Kaizen #178 - Filters & Criteria in Zoho CRM APIs
Hey everyone, and welcome back to another week of Kaizen!
Ever felt overwhelmed by the sheer volume of data in your Zoho CRM? Sifting through countless records to find exactly what you need, or to operate on specific records that meet a certain criteria, can indeed be a real time-sink. Fortunately, Zoho CRM provides powerful filtering capabilities through its APIs to streamline this process.
What is criteria or filter?
In Zoho CRM APIs, criteria refer to the conditions applied to filter records when making API requests. These conditions can be simple (single condition) or complex (multiple conditions) and are specified using various comparators.
Depending on the API type and request method, the filter can be provided either:
- As a query parameter (filters) – Used in GET requests.
- As an input key in the request body (criteria)– Used in POST and PUT requests
Where is "filters" used in Zoho CRM APIs?
The filters parameter is supported across multiple Zoho CRM API endpoints, including but not limited to:
- Get user groups API - GET /settings/user_groups
- List of Available APIs - GET /__apis
- Delete Recycle Bin Records API - DELETE /settings/recycle_bin?filters={filter_value}
Where is "criteria" used in Zoho CRM APIs?
The criteria key is supported across multiple Zoho CRM API endpoints, including but not limited to:
- Bulk Read API - POST /read
- Export Audit Log API - POST /settings/audit_log_export
- Record Locking Configuration API - POST /settings/record_locking_configurations?module={module_API_name}
The filters parameter and criteria key are supported across multiple Zoho CRM API endpoints. Refer to our API help documentation for individual APIs to check if these options are available. Check the Parameters section for filters and the Input JSON section for criteria
in the API's help documentation.
in the API's help documentation.
Constructing a criteria or a filter
Zoho CRM APIs use JSON-based criteria/filters expressions, which consist of:
- Field API Name – The field to filter (e.g., Email, Created_Time, Status).
- Comparator – The operator defining how the field should be compared (equals, greater_than, etc.).
- Value – The specific value to compare against.
Single Condition
A single condition is structured as follows:
{
"field": {
"api_name": "Post_Number"
},
"comparator": "greater_than",
"value": 1
}
Here,
- field specifies the API name of the field to be filtered.
- comparator indicates the type of comparison to be made (e.g., greater_than).
- value is the value against which the field is compared.
Multiple Conditions
When multiple conditions are required, they can be grouped using the logical operators "and" or "or". Here’s the syntax of how to structure multiple conditions:
{
"group_operator": "or",
"group": [
{
"field": {
"api_name": "Post_Number"
},
"comparator": "greater_than",
"value": 1
},
{
"field": {
"api_name": "Pre_Number"
},
"comparator": "greater_than",
"value": 1
}
]
}
Here,
- group_operator can be "and" or "or". It defines how the conditions within the group array are evaluated. "and" means all conditions must be true, while "or" means at least one condition must be true.
- group
contains an array of condition objects, each with its own field, comparator, and value.
Following is an example for a criteria with more than two conditions:
{
"criterion": {
"group_operator": "and",
"group": [
{
"field": {
"api_name": "Post_Number"
},
"comparator": "greater_than",
"value": 1
},
{
"group_operator": "or",
"group": [
{
"field": {
"api_name": "Pre_Number"
},
"comparator": "greater_than",
"value": 1
},
{
"field": {
"api_name": "Status"
},
"comparator": "equals",
"value": "Active"
}
]
}
]
}
}
Supported Comparators for Different Field Types
The available comparators depend on the field type. The following table outlines the supported comparators for different field types:
Field Type | Supported Comparators | Example |
text/ textarea | equal, not_equal, contains, not_contains , starts_with, ends_with | { "comparator": "equal", "field": { "api_name": "text" }, "value": "zoho" } |
email | equal, not_equal, contains, not_contains, starts_with, ends_with | { "comparator": "contains", "field": { "api_name": "Email" }, "value": "patricia" } |
phone | equal, not_equal, contains, not_contains, starts_with, ends_with | { "comparator": "equal", "field": { "api_name": "Phone" }, "value": "9999999999" } |
website | equal, not_equal, contains, not_contains, starts_with, ends_with | { "comparator": "contains", "field": { "api_name": "website" }, "value": "zoho" } |
picklist | equal, not_equal, contains, not_contains, starts_with, ends_with | { "comparator": "equal", "field": { "api_name": "picklist" }, "value": [ "Cold Call", "Call" ] } |
multiselectpicklist | equal, not_equal, contains, not_contains, starts_with, ends_with | { "comparator": "equal", "field": { "api_name": "Multi_Select_Picklist" }, "value": [ "Cold Call", "Call" ] } |
date | equal, not_equal, less_than, greater_than, between, not_between, less_equal, greater_equal | Example 1: { "comparator": "less_than", "field": { "api_name": "date" }, "value": "01-01-2025" } Example 2: { "comparator": "between", "field": { "api_name": "date" }, "value": [ "01-01-2025", "02-01-2025", } |
datetime | equal, not_equal, less_than, greater_than, between, not_between, less_equal, greater_equal | { "comparator": "equal", "field": { "api_name": "date" }, "value": "2025-01-01T12:12:06+05:30" } |
autonumber | equal, not_equal, contains, not_contains, starts_with, ends_with | { "comparator": "starts_with", "field": { "api_name": "Auto_Number" }, "value": "A01" } |
integer | equal, not_equal, less_than, less_equal, greater_than, greater_equal, between, not_between | { "comparator": "equal", "field": { "api_name": "integer" }, "value": 4 } |
currency | equal, not_equal, contains, not_contains, starts_with, ends_with | { "comparator": "equal", "field": { "api_name": "Currency" }, "value": "INR" } |
double | equal, not_equal, less_than, less_equal, greater_than, greater_equal, between, not_between | { "comparator": "equal", "field": { "api_name": "Double" }, "value": "123" } |
Boolean | equal | { "comparator": "equal", "field": { "api_name": "Boolean" }, "value": true } |
big int | equal, not_equal, less_than, less_equal, greater_than, greater_equal, between, not_between | { "comparator": "equal", "field": { "api_name": "id" }, "value": "1234800023843923" } |
lookup | equal, not_equal, less_than, less_equal, greater_than, greater_equal, between, not_between | { "comparator": "equal", "field": { "api_name": "Lookup.name" }, "value": "Name1" } |
ownerlookup/userlookup | in, not_in | { "comparator": "equal", "field": { "api_name": "Modified_By", "id": "400029000000000479" }, "value": [ { "id": "400029000003984001", "name": "User1" }, { "id": 400029000003984002, "name": "User2" } ] } |
formula | Comparator will depend on the return type | - |
Note:
- Use quotes for strings and picklists; do not use quotes for numbers and boolean values.
- While Zoho CRM’s filtering capabilities are extensive, certain field types — including subforms, multi-select lookup fields, multi-user lookup fields, and multi-module lookup fields — are not supported in filters and criteria. The above table lists all the supported field types.
Filtering in COQL Queries
COQL (CRM Object Query Language) provides a structured way to retrieve records from Zoho CRM using SQL-like queries. Unlike the standard API filters discussed above, COQL uses the WHERE clause to define conditions.
Here is a sample COQL query:
{
"select_query": "SELECT Full_Name, Email FROM Leads WHERE Lead_Status = 'Qualified'"
}
Here, Lead_Status = 'Qualified' acts as the filtering criteria.
{
"select_query": "SELECT Full_Name, Email FROM Leads WHERE (Lead_Status = 'Qualified' AND City = 'New York') OR (Industry = 'Software')"
}
The AND and OR operators allow for multiple conditions in the WHERE clause. We have covered COQL API, and all the supported field types and operators in detail in our Kaizen posts. Kindly refer to them for more details.
Criteria in Search API
In Search API, filtering records is done using the criteria (string) input key in the request body. Unlike filters in GET requests or criteria in other APIs, criteria here is a text-based filter expression that follows a specific syntax.
(({api_name}:{operator}:{value})and/or({api_name}:{operator}:{value}))
- You can combine up to 10 conditions using and or or.
- Only the equals operator is supported for encrypted fields.
- When using "equals" in Search API, it behaves like "contains", meaning it fetches records that include the specified value, not just exact matches.
- If you use parentheses (), commas, or backslashes \ in values, you must escape them properly and encode the value before making the request.
Field Type | Supported Operators |
Date, DateTime | equals, not_equal, greater_equal, greater_than, less_equal, less_than, between, in |
Integer, Currency, Decimal | equals, not_equal, greater_equal, greater_than, less_equal, less_than, between, in |
Boolean | equals, not_equal |
textarea | equals, not_equal, starts_with |
Lookup (user/owner) | equals, not_equal, in |
Picklist, Autonumber | equals, not_equal, in |
Text, Email, Phone, Website | equals, not_equal, starts_with, in |
multiselectpicklist | equals, not_equal, in, starts_with. |
bigint | equals, not_equal, greater_than, greater_equal, less_than, less_equal, between, in |
percent | equals, not_equal, greater_than, greater_equal, less_than, less_equal, between, in |
formula | The supported operators of the formula datatype will depend on the return type of the formula |
Have questions or use cases to share? Feel free to share them in the comments below or reach out to our support team directly at support@zohocrm.com.
Thank you for joining us this week. Stay tuned for more insights in our upcoming Kaizen posts! Happy Coding!!
- 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. ✨
- OAuth Scopes page for Zoho CRM APIs. ✨
Previous Kaizen: Kaizen #177: Duplicate Check Preferences API vs. Upsert API | Kaizen 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
Anu Abraham
Sticky Posts
Kaizen #222 - Client Script Support for Notes Related List
Hello everyone! Welcome to another week of Kaizen. The final Kaizen post of the year 2025 is here! With the new Client Script support for the Notes Related List, you can validate, enrich, and manage notes across modules. In this post, we’ll explore howKaizen #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.
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
Edit Default Print
What I want to do is create / edit the "Default Print" template without changing the layout I'm using. Currently I can create "Email Templates" but I don't use them for emailing and getting to that selection takes multiple clicks. If an email template could be set to be the Default Print template that would be helpful. I'd also like to print these in bulk but don't see that option (there is a mail merge macro but that goes straight to emailing, not to print or PDF).Widget shows error
Hi， May I ask why below characters will be auto added into the widget link and how to solve this error? As my widget shows 404 error now. ?serviceOrigin=https%3A%2F%2Fcrm.zoho.com&frameorigin=https%3A%2F%2Fcrm.zoho.comHow to print envelope labels from Zoho CRM
Can anybody give me any clue how to print envelope/package labels directly from Contacts view? Regards, Alexandru Moderation Update: The Canvas Print View, which also facilitates the formatting of mailing labels, is now available! Learn more here: ZohoData Import: New interface, improved field mapping, and more
Hello everyone! We’ve redesigned the data import process to ensure accurate field alignment and verify that every column in the uploaded file maps correctly with Desk fields before import. Here's how: Streamlined Import Steps Importing data is now moreAddress labels
Hi, we've been searching for a long time for a simple way for our employees to print address labels using a Dymo Label Writer 450. We came up with two alternatives that work, bur aren't really optimal. First one is WebMerge. Webmerge is a great application that does 100% what we need but it is way too expensive for our needs. We only need to print a couple of labels per month. The second one is the integrated print tool in Zoho CRM, (Print preview) You would think this is the obvious way to do thisPrint Labels
How can I configure my address to print my labels like this: Name Mailing Address Mailing City, Mailing State Mailing Zip Country Instead of: Name Mailing Address Mailing City Mailing State Mailing Zip Country Thanks!!!!Mailing labels - Improperly formatted
All I'm trying to do is print one, properly formatted, mailing label. I'm in the Contacts module. In the default "list view" for mailing labels I selected a single client, hit the "more actions" drop down and selected print mailing label. Unfortunately,Printing mailing labels
The ability to print mailing labels would seem to be an important, basic, function of a good CRM. I find it very surprising that this has still not been addressed adequately by Zoho. When trying to use the existing "mailing label" included: 1. the dataPageless mode needed to modernise Writer
When we switched from GSuite to Zoho, one of the easiest apps I found to give up, was Docs. In many ways, Writer has always been more powerful than Docs, especially in terms of workflows/fillable forms/etc. However, I went back into Docs because I noticeZoho Projects - Visual improvement to parent and sub-task relationship
Hi Projects Team, My feature request is to improve sub-task visibility. Please see screenshot below. I really think parent child relationships could be visually improved. Even if the first letter of the parent task was inline with other same level tasksAPI method to get activity feed in Recruit
Hi community, I'm trying to figure out - is there any API method tto get information about datetime when Recruit/Candidates record tag where added?Printing Mailing labels
Is there any way to adjust the size of the printing labels? or product would I use to print labels from Zoho? Thanks, Josef Krieger Moderation Update (14th April 2025): We have another post discussing the same topic with votes and feedback from users.Default to Current Date
I'm importing data from a excel spread sheet that does not have date column and I'd like the date column in the Zoho Database to default to the current date. Any way I can do this?Different Company Name for billing & shipping address
We are using Zoho Books & Inventory for our Logistics and started to realize soon, that Zoho is not offering a dedicated field for a shipping address company name .. when we are creating carrier shipping labels, the Billing Address company name gets alwaysWhat's New in Zoho Inventory | Q2 2025
Hello Customers, The second quarter have been exciting months for Zoho Inventory! We’ve introduced impactful new features and enhancements to help you manage inventory operations with even greater precision and control. While we have many more excitingMake Packages from multiple sales order of a single customer
Our customers sends orders to us very frequently, some times what customer wants is to ship items from 5 to 6 sales orders in a single shipment. it will be very nice if, zoho can implement this function, in which we can select items from other sales orders of the customer.Show Custom Button in Portal Listview Canvas
I have created a custom button that shows in a list view of deals (internally I can see it). I have permissions to allow this button on the portal. But it is not displaying in the canvas list? Before I do too much leg work, is this function allowed?Zoho Sites "pages" management page
I have 80 plus pages on zoho sites. When I go to the "pages" link to view and edit pages, They are not in any kind of order, so I spend lots of time searching for pages when I need to edit or create new. How can I change the view order of all my pagesAI feature in Zoho Desk suggesting answers based on past ticket threads
Hi I would like to suggest something that would be very useful : instead of suggesting answers based on the Knowledge Base, I think it would be great if Zia could analyze the history of all customer and agents threads, to suggest answers in new tickets.Advanced Customization of the Help Center using JavaScript
Hello everyone, The Help Center in Zoho Desk can be customized by using HTML and CSS to provide structure and enhance the page's appearance—but what if you want to add interactive and dynamic elements? You can add these effects with JavaScript, a programmingIntroducing Zoho POS for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Hey everyone, We are excited to kick-start December with a completely personalized edition of POS for retail businesses in Saudi Arabia to help run your operations with ease. It offers four different subscription plans—Free, Standard, Professional, andUnveiling Zoho Sites 2.0 - A new dimension in website building
Dear Zoho Sites Users, We are thrilled to announce the launch of Zoho Sites 2.0 today! This refresh represents a significant step forward in the capabilities of Zoho Sites and is crucial for creating a lasting and positive impact on our customers' businesses.Script Editor not an option
I am trying to apply a script to a sheet and Script Editor is not an option. I don't want to go outside Sheets to do this (like Creator) if it can be done inside Sheets.Not able to link email text.
Kindly check Zoho Sites. I am unable to turn a text into a email link. The save button does not work. Kindly try yourself to see it not responding to save.Migrate data from old to new account
Hy, Have one Old Zoho Notebook Account with Data , want to migrate that whole Data to New Zoho Notebook Account which is in Zoho One . Is that possible ? If Yes then how?Zoho Analytics Regex Support
When can we expect full regex support in Zoho Analytics SQL such as REGEXP_REPLACE? Sometimes I need to clean the data and using regex functions is the easiest way to achieve this.Add Custom Reports To Dashboard or Home Tab
Hi there, I think it would be great to be able to add our custom reports to the Home Tab or Dashboards. Thanks! Chadlanded cost-need help with different currency under the same bill
I’m having trouble recording landed costs in Zoho Inventory/Books. My purchase order is in CNY, but the landed cost (freight) I pay is in USD. Zoho forces everything under the same bill to use one currency, so I can’t enter the landed cost in its actualPricing Strategies: #1 Nuances in Pricing
When Clara first opened her digital printing shop, pricing was simple. She sold handmade greeting cards, planners, business cards, and other physical items at fixed label prices, individually and in bulk. One SKU, one price, one bill, and that's all it[Free Webinar] Learning Table Series – Education Management in Zoho Creator
Hello Everyone! We’re excited to invite you to another edition of Learning Table Series, where we showcase how Zoho Creator empowers industries with innovative and automated solutions. About the Learning Table Series The Learning Table Series is a free,Move attachments from one module to another with Deluge
I have created a button that works just like the convert button for my custom modules. I would like this custom function to move any attachments in this record to the new module. I can't seem to find any documentation on how this can be accomplished.Help in function code
Hi, could someone look at the code below and tell me what 's wrong with it? After a deal creation or edition the code should find the related Account, than all open Deals for that Account and copy the field Total_Open_Deals from the Account record toAutomation Series: Auto-update Phase Status
Hello Folks! You can auto-update your phase's status based on status of underlying tasks using custom functions. In this series, we will showcase how to create and run custom functions, using Deluge, with ease. Follow the steps below and automate yourhow to add subform over sigma in the CRM
my new module don't have any subform available any way to add this from sigma or from the crmZoho Projects - Project Details on the Project Menu
Hi Project's team, I've helped may businesses setup and use Zoho Project and one thing I see time and time again is confusion on where to find the Project Details information. I would be much more intuitive if Project Details was on the menu before Dashboard.Zoho Projects - Add Feed to Project Tabs
Hi Projects Team, I'm working on a lightweight communications requirement for one of my customers in relation to communicating with their client users via Zoho Projects. I noticed that the Feed is only available in the Collaboration section, but you canFlow - Fetch info from drop down in another module
I am running into a road block which I thought would be a simple task. My goal - The account is assigned to a "route" which can be selected from a drop down menu and adds a tag to the account accordingly (easy enough). Now when I create a task for thisShow unsubscribed contacts ?
Hello, I would like to display the unsubscribed contacts. Unfortunately, I do not have this subscription type as described in the documentation (https://help.zoho.com/portal/en/kb/marketing-automation-2-0/user-guide/contacts/contact-management/articles/subscription-type-24-1-2024#Subscription_Type_field.)Zoho Developer Community Hackathon 2025 is LIVE!
Hey developers! It’s that time of the year again — the Zoho Developer Community Hackathon 2025 is officially open for registrations! If you’ve been waiting for a chance to stretch your skills, try something new, or finally bring that idea to life, thisConverted Leads Not Showing in Lead Reports
Converted leads are not showing in the Lead reports. How can I make converted leads visible in the report,Next Page