Extension Pointers #16: A way to sort through the stack and find a solution that works for you
Throughout the 'Extension Pointers' series, we've seen the features available in Zoho Developer platform that are helpful in building extensions for business needs. In this post, we've listed all of them for your quick reference. This will serve as a guide featuring a map between the need for a desired outcome and an approachable solution to achieve it.
Let's say you're planning to customize your Zoho CRM account by adding new features and functionalities that are unique to your business process. How can you build and deliver the enhancements as an installable component when needed? |
Extensions are applications designed to enhance the features of the existing Zoho products, or to integrate a third-party application with Zoho software for different enterprise needs. If you want to develop additional features to enhance the existing Zoho CRM functionality set, you can do so by building extensions. The scope of each extension lies within the different use cases that are handled during its development.
Sigma is the unified Zoho Developer platform available for developers to build and host extensions for different Zoho applications. Depending on your business needs as a developer, you can choose to create an extension using Sigma that acts as one of the following:
- An extension which adds to the core functionality of a Zoho product
- An integration between a third-party application and a Zoho product
Are you looking to establish connections with third-party applications for seamless data integration with Zoho CRM? Learn the possibilities provided in the platform |
You can integrate with third-party applications using either connectors or the custom variables option depending on the user authentication method supported by the third-party app.
- If the third-party application supports OAuth mode for user authentication, connection can be established via connectors. Learn more about connectors with an example.
- If the third-party application supports the API key for user authentication, connection can be established via custom variables. Learn in detail about custom variables with an example.
A Custom UI helps portraying information in a personalized manner. How can you create a customized UI for your extension? |
The creation of a customized UI can be achieved in the Zoho Developer platform using the Connected App feature. You can build a widget and associate it with your extension as a connected app. The connected app can be embedded either as a custom button, a related list, or a web tab in Zoho CRM, depending on your needs.
Take a look at the Widget posts (Part-1 and Part-2) to understand the steps involved in creating a widget.
Zoho CRM APIs supported in JS SDK helps to interact with third-party applications. Using these APIs, we can invoke connectors and GET APIs accordingly by constructing the required parameters. Refer to the example on how to invoke connector through API while building a widget. Similarly, take a look at building third-party integrations by incorporating Custom variables into widgets.
Say you want to get real-time data updates from a third-party application integrated with your Zoho CRM account and take action based on the updated data collected from the application. What might be useful in this scenario? |
Webhook plays an integral role in connecting two applications. Whenever an event occurs in a source application, a web callback occurs, and the webhook posts the real-time data to the required application. Learn the detailed steps involved in handling real-time updates between Zoho CRM and third-party applications using webhooks.
In addition to fetching and processing real-time data from an application, you may also want to receive real-time notifications that alert you on the occurrence of an event and help you act accordingly in your Zoho CRM account. How can you receive these customized real-time notifications in your Zoho CRM? |
The Signals feature enables an efficient and smooth customer interaction experience through the provision of real-time notifications. This helps you keep track of all your customer interactions from different channels in a single platform. It also supports actionable alerts and allows you to customize notifications for different events.
Check out the post on defining and raising a signal to receive timely notifications for a working example to help your understanding.
Say you want to test the functionality of your extension that you built before you publish it. How can you test your extension locally? |
The platform offers an isolated sandbox environment that allows you to test your extension functionality locally. Once you have finished building the extension, click the Test Your Extension button to test the extension in the sandbox environment. You can make changes and test the extension as many times as you want until you get your functionality right.
Have you finished building the extension to meet your needs? What could be done next to make this available to others? |
You can choose to publish your extension as either a private extension or a public extension.
Private Extension: Extensions built for personal or specific organizational purposes. When you publish a private extension, a hashed URL link is made available, which can be privately shared to the users to install the extension.
Public Extension: Extensions listed in Zoho Marketplace. They are available to all Zoho users for installation and use.
We hope this post has helped you gain a better understanding of the features available in Developer Platform that you can use in various scenarios.Please refer to the links provided for an in-depth study of the concepts with the help of a working example.
Trying to understand more about the Developer Platform's ability to develop extensions, stay tuned and follow this space.
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
Developer
Sticky Posts
Kaizen #197: Frequently Asked Questions on GraphQL APIs
🎊 Nearing 200th Kaizen Post – We want to hear from you! Do you have any questions, suggestions, or topics you would like us to cover in future posts? Your insights and suggestions help us shape future content and make this series better for everyone.Kaizen #198: Using Client Script for Custom Validation in Blueprint
Nearing 200th Kaizen Post – 1 More to the Big Two-Oh-Oh! Do you have any questions, suggestions, or topics you would like us to cover in future posts? Your insights and suggestions help us shape future content and make this series better for everyone.Celebrating 200 posts of Kaizen! Share your ideas for the milestone post
Hello Developers, We launched the Kaizen series in 2019 to share helpful content to support your Zoho CRM development journey. Staying true to its spirit—Kaizen Series: Continuous Improvement for Developer Experience—we've shared everything from FAQsKaizen #193: Creating different fields in Zoho CRM through API
🎊 Nearing 200th Kaizen Post – We want to hear from you! Do you have any questions, suggestions, or topics you would like us to cover in future posts? Your insights and suggestions help us shape future content and make this series better for everyone.Client Script | Update - Introducing Commands in Client Script!
Have you ever wished you could trigger Client Script from contexts other than just the supported pages and events? Have you ever wanted to leverage the advantage of Client Script at your finger tip? Discover the power of Client Script - Commands! Commands
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
Create Project while winning potentials - Projects v3 api updated code
Hi all, I've been using the built in function to create a project while a deal is closed won and noticed it had some missing fields when trying to reference the zoho projects v3 api documentation. Specifically the project group had some issues when adding[Free Webinar] Zoho RPA - OCR, PDF Automation, & More
Hello Everyone! Greetings from the Zoho RPA Training Team! We’re excited to invite you to our upcoming webinar on the latest release updates for Zoho RPA, where we’ll unveil powerful new capabilities designed to make your automation journey smarter, faster,Merge feature parity with writer
Hello Zoho team, I have run into a workflow limitation with Zoho Contracts and the lack of merge feature parity with what Writer can do. We have created a fairly complex merge process to create a statement of work based on several fields in our CRM whichExport option in Contacts is missing
Hello - I've been clicking around Zoho all morning trying to find the export option. It formerly was in the right hand corner, above the search box, but now I don't see it. I've looked everywhere - Am I missing it somehow? I've attached a screenshot.Formatting of cells changing by itself and formulas not always calculating automatically
I'm new to Sheets and have been setting up a budgeting template that has many linked tabs. It's going fairly well except certain quirky things have been happening from time to time. 1- sometimes when I scroll up or down I lose formatting from a randomUnable to open iOS Zoho CRM app
i am unable to open Zoho CRM iOS App in iPhone 14 Pro Max v18.5 and it is crashing immediately after i click to openWhatsapp BOT with CRM
Hello, how do you use Whatsapp integrations in zoho CRM?sync two zoho crm
Hello everyone. Is it possible to sync 2 zoho crm? what would be the easiest way? I am thinking of Flow. I have a Custom Module that I would like to share with my client. We both use zoho crm. Regards.Side-by-Side view on Windows 11
Is there a way to open two notes in a side-by-side view? I'm running Notebook on a Desktop running Windows 11. If this feature doesn't exist, do you have plans for it?Value shows in balance sheet for Goods in Transit
We have transferred goods from one warehouse to another warehouse and accepted the same at another warehouse. Although my balance sheet shows X amount as goods in transit value. I don't understand, how to clear that Can anyone guide us please?Resolution Time Report
From data to decisions: A deep dive into ticketing system reports What are time-based reports? Time-based reports are valuable tools that help us understand how well things are going by breaking down key metrics over specific periods. By tracking, measuring,Ask for a quote to multple vendors
We are able to send a Purchase order, but How can we Send a quote request to our vendor, once the value changes every time? I didn't see any feature like this in Zoho Books/ Inventory. Send this request with the Items that we want to know the cost, toBigin merge field in email template for subject line to match lead name
Hello We Are using email in to automatically create leads in our pipelines. When we want to reply from conversations, and apply an email template, it’s not matching the original subject line. It should be lead name to match. But it’s not working. EvenHow to create auto-link between Invoice and Quote in CRM
It's strange that when you 'convert' a quote into an invoice, it doesn't auto-link the two. How can we develop an auto sync so we don't need to manually link each invoice to their respective quote?Why Are Columns Reset When Deleting Entry
Hello, this is quite annoying. We use forms as a questionnaire for candidates, we filter entries by removing columns, when we delete an entry the columns reset. Every "delete" the columns reset, why!? Thank youPi or Pie? A slice of infinity in customer service
Hey everyone! While Pi Day is on March 14 (3.14), July 22 marks another special occasion: Pi Approximation Day! On this day, we recognize the mathematical constant π (pi ≈ 22/7); a number that's infinite, irrational, and never-ending. Pi is essentialConfiguración
Hola acabo de instalar Zoho CRM y quiero configurarlo correctamente. Al respecto me surgen algunas dudas tales como la diferencia entre: Cuentas, posibles Clientes y Contactos. ¿Conceptualmente que son cada uno? ¿Como se se relacionan entre ellos? SiWhy Can't I add unicode emoji's to my signature?
Why would Zoho Mail prevent me from adding unicode emojis to my email signature? Every time I try to save the signature, Zoho Mail erases the emoji and any nearby content. Every time I setup something with Zoho, I know I'm going to run into some incrediblyGL account associated to each supplier for new bill
Hello I'm facing problem for all items of my bills that are not inventoried. The need is each time I enter new bill and after I select supplier the GL account section is autopopulated with default GL account (that I would like to add in supplier settings)LinkedIn verification link and otp not receiving
For the last 2 to 3 weeks I'm trying to verify my LinkedIn account to access my company's LinkedIn page, Linkedin is sending verification links and codes to this email address but I have not received any codes or links. Please help me here. Looking forwardZoho reply to not working. just reply to my self
Hello. i using on my wordpress website a contact form from Wsform. i can set the reply to email there. normally it works. but since i am using your wordpress plugin zoho mail it doesn`t work. its not using the reply to (email from customer). I just canMail Merge Stuck in Queue
I am trying to send Mail Merge's and it never sends out to the full list. It always hits a portion and the rest remain in the "Queue" - the emails I am sending are time sensitive, so I need this to be resolved or have a way to push the emails throughSMTP Email Sending Not Working for My Domains and Apps
Hello Zoho Support Team, I am experiencing a critical issue with sending emails via Zoho SMTP for my domain humanhup.com. Both of my applications, HumanHup and CheapUI, are unable to send emails using Zoho SMTP, even though the same setup was workingReceiving too many Spam Leads. Why?
I am receiving so many junk leads from web forms created by zoho's platform. The junk queries are increasing day by day and are affecting our business. I am continuously following up with zoho team from the past one year but not getting any satisfactoryWhy is Zoho supporting the Proud Boys?
Hello. This is the only way I can find to contact your company. There is someone in Maine posing as a law enforcement officer, attempting to kidnap immigrants. They are also recruiting for a known hate group. They have an email address hosted by Zoho.com.Composite Item - Associated/Component Items
I am trying to find the Associated Item/Component Item field in the Composite Item Table in Analytics. Has anyone been able to find and utilize this field in Analytics?What is a a valid JavaScript Domain URI when creating a client-based application using the Zoho API console?
No idea what this is. Can't see what it is explained anywhere.🚀 WorkDrive 5.0: Evolving from a file sharing app to an intelligent content management platform: Phase 2
Hello everyone, WorkDrive's primary focus has always been to provide an intelligent and secure content management platform, simplify collaboration, and be the central repository of files for all Zoho apps. In our previous announcement, we unveiled theUse openUrl() to edit a specific record
I am working on a queue app for my organization. I have a master queue that is a report of meetings with workflow buttons to manipulate the records. One of these buttons I would like to open the record and edit for the purpose of changing the queue lookupwhy i cant access my web without the www
please help meSend Whatsapp with API including custom placeholders
Is is possible to initiate a session on whatsapp IM channel with a template that includes params (placeholders) that are passed on the API call? This is very usefull to send a Utility message for a transactional notification including an order numberHelp Centre Articles in Desk, Zia and iframe
Hi, We embed SOP documents into articles from Scribe into using iframe. We are looking at zia indexing articles to present to agents to aid their work. Please advise if zia can view and learn from the content within the iframe?Rich Text/WYSIWYG Input Area
I'd like to have an option on ZoHo creator to create an input text area for HTML/rich text formatting. :)How to create a directory report from one-to-many relationship
Hi all, Newbie here. I'm converting an Access DB to Creator. I've learned Forms are tables and Reports are used to edit table rows, not Forms. I've got the data loaded and can maintain it with the Reports already done. I've done filtering and sorting,Change Default Selection for Lookup field
I have a Lookup field that I have locked, when I unlock it - the user can select the proper Zone but I need it locked, since this may change based on user selection of another field. Example. There are 3 potential zones. User A selects the Hospital AccountRestrict visibility and user permissions Creator 5
I don't understand how restrict visibility for reports interacts with the already established role permissions. It seems that the default on restrict visibility has everything checked for all users, but I cannot set up different levels of permission for different individuals. Right now I have three different ways to manage users and their access and it's confusing because everything has not migrated to Creator 5. Don't the role permissions extend to the reports as well? Are the selections underLMS - Why do Trainers have to be Users?
I'm not sure why the software is set up where trainers must be users (i.e., employees). This should really be changed, as there are many cases (the majority of cases for some companies) where classroom trainers are external or contractors. If this isZOho mail not stopped working with my domain.
i have changed my name server settings in my domain sigmasquaretec.in . After that my emails are not working with ZOHO.Request to Cancel Zoho Mail Subscription
Hello Zoho Team, I have migrated to Google Workspace and would like to cancel my Zoho Mail subscription for my organization. Organization Name: AR Creators Media Admin Email: roman@arcreatorsmedia.com Subscription ID: RPUS2005901960812 Please cancel thezoho smtp limit for free users
What is Zoho SMTP limit for free users?Next Page