Customization is the most powerful way to build a flexible CRM system. In Zoho CRM, you can customize modules, fields, pages, links, and a lot of other elements. In addition to these elements, Zoho CRM now allows you to create new button actions with the help of an advanced feature called  Custom Buttons.

Zoho CRM has standard buttons that are used to execute various predefined actions. For example,  Convert  is a standard button used to convert a Lead to Contact, Account or Potential. Similarly,  Clone  is another standard button that is used to clone any record within your CRM account.  Likewise, CRM Administrators can create new buttons and define a set of actions based on their requirements . Custom Buttons in Zoho CRM can be used to connect your CRM with third party applications, connect different Zoho CRM modules or connect with other Zoho applications. 

Create Custom Button

Custom buttons can be placed in the following places in your CRM account: 

• Create/Clone page  : The button will be available while creating or cloning a record.                       
  
• Edit page  : The button will be available while editing a record.                       
  
• View page  : The button will be available in the record's detail page. 
  
  
  
  
  
• List View - Utility Menu  : The button will be positioned right next to the   More   option in   List   view.                       
  
• List View - Each Record  : In the   List   view, the button will be displayed across each record.                       
  
• List View - Mass Action Menu  : The button will be available in the mass action menu only when records are selected in the list view.                       
  
• Related Lists Page  : In the record details page, the button will be available right next to the related list. 
  
  
  
  
  

• Wizards: The button will be available for execution in the Wizard layout.

  
  
• Email threads: The custom button will appear right after the Forward button.
  
  

To create a custom button

1. Log in to Zoho CRM with administrative privileges.
   
2. Go to  Setup > Customization > Modules and Fields.
   
3. From the  List of Modules , select the required module.
   
4. In the  Links & Buttons  tab, click  Create New Button .
   
5. In the  Create Your Button  page, do the following:
   
   • Enter the name of the button. 
     
     The button name should not exceed 30 characters.
     
   • Click the  Add Description  link and specify the details of your custom button.
     
     The description should not exceed 250 characters.
     
   • Choose the location of your custom button from the drop-down list.
     
     
   • Choose an action to be executed when a user clicks the custom button.
     You can either choose a predefined action from the gallery or an existing action that was already created by users in your organization. Also define your own action by writing a custom function, open a new web tab or invoke a URL based on your needs.
     
     It is mandatory to choose the button action.  See Also  Button Actions
     
     
     
   • In case you wish to obtain location information of the users executing this Button, you can turn the location preference toggle ON. 
     
6. Click  Save.
   Once the custom button is associated with an action, CRM Administrators can manage permissions by assigning only specific profiles to view and access the custom button.

Fetching Location Information Via Custom Buttons 

While creating a custom button, along with the actions specified via the function, you can also fetch the location information of the user executing this button.

This is especially useful for organizations that require sales reps to make field visits on a regular basis.

For instance, consider the example of Zylker Electronics that deals in the sale of electronic appliances. They use CRM to maintain sales and after-sales data of their customers. Whenever they receive a post-sale inspection request, they want the field agent to visit the client's location, survey the damages sustained to the appliance and make a note of the same via the Notes feature. To make the Notes more accessible, they have created a custom button called  Send Notes and have placed this on the detail view page for every contact.  When a field agent pushes this button, the updated Notes will be sent as an email to their managers. 

Now, along with the updated notes, they can also obtain information about the location where this button was executed. This location information will be useful for various needs such as computing rewards for the agents based on the number of field visits made to  handling customer tickets and disputes. 

That said, it is understandable if users of the button have privacy concerns. Once this button is enabled, whenever an agent pushes this button on the mobile app, a consent popup will open, requesting the user's permission to share location information. They can proceed to execute the button by allowing or denying this request.

If they do not wish to share location information, they can just execute the button without sharing location details, as such. 

1. This consent popup will appear on both iOS and Android apps of Zoho CRM. 
2. If the mobile app user hasn't enabled location services on their phone, Zoho CRM will first prompt them to turn on location services on their device and then subsequently request consent for tracking their location via the custom button. 
3. This consent popup is designed to appear only for the mobile application of Zoho CRM and not the web version. 
   
4. The Location option will be shown only for "Functions"(ie., From Gallery, From Existing Actions, Writing functions) in Custom button.
   
5. Location option is not supported for "Custom Actions".
   
6. Location option will be shown for Create/Clone Page, Edit Page, View Page and Related List and is not supported for list view options and Wizards.
   

Define Button Action

Every custom button should be associated with an action when a user clicks the button.  You can define your button action in any of the following ways:

1. From gallery
   
2. From existing actions
   
3. Write your own custom functions (powered by Deluge Script Editor)
   
4. Invoke a URL
   
5. Open a web tab
   

1. Choose your button action from gallery

Zoho CRM offers you a few ready-to-deploy button actions in the gallery, which can be associated with a custom button for different business scenarios whenever required.

To associate Gallery function with a custom button

1. Create a custom button and choose your button action as  From Gallery  from the drop-down list.
   
   Ready to use actions will be listed in the gallery.
   
2. Click  Configure  for the corresponding action that you want to use.
   
   For example:  Sum up Potential Amount.
   
   
   
3. In the  Configure Custom Function  dialog box, specify the values for the Argument mapping and click  Save .
   
   For example:
   
   • accountId:  Choose "accountid" from the list of fields.
     
4. Select the  profiles  to which you want to provide access to this newly created button.
   
   
5. Click  Save .
   
   Your custom button will be created successfully.
   
   
   
   
   

2. Choose your button action from existing action

Existing actions  are predefined button actions created by users in your organization .  This option will be available only when you have already created custom functions for custom buttons in your Zoho CRM account. These actions can be reused with different custom buttons whenever required.

3. Define your own button action

You can define your own button action in the following ways:

• writing custom function or
  
• invoking a URL
  
• open a web tab
  

Write your own custom function

Using our Deluge Script Editor, you can start defining your own button action by writing a new custom function.  See Also  Deluge Script - Reference Guide .

To write your own custom function

1. Go to Setup > Customization > Modules and Fields .
   
2. From the List of Modules , select the required module.
   
3. In the Links & Buttons tab, click Create New Button .
   
4. Create a custom button and choose your button action as  Writing Custom Function  from the drop-down list.
   
5. In the Create New Function popup, enter the Function Name , Display Name and add a Description .
   
   
6. In the  Customized functions  page, do the following:
   
   • Specify the  Name and Description  to your function and click the  Edit Arguments  link.
     
     
     
   • In the  Edit Arguments  box, specify the Function Name and map the argument key with field name or specify custom value. To map with field name, enter "#" as param value and choose the required option from the dropdowns.
     

   1. M apping user values : Choose Users from the dropdown to map the user related fields such as User ID, Email, Mobile, Online Status, Profile , etc.
      

   2. Mapping organization values: Choose Organization from the dropdown to map the organization related fields such as Organization ID, Organization Name, Organization Description, etc.
      

   3. Mapping module related values : Choose the module name from the dropdown to map the fields of that module. For instance, while setting up  custom button for Contacts module, you will be able to find the Contacts module, and its looked up modules if any, such as Accounts, Vendors, etc. If you choose the Contacts from the dropdown, you will be further able to map its fields such as Contact id, Contact Owner id , etc. 
      

   4. Mapping Zoho CRM variables : If you have set up a set of values as Zoho CRM variables to be used as merge fields in email templates, or as reusable authentication parameters in functions and APIs, you can map it here. Choose Zoho CRM Variables and then map the group name and variable name. 
      

   5. Mapping to extract data : Choose Request from the dropdown to extract data such as All Fields, Parameters, Headers, FileContent and Body . Using this for option while creating custom button for the List View - Utility Menu location lets you capture the c vid, pageno, modulename  and moduledisplayname . Using this option while creating custom button for Create / Clone page, Edit Page, View page, List view each record,  List View - Mass Action Menu , and Related List , location lets you capture the modulename , and moduledisplayid .
      
      
   • Click  Done .
     
7. Write your required function in Deluge Script Editor.
   
8. Click  Save and Execute Script  to validate your code.
   
   If there are no errors, your script is ready to associate with the custom button.
   
   
   
9. Click  Save .
   
   The script will be associated with the custom button. Choose different user profiles to check who can access the custom button and click  Save  in the  Create Your Button  page .  Whenever you click on the custom button, the associated function will be triggered and the required action will be performed in one click.
   
   
   

The following is an example that shows how you can invoke a URL using a custom button.

Visit Company profiles of your Leads in Zoho CRM:  All the contacts in your account can have a field where you specify the Company Name. By creating a URL that is associated with a particular company, you can directly go to the account's company profile by just clicking the custom button (This custom button can be placed while creating, cloning or viewing a record based on your requirements). For example: The link can be: http://techcrunch.com/topic/company/$%7BAccounts.Company }

To invoke a URL in a click of a button

1. Create a custom button and choose your button action as  Invoke a URL  from the drop-down list.
   
   
2. Enter the value to construct the URL.
   
   The URL length should not exceed 3000 characters.
   
3. Select the  Fields  from the drop-down list. This will insert the field variable as part of the URL.
   
4. Choose where you want to show the button action.
   
5. Select the profile to which the custom button needs to be accessible.
   
6. Click  Save.  
   

Choose  Open a web tab  as your button action that allows to open a web tab in a new tab along with the associated merge fields in just a click of a button. You can either create a new web tab or choose from the list of web tabs that have been created already and associate to your custom button.

To open a new web tab

• Create a custom button and choose your button action as  Open a web tab  from the drop-down list.
  
• You can either create a new web tab or choose one from the available list.
  
  
• Now create a new web tab and associate it with your custom button.
  
  
• The web tab URL will be displayed. You can add merge fields as per your requirements. Click  Save .
  
  
  
  Therefore, the web tab along with the associated merge fields will be opened, whenever you click the custom button.
  

Edit Custom Button

You can edit the existing custom buttons whenever required. Only the Administrator of the Zoho CRM account can edit the custom buttons.

To edit a custom button

1. Go to  Setup  >  Customization > Modules and Fields  >  [Select Module] > Links & Buttons .
   
   Under the  Links & Buttons  tab, all the existing custom buttons will be listed.
   
2. Choose the required button that you want to edit and click the  Edit  icon.
   
3. In the  Edit Your Button  page, edit the button name, button action, etc. as per your requirements.
   

Sort Custom Buttons

You can now sort the order in which the buttons are visible in the module/record. Let's say you've created 5 buttons, each having its unique usage. 2 buttons that are used frequently can be placed at the top of the list and the 3 which are used moderately can be placed lower.

To sort a custom button

1. Go to the module in which you created the button.
   
2. Click the down arrow near the custom button to view the list of buttons.
   
3. Drag and drop the buttons to sort them in the required order.
   
   

Delete Custom Button

Zoho CRM Administrator can delete the custom button anytime.

To delete a custom button

1. Go to  Setup  >  Customization > Modules and Fields  >  [Select Module] > Links & Buttons .
   
   Under the  Links & Buttons  page, all the existing custom buttons will be listed.
   
2. Choose the required button that you want to delete and click the  Delete  icon.