Zoho Creator Upcoming Updates - November 2023

Hello all!

Improvement is a constant pursuit at Zoho Creator, and we're excited to bring you the latest developments and progress in our journey. Let's look at the features you can expect this month:

Schedules settings in environments
Image compression
Set values while adding new entries to lookup fields
Deprecation of non-standard URIs

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Now, let's dive in and explore each of the updates in more detail:

Schedules settings in environments

Schedules empower you to create timed actions that run periodically, either based on date and time values in your form or fixed date and time settings.

While testing in development and stage environments, currently there isn't an option to suspend the configured schedules for specific environments for each application. To resolve this, we're introducing the option to manage the execution of schedules for environment-enabled applications.

How will it work?

Navigate to the Environment Settings of the Development or Stage environment. Then switch to the Workflow Schedules tab.

Suspend All Schedules - Choosing this option will suspend the execution of all schedules for each application.
Application Specific - Only schedules that have an enabled status on the Workflows page will be executed.

How does it benefit you?

This nifty feature is particularly useful during testing—where you may want to suspend all schedules in the environment—and also in effectively managing the schedule limits for that environment.

Applicable for: C6

Availability: All DCs
Released on: 18-Dec-23
Reference: Manage development environment and Manage stage environment

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Image compression

As cameras get more powerful, we've witnessed an unintended consequence: increasingly large image files. Unfortunately, these large images have been causing performance hiccups (like larger mail merge template attachments and larger image file uploads) during the loading of reports and pages, and this issue has been a source of frustration for many Creator users. We hear you, and we've come up with a dedicated solution to address this challenge.

How do we plan on implementing it?

We'll be introducing a Compression option under the Field Properties of the Image field.

When disabled - The original size of the image will be used.
When enabled - The image will be compressed to a smaller resolution (2560 pixels).

Note that only the compressed images will be retained if the Image Compression property is enabled, and the original images will not be retained.

Which images will be compressed, and what is the output size?

If an uploaded image exceeds 2560 pixels, it will be compressed to fit within that size limit, resulting in a final file size approximately between 500 KB and 1.5 MB.

Where will the compressed image be used?

Image preview thumbnails in reports
Print templates
Mail merge templates (Zoho Writer)
Mail attachments
Export data
PDF generation

How does it benefit you?

This allows you to compress images without compromising their quality and without depending on external tools. This means faster loading times and an enhanced user experience.

Applicable for: C5, C6, Android, and iOS

Availability: All DCs
Released on: 13-Dec-23
Reference: Image Properties

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Set value while adding new entries to lookup fields

With this new capability, you can pass parameters from a parent form to a lookup form with ease. Going forward, you can easily set values in the pop-up that's displayed when you click the Add new button in lookup fields. With this update, we aim to resolve the scenario where passing values from a main form to a pop-up form would result in repeated pain points.

Use case

Consider a form that contains fields named "Department manager" and "Department name", which is a lookup field with the Allow New Entries property enabled. Now, in the Department name field, when you click the Add New option, the name of the department manager can be passed to the pop-up from the parent using this functionality. Similarly, you can configure any required field's value to be passed to the pop-up form.

How does it benefit you?

The ability to set values for fields when adding new parent records will ensure more dynamic data handling within your applications.

Applicable for: C5, C6

Availability: All DCs
Released on: 20-Dec-23
Reference: Allow New Entries and Set Value While Adding New Entries

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Deprecation of non-standard URIs

Over the past few months, we've made concerted efforts to remind you about the impending deprecation of non-standard URIs by sending multiple emails. Starting 01-Jan-2024, we will no longer be supporting non-standard URLs. This means that, after the deadline, any attempt to access the non-standard URL will not return a webpage and instead an error will be displayed.

What's the existing behavior?
Until now, using a forward slash "/" to place the parameters and their values in the query string portion of the URL was allowed.

Non-standard URIs	Standard URIs	Change
https://creatorapp.zoho.com/scope_name/ app_name/component_name/field_name=value	https://creatorapp.zoho.com/scope_name/ app_name/component_name?field_name=value	A query string parameter should start with a '?' symbol.
https://creatorapp.zoho.com/scope_name/ app_name/view-embed//component_name	https://creatorapp.zoho.com/scope_name/ app_name/view-embed/component_name	Use only a single slash "/" as a separator in the URL path.

We request that you update all the instances of incorrect URLs used in your applications as soon as possible. If you're having any difficulty in figuring out where you're using them, just reach out to us at support@zohocreator.com and we'll gladly provide you with a list of the instances where non-standard URLs are present in your applications.

Note: This change applies for both Zoho Creator and Zoho One users.

Applicable for: C5, C6

Availability: All DCs

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That wraps up this month's updates. Your continued support is our driving force and we hope to be back with more updates soon!

Regards,

The Zoho Creator Team

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