Building extensions #8: Improve and enhance user experience with modal boxes
Modal box - What is it and where can you use it?
A modal box is a user interface pop-up window or dialog box that appears over the currently active UI screen. When prompted, the modal box deactivates all other page content until the user closes it. The modal box feature is commonly used to display information based on user input or to engage the user in some activity, such as an attachment picker, where they can proceed only after selecting an attachment.
Support offered in Zoho Projects for modal boxes
Zoho Projects provides support for modal boxes through extension development, which includes methods for opening and closing modal boxes, passing and receiving data to and from modal boxes, and so on. You can view the various methods offered by Zoho Projects to use modal boxes in this document.
In this post, we'll go over an example scenario for using a modal box in depth.
Scenario
A Zoho Desk ticket agent handles issue/feature request tickets in Zoho Projects to work on development-related requests. When the development in Zoho Projects is completed, the Desk agent provides a solution to the customer. In this case, it would be beneficial for the Desk agent to have all open Desk tickets associated with them displayed in a single, dedicated tab within Zoho Projects.
Goal
Improve, enhance, and simplify an agent's work in Zoho Projects by:
➤ Showcasing all open Desk tickets within a single tab.➤ Providing them with ticket-specific details, allowing them to view ticket details and prioritize the Zoho Projects task associated with that ticket accordingly.
Solution
To accomplish this goal, use the modal box feature as part of the widgets concept discussed earlier. A Project tab widget labeled "Desk open tickets" can be created to display all open Desk tickets associated with an agent. When a specific ticket is selected, the agent can access all relevant information about the ticket, such as its status, priority, and so on. This will allow them to prioritize and work on the appropriate task in Zoho Projects that is associated with that ticket.
Now, let's go ahead and see the components that would be required to achieve this use case solution as part of an extension.
Required components
- In order to establish a secure integration between Zoho Projects and Zoho Desk for a seamless data transfer, a connection between Zoho Projects and Zoho Desk has to be established.
- An extension configuration process includes:
- Creating an extension.
- Configuring the plugin manifest.
- Setting up the widget code.
- Display all open Zoho Desk tickets associated with an agent in a tab called "Desk open tickets."
- Incorporate the modal box feature to display ticket-specific details while the agent chooses a ticket from the list of open desk tickets.
We have already explored the steps to establish a connection, create an extension, and configure the plugin-manifest.json file as part of our earlier posts. You can refer to those resources for detailed guidance. In this case, we have already completed most of these steps (screenshots below).
Connection
We have created a connection to establish a secure integration between Zoho Projects and Zoho Desk.
Extension configuration
Extension creation: We have created a new extension for Zoho Projects.
Plugin-manifest.json configuration: Once the extension was created, we configured the plugin-manifest.json file to include the created connection and a widget.
For our extension use case, the plugin-manifest.json file is configured as shown in the below screenshot.
Setting up the widget code
Now that we've set up the other components, let's move on to writing our widget code and incorporating the modal box feature.
Displaying open tickets in "Desk open Tickets" tab code snippet - index.html (find attachment in post)
- In the code snippet, the Zoho Desk API to list all associated tickets is invoked using the Zoho Projects request JS SDK method to get associated desk tickets.
- Certain mandatory parameters must be passed to the Zoho Projects Request Method, such as the third-party URL, data object, and connection. The details for the mentioned parameters in our use case are as follows:
➤ Data object - The data that must be constructed in order to invoke the third-party URL.➤ Connection - The name of the secure connection link created and configured in the plugin-mainfest.json file, as described in the previous section.
- A dropdown list displaying all open and associated desk tickets is created using the Zoho Desk API response.
- The dropdown list value selected by the end-user (i.e. the chosen ticket) is then fetched and stored in a variable called "selected ticket ID."
- Upon clicking Get Ticket Details, a modal box instance is created and opened using the modal.create and instance methods. The selected ticket ID value is emitted using the emit method with the keyword "stored-files" when the modal box is opened.
If you require further details on how the Zoho Projects Request method works, you can refer to our earlier post which explains the working and the required parameters for invoking this method in detail.
Modal box to display the details of the chosen ticket - file.html (find attachment in post)
- In the code snippet, the value emitted using the emit method for the keyword "stored-files" is received by the on method in the modal box UI. Using the received value, a hit is made to the Zoho Desk Get tickets API using the Zoho Projects Request Method again.
- From the ticket-specific details returned as the response of the Zoho Desk Get tickets API, the necessary details are fetched and then displayed to the agent for their reference. These details help them check on the status and prioritize the relevant Zoho Projects task related to that ticket.
Now, that we have completed the setup and have all the extension components ready, let's go ahead and see the output.
Sample output:
- Enter the Zoho Projects portal and select a project.
- Select the Desk open tickets option under the Projects tab. The dropdown menu appears, displaying a list of associated open tickets. Choose the ticket for which you want more details and click on Get Ticket Details.
- The selected ticket details are displayed in the modal box.
In this example, we have used the modal box feature to display some information based on user input. Similarly, a modal box can also be used to engage the user in performing some activity, like an attachment picker, wherein they can proceed further only after choosing an attachment. We hope you found this information useful. Keep following this space for more insights!
Sign up for a Zoho Developer account and start developing extensions for Zoho products using Sigma.SEE ALSO
Access your files securely from anywhere
New to Zoho Recruit?
Zoho Developer Community
New to Zoho LandingPage?
Zoho LandingPage Resources
New to Zoho Survey?
New to Zoho CRM Plus?
Deliver unforgettable customer experiences
New to Zoho CRM Plus?
Deliver unforgettable customer experiences
New to Zoho Marketing Plus?
Everything you need to run your marketing
New to Zoho Marketing Plus?
Everything you need to run your marketing
New to Bigin?
Topic Participants
Nanditha Somasundaram Somasundaram
Sticky Posts
Building extensions #10: Fetch customized user inputs, store them globally at the app level, and access them across entities
This data storage concept enables you to store data related to your extension for both entity properties and extension properties. In our previous piece, we looked at how to store data for entities using entity properties. In this post, we'll look atBuilding extensions #9: Store, retrieve, and access entity-specific data in widgets using data storage
Data storage - Overview Storing data related to the extension you are working on is essential. It can be saved as key-value pairs for an entity or extension, known as entity and extension properties, respectively. Data can be saved for the following entitiesBuilding extensions #7: Create custom widgets for a simplified end-user experience
Discover the benefits of using widgets! We explored the significance of widgets, prerequisites, and the availability of JS SDK methods as part of our previous post. In this post, let's go over a detailed example of using widgets along with certain ZohoBuilding extensions #6: Custom user interfaces with Widgets
Welcome to our post on Widgets for Zoho Projects! In our last post, we explored the significance of the connections feature, showed how to use it, and provided an example use case. In this article, we'll look at the importance of widgets, another featureBuilding extensions #5: Integrating applications with Zoho Projects through Connections
In our last post, we discussed the essential features that a Zoho Projects extension can provide. Starting with this post andin every subsequent post going forward, we'll go through each of those features in depth, one by one, with an example use case.
New to Zoho TeamInbox?
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
Design. Discuss. Deliver.
Zoho Show Resources
Get Started. Write Away!
Writer is a powerful online word processor, designed for collaborative work.
Zoho CRM コンテンツ
-
オンラインヘルプ
-
Webセミナー
-
機能活用動画
-
よくある質問
-
Ebook
-
-
Zoho Campaigns
- Zoho サービスのWebセミナー
その他のサービス コンテンツ
Nederlandse Hulpbronnen
ご検討中の方
Recent Topics
Pricing Strategies: #6 Common Mistakes while Configuring Pricing
"Why does this month's billing feel messy again?" That was the exact line Priya muttered while staring at the spreadsheet full of edited pricing, one-off discounts and mismatched subscription details. Her business was growing, but the pricing machinePublish to LinkedIn via API
Hi, Is it possible to publish a job opening to LinkedIn (paid job slots) if creating a job opening via api / deluge function? Or is the user required to manually publish via the job boards process? Many Thanks AdrianFSM - Associating and selecting Contacts based on Service Addresses
Hi FSM team, I've come across an FSM limitation I wanted to share for improvement. I'm currently configuring FSM for a client who provides heating system install and maintenance services. The are often sub contracted by building management companies to日本語フォントの選択肢拡充についての要望
日本語フォントの選択肢がとても少ないと感じたことはありませんか？ 多くのアプリ（たとえば Invoice）ではフォントが1種類しかなく、正直あまり使いやすい・見た目が良いとも言えません。 そろそろ、もっと多くの日本語フォントを追加してほしい、そしてすべてのアプリで同じフォント選択肢を使えるようにしてほしいと、私たちユーザーが声を上げる時期だと思います。 ご存じのとおり、現状ではアプリごとにフォント周りの仕様にほとんど一貫性がありません。 みなさん、一緒に要望を出していきましょう！Do Unpublished Products in Shopify Sync to Zoho POS?
Will an unpublished product in Shopify sync to Zoho POS? I would like to know how Zoho POS handles products that are in draft/unpublished status in Shopify.Problem in Zoho POS frontend ERP.
We are facing some difficulties in our billing and inventory processes and require your support to resolve them at the earliest. Customer Advance Payments We receive advance payments from customers for upcoming sales. Please guide us on how to recordHow to create estimates/Invoices with sub-totals
Every other accounting package can create estimates and invoices with Sub-totals. How can I do that in ZohoBooks?Categorize Items with Item Headers
Hello customers, Did you ever want to classify items based on specific categories to help your customers understand your invoice better? With the new Item Header feature, you can easily categorize items in your invoices and estimates and give them a common title. Item Headers are available in the Invoices, the Recurring Invoices and the Estimates module. It can be carried forward from estimates to invoices at the time of converting the estimates. To add an item header: Go to the Estimates, InvoicesEmails sent through Bigin are not posting in IMAP Sent folder
I have set up my email to work from within Bigin using IMAP. I am using IMAP so I can sync my email across multiple devices - phone / laptop / desktop / iPad / etc. I want all my emails to populate my email client (outlook & iphone email) whether orAsk the Experts 26: Brighten every customer interaction with Zoho Desk all year long
Hello everyone, Greetings and welcome to Ask the Experts 26. As we wrap up 2025, we are excited to invite you to the 26th episode of our Ask the Expert series. 🎄The Merry Metrics Edition = Best of Zoho Desk [Best Practices + Holiday Automation + Year-EndPainfully Slow Zoho mail
Since yesterday Zoho Mail seems to have starting functioning very slowly and having a few bugs. It's slow to open mails, slow to send, slow to change between email accounts. Sometimes clicking on a particular folder (eg Sent folder) stops working andDiscount on the transaction level in POS
"Is it possible to apply a discount on the total bill before tax in Zoho POS?" I want to apply a discount on the total transaction amount in Zoho POS, but the discount should be calculated before the taxes are applied. Is there an option to do this inZoho DataPrep switching Date Format
When using a pipeline that is importing Zoho Analytics data into Zoho DataPrep, the month and day of date fields are switched for some columns. For example, a Zoho Analytics record of "Nov. 8, 2025" will appear in Zoho DataPrep as "2025/08/11" in "yyyy/MM/dd"Create Tasklist with Tasklist Template using API v3
In the old API, we could mention the parameter 'task_template_id' when creating a tasklist via API to apply a tasklist template: https://www.zoho.com/projects/help/rest-api/tasklists-api.html#create-tasklist In API v3 there does not seem to be a way toSend Automated WhatsApp Messages and Leverage the Improved WhatsApp Templates
Greetings, I hope all of you are doing well. We're excited to announce a major upgrade to Bigin's WhatsApp integration that brings more flexibility, interactivity, and automation to your customer messaging. WhatsApp message automation You can now useJobs at multiple locations
Hi A lot of times we have same job open at multiple locations. So I would like an option where we can create a job and choose multiple locations. Currently we have to create individual jobs for each location. If we can create one job and mention multipleFrom Zoho CRM to Paper : Design & Print Data Directly using Canvas Print View
Hello Everyone, We are excited to announce a new addition to your Canvas in Zoho CRM - Print View. Canvas print view helps you transform your custom CRM layouts into print-ready documents, so you can bring your digital data to the physical world withPassing the CRM
Hi, I am hoping someone can help. I have a zoho form that has a CRM lookup field. I was hoping to send this to my publicly to clients via a text message and the form then attaches the signed form back to the custom module. This work absolutely fine whenTag Adding Option in Kanban Card Customization Bigin CRM Mobile App
I would like to request an option to add and display tags on Kanban cards in the Bigin CRM mobile app. This feature would make it easier to categorize deals and quickly identify priorities while working on the go.Empowered Custom Views: Cross-Module Criteria Now Supported in Zoho CRM
Hello everyone, We’re excited to introduce cross-module criteria support in custom views! Custom views provide personalized perspectives on your data and that you can save for future use. You can share these views with all users or specific individualsWhatsApp Voice Message Sending Option in Bigin CRM
I would like to request a feature that allows users to send WhatsApp voice messages directly from Bigin CRM. This would help improve communication efficiency and make it easier for teams to respond quickly to customer inquiries.CRM: hosting a single html file in Zoho and displaying it as a widget
I have seen that CRM offers the option of uploading a web project to Zoho itself and displaying it as a widget in CRM. The instructions then talk about setting a development environment with Node and developing an application to upload to Zoho. But ISynchronise item image between Zoho Commerce and Zoho Books/Inventory/CRM
Here is a blindingly simple idea to tie several Zoho products together. Zoho - please include a method to synchronise the item image (or images) from one Zoho application to another. For example, if you upload an item image in Zoho Inventory, a user shouldHow to change position button transtition of Blueprint?
Hi Everyone, Look at my screenshoot, it is possible move the reject button to the right? I couldn't find that setting in the blueprint. Thank you.Marketer’s Space - WhatsApp Pricing Update: What Marketers Need to Know and Do
Hello Marketers, Welcome back to Marketer’s Space! WhatsApp made changes to their pricing model on July 1, 2025, moving from conversation-based pricing to a per-message pricing model. This week’s post focuses on what these changes mean for your WhatsAppMulti file upload
Hi, I just wonder if one could upload multiple files in one shot, say between one and three files, without adding multiple File Upload fields? Thanks, AlalbanySorting Descending in a lookup
I have a case number lookup on multiple forms. I need the most recent added to appear at the top of the lookup or as the list of cases grom it's too much to scroll. Is there a way to have a look up sort descending?Importing customer comments and multiple shipto addresses
I am evaluating Zoho Books and have most of my data imported with two exceptions: (1) Import customer comments - in my current system I have several comments of different types, and I need to bring these into Zoho. Preferably Books customer records, butCan we add custom fields to portal community profiles?
How do we add custom fields to our profile pages in our portal community? If we have the ability to add custom fields, will we be able to access those fields via API? We want to use our Desk community in our help portal as our primary community and wouldAuto-upload Creator Files to WorkDrive
Hi everyone, I’m working on a workflow that uploads files from Zoho Creator to specific subfolders in Zoho WorkDrive, as illustrated in the attached diagram. My Creator application form has two multi-file upload fields, and I want—on successful form submission—toAsap Widget 2.0
Where's the documentation for the new ASAP widget? https://www.zoho.com/desk/developers/asap/#introduction this one is outdated How can we dynamically navigate between different views? How can we prefill ticket forms using ASAP 2.0?Update date & time when a cell is edited
Hi All, I am desiring to have a cell update with the current date and time when another cell is edited. Any ideas? Thank youCRM x WorkDrive: File storage for new CRM signups is now powered by WorkDrive
Availability Editions: All DCs: All Release plan: Released for new signups in all DCs. It will be enabled for existing users in a phased manner in the upcoming months. Help documentation: Documents in Zoho CRM Manage folders in Documents tab Manage filesCan the Trigger be changed?
I'm afraid I already know the answer, but here goes... After activating a workflow (under Campaigns > Automations), Then later choosing to Edit the workflow, Can the Workflow's Trigger be changed? Currently the entire Trigger section + options are goneMarketer's Space: Proven tips to improve open rates – I
Hello Marketers! Welcome back to another post in Marketer's Space! In this week's post, we'll discuss the ever-important concept of open rates. This will be a multi-part series, as we have a range of topics to cover. Open rates—which measure the percentageCreating Custom PDF Template from Form
I am trying to create a custom PDF from form submissions. I have the standard subscription and it indicates that PDF forms are included. I cannot find anywhere to create PDF forms. I try to follow the instructions from here: https://help.zoho.com/portal/en/kb/forms/form-settings/pdf-settings/pdf-editor/articles/creating-your-own-pdf-template#Creating_your_template_from_the_scratchImportant Update: Facebook Metrics Deprecation & Impact on Zoho Analytics
Dear Zoho Analytics users, Facebook has deprecated a set of metrics from the Facebook Pages Insights API, effective November 15, 2025. As a result, these changes will affect any reports and dashboards in Zoho Analytics that rely on Facebook Pages data.Quick Copy Column Name
Please add the ability to quickly copy the name of a column in a Table or Query View. When you right-click the column there should be an option to copy the name, or if you left-click the column and use the Ctrl+C keyboard shortcut it should copy theConditional 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,Introducing Zoho MCP for Bigin
Hello Biginners! We're excited to introduce Zoho MCP for Bigin, a completely new way of interacting with Bigin data using AI. With Zoho MCP, you can securely connect your Bigin account with popular AI agents like Claude, Cursor, Windsurf, and VS Code,Next Page