Tip 7: How to fetch data from another application?

Tip 7: How to fetch data from another application?



Hi everyone,

Following our Zoho Creator - Tips and Tricks series every fortnight, we are back today with a tip based on one of the most popular questions asked in our forum. This tip would help you fetch data from another application(App B) and use it in your current application(App A).

Just as your application can send data to other applications, similarly it can easily receive data from other applications. This can be easily achieved in Zoho Creator by creating a custom function in the application(App B) from which you need to fetch data. 

Functions are nothing but a unit of code written to perform a specific task.

Let's look at simple example to understand how to do this.

To explain this I have created two applications: Travel Request and Employee Details. And both of these applications contain a form each to collect data.


The Raise Travel Request Form in the Travel Request Application allows employees to raise request for their upcoming business trips.

The Add Employees Form in the Employee Details Application stores the all the information about the employees in your organization.







Use Case:

Here when an employee uses the Raise Travel Request Form to raise a request for his travel, we need to fetch the employee's Department and his Manager's Email ID from the Employee Details App and use it to auto-populate the fields in the Raise Travel Request Form  based on the Employee Email ID entered.

Step 1: Create a function

To achieve this we need to create a custom function in the Employee Details Application. Navigate to Workflow section and click on Custom Functions. Specify the following arguments to create the following function.




Once you click on CREATE, write the below given Deluge scripts to the function. 

  1. string Getemployeedetails(string Empemail)
  2. {
  3.  empdepartment = Add_Employee[Email_ID == Empemail].Department;
  4.  manageremail = Add_Employee[Email_ID == Empemail].Manager;
  5.  return empdepartment+","+ manageremail;
  6. }

 

Note: This function will return the Employee's department and manager email ID in a format like "Departmentvalue,Manageremailvalue" as a string.

Step 2: Call the function

Now that we have created this function, we need to call this function from the Travel Request Application. By calling the function, we will be able to fetch the required details from the Employee Details Application and autopopulate them in the Raise Travel Request Form.

For this we need to create a workflow On User Input of the Employee Email ID field and write the below given Deluge scripts.
 
  1. datavalue = employee_details.Getemployeedetails(input.Employee_Email_ID);
  2. input.Department = datavalue.getPrefix(",");
  3. input.Manager = datavalue.getSuffix(",");

Note: As we have configured the Getemployeedetails () function to return string value like "Departmentvalue,Manageremailvalue" , we need to use our built-in function getPrefix() and getSuffix() to get the values before and after comma value respectively.

Voila! That's all you need to do to fetch data from another application. Isn't it easy? Give it a try. If you have any doubts or queries regarding this tip, please feel free to add them as comments below. We would be happy to address them all.


    • Recent Topics

    • Issue with WhatsApp Template Approval and Marketing Message Limit in Zoho Bigin

      We are facing issues while creating and using WhatsApp message templates through Zoho Bigin, and we request your clarification and support regarding the same. 1. Utility Template Approval Issue Until December, we were able to create WhatsApp templates

    • Zoho CRM Calendar View

      Hello Zoho team, We need desperately a calendar view next to list, kandan and other views. I think it should be easy to implement as you already have the logic from Projects and also from Kanban View in CRM. In calendar view when we set it up - we choose

    • Camera

      I can sign on to a meeting and see the other participants, but my screen is dark. The instructions for Zoho "Camera Settings" say "click on lock icon in address bar," but I don't see that icon! Suggestions?

    • What is Workqueue and how to hide it?

      Hi， My CRM suddenly have this "Workqueue", may I ask how to set the permission of this tab?

    • Batch/lot # and Storage bin location

      Hi I want to ask for a feature on Zoho inventory I own a warehouse and I've gone through different management software solutions with no luck until I found Zoho, it has been a game changer for my business with up to the minute information, I'm extremely happy with it. It's almost perfect. And I say Almost because the only thing missing for me (and I'm sure I'm not alone) is the need of being able to identify the lot number of my inventory and where it is located in the warehouse. Due to the nature

    • Adding Sender Address with Basic Plan

      According to the knowledge base, I should be able to add Sender addresses with the Basic Plan. But whenever I try to add an email, it takes me to a search window and I cannot find any emails in the list. Even mine, which is the admin. email.

    • Conditional Field Visibility in Bigin CRM

      I would like to request support for conditional field visibility within Bigin CRM. This feature should allow administrators to configure show/hide rules for fields based on predefined criteria (e.g., field values, picklist selections, stage changes,

    • Bill automation in Zoho Books

      Hi I am looking for 3rd-party options for bill automation in zoho which are economical and preferably have accurate scanning. What options do I have? Zoho's native scanning is a bit pricey

    • Reporting Tags

      We've been using reporting tags for years (before itemizing was available) and now we are finding reporting these tags are impossible to track. Reports have changed in the customization and our columns of reporting tags no longer show up. We do not use

    • Consumption based inventory

      I am currently using Zoho Books for my hospitality business, which includes lodging and restaurant services. We purchase many items in bulk for storage and consumption as needed. I'd like these items to be recorded as inventory when purchased and categorized

    • Smarter Access Control: Role-Based Access vs. Responsibility-Based Profiles

      Every business has roles, responsibilities, and workflows. While roles help define structure, responsibilities within those roles are rarely the same. As your team grows, some members need access to only a specific set of features. Others require visibility

    • Partner with HDFC And Sbi Bank.

      Hdfc and sbi both are very popular bank if zoho books become partner with this banks then many of the zoho books users will benefit premium features of partnered banks.

    • API in E-Invoice/GST portal

      Hi, Do I have to change the api in gst/e-invoice portal as I use zoho e books for my e-invoicing. If yes, please confirm the process.

    • Member role in zoho meeting

      does a user with member role can see other users in the organization

    • How to post more than 4 Images on Instagram?

      Hi I read several articles to the topic od how to post more than 4 images on instagram, but i can't figure out how it works. I can't find the content editor and i installesd the z share extension for google chrome. Could someone please help me? Than

    • Clone Recurring Expenses

      Our bookkeeping practices make extensive use of the "clone" feature for bills, expenses, invoices, etc. This cuts down significantly on both the amount of typing that needs to be done manually and, more importantly, the mental overhead of choosing the

    • Zoho Books - How to Invoke a Custom Function in Schedulers

      We have multiple schedulers that send emails to customers in batches. Currently, we are maintaining the same code across several schedulers. Is it possible to use a custom function inside a scheduler script? If yes, how can we invoke the custom function

    • Special characters (like â, â, æ) breaking when input in a field (encoding issue)

      Hey everyone, We are currently dealing with a probably encoding issue when we populate a field (mostly but not exclusively, 'Last Name' for Leads and Contracts). If the user manually inputs special characters (like ä, â, á etc.) from Scandinavian languages,

    • Set Custom Icon for Custom Modules in new Zoho CRM UI

    • All new Address Field in Zoho CRM: maintain structured and accurate address inputs

      The address field will be available exclusively for IN DC users. We'll keep you updated on the DC-specific rollout soon. It's currently available for all new sign-ups and for existing Zoho CRM orgs which are in the Professional edition. Latest update

    • is there any way to change the "chat with us now" to custom message?

      is there any way to change the "chat with us now" to custom message? I want to change this text

    • Notes badge as a quick action in the list view

      Hello all, We are introducing the Notes badge in the list view of all modules as a quick action you can perform for each record, in addition to the existing Activity badge. With this enhancement, users will have quick visibility into the notes associated

    • Is Zoho Live Chat compatible with WordPress CMS?

      Hello, I have a website called www.jjrlab.com and I'm interested in using Zoho Chat on it. Does it support WordPress CMS? Thanks.

    • Introducing spam detection for webforms: An additional layer of protection to keep your Zoho CRM clean and secure

      Greetings all, One of the most highly anticipated feature launches—Spam Detection in webforms—has finally arrived! Webforms are a vital tool for record generation, but they're also vulnerable to submissions from unauthenticated or malicious sources, which

    • Bring your CRM and Desk app inside SalesIQ with widgets

      Have you ever been confused and frustrated with multiple open tabs and switching back and forth from SalesIQ to other apps to perform your business-specific operations? How effective would it be to have all the required tools and data of the apps you

    • Speak Your Customers' Language: SalesIQ's chatbots now support 30 languages 🤖

      We're unveiling some major upgrades to our chatbot that are set to revolutionize your experience! Now SalesIQ support 30 languages for both Zobot and Answer bot. By speaking your customers' language, you can enhance engagement, improve customer satisfaction,

    • Repeat Column merge in ZOHO writer columns doesn't allow to set max columns per row

      I'm using ZOHO writer to merge data from a ZOHO CRM subform and I want it to make a table. We're using Insert Table for Column Repeat, because this is what we need. (Name of column (Teamname) and underneath that a list of names of teammembers). It works

    • Persisting email signals to contact timeline?

      Hello there. Regarding the email signals that are logged when a contact opens an email, am I correct that these signals are not logged to a contact's timeline? Ideally, I would like to have this context available for future follow-ups, if the contact

    • Trouble with using Apostrophe in Name of Customers and Vendors

      We have had an ongoing issue with how the system recognizes an apostrophe in the name of customers and vendors. The search will not return any results for a name that includes the mark; ie one of our vendors names is "L'Heritage" and when entering the

    • Really want the field "Company" in the activities module!

      Hi team! Something we are really missing is able to see the field Company when working in the activities module. We have a lot of tasks and need to see what company it's related to. It's really annoying to not be able to see it.🙈 Thx!

    • Upcoming update to Google Drive integration in Zoho Creator

      Hello everyone, We're writing to inform you about an upcoming update to how Zoho Creator integrates with Google Drive. In Zoho Creator, during actions like importing files to create an app or attaching files to fields, you can choose files directly from

    • Changing Account Type in Chart of Accounts

      Does anyone know how to change/edit the account type for an Account name in Chart of Accounts. Zoho will not let me do this for some reason

    • Managing Scheduled Replies

      Communication is most effective when the intended message reaches the right person at the right time. However, this can be challenging when communication occurs across different time zones. By scheduling replies, businesses can ensure that responses reach

    • Show price book list price

      When using price books, once you add products to the price book in the Products related list you can display the Unit price which is the default list price; however, there is no option to show the price book list price. To see the price book list price

    • Allow Attaching Quartz Recordings to Existing Zoho Support Tickets

      Hi Zoho Team, We would like to request an enhancement to how Zoho Quartz recordings integrate with Zoho Support tickets. Current Behavior: At the moment, each Quartz recording automatically creates a new support ticket. However, in many real-world scenarios:

    • Issue with open-rate reporting in Zoho Campaigns

      Hello, Since yesterday I’ve been experiencing an issue with the open-rate reports in Zoho Campaigns. The campaigns I send appear in the reports as if none of the emails have been opened, even though I know they have. To verify this, I replicated the campaign

    • Can I hide empty Contact fields from view?

      Some contacts have a lot of empty fields, others are mostly filled. Is there a way I can hide/show empty fields without changing the actual Layout? I would like to de-clutter my view, and also be able to add information later as I am able. I would be

    • Manage user roles and profiles from the Bigin app (iOS and macOS)

      Hello everyone! We're happy to announce that you can manage user roles and profiles from the Bigin mobile app. The Users & Controls section has three subsections: Users, Profiles, and Roles. Users Employees who belong to your Bigin organization are called

    • Support Bots and Automations in External Channels

      Hello Zoho Cliq Team, How are you? We actively use Zoho Cliq for collaboration, including with our external developers. For this purpose, external channels are a key tool since they work seamlessly within the same interface as all of our other channels

    • Zoho Books Sandbox environment

      Hello. Is there a free sandbox environment for the developers using Zoho Books API? I am working on the Zoho Books add-on and currently not ready to buy a premium service - maybe later when my add-on will start to bring money. Right now I just need a

    • Next Page