Zoho Developer Community Monthly Digest - March 2024

Zoho Developer Community Monthly Digest - March 2024



Hello everyone,

In this digest, we've brought you a roundup of the highlights, community discussions, resources, and updates from March to keep you in the loop. Let's get right to it!

March Highlights

Zoho Developer Hangout 13

Zoho CRM offers flexibility for businesses to tailor it precisely according to their unique requirements. However, even the best suits may need a few extra accessories. That's where Zoho Creator steps in. When integrated with Zoho CRM, it extends the platform's capabilities, allowing you to build custom applications, forms, and views, transforming them into custom tabs within the CRM interface. Think of it as the stylish pocket square that completes the look. In this session, our MVP @Damien Cregan provided an introduction to Deluge scripting and its role in creating integrations between Zoho Creator and Zoho CRM. He also delved into the intricacies of fetching records from Creator within CRM and vice versa, as well as creating and updating records in both platforms. Watch the recording here.

Zoho Developer Hangout 14

By serving as gateways for accessing and sharing functionalities and data across applications, APIs empower developers to tap into external resources and services that enrich their applications with enhanced features and solutions. Eric, a consistent top contributor in the Zoho Developer Community, says, "Zoho APIs can be fun to use. For core applications like CRM, Desk, and Books, there is an abundance of API endpoints to use and play with. Whether you are developing in or out of Zoho, there is a lot of commonality." In this episode, he discussed the API documentation, limitations, and gotchas, using the API in Deluge, and then demonstrated a use case outside of Zoho with a Ruby application. Watch the recording here.

Upcoming Events

Note: To stay on top of the upcoming developer community events, keep an eye on this page.
  1. Zoho Developer Community Bootcamps - India: We're excited to announce a line-up of Zoho Developer Community Bootcamps in India. These bootcamps focus on empowering developers of all skill levels to learn and build extensions for Zoho products and potentially monetize them by listing them on Zoho Marketplace. This is a great opportunity to network with fellow developers and Zoho users, interact with Zoho experts, share ideas and experiences, and grow together as a community. Read through the details here and register for the meetup in your city.

  2. Zoho QEngine 101: We are happy to announce Zoho QEngine 101 series for the developer community consisting of five sessions in total. This series aims to enable attendees to create test cases from scratch, manage them under modules, and execute them for three different platforms—web, mobile, and API—using Zoho QEngine. Registration and more details here. We also have the Get to know Zoho QEngine webinar series to enhance your understanding of how to leverage QEngine for efficient application testing, particularly through automation. 

  3. Zoho CRM APIs: In this series, you will learn about OAuth2.0 authorization used by Zoho CRM APIs, CRUD operations for retrieving, creating, updating, and deleting records, efficient search/query methods, data synchronization techniques for consistency across platforms, and working with SDKs for seamless integration of Zoho CRM functionality into applications. Register for this multi-part series and start using developer-centric CRM features like a pro!

  4. Zoho Extensions 101 – Extensions for Zoho Finance Suite: This series offers a comprehensive exploration of developing extensions and widgets for the Zoho Finance suite. Starting with an introduction to Sigma and the Zoho Books platform, subsequent sessions cover creating extensions, testing, publishing, and listing apps in the Zoho Marketplace. Click here for the detailed agenda and registration.

  5. eSignatures with Zoho Sign: Discover how to create legally binding documents and seamlessly integrate Zoho Sign into your website or mobile application using Zoho Sign APIs and SDKs. Join us to learn the importance of integrating a digital signature solution into your website, get a product walkthrough of Zoho Sign, and gain insights into utilizing Zoho Sign's APIs effectively. Register here.

  6. Catalyst Masterclass – Build next-gen bots with NLP capabilities using ConvoKraft: Join us for an exclusive webinar on Catalyst ConvoKraft with industry experts to learn how to build next-gen bots with advanced Natural Language Processing (NLP) capabilities. Catalyst ConvoKraft is an open platform on which third-party, non-AI developers can build chatbots. Developers can easily embed bots built on ConvoKraft into their application's front end for end-users to interact with.

  7. Learning Table Series: We designed this series to provide users with valuable insights and knowledge about Creator's capabilities in various business use cases and applications. This year, 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 recent webinar on Creator for the Logistics Industry was a success, and during the upcoming session, we'll be exploring Creator for the Education Industry.

    Title: Creator For the Education Industry
    Date: May 2, 2024
    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


  8. Creator Tech Connect SeriesCreator's tech connect series would comprise 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. We are conducting a three-month series on mobile applications in Zoho Creator. The recently concluded session focused on customizing mobile applications in Zoho Creator, while the upcoming session in the series will be about Rebranding mobile applications in Zoho Creator.

    Title: Rebranding Mobile Applications in Zoho Creator
    Date: May 9, 2024
    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

Resource Spotlight

We've consolidated all the resources from the developer community learning series into a centralized hub for your convenient access. Consider bookmarking the Zoho Developer Community website to stay informed about the latest updates in the developer community.

Community Discussions

Zoho Developer Forum

  • At times, even the tiniest syntax slip-up can be vexing. That's where community support comes through, as members have likely encountered similar challenges. In this instance, @Philip sought assistance on our forum for a WHERE clause issue in a COQL query, and as usual, @Haiku Technical Support swiftly offered helpful tips to guide @Philip and @DataWarehouse.
  • More often than not, minor script glitches can escalate into significant time drains for developers. @Jason's struggle with transferring subform records highlights the frustration such issues can bring. Our MVP @Hugh Marshall's timely intervention not only resolved the problem but also underscored the invaluable support network within the community.
  • @Emmanuel struggled to update a multi-select field in Zoho CRM, prompting other community members to jump into the discussion with similar challenges. @Sunderjan and @Pheranda pitched in with code snippets to help them through their predicaments.
  • Identifying the cause of a problem is key to resolving it, which is precisely what @Hugh Marshall aided in with @Jorge's situation. While attempting to parse an XML file in Zoho CRM, @Jorge Andrés faced challenges in isolating and processing details from the XML, despite exploring different solutions. Go through this conversation to understand how community can be your go-to when you’re stuck in coding conundrums.

Developers ZUG Cliq Channel

Note: These conversations are confined to the Developers ZUG Cliq channel members. If you're keen on becoming a part of this space, please fill in this onboarding form to receive your invitation to join the channel.
  • Does it spark your interest when I say that it's possible to search email ID in Leads and Contacts modules at the same time? Go through this discussion where @Venessa West shares how.
  • @Nhivethasre comes to @Piyush's rescue with the steps involved in publishing his Zoho Creator app on Google Play Store and Apple's App Store. Make sure to bookmark this thread for future reference when you're ready to publish your own app!
  • Our champions Tasha and Puneeth offered step-by-step solution to Fatih in this discussion to fetch data from a website (specifically, YouTube) using Deluge and funnel it into Zoho Desk via an app developed with Zoho Catalyst.
  • Check out this lovely conversation that shows the pros coming together to help each other out with great camaraderie!
  • @Haiku Technical Support helped @Danny save some time by suggesting a more straighforward solution to his requirement, avoiding the need to integrate more products than needed.

Community Spotlight

ZDH Speakers

The contributions of our ZDH presenters have been instrumental in the success of the this segment. We extend our heartfelt appreciation for their efforts.

As a continuation of featuring a ZDH presenter each month, this time, we would like to introduce our ninth presenter Christopher Mowers. Explore this post to discover the knowledge and insights he shared with the community.

Cliq Contributors

The Developers ZUG Cliq channel has consistently served as the primary hub for community members seeking technical assistance and engaging in savvy discussions. Here are our top contributors who have gone the extra mile to support and assist the Zoho Developer Community:



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

We appreciate you dedicating your time to peruse this month's digest. Make sure to follow the digest each month for the most recent updates and conversations. Stay connected and participate in the forums to be featured in the upcoming month's digest. Wishing you an amazing month ahead!

SEE ALSO


    Access your files securely from anywhere







                            Zoho Developer Community





                                                  Use cases

                                                  Make the most of Zoho Desk with the use cases.

                                                   
                                                    

                                                  eBooks

                                                  Download free eBooks and access a range of topics to get deeper insight on successfully using Zoho Desk.

                                                   
                                                    

                                                  Videos

                                                  Watch comprehensive videos on features and other important topics that will help you master Zoho Desk.

                                                   
                                                    

                                                  Webinar

                                                  Sign up for our webinars and learn the Zoho Desk basics, from customization to automation and more

                                                   
                                                    
                                                  • Desk Community Learning Series


                                                  • Meetups


                                                  • Ask the Experts


                                                  • Kbase


                                                  • Resources


                                                  • Glossary


                                                  • Desk Marketplace


                                                  • MVP Corner






                                                            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 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

                                                                                                            • ME SALE ESTE ERROR: No fue posible enviar el mensaje;Motivo:554 5.1.8 Email Outgoing Blocked

                                                                                                              Ayuda!! Me sale este error al intentar enviar mensajes desde mi correo electronico de Zoho! Tampoco recibo correos pues cuando me envia rebotan. Ayuda, Me urge enviar unos correo importantes!! Quedo atenta MAGDA HERNANDEZ +5731120888408
                                                                                                            • Is there a way to sync Tags between CRM and Campaigns/Marketing Hub?

                                                                                                              I wonder if there is a way to synch the tags between CRM and Marketing-Hub / Campaigns?
                                                                                                            • how to see if a specific contact opened an email in zoho campaign?

                                                                                                              how to see if a specific contact opened an email in zoho campaign?
                                                                                                            • Rich Text For Notes in Zoho CRM

                                                                                                              Hello everyone, As you know, notes are essential for recording information and ensuring smooth communication across your records. With our latest update, you can now use Rich Text formatting to organize and structure your notes more efficiently. By using
                                                                                                            • Revenue Management: #8 Revenue Recognition in Educational & Training Institutions

                                                                                                              Educational Institutions and training centres typically collect course fees at the time of enrolment, sometimes for a one-day workshop and sometimes for a year-long certification course. You might also charge separately for course materials or evaluation.
                                                                                                            • How to Customize Task Creation to Send a Custom Alert Using JavaScript in Zoho CRM?

                                                                                                              Hello Zoho CRM Community, I’m looking to customize Zoho CRM to send a custom alert whenever a task is created. I understand that Zoho CRM supports client scripts using JavaScript, and I would like to leverage this feature to implement the alert functionality.
                                                                                                            • how to use validation rules in subform

                                                                                                              Is it possible to use validation rules for subforms? I tried the following code: entityMap = crmAPIRequest.toMap().get("record"); sum = 0; direct_billing = entityMap.get("direct_billing_details"); response = Map(); for each i in direct_billing { if(i.get("type")
                                                                                                            • Using files from Zoho CRM in Gemini/ChatGPT/Claude

                                                                                                              Hi all, I’ve got subscriptions to Gemini and a few other AI tools which I use for tasks like data enrichment, email composition, etc. In our workflow, we often receive various documents from clients — such as process workflows, BRDs/requirement documents
                                                                                                            • Enhancements to the formula field in Zoho CRM: Auto-refresh formulas with the "Now" function, stop formula executions based on criteria, and include formulas within formulas

                                                                                                              Dear Customers, We hope you're well! By their nature, modern businesses rely every day on computations, whether it's to calculate the price of a product, assess ROI, evaluate the lifetime value of a customer, or even determine the age of a record. With
                                                                                                            • Maximum file limit in zoho people LMS

                                                                                                              Dear Team, I am having approximately 4.9 GB of material, including PPTs and videos for uploading in zoho people LMS course. May I know what is the maximum limit limit for the course files Thanking you, With regards, Logeswar V Executive _ Operations
                                                                                                            • Displaying related quotes in sales order and back

                                                                                                              Hi, My colleague liked to see to which sales orders, the quote has been converted. Quote shows Invoices, but not SO. Same, they would like to see the quotes in the sales order, as they can see invoices, packages, shipment, How can we achieve this ? Thank
                                                                                                            • automations: Can I execute a step on a specific date?

                                                                                                              I have created a form in Zoho forms, and created a contacts list. I have also begun setting up an automation with the intention of sending the form to the contact list on a specific date every month (via email) for the entire year (essentially sending
                                                                                                            • Dynamically prefill ticket fields

                                                                                                              Hello, I am using Zoho Desk to collect tickets of our clients about orders they placed on our website. I would like to be able to prefill two tickets fields dynamically, in this case a readonly field for the order id, and a hidden field for the seller
                                                                                                            • Optimize your Knowledge Base for better visibility by allowing search engine crawling and indexing

                                                                                                              All you need to know about no-follow and no-index in KB. What are article crawlability and indexability? Crawlability and indexability are vital for making an article visible and accessible to search engines. When a search engine crawls an article, it
                                                                                                            • Has anyone created a public ASAP Guide that I can check out?

                                                                                                              I am thinking of adding an ASAP guide to my web application, but I have noticed that the ASAP widget itself can be really slow to load sometimes. Has anyone created a public ASAP Guide that I can check to see how performant it is? I don't want to spend
                                                                                                            • Zoho Desk Partners with Microsoft's M365 Copilot for seamless customer service experiences

                                                                                                              Hello Zoho Desk users, We are happy to announce that Zoho Desk has partnered with Microsoft's M365 to empower customer service teams with enhanced capabilities and seamless experiences for agents. Microsoft announced their partnership during their keynote
                                                                                                            • What’s New in Zoho Analytics – September 2025

                                                                                                              Hello Users!! In this month’s update, we’re raising the bar across multiple touchpoints, from how you bring in data, plan and track projects to how you design and brand your dashboards. We’ve added the all-new Gantt chart for project visualization, expanded
                                                                                                            • Zoho MCP has no tools for Creator or 3rd Party Apps?

                                                                                                              I don't see a Zoho MCP community forum so putting this here. Two big problems I see: 1) Although Zoho advertises "over 950 3rd party apps" as available through their MCP, when I go to "Add Tools" there are ZERO 3rd party apps available to choose from.
                                                                                                            • Zoho Forms - Zoho Drive connection - Shared Drives not supported

                                                                                                              Hello i am stuck with Google Drive Connection There is no supported shared drives Connection is not support shared drives boolean Query Parameters - supportsAllDrives=true&supportsTeamDrives=true to activate fetch files from the shared drives. Ahat need
                                                                                                            • Apply Advance option not shown in report

                                                                                                              We are facing an issue in Zoho Expenses. While approving an Expense Report, the "Apply Advance" option is not appearing under the three dots (More Options). Details: Module: Expense Reports Issue: "Apply Advance" option not visible Status of Report: Awaiting
                                                                                                            • Can't create package until Bill created?

                                                                                                              I can't understand why we cannot create a package until a Bill is created? We are having to created draft Bills to create a package when the item is received, but we may not have received a Bill from the supplier. Also, Bill # is required, but we normally
                                                                                                            • Whats the Time out Limit for API Calls from Deluge?

                                                                                                              Hi Creator Devs, We are making API calls to third party server via Deluge. Getting this error message: Error at line : 24, The task has been terminated since the API call is taking too long to respond. Please try again after sometime. Whats the default
                                                                                                            • Community Digest Agosto 2025 - Todas las novedades en Español Zoho Community

                                                                                                              ¡Hola, Zoho Community! Agosto llega a su fin y septiembre nos trae aire fresco a la comunidad: más inteligencia con IA, actualizaciones que elevan la productividad y la recta final hacia Zoholics España 2025. Aquí tienes lo más destacado del mes para
                                                                                                            • Tip #3: How to change your booking page language

                                                                                                              Displaying your booking page in your target audience's language can greatly increase customer satisfaction. By speaking their language, you will help customers feel more comfortable scheduling with you and create a stronger connection with them. Let's
                                                                                                            • How can I optimize a Zoho Site page for SEO when embedding external menu or restaurant links?

                                                                                                              Hi everyone, I’m experimenting with building small content hubs on Zoho Sites and want to make sure I’m doing it in an SEO-friendly way. For example, I tried creating a page that highlights restaurant menu items and linked out to a resource like this:
                                                                                                            • Diff signature for compose new email and replies

                                                                                                              Hi,   How do i have different signature for replies and new emails. its inconvenient to have one large signature for replies. Usually on Outlook we have the option to keep separate signatures for new emails and for replies.
                                                                                                            • Zoho Website Site Speed Up & Setting

                                                                                                              We are experiencing slow loading speeds on our Zoho website and would like assistance in optimizing its performance. Kindly review the site and suggest or implement necessary improvements to enhance speed, especially related to: > Caching mechanisms >
                                                                                                            • Clickjacking: Zoho Vault's Response

                                                                                                              Issue: Password manager browser extensions are found to be vulnerable to clickjacking security vulnerabilities that could allow attackers to steal account credentials, TFA codes, and card details under certain conditions. Reported by: Marek Toth, Independent
                                                                                                            • No option for pick up in Zoho Books / Inventory but yes on commerce

                                                                                                              Is it planned to release soon on books/inventory?
                                                                                                            • Zoho Books - France

                                                                                                              L’équipe de Zoho France reçoit régulièrement des questions sur la conformité de ses applications de finances (Zoho Books/ Zoho Invoice) pour le marché français. Voici quelques points pour clarifier la question : Zoho Books est un logiciel de comptabilité
                                                                                                            • Blueprint Issue - Being able to set a subform field as mandatory

                                                                                                              I'm creating a blueprint. My record involves a subform which is only shown once field is set but the field gets set in step two of the process. My problem - I can't save the record as the subform field is set to mandatory - If I unset the mandatory field,
                                                                                                            • Blueprint - Mandatory file upload field

                                                                                                              Hi, File upload (as we as image upload) field cannot be set as mandatory during a blueprint transition. Is there a workaround? Setting attachments as mandatory doesn't solve this need as we have no control over which attachments are added, nor can we
                                                                                                            • Zoho Books - Include Quote Status in Workflow Field Triggers

                                                                                                              Hi Zoho Books team, I recently tried to create a Workflow rule based on when a Quote is Accepted by the customer. This is something which I thought would be very easy to do, however I discovered that Status is not listed as a field which can be monitored
                                                                                                            • Zoho Books - Show Related Sales Orders on Quotes

                                                                                                              Hi Books team, I've noticed that the Quotes don't show show the related Sales Order. My feature request is to also show related Sales Orders above the Quote so it's easy to follow the thread of records in the sales and fulfilment process. Below screenshot
                                                                                                            • Add VAT/Tax line to bank adjustments

                                                                                                              When categorising transactions and matching bank feeds with transactions such as customer payments, we use the "Add Adjustment" to add things like fees/bank fees. It would be useful to choose a VAT/Tax rate here. Whilst there is a bank charges option when adding a payment, this goes into the default bank charges account. We use the adjustments so that we can choose the account and separate our fees. We use different card providers and Worldpay charges VAT so we are stuck. We cannot integrate with
                                                                                                            • New Menu Layout Feedback

                                                                                                              I'd really like to see the banking item back on the top of the menu. I'm sure part of it is just because that's what I'm accustomed to. However, for a bookkeeping program, I think there's a logic to having banking be on top. Not a giant issue, but something
                                                                                                            • 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
                                                                                                            • Form Accessibility

                                                                                                              Hi, is there an update on the accessibility standard of Zoho forms? Are the forms WCAG 2.1 AA compliant? 
                                                                                                            • Cannot schedule report delivery

                                                                                                              The only 'send option' available when exporting reports is 'immediately' The option to schedule the report is missing.
                                                                                                            • adding attachment in sendmail script where attachment is in a CRM field

                                                                                                              Hi all, I have a custom field of type 'File Upload' in one of my modules in my CRM. I want to include the file in that field as an attachment to an email - which is done from a button on  the 'Results' module. I have created a script and a button to initiate an email from that module. The Deluge scripting window has allowed me to add arguments for all the fields I need to use except for the one file upload type field. My script currently looks like the below (content of the email omitted). As you
                                                                                                            • Next Page