products to enable me set a selling price

    • Adding a work order for Assets vs. changing the contact person

      When adding a work order for an existing Assets (e.g. service), the assigned contact cannot be changed (deleting the contact deletes the selected Assets). This results in such an illogical operation that if you want to change the person to be contacted,

    • Custom Function to get custom field of lookup type in Books

      Hi, Here's the situation. In Purchase Order, there is a custom field (lookup) to SO. The requirement is to update to the related SO if PO get updated Right now facing challenge to get the id of custom field (lookup) in PO. Please find below the sample

    • Default Memo from Custom Field (from Bill) when Paying with Check

      Hi, we are using "Pay via Check" option to pay for our Bills in Zoho Books. I would like the memo on the check to pull directly from one of the custom field values within the Bill. Is there any way I can do this? The memo that I need is already on the

    • Custom From Address is now Organizational Email

      We're introducing a small yet meaningful change in Zoho Recruit, one that sets the foundation for bigger improvements coming your way. What’s changed? We’ve renamed the Custom From Address to Organizational Email. The new name was chosen to better reflect

    • What's New in Zoho Billing Q2 2025

      Hello everyone, We are excited to share the latest set of updates and enhancements made to Zoho Billing in Q2 2025, ranging from image custom fields to support for new languages. Keep reading to learn more. Upload Images From Your Desktop to Email Notifications

    • Map dependency on Multiselect picklist

      I need help in Zoho CRM. I have 2 multi-select picklists. For example, Picklist A has country names. Picklist B has state names. Now I want to show states on the basis of the selected country from Picklist A. Both are multi-select fields, so the standard

    • Tip of the Week #63 – Keep personal emails out of team view.

      Shared inboxes are great for teamwork—they let everyone stay on the same page, respond faster, and avoid duplicate replies. But not every message needs to be shared with the entire team. Think about those one-on-one chats with a manager, a quick internal

    • 💡 Feature Request: Custom App Bundle Plan (Pick Only the Apps You Need)

      Request: Allow Users to Build a Custom App Bundle (Choose Only the Apps They Need) Hi Zoho Team, I appreciate the value that Zoho One and the Plus Bundles (CRM Plus, Finance Plus, etc.) offer. However, I’m finding it difficult to get the best fit for

    • Episode III : Powering Automation: Custom Functions in Action

      Hello Everyone, In our previous episodes, we explored custom functions and the Deluge programming language. If you’ve been wondering why the Episode series have been quiet, here’s the reveal! On our community, we've been showcasing custom functions integrated

    • How do I automatically assign the project owner for all tasks in Zoho Projects?

      I have been researching for days on how to automatically assign all the tasks to the project owner on creation of the project in Zoho Projects. I have been having to go in and manually change all the task owner from 'unassigned' to the owner of the project

    • Narrative 2 - Understanding Organizational Departments

      Behind the scenes of a successful ticketing system - BTS Series Narrative 2 - Understanding Organizational Departments A ticketing system's departments are essential because they provide an organized and practical framework for handling and addressing

    • Zoho Projects Plus for the healthcare industry

      The global healthcare industry is complex and diverse; from patient record maintenance, healthcare supply chain, to manufacturing complex medical equipment, the industry functions on many layers. Managing all these layers requires tested out techniques

    • Next Page