Kaizen #27 - Layouts in Zoho CRM

Kaizen #27 - Layouts in Zoho CRM

Hello everyone!
Welcome back to another week of Kaizen!
In this post, we will discuss the Layouts in Zoho CRM.

1. What are Layouts?

Layouts allow you to organize various fields of a module into sections. They also allow you to set layout-specific properties such as mandatory, unique, default, etc, to various fields. Every module has a default layout named "Standard". You can also create your own layouts for each module.

2. Adding a new layout to a module

  • Go to Setup > Customization > Modules and Fields.
  • Choose module > New Layout.
  • If the new layout is the first custom layout of that module, a cloned version of the standard layout will be loaded, in which you can make the desired changes. If you already have a custom layout, you can choose which layout would you like to clone, and make updates to that layout. 
  • Click More options > Remove Field to delete any unwanted field. 
    Note: You cannot modify the properties of system-defined fields in any layout of any module. You can find the system-defined fields for each module in the next section.

  • To add new fields, drag and drop the field type and set the field properties.
  • Click More options > Edit Properties to modify the properties of a field. The Set Permission option allows you to manage access permission for the field. The Mark as required option allows you to make a field's input mandatory. 
  • After making all the changes, click Save.
  • Select the profiles you want to assign the layout permission to and click Save.
You can get the details of a layout such as the ID, available sections, the visibility of the layout etc., via the Layouts Metadata API. Alternatively, you can go to Setup > Customization > Modules and Fields > Choose module > Choose layout to see the layout ID in the URL. 
            
3. System-defined fields of the default modules

As we discussed in the previous section, you cannot modify the properties of system-defined fields in any layout of a module. Listed below are the system-defined fields of the default modules in Zoho CRM.

Module
System-defined mandatory fields and field type
Leads
Last Name - Single Line
Contacts
Last Name - Single Line
Accounts
Account Name - Single Line
Deals
Deal Name - Single Line
Stage - Picklist
Tasks
Subject - Multi Line
Calls
Subject - Multi LIne
Call Type - Picklist
Call Start Time - Date/Time
Call Duration - Single Line
Events
Title - Single Line
From - Date/Time
To - Date/Time
Products
Product Name - Single Line
Quotes
Subject - Single Line
Product Details - Product Line Item
Invoices
Subject - Single Line
Product Details - Product Line Item
Campaigns
Campaign Name - Single Line
Vendors
Vendor Name - Single Line
Price Books
Price Book Name - Single Line
Pricing Details
Cases
Case Origin - Picklist
Status - Picklist
Subject - Single Line
Solutions
Solution Title - Single Line
Purchase Orders
Subject - Single Line
Vendor Name - Lookup
Product Details - Product Line Item
Sales Orders
Subject - Single Line
Product Details - Product Line Item

4. Inserting Records in a Particular Layout

a. Via API

Before we look at how to insert a record in a particular layout via API, let us have a look at what happens when you specify and do not specify the layout details in the input. 

When you specify layout details in the input:
1. The system checks for both system-defined and user-defined mandatory fields. 
2. The default values for fields with default values will be auto-populated. 

When you do not specify layout details in the input:

1. The system inserts the record in the "standard" layout of that module.  
2. The system checks only for system-defined mandatory fields. 
3. The default values for fields with default values will not be auto-populated.

Specify the unique layout ID in the input in the form of a JSON object named "Layout". The "id" key in the response of the layouts metadata API represents the unique ID of the layout.

Input

{
    "data": [
        {
            "Company": "Zylker",
            "Last_Name": "Daly",
            "First_Name": "Paul",
            "Email": "p.daly@zylker.com",
            "State": "Texas",
            "Layout": {
  "id": "4150868000000244014"
            }
        },
        {
            "Company": "Villa Margarita",
            "Last_Name": "Dolan",
            "First_Name": "Brian",
            "Email": "brian@villa.com",
            "State": "Texas"
        }
    ]
}




To know more, refer to the insert records API.

Note:
  • A single record cannot be added to multiple layouts. In this case, you must create a new record with the same details in the desired layout. A single record (with a unique record ID) cannot exist in more than one layout. 
b. Via UI
To insert records in a particular module via UI, choose the layout before you insert a record in a module.




Note:
The Get Records API lists all the records from all the layouts. The key "layout" gives the details of the layout that the record belongs to.

5. Updating the layout details for a record via API

To update the layout details of a record via API, specify the layout details in the input. When you update the layout details of a record:
  • The system checks for both system-defined and user-defined mandatory fields in the layout that you update. For instance, if you update the layout of a lead from standard to custom, where "Company" is a mandatory field, then the lead must already have a value in the "Company" field, or you must specify it in the input. The system checks for both "Last_Name" (system-defined mandatory field) and "Company" (user-defined mandatory field) before updating the layout of the record. 
  • The system auto-populates the fields with their default values (if applicable) in the layout that you update.

We hope you found this post useful. Please reach out to us at support@zohocrm.com if you have questions, or let us know in the comment section.

Cheers!





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