Kaizen #104 - Bulk Write API using PHP SDK (v5) - Part II
Welcome to another exciting week of Kaizen! This week, we will continue our discussion on Bulk Write API. In last week's post, we covered the features of Bulk Write API, and explained in detail the first two steps involved in using Bulk Write API. Today, we'll discuss how to create a bulk write job, fetch the job status, and download the results.
1. Prepare the CSV file
2. Upload your zip file
3. Create a Bulk Write job
After uploading the file and obtaining the file ID, the next step is to create a bulk write job. For this, you will require the file ID, callback URL, and the field API names to perform one of the three operations: insert, update, or upsert. Upon a successful API call, the response will provide a job ID, with which you can check the job status in the next step.
The following are the keys you need to set.
- callback (JSON object, optional) : The CallBack object defines the callback URL and method for receiving notifications or updates about the job's status.
- character_encoding (string, optional) : Specify the encoding to be used for the data being written.
- operation (string, mandatory) : Specify the type of operation to be performed in the bulk write job. Possible values are insert, update and upsert.
- ignore_empty (Boolean, optional) : If you have a few empty fields while updating the record and you want the system to ignore it, input the value as TRUE.
- resource (JSON array, optional): Initiate an object of Resource class that contains the details of the module, file, and field mappings associated with the bulk write job. The resource array contains the file_id, module, find_by, field_mappings and type keys. For more details, refer to our help document here.
Mapping fields in bulk write jobs
To specify which value in the CSV file should be mapped to which field in the CRM module, you can use the field_mappings key in the resource array. This is an optional key, and if you omit it, the system will use the headers of the CSV file to map the fields. When the field_mappings is skipped, the CSV headers must be the field API names and, all the columns of your CSV file will be used for import. In this case, you should remove columns that you do not want to import into your CRM account.
Please note that the CSV headers will be ignored if field_mappings is used while creating the bulk write job.
When to use the field_mappings key?
You should use the field_mappings key if:
- The column headers in your CSV file are different from the field API names in the CRM module.
- You want to ignore certain columns in the CSV file.
- You want to specify a default value for a field in the CRM module.
Rules for using the field_mappings key
- When you map a field by specifying the field_mappings key, it is mandatory to specify either the index or the default_value key, or the system will throw an error.
- The index is the position of the field in the CSV file, starting from 0.
- The default_value key is used when you want to provide a default value for a field. By specifying a default value, you ensure that if a cell in the CSV file is empty, the system will populate it with the default value.
- Use the ignore_empty key when you want the system to skip updating fields that are empty in the source file. Please note that for insert operation, ignore_empty will be set as false by default.
Index | Default Value | Ignore Empty | Empty Cell | Action |
YES | YES/NO | TRUE/FALSE | NO | CSV Value |
YES | YES | TRUE/FALSE | YES | Default Value |
YES | NO | TRUE | YES | No Update |
YES | NO | FALSE | YES | Empty |
| NO | YES | TRUE/FALSE | YES/NO | Default Value |
- If you specify the index and there are no empty cells in the source file, the system will use the values from the CSV file for the corresponding fields. The default_value will be ignored in this case.
- For update and insert operations, when the index is specified and there are a few cells for which the value is empty in the source file, then for the corresponding records with empty value:
- If default_value is specified, the field will be updated with the default_value.
- If default_value is not specified, the system will handle the corresponding fields differently depending on the value of the ignore_empty key.
- The field will be left untouched if ignore_empty is set to TRUE.
- The field will be updated to an empty value if ignore_empty is FALSE.
- When the index is not specified, but a default_value is given, the system will update the corresponding fields in the CRM module with the specified default value.
Bulk Insert with lookup and user lookup data
Here is an example of a simple bulk write job request:
<?php namespace bulkwrite; use com\zoho\crm\api\bulkwrite\BulkWriteOperations; use com\zoho\crm\api\bulkwrite\RequestWrapper; use com\zoho\crm\api\bulkwrite\CallBack; use com\zoho\crm\api\util\Choice; use com\zoho\crm\api\bulkwrite\Resource; use com\zoho\crm\api\bulkwrite\FieldMapping; use com\zoho\crm\api\modules\MinifiedModule; use com\zoho\crm\api\bulkwrite\DefaultValue; require_once "vendor/autoload.php"; class CreateBulkWriteJob { public static function initialize() { // Add init code here. // Refer to this post for more details } public static function createBulkWriteJob(string $moduleAPIName, string $fileId) { $bulkWriteOperations = new BulkWriteOperations(); $requestWrapper = new RequestWrapper(); // Set the callback URL, and method $callback = new CallBack(); $callback->setUrl("add_your_callback_url_here"); $callback->setMethod(new Choice("post")); $requestWrapper->setCallback($callback); $requestWrapper->setCharacterEncoding("UTF-8"); //character encoding $requestWrapper->setOperation(new Choice("insert")); //specify the type of operation // module, file and field mapping details $resourceIns = new Resource(); // To set the type of module that you want to import. The value is data. $resourceIns->setType(new Choice("data")); $module = new MinifiedModule(); $module->setAPIName($moduleAPIName); $resourceIns->setModule($module); $resourceIns->setFileId($fileId); $resourceIns->setIgnoreEmpty(true); $fieldMapping1 = new FieldMapping(); $fieldMapping1->setAPIName("Account_Name"); $fieldMapping1->setIndex(0); $fieldMapping2 = new FieldMapping(); $fieldMapping2->setAPIName("Phone"); $fieldMapping2->setIndex(1); $fieldMapping3 = new FieldMapping(); $fieldMapping3->setAPIName("Parent_Account"); $fieldMapping3->setIndex(2); $fieldMapping3->setFindBy("id"); $fieldMapping4 = new FieldMapping(); $fieldMapping4->setAPIName("Referred_User"); $fieldMapping4->setIndex(3); $fieldMapping4->setFindBy("id"); $defaultValue = new DefaultValue(); $defaultValue->setValue("4876876327565"); $fieldMapping4->setDefaultValue($defaultValue); $resourceIns->setFieldMappings([$fieldMapping1, $fieldMapping2, $fieldMapping3, $fieldMapping4]); $requestWrapper->setResource([$resourceIns]); //Call createBulkWriteJob method that takes RequestWrapper instance as parameter $response = $bulkWriteOperations->createBulkWriteJob($requestWrapper); // Add your code to handle the response received in the $response. } } CreateBulkWriteJob::initialize(); $moduleAPIName = "Accounts"; //The module to which you want to insert the records $fileId = "48768764054001"; // add your file_id received in the response of Upload File CreateBulkWriteJob::createBulkWriteJob($moduleAPIName, $fileId); |
In the above code, Referred_User is a user lookup field, and Parent_Account is a lookup field in the Accounts module. The CSV file contains the unique ID of the corresponding records in the lookup modules.
Here is a sample CSV file used for the above Bulk Insert job. Note that the unique record IDs of the lookup (Parent_Account) and user lookup(Referred_User ) fields. If you choose to schedule the job without using field mappings, ensure that you provide headers for these fields in the format field_api_name.id with the record IDs in the corresponding columns.
Updating or Upserting records by unique key:
During an update operation, the find_by field acts as a unique key that identifies the record to be updated. You can use the unique record id, or any other unique field for this. For example, if the Phone field is a unique field in the Accounts module, specifying setFindBy("Phone") allows updates based on the values present in the Phone field. Similarly, for an upsert operation, if there is no existing record matching the provided Phone number, a new record will be inserted. Conversely, if a matching record is found, it will be updated.
Here is the code snippet for the field_mapping for an update operation using the Phone field as the unique key.
//You can use setFindBy method to update/upsert records based on a unique field $resourceIns->setFindBy("Phone"); //fieldMapping for the unique field $fieldMapping1 = new FieldMapping(); $fieldMapping1->setAPIName("Phone"); $fieldMapping1->setIndex(1); $fieldMapping2 = new FieldMapping(); $fieldMapping2->setAPIName("Description"); $fieldMapping2->setIndex(8); |
Importing Subform Data
The Bulk Write API allows you to import and update records with subforms. To insert or update records with subforms, you must import the parent records first with Bulk Write API. For this bulk write job, $moduleAPIName has to be set with parent module with proper $fieldMapping. Refer to the first sample for more details.
Once you have imported the parent records, get the parent record ids, prepare the CSV file with the subform data, and create a Bulk Write job for the subform module. You can get the parent record ids from the result zip file in Step 5 (Download the result). Refer to our previous post to know how to prepare the CSV file with the Subform data.
Consider a subform named Contact_details in the Accounts module, with the fields Contact_Name, Contact_Email, and Contact_Phone. Here is the code snippet for the field_mapping to import the subform data.
//field_mapping for the Parent_Id $fieldMapping1 = new FieldMapping(); $fieldMapping1->setAPIName("Parent_Id"); $fieldMapping1->setIndex(0); $fieldMapping1->setFindBy("id"); //add proper field_mapping for the subform fields with the subform field API names |
Note that in this case, the $moduleAPIName is the api name of the subform (Contact_details) and the operation type should be insert. The subform data is added to the corresponding record specified by Parent_Id field in the subform CSV.
Multiselect Lookup Fields in Bulk Write API
To upload records with multiselect lookup fields, you can follow the same steps as for subforms. First, import the parent records using a Bulk Write job. Then, import the multiselect lookup field data using another Bulk Write job. For the multiselect lookup field data, the CSV file should contain both the parent record ID and the multiselect lookup field data. Please note that this method does not work for line items.
Consider a multiselect lookup field named Clients in the Accounts module, which is linked to the Contacts module. In your CSV file, ensure that you include both the Parent Record ID and the linked record IDs. For multiselect lookup data, the $moduleAPIName should be the API name of the linked module, and in the field_mappings, the API names used should correspond to the field API names from the lookup module. Check the following sample code for more details.
//field_mapping for module 1 (Contacts) $fieldMapping1 = new FieldMapping(); $fieldMapping1->setAPIName("Client_Account"); //field API name in the linked module $fieldMapping1->setIndex(0); $fieldMapping1->setFindBy("id"); // field_mapping for module 2 (Accounts) $fieldMapping2 = new FieldMapping(); $fieldMapping2->setAPIName("Account"); // field API name in the linked module $fieldMapping2->setIndex(1); $fieldMapping2->setFindBy("id"); |
4. Check job status
The Bulk Write API offers two options for monitoring the status of a job: polling and callback. If you prefer not to poll for job status, you can wait for the system to notify you of job completion by using the provided callback URL in the Create Bulk Write Job request. Alternatively, you can choose to poll the API using the job ID obtained from the previous step to check the status of the scheduled bulk write job. The job status can be one of the following: ADDED, INPROGRESS, or COMPLETED. Only completed jobs will include the download-URL key in the response.
Here is a code snippet to check the job status and get the download URL from the response.
public static function getBulkWriteJobDetails(string $jobId) { $bulkWriteOperations = new BulkWriteOperations(); //Call getBulkWriteJobDetails method that takes jobId as parameter $response = $bulkWriteOperations->getBulkWriteJobDetails($jobId); if ($response != null) { $responseWrapper = $response->getObject(); if ($responseWrapper instanceof BulkWriteResponse) { $result = $responseWrapper->getResult(); if ($result != null) echo ("Bulkwrite DownloadUrl: " . $result->getDownloadUrl() . "\n"); } } } |
5. Download the result
In this step, you can obtain the result of the bulk write job in a ZIP file that includes a CSV file containing the details of the job. Please note that you can get the details of only one bulk write job in a single API call.
To download the result, you need to use the download_url provided in the response. The CSV file will consist of the first three mapped columns from the uploaded file, as well as three additional columns: STATUS, RECORD_ID, and ERRORS.
{ public static function initialize() { // Add init code here. // Refer to this post for more details } public static function downloadBulkWriteResult(string $downloadUrl, string $destinationFolder) { $bulkWriteOperations = new BulkWriteOperations(); $response = $bulkWriteOperations->downloadBulkWriteResult($downloadUrl); // Add your code to handle the response received in the $response. } } DownloadBulkWriteResult::initialize(); $downloadUrl = "paste_your_download_url_here"; $destinationFolder = "/Documents"; DownloadBulkWriteResult::downloadBulkWriteResult( $downloadUrl,$destinationFolder); |
The image shows the result of an Upsert operation. As you can see, few of the records were skipped because the unique field had a duplicate value.
We hope you found this post useful. If you have any further questions, reach out to us at support@zohocrm.com or let us know in the comments section. We are looking forward to hearing from you!
Stay tuned for more useful posts in the series. See you all next week!
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
Anu Abraham
Sticky Posts
Kaizen #217 - Actions APIs : Tasks
Welcome to another week of Kaizen! In last week's post we discussed Email Notifications APIs which act as the link between your Workflow automations and you. We have discussed how Zylker Cloud Services uses Email Notifications API in their custom dashboard.Kaizen #216 - Actions APIs : Email Notifications
Welcome to another week of Kaizen! For the last three weeks, we have been discussing Zylker's workflows. We successfully updated a dormant workflow, built a new one from the ground up and more. But our work is not finished—these automated processes areKaizen #152 - Client Script Support for the new Canvas Record Forms
Hello everyone! Have you ever wanted to trigger actions on click of a canvas button, icon, or text mandatory forms in Create/Edit and Clone Pages? Have you ever wanted to control how elements behave on the new Canvas Record Forms? This can be achievedKaizen #142: How to Navigate to Another Page in Zoho CRM using Client Script
Hello everyone! Welcome back to another exciting Kaizen post. In this post, let us see how you can you navigate to different Pages using Client Script. In this Kaizen post, Need to Navigate to different Pages Client Script ZDKs related to navigation A.Kaizen #210 - Answering your Questions | Event Management System using ZDK CLI
Hello Everyone, Welcome back to yet another post in the Kaizen Series! As you already may know, for the Kaizen #200 milestone, we asked for your feedback and many of you suggested topics for us to discuss. We have been writing on these topics over the
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
How can I prevent the Zoho Vault extension from automatically logging me out?
Hi, I want the Zoho Vault Chrome extension to never log out. How can I do this? It only allows me to log out for 1 week, and the same applies to the Android app.Zoho CRM App - Links
Hi Is there are plan for making Custom Links available in the Zoho CRM Android App? I can't see them being added? Thanks GeneTemplates
Trying to sort out / get rid of unwanted invoice templates, the error msgs are not at all helpful. Surely it's easy to amend the error msg by including a list of the names of the customers / vendors that use it, denying deletion or making it inactiveContacts limit in basic vs standard - what counts? Are customers contacts?
I’ve been using books for a number years for my small business. I only ever work with 20 clients at any given time. I do purchase services from a number of vendors to run my business, so there are some comtacts there too. I used to use the basic package,Finding missing records
I have a challenge and I am not really sure where to start with it. I can't find any similar threads on here, can anyone help: I have two forms, FormA and FormB. Both forms have records that contain a field called Job_Number. What I am trying to achievePrevent Unapproved Quotes from Exporting to Zoho CRM Finance Module
Is it possible to prevent unapproved quotes in Zoho Books from being exported from Zoho Finance module inside Zoho CRM?ZOHO BOOKS - RECEIVING MORE ITEMS THAN ORDERED
Hello, When trying to enter a vendor's bill that contains items with bigger quantity than ordered in the PO (it happens quite often) - The system would not let us save the bill and show this error: "Quantity recorded cannot be more than quantity ordered."Updates for Zoho Campaigns: Merge tag, footer, and autoresponder migration
Hello everyone, We'd like to inform you of some upcoming changes with regard to Zoho Campaigns. We understand that change can be difficult, but we're dedicated to ensuring a smooth transition while keeping you all informed and engaged throughout the process.Process between CRM and Campaigns to ensure double opt-in contacts?
I would like to ask for a few clarifications to ensure we fully comply with best practices and legal requirements: According to the documentation (Zoho Campaigns CRM sync – Default option), the best and recommended way to sync contacts is by using theWhat's New in Zoho Inventory | August – October 2025
Hello customers, The last quarter has been incredibly productive! We've released a powerful slate of new features and enhancements in Zoho Inventory designed to give you better control, greater efficiency, and expanded functionality across your inventorySearch not working!
I have items in my notebook tagged but when I search for a tag nothing comes up! Any fix for this?Let's Talk Recruit: Meet Zia, your all-in-one AI assistant (Part-2)
Welcome back to Let’s Talk Recruit series. In Part 1, we introduced Zia and how AI is reshaping the way recruiters work. This time, we’re taking a closer look at how far Zia has come and how each update continues to simplify your everyday tasks. WhenZoho Developer - Feature Request Platform
Zoho Developer is one of the most underatted platform in zoho ecosystem, however, it may just be what zoho needs to welcome more people to use Zoho Services. The more developers you have creating zoho creator applications and zoho extensions the moreLast/Previous month in relative date filter
In the relative date filter, what is the difference between "Last 2 months" and "Previous 2 months"? So, if we are on 25-July, then is my understanding correct of the following: Last 2 months :=: 25-May~24 July Previous 2 months :=: 01-May~30-June Thanks.Tags get removed from notes on mobile
I don't know why this keeps happening even after all these app updates but if you log out and log back into the app or you reinstall it, all the tags you assigned to your notes get taken off, but if you go on the desktop version the tags are still there.Show Zoom Link in Recipient's Calendar
We set up meetings within a record, selecting the "Make this an online meeting". We use Zoom. Most of the recipients go to their calendar (usually Gmail or Outlook, corporate) to join the Zoom meeting, but there is no Zoom link in the calendar. Can thisHow to fetch custom fields for time entries in Zoho Project API v3
In the previous Zoho Projects REST API, we were able to retrieve custom field details for time entries, including picklist options, using the endpoint: GET /restapi/portal/[PORTAL_ID]/timesheetcustomfields In the new Zoho Projects API v3, we tried usingVAT rates - exempt and out of scope
Good Evening, UK based company here. I am a bit confused in respect of setting up VAT rates for exempt goods and services; at present I am simply leaving the VAT rate blank in the transactions in order to prevent any VAT appearing in the VAT return. WhenZoho is blocking emails I subscribe to from one sender
About 4 months ago I stopped receiving newsletters that I subscribe to from @thedispatch.com. They tell me that zoho's server is blocking them. I've added them to my contacts list, but they're not even reaching my inbox. I don't know how to troubleshootIntroducing Lead Capture: Empower exhibitors to capture leads effortlessly
Events provide a great opportunity for exhibitors to generate awareness and engage with potential customers. Efficiently distributing attendee information to exhibitors through a seamless and secure way is of paramount importance. Introducing Lead CaptureWork Order Creation Issue
Dear Team, I would like to inquire about the daily limit for Work Order creation in Zoho FSM. Yesterday (02/05/2025) at around 6:30 PM GST, I attempted to create a Work Order, but I have been unable to do so since then. Please find the attached imageAccessing shared mailboxes through Trident (Windows)
Hi, I have a created a couple of shared mailboxes. The mailboxes are showing up on the browser based Zoho workplace, but I cannot seem to figure out how to access my shared inboxes through Trident (Windows). Am I missing something or is this feature notURGENT: ChatGPT Extension Failing With “gpt-3 Access Error” (Priority Support)
Appreciate support reviewing this urgently. I am a Priority Support member and need immediate clarification on a recurring issue involving the ChatGPT extensions inside Zoho Desk. Both extensions — including the version created and published by Zoho —Zoho Desk iOS update: Custom buttons, follow/ unfollow option on tickets
Hello everyone! In the most recent Zoho Desk iOS app update, we have brought in support to access the custom buttons configured on web app(desk.zoho.com). Using custom buttons you can seamlessly execute predefined actions directly from their mobile devices,Zoho pdf suit
Pl. design products with following feature: 1. Please add all features given in Ilovepdf website to work on pdf files. It is mandatory to use pdf in court work. 2. Courts have prescribed New Times Roman, pl. add this font as well 3. Indexing, signatureZoho Not Working
Today Zoho not wokringDynamically autofill fields with URL parameters
I have a zoho form embedded in my organization's WP website. Our users find their account with a search tool, and then can select to open this page with the embedded form. The URL of the page holds the parameter that I need, but I cannot figure out howUser Automation: User based workflow rules & webhooks
User management is an undeniable part of project management and requires adequate monitoring. As teams grow and projects multiply, manual coordination for updating users & permissions becomes difficult and can give way to errors. User automation in ZohoIntegrate Projects for Desk KB article release tasks
Could you please look into the possibility of integrating project tasks for Zoho Desk article release processes? We are looking for an internal integration between Zoho Projects and Zoho Desk's KB article drafting, reviewing and releasing tasks. We couldIssue in Annual Leave
We created a policy to credit 21 days at the Start of the Year An employee has taken 16 days of leaves thought the year, so we expect to see 5 Leaves remaining right? But Zoho People is Showing 12 Days of Leave Balance Available If we check the LeaveUse the searchBy parameter to find user by email address
I'm trying to find a user is Zoho Desk via the Api. In the documentation I see that there is the possibility to add a searchBy parameter in the request. But I can't find how the search values should be formatted. I've tried multiple things and get eitherZoho CRM Community Digest - September 2025 | Part 2
Hello Everyone! Mid-September vibes: fresh tips, smart hacks, and practical Zoho CRM updates all in one place. Let’s dive in. Product Updates: The All-New Address Field! The new Address field type makes it easier to capture complete addresses in one structuredZoho Vault API: Create new Secrets
Hello, I attempt to Post Secrets to the vault, since the encrypted entries are almost impossible to decrypt, since there is no documentation on how to decrypt them. Like with the lack of documentation on how to descrypt, there are missing information regarding on how to create new secrets/post secrets. Source: https://www.zoho.com/vault/api/#create-a-new-secret When I try to send JSON Informationen as a POST-Request I only receive the error message: { "operation": { "result": { "error_code": "",CRM and Finance Tab - Add Invoice "Subject " Column
When On a contact in CRM, and you click the Zoho Finace tab, how can I put in the invoice subject line? Or even a custom field for this. We need to see what that invoice is for, without opening it. If we have tons of invoices we need a way to quickCollections Management: #4 Before, During & After Payment Processing
"Mark, I think the payment link isn't working. Can you send it again?" Staring at a message, Mark got on his phone. This was the third time the same customer had asked him that week. A few minutes later, another message came, "Hey, the invoice total seemsAccount name not populating when importing contacts
When importing a csv file to add contacts the account name is blank? Every other filed gets mapped and imported correctly, i.e contact name, phone number. However not the account name which I have mapped to "company" field in my csv fileSuggestion to improve zoho writer
I am using your product, I believe it is very useful, however, i was writing a note and I needed to draw an arrow in different angles to explain a point and I couldn't. it would be helpful, to add draw functions to the zoho writer. thankswebhook basic authentication
II want to use a webhook to send out a SMS. Unfortunately Twilio does not use an authToken but basic authentication. I created the webhook as POST and get this url: https://{username}:{password}@api.twilio.com/2010-04-01/Accounts/{account}/Messages?body=<BODY>&to=+155555555&from=+1555555555Managing functions
Can someone let me know if there are any plans to improve the features for managing functions in CRM? I have lots of functions and finding them is hard. The search only works on the function name and the filter only works on function type. I have createdGood news! Calendar in Zoho CRM gets a face lift
Dear Customers, We are delighted to unveil the revamped calendar UI in Zoho CRM. With a complete visual overhaul aligned with CRM for Everyone, the calendar now offers a more intuitive and flexible scheduling experience. What’s new? Distinguish activitiesNext Page