Zoho CRM Layout Rules: Nine New Actions, Profile-Based Execution, and Interactive Preview

Hello everyone,

Availability: This feature is now available for customers in the JP and SA DCs. It is planned to be released for other customers in soon.

We’re excited to announce powerful new enhancements to Layout Rules in Zoho CRM - a feature built to guide our teams through form-filling by showing the right information to the right users at the right time. These latest updates make that experience more dynamic as well as more role-specific than ever before.

As you may already know, Layout Rules dynamically tailor your forms by showing or hiding fields, sections, and subforms, and setting fields as mandatory based on set conditions.

With this update, we are taking that capability further:

You will now be able to set new actions, and configure rules to apply to specific user profiles, ensuring every user only sees what's relevant to their role. Besides, with the new Interactive Preview, you can see how the rule would take effect directly from the configuration page.

Together, these enhancements will give you greater control to customize your CRM to your team's structure, streamline data visibility, and make form-filling simpler and more context-driven - all from a more intuitive interface.

Editions: Enterprise and Ultimate.

Let’s dive into the details.

I. New actions for layout rules

Field actions

Show Picklist Values - Narrow down picklist options based on context.
Set Read Only Fields - Lock fields from editing once a condition is met.
Set Field Value - Automatically populate a field's value when conditions are met.
Recommend Field Value - Suggest a value for a field through a contextual message.
Show Message - Display a timely, contextual message for a field when a condition is triggered.

Other actions

Show Related Lists - Surface relevant related lists based on the current record's context.
Show Buttons - Display action buttons that are relevant to the current state of record.
Show Links - Surface helpful reference links when a specific condition is met.
Verify Fields - Prompt verification of critical fields before proceeding.

II. Profile-based Execution

Layout Rules now support profile-based execution - giving you finer control over how a record's layout behaves for different users.

When configured, an action will only take effect for users of the chosen profiles when the condition is met. In the case of Set Read Only Fields, the field can be made read only for most users, while still allowing specific profiles to edit it. This lets you tailor the form experience of the same rule differently for different teams.

Let's look at a scenario to understand the scope of these actions better.

Scenario for new actions and profile-based execution

A bank that offers various types of loans needs to have a structured and efficient way to manage customer applications within Zoho CRM. To streamline this process, they use the Loan Applications module which allows the bank's staff to capture, review, and process every stage of a loan request in an organized manner.

To ensure comprehensive data collection and clarity, numerous sections have been added to the module - covering the entire loan lifecycle.

The company wants to manage a set of fields and sections based on the status of approval of application.

Below, is a GIF depicting the various sections that were added to the module - Loan Application.

Let's look at how the rule is configured with the new actions to tailor the form dynamically.

Configure conditional field, show button, and option visibility

In the Draft stage, they can control the visibility of the Withdraw Application button, tailor loan type options to each applicant's profile - if Applicant Type is Individual, show the values Car, Home, and Education; if Applicant Type is Company, show the value Business. They can also nudge younger applicants (under the age of 25) toward the most suitable option.

Configure conditional field-level reminder message

In the Documents Pending stage, Layout Rules allows to display timely, field-level message for the Application Status field based on record conditions - prompting applicants with a reminder to submit their documents within seven days.

Configure role-based section visibility and field validation

In the Submitted stage, teams can automatically surface the Credit Evaluation and Payment Details sections the moment an application is submitted - with visibility restricted to the specific profiles, namely Credit Analyst and Administrator. They can also verify the following fields when the conditions are met - Loan Type, Loan Amount, and Loan Tenure.

Configure read-only fields, default values, and conditional field updates

When an application is Approved, Layout Rules now allows to lock fields containing critical loan details, namely, Loan Type, Loan Amount, and Loan Tenure, guide staff toward a recommended EMI start date, ensure key verification fields are reviewed, and automatically set Processing Fee at 2%, based on loan type.

Configure read-only fields and auto-capture of disbursal date

When an application is marked as Disbursed, Layout Rules now allows to lock key disbursal details automatically, and capture the exact disbursal date in real time.

Configure conditional field visibility and dynamic option filtering

When an application Rejected, Layout Rules now allows to surface the Rejected Reason field and a link to the Relevant Policy Guidelines, while automatically narrowing down rejection reasons based on loan type.

III. Interactive Preview

Once you have configured and saved a Layout Rule, you can now preview the layout rule execution in the view of different profiles - all without leaving the rule configuration page.

You will only have to select a profile and the condition from the preview options, and the layout will instantly update to reflect what a user belonging to that profile would see when viewing or editing a record. What this means is that you can verify that the right sections, fields, and subforms are visible (or hidden) for each profile, and confirm that mandatory field settings are applying as intended - before the rule affects any live data or active users.

This is especially useful when managing complex rules that behave differently across multiple profiles, as it lets you catch any errors in your configuration early on, and make adjustments on the spot.

What's Next

- Multi-select picklist field support in layout rule and validation rule criteria.
- Layout Rules support for Professional Edition.