Building Extensions #11: Creating widgets with the JS SDK bundle in Zoho Desk - Event API

Building Extensions #11: Creating widgets with the JS SDK bundle in Zoho Desk - Event API

This series aims to equip developers with all they need to build extensions for Zoho Desk in Zoho Sigma and publish them in Zoho Marketplace.

In our previous post, we discussed Data Storage APIs, their use in extensions, and how to use them in your Zoho Desk extensions. This post will briefly explain the next set of APIs in the JS SDK bundle, Event APIs, and show when and how to use them within Zoho Desk extensions.

Event APIs 

The extension you're intending to build may require you to perform an action upon the occurrence of a particular event in your Desk portal. In order to trigger that action in Zoho Desk, your extension needs to listen to those event occurrences. The Zoho Desk platform provides Event APIs, which is an SDK method that helps you incorporate custom functionalities in your extension when certain events occur in your Zoho Desk portal. The events can be both ticket- and call-related.
  • Ticket events: You can configure extensions to receive information when an event, such as adding a comment to a ticket or opening a different ticket, occurs on the ticket detail page.
  • Call events: You can configure extensions to receive information when a call-related event occurs in your help desk portal.
There are multiple events available both in ticket events and call events. Whenever a particular event occurs, the parameter (Event API) for that event is used to broadcast information from Zoho Desk. The information from that event can then be processed in your extension using other APIs based on your business needs. Every event can be invoked from multiple locations in Zoho Desk; the details of the locations supported by every event and the parameter to be passed to invoke the events are listed here.

Scenario: Let's say you're using Zoho Desk to handle your technical support queries and Zoho Projects to manage your internal tasks. Here, we'll explain a simple use case where an extension could create a task in Zoho Projects automatically whenever the ticket classification of a ticket is changed in Zoho Desk. In this instance, we'll say you classify a ticket as 'problem' in Zoho Desk and get a task created for that ticket in Zoho Projects automatically. Let's see how the Events API can be used to achieve this simple use case in your extension.
 
When an agent triggers an event change in Zoho Desk, the Event API broadcasts the information about the event's occurrence from that ticket and can be fetched for further processing. To create a task in Zoho Projects, you can use Request API to invoke the Create Task API of the Zoho Projects. If you need additional information from the ticket while creating a task, you can use the Data API to get those details.
 
Below are the steps involved to implement this use case:
  • Create a connection in Zoho Sigma with required scopes
  • Create a task in Zoho Projects using the required JS SDK methods
    • Events API: Listen to the event
    • Data API: Fetch required ticket details for creating a task in Projects
    • Request API: Invoke Create Task API in Projects

Creating a connection 

To build this extension, you must establish a connection between Zoho Desk and Zoho Projects with the required scopes. This will allow you to facilitate communication between these two services by invoking their APIs. Please check the Connectors post to learn more about creating connections. Once the connection is established, perform the following in the plugin-manifest.json file and save the file.
  1. Paste the JSON code copied from Sigma in zohoAuthorization
  2. Provide the Zoho Projects base URL (https://projectsapi.zoho.com) in whiteListedDomains
The plugin-manifest file with the connection and whitelisted domain details:
{
    "locale": ["en"],
    "service": "DESK",
    "storage": false,
    "type": "personal",
    "whiteListedDomains": ["https://projectsapi.zoho.com"],
    "modules": {
        "widgets": [
            {
                "location": "desk.ticket.detail.rightpanel",
                "url": "/app/widget.html",
                "name": "Desk Extension",
                "logo": "/app/img/logo.png",
                "icon": "/app/img/icon.png"
            }
        ]
    },
    "cspDomains": {
        "connect-src": []
    },
    "zohoAuthorisation": {
        "type": "connectors",
        "connectionLinkName": "deskproject",
        "connectionName": "DeskProject",
        "serviceName": "zlabs_integration",
        "userAccess": true,
        "isUserDefinedService": false,
        "sharedBy": "696258884",
        "scope": [
            "Desk.tickets.ALL",
            "ZohoProjects.projects.ALL",
            "ZohoProjects.tasklists.ALL",
            "ZohoProjects.tasks.ALL",
            "ZohoProjects.events.ALL",
            "Desk.basic.ALL",
            "ZohoProjects.tags.ALL",
            "ZohoProjects.status.ALL",
            "ZohoProjects.portals.ALL"
        ]
    },
    "connectors": [],
    "config": [],
    "moduleSupport": false
}

Creating a task in Zoho Projects 

Below are the code snippets of different APIs that are used in this extension. The Event API will get triggered whenever the ticket classification is changed by the agent. You need to fetch the response from the broadcasted message and check the value of the ticket classification. According to our use case, we need to create a task if the classification is "problem," so the Request API is called for the same.
 
App.instance.on("ticket_classification.changed", function (data) {
                        classif = data["ticket.classification"];
                        if (classif == "Problem") {
                            
ZOHODESK.request({url: "https://projectsapi.zoho.com/restapi/portal/" + xxx + "/projects/" + yyy + "/tasks/?name=" + encodeURI(ticketSub) + "&description=" + encodeURI(x) + "&priority=" + ticketPriority,
                                headers: {
                                    "Content-type": "application/json",
                                },
                                type: "POST",
                                data: {},
                                connectionLinkName: "deskproject",
                                postBody: {},
                                contentType: "application/json",
                            })
                                .then(function (response) {
                                    var resultparse = JSON.parse(response);
                                    var resultparse2 = JSON.parse(resultparse.response).statusMessage;
                                    var aaa = JSON.stringify(resultparse2);
                                })
                                .catch(function (err) {
                                    console.log(err);
                                });
                        }
                    });
 
All the required ticket details, including the ticket ID, subject of the ticket, ticket description, and the priority status of the ticket are fetched using the Data APIs and passed to the Zoho Projects API. This information will be filled in within the task that is being created.
 
ZOHODESK.get(["ticket.id", "ticket.subject", "ticket.description", "ticket.priority"])
                        .then(function (res) {
                            var result = res.data;
                            var a = JSON.stringify(result);
                            console.log(a);
                            ticketID = result["ticket.id"];
                            ticketSub = result["ticket.subject"];
                            ticketDesc = result["ticket.description"];
                            ticketPriority = result["ticket.priority"];
                            x = ticketDesc.replace(/<[^>]+>/g, "");
                            ticketNumber = result["ticket.number"];
                        })
                        .catch(function (err) {});
 




In this example (full code given below), we have given you a clear picture on when and how to use the Event APIs in building extensions for Zoho Desk. Though other APIs are used too, the core of this extension is triggering an action on the occurrence of an event, which is done by the Event API.
 


While invoking the Zoho Projects API, you would have noticed that the Create Task API takes two important parameters, namely PortalID and ProjectID. These are specific to users; they are needed to decide for which project the task should be created. You may wonder how this should be handled in your extension development. We have config params to help you in such scenarios.
 
We'll discuss the usage of config params in our following post. Stay tuned !
 

<<Previous                                                                                                                                    Next >>                                                                                       

    Access your files securely from anywhere







                            Zoho Developer Community





                                                  Use cases

                                                  Make the most of Zoho Desk with the use cases.

                                                   
                                                    

                                                  eBooks

                                                  Download free eBooks and access a range of topics to get deeper insight on successfully using Zoho Desk.

                                                   
                                                    

                                                  Videos

                                                  Watch comprehensive videos on features and other important topics that will help you master Zoho Desk.

                                                   
                                                    

                                                  Webinar

                                                  Sign up for our webinars and learn the Zoho Desk basics, from customization to automation and more

                                                   
                                                    
                                                  • Desk Community Learning Series


                                                  • Meetups


                                                  • Ask the Experts


                                                  • Kbase


                                                  • Resources


                                                  • Glossary


                                                  • Desk Marketplace


                                                  • MVP Corner






                                                            Manage your brands on social media



                                                                  Zoho TeamInbox Resources



                                                                      Zoho CRM Plus Resources

                                                                        Zoho Books Resources


                                                                          Zoho Subscriptions Resources

                                                                            Zoho Projects Resources


                                                                              Zoho Sprints Resources


                                                                                Qntrl Resources


                                                                                  Zoho Creator Resources



                                                                                      Zoho CRM Resources

                                                                                      • CRM Community Learning Series

                                                                                        CRM Community Learning Series


                                                                                      • Kaizen

                                                                                        Kaizen

                                                                                      • Functions

                                                                                        Functions

                                                                                      • Meetups

                                                                                        Meetups

                                                                                      • Kbase

                                                                                        Kbase

                                                                                      • Resources

                                                                                        Resources

                                                                                      • Digest

                                                                                        Digest

                                                                                      • CRM Marketplace

                                                                                        CRM Marketplace

                                                                                      • MVP Corner

                                                                                        MVP Corner







                                                                                          Design. Discuss. Deliver.

                                                                                          Create visually engaging stories with Zoho Show.

                                                                                          Get Started Now


                                                                                            Zoho Show Resources


                                                                                              Zoho Writer Writer

                                                                                              Get Started. Write Away!

                                                                                              Writer is a powerful online word processor, designed for collaborative work.

                                                                                                Zoho CRM コンテンツ








                                                                                                  Nederlandse Hulpbronnen


                                                                                                      ご検討中の方




                                                                                                            • Recent Topics

                                                                                                            • How do I get my account id?

                                                                                                              Hello, I followed the instructions to get a list of accounts of the currently authenticated user (which is me, and I am logged in). But when I follow the below instructions I get the following error: ERROR: {"data":{"errorCode":"INVALID_TICKET","moreInfo":"Invalid ticket"},"status":{"code":400,"description":"Invalid Input"}} Instructions that I am following: GET - User account details Purpose The API retrieves the list of accounts of the currently authenticated user.  Request URL  http://mail.zoho.com/api/accounts
                                                                                                            • Why are tasks not showing in Zoho Calendar?

                                                                                                              Hi there, I updated the Zoho calendar preferences for Task records to show on the calendar together with Meetings and Calls - see attached screenshot. Despite of that, Task records still won't show on the calendar. Is there a specific reason why this
                                                                                                            • Zoho Payroll: Product Updates - July 2025

                                                                                                              Over the past month, we've focused on making Zoho Payroll more flexible, compliant, and easier to use—whether you're processing complex payouts, ensuring accurate calculations, or meeting local tax regulations. Here's what's new: One-Time Payments and
                                                                                                            • Discussion for “sub product”, “sub item” or “child products”

                                                                                                              Hello everyone, In some CRM systems, there is the ability to associate products in a hierarchical manner within a quote. For example: Product A: Gold Plan Product B: Setup Product C: Connector Product D: Silver Plan Product B: Setup Product C: Connector
                                                                                                            • Retrieve Accidental Deleted User

                                                                                                              Is there a way to undelete a user who accidentally deleted themselves?
                                                                                                            • Request for Support - CRM Integration Issues

                                                                                                              I’m reaching out to request assistance with the following items: 1. Zoho Forms Integration with Zoho CRM We are currently using Zoho Forms to send the Global Credit Application form to our customers. The intended workflow is for the form submissions to
                                                                                                            • 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
                                                                                                            • Knowledge Base Module

                                                                                                              How to enable the knowledge base module in zoho crm account. I saw this module in one crm account but unable to find it other zoho crm account. can anyone know about this?
                                                                                                            • Zoho sign changed Indexing of signing_order

                                                                                                              Because I missed this Announcement (is there even one?): when you work with the indexes of actions > signing_order. Previous those started with 0 now starts with 1. Changed somewhere between 15.07 and 23.07
                                                                                                            • How to Invoice Based on Timesheet Hours Logged on a Zoho FSM Work Order

                                                                                                              Hi everyone, We’re working on optimizing our invoicing process in Zoho FSM, and we’ve run into a bit of a roadblock. Here’s our goal: We want to invoice based on the actual number of hours logged by our technicians on a job, specifically using the timesheets
                                                                                                            • Zoho CRM Community Digest - June 2025 | Part 2

                                                                                                              Welcome back to the Zoho CRM Community Digest! We’re wrapping up June with more fresh updates, smart discussions, and clever workarounds shared by the community. Product Updates: Struggling to keep track of scattered customer interactions? Zoho CRM's
                                                                                                            • Allow Variable Insertion in Prebuilt "Update Record" Action in Schedules

                                                                                                              Hi Zoho Creator Team, Hope you're doing well. We’d like to submit a feature request based on our experience using Zoho Creator schedules to manage workflows integrated with Zoho Desk. We currently have an app where Zoho Desk tickets create records in
                                                                                                            • Rich Text Field Editor in Form Builder is Too Small and Not Resizable

                                                                                                              Hello, I am experiencing a significant usability issue with the rich text field in the Zoho Forms builder. The editor window for this field is fixed-size and extremely small. It does not adapt to the screen size, which makes it very difficult to manage
                                                                                                            • Publicar Formulário

                                                                                                              Obs. Não consigo publicar meus formulários, pesquisei alguns artigos, mas me deixou perdido, fala de campo sensível, não consigo entender o que significa. Segue Imagem do problema. Todo formulário que faço sempre termina assim sem o botão de publicar..
                                                                                                            • Anyone else unable to login to ZMA this weekend?

                                                                                                              Hey Is anyone else unable to log into Zoho Marketing Automation at all this weekend? I've been trying on multiple devices - despot and mobile - and multiple browser. I've reset browsing data, gone incognito. Nothing - since Friday I've been unable to
                                                                                                            • Custom Action for Subform row

                                                                                                              Dears, As for now, we only have 2 actions for each subform row: Edit and Delete. I would suggest to have custom action here, instead of create a button with Fx field within the subform. For example, I would create Duplicate button, which duplicates the
                                                                                                            • Urgent: Unable to Receive OTP Email for Portal User Registration in Zoho Creator

                                                                                                              I paid to enable the Portal User feature on 2/25, and followed the official instructions (Youtube video: Customer Portals | Zoho Creator) to set up the Portal User using my Gmail account. However, I am not receiving the OTP email and am unable to successfully
                                                                                                            • Sole Trader - Financial Advisor (Appointed Representative) - Paid via Capital Account but no Invoicing...

                                                                                                              Hi. I'm about to venture into a new business after 12 months of intensive learning/exams. A little chuffed if I may say so especially at 52! I really like the look of ZoHo Books for my modest enterprise but I'm in need of some guidance, please. My services
                                                                                                            • Display multiple fields in lookup dropdown

                                                                                                              I have a module called Technicians and a related module called submissions that registers technicians for different assignments. The lookup in Submissions to Technicians is the Technician ID (auto generated unique number). How do I display in the dropdown
                                                                                                            • Integrate with Power BI

                                                                                                              Hi, How to connect Zoho CRM dashboards & reports with POWER BI ?
                                                                                                            • No "Import Users" option in Zoho FSM

                                                                                                              I recently noticed that there is no option to import Users into Zoho FSM, and this has become a serious challenge for us. When migrating data, especially technicians or other user profiles, we often have hundreds of users to bring into the system. Currently,
                                                                                                            • Finding "like" projects

                                                                                                              Hi Everyone! My team is running into several duplicating deals. I've been trying to get them all to name things the same way ex. State is 2 letters not spelled out. Things like that. What I am wondering if there is anything I can do as the superadmin
                                                                                                            • Não consigo localizar o Botão de Publicar Formulário no meu app

                                                                                                              Depois que finalizar meus formulários, não consigo localizar o botão de publicar para concluir meu aplicativo
                                                                                                            • DATEV-Export Erfahrungen?

                                                                                                              Wir würden gern den DATEV-Export in Books nutzen, jedoch ist dieser nicht wirklich nutzbar. Gibt es positive Erfahrungen von Alternativ-Lösungen?
                                                                                                            • Kaizen #191: Implementing "Login with Zoho" using Python SDK

                                                                                                              Welcome back to another week of Kaizen!! This week, we are diving into how to implement secure user authentication using Login with Zoho and integrate it with Zoho CRM through our Python SDK. To ground this in a real-world scenario, we will look at how
                                                                                                            • WhatsApp Business Calling API

                                                                                                              Dear Zoho SalesIQ Team, I would like to request a feature that allows users to call WhatsApp numbers directly via Zoho SalesIQ. This integration would enable sending and receiving calls to and from WhatsApp numbers over the internet, without the need
                                                                                                            • Custom modules not showing in developer console

                                                                                                              I'm trying to create a custom summing function for a custom module I made in my CRM. When I go to create the function, my module isnt showing up. Do I need to share the custom moldule with my developer console or something of the like?
                                                                                                            • Following retainer invoice for partial payment of a sales order

                                                                                                              HI, We issue sales orders when a client buy a product from us. We also issue multiple retainer invoices for partial payment (2 to 4 depending of the client). Team wants to follow payment of these retainer invoices for this Sales Order. If they are paid
                                                                                                            • Zoho CommunitySpacesとzoho CRM連携について

                                                                                                              お世話になっております。 いつもご質問に丁寧に回答いただき大変助かっております。 今、当団体ではZoho CommunitySpacesを利用しており、利用ユーザ一覧をzoho CRMに自動登録(連携)したいと考えております。 そもそも可能なのか、もしあれば具体的な手順や方法はあるのかをご教授いただきたいです。 上記がないのなら、ユーザ一覧のエクスポート方法(メールアドレスと姓を含む)でもよいです。 お手数となりますが、お願いいたします。
                                                                                                            • Zoho Wiki or new Zoho Learn

                                                                                                              We are currently evaluating if we should move off confluence. At present in Confluence we have multiple levels within our documentation but with learn it looks like you can only have Space       - Manual             - Chapter Is it possible to have levels below Chapter? Also the same question for the existing wiki, can I have more sub-levels?
                                                                                                            • New user After moving over from QBO

                                                                                                              New user observations/suggestions. QBO took away a lot of features I was used to with the desktop version. Chaos ensued. Zoho Books has a lot of what I was used to and a bit more. Good deal Some things I have run into and suggest some upgrades. 1: The
                                                                                                            • Sales without an invoice

                                                                                                              Sales without an invoice is not included on the “payments received” report. Also, sales without an invoice is not listed in the transactions under the customer’s profile, also making it easy to do a double entry. Is there a way for me to see my sales
                                                                                                            • Zoho Sign API - Create a document from template.

                                                                                                              1. I would like to create a document from a template and send the document to the customer for signing. Is this possible using the Zoho Sign API? If so, please share the api reference link. 2. Is there sand box for Zoho Sign to test the APIs without using
                                                                                                            • Zoho Sign embedded iframe

                                                                                                              Hello, we are looking for any of these options: a) some iframe that we can paste into our website for every signer, for onpage signing document. b) or get direct link for signers from Zoho sign API which we can redirect manually. Is any of these options
                                                                                                            • Goods in transit

                                                                                                              When creating a purchase order in Zoho Books, how can I properly reflect the inventory as "Goods in Transit" until it reaches its final destination?
                                                                                                            • how to coming soon, holding site, or "under construction"

                                                                                                              Hi! I was wandering if was possible to create a website with the simple sign of "Under construction or coming soon" while i work on the site. if possible, how? Cheers
                                                                                                            • Announcing Agentic AI - Ask Zia!

                                                                                                              We are delighted to roll out the new agentic AI capabilities in Ask Zia, where every stage of the BI workflow is assisted by AI. With a human-in-the-loop approach, Ask Zia ensures that you’re in command of the decision, while AI handles the complexity.
                                                                                                            • Zoho People LMS VS Zoho Connect Manuals VS Zoho Learn

                                                                                                              in the past I came accross Zoho WIKI but did not like the platform because it could use a lot of upgrade. Over the time I have noticed Zoho People come out with a LMS module which allows us to created a shared knowledge for our internal team I also came across Zoho Connect which as a knowledge-based for internal team referred to as Manual Now I am seeing Zoho Learn which is a new and fine-tuned version of Zoho Wiki. All of these platforms are very similar but I am wondering what are the differences
                                                                                                            • Marketing Automation Activities in Zoho CRM

                                                                                                              Hello, I've connected Zoho CRM and Marketing Automation, sent a campaign, but no data are displayed in CRM, neither in "campaigns" section inside contact profile. It is possible to display Marketing Automation activities in CRM? Also in CRM Timelines?
                                                                                                            • How do we get a follow up to Experts 22: Scale up your customer support with integrations & extensibility

                                                                                                              Hi, How do we get a followup and answers to the questions we have asked during 'Experts 22: Scale up your customer support with integrations & extensibility'. I have repsonded to the answers but have no way of following up. Thanks Brett
                                                                                                            • Next Page