Kaizen #77 - Multi-select Lookup Fields in API V4

Kaizen #77 - Multi-select Lookup Fields in API V4

Hello everyone!
Welcome back to another post in the Kaizen series!
This week, we will discuss how to add data to multi-select lookup fields using the insert records API.
Note that this support is available only from CRM API version 2.1 and up. We have used the V4 API in examples, here.

What is a multi-select lookup field?

Consider an insurance company using CRM to track its policies, customers and their purchased policies. In CRM, we will use the custom modules Policies and Holders to store policy details and customers' personal details, respectively.

Here, each holder can have multiple policies and the same type of policy can be held by multiple holders.
So, there is a need to establish many-to-many relationships which you cannot achieve through a lookup field.

Multi-select lookup fields solve exactly this!
They allow you to associate multiple records with each other from two modules. The related modules' records are also available as related lists.

Linking Module 

When you have a multi-select lookup that connects two modules, a linking module is created that contains data of the two connected modules.
Here, there will be two lookup fields—one pointing to Policies and the other pointing to Holders.



This is how the linking module looks in the UI:




Earlier, using V2 APIs, you had to make a POST call to this linking module and add data related to the two modules. Refer to this post for details.

From V2.1, you can directly add data to a multi-select lookup field while inserting a record itself.

Example Scenario

Let us consider the same example of Policies and Holders.
Policies and Holders contain Holders and Policies_Held multi-select lookup fields, respectively.
There are four policies viz., Life, Health, Auto, and Home.
Similarly, Allison, Smith, Jack, and Derek are policy holders and hold single or multiple policies.

Here is how a policy record looks like in the UI.
Holders is the multi-select lookup field and contains the details of the holders of this policy. You can also see Holders as a related list.



Here is how a record from the Holders module looks like in the UI with the Policies_Held related list.



Let us discuss how to associate a policy holder directly while creating a policy through the Insert Records API.
API names you need before using the API:
  • API names of the multi-select lookup fields in the modules they appear.
  • API names of the lookup fields in the connected module. Example, the API name of the multi-select lookup field in Holders is Policies_Held, while that of the lookup in the connected module is Policies.
    You can use the Fields Metadata API for Policies and Holders to get these details.

Request URL: {{api-domain}}/crm/v4/Policies
Request Method: POST
Scope: ZohoCRM.modules.ALL or ZohoCRM.Policies.ALL/CREATE

Input Body:

{
    "data": [
        {
            "Name": "105_Travel",
            "Policy_Type": "Travel",
            "Policy_Period": "5 years",
            "Premium_Amount": 5000.00,
            "Payment_Model": "Annual",
            "Holders": [ //API name of the multi-select lookup field in Policies module
                {
                    "Holders": { //API name in Policies
                        "name": "Allison",
                        "id": "3652397000011357033" //Record ID in the Holders module
                    }
                },
                {
                    "Holders": {
                        "name": "Jack",
                        "id": "3652397000011357001" //Record ID in the Holders module
                    }
                }
            ]
        }
    ]
}

UI after successful insertion:


Deluge Code:
Policyinfo =  {
 "data":[{
  "Name": "105_Travel",
            "Policy_Type": "Travel",
            "Policy_Period": "5 years",
            "Premium_Amount": 5000.00,
            "Payment_Model": "Annual",
            "Holders": [
                {
                    "Holders": {
                        "name": "Allison",
                        "id": "3652397000011357033"
                    }
                }
            ]
   }]};
response = invokeurl
[
 type: POST
 content-type: "application/json"
 parameters: Policyinfo.toString()
 connection: "ZohoCRM"
];

info response;
return "";

Here is the input body to insert a holder in the Holders module with the multi-select lookup field Policies_Held.

{
    "data": [
        {
            "Name": "Sandra",
            "Policies_Held": [ //API name of the multi-select lookup field in Holders
                {
                    "Policies": { //API name in the connected module  
                        "name": "105_Travel",
                        "id": "3652397000011358003" //Record ID in Policies
                    }
                },
                {
                    "Policies": {
                        "name": "101_Home",
                        "id": "3652397000011353001"
                    }
                }
            ]
        }
    ]
}

Deluge Code:
Holderinfo =  {
    "data": [
        {
            "Name": "Sinatra",
            "Policies_Held": [
                {
                    "Policies": {
                        "name": "105_Travel",
                        "id": "3652397000011358003"
                    }
                },
                {
                    "Policies": {
                        "name": "101_Home",
                        "id": "3652397000011353001"
                    }
                }
            ]
        }
    ]
};
response = invokeurl
[
 type: POST
 content-type: "application/json"
 parameters: Holderinfo.toString()
 connection: "ZohoCRM"
];

info response;
return "";

We hope you found this post useful. We will meet you next week with another interesting post.
Write to us at support@zohocrm.com if you have any questions, or let us know in the comment section.


Cheers!



    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

                                                                                                  • How to add new deal to existing contact

                                                                                                    Hi, I want to add new deal to existing contact.
                                                                                                  • Domain verification is in progress... (How long do I need to wait?)

                                                                                                    Trying to setup my first email domain by connecting with GoDaddy. Have been here for quite some time and the screen is not changing. How long should this take?Send DataSend Data
                                                                                                  • email address autocomplete

                                                                                                    Is there a way to eliminate certain addresses from showing up in auto complete when entering an address? Many old and unused addresses currently show up, many of which I would like to get rid of. Thanks
                                                                                                  • Linking an email to a Contact when the email is sent in deluge via sendmail

                                                                                                    The "to:" address in this code is a CRM Contact. Email address is forced unique in CRM This sendmail gets sent via a workflow which is in a custom module. It works, except that the outbound email does not appear (i.e, get linked to) the Contact such that
                                                                                                  • How to restore deleted Field

                                                                                                    I edited a field in zoho form and by accident I deleted a field (email address). The form is ongoing to be filled by respondent. Then, when I checked to the all entries and report, the email address is gone. I checked in audit log, there is a record that
                                                                                                  • How to select multiple notes at once in the PC client?

                                                                                                    In the PC client, you can select notes using ctr+LMB. But why can't you use shift+LMB? PC version 3.2.0
                                                                                                  • How I can add customized Invoice

                                                                                                    Hi, I wanna use a customized Invoice, how i can add that
                                                                                                  • Zoho Analytics Pivot Table - How to compare month vs last year same month

                                                                                                    Hi, I had created a pivot table with setup as below: Column: - Delivery Date Row: - Customer Group Data as column - Total amount (sum > normal) (show data of the month) - Total amount (sum > % difference from previous value) (compare between this month
                                                                                                  • Recorded imported goods

                                                                                                    I have imported some goods from a foreign vendor called ABC. to Bahrain. My Customs duty and VAT are paid by an agency called XYZ to authorities. I have paid the amounts to XYZ and they have paid to authorities in behalf of us using our TRN Number. Now
                                                                                                  • Notes created in mobile app not syncing with web notebook

                                                                                                    I have created certain notes in a new notebook in mobile app. The new notebook is also created using mobile app and when I logged in through web I am unable to see notebook that I have created using mobile app. there is no trace of notes in which i have created in mobile app on the web even after days of creating in mobile app This is not the case vise-a-versa. the notes and note book created on web are accessible on mobile app on real time.  this is very inconvenient and big demotivating factor
                                                                                                  • Match Transaction > Filter | Allow wildcards in search

                                                                                                    The Filter function is useful for narrowing down to a specific set of transactions. It would be useful to have the ability to use wildcards in search. e.g. customer name "starts with" or " * " as a placeholder. e.g. "National * " instead of "National
                                                                                                  • Marketing Automation Emails Going to Spam

                                                                                                    Google is trapping all the marketing automation emails in spam. My domain has a perfect reputation and it looks like Zoho has a low reputation which is sending it to spam. When I pull the email out of spam and click on a link in the email, I get this
                                                                                                  • Convert Request to Forum Topic

                                                                                                    I know you can convert a forum topic to a request and a request to a solution in the knowledge base, but how do you convert a request to a forum topic?  Is this possible?  If not is this a feature coming down the pipe in the near future? Thanks!
                                                                                                  • Zoho Sign / Prefill By You - Editable by Them!

                                                                                                    Zoho Sign seems to have two field options available - an empty field for signer(s) to complete or a field that has been prefilled by you, that becomes read only once sent.  What I would like is an option on the pre-filled by you fields, to leave them
                                                                                                  • Is the Contacts sync between Campaigns and CRM bi-directional?

                                                                                                    Is the Contacts sync between Campaigns and CRM bi-directional?
                                                                                                  • Task does not syncing to google calendar shedual

                                                                                                    Hi why does the tasks activities do not syncing with the google calendar like the event option does?
                                                                                                  • Bug with Zobot Human transfer

                                                                                                    I have configured the brand, the operator, and the Zobot in Spanish. However, no matter what I do, it always says "YES" instead of "Sí" or "Sure, why not " instead of "Claro, ¿por qué no?" when asking if the user wants to contact a human operator. The
                                                                                                  • This mobile number has been marked spam. Please contact support.

                                                                                                    Hi Support, Can you tell me why number was marked as spam. I have having difficult to add my number as you keep requesting i must use it. My number is +63....163 Or is Zoho company excluding Philippines from their services?
                                                                                                  • Something went wrong. One or more fields contain errors

                                                                                                    I am getting this error but there is no way to debug what field is causing the issue . I have over 100 fields. Everything was working fine and then i fixed some fields that should have the same field names but had a typo and i am getting this error. It
                                                                                                  • Integrating Zoho Desk Instances from two separate organizations

                                                                                                    Is it possible to integrate Zoho Desk with an instance from another organization? For example, creating a ticket in one organization can cause the creation of a ticket in the second organization? Or certain tickets from one organization be viewable by
                                                                                                  • Knowledge base bug - Error: Article couldn't be updated.

                                                                                                    It took me a while to figure this out, truly one of the most irritating bugs in Zoho. I hope you find this information helpful. When using the knowledge base to create articles, make sure your keywords are in lowercase and separated by commas. Otherwise,
                                                                                                  • Is this possible with Campaigns?

                                                                                                    My company is currently moving CRM's from Monday to Zoho One. Currently, our marketing lead process is send out 7 sms messages over 14 days if the lead is in a certain status. If we don't get a response the lead is put into a "Closed" status. Do we buy
                                                                                                  • How to view two portals (Zoho CRM & Zoho Books) in single login

                                                                                                    Hello there, I need to create a portal access for the Customers. Customer data present in two applications namely Zoho CRM & Zoho Books. My requirement is to show the two different portals(Zoho CRM Portal & Zoho books Portal) in single login. I could
                                                                                                  • Updating Bounced Contacts in Campaigns to the CRM

                                                                                                    The article explains how to update Opt-outs from Campaigns to CRM, but not bounces. While Campaigns will automatically remove any bounced emails from future campaigns, is there a process by which a bounce will update or make a notification in the CRM
                                                                                                  • Bandwidth, voice and poor video

                                                                                                    Dear Team, The webinar has made things quite easy and convenient for educators around the world. We are an art & culture-based organization where students and researchers are our major audience.  While using the Zoho webinar platform, we have observed that the audio lags and the video is of poor quality and often freezes. Some participants don't hear what is being spoken.  We also found that even a slightly slow internet connection disrupts the webinar while it should be working well even on lower
                                                                                                  • Zoho books and venmo

                                                                                                    Hi, Is there a way to hook Venmo into zoho books? I have a Venmo business account and want to be able to sync that. I know you can do it with the paypal integration but I dont want to use paypal for the fees and that doesnt allow me use/integrate my current
                                                                                                  • Global Sets for Multi-Select pick lists

                                                                                                    When is this feature coming to Zoho CRM? It would be very useful now we have got used to having it for the normal pick lists.
                                                                                                  • 550 5.4.6 Unusual sending activity detected. Please try after sometime. <a href=https://www.zoho.com/mail/help/usage-policy.html target=_blank>Learn more.</a>

                                                                                                    Please help me with this. Sending of mails is blocked.
                                                                                                  • The Social Wall: November 2024

                                                                                                    Hey everyone, As we move into December, we're excited to share all the updates that went live in Social during November. View, monitor, and respond to your WhatsApp and Telegram messages from Inbox Take your communication a step further by integrating
                                                                                                  • Segmenting Contacts Based on Product Purchased

                                                                                                    I am trying to organize our main Marketing Automation email list in a way that segments contacts based on products they have purchased (for example in this case it is 3 different products). To my knowledge, this would require the sync from Zoho CRM to
                                                                                                  • Urgent Assistance Needed with DKIM Verification

                                                                                                    Hi, I have been trying to verify the DKIM for the past month using your instructions as well as other resources. Unfortunately, I have not been able to resolve the issue, and it remains persistent. I need to address this problem as soon as possible so
                                                                                                  • How do I attach tasks from one task to other tasks in the same project

                                                                                                    How do I attach tasks from one task to other tasks in the same project
                                                                                                  • Incorrect Handling of XLSX data

                                                                                                    Trying to import an XLSX schedule of bills into Zoho Books I ran across the problem of date formatting. To replicate: Build a CSV file with bill dates in whatever format you like and import it - this should work if you match the "dd/MM/yyy" etc. format
                                                                                                  • Zoho Books Invoice Salesperson: requires ID but there is no "Fetch salesperson" action

                                                                                                    Hi, I am trying to attach a Salesperson to a Zoho Books invoice. In Zoho Flow, the salesperson field required an ID. However, I only have the salesperson name, I need to fetch salesperson by name and then provide the ID. There is no option to fetch salesperson...
                                                                                                  • Change format of quantity format

                                                                                                    Hi,  I would like to change the qunatity format from 1,00 to 1.  Is this possible?   thanks!
                                                                                                  • Ticket Views: filter criteria -> dynamic date values in relation to the current date

                                                                                                    Hello all, It would be very helpful if you could build custom views in such a way that you do not have to adjust the criteria daily or at whatever interval in order to change the fixed date value as needed. For example, I would like to create a view that,
                                                                                                  • Captchas: No support for Google reCAPTCHA or similar

                                                                                                    Hi all, The current captcha integrated into Creator is very basic, and often near-impossible to read. I'm building an app for a charity which includes a couple of public-facing forms, and this is a real issue for people with dyslexia and related conditions - it's effectively excluding them if you want any form of spam protection at all on your published forms (and that being said, the current captcha doesn't even seem very effective - bots can often read it more easily than humans). I've raised this
                                                                                                  • Maintain consistency in ticket responses with shared snippets

                                                                                                    Hello everyone! We are excited to announce that our highly anticipated snippet sharing feature is now available to all users. As you know, snippets are pre-defined message templates, or canned messages, that help agents respond to tickets with efficiency.
                                                                                                  • Tickets - Zoho Desk

                                                                                                    Hi Team, My Clients need to see their tickets created and the status of the ticket in the Zoho Support Desk itself. How can I do this? My Client doesn't have a Zoho Account. They need to access the ticket by the provided link without signing in.
                                                                                                  • Automatically assign Contacts to Account owners

                                                                                                    Hi, I have a finite number of accounts set up in the CRM, and each new contact that comes in is automatically assigned to an Account according to a rule I set up. I want the Contact owner in the Contacts module to be assigned to the relevant Account owner.
                                                                                                  • Next Page