Zoho Developer Community Monthly Digest - September 2023

Zoho Developer Community Monthly Digest - September 2023



Hello everyone!

As we step into the crisp and colorful month of October, it's time to take a step back to reflect on the fantastic month of September. In this month's issue, we have curated exciting updates, insightful articles, interesting community discussions, and helpful resources to keep you at the forefront of the Zoho Developer Community. Let's dive right in!

One of the major developments in the Developer Community arena is the newly revamped Zoho Developer Community website, where we've consolidated all the resources from the developer community learning series into a centralized hub for your convenient access. Consider bookmarking this site to stay informed about the latest updates in the developer community.

International Programmers' Day

September is special for us tech enthusiasts, as it hosts a significant day that celebrates something near and dear to our hearts - International Programmers' Day!

Zoho Creator Developers' Summit

At Zoho, we celebrated Programmers in style by hosting the Zoho Creator Developers' Meetup in our Chennai HQ. This meetup left a profound impact on all who attended. Developers were treated to a deep dive into the world of low-code development, gaining insights from our Developer Community members and Zoho Creator Champions @Deepa Govind and @Radha R. This celebration empowered developers with both knowledge and valuable connections poised to drive innovation.

Developers' Ask Me Anything

We organized an exclusive AMA session on LinkedIn to commemorate International Programmers' Day, featuring our CEO Sridhar Vembu. He provided detailed and insightful answers to a wide range of questions on all things technology and low-code development. Watch the enlightening conversation here.

Upcoming Events

Here are the exciting events lined up for the community in the coming weeks:
  1. Zobot 101: In this five-part online webinar series that started on August 24, learn all about Zobot – Zoho SalesIQ's AI -powered chatbot builder platform – and explore the ways to leverage its capabilities effectively for your business. For registration and more details, click here.

  2. Zoho Developer Hangout 10: Our Developer Community member, @Eric Chrobak - CRM Engineer at Vaspian - will delve into error handling in Deluge, debugging and testing on October 17. He will also discuss best practices when using services such as Zoho Catalyst, GCP, AWS, and other serverless functions with an API. To register and know more about this meetup, click here.

  3. Zoho Cliq for Developers 101: Zoho Cliq for Developers 101 is a three-part webinar series starting October 19, curated to provide a comprehensive understanding of Zoho Cliq's Development platform and its various components such as slash commands, bots, widgets, and more. Click here for registration and more details.

  4. Creator Tech Connect Series: Creator's tech connect series would comprise of technical sessions that provide immersive training on the key essentials and technical nuances of building a solution in Zoho Creator. This is a great opportunity for our developer community to stay informed about Creator's new feature releases, product roadmap, best practices to follow while scripting in deluge, new deluge concepts, cloud functions and the most awaited feature "Canvas Builder." Click here for more information. 

    Date: October 12th, 2023

    Topic: Technical Series - Cloud Functions in Zoho Creator

    APAC & ANZ - 11 AM to 12 PM IST - Registration Link

    Americas & EMEA - 9 PM to 10 PM IST - Registration Link

  5. Creator Learning Table Series: This series is designed to provide users with valuable insights and knowledge about Creator's capabilities in various business use cases and applications. This year we've adopted the "12 Months, 12 Industries" concept. Each month, we will focus on a specific industry, illustrating its unique processes with real-time business scenarios and how to make best use of Creator for that industry.

Date: October 5th, 2023

Topic: Learning Table Series For Insurance 

APAC & ANZ - 11 AM to 12 PM IST - Registration Link

Americas & EMEA - 9 PM to 10 PM IST - Registration Link

September Highlights

Besides International Programmers' Day celebrations, September also brought forth other notable events.


Zoho in Sync with Apple's Latest Updates

Zoho is always quick to embrace latest Apple tech in our Mobile apps, making it a breeze for our users to manage their businesses on their devices. Discover our latest and high-quality updates here.

Zoho Developer Hangout - Episode 9

Our community member @cmowers, Developer and Zoho Team Lead at AspenTech CRM, shared expert tips on Client Script implementation in Zoho CRM. Client Script is a dynamic feature introduced within Zoho CRM designed to achieve and extend real-time business cases through customization. 

Zobot 101

In the third session of the Zobot 101 series, @Radha R, Founder & CEO of Spikra - Zoho's Premium Partner, graciously shared her bot-building journey. She provided valuable insights into the do's and don'ts, shared best practices, some handy hacks, and expertly addressed all questions, aiding the community to kick-start their own Zobot journeys.

Community Discussions

Zoho Developer Forum

  • Discussions about the implementation of Client Scripts are continuing within the Zoho CRM Developer Series: Client Script announcement post. This post serves as a valuable resource for developers who are exploring Client Scripts in Zoho CRM.

  • Wondering how to update date/time field with the current time on page load using Client Script? @Bhoomi Joshi and @Haiku Technical Support has got you covered in this post.

  • When @Benjamin Höhner encountered difficulties while attempting to set up a custom function to auto update Deal name on create/edit, our MVP @Hugh Marshall identified the problem and provided assistance in resolving it in this post.

  • Take a look at the suggestions and codes shared by @Haiku Technical Support and @Nik to tackle date format discrepancies in @Frederik Samberg's Client Script use case. 

  • Want to know how to store data between events using Client Script? Check how @Federico got a solution from @Haiku Technical Support.

Developers ZUG Cliq Channel

Note: These conversations are confined to the Developers ZUG Cliq channel members. If you're keen on becoming a part of this space, please fill in this onboarding form to receive your invitation to join the channel.
  • Learn how to add validation to the user field to restrict record ownership to specific users using Client Script in this conversation.

  • Can you use Zoho as an Identity Provider for third-party websites? Explore the possibility in this discussion.

  • Looking for a way to fetch the actual "true available stock" that accounts for committed stock using the Zoho Inventory API? Go through this discussion to find out how.

Resource Spotlight

  • #Simple yet significant pointers - Check out these posts for simple fixes for some common mistakes that are frequently made while building Zoho CRM extensions.
  • Zoho CRM Developer Updates: 
  • Kaizen: This series aims to benefit developers to gain insights into the various developer tools available in CRM.
    • Kaizen #100: A significant landmark calls for a special Q & A post. This post contains responses from our product experts to the queries posed by the community members.
    • Kaizen #101: This post is the extended version of the previous Kaizen post and contains answers to the questions on Assignment Rules and Widgets. 
    • Kaizen #102: To accommodate the myriad of queries, this post is also dedicated to the responses for all the remaining questions posed by the community members.
    • Kaizen #103: This post explores Bulk Write API in detail, and how to implement it using Zoho CRM PHP SDK.
    • Kaizen #104: As a continuation of the previous Kaizen post, this post guides you to create a bulk write job, fetch the job status, and download the results.
    • Kaizen #105: This post discusses Functions, Integration Tasks and API Credits.

Community Spotlight

ZDH Speakers

The contributions of our ZDH presenters have been instrumental in the success of the this segment. We extend our heartfelt appreciation for their efforts.


As a continuation of featuring a ZDH presenter each month, this time, we would like to introduce our second ZDH presenter, Jesus Sosa. Explore this post to discover the knowledge and insights he shared with the community. 

Cliq Contributors

The Developers ZUG Cliq channel has consistently served as the primary hub for community members seeking technical assistance and engaging in savvy discussions. Here are our top contributors who have gone the extra mile to support and assist the Zoho Developer Community:



We want to express our sincere appreciation to all our community contributors. Your commitment, expertise, and the time you invest are invaluable to the community. 


For those who are new to the Zoho Developer Community, check out this post to get started. 

We appreciate you dedicating your time to peruse this month's digest. Make sure to follow the digest each month for the most recent insights and conversations. Stay connected and participate in the forums to be featured in the upcoming month's digest. Wishing you a fantastic month ahead!


Happy coding!

SEE ALSO


    • Recent Topics

    • Need Easy Way to Update Item Prices in Bulk

      Hello Everyone, In Zoho Books, updating selling prices is taking too much time. Right now we have to either edit items one by one or do Excel export/import. It will be very useful if Zoho gives a simple option to: Select multiple items and update prices

    • Please Make Zoho CRM Cadences Flexible: Allow Inserting and Reordering Follow-Up Steps

      Sales processes are not static. We test, learn, and adapt as customers respond differently than expected. Right now, Zoho Cadences do not support inserting a new step between existing follow-ups or changing the type of an existing primary step. If I realize

    • Vendor Signatures Needed for Purchase Orders

      Hello everyone, We have a unique requirement that necessitates that Vendors & Suppliers formally acknowledge our Purchase Orders upon receipt. I was hoping that there would be an option to do so in Zoho Books, but that does not appear to be the case.

    • Is there an API to "File a Ticket" in Desk

      Hi, Is there an API to "File a Ticket" in Desk to zoho projects?

    • Critical Issue: Tickets Opened for Zoho Support via the Zoho Help Portal Were Not Processed

      Hi everyone, We want to bring to your attention a serious issue we’ve experienced with the Zoho support Help Portal. For more than a week, tickets submitted directly via the Help Portal were not being handled at all. At the same time no alert was posted

    • Unarchive tickets

      How can I manually unarchive tickets?

    • Optimize your Knowledge Base for enhanced accessibility by adding alt tags for images

      Let's learn why alt tags are crucial for your articles. You can add alternative tags (alt tags) and alternative text (alt text) to the images you share on your community forums or when embedding them in articles. Alt tags refer to the HTML attribute,

    • report showing assignment type

      Hi, We've created a number of workflows to allow us to auto assign tickets to agents based on keywords and other criteria. I'm struggling to create a report that would show me what is the percentage of tickets that are assigned automatically via workflows

    • Time Entry Notifications

      Hi All - I have support staff who place notes of their work in the time entry section of Zoho Desk. Is there a specific workflow or setting I need to enable to have the ticket holder updated via email when an entry is saved?

    • How to report 'Response violation' OR 'Resolution violation'

      Hi, I want to report on SLA Violation Type. I grouped my tickets on this column. It seems I only get 'Response and Resolution Violation' or 'Not Violated'. The former seems to be given to a ticket if only the Response Time was violated. I would expect

    • Should I Use DMARC?

      When I configure Zoho Mail's DMARC settings, it's mandatory to fill in the RUA and RUF (Aggregate notification email address*, Forensic notification email address*) addresses. When we enter an email address in these fields, we receive reports from the

    • Power of Automation :: Quick way to associate your Projects with Zoho CRM

      A custom function is a software code that can be used to automate a process and this allows you to automate a notification, call a webhook, or perform logic immediately after a workflow rule is triggered. This feature helps to automate complex tasks and

    • Formula field with IF statement based on picklist field and string output to copy/paste in multi-line field via function

      Hello there, I am working on a formula field based on a 3-item picklist field (i.e. *empty value*, 'Progress payment', 'Letter of credit'). Depending on the picked item, the formula field shall give a specific multi-line string (say 'XXX' in case of 'Progress

    • Unable to retrieve Contact_Name field contents using Web API in javascript function

      Hello, I've added a field in the Purchase Order form to select and associate a Sales Order (Orden_de_venta, lookup field). I've also created a client script to complete some fields from the Sales Order (and the Quote), when the user specifies the related

    • Restricting contact creation

      Hi all! I am looking to use Zoho Desk in a part of the business that takes end user enquiries. These are generally single interactions, and not linked to an account name. As Desk is Account centric, has anyone designed a way to manage these incoming emails

    • Import Holiday Calendars

      HI Zoho Is there anyway of importing an online calendar like https://www.calendarlabs.com into the business hours calendars, to speed up setup of holiday calendars. Also could we also request a feature where you can specify a Holiday as hours, i.e it could be that the company is on a 1/2 day due to a holiday or when it is Eid in the UAE and they are only allowed to work restricted hours so we need the calendar to be flexible to allow for this. Regards Jamie

    • Filtering Tickets based on Email headers

      We're starting to get a lot more junk coming into our Zoho Desk, which is then triggering unnecessary email alerts to agents. Once thing we could do to cut this junk in half, is to filter tickets based on email headers. Any email containing the `List-Unsubscribe`

    • Zoho Books - France

      L’équipe de Zoho France reçoit régulièrement des questions sur la conformité de ses applications de finances (Zoho Books/ Zoho Invoice) pour le marché français. Voici quelques points pour clarifier la question : Zoho Books est un logiciel de comptabilité

    • Feature Request: Conditional Field Mandatoriness Based on Display Status

      Hello Zoho Creator Team, I would like to suggest an enhancement to improve the flexibility of form validations. Currently, when we need a field to be mandatory only if it's displayed on the form, the only option is to: Set the field as not mandatory in

    • Im Stuck in an EDIT ONLY WITH WIZARD issue

      So I found Wizards to be a really helpful tool in minimizing the exposure of redundant, superfluous fields to staff that would never otherwise have to edit those fields. My issue is, that when the record (in this case a lead) is created with a wizard,

    • Data Migration Strategies for Moving to a Cloud Solution

      Hi everyone, I’ve been working on moving some of our critical systems, including CRM and project data, to a Zoho cloud solution, and one of the biggest challenges I’ve encountered is data migration. Transferring large volumes of data while keeping it

    • Bulk Moving Images into Folders in the Library

      I can't seem to select multiple images to move into a folder in order to clean up my image library and organize it. Instead, I have to move each individual image into the folder and sometimes it takes MULTIPLE tries to get it to go in there. Am I missing

    • Error 550 5.4.1

      I’ve tried sending an email to someone but keep receiving this back. Any help would be greatly appreciated 

    • Automatic Matching from Bank Statements / Feeds

      Is it possible to have transactions from a feed or bank statement automatically match when certain criteria are met? My use case, which is pretty broadly applicable, is e-commerce transactions for merchant services accounts (clearing accounts). In these

    • Has Anyone successfully integrated Zoho and Sage Intact?

      Hey all, We’re evaluating Zoho One + Sage Intacct and I’m trying to connect with anyone who has actually implemented the two together.Specifically, I’d love to know: -- Which functions you kept in Zoho vs. Intacct (e.g., Product Catalog, AR/AP, invoicing,

    • Store "Sign in with Google/Microsoft/GitHub etc." details

      Quite often now, users are using a sign-in provider like Google or Microsoft to sign into various apps and services. It would be great if Vault could remember which providers you use for each website and sign you in with that provider instead of a username

    • Placing a condition before converting the LEAD

      Hi,  I need some assistance with Lead conversion. I need to place certain conditions before allowing the user to convert the lead.  For example: up until the certain status's doesn't equal "green" don't allow to convert lead.  I tried creating this using

    • Subform edits don't appear in parent record timeline?

      Is it possible to have subform edits (like add row/delete row) appear in the Timeline for parent records? A user can edit a record, only edit the subform, and it doesn't appear in the timeline. Is there a workaround or way that we can show when a user

    • How can I filter a field integration?

      Hi,  I have a field integration from CRM "Products" in a form, and I have three product Categories in CRM. I only need to see Products of a category. Thanks for you answers.

    • Adding image in HTML report page

      Hi, I want to know two things: 1. Can anyone advise how to add an image in HTML report. The tagged used is <img> but what path do I mention for the image to be added in the HTML report. 2. Also, I want to know if I am creating an application for the market

    • How to change view of HTML report based on device but always print in A4

      Hello everyone, I am aware that HTML report view can be configured to adjust according to the screen size like Laptop, Tablet and mobile using media queries. But my concern is no matter on which device the reports is opened when printed should always

    • Age Calculation

      I've attempted to calculate the age of someone based on their birthday input by using the formula field. It works but I don't want all those decimals on there. I then tried to use "set variable" after birthday input but I get a field type mismatch, long vs. floating. Any ideas would be wonderful.

    • Search on Custom Field

      We're working on an integration with the Zoho FSM API and are trying to retrieve companies based on a custom field we added to the Companies module. However, we can't find a way to filter or query records using custom fields through the API. We have a

    • in zoho creator Sales Returns form has sub form Line Items return quantity when i upate the or enter any values in the sub form that want to reflect in the Sales Order form item deail sub form field Q

      in zoho creator Sales Returns form has sub form Line Items return quantity when i upate the or enter any values in the sub form that want to reflect in the Sales Order form item deail sub form field Quantity Returned\ pls check the recording fetch_salesorder

    • Sendmail function / custom action?

      I've setup a function hoping to email various business departments the details of a record once all work in that record is complete so gone about setting up a custom action in such way that each record line on the report has a button to click. Question is how do I actually include data from that record in the email that is sent when the button is clicked? I had thought that since this were being sent per record the email would include the data which had been entered

    • API to post drafts for social media

      I we want to post draft posts to our zoho social account and then approve and schedule them within Zoho social. is this possible with for example: https://apis.zoho.com/social/v2/post TIA Jon

    • Integración Books para cumplir la ley Crea y Crece y Ley Antifraude (VeriFactu)

      Hola: En principio, en julio de 2025, entra en vigor la ley Crea y Crece y Ley Antifraude (VeriFactu). ¿Sabéis si Zoho va a cumplir con la ley para cumplir con la facturación electrónica conectada a Hacienda? Gracias

    • Canvas View in Zoho Recruit

      Is it possible or would it be possible to have the new 'Canvas View' in Zoho Recruit?

    • What impactful sales coaching techniques have you used to boost your team's performance?

      I'm curious about the real-world impact of sales coaching on team performance. What specific techniques or strategies have you found most effective in driving consistent improvement and growth in your sales team? Any success stories or lessons learned

    • Adding Taxes to paid consultations in Zoho Bookings

      I created a 'paid' consultation under Zoho Booking and integrated it with payment gateways for online/instant payment before a booking is done. How can I add 'taxes' to the price of consultation? I can add taxes to other Zoho apps (liks Books, Checkout,

    • Next Page