Kaizen #22 - Connections in Zoho CRM
Hello everyone!
Welcome back to another post in the Kaizen series!
This week, we will discuss Connections in Zoho CRM.
In this post, we will discuss the following:
- What are connections?
- Authentication types
- Creating a connection
- Using a connection
1. What are Connections?
A Connection (or a connector) is a simple authentication mechanism to connect your Zoho CRM account with a third-party app.
Zoho provides default integration support to a wide range of apps like core Google services (Contacts, Calendar, and Google Ads) and Microsoft software (MS Office, MS Outlook, etc).
However, there is no default integration with third party services like PandaDoc, SignEasy etc,. In these cases, you can use a connector to expand Zoho's third-party support. Connectors use the OAuth 2.0 or other authentication types to facilitate this integration.
You can use connections to invoke any third-party apps' REST APIs and get access to the authenticated data through your functions or widgets.
Zoho provides more than 20 connections to the most popular third-party apps, out of the box. You can also create your own connection and integrate your app with Zoho CRM.
2. Authentication types
Since different services have different methods of authentication for their service, Connections are equipped with four different modes of authentication.
a. Basic Authentication
b. API Key
c. OAuth 1.0
d. OAuth 2.0
a. Basic Authentication
This is the authentication method where the user's username and password are sent in the header, form data, or the query string in the format username:password. This method uses the Base64 encoding standard to encode the username and password.
b. API Key
This is a token that the client provides that you can send in the query string or in the header. The API key is unique to every user and stays the same for that user as long as the user uses the service.
c. OAuth 1.0
This method uses a Request Token and an Access Token to get access to the resources on the resource server. The access token does not expire until the user revokes it.
d. OAuth 2.0
This method provides an app limited access by providing an access token only to specific resources. The access token is valid only for an hour.
3. Creating a Connection
To create a new connection,
- Go to Setup > Developer Space > Connections.
- Click Get Started. The Create Connection page opens.
- The Pick your Service tab lists all the connections that are already available. Choose the one that meets your needs.
- If any third-party app is not listed under this tab, you can add a new service under the Custom Service tab.
- For already existing services (under the Pick Your Service tab),
a. Select the service of your choice.
b. Enter the details of the connection such as the name and choose the scope you require from the list.
c. Click Create and Connect. The below image shows a sample connection created for the YouTube app, and you can use the code shown in the box to invoke the YouTube APIs.
- For a new service (services not listed under the Pick Your Service tab),
a. Click the Custom Service tab.
b. Enter the name of the service and choose the authentication type that the third-party service supports.
c. For services that use the OAuth1.0 or OAuth2.0 protocol, enter the following details:
Client ID and Secret you obtained from the third-party service.
The URLs to obtain the request token and the access token (OAuth1.0).
The URLs to obtain the access token and refresh token (OAuth 2.0).
You must obtain these details from the third-party service's documentation.
The below image shows a sample connection created for the third-party service "SignEasy".
- Enter the name of the connection and the required scope.
- Click Create and Connect.
- The connection will be created and the summary will be displayed.
The system also displays the code you must use in a function to invoke the connection.
The below image shows the sample connection created for the third-party service "SignEasy". You can use the code in the box to use the APIs of SignEasy.
- Where,
url: The URL that you can obtain from the third-party service.
type: The HTTP request method (GET, POST, PUT, or DELETE) that the request performs.
parameters: The parameters that the function uses to replace the dynamic values present in the API with user-specific values.
4. Using a Connection
After creating a connection, you can use them in functions to invoke them.
Let us consider a case where you want to send out newsletters through a MailChimp campaign to the contacts stored in Zoho CRM. Before you can send them the newsletters, you want to obtain their consent through a consent form stored in Google Drive.
Here, you must establish a connection between MailChimp and Google Drive and have the consent form as a button in the View page of the Contacts module in CRM.
You can choose to place this widget as a button in the View page of a contact. When the CRM user (an agent) clicks this button, the Consent form widget opens where the agent fills the details of the user.
This triggers the function where an email is sent to the customer. When the customer grants consent, the details of that contact are added to the MailChimp campaign list.
Simply put, you must
a. Establish a connection between Google Drive and MailChimp.
b. Write a function to call the APIs of both these apps.
c. Make the function available as an API.
d. Create a widget and invoke the function.
Let us now see these steps in detail.
a. Establish a connection between Google Drive and MailChimp
Follow the steps in the "Create a Connection" section, and create connections for Google Drive and MailChimp.
b. Write the function code
- Go to Setup > Developer Space > Functions > +New Function.
- Enter details like the function name, display name, description, and choose the function category (Standalone, in our case).
- Write the code in the console as shown below. You can find the code as an attachment to this post.
What does this sample function do?
a. Invokes the MailChimp API.
b. Checks for the Campaign ID.
c. Checks for the email address. If the email already exists on the campaign list, throws the message "The member has already subscribed to the newsletter." Otherwise, adds the email to the campaign list.
d. Invokes the Google Drive API to get the link of the Consent form.
e. If the consent form exists on Google Drive, sends the form to the email address.
e. If the form does not exist, throws the error "No document found".
- This function takes the following parameters
listId (string) - The Campaign ID from MailChimp,
emailAddress (string) - The email ID of the contact you want to send the newsletter to,
extraDetails (string) - To capture any extra information about the contact after they grant consent such as the mobile number, address etc. - Click Save and Execute. Provide the listId, emailAddress, and extraDetails to check if the function works as expected.
- Click Close.
c. Make the function available as an API
- Go to Setup > Developer Space > Functions.
- Choose the required function and click the Settings icon. Select REST API.
- Enable the OAuth2.0 and API key sliders and click Save.
- The function is now available as an API. You can use the URL as a webhook to trigger the function or use the API name of the function in your code to trigger it.
For more details about functions, refer to this post.
d. Create a widget and invoke the function
Since the function is now available as an API, you can use it in any widget and trigger the function based on your needs.
The HTML and the script for the below consent form is attached to this post.
You can also write your own implementation of the widget. Refer to this page to know how.
What does the sample widget code do?
a. The HTML renders the widget.
b. When the user hits the "Subscribe" button, the script invokes the connection and calls the above function (4.b.3) via JavaScript.
We hope you found this post useful. Stay tuned for more!
Cheers!
Access your files securely from anywhere
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
Matt Beck
Praveen Sankar
Sticky Posts
Client Script | Update - Introducing Commands in Client Script!
Have you ever wished you could trigger Client Script from contexts other than just the supported pages and events? Have you ever wanted to leverage the advantage of Client Script at your finger tip? Discover the power of Client Script - Commands! CommandsKaizen #165 : How to call Zoho CRM APIs using Client Script
Welcome back to another exciting Client Script post! In this post, we will discuss one of the most frequently asked questions: How do you call Zoho CRM APIs from Client Scripts? In this kaizen post, 1. Ways to make calls to Zoho CRM APIs using ClientKaizen#162 : Add Tags and Open Pre-filled Email Drafts via Client Scripts
Hello everyone! Welcome to another informative Kaizen post. In this post, let us see how to accomplish the following using Client Script. 1. How to auto-tag a record based on field update? 2. How to Open a pre-filled email draft This post will provideExtension Pointers - JS SDK series #4: Managing data from a widget using ZOHO.CRM.HTTP
Handling and managing the data between two applications is a major factor for an efficient business. There are a variety of ways to handle data between Zoho CRM and other third-party applications. You can use deluge CRM tasks, create connectors, use APIKaizen #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 achieved
New to Zoho TeamInbox?
Zoho TeamInbox Resources
Zoho DataPrep Resources
Zoho CRM Plus Resources
Zoho Books Resources
Zoho Subscriptions Resources
Zoho Projects Resources
Zoho Sprints Resources
Qntrl Resources
Zoho Creator Resources
Zoho Campaigns 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
workflow for bounced email gets triggered, but email is status = opened
Hello, I have a workflow that sends me an email if outgoing email are bounced. Now I got some kind of this emails, but the corrosponding contacts have status = open at the email. Why this bounce-workflow is triggered? Reports > Email Reports > BounceData export
I need to export our customer's data and projects' data for our purpose but am unable to export full data i only get around 3160 projects and around 2k customer can you please help me to get full data, pleaseAdjusting Physical Inventory
Not getting very far with support on this one, they say they are going to fix it but nothings happened since November. Please give this a thumbs up if you would like to see this feature or comment if you have some insight. Use Case: Inventory set to beZoho Marketing Plus : Un outil tout-en-un pour la création de pages, la collaboration et la gestion du calendrier marketing
Nous sommes ravis de vous présenter trois nouvelles fonctionnalités puissantes de Zoho Marketing Plus s’enrichit désormais d’un page web (l'éditeur de pages), qui vous permet de créer des pages attrayantes et à fort taux de conversion pour vos campagnesGrouping payments to match deposits
Is there a way to group multiple invoice payments together so they match credit card batches and grouped deposits in the bank account? Basically, we are creating invoices for each of our transactions, and applying a payment to each of the invoices. Our payments are either credit cards or checks. We want to be able to group payments together so when our bank account reflects a credit card batch made up of many transactions, or the deposit we took to the bank that has multiple checks from differentEmployees can not add some expenses suddenly
Zoho expense was working fine and whenever there was a new merchant, it would automatically add and also the same auto added in Zoho Books (due to merchant-vendor sync) untill now. From today, it is having problems in searching the existing vendors andZoho email setup in office365
When i am trying to setup zoho mail setup using my domain in office365 and it is not working and it says that we couldn't log on to the incoming (IMAP) server and please check your email address and password and try again. I was able to login using myiOS 10: Caller ID new feature?
Hi, in the update history of the iOS App (for iOS10) - v.3.2 - i found the point "caller identification" has this feature been deactivated again? i cannot find anything on my iphone on how to activate this feature. or does it just work from the beginning?Recommendations to store meeting notes for easy access from Contacts, Accounts & Deals module records?
I would like your advice on how to achieve this use case for my organization. It’s related to where/how best to store meeting notes from a conversation with Contact(s) working at an Account (Company) in the context of a Deal. The ideal solution (fromBank reconciliation. Match Transaction -filter
When matching an imported bank statement file we only get a match if it is an excact match on both amount and date. Then a suggestions comes up with a very broad selection regarding amount, and no default "between" dates. I can then go an manually adjust the filter, and have to put in from-to amounts and dates. How do I set a default from-to date? As an example, I would like the date to be +- 3 days, Thanks.Added new staff but does not appear in other organization list
Hi, I added the new staff under Sales Manager in the contacts, but it does not appear in the other organization list where I need to create a contact, and I can't select the newly added Sales ManagerIntegrating Calendly with Zoho Calendar in Zoho Mail
I moved my office into a business incubator space that uses Calendly for meeting management and events. Calendly doesn't have a integration with Zoho Calendar and vice versa. I was directed to Zapier for integration but it doesn't have an integrationMap fields from module X to a lookup field in subform in module Y
Hi there In the 1st screenshot attached, you can see a subform in myLeads module. You can see that there is a number already filled there - that is the 'Property ID' and it is a single line field. It is the 'Property ID' of an entry I have in another🎄 Jingle, Mingle, and Automate: Spread Christmas Cheer with Zoho Desk Auto-Replies! 🎄
Hello Everyone! Welcome to this week's episode of the Community Learning Series. Christmas is in the air, and I’m sure we can all feel the jingle and the mingle of the season! The folks at Zylker Techfix are no exception—they’re busy with holiday planshow to create a new line in string in Client Script?
I want to show an alert using client script, I need to add a new line in String, I assume I can use \n\n inside a string, but unfortunately it doesnt work ZDK.Client.showAlert("First Line \n\nI expect this is in second line");Surely it's time Inline editing from views
I think the first request I found for in-line editing from grids was approximately 12 years ago - that post was locked because it was suggested Zoho sheetview solved the problem. However, it's now 2024, and in-line editing from grids is just a basic expectation.Multi branding issue with sender addresses
Hello, I'm currently working on a project involving two (seperate) brands. Named 'Windeck' and 'Prolance'. They've chosen CRM Plus and I'm currently working on CRM, SalesIQ, Social and Marketing Automation. So far, I'm able to make enough separationsHow to Replace an Assessment in a Job Opening on Zoho Recruit
Hi everyone, I’m currently using Zoho Recruit and would like to replace the assessment linked to a specific job opening. I want to remove the existing assessment and add a new one. What is the best way to do this without losing any important data or affectingIs there API Doc for Zoho Survey?
Hi everyone, Is there API doc for Zoho Survey? Currently evaluating a solution - use case to automate survey administration especially for internal use. But after a brief search, I couldn't find API doc for this. So I thought I should ask here. ThanEmail Campaigns overview page is missing SENT DATE and # people sent to!
I would like to see the date the email campaign was sent, so I can understand and track when each email campaign was sent. Right now, unless you go to a contact who received a campaign, you cannot see when the campaign was sent (!!!!!!). So, if my bossSEO recommendation of H1 tag for website tittle
The exact words are “ It is good practice to place the page title inside the H1tag.” Now I already have one H1 tag on my website but it is not website tittle. In the SEO recommendation that is clear too that I have h1 tag on my page. Now I don’t knowHow to choose other payment methodes than creditcards
We have connected stripe as a payment provider in zoho books, booking, commerce and checkout. In stripe we selected al major payment methodes for Belgium (mainly bancontact). However, at checkout customers seems to have only the possibility to pay withIntroducing Zia LLM: Zoho’s in-house Generative AI solution for CRM's AI capabilities
Hello everyone, We're excited to announce the launch of our in-house Large Language Model (LLM) by Zia to power our AI offerings. What is LLM? LLM stands for Large Language Model, a powerful AI technology that processes and generates human-like text basedHow to call a Creator function which is in a different Creator application?
How to call a Creator function which is in a different Creator application?Can the code in my "Successful form submission" WF be invoked from a function?
Can "Successful form submission" be invoked from a function? Data gets into a form manually and programatically. My code in "successful form submission" is good and I want to reuse it/call it, from another function which does Insert Into How to achieveKaizen #169 - Serialization and Schema Management in Queries
Hello everyone! Welcome back to another post in the Kaizen series! In Kaizen #166, we discussed handling Variables in Queries and associating the query in Kiosk. This week, we will discuss Serialization and Schema management in Queries. Business ScenarioIntroducing Keyboard Shortcuts for Zoho CRM
Dear Customers, We're happy to introduce keyboard shortcuts for Zoho CRM features! Until now, you might have been navigating to modules manually using the mouse, and at times, it could be tedious, especially when you had to search for specific modulesFeature Request: Notebooks within notebooks (Tree-like structure)
Dear Zoho! I already migrated all my stuff from Google Keep, Im really fond of Zoho Notebook so far. One thing that could make the service much more powerful is multi-level notebooks (or tree like structure). For example, entering into Notebook namedCan't get authorization for Sandbox environment using the self client
Hello, After creating a self client, and following the client-credentials method (as it's not optimat to manually generate a code for every 10 minutes), after inputting the sandbox org id for SOID parameter, im getting the error: "error": "no_org". ForCreate landing pages from Zoho Marketing Plus
Hey everyone, Over the last few months, we've introduced various features and enhancements to bolster the marketing capabilities of Zoho Marketing Plus and make it simpler for everyone. To that end, we're excited to announce that Zoho LandingPage is nowCustom service report or Zoho forms integration
Hello, So far the experience with Zoho FSM and the integration with Books has been good, however there are limitations with service reports. As with my business, many organisations send technicians to different types of jobs that call for a differentEmail tracking subdomain
The Email Tracking configuration screen of the ZeptoMail asks for a subdomain. I have gone through the documentation but could not find more information about how that subdomain is used by ZeptoMail to track the emails. Can someone throw some light aboutChart View group X-axis values above a value
I have a data set with X values ranging from 0 up to 300-400, the Y values are an AVG of the values for the given X. I am interested in the values at the low end of the scale, say 0-10 and want the X values 10 and greater to be grouped into a single categoryHow do I get the Text Account name instead of the Reference number?
Good Morning everyone! I am very new to zoho analytics. I'm trying to create some pivot tables and when I add the Account or Division name it comes up as a reference number. From my research, I need to use a lookup. I'm having a really hard time understandingCustom API - Need to create a string return value, not only MAP
@Support: When creating a Custom API it only allows a return from a function of MAP type. The service I'm using requires a string return, how can this be achieved?missing video-urgent
hi..I have a problem regarding zoho meeting. I already record almost 2hrs for my interview session. After end my session, i'm stop the recording. Its happened when i didn't received any meeting recording at my email.But i received recording 7minutes afterDuplicate New Ticket Emails
I am getting two Ticket emails when a ticket is created. The first one goes to me as the Admin helpdesk@ And because I am an Agent as well it also send to helpdesk@, support1@ and support2@ Is there any way to stop this?Ticket Response Email Template
Is there a way to have an email template automatically selected when I click on Reply for a ticket?Unpublishing Job Post for LinkedIn
Hi, We have experienced issue with the above. We did unpublish a job in Recruit but it still appear under Job section in our LinkedIn page. It did not remove from LinkedIn as it should be. Please check and advise. Regards, SnyderPower of Automation :: Automatically start / pause / stop timer on task status update.
Hello Everyone, A Custom function is a user-written set of code to achieve a specific requirement. Set the required conditions needed as when to trigger using the Workflow rules (be it Tasks / Project) and associate the custom function to it. Requirement:-Next Page