Kaizen #172 - Leveraging the 'crmAPIResponse' Object in Queries
Hello everyone!
Welcome back to another week of Kaizen!
We released the Queries feature sometime back and hope you have tried it out.
A little gist about this feature before we move on to our post.
Zoho CRM's Queries feature enables dynamic data retrieval from both CRM modules and external services, facilitating seamless integration and informed decision-making.
Key Components
- Sources: Pre-configured sources like Modules and COQL are available, with the option to add custom sources via REST APIs.
- Queries: Fetch data by selecting modules, writing COQL statements, or specifying REST API endpoints, headers, and parameters.
- Variables: Incorporate variables in criteria, COQL statements, and endpoints to pass dynamic values during execution.
- Schema: Auto-generated schemas define the structure of query responses, with editable paths, field types, and labels for customization.
- Serializer: Utilize JavaScript to manipulate and customize query responses, ensuring data is in the desired format for further processing.
Types of Queries
- Modules: Retrieve records by selecting specific modules and fields, applying conditions to filter data as needed.
- COQL (CRM Object Query Language): Write SQL-like queries to fetch data, supporting complex operations like joins and aggregations.
- REST API: Fetch data from external services by specifying endpoints, headers, parameters, and connections.
With the Queries feature, you can efficiently access and display relevant data within Zoho CRM, enhancing workflow efficiency and decision-making capabilities.
A little insight into Functions before we dive into today's Kaizen!
Functions, Queries, you get the connection, right? Read on!
Many of us use Functions in Zoho CRM extensively to perform our business logic and customize the way things work in Zoho CRM. You can use Functions in blueprints, workflows, Circuits etc.
Let's say you have a function that gets the employee records from the Employees module. Technically, the function executes an API call or an integration task, and gives a response.
The response can be a string or map(JSON), depending on how the function is written and where it is used. Since functions can be used in many places, the same response format may not be the right one to be used in a circuit or a workflow.
This is where the genie 'crmAPIResponse' object comes into picture!
The power of the 'crmAPIResponse' object
The crmAPIResponse object to be returned in the CRM function should encapsulate the response in a way that it can be used in Queries, Circuit, workflow etc. The details needed are encapsulated as a map. It should include details like crmStatusCode, status, message, body in order to construct the desired format for handling data and customizing the error handling logic.
Let's consider the following example function where we use the getRecordByID integration task.
The response of the integration task contains all the fields in that module, but we want only certain parts of the response JSON and also add custom error messages, to be used in other components like Queries, Circuits, etc,.
Here is the code.
{ leadId = "3652397000018025772"; // Replace with a valid Lead ID // Initialize customAPIResponse map customAPIResponse = map(); // Fetch lead details crmResponse = zoho.crm.getRecordById("Leads", leadId); // Log the raw response for debugging info "CRM API Raw Response: " + crmResponse; // Validate and process the response to include only the required fields if (crmResponse != null && crmResponse.containsKey("id")) { // Extract required fields filteredData = map(); filteredData.put("id", crmResponse.get("id")); filteredData.put("Last_Name", crmResponse.get("Last_Name")); filteredData.put("Email", crmResponse.get("Email")); customAPIResponse.put("crmStatusCode", 200); customAPIResponse.put("status", "success"); customAPIResponse.put("message", "Lead data retrieved successfully."); customAPIResponse.put("body", filteredData); // Include only filtered data } else { customAPIResponse.put("crmStatusCode", null); customAPIResponse.put("status", "error"); customAPIResponse.put("message", "Invalid or null response from Zoho CRM API."); customAPIResponse.put("body", null); } // Return the customAPIResponse return {"crmAPIResponse": customAPIResponse}; } |
Here, you can see that we have parsed the response of the integration task to get the Last_Name, Email, and record ID using the crmResponse.get("field_API_name") statement and constructed the customAPIresponse object using the customAPIResponse.put("key", "value") statement.
The statement return {"crmAPIResponse": customAPIResponse}; returns the response body as depicted in the previous statements.
Response to the info "CRM API Raw Response: " + crmResponse; statement
"CRM API Raw Response: {"Owner":{"name":"Patricia Boyle","id":"3652397000000186017","email":"p.boyle@zylker.com"},"$field_states":null,..}}} |
Response of the return {"crmAPIResponse": customAPIResponse}; statement
{ "crmAPIResponse": { "crmStatusCode": 200, "status": "success", "message": "Lead data retrieved successfully.", "body": { "id": "3652397000018025772", "Last_Name": "Math", "Email": "math@gmail.com" } } } |
Error response
{ "crmAPIResponse": { "crmStatusCode": null, "status": "error", "message": "Invalid or null response from Zoho CRM API.", "body": null } } |
You can see that we have used the crmAPIResponse object to get only the required keys from the response and constructed a much simpler response.
Refer to our help page on Response Object for more details.
Finally, to today's Kaizen!
We've established that you can use the crmAPIResponse object to construct responses in a way that's suitable to be consumed at another place like a circuit or a workflow.
We also know that Queries allows you to have sources of the REST API type to fetch data from various sources. This means that you can have a standalone function that is enabled as a REST API as a source in Queries.
Let's see an example.
There is a simple function that uses the getRecords integration task to get the records from the Employees module.
I have used the crmAPIresponse object to construct a response as shown in the following code.
string standalone.getRecords() { result = zoho.crm.getRecords("Employees"); response = Map(); response.put("status_code",200); response.put("body",{"code":"success","details":result,"message":"function executed successfully"}); return {"crmAPIResponse":response}; } |
The response of this function is a string in the crmAPIResponse object as shown in this image.
- Save this function and enable REST API.
- You can see that the domain is https://www.zohoapis.com. To be able to use this in a Query, register this domain in Trusted Domain.
- To create a REST API type source, you must add the source. Go to Setup > Developer Hub > Queries > Sources tab.
- Click Add Source and give the details like the name, base URL, headers, and parameters under the Information section.
- Click Save.
- Go to the Queries tab and click Add Query.
- For Source, choose the source you just added.
- Under Information, enter the name, API name of the query.
- For the endpoint, enter the API Key URL of the function.
- Enter the parameter name and values in the Parameter field.
- Click Add Serializer if you want to serialize the response. In this example, I have serialized the response to include only the Name, Email, and Position fields in the output. The result contains the 'body' object that we returned in the crmAPIResponse object of the function.
- Click Save to save the serialization.
- Click Next to view the schema of the query. Make changes as required.
- Save the query.
You can now use this query in Canvas or associate it with Kiosk to solve your business needs.
Let us see how the crmAPIResponse object in the function affects the response of the query.
Query with the function without crmAPIResponse:
Let's consider that the function getRecords() does not use the crmAPIResponse object. In that case, the function returns a response that is a string. This response string cannot be serialized or used elsewhere.
Schema of the query without crmAPIResponse:
Query with the function with crmAPIResponse and serialization:
The same getRecords() function that uses the crmAPIResponse object allows you to construct the response as JSON. You can serialize this response easily and use it in a circuit, query, workflow etc.
You can see here that the response is now a JSON.
Schema of the query with crmAPIResponse:
In conclusion, you can use the crmAPIResponse object in Functions to construct the desired response and use the REST API-enabled function as a source in Queries.
Leveraging the advantage of the crmAPIResponse object in functions and using it in Queries increases the prospect of solving many more business cases easily and customize more efficiently.
We hope you liked this post and found it useful. Let us know your thoughts in the comments.
If you'd like us to cover any other topic in this series, feel free to comment or reach us at support@zohocrm.com.
Cheers!
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
More enhancements in the COQL API are now live in Zoho CRM API Version 7. Check out the V7 Changelog for detailed information on these updates.
See Also
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
Shylaja S
Zsolt Simon self-employed
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
The year that was at Zoho Calendar 2023- Part 1
Hello, amazing community members! Happy new year from all of us here at Zoho Calendar. As we begin the new year, we'd like to thank each and everyone of our community members for your unwavering support and love that you have shown for Zoho Calendar.Zoho Calendar 2024: A Year in Review
Hello, community members! Happy new year from all of us here at Zoho Calendar. As we turn the page to a new year, we extend our heartfelt gratitude to every member of our Zoho Calendar community for your continued support and enthusiasm. Your feedbackZoho Calendar not syncing correctly with personal Google Calendar
Coming to this forum as Zoho Calendar support team is not responding, any more. For the past 8 weeks, I have been having an issue with Zoho Calendar not syncing with my personal Google Calendar correctly. I subscribed to Zoho Calendar iCal in my personalMTA - BAD IP reputation by outlook/hotmail
Messages to Microsoft email servers are bouncing back due to poor reputation. Message: 4.7.650 The mail server [136.143.188.206] has been temporarily rate limited due to IP reputation. For e-mail delivery information see https://postmaster.live.com (S775)Zeptomail API error 500 internal server error
Hi Everyone, getting this eror continuously! Can anyone please guide around the same! Zeptomail API error 500 internal server error Best RegardsWaiting multiple days to buy credits, causing my website to suffer
So I own a fairly large website that gets a lot of registered users. I use transmail send activation emails, and also forgot password emails. I sent an email to zoho's presales team when I was only at 4K/10K emails sent, hoping to buy more credits beforeFollow up
Hello, I sent a message 2 days ago but I don't receive any response and I cannot find my ticket here. this is the ticket: Your ticket has been created with the ticket ID 68925465 and subject "Fwd: Fishing-alert" looking forward to seeing your response.What's new in TransMail!
Note: TransMail is now ZeptoMail. Click here to know more. Hello again, everyone! We've recently crossed the 6 months mark of TransMail's launch. In this time post our launch, we have been constantly working on updating our platform and adding new featuresJune 2021 in TransMail!
Note: TransMail is now ZeptoMail. Click here to know more. Hello again, everyone! Hope you and your loved ones are doing well. If you're doing less than fine, we truly hope that things only get better for you. We've had a few updates in the past monthTransMail has a new name—ZeptoMail!
Tried navigating to TransMail's community forum but see a different name now? That's because TransMail has a new name. TransMail is now ZeptoMail! As we’ve grown from an internal service used mainly by other Zoho products to an up-and-coming competitorJuly 2021 in ZeptoMail!
Note: TransMail is now ZeptoMail. Click here to know more. Hello again, everyone! Hope you and your loved ones are doing well. We've had a few updates in the past month in ZeptoMail—some new features and some important announcements. Take look at whatSend Email From the ZeptoMail BY API
What is Zeptomail:- Transactional email service with reliable and fast delivery How we can Create a Connection for Zeptomail in Zoho CRM Go to the Setup Click on Connection Enter Connection Details:- Generate Consumer Key & Consumer Secret Using ZohoCustomer email on Opencart 3
When I place an order, 2 emails are sent: 1) administrator 2) to the user The administrator receives a beautiful letter, but the user receives a damaged letter (see screenshot). What could be the problem?[Zoho Writer Webinar] Learn how to simplify your day-to-day HR operations
Hi Zoho Writer users, We're excited to announce the Zoho Writer webinar for June 2024: Learn how Zoho Writer can simplify your day-to-day HR operations. This webinar will focus on how to automate your entire hiring process and generate various types of[Announcement] Insert image from URL changes in Zoho Writer
Hi Zoho Writer users! We'd like to let you know that we've changed the behavior of the Insert image from URL option in Zoho Writer for security reasons. Earlier behavior Once you inserted an image URL in a Writer document, the image would be fetched from[Zoho Writer Webinar] Learn how to simplify your HR operations: Part 2
Hi Zoho Writer users, We're excited to announce the Zoho Writer webinar for July 2024: Learn how Zoho Writer can simplify your HR operations: Part 2. This webinar will focus on how Zoho Writer can help HR teams streamline and automate their entire hiring[Webinar] Simplifying document workflows in financial services with Zoho Writer
Creating, sharing, and distributing complex documents are constant challenges in the financial services industry. That's why our next webinar is focused on how to simplify these document workflows. Join us on April 10, 2025, for a Zoho Writer webinarDynamic 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 referenceWriter sing up problom
Zoho writer sing up prolom faceEnhance Sign CRM integration
Hello all, I'm working on a custom Deluge script to enhance the integration between Zoho CRM and Sign by using a writer merge template for additional flexibility. I want to replicate the post-sign document integration that exists between CRM and SignUnable to copy into a new document
Whe I create a new Writer doc and attemp to copy and past I get this message. The only way to copy into a document is I duplicate an existing document, erase the text and save it under a different name and then paste the information. Not ideal. Can youAdd Comprehensive Accessibility Features to Zoho Writer
Hello Zoho Writer Team, We hope you are doing well. We would like to submit a feature request to enhance Zoho Writer with a full set of accessibility tools, similar to the accessibility options already available in the Zoho Desk agent interface. 🚧 Current[Webinar] Zoho Writer for the manufacturing industry
Creating, sharing, and distributing complex documents are constant challenges in the manufacturing services industry. That's why our next webinar is focused on how to simplify these document workflows. Join us on May 8, 2025, for a Zoho Writer webinar[Webinar] Live demos and user Q&A with Zoho Writer product experts
Join us on June 12, 2025 for live demos based on your use cases and real-world scenarios raised via form. This is also an opportunity to get your questions answered directly by product experts from the Zoho Writer team. Webinar agenda Live demos based[Webinar] Zoho Writer for SCM and logistics
Creating, sharing, and distributing complex documents are constant challenges in the SCM and logistics industry. That's why our next webinar is focused on how to simplify these document workflows. Join us on Jul 10, 2025 for a Zoho Writer webinar designedAutomate insurance document workflows with Zoho Writer
Insurance companies have to deal with creating and managing complex documents and forms, such as policy applications, explanation of benefits documents, brochures, renewals, and claim forms. Handling all of this manually is hugely time and effort intensive,[Webinar] Automate sales and presales workflows with Writer
Sales involves sharing a wide range of documents with customers across the presales, sales, and post-sales stages: NDAs, quotes, invoices, sales orders, and delivery paperwork. Generating and managing these documents manually slows down the overall salesZoho Writer's built-in citation and bibliography generator
Hey researchers and writers! Do you manually format citations and bibliographies, spending hours jumping between apps and tabs? If so, then check out Zoho Writer's built-in "Citations and Bibliography" feature. Imagine you're writing a thesis on the futureSingle and group checkboxes in Zoho Writer's fillable forms
Hey Writer Fam, Are you making the most out of single and group checkboxes in fillable forms in Zoho Writer? Here is a handy tip to optimize your use of checkboxes, both single and group, and enhance your data collection process. Single checkboxes: SingleCollaborate efficiently with Zoho Writer's track changes feature
Hi Zoho Writer Community, Zoho Writer's track changes feature is a simple, built-in solution that helps you and your team work together efficiently. Instead of juggling multiple versions of a document or building up a long email chain of comments, eachZoho Writer's WordPress extensions
Hey Zoho Writer users! Say goodbye to all your WordPress content publishing woes with Zoho Writer's WordPress extensions. Publish content with all your formatting and images, republish content when you update a document, and more—from a single windowTime-saving table hacks
Hey Zoho Writer Community, Do you find yourself using a lot of tables in your documents? We're here to share some of our time-saving hacks that will help you work more efficiently, organize your data, and make your documents look neat and professional.Automating document approval and signing with Zoho Writer and Zoho Sign
Hey Zoho Writer Community! Here's another automation tip to make your processes more efficient! Question: Can I send a document for client approval first, then automatically send it for signing with Zoho Sign if they approve? Since it's the same personCustomization hacks in Zoho Writer - Part 2
Hey community, We're back with some more tricks to personalize your documents, save time, and get in the zone when you work in Writer. Check out part 1 of this post if you haven't already. Let's dive right in! Document ruler units Imagine you're creatingSimplify your tax calculations with Zoho Writer
Hello Zoho Writer Community! Tax season can be stressful, but with Zoho Writer, managing your income tax calculations becomes straightforward and efficient. Here’s an example of how you can use the tables and formulae of Zoho Writer to calculate incomeEnhance document navigation with headings and TOC
Hey Zoho Writer Community! We're back with some useful features in Zoho Writer that can simplify your document creation and navigation process. Let's dive right in! Check out our video on how to make the most of Zoho Writer's heading and table of contentsUse and download in PDF format of Zoho wirter Merge template using deluge
Hello Zoho Developers. Here is some information about Zoho Writer. Writer is not just another online word processor, it's a powerful tool for editing, collaboration, and publishing. Even with its wide range of features, Writer's pared-down user interfaceCustomization hacks in Zoho Writer - Part 3
Hello everyone, Welcome back to Part 3 of our customization tips in Zoho Writer! In this third installment, we'll be diving into some essential customization settings that can enhance your document creation experience. Sender email address in mail mergeDaytime saving timezones messing up writer pdf
Hi, I need help for something I can't figure out. I created a Form to collect data and it is set up with my current Daylight Saving Time (GMT-3). This form is used to generate a contract (pdf Writer) with dates from an event that is being held in 4 monthsIssue with locked content in Writer
Hi, I have seen the documentation which outlines how to lock specific content within a Writer document so that it can't be modified by collaborators, but I have come across an issue. When the editor locks a paragraph for example, then a collaborator can'tNext Page