Limitation with Dynamic Email Attachment Capture
I've discovered a flaw in how Zoho Creator handles email attachments when using the Email-to-Form feature, and I'm hoping the Zoho team can address this in a future update.
The Issue
According to the official documentation, capturing email attachments requires specific field naming conventions:
- For a single attachment: Create a File Upload field named
ZC_File - For multiple attachments: Create multiple File Upload fields named
ZC_File0,ZC_File1,ZC_File2, etc.
The Problem
This naming convention creates an impossible situation when you need to handle a dynamic/variable number of attachments.
Here's what happens:
| Scenario | Fields Created | Attachments Received | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Setup for single attachment | ZC_File |
1 attachment | ✓ Works perfectly |
| Setup for single attachment | ZC_File |
2+ attachments | ✗ Only captures first attachment |
| Setup for multiple attachments | ZC_File0, ZC_File1 |
2 attachments | ✓ Works perfectly |
| Setup for multiple attachments | ZC_File0, ZC_File1 |
1 attachment | ✗ Captures NOTHING - looks for ZC_File, not ZC_File0 |
The Current Workaround (Suboptimal)
To handle variable attachment quantities, you're forced to create redundant fields:
ZC_File ← Captures single attachments
ZC_File0 ← Captures first of multiple attachments
ZC_File1 ← Captures second of multiple attachments
ZC_File2 ← Captures third of multiple attachments
...and so on
Problems with this approach:
- Creates unnecessary form clutter with duplicate fields
- Confusing for form designers and maintainers
- Poor user experience if these fields are visible
- Requires complex conditional logic if you want to consolidate the attachments later
What Should Happen Instead
Proposed Solution:
The
ZC_File0, ZC_File1 naming convention should be smart enough to handle ANY number of attachments, including just one. If only 1 attachment is received, it should be captured by ZC_File0 automatically, rather than requiring a separate ZC_File field.
Alternatively, use the new field type that allows "multiple file upload" which can dynamically capture 1-to-N attachments without requiring pre-defined field quantities.
Real-World Impact
This limitation affects any automation workflow where:
- Customer support tickets may have 0-5 attachments
- Invoice processing receives 1-3 supporting documents
- Application forms have optional file uploads
- Any scenario where attachment quantity is unpredictable
Request to Zoho Team
Can this be addressed in a future update?
The current implementation forces developers to choose between:
|
1. Reliability Creating redundant fields to handle all cases |
2. Clean design Having fewer fields but risking data loss |
We shouldn't have to make this choice.
Community Input Requested: Has anyone else encountered this issue or found a better workaround?
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