Building extensions #9: Store, retrieve, and access entity-specific data in widgets using data storage

Building 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 entities using entity properties: projects, tasks, issues, and milestones. Similarly, using extension properties, data can be recorded for an app and stored for the extension.

Support and Limitations

The entity properties allow you to store, retrieve, update, and delete data for an entity, while the extension properties allow you to do the same with an extension. Learn more about data storage functions that can be performed using entity and extension properties.

The data stored for an entity using entity property will be retained if the extension is uninstalled. However, when an extension is uninstalled, any data stored using the extension property is lost. You can refer to the limitations of entity properties and limitations of extension properties for additional details.

Scenario

A manufacturing firm uses Zoho CRM to manage its production and sales units, and also uses Zoho Projects for task management. Customers of the firm may raise cases of the"feature request" type to the solution experts for an enhancement or a request for a new feature for the existing products. The solution expert logs these requests as cases in Zoho CRM and begins working on the feature request through a task in Zoho Projects. In this way, the Zoho CRM solution expert who is the task owner in Zoho Projects can handle and manage the development-related activities to provide the feature as a solution to the customer through the Zoho Projects task.

Additionally, multiple customers may request the same feature for a product. In this scenario, it would be easier for the task owner or solution expert to keep track of all their CRM cases related to a feature request in one space, so that whenever a requested feature is completed, this can be communicated with customers of these tracked cases.

What can be done to ease the solution expert/task owner work?

The task owner would benefit from viewing a list of all their open Zoho CRM cases from inside the Zoho Projects task tab. This would allow them to view and associate the cases related to the feature request they are working on from within the task.
Once they have completed the feature enhancement and come up with a solution for the request, they can simply preview all of the Zoho CRM cases related to that feature request from within the task itself and offer an update to the customers.

Goal: Ease user experience by allowing them to view and associate Zoho CRM cases within the task details tab.

Solution

To accomplish this goal, we are going to use data storage along with a few other features in our extension.
  • First, allow the task owner to view case-specific details from the list of CRM cases. For this, we can create a task details tab widget named "CRM Cases". In this widget, we can include a drop-down menu and select a case to access case-specific details. This can be accomplished using the widgets approach explained earlier in this post.
  • Using the data storage concept, store the associated case for the task entity, allowing the task owner to view it as "Associated CRM Cases" alongside the drop-down selection the next time the widget loads. This enables the task owner to associate several cases with the task and view them all in a single widget.                                                              

Required components
  • A connection between Zoho Projects and Zoho CRM needs to be established to establish a secure integration between the products.
  • An extension configuration process includes:
  1. Creating an extension.
  2. Configuring the plugin manifest.
  3. Setting up the widget code.
  • Display all open Zoho CRM cases of the task owner as a drop-down list in a task details widget tab called "CRM Cases", and thereby allow the task owner to choose a case for which they want to view further details.
  • Implement the modal box feature to display case-specific details of the chosen case and also allow the task owner to associate the case to the task through a button in the modal box
  • Store the associated case for the task using the data storage concept (entity.store) in the modal box.
  • Display the associated cases by retrieving (entity.retrieve) it from the stored data and having them displayed as part of the widget along with the drop-down that displays the open cases.
Let's explore these components now.

Connection

We have created a connection to establish a secure integration between Zoho Projects and Zoho CRM. You can refer to this post for detailed guidance on establishing a connection.
                                                                  
                                     

Extension configuration

Extension creation: We have created a new extension for Zoho Projects. Learn more about the steps to create an extension

                                      

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 detailed understanding on configuring the plugin-manifest.json file, refer to our earlier post.
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 data storage and modal box feature.
Displaying CRM cases in "CRM Cases" task tabPlease find the index.html code snippet attached in the post.
  • In the code snippet, the current Zoho Projects user's email is retrieved using the current_user instance of zohoprojects.get JS SDK method and saved in a variable called "currentuseremail".
  • The user's CRM org ID and their CRM cases are then fetched by invoking the Get Organization Details and Get Records APIs, respectively, using the Zoho Projects request JS SDK method. Certain mandatory parameters must be passed to the SDK method to invoke the mentioned CRM APIs, such as the third-party URL, data object, and connection. 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.
  • From the Zoho CRM get records API response, a drop-down list is generated in the widget, with the Zoho Projects task owner's open CRM cases.
  • The end-user can select a value from the drop-down list to view the case-related details. This selected value (the selected case) is then fetched. When the Get Case Details button is clicked, a modal box instance is created and opened using the modal.create and instance methods. When the modal box opens, the selected case ID value is emitted using the emit method and the keyword "stored-files".
  • Using the emitted values, the case details is populated in a modal box, and if the solution expert finds that the case is related to the feature request handled in the Projects task, the case ID is saved using the entity.store method and associated with the current task. (This is addressed in the casedetails.html code in the next section).
  • The associated value stored in the modal box using the entity.store method is then retrieved in the index.html page using the entity.retrieve method. Using the retrieved associated case ID, when the widget loads, the Zoho CRM Get Records API is invoked again. From the response, the unclosed cases and the cases which have the email ID as that of the current Zoho Projects user's email address (fetched earlier and saved in variable currentuseremail) are filtered and displayed as the "Associated CRM cases" in the widget.

Modal box to display the details of the chosen case - Please check casedetails.html code snippet attached in this post
  • In the code snippet, the value emitted from the index.html, 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 CRM Get Records APIs using the Zoho Projects Request Method again.
  • The essential details are retrieved from the case-specific details returned by the Zoho CRM Get Records API and displayed to the task owner for reference. These details allow them to check on the case and associate it with the current Zoho Projects task if it is related to the feature request.
  • If the case is associated, the associated case value ID is saved with the entity.store property.
  • This stored and associated value is then received and retrieved using the entity.retrieve in index.html, from which the Associated CRM cases value are populated in the widget as mentioned earlier. This is addressed in the index.html code in the previous section.
Now that we have completed the setup and have all the extension components ready, let's go ahead and see the output.

Sample output: 

                                     

In this example, we used the data storage for an entity feature to save task-related data and retrieve it when needed. Similarly, we can store data for an app to perform various storage functions such as save, retrieve, update, and delete. 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 Projects using Sigma.


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

                                                                                                              • Introducing Assemblies and Kits in Zoho Inventory

                                                                                                                Hello customers, We’re excited to share a major revamp to Zoho Inventory that brings both clarity and flexibility to your inventory management experience! Presenting Assemblies and Kits We’re thrilled to introduce Assemblies and Kits, which replaces the
                                                                                                              • Automated Dismissal of Specific Notifications and Centralized Control of Toast Notification Settings

                                                                                                                Dear Zoho Team, I hope this message finds you well. We would like to request two enhancements related to notification handling within Zoho Desk: Automatic Dismissal of Specific Notifications: Currently, when certain actions are taken in the ticket list
                                                                                                              • Intergrating multi location Square account with Zoho Books

                                                                                                                Hi, I have one Square account but has multiple locations. I would like to integrate that account and show aggregated sales in zoho books. How can I do that? thanks.
                                                                                                              • Zoho Learn Zapier Integration

                                                                                                                Hello all, Is there any plan to integrate Zoho Learn with Zapier? It seems almost all Zoho products are in Zapier, with the exception of Learn and Marketing Automation.
                                                                                                              • Notice: SalesIQ integration paused on Zoho Sites

                                                                                                                I have this notice on my Zoho Sites in the SalesIQ integration setup. Can someone assist? "This integration has been temporarily paused for users. Reconnecting SalesIQ after disconnection will not be possible until we provide further updates." thank
                                                                                                              • How to remove chat icon from knowledge base?

                                                                                                                I have set up a knowledge base to hold FAQs and documentation. It is currently standalone, and not integrated into our website. On every page there is a chat button in the bottom left corner that says "We're offline, please leave a message." How can I
                                                                                                              • Differences between Zoho Books and Zoho Billing

                                                                                                                Without a long drawn out process to compare these. If you were looking at these Books and Billing, what made you opt for one and not the other. Thanks
                                                                                                              • New Feature : Copying tickets with all the contents such as conversations/history/attachments etc

                                                                                                                Sometimes our customers and distributors do create tickets (or send emails) which contain more than one incident in them and then also some of the further conversations which are either created by incorrect new tickets or replies to old tickets are being created as combined tickets. In such cases we require to "COPY" the contents of the tickets into separate tickets and merge them into their corresponding original tickets. The "CLONE" feature doesn't copy the contents (especially the conversations
                                                                                                              • Como se agregan los empleados

                                                                                                                Necesito saber si para agregar empleados los mismos necesitan tener licencias
                                                                                                              • Deluge Error Code 1002 - "Resource does not exist."

                                                                                                                I am using the following script in a Custom Button on a Sales Return. Basically, the function takes the information in the sales return (plus the arguments that are entered by the user when the button is pushed) and creates a return shipping label via
                                                                                                              • Adding multiple Attendee email addresses when adding a Zoho Calendar event in Zoho Flow

                                                                                                                I am trying to integrate Notion and Zoho Calendar via Zoho Flow. However, the Attendee email address supported by Zoho Calendar - Create event only supports one email address, so I am having difficulty implementing automation to automatically register
                                                                                                              • Deprecation of SMS-based multi-factor authentication (MFA) mode

                                                                                                                Overview of SMS-based OTP MFA mode The SMS-based OTP MFA method involves the delivery of a one-time password to a user's mobile phone via SMS. The user receives the OTP on their mobile phone and enters it to sign into their account. SMS-based OTPs offer
                                                                                                              • Books & Desk. Client mapping

                                                                                                                Hi, I’ve been using Zoho Books for several years and am now looking to improve my customer service. I'm experimenting with Zoho Desk and want to sync and map my client data from Zoho Books. However, it seems that mapping requires both contacts to have
                                                                                                              • Graceful Handling of Exceeded Option Limits

                                                                                                                Hi Zoho SalesIQ team. I would like to submit a feature request to deal with a bug in salesIQ Current Behavior (Bug): When a dynamic list passed to the Single Select Option Card contains more than 20 options, the Zobot stops responding (freezes/hangs)
                                                                                                              • System default SLA descriptions can't be modified

                                                                                                                The system default SLAs have identical descriptions for all SLA levels, but their settings differ. However, I am facing an issue where I cannot modify these descriptions and save the changes. The content of the description box can be edited but the changes
                                                                                                              • Adding non-Indian billing address for my Zoho subscription

                                                                                                                Hey Need help with adding a non-Indian billing address for my Zoho subscription, trying to edit the address to my Singapore registered company. Won't let me change the country. Would appreciate the help. Regards, Rishabh
                                                                                                              • Show field in spreadsheet view depending on other field value

                                                                                                                Hello. Not sure if this is possible but let's say i have spreadsheet view in Creator with four different fields Field A, B, C and D Then i have a field named Response which for one record could contain only one of the pre-definde choices below A, B, C
                                                                                                              • Zoho Desk - Zoho FSM Integration issue on Mobile and iPad

                                                                                                                Hello Team, I am trying to create a Work Order (WO) using the Zoho FSM integration (Add-on Service) that is integrated with Zoho Desk. The issue is that the integration is not working on mobile devices and iPads. While I am able to create the WO, Request,
                                                                                                              • How to create one ZohoCRM organisation out of a multi-organization?

                                                                                                                Hi, we have a multi-org including two different Zoho CRM organizations for two companies using respectively EUR and USD as default currency. I was wondering if there is any easy way to merge the two organizations into just one, so that users may access
                                                                                                              • Increase the "Maximum Saved Entries per User" Options Limit

                                                                                                                Hi, You can create lots of saved entries, yet the Limit when you apply one is 25, we may often expect 32 to be in draft, and therefore want to enforce that, can we increase the limit of this field from 25 to 100 (As you can just turn it off and have more
                                                                                                              • Gray screen while signing documents

                                                                                                                We are all getting a "gray" screen when trying to sign documents in Zoho sign. Anyone else having issues?
                                                                                                              • Reassign Partially Saved Entries

                                                                                                                Hi, I would like to be able to go to Partially Saved Entries and like the option to delete them I would like the option to multi-select and be able to reassign them to another user to complete (Such as when a user has left the company). Thanks Dan
                                                                                                              • Improved Integration Failure Information (And Notification Options)

                                                                                                                Hi, When an attachment service for example fails, you just get "Field x - Error", I can check the field it is failing on and find nothing wrong, same file size, type, dimensions, etc. so more information as to the actual issue would be helpful. And an
                                                                                                              • Set Frozen Cells in the Report Settings

                                                                                                                Hi, It would be nice to be able to set the frozen cells in the report Settings, and have an option if this is fixed or can be changed after loading (On the next load it still goes back to the Settings). Thanks Dan
                                                                                                              • Link Purchase Order to Deal

                                                                                                                Zoho Books directly syncs with contacts, vendors and products in Zoho CRM including field mapping. Is there any way to associate vendor purchase orders with deals, so that we can calculate our profit margin for each deal with connected sales invoices
                                                                                                              • Projects custom colors replaced by default orange

                                                                                                                Since yesterday, projects uploaded to Zoho, to which I had assigned a custom color, have lost the customization and reverted to the default color (orange). Has anyone else had the same problem? If so, how did you resolve it?
                                                                                                              • Interview booked through Invite but no Notifications

                                                                                                                We have a workflow that was developed through a developer/partner that was tested and worked. Today, we pushed a candidate through the process and invited them to an in-office interview. They were sent the booking link (as usual and as tested before successfully)
                                                                                                              • Knowledgebase SEO

                                                                                                                We have a custom-domain mapped help center that is not restricted via login. I have some questions: a) will a robots.txt file still allow us to control indexing? b) do we have the ability to edit the sitemap? c) do category URLs get indexed by search
                                                                                                              • Improve WhatsApp Module in Zoho CRM

                                                                                                                The current WhatsApp module UI in Zoho CRM feels cluttered and complex, especially when handling high volumes of conversations. It would be great to enhance the WhatsApp module UI/UX by adopting a clean and simplified interface similar to Bigin CRM’s
                                                                                                              • Automatiser la gestion des SLA dans Zoho Desk avec Zoho Contracts

                                                                                                                Les équipes du service client s’efforcent d’assurer un support rapide, régulier et fiable pour garantir la satisfaction de chaque client. Les accords de niveau de service (SLA) permettent de clarifier les engagements en définissant les termes et conditions
                                                                                                              • Create static subforms in Zoho CRM: streamline data entry with pre-defined values

                                                                                                                Last modified on (9 July, 2025): This feature was available in early access and is currently being rolled out to customers in phases. Currently available for users in the the AU, CA, and SA DCs. It will be enabled for the remaining DCs in the next couple
                                                                                                              • iOS App doesn't refresh for Document Creation

                                                                                                                Hello Zoho team, I have created a workflow to be used on a mobile iOS device which starts in Zoho Creater and ends with a murge and store function that then opens the newly created document within the Zoho Writer app. This process is working great however
                                                                                                              • Easier onboarding for new users with stage descriptions

                                                                                                                Greetings, I hope all of you are doing well. We're happy to announce a recent enhancement we've made to Bigin. You can now add descriptions to the stages in your pipeline. Previously, when creating a pipeline, you could only add stages. With this update,
                                                                                                              • Dynamic Field Folders in OneDrive

                                                                                                                Hi, With the 2 options today we have either a Dynamic Parent Folder and lots of attachments all in that one folder with only the ability to set the file name (Which is also not incremented so if I upload 5 photos to one field they are all named the same
                                                                                                              • Is it possible to transfer data from one related list to another within the same module ?

                                                                                                                In the Leads module, there is an existing default Product related list that already contains data. Recently, I added a custom multi-lookup field, which created a new related list in the same Leads module. Now, I need to move the existing data from the
                                                                                                              • Uploading a signed template from Sign to Creator

                                                                                                                Good day, Please help me on how to load a signed document back into Creator after the process has been completed in Sign. Below is the code that I am trying, pdfFile = response.toFile("SignedDocument_4901354000000372029.pdf"); info pdfFile; // Attach
                                                                                                              • Consolidated Department-wise Payroll Cost Summary Report

                                                                                                                Hello Zoho Payroll Team and Community, I am writing to discuss a reporting requirement regarding department-level expense tracking within Zoho Payroll. As we scale and manage salary distribution for employees across multiple departments, such as Accounts,
                                                                                                              • Zoho DataPrep and File Pattern configuration

                                                                                                                I'm using Zoho data prep to ingest data from One Drive into Zoho Analytics... The pipeline is super simple but I can't any way to get all the files that I need. Basically I need to bring all the files with a certain pattern and for that I'm using a regex
                                                                                                              • Change User Role in a Form

                                                                                                                Hi, When in a form, it would be good (And consistent) to be able to change the user role/permission like you can with Shared Reports, All Entries or the actual User itself, rather than having to delete the users permission and then add it back again with
                                                                                                              • Assistance needed: Activation of a domain

                                                                                                                Hello Zoho Support, I purchased the .com domain "primesolva.com" via Zoho 6 days ago. The domain is still pending, and I cannot access the DNS panel to add the TXT verification for domain ownership. Please confirm the registration status and help me activate
                                                                                                              • Next Page