Kaizen #166 - Handling Query Variables in Zoho CRM
Hello, Code Enthusiasts!
Welcome to another week of Kaizen!
This week, we'll dive into handling variables in Zoho CRM Queries and see how they can be deployed in Kiosk to dynamically retrieve data. This technique is especially useful for integrating data from third-party applications or CRM itself into your custom interface, such as Canvas and Kiosk.
Variables
Variables are placeholders in Queries that are replaced with real values at runtime. Instead of hard coding data, you can use variables to make your Queries flexible and reusable.
Syntax: {{Variable_Name}}
Query variables in Zoho CRM function differently from conventional Zoho CRM variables. While CRM variables act as containers for dynamic values that can be stored and reused anywhere within the organization, query variables are designed to receive their values at runtime.
Query variables enhance flexibility and are specifically used in:
- COQL: To dynamically filter and retrieve data.
- REST API: For runtime data fetching based on specific parameters.
- Query Criteria: To define conditions dynamically for fetching records.
How to Use a Variable?
To use variables, ensure the fields providing the variable values are available in the context where the Query is executed.
Let’s say you want to evaluate a marketing campaign's performance. For this, you need to fetch all leads with a specific lead source. Since each campaign is associated with a different lead source, you can define the lead source as a variable. When viewing a campaign's details, the lead source will be passed dynamically to the Query.
Business Scenario : Nearby Delivery Hubs
Imagine a telecommerce platform using Zoho CRM to manage sales and deliveries. When a customer provides their PIN code, the salesperson must confirm with the customer for a nearby post office for package pick-ups and drop-offs in Kiosk.
With Zoho CRM Queries, you can achieve this by dynamically fetching the nearby post offices list based on the customer's PIN code and displaying it on the Contact record’s detail page. Here's how to set it up using the Kiosk feature.
Setting Up the Query in Kiosk
1. Access Kiosk Studio
- Log in to Zoho CRM.
- Go to Setup > Customization > Kiosk Studio and click Create Kiosk.
2. Configure the Current Module
- Choose the module where the Kiosk will be deployed.
For this example, select Contacts to use the PIN code from the Contact record.
- Configuring this Current Module is mandatory to use variables from the current record.
3. Add a Screen
- Click the + icon on the flowchart and select Screen.
- Name the screen and click Add.
4. Add a Query
- Under Display Elements, choose Get Data Via Queries.
- Click New Query and then Add Query to create a new one.
5. Set Up the Data Source
- Any custom source has to be enrolled either in the Trusted Domains or in the Connections. For demo,
- Add the base URL https://api.postalpincode.in/pincode to Trusted Domain.
- Skip Connections as the Postal PIN Code API is an open source.
- In the Add Query pop-up, click Source and create a new source.
For this demo, we’ll add India Post to fetch post offices based on PIN codes.
- Add default Headers and Parameters to the source if any. This will be added by default whenever the source is used in a query.
6. Define the Query
- In the Information section, provide the query’s Name and API Name to refer to the query wherever needed.
- Use the endpoint URL with a variable, e.g., https://api.example.com/post_offices/{{Mailing_Zip}}.
- You can add headers and parameters specific to the query, but let us skip that for the demo.
- Add a JavaScript serializer to process the Query response. For our case, we will serialize the response with return result[0].PostOffice;.
- You can test your serializer with the help of Preview. Once finished, provide a test value to the variable for generating Schema for the Query Response.
The test value you provide is temporary and not permanent. The value of a variable will be declared using merge fields when you associate the query with a component. Check Step 7 to know how it is used in our demo.
You can also manipulate the response by changing data types of keys in the raw response. To keep the demo simple, let's go with the raw response.
7. Link the Query to Kiosk
- Use Dynamic Parameters to map the variable to the Mailing Zip field from the Contact record. Enter # to merge the fields.
- In Choose Fields, select which data to display in the Kiosk.
- You can further manipulate the query response in the Record Preferences section.
Select your preference to view the response as a Single Record or Multiple Records. - For Single Record, choose the data that has to be displayed from the query response and click Save.
- For Multiple Records, fill in the following details as shown in this image.
- The Selection Limit helps you with the maximum number of records that have to be chosen in the kiosk after publishing.
- Identifier field functions as the primary field to identify each record.
- In the fields section, choose the data that has to be displayed from the query response.
Customize the Kiosk button and click Done to save your configuration.
8. Test and Publish
Test the Kiosk using a sample Record ID from the Contacts module. If successful, the list of nearby post offices will display in an iframe as it would appear on the Contact detail page.
Once satisfied, publish the Kiosk to make it live.
Let us check the Kiosk from the Contacts detail page.
Example Scenarios
- Loan Approval: You can display a customer's CIBIL score using their Social Security Number (SSN) directly within a Canvas. The SSN serves as a runtime variable, allowing you to approve loans without manual data entry and shifting tabs.
- Customer Support: In a Records Detail View kiosk, display all high priority tickets linked to an account. The current account's ID acts as a runtime variable, ensuring that support agents have immediate access to relevant queries and resolve issues faster.
- Insurance Verification: In a Records Detail View kiosk, the customer's ID proof number can be used to verify their details on official government sites. The ID proof number dynamically functions as a variable, streamlining the insurance verification process.
We hope you found this post informative and beneficial.
If you have any queries or a topic to be discussed, reach out to us at support@zohocrm.com or drop your comments below.
Cheers!
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Previous Kaizen: Kaizen #165 - How to call Zoho CRM APIs using Client Script | Kaizen Collection: Directory
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
Kiruthiga G
Piyush Goyal
Sticky Posts
Kaizen #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 theKaizen #197: Frequently Asked Questions on GraphQL APIs
🎊 Nearing 200th Kaizen Post – We want to hear from you! Do you have any questions, suggestions, or topics you would like us to cover in future posts? Your insights and suggestions help us shape future content and make this series better for everyone.Kaizen #198: Using Client Script for Custom Validation in Blueprint
Nearing 200th Kaizen Post – 1 More to the Big Two-Oh-Oh! Do you have any questions, suggestions, or topics you would like us to cover in future posts? Your insights and suggestions help us shape future content and make this series better for everyone.
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
Credit Management: #3 Setting Credit Limit for Customers
Think about that one familiar customer of yours who always buys on credit. They usually pay on time, maybe a little late here and there, but not alarming. So, you are fine saying, "Sure, pay later." Then, one day, they place a significantly bigger orderCanvas View in Zoho Recruit
Is it possible or would it be possible to have the new 'Canvas View' in Zoho Recruit?Adding Reports to Portals
Is there a way to add Reports to portals so only the user can see report templates relevant to them?Update on the client portal URL for Guest users
We’re updating the way Guest users access their Connect network. As part of this change, all client organization portals used by Guest users will now be accessible through a dedicated domain specific to each data center. The access URLs mentioned herePreserve Ticket Issue Mapping When Migrating from Jira to Zoho Projects
Hello Zoho Projects Team, We hope you are doing well. We are currently exploring a full migration from Jira to Zoho Projects, and we identified a critical limitation during the migration process involving Zoho Desk integration. Current Situation: We useEnhancements to Zoho Map integration tasks
Hello everyone, We're excited to announce enhancements to the Zoho Map integration tasks in Deluge, which will boost its performance. This post will walk you through the upcoming changes, explain why we're making them, and detail the steps you need toUnable to see Zoho contacts in Zoho app on ios
Hi Support Team, I am a new user, I have created my account and installed zohomail app on iOS 16 which works. I was also able to import my Gmail contacts into Zoho Contacts, which I can see. The problem is that I can’t see these imported cobalts in ZohomailTask Due Date greater than 10 years.
We use recurring tasks in Projects where every week, month, year etc Some of our projects are greater than 10 years and we are unable to set a new due date because the difference between start date and due date is greater than 10 years. As an exampleExternal User onboarding for zoho connect is not really intuitive.
So the external user is sent an invite, which has a button that directs them to login to zoho to view the invite, but if they don't have a zoho account, they cannot access that invite, which seems kinda silly, as there is not real way on for them to createHosting external websites on Zoho?
How can I host my external website on zoho? Do we have that option? I am currently with hostinger and am looking to switch to zoho. Kindly help. Thanks.How to Add Time Formula Duration (hh:mm)
Hi everyone — I’m trying to create a formula field in Zoho CRM that calculates the difference between a “Call Start Time” and “Call End Time” and displays the duration in HH:MM format (for example: 1:04 for one hour and four minutes). My current setupHow can I calculate the physical stock available for sale?
Hey Zoho Team, I've tried to calculate the physical stock on hand in various ways - but always receive a mismatch between what's displayed in Zoho Inventory & analytics. Can you please let me know how the physical stock available for sale is calculated?Set Custom Icon for Custom Modules in new Zoho CRM UI
Live Webinar: Getting Started with Zoho WorkDrive - A Complete Overview
Hello everyone, We’re excited to invite you to our upcoming live webinar! Discover how to set up your team, bring in your data, and make the most of WorkDrive’s collaboration, organization, AI, and security capabilities. This session is perfect for anyoneMarketing Tip #4: Build your email list early
Email marketing has one of the highest returns on investment. Don’t wait until later; start collecting subscribers now. When you've got their attention, you can send them emails about offers, new product launches, seasonal greetings, and more. Try thisIs anyone else having trouble saving a custom image in their email signature, or is it just me?
When I try to save the image I get an error that says "Operation Failed" I opened a support ticket two weeks ago and received a response that it would be debugged, but it still isn’t workingUnify Overlapping Functionalities Across Zoho Products
Hi Zoho One Team, We would like to raise a concern about the current overlap of core functionalities across various Zoho applications. While Zoho offers a rich suite of tools, many applications include similar or identical features—such as shift management,Zoho Desk Domain mapping / Cloudflare CNAME not recognized
Hello, my website is behind Cloudflare and SSL. From the Cloudflare control panel I added a CNAME record such as support.mydomain.com pointing to desk.cs.zohohost.com but I'm stuck with the message "Make sure you've mapped the CNAME entry..."Power of Automation :: Quick way to associate your Projects with Zoho CRM
A custom function is a software code that can be used to automate a process and this allows you to automate a notification, call a webhook, or perform logic immediately after a workflow rule is triggered. This feature helps to automate complex tasks andCreate an Eye-Catching Announcement Widget for Your Help Center
Hello Everyone! In this week’s edition, let’s explore how to keep your customers updated with exciting news in the Help Center. See how ZylkerMobile wowed their customers by bringing updates right to their portal. ZylkerMobile, the renowned brand forI want to add my other zoho account in same pc
why does zoho restrict me doing many things as i also want to add my second mail account bit its not allowing me to do thatSearch in Zoho Community Not Working
I realize this is a bit of a meta topic, but the search for the various Zoho Communities appears to not be working. I'm under the impression that they run on some version of the Zoho Desk platform, so I'm posting this here.Capture Stripe’s Customer ID
Does anyone know of a way to capture Stripe’s customer ID that is created when the form/payment is processed? I would like to have the customer ID stored in our CRM so we could utilize in some custom functions down the road.Custom Modules - Where are Comments??
In the standard ticket module and in the tasks module, we have an interactive comment box that we can post important details/notes and can tag others if needed. Where is this functionality for Custom Modules? Ideally, custom modules would have very similar,Dynamic Signature - Record owner
Hi everyone, I’m using Zoho Writer merge templates from Zoho CRM and have two questions: Owner signature: How can I automatically insert the CRM record owner’s signature in the merged document? I’m not sure where this signature is stored or how to referencePUNJAB NATIONAL BANK (CORPORATE) INDIA - NOT AVAILABLE IN BANKING
Dear sir, Kindly fix it. PUNJAB NATIONAL BANK (INDIA) is available but PUNJAB NATIONAL BANK (CORPORATE) is not available. Kindly enable this banking since we need to categorize the entries. Regards, Sanjay Jena email id/ user id : travewithmerchant@Amazon invoice in Zoho Books
I have just made my first few sales on Amazon India. Amazon Seller account generates invoices for the sales made on Amazon. These invoices are sent to customers also. Now when I was only making offline sales, I used to create Invoices in Zoho Book. NowCUSTOM FUNCTION GIVE ERROR #EVAL!
CUSTEM FUNCTION CREATE KYA ZOHOSHEET ME US FUNCTION KO USE KIYA LEKIN DATA TO SAHI HAI LAKIN DATA SHEET ME NAHI LAG LAHA HAI KRUPYA SOLVE KARE MY CODE IS float ADDTWO_TWO(float NO1, float NO2) { ADD = NO1 + NO2; return ADD; }Zoho ShowTime: Certificates of Completion - Award your learners with a sense of achievement
In our increasingly competitive market, professional trainers need to differentiate themselves if they are to survive. One way to do this is to focus on innovation and deliver an ideal learning experience. By developing a renowned certificate program that provides learners with a specialized skill set for a particular industry, both trainees and future prospects will recognize the trainer's leadership in that field. This can help with long-term growth, revenue generation, and even marketing and branding.IMAP Migration from Gmail
I have been trying to import my email from a Gmail server and keep receiving the following error. I have reduced the security, activated imap and no improvement. The link to the Google support item has not helped. Unable to connect to your account. PleaseYour Incoming has been blocked and the emails will not be fetched in your Zoho account and POP Accounts Click here to get unblocked.
When entering my account, this error is thrown at me, and I deleted a good part of my deleted messages, but I still can not unblock it, I would appreciate your help. reservas@lineasperutravel.comRequest for Creating Multiple Email Accounts on One Mobile Number
Dear Zoho Team, I am planning to shift all my work-related communication to Zoho Mail because of its reliability and features. For my work, I need to create 3–4 separate email accounts for different purposes. Could you please confirm if it is possibleSignature issue
Problem: The signature does not appear when replying or forwarding an email. solve issue: settintgs/Signature Check option place a signature above the content with quotation marksmail admin not loading
i am trying to login to mailadmin ... gears keeps rotating forever... its not a password issue whats so ever ... not cookies issues whatsoever from android app i can login but there so few things to do from there .. i changed ip address the same... iUnify All Zoho Video Meeting Experiences into One Standardized Platform
Hi Zoho Team, We would like to share an important user experience concern regarding the current state of video meeting functionality across the Zoho ecosystem. The Problem Within Zoho, there are multiple ways to initiate or schedule a video meeting: ZohoChanging Account in Quote form does not update address information.
I am trying to update the address information in a quote I've created. I corrected the address in the "Account" but that did not change in the quote. If I re-enter the Account Name in the Quote form, nothing updates. How do I fix this?Zoho One Backup of entire account
Hello, When using Zoho one is there a way to backup your entire account of all apps that you are using \ activively using in a single step or do you have to backup each applications data individually? Thanks,ZIA in Zoho Cliq
Is It possible to use the ZIA feature from Zoho Analytics in the Zoho Cliq?Issue with “CC” and “Subject Details” of the initial mail when reply / replied all / forward using Zoho Mail Client (Desktop / Web Mail / Mobile App)
It is observed that when I reply / reply all / forward a mail using Zoho Mail Client (Desktop / Web Mail / Mobile App), the “CC” and “Subject Details” are omitted from the mail which was replied/forwarded. However this is not the case with outlook mailUnable to send Emails - 452 4.3.1 Temporary System Error
Whene ever i request smtp server to send the email (without attachment). i recieve error "452 4.3.1 Temporary System Error"Next Page