Zoho CRM Community Digest - July 2024

Zoho CRM Community Digest - July 2024



This month, Zoho CRM introduced new features to streamline your workflow and boost productivity, among other improvements. Additionally, explore how other Zoho users addressed their challenges and shared valuable solutions in our community forum highlights. Take a look!

Product Updates:

Discover and manage duplicate images with Zia Vision:

Zia Vision's Duplicate Image Detection feature enhances data accuracy by identifying duplicate facial images within your module. This functionality enables users to review records with similar images, validate them, and upload a new image if needed. You can also mark incorrect detections, which helps refine Zia's model for improved accuracy. Explore this post to learn more.

Zoho CRM Blueprints: Now with Optional Fields!

Zoho CRM now offers enhanced flexibility in blueprints by allowing fields to be designated as optional. Previously, all configured fields within the blueprint were mandatory to advance to the next stage. With this update, admins can mark specific fields as optional, enabling users to progress through the blueprint even if certain information is unavailable. This flexibility gives your users greater control over your process flow. Learn more in this post.

Actions by Zoho Flow Now Available in Standard and Professional Editions:

"Actions by Zoho Flow," an automation feature previously available only in the Enterprise edition and above, is now supported in Standard and Professional editions. This feature allows you to configure and automate tasks across various apps directly within Zoho CRM. You can now streamline workflows, schedule appointments, update project boards, and more, all without leaving your CRM. Take a look at this post to learn more!

Smarter Record Assignments with Role-Based Rules:

Zoho CRM now offers automatic record assignment to specific users based on their roles within the organization. With the addition of two new criteria qualifiers – "belongs to Role" and "does not belong to Role" – you gain enhanced flexibility in role-based assignment. Explore this post for more details!

Zoho CRM Introduces Wizard Generator and Summary!

Zoho CRM has introduced a wizard generator to streamline the creation process and a summary feature to review data before saving. Previously, creating wizards was a multi-step process, and reviewing entered data was challenging. Now, you can quickly generate wizards by selecting sections and fields from a layout and reviewing all entered data in one place before saving. Check-out this post to learn more.

Test CPQ Changes Safely in Sandbox Before Going Live:

Zoho CRM now offers a sandbox environment for safely testing and refining CPQ configurations. Experiment with new rules, modify existing ones, and push changes to live systems only after thorough testing. This feature lets you work with product configurations, price rules, and guided selling without impacting live data, ensuring a smoother implementation. Learn more in this post.

Streamline collaboration: Zoho CRM integrates with MS Teams:

Zoho CRM now integrates with Microsoft Teams, streamlining collaboration between the two platforms. Share CRM records and dashboards, trigger Workflow notifications in Teams for CRM events, and access CRM data directly within Teams, eliminating the need to switch between platforms. Dive into this post to explore the possibilities!

Streamline Processes with Kiosk in Blueprints:

You can now incorporate Kiosks as a mandatory step in Blueprint transitions, leading to a more streamlined approach to process execution and data collection. Additionally, you can publish Kiosks in multiple places within CRM, add them to record detail views for easier access, and benefit from an increased limit on the number of Kiosks you can create. Check this post for the full details!

Customize Field Selection for Mass Lead Conversion:

Zoho CRM's Leads module now offers enhanced mass conversion functionality, allowing you to select and fill only the essential fields from any deal module layout. Previously, you were restricted to a fixed set of fields from the standard deal layout, often requiring additional updates to address missing fields or remove unnecessary ones. Now, you can update only the necessary fields during mass conversion, with any unselected fields being automatically based on lead conversion mapping. Check out this announcement post for more details.


Useful Discussions:

Track Deal Progress with Zoho CRM's Stage Duration Report:

@Jennifer Keirn needed to calculate the average stage duration in the Deals module. @Ishwarya suggested creating a report with 'Deals' as the primary module and 'Stage History' as a child module. This approach allows you to calculate the average stage duration and group by stage, helping you easily identify how long deals remain in each stage and assess the level of adherence to promised turnaround times. Check the post to learn more.

Use Formula to Calculate Unit Price with Margin in Zoho CRM:

@ hayley.pool was seeking a simple solution to calculate the unit price by adding a required margin percentage to the unit cost in Zoho CRM using a formula field. @Bhoomi Joshi confirmed the feasibility and provided the necessary formula. Check the post for the details.

Implementing a Date-Based Formula and Field Calculations and Notification Solutions in Zoho CRM:

@Jeff Davis needed to create a date-based formula field in Zoho CRM that automatically calculates a date 98 days after the start date. @Hugh Marshall suggested the necessary adjustments to the formula, which Jeff successfully implemented. Additionally, community members explored options for sending notifications based on the calculated date and discovered potential solutions using workflows. Check this post for details.

Dynamic Image Inclusion in Zoho CRM Email Templates:

@arnau.marti presented an interesting use case: when a patient books an appointment, a workflow should trigger an email that includes an image from the URL field in the Doctors module. The challenge was dynamically pulling the image based on the assigned doctor. With @Hugh's assistance, Arnau successfully used a merge tag to incorporate the image into the email template. Discover the solution in this post.

Calculating Days Between Two Dates Based on Checkbox Selection:

@raantjes needed to calculate the number of days between two dates in a record, with the formula varying depending on whether a checkbox field is selected or not. @Bhoomi Joshi provided the appropriate formula to address this requirement. Find the details in this post.

Functions:

Extracting Month and Day from Date Field:

Reviving an old topic, Zoho CRM users had previously discussed how to extract and display only the month from a date field. The original solution involved using a formula field with nested IF statements to convert the month number to its corresponding text format. @Mike Wood revisited this topic, seeking to include the day of the month as well. @Nik provided two solutions: one with adjustments to the existing formula and another using Functions. Explore the solutions in this post.

Automating Deal Record Updates with New Notes:

@sales blueraycargo needed to automatically update a specific field in a deal record whenever a new note was added to that deal. @Subhash Kumar suggested creating a workflow rule triggered by the addition of a new note and using a function code to retrieve and update the deal record. Check out the solution in this post.

Creating Multiple Sales Orders from a Single Quote:

@Shreyash Patel wanted to create multiple sales orders from a single quote in Zoho CRM. @Ishwarya SG provided a function code to achieve this. The function clones the quote record, removes unnecessary fields, and creates multiple sales order records based on the product details in the quote. Take a look at this post for the code and other details.

Dev's Corner:

Zoho CRM Bulk Export Challenge and Solution:

@Claire needed to export contacts associated with multiple campaigns in Zoho CRM for Power BI analysis. Existing solutions didn't link contacts to specific campaigns within the exported data. @Bala Ganesh suggested an API query that retrieves contact details along with the related campaign names. This allows Claire to map and identify which contacts belong to each campaign record. Learn more in this post.

Handle 'invalid error' in Refreshing Access Tokens:

@IT encountered an "invalid code" error while attempting to refresh an access token for Zoho CRM API interactions. This error could be due to an expired or invalid refresh token. Check @Maria Antony Betson M's solution in this post for potential causes and useful links for proper token management to avoid these issues.

Color-Coding Picklist Values:

@WM Yeo wanted to color-code picklist values based on ranges, similar to conditional formatting in spreadsheets. While built-in picklist colors are available, @Nik suggested using Client Scripts for a more dynamic approach. @Maadhari M provided a detailed solution with sample code in this post.

Kaizen:

(Kaizen #145) Assigning values to different field types using Zoho CRM SDKs - Part III:

The post guides you through assigning values to various standard and custom field types in Zoho CRM using the Python SDK. It includes code examples for assigning values to each field type, including handling null values and, provides detailed explanations and code samples.

(Kaizen #146) - Assigning values to different field types using Zoho CRM SDKs - Part IV

This post provides a comprehensive guide on assigning values to various standard and custom field types in Zoho CRM using different SDKs. It covers the syntax, includes code examples, and outlines the best practices for managing different field types effectively.

(Kaizen #147) - Frequently Asked Questions on Zoho CRM Widgets

This post addresses common developer questions about Zoho CRM Widgets. It covers where widgets can be used, how to create them, and details size and file limitations. It also explains various functionalities including parameters, JS SDK, Client Script, and data passing between widgets and Client Script. Additionally, it provides information on using widgets for telephony extensions and opening dial pads.

(Kaizen #148)- 'trigger' in Records APIs

This post discusses the "trigger" key within Zoho CRM's Insert, Update, and Upsert records APIs. It explains how to use this key to control which automation actions are triggered when a record is created, modified, or updated.

Thank you for taking the time to read this month's round-up. Keep tabs on the digest every month for the latest ideas and discussions. Stay tuned and engage in the forums to be featured in next month's digest. Have a wonderful month ahead!

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