Kaizen #8 - Handling Recurrence and Participants in the Events Module via API

Kaizen #8 - Handling Recurrence and Participants in the Events Module via API

Hello everyone!

We are back this week with an exciting post—Handling recurrence and participants in the Events module through API.

First things first—What is the Events module?
"Events" is a part of the Activities module in Zoho CRM. 
An event is an activity that happens at a given place and time. You can find Events on the user's Zoho CRM's home page, Activities home page, Calendar, and in other related records.

What are the types of Events?
Events are of two types—Recurring and non-recurring events.
Recurring events: These events repeat/recur at a set frequency. You can set them to repeat by day, week, month, or by year. You can also set them to repeat a fixed number of times. 
Non-recurring events: These are one-time events.
Both these events can also be all-day events.

Now, let us see how to handle a recurring event and add/update participants via API.

1. Creating a Recurring Event through API
You must use the Insert Records API to insert a record in the Events module.

Request URL: {{api-domain}}/crm/v2/Events
Request method: POST

Sample input to create a recurring event that repeats every two weeks

{
    "data": [
        {
            "All_Day": false,
            "Event_Title": "Kaizen_9_Weekly",
            "Start_DateTime": "2020-02-02T10:00:00+05:30",
            "End_DateTime": "2020-02-02T11:00:00+05:30",
            "Participants": [
                {
                    "type": "contact",
                    "participant": "3652397000001281003"
                },
                {
                    "type": "lead",
                    "participant": "3652397000000415063"
                },
                {
                    "type": "user",
                    "participant": "3652397000000186017"
                }
            ],
            "Recurring_Activity": {
                "RRULE": "FREQ=WEEKLY;BYDAY=SU;INTERVAL=2;UNTIL=2020-03-15"
            },
            "Remind_At": "2020-02-01T09:45:00+05:30",
            "Who_Id": {
                "id": "3652397000000649013",
                "name": "Patricia Boyle"
            },
            "Venue": "Chennai",
            "$se_module": "Accounts",
            "What_Id": "3652397000000624046",
            "$send_notification": true
        }
    ]
}


Mandatory keys
The following table lists the mandatory fields you must specify while creating a recurring event. Not including any one of these fields results in the MANDATORY_NOT_FOUND error.

Key
Data Type
Description
Event_Title
String
Title of the event. Accepts a maximum of 255 characters, alphanumeric, and special characters. 
Start_DateTime
DateTime
The date and time (in ISO8601 format) at which the event begins. 
End_DateTime
DateTime
The date and time (in ISO8601 format) at which the event ends. 
Recurring_Activity
JSON Object
JSON Object that contains information about the recurrence pattern of the event in the key "RRULE".

Other Keys

Key
Data Type
Description
All_day
Boolean
Represents if the event takes place all day.
Participants
JSON Array
Contains the ID and type of each participant in individual JSON objects. Possible participant types are "lead", "contact", "user", and "email".
Remind_At
DateTime
The date and time in the current user's time zone (in ISO8601 format) at which a reminder is sent to the participants. 
Who_Id
JSON Object
The name and ID of the contact that the event is related to; that contact may or may not be a participant of the event.
What_Id
JSON Object
The name and ID of the Account, Deal, Product, Quote, Invoice, Campaign, Vendor, Case, Purchase Order, or Sales Order that the event is created for.
$se_module
String
The API name of the parent module given in the key "What_Id". This key is mandatory when you include the "What_Id".
Venue
String
The place where the event takes place. Accepts a maximum of 255 characters, alphanumeric, and special characters.
$send_notification
Boolean
Represents if you want to send invitations to the participants of the event. The value true sends out invitations, and false does not. 

We will now discuss the Participants and RRULE keys in detail.

1.1 Participants
The Participants key is a JSON array of participant JSON objects. You can add four types of participants to an event—lead, contact, user, and email. 
You must include each of these participant types as individual JSON objects inside this array as shown below.

"Participants": [
        {
            "type": "contact",
            "participant": "3652397000001281003"
        },
        {
            "type": "lead",
            "participant": "3652397000000415063"
        },
        {
            "type": "user",
            "participant": "3652397000000186017"
        },
        {
            "type": "email",
            "participant": "carissa-kidman@yahoo.com"
        }
]

Where, 
type - The type of participant. The possible values are lead, contact, user, email
participant -  The record ID of the lead, contact, or user.

1.2 RRULE
RRULE is the key in the Recurring_Activity JSON object that determines the recurrence pattern of the event. 
RRULE holds multiple key-value pairs for different types of recurring events (i.e Daily, Weekly, Monthly, Yearly). You must separate each key-value pair by a semicolon.

Mandatory key-value pairs for RRULE
Key
Possible Values
Description
FREQ
DAILY, WEEKLY, MONTHLY, YEARLY
Frequency; represents how often the event repeats. 
INTERVAL
1–99
The gap between each event. For example, for a weekly recurring event, if the INTERVAL value is 2, the gap between the first and the next event will be two weeks. 
COUNT
1–99
The number of events you want to create. For example, if the COUNT value is 3, three events will be created. 

Note
You must specify FREQ and (INTERVAL or COUNT) in RRULE.

Other key-value pairs in RRULE
Key
Possible Values
Description
BYMONTHDAY
1–31
The day of the month the event repeats on. Applicable only for  monthly and yearly events.
BYDAY
SU, MO, TU, WE, TH, FR, SA
The day of the week the event repeats on. Applicable for daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly events.
BYSETPOS
1, 2, 3, 4, -1 
The week of the month the event repeats in.
Applicable only for monthly and yearly events.
1 - Event repeats every first week of the month
2 - Event repeats every second week of the month
3 - Event repeats every third week of the month
4 - Event repeats every fourth week of the month
-1 - Event repeats every last week of the month.
UNTIL
Date in yyyy-MM-dd format
The date until which the event must repeat.

Therefore, according to the sample input given at the beginning of the post, the event starts on Feb 2, 2020 at 10:00 AM and ends the same day at 11:00 AM.

According to  "RRULE":"FREQ=WEEKLY;BYDAY=SU;INTERVAL=2;UNTIL=2020-03-15", the event occurs every Sunday, with an interval of 14 days (2 weeks), and recurs until Mar 15, 2020.
Therefore, the sequence is as shown below.
  1. The event begins on Feb 2, 2020.
  2. The first recurring event happens on Feb 16, 2020.
  3. The second recurring event happens on Mar 1, 2020.
  4. The last recurring event happens on Mar 15, 2020.
Therefore, the response will have four JSON objects—one for the first event as specified in the Start_DateTime key, and one for each recurring event.

Note
You can only create one set of recurring events using the RRULE in a single API call.

A few other examples of RRULE:
  • "RRULE": "FREQ=MONTHLY;COUNT=3;BYDAY=WE;BYSETPOS=2".
    This RRULE creates three events that recur every Wednesday in the second week of the month.
  • "RRULE": "FREQ=MONTHLY;INTERVAL=2;COUNT=3;BYMONTHDAY=14".
    This RRULE creates three events that recur on the 14th day of the month, and repeat once in two months.

2. Updating an Event
You must use the Update Specific Record API to update an event.
In this section, we will discuss
  1. Adding a participant to an event
  2. Updating all future events
2.1 . Adding a participant to an event
Details you need to add a participant to an event
  1. The event's record ID. You can obtain this from the response you received while creating the event.
  2. The ID of the participants that are added already. The GET Specific Event response will have a unique ID for each participant in the "Participants" JSON array.
The sample input is as follows.

{
    "data": [
        {
            "All_Day": false,
            "Event_Title": "Kaizen_10_Weekly",
            "Start_DateTime": "2020-02-02T11:00:00+05:30",
            "End_DateTime": "2020-02-02T12:00:00+05:30",
            "Participants": [
                {
                    "type": "contact",
                    "participant": "3652397000001281003",
                    "id": "3652397000001326102"
                },
                {
                    "type": "lead",
                    "participant": "3652397000000415063",
                    "id": "3652397000001326100"
                },
                {
                    "type": "user",
                    "participant": "3652397000000186017",
                    "id": "3652397000001326098"
                },
                {
                    "type": "email",
                    "participant": "john-butt@gmail.com"
                }
            ],
            "Remind_At": "2020-02-01T10:45:00+05:30",
            "$send_notification": true
        }
    ]
}
As you can see, a new participant of type email and email ID john-butt@gmail.com is added. Since the ID of the existing participant with the email ID carissa-batman@yahoo.com is not specified, it gets deleted.

Note
  • participant is the record ID of the participant (lead, contact, or user).
  • ID is the unique ID of the participant for that event.
  • While adding a participant, you must specify the IDs of other participants for the event. Otherwise, only the new participant is added, while the rest are deleted.

2.1 . Updating all future events
While updating an event, you can choose to update all future events with the new change.
Use the boolean key update_all_future_events. The value true updates all future events, and the value false updates only that particular event.
Here is a sample input.

{
    "data": [
        {
            "All_Day": false,
            "Event_Title": "Kaizen_10_Weekly",
            "Start_DateTime": "2020-02-02T11:00:00+05:30",
            "End_DateTime": "2020-02-02T12:00:00+05:30",
            "Participants": [
                {
                    "type": "contact",
                    "participant": "3652397000001281003",
                    "id": "3652397000001326102"
                },
                {
                    "type": "lead",
                    "participant": "3652397000000415063",
                    "id": "3652397000001326100"
                },
                {
                    "type": "user",
                    "participant": "3652397000000186017",
                    "id": "3652397000001326098"
                },
                {
                    "type": "email",
                    "participant": "carissa-kidman@yahoo.com"
                }
            ],
            "Remind_At": "2020-02-01T10:45:00+05:30",
            "update_all_future_events": true,
            "$send_notification": true
        }
    ]
}

Points to Note
While creating recurring events,
  • You must specify either COUNT or INTERVAL in the RRULE. Otherwise, the system creates 365-day events.
  • For WEEKLY recurring events, you must include BYDAY in RRULE. Otherwise, the system creates 365-day events that recurs weekly.

While updating a recurring event,
  • You must specify the record ID of the event you want to update. 
  • You must set the value of the key update_all_future_events to true to update all future events. Otherwise, the system updates only that event and the other recurring events that you created previously will remain unaltered.
  • While adding a participant, you must specify the IDs of other participants. Otherwise, only the new participant is added, while the rest are deleted.
  • You cannot update RRULE through the API.
  • You cannot update check-in related information through the API.

We hope you found this post useful. Please reach out to us if you have 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

                                                                                                  • 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
                                                                                                  • Domain Transfer

                                                                                                    I have a Godaddy domain, how i can transfer it to Zoha? and how i can move my website to Zoho server? With my best wishes.
                                                                                                  • Project Templates & Reminders

                                                                                                    I am getting projects all set up to work for our company and am running into a problem that I'm hoping is easily fixable. I have created a project template and within that project, there are reminders set on certain tasks. When I create a project from
                                                                                                  • Kaizen #126 - Circuits in Zoho CRM - Part 1

                                                                                                    Hello everyone! Welcome back to another week of Kaizen! Today, we will discuss an exciting topic—Circuits in Zoho CRM. For starters, we will discuss what Circuits are, how beneficial they are for businesses, different views of a Circuit, and the different
                                                                                                  • Create customized SLAs for your customer base with support plans

                                                                                                    Managing customer expectations, prioritizing critical issues, and resolving customer inquiries on time is quite a juggle. Without a clear timelines or defined priorities, a support team may struggle with delays in response, SLA violations, and pending
                                                                                                  • Zoho Flow or Schedules

                                                                                                    I have a process where we text our leads 7 times over a 14 day with different content for each text. I created one flow in Zoho Flow to do this, but wondering if there is a more efficient way to accomplish this via Schedules. It goes on for 6 more times
                                                                                                  • Free webinar: Zoho Sign 2024 wrap-up - Everything that is new and has changed

                                                                                                    Hello, Are you looking up to catch up on all the updates made to Zoho Sign in 2024? Or are you still figuring out how you can use Zoho Sign better to get business paperwork done more efficiently? If so, we invite you to join us this Thursday, December
                                                                                                  • How to Customize Task Creation to Send a Custom Alert Using JavaScript in Zoho CRM?

                                                                                                    Hello Zoho CRM Community, I’m looking to customize Zoho CRM to send a custom alert whenever a task is created. I understand that Zoho CRM supports client scripts using JavaScript, and I would like to leverage this feature to implement the alert functionality.
                                                                                                  • Workflow - Execute Based on Date

                                                                                                    Hello, I have trouble understanding the documentation for Execute Based on Date or Date Time Field's Value. I want to send an email every time I have a Case opened for more than three days with its status unchanged. I set : This rule will be executed 3 days after [date].  Condition : Status is [New]. Instant Action : Send an email notification. However, I'm not sure I follow this part of the documentation: "For all the records matching the rule criteria, rule will be triggered either monthly or yearly
                                                                                                  • Can we set a BCC address as default to show while sending emails?

                                                                                                    Two things inside ZohoCRM are annoying me because it's a repeated work. First one is that I always need to click manually to add the BCC field while sending an email to a lead. Can we set a default address so when I click to send a new email the BCC address
                                                                                                  • Make collecting payments from your customers in Bigin easier with payment links

                                                                                                    Greetings, Efficient payment collection is crucial for business success. Bigin already helps your businesses manage and sell products effectively, but we can further enhance this by making payment collection easier. This integrated payment feature lets
                                                                                                  • Send email is not authenticated

                                                                                                    Hi, I’m getting an error in Gmail, when receiving an email from my account in zoho, my email is already authenticated in my domain, and I don't know why I keep receiving this message... also testing in outlook, the message goes directly to "junk".
                                                                                                  • Inbox Preference - Saved replies based on message repsonse with specific word

                                                                                                    Hi There, Can one create a workflow where the Save Reply will be generic for all messages that contains a specific word, various channels,. The saved reply should contain a link for download etc. that is a response to the word entered in the message contained
                                                                                                  • Basic Price List Functionality Still Missing

                                                                                                    I am having a problem with the most simple imaginable pricing scenario - you buy cheap, add profit, then sell high. Or in less simplistic terms: business buys a product at a given cost, then adds predetermined percentage markup, and finally sells that
                                                                                                  • How do I hire employees????

                                                                                                    Hi! I own a bookkeeping company, where a few of my clients use Zoho Books as their accounting platform . I started utilizing Zoho Practice to work on the books of my Zoho clients, some have Zoho One and some have Zoho Books plans. I just hired an employee,
                                                                                                  • Automate data upload process like reports

                                                                                                    I'll start with the end in mind.  I want to basically keep certain creator tables updated with data that are in a sql database/tables in our office (employees, active jobs, employee positions) so I can reference that data and not have to duplicate it by hand every time someone adds a new job or employee in the office desktop software.  Here are some thoughts I had about how to do this, but am unsure as to whether any of them are actually possible and how to go about it from there: Is there any way
                                                                                                  • Greylisted, try again after some time

                                                                                                    Can you check my ip, i send to duyna@vietlinkjsc.vn but have an error; my ip is 112.213.94.12 Here is log: 2018-01-09 09:40:29 H=mx.zoho.com [204.141.32.121] SMTP error from remote mail server after RCPT TO:<duyna@vietlinkjsc.vn>: 451 4.7.1 Greylisted, try again after some time 2018-01-09 09:40:32 H=mx2.zoho.com [204.141.33.55] SMTP error from remote mail server after RCPT TO:<duyna@vietlinkjsc.vn>: 451 4.7.1 Greylisted, try again after some time 2018-01-09 09:40:32 duyna@vietlinkjsc.vn R=lookuphost
                                                                                                  • Next Page