Portal APIs in Zoho CRM - Part I

Portal APIs in Zoho CRM - Part I

Welcome back to another week of Kaizen everyone! 
This week, we will be discussing the Portals API in Zoho CRM.

What are Portals in Zoho CRM?

Portals in Zoho CRM allow businesses to extend access to their CRM to external stakeholders, such as customers, partners, vendors or franchisees. Portals allow users to view, edit and create records within the CRM, depending on their level of access and permissions. This helps businesses to manage customer and partner interactions, share information and improve communication. 

Sample Business Cases:

In Health care Industry - If you run a health care facility, you can provide your patients the access to their medical records using portals. Through the portal, the patients can have controlled access to their medical records like their appointments, tests done and medication prescribed. Patients can request appointments, provide updates to their information, and request copies of their medical records through the portal. 

In a consulting firm - If you run a consulting firm, you would want to keep your clients updated about the status of their projects in real time. To do this, you can create a portal and share it with your clients. The clients can view the status of their projects, including the progress, the budget, and the schedule. Clients can view the updates and provide feedback on the project through the portal. 

In the automobile industry - If you have an automobile shop, and you want to track the customer details, your sold vehicle details and service schedules, you can create a portal and share it with your customers. They can view and update their details and book for services using through the portal.

Creating a Portal via API

Let us consider the context of the automobile industry. To create a portal for your customers, you can use the Create Portal API.

Request URL : {api-domain}/crm/v4/settings/portals
Request Method : POST
Scope : ZohoCRM.settings.clientportal.ALL/CREATE

Sample Input

 {
    "portals": [
        {
            "name": "ZylkerAutomobiles"
        }
    ]
 }

Input Keys

 Key Description
 name Unique name of the portal. 

Sample Response

 {
    "portals": [
        {
            "code": "SUCCESS",
            "details": {
                "name": "ZylkerAutomobiles"
            },
            "message": "Portal created successfully with given name.",
            "status": "success"
        }
    ]
 }

Update Portal via API

You can update the portal name via Update Portal API. 
Request URL : {api-domain}/crm/v4/settings/portals/{portal-name}
Request Method : PUT
Scope : ZohoCRM.settings.clientportal.ALL/UPDATE

For instance, the following request renames the already created portal ZylkerAutomobiles to ZylkerAutos.

Sample Input 

 {
    "portals": [
        {
            "name": "ZylkerAutos"
        }
    ]
 }

Input Keys

 Key Description
 name Unique name of the portal. 

However, changing the portal name will also alter the portal URL. As a result, it is crucial to communicate this change to all existing portal users.

Get Portals via API

At any point, if you want to get the details of all the portals configured in your CRM account, use the Get Portal API.

Request URL : {api-domain}/crm/v4/settings/portals
Request Method : GET
Scope: ZohoCRM.settings.clientportal.ALL/READ

Sample Response:

 {
    "portals": [
        {
            "created_time": "2023-02-07T20:13:20+05:30",
            "modified_time": "2023-02-07T20:13:20+05:30",
            "modified_by": {
                "name": "Patricia Boyle",
                "id": "4876876000000327001"
            },
            "name": "ZylkerAutos",
            "active": true,
            "zaid": "10052946888",
            "created_by": {
                "name": "Patricia Boyle",
                "id": "4875876000000327001"
            }
        }
    ]
 }

Response Keys

 Key Description
 name The name of the portal
 active Represents whether the portal is active or not.
 zaid The unique id of the portal.

Now let us consider the case where you may want to extend the portal access to beyond your customers. There would be multiple user groups you may want to extend the access to, including the employees and partners. For instance, you may want to share the portal with your employees to give them access to customer information, sales data and service schedules. If you have partners, you may want to share the portal with them to keep them informed about the customer behaviors, sales data etc. Each of these groups may require to access to different types of data within the CRM.

To accommodate the different needs and access levels of the different types of users, you may need to create multiple user groups in the portal. For example, you could create a user group for customers and another user group for employees. The business can then configure different permissions for each user group, allowing or restricting access to the relevant data in the CRM account. This way, each type of user will be able to access the information that is most relevant to them, without compromising the security and privacy of the rest of the data in the CRM account.

Get Portal User Types API

The Get Portal User Types API allows you to retrieve the user types available in the portal of your org. It is important to note that when you create a portal, the default user type Client Portal is added by default.

Request URL : {api-domain}/crm/v4/settings/portals/{portal_name}/user_type
Request Method : GET
Scope: ZohoCRM.settings.clientportal.ALL/READ

Sample Request : https://www.zohoapis.com/crm/v4/settings/portals/ZylkerAutos/user_type

Sample Response

 {
    "user_type": [
        {
            "created_time": "2023-02-08T11:56:16+05:30",
            "default": true,
            "modified_time": "2023-02-08T11:56:16+05:30",
            "personality_module": {
                "plural_label": "Contacts",
                "api_name": "Contacts",
                "id": "1306462000000000129"
            },
            "name": "Client Portal",
            "modified_by": {
                "name": "Patricia Boyle",
                "id": "1306462000083528405"
            },
            "active": true,
            "id": "1306462000001813022",
            "created_by": {
                "name": "Patricia Boyle",
                "id": "1306462000083528405"
            },
            "no_of_users": 1
        }
    ]
 }

Response Keys

 Key Description
 default Represents whether the user type is the default one for the portal.
 personality_module Details of the module for which the user type was configured.
 name The name of the user type.
 active Represents whether the user type is active or not.
 id The unique id of the user type.
 no_of_users The number of users in the portal assigned with this user type.

Invite users to Portal via API

Once the portal is created, you can invite the customers to join the portal using the Invite Users to Portal API. This provides the customers with access to the information regarding their automobile including the servicing details, and their information.

Request URL : {api-domain}/crm/v4/{personality_module}/{record_id}/actions/portal_invite
where, personality_module is the API name of the module for which the portal was created and record_id is the ID of the record that you want to invite to the portal
Request Method : POST
Scope: ZohoCRM.settings.clientportal.ALL/CREATE

Parameters

 Parameters Parameter Description
 user_type_id : integer, mandatory
 The id of the user type you want to assign the user with. 
 type : string, mandatory
 Represents whether the user is invited (invite) the first time or is re-invited(reinvite).
 language : string, optional
 The language code of the user you want to invite to the portal

Please note that for the client portal user type, you can invite only clients/customers and not users with the same email domain like your employees or partners. 

In this sample request, 1306462000000659009 is the record id of the customer in Contacts module, and 1306462000001813022 is the user type id.

Sample Response

 {
    "portal_invite": [
        {
            "code": "SUCCESS",
            "details": {
                "record_id": "1306462000000659009"
            },
            "message": "An Invite has been sent to the personality.",
            "status": "success"
        }
    ]
 }

Get Users of a User Type API

The Get Users of a User Type API enables you to retrieve the list of users available in a specific user type of a portal.

Request URL : {api-domain}/crm/v4/settings/portals/{portal_name}/user_type/{user_type_id}/users
Request Method : GET
Scope : ZohoCRM.settings.clientportal.ALL/READ

Parameters

 ParametersParameter Description
 type : string, optional
The type of user. Possible values are AllUsers, AllActiveUsers, ActiveUsers,  DeactiveUsers, NotConfirmedUsers, ConfirmedUsers, and ActiveConfirmedUsers.
 filter : JSON object, optional
To filter based on the value disabled on updation of email of the status_reason__s field in the Users module. The allowed comparators are equal and not_equal. Note that you must encode this JSON object.

The following request retrieves the details of users in your ZylkerAutos portal, with Client Portal user type.

Sample Response

 {
    "users": [
        {
            "personality_id": "1306462000000659009",
            "confirm": true,
            "status_reason__s": null,
            "invited_time": "2023-02-08T18:03:10+05:30",
            "module": "Contacts",
            "name": "Jennifer Spears",
            "active": true,
            "email": "jennifer.spears@abc.com"
        }
    ],
    "info": {
        "per_page": 200,
        "total_count": 1,
        "count": 1,
        "page": 1,
        "more_records": false
    }
 }

Response Keys

 Key Description
 personality_id The id of the module for which the portal was created.
 confirm Represents whether the user is a confirmed user or not.
 status_reason__s The reason the user is disabled.
 module The API name of the module for which the user type was created.
 name The full name of the contact.
 active Represents whether the user type is active or not.
 email The email ID of the contact of that user type.

We will discuss more on user types and users in next week's post. We hope you found this post useful. 
Write to us at support@zohocrm.com if you have any questions.

    Access your files securely from anywhere

          Zoho Developer Community




                                    Zoho Desk Resources

                                    • Desk Community Learning Series


                                    • Digest


                                    • Functions


                                    • Meetups


                                    • Kbase


                                    • Resources


                                    • Glossary


                                    • Desk Marketplace


                                    • MVP Corner


                                    • Word of the Day



                                        Zoho Marketing Automation


                                                Manage your brands on social media



                                                      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

                                                                            • CRM Community Learning Series

                                                                              CRM Community Learning Series


                                                                            • Kaizen

                                                                              Kaizen

                                                                            • Functions

                                                                              Functions

                                                                            • Meetups

                                                                              Meetups

                                                                            • Kbase

                                                                              Kbase

                                                                            • Resources

                                                                              Resources

                                                                            • Digest

                                                                              Digest

                                                                            • CRM Marketplace

                                                                              CRM Marketplace

                                                                            • MVP Corner

                                                                              MVP Corner





                                                                                Design. Discuss. Deliver.

                                                                                Create visually engaging stories with Zoho Show.

                                                                                Get Started Now


                                                                                  Zoho Show Resources


                                                                                    Zoho Writer Writer

                                                                                    Get Started. Write Away!

                                                                                    Writer is a powerful online word processor, designed for collaborative work.

                                                                                      Zoho CRM コンテンツ






                                                                                        Nederlandse Hulpbronnen


                                                                                            ご検討中の方





                                                                                                  • Recent Topics

                                                                                                  • Contemplating moving my site from WordPress to Zoho Sites

                                                                                                    Hi Everyone, We currently find ourselves in a situation where we ant to review and update our current sites content. We are small business owners, not developers. We currently use a wide range of Zoho products. We sometimes think about the possibility of either moving or just starting from scratch on Zoho Sites. I would like to know if anyone has done this and of course the things that need to be considered. We have spent quite a bit of time getting our current site positioned organically and I guess
                                                                                                  • Multiple Salesperson against an invoice

                                                                                                    Hello, Against a particular invoice, we have multiple sales people working. The reason we combine the invoice is becuase we are an exporter and often consolidate cargo for our customer to save them freight costs. How do I capture the contribution of each
                                                                                                  • Allow a brand to connect multiple facebook pages at the same time

                                                                                                    Our company have multiple facebook pages to represent, every branch, right now we can only link one facebook page, so we can only recive messages from one branch. It would be nice to be able to connect all pages.
                                                                                                  • Whatsapp reply not reflected under Tickets for offline agent

                                                                                                    Hi, We are encountering a situation where WA response from customer is not reflected under tickets (if the agent handling the case previously is not active due to off day/ MC). The ticket will remain in the offline agent's queue until agent is back to
                                                                                                  • Select CRM Custom Module in Zoho Creator

                                                                                                    I have a custom module added in Zoho CRM that I would like to link in Zoho creator.  When I add the Zoho CRM field it does not show the new module.  Is this possible?  Do i need to change something in CRM to make it accesible in Creator?
                                                                                                  • Send Whatsapp with API including custom placeholders

                                                                                                    Is is possible to initiate a session on whatsapp IM channel with a template that includes params (placeholders) that are passed on the API call? This is very usefull to send a Utility message for a transactional notification including an order number
                                                                                                  • Increase Round Robin Scheduler Frequency in Zoho Desk

                                                                                                    Dear Zoho Desk Team, We hope this message finds you well. We would like to request an enhancement to the Round Robin Scheduler in Zoho Desk to better address ticket assignment efficiency. Current Behavior At present, the Round Robin Scheduler operates
                                                                                                  • Separate One-Time Mentions from Ongoing Ticket Following in Zoho Desk

                                                                                                    Dear Zoho Desk Support Team, We are writing to request an enhancement to the mention functionality within Zoho Desk. Currently, when an agent is mentioned in a ticket, they receive notifications for all subsequent activity on that ticket, similar to being
                                                                                                  • Mass update Accounts in Zoho Desk

                                                                                                    We used the integration feature to bring in all of our accounts from Zoho CRM. While all of the names and links are in place, on the Zoho Desk side the email, phone, website, and address fields are blank. By going into each account I can select "Update
                                                                                                  • Vivaldi will not open the Zoho Mail app when I click a email link in the browser

                                                                                                    I'm running Vivaldi on Arch with the Plasma desktop and have under default applications Zoho Mail set as my default email client. Whenever I click a email link in Vivaldi I get the below when it should be launching Zoho. Any ideas on rectifying this issue?
                                                                                                  • Digital publisher

                                                                                                    Kinetic Digital Publisher provides comprehensive digital publishing services, including eBook creation, formatting, cover design, and marketing. We help authors publish and promote their work across online platforms with ease.
                                                                                                  • Time Zone Correction with Daylight Savings Time

                                                                                                    Hey, I'm writing a series of reports where the source data is synced from an external source which stores the date/time information in GMT, but I want the reports to be in local time. Now, I understand there is the CONVERT_TZ function which allows me
                                                                                                  • Load form in iframe without header

                                                                                                    I am trying to load a form into an iframe without the header, but I am not having any luck. I am using openUrl() to load the iframe with the form URL and zc_Header set to false, e.g. #Form:Add_Case?zc_Header=false but it is still loading the header. Any
                                                                                                  • Filter embedded report

                                                                                                    How to filter embedded report in a page, below code is not working. dateField => startDate & dateField=< endDate The report should print on page containing records from startDate to endDate. params='zc_Header=true&amp;Service_Date__gte=<%=startDate%>&amp;Service_Date__lte=<%=endDate%>'
                                                                                                  • Creator Simplified #5: Set file upload restrictions in Zoho Creator

                                                                                                    Hey Creators, Welcome to the next post in the Creator Simplified series. Today, we’ll explore how to implement file upload restrictions to limit user submissions to specific file types. By implementing an allowed list for file uploads, you can optimize
                                                                                                  • Field Type: Address, Change District/State to Dropdown with picklist??

                                                                                                    Using the Address Field type, is there a way to make the District/State field be a dropdown with a picklist so the users can select rather than type the state name every time? I know this can be done if I use a drowdown field for the State (or entire address information), but that isn't as tidy as using the address field type. I apologize if this is a duplicate. I posted this question the other day, or so I though. Can't find that post.
                                                                                                  • cutomized fields are not showing up in zoho creator from zoho crm

                                                                                                    We have customized fields in zoho crm under accounts module like "Last production upgrade" --> This field is a date. When created a solution in zoho creator i couldn't find any of the customized fields. Would you please help me on this matter? Thanks
                                                                                                  • How to Add Bulk Data in Zoho Creator Forms Using Deluge Without Exceeding Execution Time Limit

                                                                                                    I have a database form with a column named 'Product Name' containing 8000 values in a Zoho Creator form. In another form named 'Returns Data,' I have a column with the same name, 'Product Name.' How do I add these 8000 values to the 'Returns Data' form
                                                                                                  • Open New Free Zoho Account

                                                                                                    Hi Team, Do you guys offer a free email hosting? I do have a domain already. If yes, what is the process to open the new account? Thanks,
                                                                                                  • 554 5.7.1 : Recipient address rejected: user info@intimspace.de does not exist

                                                                                                    554 5.7.1 : Адрес получателя отклонен: пользователь info@intimspace.de не существует I can't send an email to Google at info@intimspace.de. An error comes. I entered everything correctly in DNS https://zohomail.tools/#domainDetails/intimspace.de/ALL
                                                                                                  • Emails going back unread

                                                                                                    Hi all, When in Zoho mail - when I recieve a new mail it puts back all emails read that day back to unread - I then have to go back through and open all emails I have already read! Gets very annoying... Any idea on the bug fix?
                                                                                                  • Been getting this error, every now and then "Get count limit exceeded, please try again after 3 mins"

                                                                                                    it is really annoying.
                                                                                                  • Constraints on Tasks

                                                                                                    We have a use case where we have certain fixed date tasks and need to schedule predecessor tasks around these. Predecessor tasks need to be completed with a lag before the fixed date. We should be able to schedule the start and end date for predecessor
                                                                                                  • Moving Project Dependencies Not Moving Precedessors

                                                                                                    Most of the time we want to base our start dates around an event that is in the middle of the project template. If I set a bar up at the date we want it, it doesn't move the predecessors up. Is there a way to change this? eg. there is no point starting
                                                                                                  • Can you set task due dates to be "x" days before the milestone?

                                                                                                    We have a milestone set as the date of our first event. All of the tasks need to happen in increments prior to the milestone event. Is there a way to configure this without having to set up each task due date? Thanks!
                                                                                                  • Default ticket template in helpcenter

                                                                                                    Hello, I have a web form and a ticket template created. How can I make that my default ticket template? If an user clicks New ticket or create a ticket, I want that template to be the default one. Thank you for the time and info.
                                                                                                  • Expanded data-capturing capabilities with enhanced tabular sections

                                                                                                    We are thrilled to announce an update to Zoho Recruit that brings even more flexibility and customization to your recruiting process. With the addition of 10 new field types to the tabular sections, you now have the power to enhance your tabular sections
                                                                                                  • Integration of Business Hours in Email Templates

                                                                                                    Dear Zoho Desk Team, We would like to propose a feature enhancement to Zoho Desk that would greatly improve the utility of the Business Hours settings and streamline communication with our clients. Feature Request: Integration of Business Hours in Email
                                                                                                  • Add Owner to deluge-created module record note

                                                                                                    Is it possible to include the "owner" aka "creator", of a Note when creating it via delulge? This sets "superadmin" as the Note creator. I need to override it. notemap = Map(); notemap.put("Parent_Id",program_contact_id); notemap.put("Note_Content",program_contact_data.get('Note'));
                                                                                                  • Blueprint - Field Validation Criteria (During)

                                                                                                    When setting validation criteria elsewhere in Zoho, or even workflow criteria etc., there are Is Empty and Isn't Empty options.  Within the Field Validation Criteria within Blueprint, those options aren't available.  Is there a particular reason for this? 
                                                                                                  • Delete Field that is used in a Zoho Flow connection

                                                                                                    I'm trying to delete a Field used in a Webhook created by Zoho Flow with CRM Connection and i get the following alert: When going to the alert i get to the following issue, can't edit it since its been deployed by a pluggin But yes i have here the prompted
                                                                                                  • Use image on img HTML tag

                                                                                                    Hi how could I do to use my image saved in Workdrive to use it in an HTML img tag ? I need to display it on my website without having to use iframes. Regards,
                                                                                                  • ZOHO Compain emails going to spam after authentication is successful

                                                                                                    Hello, I am frustrated right now. I have recently setup the zoho email compaign, The auto responder email went to receipient spam folder. then, I researched a lot and completed authentication (SPF, DKIM) in email deliverability, email relay in zoho crm.
                                                                                                  • Security Policies

                                                                                                    To protect against cyber threats and attacks, organizations need to set up security policies for their employees' accounts. Security policies are rules and regulations for every individual or group using the organization's assets and resources. Enabling
                                                                                                  • Zoho CRM functions editor is not in the programming language deluge

                                                                                                    I am trying to write a function for a button. I helped someone before in deluge and I'm using this new editor I'm not familiar with - I guess it is new. Why is the default code statically typed? The editor will not let me create a variable without a type.
                                                                                                  • "Age in Days" calculation in Advanced Analytics

                                                                                                    Hi Can someone advise how this is calculated? I am getting values on this report which I cannot understand. Thank you
                                                                                                  • Automatically set quotes to "lost" if deal is set to lost

                                                                                                    Hi, Is there a way to automate that if a deal (opportunity) is lost the related quotes are also set to lost? Thanks!
                                                                                                  • Subdomain

                                                                                                    How can i make subdomain in my zoho website
                                                                                                  • A/R Aging Details shows wrong aging days

                                                                                                    In the A/R Summary Report all of the invoices are in the right aging buckets. When I run the A/R Aging Details report I get aged dates of +300 days when they should be in the 0-90 day range.
                                                                                                  • Global Choice List share ownership

                                                                                                    I have created several forms that use one or more Global Choice Lists. These lists have been published to Org. I would like to allow one or more admins to edit the choices in these lists. Any help appreciated. Geoff
                                                                                                  • Next Page