Kaizen #125 Manipulating Multi-Select Lookup fields (MxN) using Zoho CRM APIs
Hello everyone!
Welcome back to another week of Kaizen. In last week's post in the Kaizen series, we discussed how subforms work in Zoho CRM and how to manipulate subform data using Zoho CRM APIs.
In this post, we will discuss how to manipulate a multi-select lookup fields using Zoho CRM APIs.
Multi-select lookup field
The Multi-Select Lookup Field enables you to establish a many-to-many relationship between two different modules in CRM. It allows you to associate multiple records with each other, from two different modules.
These associations are stored in an individual module called "Linking Module". Consider there are two modules, Employees and Skills. The Employees module contains details regarding Zylker's workforce, and the Skills module contains details regarding various skills like Social Media Marketing and Content Marketing.
We want to associate multiple skills to an employee. So, a multi-select lookup can be created in the Employees module. When doing so, similar multi-select lookup field will be automatically created in the Skills module, along with the EmpXSkills linking module by Zoho CRM. The underlying data model is described in the below image.
The above chart shows the data model representation when you create a multi-select lookup field in a module. Here, there are two lookup fields—one pointing to the Employees module and the other pointing to the Skills module. In the linking module, two lookup fields (lookup fields with api names - Employees and Skills) will be created. The lookup fields, one pointing to Employees and the other pointing to Skills from the linking module, establish a connection between the linking module and its associated module.
How to associate an employee's skills while creating an Employee record through the Insert Records API
API names you need before invoking the API
- The API name of the multi-select lookup field in the modules you want to insert data.
- API names of the lookup fields in the linking module. Eg: here the API Name of the linking module is "EmpXSkills" and the corresponding lookup field api names are "Employees" & "Skills". You can use the Fields Metadata API for Employees and Skills to get these details.
Step 1
Know the API name of the multi-select lookup field in the module (In our case, Skills is the multi-select lookup field in the Employees module)
To know the API names of the multi-select lookup fields, make a GET - Fields Metadata API call. Among all the Employee's fields, multi-select lookup field can be identified by the json key data_type with the value multiselectlookup. The corresponding connected module can be found from the json connected_module. Below is the API call & response for such a multi-select lookup field.
Request URL : {api-domain}/crm/v6/settings/fields?module=Employees
Request Method: GET
Sample Response:
The above highlighted keys are the details of the Multi select lookup field. The corresponding keys are explained below:
"multiselectlookup": { "display_label": "Skills", //Display label of the MxN field in the Employees module "linking_module": { "api_name": "EmpXSkills", //API name of the linking module "id": "5725767000002166520" ... "lookup_apiname": "Employees", //API name of the Employee lookup field in the linking module "connected_module": { "api_name": "Skills", //API name of the connected module "id": "5725767000002165263" }, "api_name": "Skills_In_Related_List", //API of the related list of the connected module Skills in the Employees module. "connectedfield_apiname": "Employees", //API Name of the multi-select lookup field in the connected module (Skills) "connectedlookup_apiname": "Skills", //API name of the Skills module lookup field in the linking module. "id": "5725767000002166655" //Related List ID }, ... |
Step 2
Using the api_name of the linking module, make a GET Fields metadata API call to get the list of fields (along with their api_name) present in it. It lists all fields of the linking module in the response.
Sample Request and Response
Search for the "data_type": "lookup" in the response. The lookup fields represent the connected modules in association with the linking module.
For example, in our case, the response will have two lookup fields. One of the lookup fields (with api name Employees) points to the Employees module, and the other one (with api name Skills) points to the Skills module.
Step 3
Associate records via the Multi-select lookup field using the Insert Records API
To associate records via the MxN field, you need to know the IDs of the records in the Skills module. Here is the input body to insert the skills in the Employee module with the multi-select lookup field Skills.
Here is the input body to insert a new Employee record and associate a Skills record to it using the MxN field.
Request URL: {{api-domain}}/crm/v6/Employees
Request Method: POST
Sample Input:
{ "data": [ { "Name": "Patricia", "Email": "patricia@mail.com", "Position": "Marketing Specialist", "Year_of_Experience": 5, "Skills": [ //API name of the multi-select lookup field in Employee module { "Skills": { //API Name of the lookup field pointing to the Skills module in the linking module "name": "Marketing", "id": "5725767000002149427" //Record ID in the Skills module } }, { "Skills": { "name": "Social Media Marketing", "id": "5725767000002149476" } } ] } ] } |
How to disassociate an employee & skills relation while updating an Employee record through the Update Records API
Request URL: {{api-domain}}/crm/v6/Employees
Request Method: PUT
Sample Input:
{ "data": [ { "id": "7890710000097291", "Name": "Patricia", "Email": "patricia@mail.com", "Position": "Marketing Specialist", "Year_of_Experience": 5, "Skills": [ { "_delete": null, //This association in the linking module will be deleted "id": "5725767000008126002" //Record created in the linking module } ] } ] } |
Sending _delete:null will cause delinking of the association.
How to associate an employee's skills via "Linking Module"
You can associate the relationship between Employees and Skills module by creating records in the Linking module (EmpXSkills). Use the API names for the corresponding lookup fields, Employee (API Name: Employees) and Skills (API Name: Skills) in the input body.
Request URL: {{api-domain}}/crm/v6/EmpXSkills
Request Method: POST
Sample Response
The id in the above response is the Primary Key ID of an Employee-Skill association record in the linking module. This ID can later be used to do specific operations like association update or deletion via API.
How to disassociate an employee & skills relationship via "Linking Module"
Use the Delete Records API to delete the record which corresponds to the specific relation between Employee and Skills module in the EmpXSkills module. You can get the record ID for the specific association using the Get Records API for the linking module.
Use the Delete Record API to delete the specific record, thereby deleting the specific association between the Employee and Skills record. Please note that only the association is removed, and not the individual records.
Sample Request and Response
When to use create/update operation in Employees/EmpXSkills module?
Use "Employees" module: When you want to create/update records in the Employees module, and associate the record with a Skills record in a single API call.
Use "EmpXSkills" module: When you want to associate/disassociate the relationship between existing Employees and Skills records.
Retrieve data via COQL API and Bulk Read API
There may be situations where you need to fetch records based upon certain conditions.
For example, Zylker's HR team wants to retrieve the list of employees having more than 4 years of experience and are experts in Social media marketing. In this case, they can use Zoho CRM's COQL API or Bulk Read API. Let's see how to achieve this.
Retrieving MxN data via COQL API
We know that both the Employees and Skills modules' association data is maintained in the linking module. In order to retrieve data from the linking module, query using the API name of the lookup fields in the linking module.
Request URL: {{api-domain}}/crm/v6/coql
Request Method: POST
Sample Input:
{ "select_query" : "select Employees.Name as employee_name, Employees.Year_of_Experience as employee_experience, Skills.Name as skill_name from EmpXSkills where Employees.Year_of_Experience > 4 and Skills.Name like '%Social%'" } |
From the SQL perspective, above COQL can be interpreted as
select emp.Name as employee_name, emp.Year_of_Experience as employee_experience, skill.Name as skill_name from EmpXSkills left join Employees as emp on EmpXSkills.Employees = emp.id left join Skills as ski on EmpXSkills.Skills = ski.id where emp.Year_of_Experience > 4 and ski.Name like '%Social%' |
Sample Response
Retrieving MxN data via Bulk Read API
Bulk Read API allows you to fetch a large set of data i.e., you can fetch a maximum of 200,000 records in a single API call.
To export linking module records, use its API name.
Request URL: https://www.zohoapis.com/crm/bulk/v6/read
Request Method: POST
Sample input to export linking module's records:
{ "callback": { "method": "post" }, "query": { "module": { "api_name": "EmpXSkills" //API name of the linking module }, "file_type": "csv" } } |
Export linking module records that meet the specified criteria
To export linking module's records based on the given criteria above (similar to the COQL API).
{ "callback": { "method": "post" }, "query": { "module": { "api_name": "EmpXSkills" }, "fields": [ "Employees.Name", "Employees.Year_of_Experience", "Skills.Name" ], "criteria": { "group": [ { "field": { "api_name": "Employees.Year_of_Experience" }, "comparator": "greater_than", "value": "4" }, { "field": { "api_name": "Skills.Name" }, "comparator": "contains", "value": "Social" } ], "group_operator": "AND" } } } |
As the API is an asynchronous API, the response will not be available instantly; the bulk read job is scheduled, and the status can be checked. Once the job is completed, you will be notified in the callback URL. The records are available in a downloadable CSV file or ICS file (for events). See the Bulk Read API document to know how to view the status of the scheduled job and download the file, along with more sample requests and responses.
We trust that this post meets your needs and is helpful. Let us know your thoughts in the comment section or reach out to us at support@zohocrm.com
Stay tuned for more insights in our upcoming Kaizen posts!
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Previous Kaizen Post : Kaizen #124 - Manipulating Subform using Zoho CRM APIs
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Cheers!
Additional Reading:
Kaizen Posts:
- Kaizen #26 - Linking module and Multi-select Lookup fields
- Kaizen #77 - Multi-select Lookup Fields in API V4
- Kaizen #80 - COQL API - Part I
- Kaizen #81 - COQL API - Part II
API Documentation - Linking Module APIs
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
Subramanian K
Andres
Haiku Technical Support
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
Read webpage - MSXML2.ServerXMLHTTP
I have the following VBA script, put together from various sources (mainly zoho forum/help/support, so it once worked, I guess): private Sub GetListOfSheets() Dim url As String Dim xmlhttp As Object Dim parameters As String Dim html As String range("B1").valueAutomated log-out/session end
I'm concerned about security of our data. Is it possible to set an automatic time-out for user sessions on Zoho CRM, after a certain period of inactivity or when the session reaches a certain duration (12 hours perhaps)?Sales Receipts Duplicating when I run reports why and how do we rectify this and any other report if this happens
find attached extract of my reportBoosting efficiency through faster ticket rendering
This enhancement will provide faster access for support teams and end-users, significantly boosting productivity for everyone. Get ready for a more efficient and satisfying experience! Immediate benefits Faster ticket rendering reduces wait times andSubform auto populate values
Hi Team, I’m trying to retrieve values from Zoho People using API functions and dynamically populate them into a subform. For example, I’ve created a form with several fields that users will fill out. Based on their input, I need to fetch records fromCan I execute two 'functions' when completing a mail merge from CRM?
Hi, I have set up a mail merge from CRM Deals to a template. I want a copy of this to be saved in Workdrive, and then a copy also saved back into the deal record from which the merge occurred. I can do both independent of each other, and managed to getAssign multiple departments to multiple helpcenters
Hi there! I have a reseller company for a software and I'm using Zoho Desk as my helpcenter and ticket management system. The software is great and I would like to make a suggestion! With multi-branding activated, your departments that visible in helpNo Functional Autosave or Manual Save Button
Application : Zoho Notebook So I wanted to try Zoho Notebook(On Ubuntu) as an application, I installed the application and went solving my LeetCode problems visually(Drawing mode), at one point the app just stopped saving anything... Every time I triedEnterprise subscription support
My organization sells subscription services to enterprise customers, which is a different model from the consumer subscription model that Zoho Billing has been designed to support and I beleve this capability should be added. An enterprise subscriptionIssue with Creator's IF logic
Hi, I found the following code produces unexpected results: if(-1.0 < 0.0000000) { info "True"; } else { info "False"; } if(-1.0 < 0.000000) { info "True"; } else { info "False"; } The output returned is: False True However, theEmbed CRM record images in email templates
I have email templates that I want to embed dynamic images in their body - not as an attachment. For the context, the image is a QR code individual to each contact. So there are couple of challenges for which I think there is no solution in CRM: 1/ INeed option to send Package PDF in shipment email (Shipment PDF is missing Lot info)
Is there any way to automatically attach the Package PDF instead of (or alongside) the Shipment PDF in the notification emails? We really need this feature because the default Shipment PDF creates a blind spot for our customers. It does not display Batch/Lotzoho creator view is not present in the workspace and blank reports
Hi Support, Users who have "write" permissions keep getting this error for all of our embedded reports all of a sudden. See screen shot below: Meanwhile, my developer permissions account sees a blank screen in view and edit mode as shown in the screenshotsCustomize portal email template
Can i fetch only first name of the user in portal email template instead of the below code Hi ${User.FULL_NAME}How to get Quickbooks Desktop Info into Zoho?
Our team has used Quickbooks desktop for years and is looking at switching to Zoho books in 2026. I want to bring all old sales history over since we use Zoho CRM. I can export Item sales history and generic sales orders from Quickbooks desktop. How doCan't we let users decide which options they'd like to add at embed widget?
It seems embed widget DOES NOT offer a feature, where users can choose options upon subscribing plans. What Zoho has instead, is that admins have to manually create plan with options. How come no one in Zoho dev team never raised issue about usabilityReupload and rename from one field to another field (file upload)
Hi Everyone, Sorry, i have question to use invoke url for rename and reupload attachments file to another field. Tested on development mode. Zoho C6. Refer to https://www.zoho.com/creator/help/api/v2/upload-file.html look my error notification. Does anyoneRefund
My plan expired today, and I updated my payment details with a new credit card. At the same time, I wanted to downgrade, but the system wouldn’t allow the downgrade until the payment details were updated. As a result, I was charged for the same plan beforePrinting Multi-Page Reports (PDF Export)
Hi, I am moving a report from Google's Looker Studio to Zoho Analytics and trying to reproduce the Looker page by page dashboard editing experience. With Google, what you see is what you get when you print to PDF. But I can't seem to create the same experienceResume Harvester: New Enhancements for Faster Sourcing
We’re excited to share a set of enhancements to Resume Harvester that make sourcing faster and more flexible. These updates help you cut down on repetitive steps, manage auto searches more efficiently, and review candidate profiles with ease. Why we builtI NEED TO NUMBER TO TEXT NO HERE
=NUMBERTEXT NEEEDError: View is not present in the workspace
When saving a dashboard, user receives a popup with the following error. "View is not present in the workspace" What does this mean or refer to? There is no further insight given.Dear Zoho CEO: Business Growth is about how you prioritise!
All of us in business know that when you get your priorities right, your business grows. Zoho CRM and Zoho Books are excellent products, but sadly, Zoho Inventory continues to lag behind. Just this morning, I received yet another one-sided email aboutIs there any way to send an Excel received by email to Dataprep?
Every day I receive an email alert with an Excel file that I want to process through a Dataprep pipeline. To do this, I need to: -Save the file to disk -Open the pipeline -Run the pipeline -Update the source -Several clicks to select and open the savedBin Locations
Dear all, I am wondering if someone has the ability to develop the bin locations option for zoho inventory (integrated with zoho books) Regards, RyanCreate and populate a record in an instant: Introducing zero-shot field prompting to Zia's ICR
A couple of months ago, we upgraded our in-house AI image detection and validation tool, Zia Vision, with intelligent character recognition (ICR). By training Zia with sample images, you could create and enrich CRM records with data extracted from standardHow to Prevent Users From Skipping LMS Videos in Zoho People
How to Prevent Users From Skipping LMS Videos in Zoho People Hello Zoho Developers, In this blog, we will quickly look at how you can stop users from skipping or fast-forwarding videos in Zoho People LMS. Zoho People provides a feature called DisableSent mail sort by date disappeared
Hello, We used to be able to sort the emails by date in the sent folder, but this feature has recently disappeared. Can we bring it back?Sync desktop folders instantly with WorkDrive TrueSync (Beta)
Keeping your important files backed up and accessible has never been easier! With WorkDrive desktop app (TrueSync), you can now automatically sync specific desktop folders to WorkDrive Web, ensuring seamless, real-time updates across devices. Important:[Integration Edition] Deluge Learning Series – Custom API with Deluge | November 2025
We’re excited to conclude this four-month Integration Edition of the Deluge Learning Series: Session 1 – Integrating Zoho Apps with Deluge Using Built-In Integration Tasks Session 2 – Integrating Zoho Apps with Deluge Using invokeURL and invokeAPI SessionImportant update: Enhanced security measures for account operations in Zoho Cliq
Greetings from the Zoho Cliq team! We’d like to share an important security update that has an influence on some admin actions such as password reset, MFA reset, and MFA backup code generation. What’s changing? With our latest security enhancements, theseAutomate Backups
This is a feature request. Consider adding an auto backup feature. Where when you turn it on, it will auto backup on the 15-day schedule. For additional consideration, allow for the export of module data via API calls. Thank you for your consideration.Zoho Desk Training
Hello, We've had Zoho desk for a while now, but we run into issues occasionally, and I was wondering if there was a customer who currently uses it and really enjoys the functionality, that would be wiling to chat with us?Tips for Organizing Workflows and Improving Team Coordination in Zoho
Hi everyone, I’m looking for some general advice on how different teams are organizing their daily work within Zoho’s apps. Our team recently expanded, and we’re trying to streamline how tasks, discussions, and documents are shared so everything staysBatch/lot # and Storage bin location
Hi I want to ask for a feature on Zoho inventory I own a warehouse and I've gone through different management software solutions with no luck until I found Zoho, it has been a game changer for my business with up to the minute information, I'm extremely happy with it. It's almost perfect. And I say Almost because the only thing missing for me (and I'm sure I'm not alone) is the need of being able to identify the lot number of my inventory and where it is located in the warehouse. Due to the naturePrevent user from viewing all records?
I have a report that is meant to be used by vendors to view only the records that are assigned to them. All the vendor information is stored in a separate application, so I need to call a function to get the current user's ID (not the zoho user ID). The report settings criteria doesn't support using function calls, so instead I'm embedding the report in an html page like this: if (thisapp.Global.CurrentUserIs("Vendor")) { personID = common.getLoggedInPersonID(); query = "Assigned_Vendor.ID="Series Label in the Legend
My legend reads 'Series 1' and 'Series 2'. From everything I read online, Zoho is supposed to change the data names if it's formatted correctly. I have the proper labels on the top of the columns and the right range selected. I assume it's something inZoho Site pages not displaying in iframes
I simply want to show a Zoho Site page inside an iframe on another non Zoho website. When testing this across many browsers, the iframe content simply does not appear. IE reports that the host does not allow their content to be displayed in iframes. Very disappointing. Is there a way around this please? Here is the URL of the page I would like to appear in an iframe. http://ips-properties-to-rent.zohosites.comZoho Inventory as connector in Zoho Creator
Hello, It doesn't appear that Zoho Inventory is one of the many built in connectors in Zoho Creator? I see that there are non-Zoho inventory applications that have built in connectors such as Cin7, which leads me to believe that I'm missing somethingSend Zoho Forms Link using Zoho CRM Email Templates
I have set up Zoho Forms and CRM integration to pre-populate data from Zoho CRM to Zoho Forms. The setup is working fine. I have also created an email template in the Zoho CRM deals module to send Zoho forms links. So when I send an email using that templateNext Page