Building Extensions #14: Creating widgets with the JS SDK bundle in Zoho Desk - Hooks API

Building Extensions #14: Creating widgets with the JS SDK bundle in Zoho Desk - Hooks 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.

Hello developers!

In our previous post, we explained the use of the resources API and provided an example of how to use them in a Zoho Desk extension. In this post, we'll continue with the Hooks API.

What is the hooks API? 

The hooks API allows developers to control the flow of UI actions through their extensions on a conditional basis. You'll need to subscribe to the hooks and, based on your requirements, you can allow the event to happen or reject it by passing either boolean values or promises in the event handler.
  • If the boolean value TRUE is passed/if the extension resolves the promise, the event will be executed.
  • If the boolean value FALSE is passed/if the extension rejects the promise, the event will be terminated and the reason for terminating the event will be displayed as an error message to end users.
Extensions with subscriptions to hooks must respond within 30 seconds of the event being triggered. If not, the control provided by the extension will be lost and the event will be executed.

What events are supported by the hooks API ?

Zoho Desk currently supports hooks for the following events:
  • Reopening a ticket
  • Closing a ticket
  • Changing the status of a ticket
  • Changing the assignee of a ticket
  • Adding a ticket comment
  • Editing a ticket comment
  • Sending a ticket reply
  • Closing a ticket on sending ticket reply
  • Updating the agent status in a channel
Click this link to find out more about the events and locations that are supported for every event within Zoho Desk.

Now that we have an understanding of the hooks API, including when and where it can be used, let's look at an example of how it can be used in an extension.

Defining the hooks API 

Below is the structure of the hooks API to be defined in your extension code.

      App.instance.on('name of the hook to be subscribed', function(){    
          //return promise or boolean   
      })

You can subscribe to the required hooks and include your required custom logic. The custom logic should either return TRUE or the promise needs to be resolved to allow the subscribed event to occur; otherwise the event occurrence will be blocked with a relevant message popping up that you provide.

Hooks related to ticket status, ticket comments, and other parameters will return data that can be used within your custom logic.  

Possible scenarios  

Let's create an extension that tracks the activities associated with a ticket in Zoho Desk. The extension monitors the activities (e.g., a call, task, or event) of Zoho Desk tickets and controls the trigger of actions based on the hooks defined.

In this example, we're configuring an extension to subscribe to the Zoho Desk hook defined for the close ticket event. With this extension, when the agent tries to close the ticket, the extension checks whether the activities mapped to the ticket are completed.

If they are completed, the extension will allow the ticket to close in Zoho Desk; otherwise, the close ticket event will not be executed and a relevant error message will be displayed. In addition, we're configuring the hook to consider the activity as completed for both cancelled and no activities as well in the ticket.

Use case implementation

To implement our use case, we'll perform the following steps. The code snippet is added for reference.
  • Obtain the activities associated with the current ticket
  • Obtain the status of the activities
  • Subscribe to the ticket status hook and handle the event handler according to the requirements
  • Subscribe a hook to close the ticket
Sample code
            window.onload = function () {
                        ZOHODESK.extension.onload().then(App=>{
                        var activityStatus;
                        ZOHODESK.get(['ticket.id']).then(function (res) {
                        var result = res.data;
                        ticketID=result["ticket.id"];

//Get the activities associated to the ticket
                       var reqObj= {
             url: 'https://desk.zoho.com/api/v1/tickets/'+ ticketID+'/activities',
             headers: {
                           'Content-Type': 'application/json'},
                           type: 'GET',
                           postBody: {},
                           connectionLinkName: "deskproject"
             }
             ZOHODESK.request( reqObj ).then(function(response){
                        var resultparse = JSON.parse(response);
                        var resultparse2=JSON.parse(resultparse.response).statusMessage;

//From the response obtain the status of the activities
                if(resultparse2!=null){
                   var resultparse3=resultparse2.data;
                   for (let i = 0; i < resultparse3.length; i++) {
                         activityStatus=resultparse3[i].status;                   }
                        }
                  })
            })

//Register a Hook for changing the status of a ticket
            App.instance.on('ticket.status', function (data) {
            return new Promise((resolve, reject) => {
            if ((data["ticket.newStatus"] == "Closed")){
            if((activityStatus=="Completed")||(activityStatus=="Canceled")||(activityStatus==null))
            {
                  return true;
            } else {
                  reject({ msg: "Incomplete Activity" });
                  }
            }
                  })
})

//Register a Hook for ticket close event
            App.instance.on('ticket.close', function () {
            if((activityStatus=="Completed")||(activityStatus=="Canceled")||(activityStatus==null))
            {
                  return true;
            } else {
                  reject({ msg: "Incomplete Activity" });
                  }
            })
                  })
            }

Result:



Here, you can see that the extension doesn't allow you to close the ticket because there is an open activity tagged. This is how the hooks API helps us to configure whether an event should happen or not, based on the hook configured.
 
We hope you found this post to be useful. Stay tuned for more posts in this space! 

See Also

    Access your files securely from anywhere









                          Zoho Developer Community




                                                • Desk Community Learning Series


                                                • Digest


                                                • Functions


                                                • Meetups


                                                • Kbase


                                                • Resources


                                                • Glossary


                                                • Desk Marketplace


                                                • MVP Corner


                                                • Word of the Day


                                                • Ask the Experts





                                                          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

                                                                                            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

                                                                                                          • InvokeURL butchering JSON for OpenAI API calls

                                                                                                            My organization works with mostly educational institutions. We have a custom module called "Schools", which is the user-entered school name they put when using our service (which they enter along with their state and zip code). We want to map this to
                                                                                                          • Custom order for Current Stage (Blueprint field)

                                                                                                            Hi! I suggest adding the option to set a custom order in reports for the Blueprint field ‘Current Stage’. Currently, these fields can only be sorted in ascending or descending order. Thanks!
                                                                                                          • CRM E-mail Sync from Outlook

                                                                                                            We are exploring Zoho as a possible new solution for our company. We are trying to understand further on how e-mail sync works. We use outlook. Our current CRM logs anytime we e-mail a customer so we can see in the CRM the message sent to the customer.
                                                                                                          • Run your help desk on your schedule

                                                                                                            In business, time is of the essence. This is especially true in a function like customer service, where KPIs such as response time and agent availability are the measures of success. Perhaps the most crucial consideration one needs to make about time is your hours of operation. These set expectations for your customer and for employees. To make communicating this information easier, we've revamped the way business hours and holiday lists work in Zoho Desk.   In order to accommodate teams that work
                                                                                                          • The Customer Happiness REST API is broken

                                                                                                            1. We are unable to extract the customerHappiness ( https://desk.zoho.com/DeskAPIDocument#CustomerHappiness#CustomerHappiness_ListallcustomerHappiness) object using the ticketNumber criteria. We keep getting HTTP 429 even when we limit to 60 calls per
                                                                                                          • Automatic Department and Employee Sync Between Zoho One and Zoho People

                                                                                                            Dear Zoho Support, I'm writing to propose a valuable feature request that would streamline data management and improve user experience within the Zoho ecosystem: automatic synchronization between departments and employees in Zoho One and Zoho People.
                                                                                                          • Zoho Expense and Chase Bank Visa credit cards - Direct Feed?

                                                                                                            Our company uses JP Morgan Chase Visa credit cards. We can't be the first to try and use a combination of Zoho Expense + Chase Bank + Visa Credit Cards --- anyone successful with this combination? 1. The direct feed automation isn't working. When I go
                                                                                                          • Impossibile inviare il messaggio;Motivo:554 5.1.8 Indirizzo del mittente bloccato

                                                                                                            " Impossibile inviare il messaggio;Motivo:554 5.1.8 Indirizzo del mittente bloccato" Hi need to send email, how can fix this? Thanks, Alice
                                                                                                          • Image inputed in Zoho Form were displayed to small in exported version

                                                                                                            Good evening, my name is athallah, i am a trainee in government office Right now, i use Zoho form to digitalize an airfield monitoring form. my problem is, the image were to small to displayed in exported version. it really bad for formal presentation
                                                                                                          • API. How do I get responses submitted to the form?

                                                                                                            Hi, I'm trying to retrieve a list of form responses via the API. I've created a Self Client application in API Console. What scoup should I enter? What are the endpoints? Is there documentation on this anywhere? I've wasted a lot of time searching. GPT
                                                                                                          • Question about Zoho CRM Professional plan users

                                                                                                            Hello! I have a question about the Zoho CRM Professional plan. Is the pricing charged per user or per organization? Are there any free users included in this plan, or do I need to pay for each additional user separately? Thank you!
                                                                                                          • Communicating with emojis

                                                                                                            On July 17, we celebrate World Emoji Day! We're a bit late 😐 sharing insights about this day. But we just couldn't let it pass without a mention 😊 because emojis have a meaningful connection with customer service 💬 🤝. We do not want to miss out on
                                                                                                          • Changing the Default Search Criteria for Finding Duplicates

                                                                                                            Hey everyone, is it possible to adjust the default search criteria for finding and merging duplicate records? Right now, CRM uses some (in my opinion nonsensical) fields as search criteria for duplicate records which do nothing except dilute the results.
                                                                                                          • Is it possible to create a word cloud chart in ZoHo Analystics?

                                                                                                            Hi there, I have a volume of transaction text that I would like to analyse using word cloud (or other approcah to detect and present word frequency in a dataset). For example, I have 50,000 records describing menu items in restaurants. I want to be able
                                                                                                          • Help integrating Aircall into Zoho CRM

                                                                                                            Hi all, We are need to get better AirCall integration into Zoho. We have configured in the Aircall dashboard but we have not done the Zoho side. We cannot see Zoho CRM information on incoming calls. And we calls and text's are not being logged. Specifically
                                                                                                          • Shopify Extension no longer working in CRM

                                                                                                            Zoho CRM and Extension are no longer working properly. We have used Shopify Basic for years. All of the sudden it stopped working, then started working again, and now no longer working again. There are several ways for Personal Information to sync from
                                                                                                          • How to keep track of bags, cans, drums of inventory?

                                                                                                            We buy and sell products that are packaged in bags 🛍️, cans🥫, drums🛢️, etc. with batch numbers. When we get a shipment of one of the products, how do we track we received (say) 10 cans each of 5L of a product and maybe we received 10 cans of another
                                                                                                          • Easy third party collaboration: Zoho Flow Integration

                                                                                                            Third-party integrations extend your project functionality with improved workflow, and data processing. With Zoho Flow integration you can include multiple third party actions into your project or task automation. Add Zoho Flow action in Workflow rules
                                                                                                          • Introducing Configure, Price, Quote (CPQ) in Zoho CRM | Public early access 2023

                                                                                                            Greetings Customers! We're excited to announce that the CPQ feature will soon be available in Zoho CRM and accessible to all accounts using the Professional, Enterprise, and Ultimate editions. We've opened this feature to select customers, and it'll be
                                                                                                          • how to edit the converted lead records?

                                                                                                            so I can fetch the converted leads records using API (COQL), using this endpoint https://www.zohoapis.com/crm/v5/coql and using COQL filter Converted__s=true for some reasons I need to change the value from a field in a converted lead record. When I try
                                                                                                          • Share Video Response Card ion Zobot

                                                                                                            I am using the zobot codeless bot builder in SalesIQ. I want to share a video but delay the next response card until after the video has finished playing or has been stopped. Is this possible?
                                                                                                          • Zoho Bookings <> CRM integration

                                                                                                            Hello Zoho community! We are enabling our Zoho Bookings <> CRM integration. What is the workflow if the integration detects that the contact already exists in the CRM? Does it create a duplicate record? Overwrite the record? Merge the record? (in this
                                                                                                          • Cannot reject empty expense report

                                                                                                            Hello, We are currently having issues with two empty expense reports where if we try to reject them, either manually or through the REST API, we get error 114016, which says some of the expenses have already been billed and must be removed. I'd appreciate
                                                                                                          • Use of Zia within Forms

                                                                                                            I have noticed that recently you have added Zia to help create forms from scratch. Would it be possible to add Zia functionality to free text fields for form submissions or if this is already on the roadmap an ETA for this please? We have a lot of field
                                                                                                          • Default in fields on Form B based on the user selection in Form A

                                                                                                            Hi Everyone, I have added an action button to a form report to bring up a new form based on user selection, see it indicated in red below: Then when the ne form loads, I want to default in some of the fields based on the record the user was selected on.
                                                                                                          • Auto-sync field of lookup value

                                                                                                            This feature has been requested many times in the discussion Field of Lookup Announcement and this post aims to track it separately. At the moment the value of a 'field of lookup' is a snapshot but once the parent lookup field is updated the values diverge.
                                                                                                          • Last activity time is acting like last modified time

                                                                                                            When i edit the description or any field in the potential, account, contact and lead, the Last Activity Time is being updated like the Modified Time. This is messing all workflows and reports and we are unable to track real last time of activities like
                                                                                                          • Enhancements to the formula field in Zoho CRM: Auto-refresh formulas with the "Now" function, stop formula executions based on criteria, and include formulas within formulas

                                                                                                            Dear Customers, We hope you're well! By their nature, modern businesses rely every day on computations, whether it's to calculate the price of a product, assess ROI, evaluate the lifetime value of a customer, or even determine the age of a record. With
                                                                                                          • HEX/RGB Color Input in Visual Editor

                                                                                                            Hello Zoho Pagesense Team, We hope you're doing well. We’d like to submit a feature request to improve the color selection options in the Pagesense popup editor. Current Limitation: Currently, to set text colors, users must move the color slider manually.
                                                                                                          • CRM and Campaigns- tags not integrating?

                                                                                                            Hi! I am setting up an automation in zoho campaigns and it says the crm is integrated...but when I want to use a trigger of a certain tag I created for people in the crm to denote those who purchased, it doesnt have that tag available as an option in
                                                                                                          • Maximum limit of rows exceeded

                                                                                                            I am trying to add a row to a spreadsheets that has fewer than 60 rows. I keep getting an error message that says I have exceeded the maximum limit of 65,536 rows. Any ideas out there?
                                                                                                          • Can't change form's original name in URL

                                                                                                            Hi all, I have been duplicating + editing forms for jobs regarding the same department to maintain formatting + styling. The issue I've not run into is because I've duplicated it from an existing form, the URL doesn't seem to want to update with the new
                                                                                                          • Tip #7: 5 formas de mantener tus listas de correo electrónico

                                                                                                            Tips and Tricks #7, adaptado de Susmit Sen ¡Hola, comunidad! Esta semana volvemos con nuestros Tips and Tricks para Zoho Campaigns. En esta ocasión, voy a darte algunos consejos para mantener limpias tus listas de correo electrónico, y empezar el 2021
                                                                                                          • Mail Merge related Lists

                                                                                                            When I try to merge an associated list the fields do not have a checkbox to choose them as it does in the tutorials. Am I missing something? Any ideas would be appreciated.
                                                                                                          • create-a-purchase-receive API issues

                                                                                                            Hello all, I'm trying to use the create a purchase receive inventory API documented here (https://www.zoho.com/inventory/api/v1/purchasereceives/#create-a-purchase-receive) however when I do am getting the following error {"code":9,"message":"The purchase
                                                                                                          • Zoho Pagesense really this slow??? 5s delay...

                                                                                                            I put the pagesense on my website (hosted by webflow and fast) and it caused a 5s delay to load. do other people face similar delays?
                                                                                                          • Heatmap: Missing Content Elements - Zoho Page Sense

                                                                                                            Hi there, I'm trying out Zoho Page Sense to generate heatmaps for my Wix pages. My problem: Some parts of my Wix pages don't show on my heatmap, the heatmap is just empty there. Maybe Wix default lazy loading setting causes this error? Is there a way
                                                                                                          • Marketing Tip #3: Use social proof to build trust

                                                                                                            People trust people. Showcasing reviews, testimonials, or “bestseller” badges on your product pages can nudge hesitant buyers toward purchase. Try this today: Add one customer testimonial or highlight your top-selling product on your homepage. Or, do
                                                                                                          • Writing by Hand in "Write" Notes

                                                                                                            Hi there! I just downloaded this app a few moments ago, and I was wondering if there was a way to write things by hand in "Write" mode instead of just typing in the keyboard. It would make things a bit more efficient for me in this moment. Thanks!
                                                                                                          • Make CAMPAIGNS email look as simple as possible

                                                                                                            Hi there I'm trying to make my Campaigns email look as much like a normal email as possible. I'm a bit stuck with the "justification" of the email email block. Can I LEFT JUSTIFY the "whole email" to make it look "normal"? (Please see screenshot attached)
                                                                                                          • Next Page