COQL API in Zoho CRM - Part I

COQL API in Zoho CRM - Part I

Hi everyone! Welcome back to another week of Kaizen! 

This week, we will discuss the COQL Queries in detail.

COQL (CRM Object Query Language) is a powerful query language based on SQL syntax that allows users to write their own queries and fetch records using module API names and field API names. In this post, we will discuss the operators supported by COQL in detail and also provide examples to help you understand better.  Please note that the information in the article holds true for version 4 of Zoho CRM APIs.

When should you use the Query API?

Use Query API when you want to query for a module's data and/or it's look up related data using various comparators, or for records that fall into a custom view without actually creating one. For example, if you want to query for all products in a specific price range, with a 5 star rating and sort the results by price, use the Query API. Similarly you can use Query API to query for records from cross-modules (linked via lookup field), such as filtering products based on the vendor's details. 

What types of queries are supported by COQL?

COQL supports only the SELECT query, which is used to select data from the CRM, based on the conditions specified by the clauses. 

Here is a sample query:
SELECT {field_api_names} FROM {module_api_name} WHERE {field_api_name} {comparator} {logical_operator} {value} ORDER BY {field_api_name} ASC/DESC LIMIT {limit} OFFSET {offset}

What are the clauses & aggregate functions supported by COQL?

WHERE - used to select records based on specific conditions.
FROM - specifies the module from which to fetch the records.
ORDER BY - used to sort the results in ascending or descending order.
LIMIT - used to limit the number of records returned by the query.
OFFSET - used to skip a specified number of records while retrieving the records.


{
 "select_query" : "select Last_Name, First_Name, Mobile, Final_Score from Leads where (Lead_Status = 'Not Contacted') ORDER BY Final_Score DESC LIMIT 5 OFFSET 10"
}


For example, the above query retrieves the Last_Name, First_Name, Mobile and Final_score of all Leads whose status equals 'Not Contacted'. The results will be sorted in descending order based on the Final_Score field, and only the 5 records after skipping the first 10 will be returned.

NOTE : You can also use the syntax "LIMIT offset, limit" to achieve the same result. For example :


{
 "select_query" : "select Last_Name, First_Name, Mobile, Final_Score from Leads where (Lead_Status = 'Not Contacted') ORDER BY Final_Score DESC LIMIT 5, 10"
}
​

Aggregate functions can perform calculations on a set of values and return a single value. 
SUM() - to get the sum of the values of an aggregate field in a module.
MAX() - to get the maximum value of an aggregate field.
MIN() - to get the minimum value of an aggregate field.
AVG() - to get the average value of the values of a field.
COUNT() - to get the number of records that satisfy the criteria.

Wildcard Character Support in COQL

In COQL queries, the only supported wildcard character is %. This % wildcard can be used with the like operator to achieve functionality similar to the contains, starts_with and ends_with operators. For instance, '%tech" queries for field values ending with tech, 'C%' queries for the values starting with C, and '%tech%' translates to contains 'tech'.

Supported field types and Comparators

The following table gives a gist of the field types whose data you can query for, and the comparators for each field type.
Field TypeComparators
Text and Picklist=, !=, like, not like, in, not in, is null, is not null
Lookup=, !=, in, not in, is null, is not null
Date, DateTime, Number, Currency=, !=, >=, >, <=, <, between, not between, in, not in, is null, is not null
Boolean=

Supported field types and Comparators

1) Text and Picklist Fields

Supported comparators : =, !=, like, not like, in, not in, is null, is not null. Please note that the like operator is used for starts_with, ends_with, contains, and not like operator is used for not contains. 

Sample Query 1: (=, like, in)

{
    "select_query": "SELECT First_Name, Last_Name FROM Leads WHERE (((Lead_Status = 'Pre-Qualified') and (Company like '%zylker%')) and Industry in ('Technology', 'ERP'))"
}

This SELECT query retrieves the First_Name and Last_Name of all Leads whose Lead_Status is Pre-Qualified, Company contains zylker, and Industry is either Technology or ERP. 

Sample Query 2:(not in, like, not null)

{
"select_query": "SELECT First_Name, Last_Name FROM Leads WHERE (((Lead_Status not in ('Closed-Won', 'Closed-Lost')) and (Lead_Source like '%Web%')) and (Skype_ID is not null)) LIMIT 2"
}

This query will return the first name and last name of all leads whose lead status is not Closed-Won or Closed-Lost, whose Lead Source fields contains web, and whose Skype ID field is not empty.

Sample Query 3:( !=, not like, null)

{
    "select_query": "SELECT First_Name, Last_Name, Mobile FROM Leads WHERE (((Lead_Source != 'Webinar') and (City not like '%New York%')) and (Skype_ID is null))"
}

This query retrieves the first name, last name and mobile of leads where the lead source is not a webinar, the city is not New York, and the Skype ID field is empty or null.

2. Lookup Fields

=, !=, in, not in, is null, is not null are the supported comparators for lookup fields. If you want to get the name of the lookup field in the response, you must include the field API name in the query. Otherwise, the system will return only the ID of the field.

Sample Query 1: (=, not in, !=)

{
 "select_query": "select Last_Name, First_Name, Full_Name, Account_Name, Owner from Contacts where (((Account_Name.Account_Name != 'Zylker') and (Owner = 4876876000000327001)) and Vendor_Name.Vendor_Name not in ('Skytech','SR')) LIMIT 2"
}

This query retrieves the last name, first name, full name, account name, and owner of two contacts whose account name is not Zylker, whose owner ID is 4876876000000327001, and whose vendor name does not contain Skytech or SR.
Sample Response:
{
    "data": [
        {
            "First_Name": "John",
            "Full_Name": "John Wilson  ",
            "Owner": {
                "id": "4876876000000327001"
            },
            "Last_Name": "Wilson  ",
            "Account_Name": {
                "id": "4876876000000333089"
            },
            "id": "4876876000000333182"
        },
        {
            "First_Name": "Josephine",
            "Full_Name": "Josephine Darakjy",
            "Owner": {
                "id": "4876876000000327001"
            },
            "Last_Name": "Darakjy",
            "Account_Name": {
                "id": "4876876000000333090"
            },
            "id": "4876876000000333183"
        }
    ],
    "info": {
        "count": 2,
        "more_records": true
    }
}

In this query, the id of the account is returned but not the name since we have not specified the field API name in the query. To fetch the field name, specify the field API name in the query. Refer to the following sample query to know how.

Sample Query 2:  (in, is null, is not null)

{
    "select_query": "SELECT Deal_Name, Account_Name.Account_Name, Created_Time FROM Deals WHERE (((Account_Name.Account_Name in ('Grayson','Zylker')) and (Owner is not null)) and (Contact_Name is null)) ORDER BY Created_Time DESC LIMIT 2"
}

This query retrieves the Deal Name, Account Name, and Created Time of the 2 most recently created Deals whose Account Name contains Zylker or Grayson, and do not have a Contact Name associated with them but have a Deal Owner associated with them. The results will be ordered in descending order by the Created Time.
 
Sample Response:
{
    "data": [
        {
            "Deal_Name": "Westborne Deal",
            "Created_Time": "2023-04-06T10:04:02+05:30",
            "Account_Name.Account_Name": "Grayson",
            "id": "4876876000003548001"
        },
        {
            "Deal_Name": "Eastwing Deal",
            "Created_Time": "2023-04-05T19:10:55+05:30",
            "Account_Name.Account_Name": "Grayson",
            "id": "4876876000003526011"
        }
    ],
    "info": {
        "count": 2,
        "more_records": true
    }
}

In the same query, if you want to use the Account ID instead of the name, replace ((Account_Name.Account_Name in ('Grayson','Zylker')) with ((Account_Name in (4876876000001236083, 4876876000002799001)) to include the IDs instead of the field API names and the account names.
{
    "select_query": "SELECT Deal_Name, Account_Name.Account_Name, Created_Time FROM Deals WHERE (((Account_Name in (4876876000001236083, 4876876000002799001)) and (Owner is not null)) and (Contact_Name is null)) ORDER BY Created_Time DESC LIMIT 2"
}

3. Date, DateTime, Number, Currency Fields

=, !=, >=, >, <=, <, between, not between, in, not in, is null, is not null are the supported comparators for these fields.

Sample Query 1: (between, <, >)

{

    "select_query": "SELECT Deal_Name, Amount, Stage, Probability FROM Deals WHERE (((Closing_Date between '2023-01-01' and '2023-03-31') and (Probability < 99)) and (Amount > 10000))"

}

This query retrieves the deal name, amount, stage, and probability of all deals whose closing date is between January 1, 2023 and March 31, 2023, and whose probability is less than 99 and amount is greater than 10000.

Sample Response:
{
    "data": [
        {
            "Deal_Name": "Chapman Deal",
            "Amount": 2500000,
            "Probability": 97,
            "Stage": "Closed Won",
            "id": "4876876000003550011"
        }
    ],
    "info": {
        "count": 1,
        "more_records": false
    }
}

Sample Query 2: (<=, !=, >=)

{
    "select_query": "SELECT Product_Name, Qty_in_Stock, Vendor_Name, Cost_Price FROM Products WHERE (((Sales_End_Date <= '2023-04-30') and (Qty_in_Stock != 0)) and (Cost_Price >= 500))"
}

This query retrieves the product name, quantity in stock, vendor name, and cost price for all products whose sales end date is on or before April 30, 2023, whose quantity in stock is not zero, and whose cost price is greater than or equal to 500. Since Vendor_Name is a lookup field, only the ID will be returned in the response.
Sample Response
{
    "data": [
        {
            "Cost_Price": 2000,
            "Vendor_Name": {
                "id": "4876876000001039017"
            },
            "Product_Name": "Sigma",
            "Qty_in_Stock": 30,
            "id": "4876876000001036109"
        }
    ],
    "info": {
        "count": 1,
        "more_records": false
    }
}

Sample Query 3: (not between, is not, >)

{
    "select_query": "SELECT Last_Name, First_Name, Referred_By.Full_Name FROM Leads WHERE (((Final_Score not between 10 and 20) and (Annual_Revenue is not null)) and (No_of_Employees > 200)) LIMIT 1"
}

This COQL query selects the last name, first name, and the full name of the lead's referred by field, for one lead whose final score is not between 10 and 20, annual revenue is not null and whose number of employees is greater than 200. 
Sample Response
{
    "data": [
        {
            "First_Name": "Chau",
            "Last_Name": "Kitzman",
            "id": "4876876000000333403",
            "Referred_By.Full_Name": "Simmons Truhlar"
        }
    ],
    "info": {
        "count": 1,
        "more_records": true
    }
}

Sample Query 4: (>, not in, =, is null)

{
   "select_query":"SELECT PO_Number, PO_Date, Status, Discount FROM Purchase_Orders WHERE (((PO_Date = '2023-04-06') and (Due_Date not in ('2023-04-10','2023-04-11', '2023-04-12'))) or ((Discount > 10) and (Requisition_No is null)))"
}

This query selects the PO_Number, PO_Date, Status, and Discount from the Purchase_Orders module where the PO_Date is equal to '2023-04-06' and Due_Date is not any of '2023-04-10', '2023-04-11', or '2023-04-12'; OR Discount is greater than 10 and Requisition_No is null. In this query, we have used both AND and OR operators to combine the clauses.
Sample Response
{
    "data": [
        {
            "Status": "Created",
            "PO_Date": "2022-05-10",
            "Discount": 9990,
            "PO_Number": "PO-JL-3876",
            "id": "4876876000001125176"
        },
        {
            "Status": "Created",
            "PO_Date": "2023-04-06",
            "Discount": 370.37,
            "PO_Number": "PO-DA-1932",
            "id": "4876876000003561019"
        }
    ],
    "info": {
        "count": 2,
        "more_records": false
    }
}

We hope you found this post useful and that it has given you a better understanding of COQL queries. In our next post, we will discuss the rest of the field types, aggregate functions with more examples, and provide more queries to help you get started.

If you have any questions or feedback, please let us know in the comments below, or write to us at support@zohocrm.com. We would love to hear from you! 

Additionally, if you have any questions about the COQL API or how to construct a query, kindly let us know in the comments.

Additional Reading:


    • Recent Topics

    • CRM x WorkDrive: File storage for new CRM signups is now powered by WorkDrive

      Availability Editions: All DCs: All Release plan: Released for new signups in all DCs. It will be enabled for existing users in a phased manner in the upcoming months. Help documentation: Documents in Zoho CRM Manage folders in Documents tab Manage files

    • Zoho Learn vs. Trainer Central

      Hi, I'm currently using Zoho One with a WordPress-based website and WooCommerce to manage my online courses. I would like to know what is the difference between Zoho Learn and Trainer Central and if it's possible for these two platforms to replace WP

    • How to Display a Logo Image on a Public Form?

      I would like to display a logo image in the header of a form. To achieve this, I added an Add Notes field to the form. The code below works perfectly for Zoho users accessing the form. However, when the form is made public, the image does not load properly:

    • Creating a Zoho Online Meeting in a Blueprint

      We are looking for an easy solution to schedule online meetings in a blueprint and ran into the same problem discussed in this topic: https://help.zoho.com/portal/en/community/topic/custom-function-to-set-meeting-to-online-meeting (After connecting Zoho

    • Enabling 'From Number' and 'To Number' fields in the Calls module

      Hello everyone, We've added "To Number" and "From Number" fields in the Calls module as part of our latest update to provide users with the option to enable or disable them through the Calls Preferences tab. When enabled, these fields will be displayed

    • Exciting Update: Multi WhatsApp Business Account (WABA) Support Now Available in SalesIQ!

      We’re pleased to share an important update that will enhance the way you manage your WhatsApp Business accounts (WABAs) within SalesIQ. With the launch of Multi WABA support, you can now connect and manage multiple brands more effectively, each under

    • Route Optimizer

      Does Zoho Inventory offer route optimization for our in-house deliveries? It will save us time to manually route our daily orders. Thank you

    • Can documents attached to different ZohoForms automatically go to different OneDrive folders?

      Hi there, I set a workflow to track and store applications coming in from our website. I created two different Zoho forms, one for unsolicited applications, one for applications to job postings. After any of the forms has been filled in, a new record

    • Kaizen #126 - Circuits in Zoho CRM - Part 1

      Hello everyone! Welcome back to another week of Kaizen! Today, we will discuss an exciting topic—Circuits in Zoho CRM. For starters, we will discuss what Circuits are, how beneficial they are for businesses, different views of a Circuit, and the different

    • Custom field doesn't fill when converting sales order to invoice

      Hi, When I convert a Sales Order to an Invoice one of the custom fields on a product line names "Subsidie" does not seem to fill in automatically. I manually have to select the product again by clicking on the product name in the order line en re-select

    • TeamInbox down?

      Hi everyone, we are getting message "Sorry, this action cannot be performed due to an internal error. Please try again later. We are on the Canadian data centers. Can someone please confirm if the service is down? Thank you! F

    • Purchase Requisition in Zoho Books

      I want to understand if Zoho Books is having the following workflow: PR ( Purchase Requisition ) >> PO ( Purchase order) >>  GRN/SRN ( Goods/Services receipt note) >> Bill

    • Confirmation prompt before a custom button action is triggered

      Have you ever created a custom button and just hoped that you/your users are prompted first to confirm the action? Well, Zoho knows this concept. For example, in blueprint, whenever we want to advance to the next state by clicking the transition, it is

    • Marketer's Space: Streamline marketing and sales by integrating ZMA's Planner with Zoho CRM

      In a competitive market, clear goal-setting and seamless campaign execution are crucial for marketing and sales alignment. When integrated with Zoho CRM, Zoho Marketing Automation's Planner enables marketers to create, manage, and measure campaigns effectively

    • Custom emails for Portals not working

      I changed the standard templates to custom email templates for all three options, but the invitation is still sending the original email layouts. Anyone know why this would be happening? I changed them 2 days ago.

    • Switching scheduled webinars from Live to On-demand

      Now that On-Demand webinars has been added as an option for webinar presenting, is there a way I can edit already scheduled webinars from Live to on-Demand? These scheduled webinars already have people registered. Thanks

    • Zoho CRM v2.1 deprecation or sunset plans ?

      Hi Team Wanted to know if there is any plan to deprecate v2.1 CRM apis https://www.zoho.com/crm/developer/docs/api/v2.1/ and if yes by when

    • Forex Bank Refund Entry

      Hello, please advise how to enter refunds from our bank forex department. The refund was because we were on preferential rates but at the time of USD purchase were not given the preferential rate, therefore the bank calculated the excess that we paid

    • Auto-Populating Custom Field

      This is to request a feature enhancement for our invoicing system. We're currently creating invoices with a single item per invoice and have a custom field called "Related Vehicle." We would like the "Related Vehicle" field to be automatically populated

    • How can i Customize Delivery Note?

      I need to customize delivery note like change the tittle for language purposes and also include only the balance due

    • Delivery note template

      We have some reasonable templates for sales docs but the delivery note one is very limited. It would be nice if we could have the same options as the sales form templates or even create our own by cloning an existing sales template, modifying (ie: removing

    • INTERCOMPANIES INVOICING

      Dears , I paid expenses on behalf of our sister company from my cash account , then month End i issued an invoice to the sister company , my question is how to put the expenses GL in the invoices

    • Zoho CRM Theme Color?

      I've read multiple articles stating it's possible to change Zoho CRM theme colour (top menu bar) from personal settings menu, however, my zoho has no options for this at all and I've looked everywhere........has this feature been removed? I'm currently

    • How can i force the user to select a project when creating an invoice ?

      Hello I tried all the ways that i know , but no way is able to stop creating an invoice without project.

    • Sales

      1/ How can I make a discount on invoice exmple : invoice 5,100 le , custmar pay 5000 and I need to make this 100 le as a discount , how can i make it ?! 2/ Is thare any report can make me match my company’s balance with the customer’s balance?

    • Include Project Hours when Creating Estimates from Projects

      Hi Currently, in Books, you can create estimates from Projects by inserting tasks that pull both the task and the hourly charge rate. But it doesn't pull the budgeted hours for the task, so you manually have to remember the number of hours for a given

    • acc

      Regularly sending statements to customers is an imperative part of many business processes as it helps foster strong customer relationships and provides timely guidance on pay//

    • South African Payment Gateways

      Since the "Demise" of Wave many South African users have moved over to Zoho and yet for years users have been requesting Integration with a South African Payment Gateway to no avail. Payfast was the most commonly requested gateway as it supports recurring

    • CRM Implementation

      I need to implement Zoho CRM. Is there a useful user manual available to guide me through the implementation?

    • Zoho Social integration with Zoho Flow

      Is there any plans for Zoho Social integration with Zoho Flow?

    • Marketing 2.0 has been a catastrophe

      Anyone else having significant issues with their link between their CRM and Marketing automation since moving to version 2.0? We had an easy flow for triggering leads in the CRM to journeys in Marketing Automation but now nothing seems to work properly.

    • Cannot average "Duration (Time)" from Pick List History Tracking in Reports

      Okay, let's say I have a custom module. In this custom module I have a pick-list named "Status" with "New", "In-Progress", "Completed" values. I also have turned ON pick-list history tracking and chose "Time" to track the duration in (instead of "Calendar

    • Customer Statement Template

      Hi. how can i add order number "customer LPO number" in the customer statement. regards

    • Authorize.Net Update: Disable Transaction IP Velocity Filter to Avoid Payment Failures

      Update: The Authorize.Net integration was updated on November 20, 2024. To prevent recurring transaction failures, we recommend disabling the Transaction IP Velocity Filter at the earliest. We’re updating the Authorize.Net integration in Zoho Books on

    • Need to send a single email to up to 20 recipients

      I want to send a single email to ~16 or 20 recipients. It appears that I cannot do this in Zoho email as it gets flagged as unusual activity. I need to be able to communicate with this group on a regular basis. What am I missing that Zoho doesn't allow

    • Whatsapp Limitation Questions

      Good day, I would like to find out about the functionality or possibility of all the below points within the Zoho/WhatsApp integration. Will WhatsApp buttons ever be possible in the future? Will WhatsApp Re-directs to different users be possible based

    • Unable to Schedule One-to-One Emails in Zoho CRM

      Hi everyone, I’m using the Zoho CRM Professional Edition and facing an issue with scheduling one-to-one emails directly from CRM. While I can send immediate emails without any problem, I don’t see an option to schedule these emails for a later time. I’ve

    • Canvas Detail View Related List Sorting

      Hello, I am having an issue finding a way to sort a related list within a canvas detail view. I have sorted the related list on the page layout associated with the canvas view, but that does not transfer to the canvas view. What am I missing?

    • Repeatable Fields/Sections in Zoho CRM

      Hi Zoho Team, We have a module in CRM named "Clients". We would like to know whether it is possible to have a feature enables us to have repeatable sections in our clients' profiles? For example, if we customized a section in the clients' profiles named

    • Zoho Analytics: Requests for view access

      Hello, We have a user that might request access to a certain view, report etc. However this request for access is being sent to different admins within the workspace, is is possible to set who the "approver" is of these requests? If not what are the rules

    • Next Page