A profoundly difficult weekend w/ Zoho Creator apps bugs and poor network accessibility

A profoundly difficult weekend w/ Zoho Creator apps bugs and poor network accessibility

This has been the weekend from hell as far as my interacting w/ Zoho Creator.  I had much to get done, and instead spent the weekend running in circles of desperation.  I am a very experienced Creator coder and app developer.  I know what I'm doing in this realm.  And, I'm trying to start a new business using Creator as the core platform, and I have clients awaiting prototypes and modifications.  I have a training to give to the staff of one client tomorrow -- but some of the main Creator-driven views are down and not working suddenly.  Tech support says I have corrupted views in at least one situation.
  • Bugs
  • Corrupted views
  • Non-responsive views
  • Terribly slow connection speeds and drop outs
  • One of my clients' website is down for all practical purposes since its home page and other pages use ZC HTML views for driving the content.
On the bright side, Zoho Support has been energetic, understanding, and helpful (thank you, Ruben!).  But it's not Support's fault that the program seems to have become buggier and the network access has been intermittent, dead slow and even unavailable at times -- that's all in the realm of ZC dev and networking, not support.  Sadly for us, Creator tech support takes off for the weekend, so there's no help until Monday, at which time it'll be too late for the staff training I need to give, too late for my client's website to be working when they need it.   What a shame.

On top of all that, I've learned of a former ZC app developer that has chosen to abandon Creator as his development platform because too much is at risk for his clients, he is having to provide too much remedial unpaid tech support for client problems w/ ZC, and ZC is just too buggy at times, new bugs get introduced with new 'fixes' and features, browser support is fairly weak right now (FF3.6x, Safari, Chrome, IE8 serious issues) and certain needed and oft asked for features are not forthcoming.

Zoho Corp has the most promising and powerful web app (Creator) I've seen in a long time.  And there's no company worldwide that provides better tech support in terms of responsiveness and persistence in working through problems.  I've actively developed in ZC now for 18 mos.  Conceptually, ZC is brilliant, meets a lot of needs and has tremendous potential.  Functionally it's generally alright and in many ways very good except for the unpredictable problems that seem to have increased and repeated in recent times.  This forum is a great resource too.   But, a review of this forum will find several significant threads and themes that document the downward trend in problems.  IMO, it has gone beyond the level where you can just brush it off and say "yeah, there'll always be issues."  When one stakes one's own business and the businesses of one's clients on the Zoho Creator platform, there should not be much tolerance for systemic repeating issues that impact and sometimes cripple a developer and his clients.

I guess you could say that I've had better days in Zoho-land.  I'm wondering if I need to rethink my business plan and the choice of Zoho Creator as my base platform.   I DON'T WANT TO HAVE TO LEAVE ZC.  I AM A HUGE FAN AND SUPPORTER.  AND I'M STAKING A BUSINESS PLAN ON ZC.  But, damn, something's gone way wrong here lately.  I know ZC support will help get this weekend's problems sorted out... the support team is wonderful.  But...

I urge Zoho top brass to get strategic on this and bolster the ranks of the development staff, pay for good project directors, and meet the urgent need to improve the confidence factor in this flagship product, Zoho Creator.

Sorry for the downer message, but I've had a real downer weekend, and my clients are getting ready to find out they're going to have a real downer start to their week.

Datazen1
datazen1@gmail.com
Santa Fe, New Mexico US














    Access your files securely from anywhere








                            Zoho Developer Community



                                Bootcamp
                                Community
                                Pricing
                                Webinars
                                What's New
                                Integrations
                                Contact Support
                                Contact Sales
                                  Zoho Survey Resources
                                    Features
                                    Survey Templates
                                    Integrations
                                    Community
                                    iOS Mobile Surveys
                                    Pricing
                                    Android Mobile Surveys
                                    Insurvey Blogs
                                    Insight Blogs
                                    Tips & Tricks





                                                Latest Feature Updates

                                                  • Desk Community Learning Series


                                                  • Digest


                                                  • Functions


                                                  • Meetups


                                                  • Kbase


                                                  • Resources


                                                  • Glossary


                                                  • Desk Marketplace


                                                  • MVP Corner


                                                  • Word of the Day


                                                  • Ask the Experts




                                                      Zoho SalesIQ Resources


                                                            Manage your brands on social media
                                                            Access Zoho Social

                                                              Zoho Pagesense Resources


                                                                  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 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 I change the wording of the tile of SignForm?

                                                                                                                When my user opens a SignForm url, the title that is presented is always "SignForm signer Information" and a form is displayed asking for the username and email address. This can be confusing to the end user. How can I change the title at least (Or at

                                                                                                              • Is Desk Down?

                                                                                                                Across department - always an error. [Status Mode] - error [Table View and the rest] - working

                                                                                                              • How to link tickets to a Vendor/Vendor Contact (not Customer) for Accounting Department?

                                                                                                                Hi all, We’re configuring our Accounting department to handle tickets from both customers and vendors (our independent contractors). Right now, ticket association seems to be built around linking a ticket to a Customer / Customer Contact, but for vendor-originated

                                                                                                              • Problem with CRM Connection not Refreshing Token

                                                                                                                I've setup a connection with Zoom in the CRM. I'm using this connection to automate some registrations, so my team doesn't have to manually create them in both the CRM and Zoom. Connection works great in my function until the token expires. It does not refresh and I have to manually revoke the connection and connect it again. I've chatted with Zoho about this and after emailing me that it couldn't be done I asked for specifics on why and they responded. "The connection is CRM is not a feature to

                                                                                                              • Automatic Matching from Bank Statements / Feeds

                                                                                                                Is it possible to have transactions from a feed or bank statement automatically match when certain criteria are met? My use case, which is pretty broadly applicable, is e-commerce transactions for merchant services accounts (clearing accounts). In these

                                                                                                              • Clone Recurring Expenses

                                                                                                                Our bookkeeping practices make extensive use of the "clone" feature for bills, expenses, invoices, etc. This cuts down significantly on both the amount of typing that needs to be done manually and, more importantly, the mental overhead of choosing the

                                                                                                              • Unify Overlapping Functionalities Across Zoho Products

                                                                                                                Hi Zoho One Team, We would like to raise a concern about the current overlap of core functionalities across various Zoho applications. While Zoho offers a rich suite of tools, many applications include similar or identical features—such as shift management,

                                                                                                              • Automation #7 - Auto-update Email Content to a Ticket

                                                                                                                This is a monthly series where we pick some common use cases that have been either discussed or most asked about in our community and explain how they can be achieved using one of the automation capabilities in Zoho Desk. Email is one of the most commonly

                                                                                                              • Ticket to article and Ticket to template

                                                                                                                Hello! I would like to know if it is possible (and how) to do the following actions: 1. To generate an article from a ticket (reply + original message) 2. Easy convert an answer to an email template

                                                                                                              • Is there API Doc for Zoho Survey?

                                                                                                                Hi everyone, Is there API doc for Zoho Survey? Currently evaluating a solution - use case to automate survey administration especially for internal use. But after a brief search, I couldn't find API doc for this. So I thought I should ask here. Than

                                                                                                              • Windows Desktop App - request to add minimization/startup options

                                                                                                                Support Team, Can you submit the following request to your development team? Here is what would be optimal in my opinion from UX perspective: 1) In the "Application Menu", add a menu item to Exit the app, as well as an alt-key shortcut for these menus

                                                                                                              • Kaizen #225 - Making Query-based Custom Related Lists Actionable with Lookups and Links

                                                                                                                Hello everyone! Welcome back to another post in the Kaizen series! This week, we will discuss an exciting enhancement in Queries in Zoho CRM. In Kaizen #190, we discussed how Queries bridge gaps where native related lists fall short and power custom related

                                                                                                              • WebDAV / FTP / SFTP protocols for syncing

                                                                                                                I believe the Zoho for Desktop app is built using a proprietary protocol. For the growing number of people using services such as odrive to sync multiple accounts from various providers (Google, Dropbox, Box, OneDrive, etc.) it would be really helpful

                                                                                                              • CRM x WorkDrive: We're rolling out the WorkDrive-powered file storage experience for existing users

                                                                                                                Release plan: Gradual rollout to customers without file storage add-ons, in this order: 1. Standalone CRM 2. CRM Plus and Zoho One DCs: All | Editions: All Available now for: - Standalone CRM accounts in Free and Standard editions without file storage

                                                                                                              • Non-responsive views in Mobile Browser (iPad)

                                                                                                                Has anyone noticed that the creator applications when viewed in a mobile browser (iPad) lost its responsiveness? It now appears very small font size and need to zoom into to read contents. Obviously this make use by field staff quite difficult. This is not at all a good move, as lots of my users are depending on accessing the app in mobile devices (iPads), and very challenging and frustrating. 

                                                                                                              • [Free Webinar] Learning Table Series - AI-Enhanced Logistics Management in Zoho Creator

                                                                                                                Hello Everyone! We’re excited to invite you to another edition of Learning Table Series, where we showcase how Zoho Creator empowers industries with innovative and automated solutions. About Learning Table Series Learning Table Series is a free, 45-60

                                                                                                              • Learner transcript Challenges.

                                                                                                                Currently i am working on a Learner Transcript app for my employer using Zoho Creator. The app is expected to accept assessment inputs from tutors, go through an approval process and upon call up, displays all assessments associated with a learner in

                                                                                                              • Customizable UI components in pages | Theme builder

                                                                                                                Anyone know when these roadmap items are scheduled for release? They were originally scheduled for Q4 2025. https://www.zoho.com/creator/product-roadmap.html

                                                                                                              • Feature Request - Set Default Values for Meetings

                                                                                                                Hi Zoho CRM Team, I would be very useful if we could set default values for meeting parameters. For example, if you always wanted Reminder 1 Day before. Currently you need to remember to choose it for every meeting. Also being able to use merge tags to

                                                                                                              • We Asked, Zoho Delivered: The New Early Access Program is Here

                                                                                                                For years, the Zoho Creator community has requested a more transparent and participatory approach to beta testing and feature previews. Today, I'm thrilled to highlight that Zoho has delivered exactly what we asked for with the launch of the Early Access

                                                                                                              • Analytics <-> Invoice Connection DELETED by Zoho

                                                                                                                Hi All, I am reaching out today because of a big issue we have at the moment with Zoho Analytics and Zoho Invoice. Our organization relies on Zoho Analytics for most of our reporting (operationnal teams). A few days ago we observed a sync issue with the

                                                                                                              • How to use Rollup Summary in a Formula Field?

                                                                                                                I created a Rollup Summary (Decimal) field in my module, and it shows values correctly. When I try to reference it in a Formula Field (e.g. ${Deals.Partners_Requested} - ${Deals.Partners_Paid}), I get the error that the field can’t be found. Is it possible

                                                                                                              • Zoho Creator to Zoho CRM Images

                                                                                                                Right now, I am trying to setup a Notes form within Zoho Creator. This Notes will note the Note section under Accounts > Selected Account. Right now, I use Zoho Flow to push the notes and it works just fine, with text only. Images do not get sent (there

                                                                                                              • CRM gets location smart with the all new Map View: visualize records, locate records within any radius, and more

                                                                                                                Hello all, We've introduced a new way to work with location data in Zoho CRM: the Map View. Instead of scrolling through endless lists, your records now appear as pins on a map. Built on top of the all-new address field and powered by Mappls (MapMyIndia),

                                                                                                              • Error Logs / Failure logs for Client Scripts Functions

                                                                                                                Hi Team, While we are implementing client scripts for the automation, it is working fine in few accounts but not working for others. So, it would be great if we can have error Logs for client scripts also just like custom functions. Is there any way that

                                                                                                              • Automate pushing Zoho CRM backups into Zoho WorkDrive

                                                                                                                Through our Zoho One subscription we have both Zoho CRM and Zoho WorkDrive. We have regular backups setup in Zoho CRM. Once the backup is created, we are notified. Since we want to keep these backups for more than 7 days, we manually download them. They

                                                                                                              • Zoho Books blocks invoicing without VeriFactu even though it is not mandatory until 2027

                                                                                                                I would like to highlight a very serious issue in Zoho Books for Spain. 1. The Spanish government has postponed the mandatory start of VeriFactu to January 1st, 2027. This means that during all of 2026 businesses are NOT required to transmit invoices

                                                                                                              • Problem : Auto redirect from zoho flow to zoho creator

                                                                                                                Hi there, I've been waiting for zoho team to get back on this for last couple of days. Anyone else have the problem to access zoho flow? everytime I click on zoho flow it redirects me to zoho creator. I tried incognito mode but it still direct me to zoho

                                                                                                              • Client and Vendor Portal

                                                                                                                Some clients like keeping tabs on the developments and hence would like to be notified of the progress. Continuous updates can be tedious and time-consuming. Zoho Sprints has now introduced a Client and Vendor Portal where you can add client users and

                                                                                                              • #7 Tip of the week: Delegating approvals in Zoho People

                                                                                                                With Zoho People, absences need not keep employees waiting with their approval requests. When you are not available at work, you can delegate approvals that come your way to your fellow workmate and let them take care of your approvals temporarily. Learn more!

                                                                                                              • Trouble with using Apostrophe in Name of Customers and Vendors

                                                                                                                We have had an ongoing issue with how the system recognizes an apostrophe in the name of customers and vendors. The search will not return any results for a name that includes the mark; ie one of our vendors names is "L'Heritage" and when entering the

                                                                                                              • Why am I seeing deleted records in Zoho Analytics syncing with Zoho CRM?

                                                                                                                I have done a data sync between Zoho CRM and Zoho Analytics, and the recycle bin is empty. Why do I see deleted leads/deals/contacts in Zoho Analytics if it doesn't exist in Zoho CRM? How can I solve this problem? Thanks

                                                                                                              • Nueva edición de "Ask The Expert" en Español Zoho Community

                                                                                                                ¡Hola Comunidad! ¿Te gustaría obtener respuestas en directo sobre Zoho CRM, Zoho Desk u otra solución dentro de nuestro paquete de CX (Experiencia del Cliente? Uno de nuestros expertos estará disponible para responder a todas tus preguntas durante nuestra

                                                                                                              • How to use MAIL without Dashboard?

                                                                                                                Whenever I open Mail, it opens Dashboard. This makes Mail area very small and also I cannot manage Folders (like delete/rename) etc. I want to know if there is any way to open only Mail apps and not the Dashboard.

                                                                                                              • Peppol: Accept Bill (Belgium)

                                                                                                                Hi, This topic might help you if you're facing the same in Belgium. We are facing an issue while accepting a supplier bill received by Peppol in Zoho Books. There is a popup with an error message: This bill acceptance could not be completed, so it was

                                                                                                              • Zoho Books is now integrated with Zoho Checkout

                                                                                                                Hello everyone,   We're glad to be announcing that Zoho Books is now integrated with Zoho Checkout. With this integration, you can now handle taxes and accounting on your payment pages with ease.   An organization you create in Zoho Checkout can be added to Zoho Books and vice-versa. Some of the key features and benefits you will receive are:   Seamless sync of customer and invoice data With the end-to-end integration, the customer and invoice details recorded via the payment pages from Zoho Checkout

                                                                                                              • Sync Issue

                                                                                                                My Current plan only allows me with 10,000 rows and it is getting sync failure how to control it without upgrading my plan

                                                                                                              • Add Zoho PDF to Zoho One Tool Applications

                                                                                                                It should be easy to add from here without the hassle of creating a web tab:

                                                                                                              • JOB WISE INVOICE PROCESS

                                                                                                                I WANT TO ENABLE JOB WISE TRACKING OF ALL SALES AND PURCHASE

                                                                                                              • PDF Template have QTY as first column

                                                                                                                I want to have the QTY of an item on the sales orders and invoices to be the first column, then description, then pricing. Is there a way to change the order? I went to the Items tab in settings but don't see how to change the order of the columns on

                                                                                                              • Next Page