Kaizen #199: FAQs on Multi-Select Lookup (MxN) Field in Zoho CRM
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.
Hey everybody!!!
Welcome back to another post in the Kaizen series!
In this post, we will address some of the most frequently asked questions about the Multi-Select Lookup(MxN) field from the Zoho CRM developer community forum.
1. What is a Multi-select lookup field?
A multi-select lookup field in Zoho CRM lets you create a many-to-many relationship between two modules. This means a record in one module can be linked to multiple records in another module and vice versa.
For example, using an multi-select lookup field, you can associate multiple skills with an employee.
2. How does the Mutli-Select Lookup relationship work?
When you create a Multi-Select Lookup between two modules, for example, Employees and Skills, Zoho CRM automatically creates a hidden linking module, which is also known as an MxN module. This module stores the associations between records in the two modules, enabling you to track and manage many-to-many relationships.
For instance, if you link Employees and Skills, a linking module named EmpXSkills will be created.
This linking module is accessible only via API.
Backend Flow of multi-select lookup Relationship
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.
Why you cannot use a lookup field for this use case?
In Zoho CRM, a lookup field creates a one-to-many relationship between two modules i.e. one record in the source module can be linked to only one record in the target module.
Example :
If you create a lookup field for Skills in the Employees module, each employee can be linked to only one skill. So, use a multi-select lookup field instead of a lookup field when you need to represent complex relationships like one employee - many skills and one skill - many employees.
3. How to create a multi-select Lookup field using Zoho CRM APIs?
To create a Multi-Select lookup field between two modules using Zoho CRM APIs, follow these steps:
Step 1: Identify the Module API Name
Before creating the field, you should know the API names of the Employees and Skills modules. For that, use the Get Module Metadata API.
Request URL : {{api-domain}}/crm/v8/settings/modules
Request method : GET
Now, search for the Employees module in the response and note its API name.
Step 2: Use the Create Custom Fields API
To establish a many-to-many relationship between two modules, in our case, Employees and Skills, you need to create a custom field of type multi-select lookup in the Employees module (parent module). Here, we will associate multiple skills to an employee.
This custom field requires:
- The related module you want to link to - Skills.
- A display field from the related module
- The linking module (EmpXSkills), which stores the actual associations.
Use the Create Custom Fields API to create custom fields.
Request URL : {{api_domain}}/crm/v8/settings/fields?module=Employees
Request method : POST
Sample input :
|
{
"fields": [
{
"field_label": "Skills", //Name of the field in your module
"data_type": "multiselectlookup", //Type of the field
"multiselectlookup": { //This JSON object contains the multi-select lookup relationship details
"connected_details": { //Details about the module and field you want to link
"module": {
"api_name": "Skills" //API name of the related module
},
"field": {
"field_label": "Skills" //The field in the related module to display
}
},
"linking_details": { //Details about the junction or linking module that manages the many-to-many relationship
"module": {
"plural_label": "EmpXSkills" //Plural label of the junction module
}
}
}
}
]
}
|
4. How Do You Find the Linking Module and Field API Names?
To know the API name of the linking module:
Use the Get Modules API and search for "generated_type" : "linking" in the response to identify MxN modules. In our case, EmpXSkills.
Request URL : {{api_domain}}/crm/v8/settings/modules
Request method : GET
To know the field API names in the linking module:
Use the Get Fields Metadata API to retrieve the API names of lookup fields within the linking module.
Request URL : {{api_domain}}/crm/v8/settings/fields?module=EmpXSkills
Request method : GET
5. How do I associate records via a multi-select lookup field using the Insert Records API in Zoho CRM?
To associate records using a multi-select lookup field, you must provide the record IDs from the related module. The association is made through the linking module.
Example :
Associating multiple skills with an employee using the multi-select lookup field.
Request URL : {{api-domain}}/crm/v8/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 the Employees module
{
"Skills": { // API name of the lookup field in the linking module pointing to the Skills module
"name": "Marketing",
"id": "5725767000002149427" //ID from the Skills module are mandatory to establish the link
}
},
{
"Skills": {
"name": "Social Media Marketing",
"id": "5725767000002149476"
}
}
]
}
]
}
|
6. How do I associate an Employee's skills using the linking module in Zoho CRM?
To establish a relationship between the Employees and Skills modules through the linking module, use the Insert Records API to create a record in the linking module, EmpXSkills.
To do this,
- Use the appropriate lookup field API names to reference the parent module.
- You must need the record IDs from both the Employees and Skills modules to create the associations.
Request URL : {{api-domain}}/crm/v8/EmpXSkills
Request method : POST
Sample input :
|
{
"data": [
{
"Name": "Patricia",
"Employees": {
"id": "5725767000002161001" // Record ID from the Employees module
},
"Skills": {
"id": "5725767000002149476" // Record ID from the Skills module
}
}
]
}
|
7. When should I use create/update operations in the Employees module vs the EmpXSkills module?
|
Employees Module |
EmpXSkills (linking) Module |
|
Use when you want to create or update an Employee and associate Skills using the Multi-select Lookup field. |
Use when you want to create or remove associations between existing Employee and Skill records without modifying the actual Employee or Skill data. |
|
Creating a new employee and assigning their skills at once. |
Managing relationships between existing records i.e., linking and unlinking skills to employees. |
8. How to update a record in the linking module?
To update a record in the linking module, use the Update Records API.
Request URL : {{api-domain}}/crm/v8/EmpXSkills/5725767000006269044
Request method : PUT
Sample input :
|
{
"data": [
{
"Skills": {
"name": "Marketing",
"id": "5725767000002170035" //Associating another skill with the employee
}
}
]
} |
In the above sample, we have replaced an existing skill associated with an employee with another Skill in the linking module.This is done by updating the Skills lookup field in the EmpXSkills record.
Please note that in the linking module, Skills is a lookup field, so you can associate only one skill per linking record. But in the Employees module, Skills is a multi-select lookup field, so an employee can be associated with multiple skills.
9. How to unlink records from the parent module as well as the linking module?
Unlink the associated records from the parent module:
Using the Update records API, you can remove an associated skill from an employee, use the "_delete": null key within the multi-select lookup field in the Employee record update.
Request URL : {{api-domain}}/crm/v8/Employees/5725767000006269044
Request method : PUT
Sample input :
|
{
"data": [
{
"Skills": [
{
"Skills": {
"name": "Marketing",
"id": "5725767000002170035" // The Skill record you want to unlink
},
"id": "5725767000007228047", //record ID - The record created in the linking module for the employee with the Marketing skill
"_delete" : null
}
]
}
]
}
|
Replace an associated record from the linking module:
Use the Update Records API to replace an existing association in the linking module.
Request URL : {{api-domain}}/crm/v8/EmpXSkills/5725767000007228035
Request method : PUT
Sample input :
|
{
"data": [
{
"Skills": {
"name": "Java",
"id": "5725767000005259075" //replacing a new skill
}
}
]
}
|
In the above sample, we have replaced the existing skill with Java.
10. Why am I seeing the error "DUPLICATE_LINKING_DATA" in the Update Records API?
This error occurs when you try to associate records with the parent record that are already linked with the Multi-select lookup field. To resolve this, check the records you are trying to link and make sure your association is only with records that are not already linked.
Know your existing linked records:
Before the Update Records API, use the Get Related Records Data API and search for the multi-select lookup field. In our case, Skills is the multi-select lookup field created in the Employees module. This will return all records already associated.
Example :
The response returns all Skills already linked with that Employee.
Using this way, compare the IDs from the API response with the new records you are about to link, and only proceed with non-duplicate IDs. This avoids duplicate entries and prevents the "DUPLICATE_LINKING_DATA" error.
11. What happens if I delete a record in the linking module?
When you delete a record in the linking module, it only removes the association between the related records in the Employees and Skills modules.
Note :
- Deleting a linking module record removes only the relationship between two records from the Employees and Skills modules.
- Deleting an Employee or Skill record deletes all corresponding entries in the linking module as well.
12. How do I query linked records?
Use the COQL API to query multi-select lookup data by specifying the corresponding linking module's API name directly in your query. The linking module is treated as a separate module in Zoho CRM, so you can retrieve associated records by querying it like any other module.
Sample query :
|
{
"select_query": "select Skills.Name as skill, Employees.Name as employee from EmpXSkills where Skills.Name like '%Marketing%'"
}
|
Use the Get Module Metadata API to know the linking module's API name.
13. How do I export multi-select lookup records using the Bulk Read API?
To export multi-select lookup data, linking module records efficiently, use the Bulk Read API with the linking module’s API name.
Request URL : https://www.zohoapis.com/crm/bulk/v8/read
Request method : POST
Sample Request :
|
{
"callback": {
"method": "post"
},
"query": {
"module": {
"api_name": "EmpXSkills" //API name of the linking module
},
"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"
}
}
}
|
14. Can I import my linking module's data using the Bulk Write API?
Yes. Like the Leads and Contacts modules, you can also import linking module's data into Zoho CRM using the Bulk Write API by directly specifying the linking module’s API name.
If you are importing data that involves both a parent module, Employees and its associated MxN linking module, follow these steps:
1. Create separate CSV files:
- One for the parent module - Employees
- One for the linking module - EmpXSkills
2. Zip the files into a single ZIP file.
3. Upload the ZIP in a single Bulk Write API request.
4. Ensure accurate field mappings are provided in the API request body.
Refer to Kaizen #131 - Bulk Write for parent-child records using Scala SDK for more details on handling parent-child records.
15. Can I receive notifications if a multi-select lookup field in a module is modified or updated?
Yes, you can receive notifications when a MxN field is updated using the Notification API. To enable instant notifications for actions performed in a module, use the respective API names of the linking module in the input body.
Request URL : https://www.zohoapis.com/crm/bulk/v8/actions/watch
Request method : POST
Sample input :
|
{
"watch": [
{
"channel_id": "10000",
"events": [
"EmpXSkills.all" //EmpXSkills represents the API name of the linking module
],
"notify_url": "https://webhook.site/9f5ba227-ce5a-4709-814d-b044c003d605",
"return_affected_field_values": true
}
]
}
|
16. Can I use criteria-based filtering when accessing multi-select lookup data using the Search API?
Yes, you can filter multi-select lookup data using the criteria parameter in the Search API's URL.
Here is an example that fetches records from the EmpXSkills linking module.
Request URL : {{api-name}}/crm/v8/EmpXSkills/search?criteria=((Secondary_Email:equals:patricia@mail.com)and(Skills:equals:Content_Marketing))
Request method : GET
Sample response :
x-----------------------------x
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 #198: Using Client Script for Custom Validation in Blueprint | Kaizen Directory
Other FAQs in the Kaizen series :
- Kaizen#75 - Frequently Asked Questions on Client Script
- Kaizen #147 - Frequently Asked Questions on Zoho CRM Widgets
- Kaizen #155 - Frequently Asked Questions on Subforms
- Kaizen #170 - Frequently Asked Questions on Notification APIs
- Kaizen #195: Frequently Asked Questions on Bulk Read API and Bulk Write API
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
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
Zoho CRM - Potentials Tab
Hi! When I create a Deal (Potentials tab) the header looks like this: After a refresh on the page it looks like this: What should I do so that it is displayed like in the second pic without refresh? Also I have a user that as of recently, cannot see thisIs there a way to automatically add Secondary Contacts (CCs) when creating a new ticket for specific customers?
Some of our customers want multiple contacts to receive all notifications from our support team. Is there a way to automatically add secondary contacts to a ticket when our support team opens a new ticket and associates it with an account? This wouldUnable to create embed code for resource of workdrive using API
Hello Team, I am trying to create embed code for a resource using workdrive api in powershell, however facing some issues with injecting data in body. Followed Doc: https://workdrive.zoho.com/apidocs/v1/filefoldersharing/shareeveryone Please help, belowFeature Request - Insert URL Links in Folders
I would love to see the ability to create simple URL links with titles in WorkDrive. or perhaps a WorkDrive extension to allow it. Example use case: A team is working on a project and there is project folder in WordDrive. The team uses LucidChart to createnot able to convert pdf to jpg and other forms and vice versa.
i want to change my pdf to jpg, word, etc and some times jpg to pdf. i don't know how to do in this.Enable / show scroll bar when Mega Menu is opened
Hey there I am using the mega menu add-on and experience a "flicker" whenever the mega menu opens. The reason is, that the scrollbar, which has a width of a few pixels, stops showing when the mega menu opens. As the scrollbar disappears the whole pageReports: Custom Search Function Fields
Hi Zoho, Hope you'll add this into your roadmap. Issue: For the past 2yrs our global team been complaining and was brought to our attention recently that it's a time consuming process looking/scrolling down. Use-case: This form is a service report withZoho Inventory - Composite Items - Assembly - Single Line Item Quantity of One
Hi Zoho Inventory Team, Please consider relaxing the system rules which prevent an assembly items from consisting of a single line item and outputting a quantity of 1. A client I'm currently working with sells cosmetics and offers testers of their productsHow can I transfer data from Production to Development environment?
Hi, I am using Creator V6 and would like to bring all the data in production to the Development and Testing environments? Is there an easy way of doing that or I have to export and import each table?Add "Reset MFA" Option for Zoho Creator Client Portal Users
Hello Zoho Creator Team, We hope you are doing well. We would like to request an important enhancement related to Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) for client portal users in Zoho Creator. Currently, Creator allows us to enforce MFA for portal users,New portal SAML authentication error: User not found
Dears, Has anyone else been experiencing this lately? I am creating a new portal authenticated by SAML (Entra ID). I followed the same process as I did with other portals, but any new portal created after this always encounters this error. I’ve been reportingDevis et facture multi page
Bonjour, je suis sur Zoho invoice et je rencontre un problème sur mes devis et factures lorsqu'ils dépassent 1 page. je me retrouve souvent avec des lignes coupées ou le sous total page 1 et le total page 2. j'aimerai savoir s'il existe une possibilitéRotate an Image in Workdrive Image Editor
I don't know if I'm just missing something, but my team needs a way to rotate images in Workdrive and save them at that new orientation. For example one of our ground crew members will take photos of job sites vertically (9:16) on his phone and uploadHelp with Filtering Records, HTML Pages, and Automatic File Uploads in Zoho Creator
Hi Zoho Creator Community, I’m building a Zoho Creator application and need guidance on a few features I’ve been struggling with. I want to implement them safely and efficiently, and I’d appreciate any examples, tips, or best practices. I want users toConvert invoice from zoho to xml with all details
How to convert an Invoice to XML format with all detailsFeature Suggestion for Zoho Websites – Inspired by Squarespace Systems
Dear Zoho Team, I’m a Zoho user and also a Squarespace Platinum Circle member, and I recently noticed the launch of Zoho Websites in India. I wanted to share some ideas for features that could enhance the platform for professional users and agencies.Custom View - Sort by Custom Field
I created a custom field for our Engineering team to know which tickets to work first by numbering them. I created a custom view to general data which includes the Engineering Priority. However, I cannot sort the Engineering Priority column ascendingZoho Indeed Intergation not pulling candidate details
We have recently integrated zoho with indeed. Prior to this our candidates came into the candidates tab via the zoho.resumes email address from indeed and it pulled through the candidates mobile number, and majority of the time a postcode. However sinceCustom View of tickets created today
How can I create a custom view that list all my ticked created in the current date? Currently, if I select the "Created Time" criteria, the "Current Time" option does not work as today. Actually, I don't know how it works this "Current Time".Lifecycle Reports
From data to decisions: A deep dive into ticketing system reports A lifecycle report captures and visualises the sequential states that a ticket undergoes across its lifespan. For instance, when a customer submits a support ticket for a faulty product,Zoho Forms - Print Button on Forms
Hi Forms team, I'm replicating a form for a client which is currently based on JotForm. I noticed that at the end of the form there is a button to print the completed form. I thought this would be something worth sharing and a nice to have in Zoho Forms.Putting Watermark on Zoho Sheet
Can this be done?Validation function not preventing candidates under 18 or over 30 from submitting the web form
Hello everyone, I’m trying to create a validation rule for the Candidate Webform in Zoho Recruit. I added a custom field called “Date of Birth”, and I want to make sure that candidates cannot submit the form unless their age is between 18 and 30 years.Report to know the history of certain Tickets on Desk
Hi there guys, As the title implies we're wondering if there's any way to get some kind of Report that allows us to check the History of various Tickets at the same time since as of today if we want to know that we have to check them 1 by 1 which is notAdvanced Usage Billing: Prepaid with Drawdown
Picture yourself at your favourite coffee shop, Bean & Brew. You come by every morning for your usual cappuccino, and occasionally you get an extra cold brew and a muffin or two in the afternoon. Interestingly, Bean & Brew has a new idea of offering aZoho Commerce in multiple languages
When will you be able to offer Zoho Commerce in more languages? We sell in multiple markets and want to be able to offer a local version of our webshop. What does the roadmap look like?Urgent Zoho Creator down!!!???
Now my zoho creator faced this issue. Anyone has idea? Urgent!!!The Social Wall: September 2025
Hello everyone, As we step into the fall season, some major updates are on the horizon. Meanwhile, here are the exciting updates we rolled out this September. Approvals in iOS Managing approvals just got more seamless on mobile. With this update, theIntroducing Detailed View for Candidates in Vendor Portal
We’ve added a new Details sub-tab inside the Vendor Portal to help vendors easily view complete candidate information after submission. With this update, vendors can now access all candidate details, from personal information to associated job openings,Zoho One Down
Zoho Team, Checking if when the services up - currently Zoho One is downHow can I track which zoho users are actively using Zoho CRM
I have several licenses of Zoho CRM. We now need to add a new user. I could purchase a new license, but before I do, I would like to see if any of our existing users are not actively using the license assigned to them. How can I determine the activityAccess to Detail View From HTML Snippet
Zoho Creator displays a detail view that slides out from the right onClick of a record in a report. Am I able to access that detail view from an html snippet, e.g. click a record in a list and display the detail view? The zc_LoadIn dialog is a bit clunky,Billing Management: #10 Solving Common Mistakes in Billing
Over the past few weeks, we have explored different facets of billing, from the simplicity of traditional one-time billing to the evolving landscape of subscriptions, retainers, and usage-based models. We've unpacked how billing isn't just about sending【開催間近 - 10/17】東京 ユーザー交流会 Vol.3 参加登録 受付中！(参加無料)
ユーザーの皆さま、こんにちは。コミュニティチームの藤澤です。 10/17(金)に、東京・新橋で「東京 ユーザー交流会 Vol.3」を開催します！ ZOHOLICSよりも小規模なイベントですので、「リアル開催はちょっと緊張する…」という方も、安心してご参加いただけます✨ 当日は、初公開の事例を2つご紹介予定です！ なお、セッション映像のアーカイブ配信は予定していないため、会場にお越しいただいた方だけが、登壇者へ直接質問したり、リアルな声を聞いたりできる貴重な機会となっています。 ーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーLoading CSS Stylesheets into HTML Snippet
Combining html/css into a single snippet can grow quite large for a UI that has a lot of functionality/styling. To keep things tidy, are we able to pull files into an html snippet using a <link> tag? If so, what are some best practices?Notes Attachments
Two things it would be nice to have the attachment size the same as the attachments sections and it would be nice to be able to attach links like you can in the attachments section. Thank youCanvas: empty images
Hello. If I add an image field like contact photo in a Canvas design, and the field is empty, there is an ugly placeholder in its place. This doesn't happen in the standard view. In the standard view, if the contact photo is empty, nothing appears inGoogle enhanced conversions not working
Hi guys, I've connected Zoho CRM through Google Ads interface with the goal to setup the enhanced conversion tracking in Google Ads. I have to Zoho related conversion goals which you can see in the images below: For the conversion goal above I've setupMS Teams Meeting to Zoho CRM
Has anyone figured out a good way to push MS Teams meeting info on a trigger of "meeting end" to Zoho CRM? We're looking for a way to take attendees of a meeting and meeting duration and push it into Zoho CRM after the meeting has ended. If I can justFont Size 11 - Zoho CRM Email Templates
Our company communicates with our vendors exclusively using Calibri Font Size 11, as this is the standard formatting for professional emails. Since the CRM only allows for the selection of font sizes 10 & 12, we have been unable to utilize the CRM emailNext Page