Upcoming Updates - February-March 2022

Upcoming Updates - February-March 2022

Hi all,

Greetings from the Zoho Creator team!

A new year is here and we're looking forward to bringing in new features, improving performance, and delivering on all the exciting updates we previously announced.

In this update, we'll go over the:
  • 30 new ready-to-use functions including randomNumber, encoding, and AI
  • Try-Catch, Break, and Continue statements
  • Sorting ability in subform fields
  • Advanced search option in lookup fields
  • Security check for unpublished components
  • Code sign mobile apps in AAB format
  • Enhanced report exporting on mobile
  • Field permissions in pivot reports
  • Invalid parameter validation
  • Enhancements and changes in Deluge
30 new ready-to-use functions including randomNumber, encoding, and AI

One powerful aspect of Deluge is its minimalistic approach to the number of statements required per execution. Some of the features we have in the pipeline are going to help further optimize your Deluge coding experience. We have also supported additional ready-to-use built-in functions and tasks.

randomNumber & other new built-in functions

To the long list of our available built-in functions, we'll be adding the following new functions:

i. Common

Function

Description

Generates a random number from the specified range.


ii. Text functions



Converts hexadecimal to text value.


Converts text to hexadecimal value.


Returns all the characters which precede the first occurrence of the search text in the input text. The search text is not case-sensitive.


Returns all the characters which follow the first occurrence of the search text in the input text. The search text is not case-sensitive.


Replaces all occurrences of the search text with the replacement text. The search text is not case-sensitive.


Replaces the first occurrence of the search text with the replacement text. The search text is not case-sensitive.


Returns a text with the input text repeated for the specified number of times.


Returns the input text with its characters in reverse order.


Checks if all characters in the input text are ASCII.


Removes all the extra white spaces (if any) inserted after the input text.


Removes all the extra white spaces (if any) inserted before the input text.



iii. Number functions



Returns the number equivalent to the hyperbolic tangent of the input angle.


Returns the hyperbolic arccosine or inverse hyperbolic cosine of the input number.


Returns the hyperbolic arcsine or inverse hyperbolic sine of the input number.


Returns the hyperbolic cosine of the input angle.


Returns the angle of the input number.


Returns the number equivalent to the hyperbolic tangent of the input angle.


Returns the angle between the positive x-axis and the ray from (0,0) to the input point (x,y).


Returns the degree equivalent to the input angle in radians.


Returns the radian equivalent to the input angle in degrees.


Extracts the sign of the given input values.



iv. Date-time functions



Returns the number of months between the given input date-time values.


Returns the number of years between the given input date-time values.


Returns the next immediate date that falls on the specified input day.


Returns the previous week's date that falls on the specified input day.


Returns the date-time values after subtracting the specified number of business days from it.


Encoding functions

We've expanded Deluge's set of encoding functions by supporting the following new functions:
  • htmlEncode: Transform all special HTML characters in the input text into HTML entities.
  • htmlDecode: Render all the HTML entities in the input string.

Artificial intelligence functions

Deluge's ready-to-use AI feature will include a couple more tasks:
  • zoho.ai.detectObject: Detects objects (example: person, laptop, car, traffic lights, etc) and their position in the input image.
  • zoho.ai.extractKeywords: Extracts keywords or tags from the input text.

Try-Catch, break, and continue statements

Deluge will be empowered with flexible error management and improved loop handling features. We're excited to add the following capabilities in Deluge:

Try-Catch: Exception handlers that can test Deluge scripts for run-time errors, and perform required actions if any errors are found.
Break: Terminates the execution of the current loop when encountered.
Continue: Terminates the execution of the current iteration of loop when encountered.

Sorting subform fields

Currently, the fields in subforms are sorted based on the added time. Soon, the subform field will include the capability to sort the fields listed within the subform. This feature will be made available in the field properties of the form. The admin will be able to navigate to the form builder, select the subform field, and specify the sorting preference.



This sorting capability is aimed at requirements that need the fields in the subform to be sorted in a specific order.

For instance, a Customer form might require its subform to list the recent orders of a customer. Here, the admin can sort the subform by navigating to the form builder, selecting the date field of the subform, and specifying the sorting preference as descending. Let's say a customer record is added with the orders of that particular customer in the subform.The sorted orders of that customer will be available while trying to edit the customer's record and also while viewing the record in report.

Note: Sorting cannot be done based on the following: Encrypted fields, URL, Audio,Video, multi-selection fields, integration fields, and user field.

Advanced search option in lookup fields

The advanced search option will equip you with an enhanced search mechanism to drill down to records or field values when you have a large volume of data. This feature is available only for lookup fields with the display type set as dropdown or multi select.

Search queries must return the most accurate and useful results possible, Anything beyond 5,000 is not likely to be the result that the user is looking for. So we have limited the search results to 5,000.This also eliminates the need to scroll down endlessly.



To ensure the user makes the most of this option to locate the record or value, user should try to use the parameters provided in the advanced search as efficiently as possible. This allows user to skip scrolling, while narrowing down the search. All that needs to be done is select the correct search operator and enter the appropriate keywords to fetch the relevant records more easily.




The advanced search will be enabled when the admin enables it in the field properties or when there are more than 500,000 records. Similarly, if a user field or date-time field is used as a display field, Advanced Field Search will automatically be enabled.

We're also introducing a restriction on the number of fields that can be included in display fields in lookup. A maximum of four display fields can only be added. If you have a requirement to add more than that, you can use the formula field as a workaround to combine more than four display values and then lookup the formula field




Security check for unpublished sub-components

It's advisable to share all subcomponents that belong to a published component with your users. Let's assume you have a iframe or widget inserted in a Page and if an unpublished form is used within the iframe or widget, said form will be restricted. This restriction is imposed as a security measure to ensure cross domain security policy. To avoid these kinds of anomalies, please ensure all sub-components present inside a published component are also published.

This restriction will be imposed from March 1st, 2022.

Code sign mobile apps in AAB format

Android App Bundle, or AAB, is a new publishing format added for the Zoho Creator's mobile app Codesign process. It includes all your app’s compiled code and resources, and defers APK generation and signing to Google Play.

Google Play will use your app bundle to generate and serve optimized APKs for each device configuration, so only the code and resources that are needed for a specific device are downloaded to run your app. Going forward, there will be no necessity to build, sign, and manage multiple APKs to optimize support for different devices, and users will get smaller, more-optimized downloads. Learn more

Enhanced report export in mobile and tablet

The enhancements in report export settings that were previously introduced for the web are now being extended to mobile and tablet. You can export the records in your report in your preferred file format and then download them. The exported file can then be used outside of your Zoho Creator application. In the new export settings, you'll be able to provide a file name, select the file format, select the columns to be included in the file, and make the file password-protected. Learn more 



Field permissions in pivot report

Previously, the field permissions feature was not applicable to pivot reports. As a step towards security enhancement, we are now rolling out the capability to control field permissions of View Underlying Data, Drill Down, and Export Underlying Data options in pivot. So the fields that are listed in the above options will be according to the field permissions set up in the permissions set under Users and permissions.

However, the permissions will not be applied when the fields are added as the axes of the charts or as the row/column of the table, because the construction of the chart or table will be impacted.

Invalid parameter validation

We are rolling out a minor change in handling API requests that have invalid or unsupported parameters. Currently, if there are API requests with invalid parameters, our API servers will ignore them and provide the appropriate responses to those requests.

As a step towards data security, we are implementing a change wherein API calls with invalid parameters will be rejected. An error response with the reason for the error will be provided. This validation is scheduled to go live this week or coming week. To avoid such validation errors, we recommend that you remove unsupported parameters before the stipulated date.

Enhancements and changes in Deluge

With the intention of also improving and evolving our existing Deluge features, we've planned a few updates. Ultimately, our aim is to boost Deluge's overall performance, so we've also prepared to lay out a few regulations that will streamline the way Deluge is used. We humbly ask your support in carrying out this plan.

Modified time of main form will be updated when subform rows are updated using Deluge

When rows are inserted into a subform, cleared from a subform, or particular fields of a subform are updated using Deluge, the modified time of the corresponding main form's record will be updated.

Map's key order will be retained in toXml() function's conversion

When using toXml function, the xml string will be generated in the input map's order. In the current behavior, it is generated irrespective of the order of the input map.

Multiselect fields in criteria and sort operations

Note: The following changes will be applicable to all customers.
i. <multi_choice_field>.<multi_choice_field> cannot be used in all filter criteria (report criteria, report filter criteria, conditional filter criteria, conditional formatting criteria, lookup filter criteria, all page builder criteria) and Deluge's fetch record task criteria.

Multi-choice fields are Multiselect, Checkbox, Subform, Multiselect Lookup and Multiselect Users fields.

ii. The values returned by the fetch records task cannot be sorted based on multi-choice fields and composite fields.

File size
i. Uploading files stored in file attachment fields to invokeURL or integration tasks will continue with the current ceiling of 50 MB, whereas downloading the content using invokeURL or extracting file content using <field_link_name>.content is capped at 5MB.
File attachment fields are File Upload, Image, Audio, and Video.

Note: This change is applicable only to new users and unaffected existing users (to be rolled out in a phased manner). Therefore, existing users who already consume file size more than the new limit will not be affected.
ii. The content function (<field_link_name>.content) cannot be applied on Audio and Video fields.

Regex evaluation

Evaluating regex is usually a performance-intensive operation. Therefore, we've been frequently encountering issues related to regex evaluation using Deluge tasks, such as matches, replaceAll, and replaceFirst. To avoid any more issues in this regard, the number of iterations done in the regex matching process is capped at 100,000.

That's all for now!

Thanks,
Zoho Creator Team


    Access your files securely from anywhere









                          Zoho Developer Community




                                                • Desk Community Learning Series


                                                • Digest


                                                • Functions


                                                • Meetups


                                                • Kbase


                                                • Resources


                                                • Glossary


                                                • Desk Marketplace


                                                • MVP Corner


                                                • Word of the Day


                                                • Ask the Experts



                                                          • Sticky Posts

                                                          • Introducing Zoho Creator's 2025 Release Projection 2

                                                            Hello Creators! I'm Prakash, from the Creator product management team, and today I'm delighted to unveil our next set of features as part of Release Projection 2 for 2025. With thoughtful analysis and planning, we've curated powerful new capabilities
                                                          • Zoho Creator - 2023 Release Projection 1

                                                            Hello everyone! A very Happy New Year to you and your family. Hope you're all good and having a great time using Zoho Creator to make your lives easier and your businesses prosper. 2022 was an action-packed year for us at Creator, and we hope to continue
                                                          • Zoho Creator User Group meetups in a city near you! - Oct - Nov, 2023

                                                            Greetings from the Zoho Creator team! We're hosting a series of Zoho Creator meetups in various cities across the globe, and we'd love to meet you there! Our meetups are a great opportunity to network with industry peers, exchange ideas and best practices,
                                                          • Zoho Creator - 2023 Release Projection 2

                                                            Hello everyone! Time truly flies when you're having an incredible journey, and today we mark the completion of an eventful and action-packed six months. It feels like just yesterday when we embarked on this adventure together with the launch of our new
                                                          • Upcoming Updates - August 2022

                                                            Hi all, Greetings from the Zoho Creator team! Today we've got news for you on some exciting updates. And rest assured— there’s more to come! In this post, we'll be going over the upcoming features and improvements for this month as mentioned below. A


                                                          Manage your brands on social media



                                                                Zoho TeamInbox Resources



                                                                    Zoho CRM Plus Resources

                                                                      Zoho Books Resources


                                                                        Zoho Subscriptions Resources

                                                                          Zoho Projects Resources


                                                                            Zoho Sprints Resources


                                                                              Qntrl Resources


                                                                                Zoho Creator 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

                                                                                            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 do you print a refund check to customer?

                                                                                                              Maybe this is a dumb question, but how does anyone print a refund check to a customer? We cant find anywhere to either just print a check and pick a customer, or where to do so from a credit note.
                                                                                                            • What is Resolution Time in Business Hours

                                                                                                              HI, What is the formula used to find the total time spent by an agent on a particular ticket? How is Resolution Time in Business Hours calculated in Zohodesk? As we need to find out the time spent on the ticket's solution by an agent we seek your assistance
                                                                                                            • Is it possible to turn off all capabilities for a customer to schedule, reschedule or cancel an appointment?

                                                                                                              Is it possible to turn off all capabilities for a customer to schedule, reschedule or cancel an appointment? I would like to set it up so only staff can schedule appointments. Is this possible?
                                                                                                            • Hide "Section" headers when using a form as a subform in "List view"

                                                                                                              When using a form as a subform and setting the "View Type" to "List View" it is not possible to hide the section headers. This can become an issue if I have a section which is not applicable to this subform and I hide the fields within that section and
                                                                                                            • Add additional field to quick search results

                                                                                                              IN the advanced search, we can add any field to the columns. In the regular search results (before you press enter, there is no option to modify the results. It would be super useful to include a custom field where it currently displays the pipleine
                                                                                                            • Need Help: Updating Related Records via Subform Entries in Zoho Creator

                                                                                                              Hi everyone, I’m trying to set up a workflow in Zoho Creator where each row in a subform updates related records in another form automatically. Here’s the situation: My main form (e.g., “Receipts”) contains a subform where each row selects a related record
                                                                                                            • Disable signing in using email aliases?

                                                                                                              Hi, I currently have user accounts that have multiple aliases, for example: Main: name@domain.com Alias: alias1@domain.com, alias2@domain.com Currently, I am able to use any of those 3 emails in the 'username' box during login, and it will log me into the email. Is there a way to setup so that email aliases cannot be used to sign on? I'd still be able to receive and send emails using those aliases in the main email account like it works now, except only the main email can be used to login. Cheers!
                                                                                                            • Zoho Desk - Community - Customer Portal - Description Field UX Improvement

                                                                                                              Hi Zoho Desk Team, As a prolific user of Zoho Cares Community, I find it very frustrating that I cannot increase the size of the Description box (this one which I am typing this message). Many apps with multi line text fields have a small handle in the
                                                                                                            • Add the same FROM email to multiple department

                                                                                                              Hi, We have several agents who work with multiple departments and we'd like to be able to select their names on the FROM field (sender), but apparently it's not possible to add a FROM address to multiple departments. Is there any way around this? Thanks.
                                                                                                            • Can I change the format of the buttons in the email templates?

                                                                                                              Hi all! We have been working hard trying to brand our email templates, and have some way to go yet. One of the things we can't seem to edit is the green ${Cases.CUSTOMER_PORTAL_BUTTON} button and the font of the View Ticket text. Is there any way of doing
                                                                                                            • Introducing parent-child ticketing in Zoho Desk [Early access]

                                                                                                              Hello Zoho Desk users! We have introduced the parent-child ticketing system to help customer service teams ensure efficient resolution of issues involving multiple, related tickets. You can now combine repetitive and interconnected tickets into parent-child
                                                                                                            • Lead to Contact Conversion with multiple email address fields

                                                                                                              We are a B2C business with a strong repeat cycle, and as such it's not uncommon for customers to use multiple email addresses with us. We have both our Contacts & Leads modules set up with 3 email fields. (Primary Email / Secondary Email / Historic Email)
                                                                                                            • Does Thrive work with Zoho Billing (Subscriptions)?

                                                                                                              I would like to use Thrive with Zoho Billing Subscriptions but don't see a way to do so. Can someone point me in the right direction? Thank you
                                                                                                            • Exporting Charts from ZohoCRM

                                                                                                              Hi...I'm relatively new to ZohoCRM, but very happy with it so far. I have all my leads and potentials accurately entered, and like the reports that I can view, with charts at the top of the data. But when I export the data, I'm receiving only the data, whether I export as excel, csv or pdf. How can I export both the chart and the data? In case it makes a difference, I'm using the free version right now. I tried researching the other editions to see if a paid version of the software offered the ability
                                                                                                            • Automatically Update Ticket Status in Zoho Desk Based on Actions in Zoho Projects

                                                                                                              Hi Zoho Desk Team, Hope you’re doing well. We’re using the Zoho Desk–Zoho Projects integration to manage tasks related to customer tickets, and it works well for linking and tracking progress. However, there are a few important automation capabilities
                                                                                                            • sms long credits

                                                                                                              I’m trying to purchase Long Code credits so I can send SMS campaigns to my contacts. However, when I click the “Buy Now” button, the page appears blank and doesn’t load any purchase options. Could you please assist me in purchasing the Long Code credits
                                                                                                            • Tip #48- Power Your AI Workflows with Zoho Assist on Zapier’s MCP- 'Insider Insights'

                                                                                                              We’re thrilled to announce that Zoho Assist is now part of Zapier’s Model Context Protocol (MCP), bringing remote support automation right into your AI ecosystem. What is MCP? The Model Context Protocol (MCP) is Zapier’s new framework designed to connect
                                                                                                            • Insert Cookie Policy in Zoho Sites

                                                                                                              Hello, i need to insert a banner on my site because i'm in Italy so i have to respect EU laws for Cookie Policy and Privacy Policy. I see that i need to insert a code in <head> section of my site to show a banner/popup with cookie info. How i can do this? Thank you Luca
                                                                                                            • Marketing Tip #1: Optimize item titles for SEO

                                                                                                              Your item title is the first thing both Google and shoppers notice. Instead of a generic “Leather Bag,” go for something detailed like “Handcrafted Leather Laptop Bag – Durable & Stylish.” This helps your items rank better in search results and instantly
                                                                                                            • Customer Parent Account or Sub-Customer Account

                                                                                                              Some of clients as they have 50 to 300 branches, they required separate account statement with outlet name and number; which means we have to open new account for each branch individually. However, the main issue is that, when they make a payment, they
                                                                                                            • Forced Logouts - Daily and More Frequent

                                                                                                              In the last month or so, I've been getting "power logged out" of all of my Zoho apps at least daily, sometimes more frequently. This happens in the same browser session on the same computer, and I need to re-login to each app separately after this happens.
                                                                                                            • ENTER key triggering Submit

                                                                                                              Is it possible to stopped the ENTER key from the mandatory triggering of the Submit button on Creator form? I want forms submitted "ONLY" when the Submit button is pressed. 
                                                                                                            • Is it possible to assign Client user to external task ON PROJECTS' TEMPLATES?

                                                                                                              Is it possible to assign Client user to external task ON TEMPLATES PROJECTS?
                                                                                                            • How to download all attachments from inbox, send, other folders in one go

                                                                                                              Hi All, Appreciate if anyone could help me with steps for below requirement. How to download all attachments from inbox, send, other folders in one go. Even mapping to new folder will help me.  Thanks in advance. 
                                                                                                            • Cliq does not sync messages after Sleep on Mac

                                                                                                              I'm using the mac app of Cliq. When I open my mac after it was in sleep mode, Cliq does not sync the messages that I received. I always have to reload using cmd + R, which is not what I want when using a chat application.
                                                                                                            • Domain verification failure

                                                                                                              Hello Zoho Support, I purchased my domain directly through Zoho Mail, but the domain verification keeps failing with the message “TXT verification failed.” I’ve already waited and retried several times, but it still won’t verify. Could you please manually
                                                                                                            • Link to images

                                                                                                              I have added images in pages. I would like to link those images with linked in URL so that they open in new window. There is an option of image -> link but I am not able to use the same to open URL in new window. Please check the attached image. Can you
                                                                                                            • Canvas View - Print

                                                                                                              What is the best way to accomplish a print to PDF of the canvas view?
                                                                                                            • Respond faster and smarter with Zia in your IM Inbox

                                                                                                              You’re in the middle of a busy chat queue. New messages keep popping up. One customer sounds upset. Another is asking a long list of questions. You need context. You need speed. You need help. That’s exactly when Zia Insghts jumps into action. It shows
                                                                                                            • Meeting impossible to use when sharing screen

                                                                                                              he Meeting tool in Brazil is practically unusable when sharing anything, whether it’s a presentation or simple navigation. When accessed via Cliq, the situation gets even worse: even basic calls fail to work properly, constantly freezing. And as you are
                                                                                                            • WARNING : Smart list automatically unsubscribes your contacts.

                                                                                                              I created a smart list of my team members based on the criterion that their email domain was @_____. The list refreshed as expected — but it ended up unsubscribing almost all members of my team. I contacted support, but it took two months to get a reply,
                                                                                                            • 5名限定 課題解決型ワークショップイベント Zoho ワークアウト開催のお知らせ (10/31)

                                                                                                              ユーザーの皆さま、こんにちは。Zoho ユーザーコミュニティチームの中野です。 10月開催のZoho ワークアウトについてお知らせします。 今回はZoomにて、オンライン開催します。 参加登録はこちら(無料):https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/BGYTysOnSqa9LA9eY2IKww ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ Zoho ワークアウトとは? Zoho ユーザー同士で交流しながら、サービスに関する疑問や不明点の解消を目的とした
                                                                                                            • Subforms in Stateless Forms

                                                                                                              Stateless Forms are very useful, but we can't build complex data entry pages without Subforms. Can this be implemented? This would make Stateless Forms truly powerful.
                                                                                                            • Custom Function not getting package details when triggered from Workflow Rules.

                                                                                                              I have a custom function for Packages that submits a form in our Creator app that we use to generate custom shipping labels (internal staff complete deliveries so we cannot generate shipping labels straight from Inventory). When the function is executed
                                                                                                            • Billing Preferences per Account

                                                                                                              Hello, We are trying to setup Billing Preferences in Zoho Desk to set up a different pricing per account. We charge different pricing per hour per customer/account. Account A = 100 per hour Account B = 125 per hour In the Billing Preferences in Time Entry
                                                                                                            • Time entry preview for custom time entry templates.

                                                                                                              Our company needed time entries in a specific format to document our client interactions. Since we are using a custom time entry layout, we have lost the "preview" on the time entry tab. Using the default time entry layout, you get a small preview of
                                                                                                            • Able to change project on timelog entries

                                                                                                              Ability to move the timesheet entry from one project to another. When a user adds a wrong entry a manager can change/update the timesheet entry to the correct project.
                                                                                                            • Knowledge base: The nitty-gritty of SEO tags

                                                                                                              A well-optimized knowledge base with great SEO can benefit your company by allowing customers to find help articles and support resources using search engines. This enables customers to quickly and efficiently find the information they need without direct
                                                                                                            • Full Text Customization & Translation in SalesIQ Chat Widget Settings

                                                                                                              Dear Zoho SalesIQ Team, Greetings, We would like to request an important enhancement to the chat widget customization options in Zoho SalesIQ. Current Limitation: At the moment, only some of the text shown in the chat widget is editable or translatable
                                                                                                            • Introducing swipe actions in the Zoho CRM Android app

                                                                                                              Hello everyone, How much time do you spend each day on your list view? Probably quite a lot. Since it's such an important part of your work, wouldn't it be easier if you could take action directly from your list view instead of opening each record one
                                                                                                            • Next Page