Introducing new options for more flexible validation rules in CRM

Introducing new options for more flexible validation rules in CRM

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.

The field verify and save option is not available in:
  • Canvas pages
  • Convert /mass convert pages
  • Stage closed popup (that appears when a deal is closed)
  • Details required popup (that appears when a layout rule is executed for a quick edit in the record detail page), and
  • Field of lookup popup.

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.
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.
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




                                    Zoho Desk Resources

                                    • Desk Community Learning Series


                                    • Digest


                                    • Functions


                                    • Meetups


                                    • Kbase


                                    • Resources


                                    • Glossary


                                    • Desk Marketplace


                                    • MVP Corner


                                    • Word of the Day



                                        Zoho Marketing Automation


                                                Manage your brands on social media



                                                      Zoho TeamInbox Resources

                                                        Zoho DataPrep Resources



                                                          Zoho CRM Plus Resources

                                                            Zoho Books Resources


                                                              Zoho Subscriptions Resources

                                                                Zoho Projects Resources


                                                                  Zoho Sprints Resources


                                                                    Qntrl Resources


                                                                      Zoho Creator Resources



                                                                          Zoho Campaigns 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

                                                                                                  • Automation#25: Move Tickets to Unassigned When the Owner Is Offline

                                                                                                    Hello Everyone, Welcome to this week's Community Series! 'Tis the holiday season—a time when work often takes a brief pause. The holiday spirit is in full swing at Zylker Techfix too, with employees taking some well-deserved time off. During this period,
                                                                                                  • Callback URLs

                                                                                                    I need to connect to an external service through an API that requires me to provide a Callback URL so that a status update can be sent back when the API request has been processed. Is there a way to do this in Creator without having to use a middleware
                                                                                                  • Email signature not being included if user creates ticket / sends email

                                                                                                    When I create a ticket (send email), the signature doesn't appear to be added to the ticket. Can you confirm if this is the case? It would obviously be useful to include the user's signature even when sending a client an email and not only on replie
                                                                                                  • Pulling Specific Products from Sales Orders in Books to a CRM Record

                                                                                                    We currently process orders directly through our website (woocommerce) as well as through manual sales orders in zoho books. When an order comes through the website, all of the individual products from that order show up in the CRM record of that customer.
                                                                                                  • Zoho Notebook window ignores taskbar

                                                                                                    When maximized to full screen, the Zoho Notebook window ignores the presence of the taskbar and overlaps it. What could be the problem? Linux Mint 22 Cinnamon. Zoho Notebook 3.2.0
                                                                                                  • Document images

                                                                                                    We used to be able to rotate the images but this has now been removed ???
                                                                                                  • VENDORS ARE NOT SYNCHED WITH CONTACTS IN CRM

                                                                                                    Hello, While the ACCOUNTS and CONTACTS (Including the primary contact) are synced with the CONTACTS module in CRM, the vendor's CONTACTS are not synced with CRM - which basically forces the users to re-enter all vendor's contacts twice and then update
                                                                                                  • Join ZohoPeers - A New Community Discord Server for Zoho Users!

                                                                                                    Hello Zoho Community, We would like to invite you to join ZohoPeers, a brand new Discord server created to complement the official Zoho community forum. Please note, this server is not meant to replace or detract from the official forum, which remains
                                                                                                  • Involved account types are not applicable when create journals

                                                                                                    { "journal_date": "2016-01-31", "reference_number": "20160131", "notes": "SimplePay Payroll", "line_items": [{ "account_id": "538624000000035003", "description": "Net Pay", "amount": 26690.09, "debit_or_credit": "credit" }, { "account_id": "538624000000000403", "description": "Gross", "amount": 32000, "debit_or_credit": "debit" }, { "account_id": "538624000000000427", "description": "CPP", "amount": 1295.64, "debit_or_credit": "debit" }, { "account_id": "538624000000000376", "description":
                                                                                                  • KB Templates

                                                                                                    * It would be nice if Zoho can provide users an option to create custom templates for KB articles. Also, it would be nice as well if the users can have an option to 1.) select a default template and 2.) declare default tag/tags, for KB articles created through Ticket's resolution.
                                                                                                  • Zoho CRM Reports Module on Mobil App

                                                                                                    I have the mobile app and the reports module doesn't appear in the sidebar for some reason. I saw a Youtube video where the user had the Reports module on mobile. Is there a setting to show it on mobile? Thanks.
                                                                                                  • Contacts Don't Always Populate

                                                                                                    I've noticed that some contacts can easily be added to an email when I type their name. Other times, a contact doesn't appear even though I KNOW it is in my contact list. It is possible the ones I loaded from a spreadsheet are not an issue and the ones
                                                                                                  • Calendar View for Zoho Tickets

                                                                                                    Is there a way to view your tickets with due dates on a calendar view? I can not find a way to merge my Zoho Calendar and Tickets. This would be extremely helpful to my team.
                                                                                                  • Zoho Projects Android app update - List view enhancement

                                                                                                    Hello, everyone! In the latest android version(v3.9.15) of the Zoho Projects app update, we have enhanced the List view of tasks. We have also introduced a complete scroll of the tasks in the list view without scrolling the task fields(status, start date,
                                                                                                  • Print PO receipt

                                                                                                    Hi I would like to print the PO receipt. There does not seem to be any way to do this. I track batch numbers and printing the PO does not show this. Only the receipt would show the details of the receipt. Currently I print the screen which does not have
                                                                                                  • On the US Data Centre rather than the UK but dont know how to migrate it

                                                                                                    We have a new staff member with an external email address and cant add them to Zoho chat - we have been told its becuase we are in the UK but on a US Data centre - we therefore need to change it but no idea how to can anyone else as we are going round
                                                                                                  • Zoho Sheet Custom function column showing Error #EVAL!

                                                                                                    Hello I have a custom function in Zoho Sheet developed to convert a date time from one time zone to another. The custom function takes date and time columns and then using subHour( ) converts the time to PST time. However, though the custom function works,
                                                                                                  • How to add a Data Updated As Of: dynamically in text?

                                                                                                    I need to add a "Data Updated As Of" in the dashboard to show when was the last date the data was updated. I tried to create a widget but it does not look really good, see below. Is there a way I can do this through the text widget and update it automatically
                                                                                                  • Employees can not add some expenses suddenly

                                                                                                    Zoho expense was working fine and whenever there was a new merchant, it would automatically add and also the same auto added in Zoho Books (due to merchant-vendor sync) untill now. From today, it is having problems in searching the existing vendors and
                                                                                                  • Create Your Own Issue Management System

                                                                                                    Effective issue management is a cornerstone of project success. Every bug or issue, no matter how small, needs to be tracked and resolved in time to maintain project momentum. In this post, we’ll explore how an issue management system in Zoho Projects
                                                                                                  • Resource utlisation

                                                                                                    Dear Team, We use the excel for the weekly predicted people utilization how the resource are allocated , is there any way that i can use any of the zoho products.
                                                                                                  • Ask the experts - A live Q & A discussion on Zoho Recruit

                                                                                                    We are delighted to come back with another edition of Ask the Experts community series. This edition, we'll be focusing on everything about Zoho Recruit. The topics will focus on the features that are used/asked by the majority of users and also based
                                                                                                  • Bug - OTP (email) and No Duplicates

                                                                                                    Scenario: Form with an email field, Validation: "No Duplicates" (because I want to ensure 1 entry per email). Embedded form into website (JS option). Enabled email based OTP. 1st test (via my website) - entered my email address - sent OTP - entered pin,
                                                                                                  • Personal Facebook page posting instead of Business Page

                                                                                                    I have a Facebook page that is associated with my Personal Profile and I am the Admin of that Page. I would like to schedule and Post to my Personal Page not the Business Page. Each time I try to connect to the "Page" it takes me to the Business Page. Is there a way of connecting to my personal page?
                                                                                                  • Fixed asset management

                                                                                                    I want to know if there is any individual module for fixed assets management
                                                                                                  • Recording depreciation of fixed assets as a percentage of residual value

                                                                                                    In India, fixed assets are depreciated as a percentage of their residual value at the beginning of each fiscal year. I went through the documentation for creating recurring journal entries, but could only find ways to depreciate by a fixed rupee amount
                                                                                                  • Function #28: Automatically calculate Customer Loyalty points

                                                                                                    Hello everyone, and welcome back to our series! Today, we're excited to share a workflow designed to streamline the management of loyalty points. Many businesses offer incentives or rewards in the form of loyalty points to their customers as a way to
                                                                                                  • Function #6: Calculate Commissions for paid invoices

                                                                                                    Zoho Books helps you automate the process of calculating and recording commissions paid to sales persons using custom functions. We've written a script that computes the commission amount based on the percentage of commission you enter and creates an
                                                                                                  • How to Add Product SKU in Invoice?

                                                                                                    How to Add Product SKU in Invoice?
                                                                                                  • Tracking movement between departments

                                                                                                    I've been developing a reporting system in Zoho and one of the groups I want to develop a report on primarily moves tickets from department to another. Is there a way to set up the reporting on Zoho (or Zoho Reports) that can tell me the number of tickets
                                                                                                  • Zoho CRM Calendar View

                                                                                                    Hello Zoho team, We need desperately a calendar view next to list, kandan and other views. I think it should be easy to implement as you already have the logic from Projects and also from Kanban View in CRM. In calendar view when we set it up - we choose
                                                                                                  • Update Zoho Flow on Sprint Work Item Status Change

                                                                                                    Hello, I've contacted Zoho One support but have been unable to help in a timely manner, so I'm asking the community. I want to start using sprints, but I'm having an issue. I need to post updates to Slack when a Work Item has a status change. My understanding
                                                                                                  • Call transcrition working for ringcentral?

                                                                                                    I don't see anything about what telephony providers can be used. The Zoho support person A said that RingCentral isn't supported. Zoho support person B said that it works, just make sure the call recording link works. Excellent instructions here: Call
                                                                                                  • What is syntax to call creator function (or trigger a creator workflow) from CRM deluge?

                                                                                                    What is syntax to call creator function (or trigger a creator workflow) from CRM deluge?
                                                                                                  • WhatsApp and Zoho Creator Integration

                                                                                                    How we have integrate WhatsApp App with Zoho Creator without using external application ?
                                                                                                  • Improve Creator Calendar Report

                                                                                                    Please can you improve the Creator Calendar Report General There is no way to highlight certain days, for example weekends or public holidays. There is no way to hide certain days, for example weekends. There is no way to modify the day header, it just
                                                                                                  • tax summation function - getting error

                                                                                                    Hello, I'm trying to create a function that adds all of individual tax rates from a few jurisdictions. I'm getting an error on line 9 - Value is empty and 'get' function cannot be applied. I've checked that I have data in each of the required fields,
                                                                                                  • Important updates to Zoho CRM's email deliverability

                                                                                                    Last modified on: Jul 24, 2024 These enhancements are released for all users across all data centers. Modified on: Oct 30, 2023 Organisations that are in the Enterprise and above editions of Zoho CRM, and have not authenticated their email-sending domains
                                                                                                  • Custom modules not showing in developer console

                                                                                                    I'm trying to create a custom summing function for a custom module I made in my CRM. When I go to create the function, my module isnt showing up. Do I need to share the custom moldule with my developer console or something of the like?
                                                                                                  • Chart with Filtered Data vs Unfiltered Data

                                                                                                    I am looking to create a chart view that displays the full data set vs a subset of the data filtered by user filter. However I do not seem to find any method by which to exclude a plot from the applied filter or any other method by which to display the
                                                                                                  • Next Page