Introducing new options for more flexible validation rules in CRM

Introducing new options for more flexible validation rules in CRM

Notes
Editions:  Professional and above
DCs: All
Release plan: We've started rolling out this enhancement to customers. It is being released in a phased manner and will soon be available to all customers in all DCs.

[Update | 26 Sep 2024] This enhancement has been released to all users in all DCs.

Help doc: Working with validation rules

Hello everyone,

You can configure validation rules to alert users of mistakes and prevent incorrect data from being submitted. They are useful in situations like the following:
  • Preventing a form from being saved if the social security number doesn't contain nine characters.
  • Validating an IBAN number against the specified format.

We've added new configuration options to validation rules for increased flexibility. With these options, you can:
  • Quickly validate individual fields
  • Allow the record to be saved with an alert
  • Decide where the error messages will be displayed.
Let's look at them one by one.

Quickly validate individual fields


Fields were previously validated only upon clicking the save button. To validate fields as you filled out a form, you had to:
  • Ensure that the mandatory fields were filled
  • Click the save button to validate a field.
Each click of the save button triggers the execution of all validation rules, displaying error messages throughout the form.

Now, we've added a new option: "Field verify and save". Users may need to quickly validate an important field before they proceed to other fields. In such cases, they can pick Field verify and save for validating those important fields.



Validation will take place when you click the "Verify" button next to the field and when saving the record. This speeds up field verification by allowing you to click a button right next to the filled field and executing only that field's validation rule.

This is available for both validation rules based on criteria and those that use functions.

Notes
[Updated on 23 Jan 2025] The field verify and save option is not available in:

Allow the record to be saved with an alert

Let's say that you have a company policy that prohibits discounts exceeding 15%, and that your sales reps are encouraged to avoid offering discounts over 10%.

The challenge lies in not allowing values above 15% at all, while also permitting values above 10% but reminding sales reps that discounts above 10% are not ideal.

You can manage situations like this by setting the validation preference as:
  • Stop with error (prevents the saving of the record)
  • Allow by alert (allows the saving of the record after getting confirmation from the user)


When you choose to stop with an error, the record will not be saved with the entered value. This feature is beneficial for completely blocking the input of inaccurate data. Before this enhancement, this was the default behavior of all validation rules.



With this enhancement, we've added the allow by alert option to remind users to verify the data before saving it. This enables them to save a record after being reminded of the policy and confirming that they understand it, which is useful when the entered value isn't optimal and you want to ensure the user has not made an error.



You can set this preference independently for each condition in your validation rule.
Notes
This option is available for validation rules using criteria where the validation happens on Save only.

Decide where the error messages will be displayed

Additionally, you can select where error messages will appear for a specific condition in a validation rule.



If a field's value is not related to another field, it's best to display the error near the field itself. This enables users to quickly identify and correct any mistakes. Therefore, you should select the on primary field option for these scenarios. Previously, all error messages were displayed in this manner.



In complex and data-intensive forms, validation errors may occur due to inter-dependencies between the values entered in different fields. In these cases, consolidating these validation errors in one place can help users resolve these issues more efficiently. With this enhancement, you can choose the top of page option in such scenarios.



You can set the error location separately for each condition in your validation rule.
Notes
This option is available for validation rules using criteria where the validation happens on Save only. It will be available in all conditions where the validation preference is Stop with error.

In addition to the above changes, you can now create validation rules for lookup fields as well.

Do share your feedback in the comments section below!

    Access your files securely from anywhere







                            Zoho Developer Community





                                                  Use cases

                                                  Make the most of Zoho Desk with the use cases.

                                                   
                                                    

                                                  eBooks

                                                  Download free eBooks and access a range of topics to get deeper insight on successfully using Zoho Desk.

                                                   
                                                    

                                                  Videos

                                                  Watch comprehensive videos on features and other important topics that will help you master Zoho Desk.

                                                   
                                                    

                                                  Webinar

                                                  Sign up for our webinars and learn the Zoho Desk basics, from customization to automation and more

                                                   
                                                    
                                                  • Desk Community Learning Series


                                                  • Meetups


                                                  • Ask the Experts


                                                  • Kbase


                                                  • Resources


                                                  • Glossary


                                                  • Desk Marketplace


                                                  • MVP Corner






                                                            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 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

                                                                                                            • Multiple organizations under Zoho One

                                                                                                              Hello. I have a long and complicated question. I have a Zoho One account and want to set it up to serve the needs of 6 organizations under the same company. Some of the Zoho One users need to be able to work in more than 1 organization’s CRM and other
                                                                                                            • IMAP Server not responding.

                                                                                                              Trying to connect a phone via IMAP and getting "imap.zoho.com not responding." Is the server down, for maintenance or otherwise? I've tried this on two different devices and got the same error on both.
                                                                                                            • Error AS101 when adding new email alias

                                                                                                              Hi, I am trying to add apple@(mydomain).com The error AS101 is shown while I try to add the alias.
                                                                                                            • Unbundle feature for composite items

                                                                                                              We receive composite items from our vendors and sell them either individually or create other composite items out of them. So, there is a lot of bundling and unbundling involved with our composite items. Previously, this feature was supported in form
                                                                                                            • Regarding the integration of Apollo.io with Zoho crm.

                                                                                                              I have been seeing for the last 3 months that your Apollo.io beta version is available in Zoho Flow, and this application has not gone live yet. We requested this 2 months ago, but you guys said that 'we are working on it,' and when we search on Google
                                                                                                            • Open filtered deals from campaign

                                                                                                              Do you think a feature like this would be feasible? Say you are seeing campaign "XYZ" in CRM. The campaign has a related list of deals. If you want to see the related deals in a deal view, you should navigate to the Deals module, open the campaign filter,
                                                                                                            • How do you print a refund check to customer?

                                                                                                              Maybe this is a dumb question, but how does anyone print a refund check to a customer? We cant find anywhere to either just print a check and pick a customer, or where to do so from a credit note.
                                                                                                            • MTD SA in the UK

                                                                                                              Hello ID 20106048857 The Inland Revenue have confirmed that this tax account is registered as Cash Basis In Settings>Profile I have set ‘Report Basis’ as “Cash" However, I see on Zoho on Settings>Taxes>Income Tax that the ‘Tax Basis’ is marked ‘Accrual'
                                                                                                            • workflow not working in subform

                                                                                                              I have the following code in a subform which works perfectly when i use the form alone but when i use the form as a subform within another main form it does not work. I have read something about using row but i just cant seem to figure out what to change
                                                                                                            • Fetch data from another table into a form field

                                                                                                              I have spent the day trying to work this out so i thought i would use the forum for the first time. I have two forms in the same application and when a user selects a customer name from a drop down field and would like the customer number field in the
                                                                                                            • Zoho Creator as LMS and Membership Solution

                                                                                                              My client is interested in using Zoho One apps to deploy their membership academy offer. Zoho Creator was an option that came up in my research: Here are the components of the program/offer: 1. Membership portal - individual login credentials for each
                                                                                                            • Record comment filter

                                                                                                              Hi - I have a calendar app that we use to track tasks. I have the calendar view set up so that the logged in user only sees the record if they are assigned to the task. BUT there are instances when someone is @ mentioned in the record when they are not
                                                                                                            • How to View Part Inventory and Warehouse Location When Creating a Work Order in Zoho FSM

                                                                                                              Hi everyone, We’re currently setting up Zoho FSM and would like to improve how our team selects parts when creating a Work Order. Right now, when we add a part or item to a Work Order, we can select it from our Zoho Inventory list but we don’t see any
                                                                                                            • FSM too slow today !!

                                                                                                              Anybody else with problem today to loading FSM (WO, AP etc.)?
                                                                                                            • CRM 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 files
                                                                                                            • Not able to Sign In in Zoho OneAuth in Windows 10

                                                                                                              I recently reset my Windows 10 system, after the reset when I downloaded the OAuth app and tried to Sign In It threw an error at me. Error: Token Fetch Error. Message: Object Reference not set to an instance of an object I have attached the screenshot
                                                                                                            • Mapping a custom preferred date field in the estimate with the native field in the workorder

                                                                                                              Hi Zoho, I created a field in the estimate : "Preferred Date 1", to give the ability to my support agent to add a preferred date while viewing the client's estimate. However, in the conversion mapping (Estimate to Workorder), I'm unable to map my custom
                                                                                                            • Runing RPA Agents on Headless Windows 11 Machines

                                                                                                              Has anyone tried this? Anything to be aware of regarding screen resolution?
                                                                                                            • The sending IP (136.143.188.15) is listed on spamrl.com as a source of spam.

                                                                                                              Hi, it just two day when i am using zoho mail for my business domain, today i was sending email and found that message "The sending IP (136.143.188.15) is listed on https://spamrl.com as a source of spam" I hope to know how this will affect the delivery
                                                                                                            • Delegates - Access to approved reports

                                                                                                              We realized that delegates do not have access to reports after they are approved. Many users ask questions of their delegates about past expense reports and the delegates can't see this information. Please allow delegates see all expense report activity,
                                                                                                            • Split functionality - Admins need ability to do this

                                                                                                              Admins should be able to split an expense at any point of the process prior to approval. The split is very helpful for our account coding, but to have to go back to a user and ask them to split an invoice that they simply want paid is a bit of an in
                                                                                                            • 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.
                                                                                                            • Is there a way to request a password?

                                                                                                              We add customers info into the vaults and I wanted to see if we could do some sort of "file request" like how dropbox offers with files. It would be awesome if a customer could go to a link and input a "title, username, password, url" all securely and it then shows up in our team vault or something. Not sure if that is safe, but it's the best I can think of to be semi scalable and obviously better than sending emails. I am open to another idea, just thought this would be a great feature.  Thanks,
                                                                                                            • Single Task Report

                                                                                                              I'd like a report or a way to print to PDF the task detail page. I'd like at least the Task Information section but I'd also like to see the Activity Stream, Status Timeline and Comments. I'd like to export the record and save it as a PDF. I'd like the
                                                                                                            • Auto-response for closed tickets

                                                                                                              Hi, We sometimes have users that (presumably) search their email inbox for the last correspondence with us and just hit reply - even if it's a 6 month old ticket... - this then re-opens the 6 month old ticket because of the ticket number in the email's subject. Yes, it's easy to 'Split as new Ticket', but I'd like something automated to respond to the user saying "this ticket has already been resolved and closed, please submit a new ticket". What's the best way to achieve this? Thanks, Ed
                                                                                                            • How to Push Zoho Desk time logged to Zoho Projects?

                                                                                                              I am on the last leg of my journey of finally automating time tracking, payments, and invoicing for my minutes based contact center company - I just have one final step to solve - I need time logged in zoho desk to add time a project which is associated
                                                                                                            • Cannot access KB within Help Center

                                                                                                              Im working with my boss to customize our knowledge base, but for some reason I can see the KB tab, and see the KB categories, but I cannot access the articles within the KB. We have been troubleshooting for weeks, and we have all permissions set up, customers
                                                                                                            • Export to excel stored amounts as text instead of numbers or accounting

                                                                                                              Good Afternoon, We have a quarterly billing report that we generate from our Requests. It exports to excel. However if we need to add a formula (something as simple as a sum of the column), it doesn't read the dollar amounts because the export stores
                                                                                                            • why my account is private?

                                                                                                              when i post on zohodesk see only agent only
                                                                                                            • Getting ZOHO Invoice certified in Portugal?

                                                                                                              Hello, We are ZOHO partners in Portugal and here, all the invoice software has to be certified by the government and ZOHO Invoice still isn´t certified. Any plans? Btw, we can help on this process, since we have a client that knows how to get the software certified. Thank you.
                                                                                                            • Show/ hide specific field based on user

                                                                                                              Can someone please help me with a client script to achieve the following? I've already tried a couple of different scripts I've found on here (updating to match my details etc...) but none of them seem to work. No errors flagged in the codes, it just
                                                                                                            • 500 Internal Server Error

                                                                                                              I have been trying to create my first app in Creator, but have been getting the 500: Internal Server Error. When I used the Create New Application link, it gave me the error after naming the application. After logging out, and back in, the application that I created was in the list, but when I try to open it to start creating my app, it gives me the 500: Internal Server Error. Please help! Also, I tried making my named app public, but I even get the error when trying to do that.
                                                                                                            • Client Script | Update - Client Script Support For Portals

                                                                                                              Dear All! We are excited to announce the highly anticipated feature: Client Script support for Portals. We understand that many of you have been eagerly awaiting this enhancement, and we are pleased to inform you that this support is now live for all
                                                                                                            • Professional Plan not activated after payment

                                                                                                              I purchased the Professional Plan for 11 users (Subscription ID: RPEU2000980748325) on 12 September 2025, and the payment has been successfully processed. However, even after more than 24 hours, my CRM account still shows “Upgrade” and behaves like a
                                                                                                            • Zoho Books - France

                                                                                                              L’équipe de Zoho France reçoit régulièrement des questions sur la conformité de ses applications de finances (Zoho Books/ Zoho Invoice) pour le marché français. Voici quelques points pour clarifier la question : Zoho Books est un logiciel de comptabilité
                                                                                                            • 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
                                                                                                            • Auto Update Event Field Value on Create/Edit

                                                                                                              Hi there, I know this question has been posted multiple times and I've been trying many of the proposed similar scripts for a while now but nothing seems to work... what might I do wrong? The error I receive is this: Value given for the variable 'meetingId'
                                                                                                            • Pre-orders at Zoho Commerce

                                                                                                              We plan to have regular producs that are avaliable for purchase now and we plan to have products that will be avaliable in 2-4 weeks. How we can take the pre-orders for these products? We need to take the money for the product now, but the delivery will
                                                                                                            • Constant color of a legend value

                                                                                                              It would be nice if we can set a constant color/pattern to a value when creating a chart. We would often use the same value in different graph options and I always have to copy the color that we've set to a certain value from a previous graph to make
                                                                                                            • 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?
                                                                                                            • Next Page