Zoho Developer Community Monthly Digest – March 2025

Zoho Developer Community Monthly Digest – March 2025



Hello everyone,

This month is packed with exciting product updates, learning sessions, and powerful community conversations that remind us: sometimes, the best solutions come from a single shared question. From quick workarounds to upcoming training events and product releases, there's something here for everyone.

Let's dive in!

Upcoming Events

Creator Tech Connect

Title: Product release updates in Zoho Creator
Date: April 9–10, 2025
APAC & ANZ: 11 AM to 12 PM IST – Registration Link
EMEA: 4 PM to 5 PM IST – Registration Link
Americas: 9 PM to 10 PM IST – Registration Link

Creator's tech connect series comprises of technical sessions that provide immersive training on the key essentials and technical nuances of building a solution in Zoho Creator. This is a great opportunity for our developer community to stay informed about Creator's new feature releases, product roadmap, best practices to follow while scripting in deluge, new deluge concepts, and cloud functions. In our previous session, we discussed advanced UI/UX customizations in Zoho Creator. In the upcoming session, we will explore the recent product release updates in Zoho Creator.

ZDK CLI (Zoho Development Kit Command Line Interface)

Date: April 10
Time: 10:00 AM IST & 8:00 PM IST (GMT+5:30)

Managing metadata in Zoho CRM shouldn’t feel like navigating a maze. Yet, the endless clicks to modify profiles, roles, modules, or layouts—and the challenges of version control—can quickly become overwhelming. What if you could skip the hassle and manage your metadata effortlessly? Introducing ZDK CLI—your one-stop solution for streamlining metadata modifications, pushing changes directly from the command line, and tracking updates seamlessly with your preferred Version Control System (VCS). Register now to discover how to take control of your CRM workflow with ZDK CLI.

Extensions 101

TitleZoho Projects – Data Storage
Date: April 17
Time: 10:00 AM IST & 8:00 PM IST (GMT+5:30)

This series aims to guide developers through the process of building extensions for various Zoho products using the Zoho Developer platform, Sigma. Our previous sessions in this series covered extension development for multiple Zoho products and highlighted the platform's key capabilities for developing efficient extensionsRegister for the upcoming sessions, where we'll delve deep into developing extensions for Zoho products like Projects, CRM, Books, and Desk.

Zoho Developer Hangout – Episode 21

Title: Zoho System Integration: Collect, Manage, and Utilize Data
Date: April 23

Time: 8:00 PM IST (GMT+5:30)

In this session, we’re featuring a ZDC Hackathon 2024 winner from the Zoho Creator Category who tackled one of the biggest business bottlenecks—hiring—and turned it into a fully streamlined, automated system. Wonderboy, Sourcing Coordinator & Junior Developer at WeThinkCode_, built this project using Zoho Creator, CRM, and Forms, simplifying the entire recruitment process—from collecting applications to sending updates via WhatsApp and email. It’s smart, practical, and something you could absolutely build on. Register here.

Catalyst 101

Title: Data & File Management and Querying
Date: April 29
Time10:00 AM IST & 8:00 PM IST (GMT+5:30)

Catalyst is a full-stack cloud development platform that simplifies the complex. Build, test, host, deploy, and optimize solutions like never before. Its easy learning curve eliminates complexities, empowering you to craft bold innovations at the lowest total cost of ownership (TCO). This is a four-part learning initiative that focuses on offering a thorough understanding of Catalyst—Zoho's cloud computing platform. Click here for registration and more details.

Learning Table Series

Title: Creator for the Property Management
Date: May 8, 2025
APAC & ANZ: 11 AM to 12 PM IST – Registration Link
EMEA: 4 PM to 5 PM IST – Registration Link
Americas: 9 PM to 10 PM IST – Registration Link

We designed this series to provide users with valuable insights and knowledge of Creator's capabilities in various business use cases and applications. This year as well, we have adopted the 12 Months 12 Industries concept. Every month, we will focus on a specific industry, illustrating its unique processes with real-time business scenarios and how to make best use of Creator for that industry. Our previous webinar on Creator for the Asset Management was a success, and during the upcoming session, we'll be exploring Creator for the Property Management.

Zoholics USA 2025

Date: May 13–15
Location
GRB Convention Center in Houston

Join us for three days of inspiration, innovation, and invaluable connections. Whether you’re attending breakout tracks, scheduling 1-on-1 expert sessions, or mingling in networking lounges, we promise you’ll leave with actionable insights and a refreshed perspective on your business. More details here.

Resource Spotlight

Info
We've consolidated all the resources from the developer community learning series into a centralized hub for your convenient access. Consider bookmarking our Zoho Developer Community website to stay informed about the latest updates in the developer community.
Alert
Postman’s 2025 Developers’ Choice Awards at POSTCON ’25

If you’ve found our Zoho CRM Developers API collection on Postman helpful, we’d be honored to have your support! This collection is regularly updated with a focus on simplifying your development experience and helping you work with our APIs effortlessly. We’re excited to be a part of this contest and your vote could help us win. Your support not only motivates us but also drives us to improve and deliver more value to our developer community.

Please cast your vote here and share our profile. Voting lines are open until April 18, 2025. 
  • Zoho Creator
    Get access to the previous Zoho Creator Session recordings from Youtube & Zoho Creator Studio below:
  • Zoho Analytics
    Let's explore how the integration between Zoho Analytics and Zoho Desk can transform customer support, helping teams move from basic reporting to data-driven decision making in this blog.

  • Zoho Flow
    One of the biggest advantages of using Zoho Flow is that all your workflows are in one place, making it easy to make changes, switch them on or off, and monitor how every step is performing. 
    Now we're making it even easier for you to keep track of your flows and perform quick operations. Say hello to the Zoho Flow mobile app for iPhone!

  • Zoho Notebook
    AI is advancing rapidly and becoming a staple in our daily lives. From boosting our writing skills to enhancing productivity, AI tech is all around us. Because AI is so impactful and becoming the future of advanced technology, we thought, why not implement it in Zoho Notebook to make your writing experience a piece of cake? I
    ntroducing Notebook AI, our powerful AI writing assistant in Zoho Notebook.

  • Zoho Directory – Always Verify #09
    As we march ahead into April 2025, you have on your screens yet another edition of Always VerifyWe have searched the internet far and wide to bring you impactful Identity and Access Management stories- MFA mandates, ransomware attacks, crazy authentication workflows and of course, the Oracle Cloud breach.

Community Discussions

It’s a great reminder that in the right community, every challenge is just one conversation away from a breakthrough.

Zoho Developer Forum

  • @Nik ran into a snag trying to remove backslashes from a string in Deluge, so he came up with a quick workaround—bit of a hack, but hey, it did the trick. Then @Andres stepped in with a much cleaner fix that made things way easier. Want to know what the fix was? You’ll have to check out the post! Just goes to show, even a messy workaround can lead to a solid solution when you share it with the right crowd.
  • @Federico ran into a workflow hiccup while creating a related record in Zoho CRM—every time he hit “Save,” it would bounce him right back to the parent record. He wanted to stay on the newly created record instead. What followed was a thoughtful exchange around client scripts, potential workarounds, and platform limitations. While there's no one-click fix (yet), the conversation shed light on the why behind this behavior—and sparked ideas that might just lead to a future product tweak. Curious how others are handling it? The post’s worth a read.
  • When @Richard ran into a frustrating error in his Zoho Books Deluge script, the error message wasn’t giving him much to work with. He reached out to the community, and @Bhoomi, our MVP, stepped in to help, spotting a small but crucial syntax issue—something as simple as a missing semicolon. It’s a reminder of how sometimes the smallest detail can cause the biggest roadblock. Check out the post for the full solution!
  • @Taryn noticed something strange—values entered into a custom field on the Lead form in Zoho CRM weren’t saving, and the field just lit up yellow with no error message in sight. It was one of those head-scratcher moments until @Anonymous User stepped in with a simple but spot-on suggestion: check the field’s permissions. Sure enough, that was the culprit. Just another example of how a fresh pair of eyes in the community can help uncover what you might’ve missed.
  • When @ebizness set out to automatically create a new Contact every time a custom CRM module received a new record, things seemed straightforward—until the workflow threw an error. While @Ishwarya guided them through the workflow setup, it was @Max Tyack who shared a golden tip that turned the tide. The moment @ebizness tried it, everything clicked into place. Curious what that magic tip was? Head to the thread to see the clever trick that made the automation work seamlessly!
  • @Hayden’s post casually introduces the concept of the Levenshtein Distance algorithm—measuring how many edits it takes to turn one word into another—while showing how he built a working fuzzy matching system in Deluge. Using maps to mimic 2D arrays and a quirky recursive helper, he proved that with a bit of creativity, even compact scripting tools can be stretched to do pretty impressive things. A fun read that’s both educational, entertaining, and super cool!

Developers ZUG Cliq Channel

Info
These conversations are confined to the Developers ZUG Cliq channel members. If you're keen on becoming a part of this space, visit our website, click JOIN NOW, and complete the form to get an invite to the channel.
  • This thread explores a real-world use case that pushes readers to think beyond the UI. By sharing her situation, Trish uncovered a workaround others can benefit from. Conversations like these empower developers to dive deeper into Deluge, workflows, and modular automation—things the docs might not cover, but the community certainly does!
  • When the documentation doesn’t cover a unique use case, conversations with peers help fill the gaps. When @LaVerne set out to trigger a custom function from the Zoho Cliq check-in (without using Zoho People), @Mike helped highlight some platform boundaries, while @Pranit offered practical insights and opened up the idea of using Cliq Widgets as a potential custom solution.
  • @Mangesh faced a common developer pain point: missing custom fields in the Zoho Books API response. His precise question led to a straightforward and helpful answer from @Pranit, who offered a simple tip that now makes API calls more predictable. It’s proof that asking clear questions gets you closer to clean solutions—especially when the right folks are listening.

Community Spotlight

Cliq Contributors

We want to express our sincere appreciation to all our community contributors. Your commitment, expertise, and the time you invest are invaluable to the community. 



For those who are new to the Zoho Developer Community, check out this post to get started. 

Make sure to follow the digest every month for the most recent updates and conversations. Stay connected and participate in the forums and the Cliq channel to be featured in the upcoming month's digest. Wishing you all an amazing month ahead!


SEE ALSO

    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





                                                          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

                                                                                                          • Should I Use DMARC?

                                                                                                            When I configure Zoho Mail's DMARC settings, it's mandatory to fill in the RUA and RUF (Aggregate notification email address*, Forensic notification email address*) addresses. When we enter an email address in these fields, we receive reports from the
                                                                                                          • Introducing Profile Summary: Faster Candidate Insights with Zia

                                                                                                            We’re excited to launch Profile Summary, a powerful new feature in Zoho Recruit that transforms how you review candidate profiles. What used to take minutes of resume scanning can now be assessed in seconds—thanks to Zia. A Quick Example Say you’re hiring
                                                                                                          • Books API Receiving an Error that Doesn't Make Sense when Creating Credit Note - trying to use 'ignore_auto_number_generation' argument

                                                                                                            Hello, I'm working on a newly created routine and I'm getting an error that doesn't make sense when trying to create a new Credit Note. Here is my POST request. Endpoint: https://www.zohoapis.com/books/v3/creditnotes?organization_id=########## Body:     {
                                                                                                          • How to move emails to Shared Mailbox?

                                                                                                            Hello, I created a Shred Mailbox instead of using a distribution group. But I cannot move previous emails to certain shared mailbox. Is it possible move some emails from inbox to shared mailbox?
                                                                                                          • Collaboration with free plan user.

                                                                                                            Hello. Do both users need to be on Pro plan to collaborate? Or can a Pro user share a note with a free plan user with the ability to edit?
                                                                                                          • Send email template "permission denied to access the api"

                                                                                                            Hello, Per the title, I'm trying to send a Zoho CRM Email template based on the advice given here: https://help.zoho.com/portal/en/community/topic/specify-an-email-template-when-sending-emails-in-custom-functions (I'd prefer to send right from Deluge
                                                                                                          • Zoho Inventory Now Supports VeriFactu for Businesses in Spain

                                                                                                            Starting from January 1, 2026, Spain requires real-time invoice reporting for all B2B transactions. From July 2026, this requirement will extend to B2C transactions as well. All reporting must be carried out through the VeriFactu to AEAT (Agencia Estatal
                                                                                                          • Connection to other user

                                                                                                            Zoho Cliq handles sharing of Custom OAuth Connections that require individual user logins.
                                                                                                          • Missing information data Zoho inventory

                                                                                                            there some missing data in Zoho inventory connection. pick list stock counts bin location we have requested it via mail and the support team doesn’t gove feedback. has anyone achieve to get these info or to ask other ya les
                                                                                                          • In arattai received message can't be deleted

                                                                                                            The issue has been noticed in following: arattai app (Android) arattai app (Window) arattai web While the message posted by me may be deleted, the ones received from others can't be. The item <Delete> change to <Report> when the message is a received
                                                                                                          • Analytics Portal

                                                                                                            I have the "standard plan" and want to explore the portal option; I activated the 15-day trial but do not see the pricing for the add-on. How can I get the price under "Upgrade add-ons." Thanks Rudy
                                                                                                          • Can I filter a Lookup field to only show related records from another Lookup in Zoho CRM?

                                                                                                            In our Leads module, we have two Lookup fields: Recruitment Agency – the agency that the lead came from Recruiter – the individual contact from that agency who sent us the lead Both fields link correctly to their respective records in CRM. However, our
                                                                                                          • Zoho Books API invoice email bouncing with 'relaying-issues' error

                                                                                                            I have waited over 30 days for zoho books uk to assist with the following and i have had no replies or tickets erronously closed. The service has been terrible - very unlike zoho! So i am raising this here hoping that a community member can assist: Hello,
                                                                                                          • How do I filter contacts by account parameters?

                                                                                                            Need to filter a contact view according to account parameter, eg account type. Without this filter users are overwhelmed with irrelevant contacts. Workaround is to create a custom 'Contact Type' field but this unbearable duplicity as the information already
                                                                                                          • Zoho Writer to Zoho Sign Template Misalignment – Request for Community

                                                                                                            We are currently facing a critical issue impacting our live business operations due to a misalignment problem between Zoho Writer templates and Zoho Sign output. Issue Summary: We have an automated workflow in Zoho CRM using Deluge scripts that generates
                                                                                                          • Account blocked

                                                                                                            Yesterday I got my Zeptomail account blocked due to too many hard bounces. My account is used exclusively for sending transactional emails (eg. your order has been shipped, a form has been filled, etc) and the sudden blocking impacted hundreds of websites
                                                                                                          • IF Formula

                                                                                                            Hi, I'm having trouble setting up a custom formula in a field. Can you help me with it? The formula should do the following: If the created date is less or equal to 30 days the field should display a string New in pieline or Exisitng pipeline if above
                                                                                                          • View comprehensive logs of all actions in Custom Module History

                                                                                                            Hello everyone, We are happy to announce our new feature, Detail View in Custom Module History, which enhances visibility, control and accountability over your records. Users can now access a detailed timeline of every action that has been performed on
                                                                                                          • Track ZohoForm Conversion using Postmessage event

                                                                                                            Hi, I’ve been using a third-party lead tracking tool to capture leads from my website along with their source. Earlier, with the HubSpot form, the third-party script was able to detect the postMessage event that iframe forms typically send back to the
                                                                                                          • Email task creator when task is updated/marked complete

                                                                                                            I am looking for a way to notify the creator of a task in zoho todo when - Task is updated Task is closed Comments entered 1 and 2 are critical, and I cannot find a zoho flow to do this. There is no way that as a manager I will know when someone has completed
                                                                                                          • Email Recall Feature In Zoho Mail Which Should Also Work For Outside Organisation Members

                                                                                                            Add a feature to recall or undo sending an email within a configurable short time window (e.g., 30 seconds to 2 minutes) after hitting send, similar to Gmail’s undo send. Currently the sent email can not be recall If the recipient is not from within your
                                                                                                          • How to implement calculating average value of averaged values?

                                                                                                            Hi, I'm trying to implement a formula in my layout for a module that calculates the average of 2 averaged values, but I can't do so using the formula custom field. To calculate the 2 averaged values, I could use the formula custom field, but in the custom
                                                                                                          • Zoho Recruit update published job boards

                                                                                                            If we have a job thats already posted on several different job boards and we edit this job in zoho recruit (e.g. the description of the job), does this then automatically update this new information to all the published job boards?  If not, how does the
                                                                                                          • Narrative 14: The magic bazaar of Desk

                                                                                                            Behind the scenes of a successful ticketing system: BTS Series Narrative 14: The magic bazaar of Desk Marketplace is a centralized platform where users can discover Zoho and third-party applications that can be integrated with their Desk account to facilitate
                                                                                                          • Collections Management: #2 Late Payment Automation

                                                                                                            "Sir, I'll process the payment by evening, please don't apply any late payment charges", the customer said while arranging papers on his desk. Sanjay stood there with a tired smile. He had already visited twice that week. Payment collection was one thing.
                                                                                                          • Create a table in the layout section of modules

                                                                                                            Dear Sirs, I would like to know whether is possible to create a table under new fields in layouts section of modules. In fact in this section there are single line, multi line, pick list, multi-select, date, formula etc. but I am unable to add a table
                                                                                                          • Nimble enhancements to WhatsApp for Business integration in Zoho CRM: Enjoy context and clarity in business messaging

                                                                                                            Dear Customers, We hope you're well! WhatsApp for business is a renowned business messaging platform that takes your business closer to your customers; it gives your business the power of personalized outreach. Using the WhatsApp for Business integration
                                                                                                          • Power of Automation :: Automatic Task Status Handling for Users

                                                                                                            Hello Everyone, A custom function is a software code that can be used to automate a process and this allows you to automate a notification, call a webhook, or perform logic immediately after a workflow rule is triggered. This feature helps to automate
                                                                                                          • Question - why no way to input a 'tool description' and 'tree of 'tools'

                                                                                                            Every business is different, with different business processes. To be truly useful Zoho MCP needs to have user editable tool descriptions (or ruleset) and a 'tool tree' so that the LLM is context aware when being used. For example, the tool description
                                                                                                          • Develop Zoho Meeting as a Full Native Application (Not a Browser Wrapper)

                                                                                                            Hello Zoho Meeting Team, Hope you are doing well. We would like to suggest an important improvement regarding the Zoho Meeting desktop application. At the moment, the Zoho Meeting app feels more like a mini browser window or an iframe that loads the web
                                                                                                          • Error AS101 when adding new email alias

                                                                                                            Hi, I am trying to add apple@(mydomain).com The error AS101 is shown while I try to add the alias.
                                                                                                          • Suggestion to improve zoho writer

                                                                                                            I am using your product, I believe it is very useful, however, i was writing a note and I needed to draw an arrow in different angles to explain a point and I couldn't. it would be helpful, to add draw functions to the zoho writer. thanks
                                                                                                          • Can I create a custom function for chart of accounts?

                                                                                                            I'm trying to add a custom function that should run whenever a record in the Chart of Accounts module is edited, but on the form for creating a new function, the module dropdown does not include the chart of accounts as an option.
                                                                                                          • billing

                                                                                                            hi, I am being billed $12/year, and I can't remember why. My User ID is 691273115 Thanks for your help, --Kitty Pearl
                                                                                                          • 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
                                                                                                          • Unable to confirm Super Admin assignment — confirmation button not working

                                                                                                            I’m trying to change the roles within my organization. I am currently a super admin and would like to add another user as a super admin. When I attempt to confirm the action, a screen appears asking for my password to verify my identity. However, when
                                                                                                          • Inactive Items - Make Less Prominent by Default

                                                                                                            Currently, when one marks an Item as "Inactive", it really doesn't do much of anything to hide it or get it out of the way. Search and reporting within Finance should, by default, hide inactive Items from standard reports, searches, etc. If one specifically
                                                                                                          • How to unlink a SAML user from the existing Zoho Desk user (domain change case)

                                                                                                            Hi everyone, I’m trying to understand how to handle a situation where a customer changes their company domain. In our setup, users authenticate via SAML, so when the domain changes, the SAML system treats them as a new user. However, in Zoho Desk, I’d
                                                                                                          • Automation#36: Auto-create time-entry after performing the Blueprint transition

                                                                                                            Hello Everyone, This week’s edition focuses on configuring a custom function within Zoho Desk to streamline time tracking within the Blueprint. In this case, we create a custom field, and request the agent to enter the spending time within the single
                                                                                                          • Feature Request: Reviews

                                                                                                            Any chance we could get a "Reviews" element to put on sites? It should be extremely simple to do. Basically just take the comments box and add an option for a star rating. At the very least, it would be nice to have more customization options for the comment box so the text could be changed from "Comments" to "Reviews". I've looked at a bunch of embeddable review widgets but nothing meets my needs so this would be a great feature to have added to the site builder.
                                                                                                          • Next Page