Modules - An Introduction
Modules in Vertical Solutions let you categorize and track various aspects of your business such as Sales, Marketing, Customers, Products, Meetings and the like. Modules are represented in the form of tabs such as Leads, Contacts, Deals, Tasks etc.
Data becomes useful and effective when it is structured and categorized. modules in Vertical Solutions take care of this. Consider you have all the data in a spreadsheet. The module in Vertical Solutions is analogous to the column in the spreadsheet. Modules display the data in a simple and visually appealing way, helping you to take data-driven decisions effectively.
Each module can collect and store thousands of records with a range of built-in options that help you sort, filter, and view the records as required. Modules also provide you with options to perform actions like creating macros, mass updating fields, and sending mass emails.
When you log into your solution, the modules are listed in the form of tabs for easy accessibility. For example, in the below image, Contacts, Accounts, Deals etc are the modules. You can switch between modules easily with this arrangement.
There are two types of modules in Vertical Solutions. They are Standard Modules and Custom Modules.
Standard Modules
Vertical Solutions provides you with a few standard modules that you can readily use. The standard modules provided are Leads, Accounts, Contacts, Potentials, Documents, Reports, Tasks, Events, Calls, Forecasts, Products, PriceBooks, Vendors, Purchase Orders, Invoices, Sales Orders, Quotes, Feeds, Cases, Solutions, Campaigns and Social.
These predefined modules come with a set of default fields and layout. You can edit most aspects of a standard module to suit your requirements. For example, if there is a field called Twitter in the Leads module and you think none of your leads use Twitter, you can remove this field from the Leads layout. Similarly there are many other customization options provided for Standard modules. The customization options and their exceptions vary depending on the module you wish to modify.
When you create a new app/solution from your Developer account, you can select the standard modules you want to include for the particular solution.
The modules selected while creating the solution will be the available default modules for the end-user.
For more details on the standard modules offered by us, please refer to our Standard Modules and Fields documentation.
Custom Modules
Sometimes, the standard, predefined modules present in Vertical Solutions may not always meet your requirements. In such a case, Vertical Solutions lets you create a new module depending on your business needs. For instance, Leads, Contacts, and Deals will not be ideal for an educational institution. Students, Teachers and Parents would be more appropriate modules for them and they can create these modules. A hospital might need modules called Doctors, Patients, and Nurses.
To address these unique business requirements, you can create your own modules. With the Custom Modules functionality in Vertical Solutions, you can develop new modules using built-in tools that need no programming skills. These custom modules can seamlessly integrate with core modules and need not be stand-alone modules.
Creating Custom Modules
To create Custom Modules, log into your developer account and navigate to the specific solution.
- Click on the solution from the Home page.
- From the left menu panel, click on MODULES from the BUILD sub-menu.
- Click on the + New Module button on the top right. This will take you to the module builder page.
- Enter the name of the new module you want to create in the space provided.
- Change the layout name, if required.
- Add New Section to the module by dragging and dropping from the New Fields section.
- Drag and drop required fields from the New Fields section to appropriate section of your new module. You can rename sections of the module from this Module Builder page.
- To edit any field and its properties, click on the ellipsis near the corresponding field. To make the field a mandatory field, select Mark as Required. You can set or edit the Read Write permission for different profiles for a specific field by clicking on the Set Permission option. Edit Properties lets you change the field label and properties. You can also remove the field from the layout by clicking on the Remove Field option.
- Once you have added all the fields, Click on the Save button in the top right corner to save the custom module.
- Upon saving the module, you will be prompted to select the profiles that should have access to the module. Select the appropriate profiles and click on Save.
Please note that module views are layout specific. You can create upto four layouts for each module to fit your specific requirements. This includes one standard layout and three custom layouts.
To create a new layout for any module:
- Navigate to the Modules Home page by clicking on the MODULES option from the BUILD sub-menu. All modules in your account will be listed down on the home page.
- Click on the ellipsis corresponding to the module you want to create a new layout for.
- Click on Layout.
- In the next window, all the layouts already created for the module will be listed down. You can edit the layouts from this window. To create a new layout, click on New Layout.
- Module Builder for the new layout will be shown in the next window.
- Name the new layout.
- Add required sections and fields, and edit them to fit your requirement.
- Once all the fields are selected, click Save
- Select the profiles that should have access to the layout and click Save.
For the end user, the pre-defined modules the partner selected during the first step of solution creation as well as any custom modules defined for the specific solution will be available. When the user creates a new record in the module, if more than one layout is available, they can selectthe layout that best fits the requirement.
Please note that the end user can add new layouts or edit existing ones provided by the solution provider. However, while editing the fields added by the solution provider in any layout, the options will be limited as compared to other fields. For example, such fields cannot be renamed.
For more information on page layouts, please refer here.
Module Visibility
The developer can control the visibility of a custom module in the Developer console. One can choose the locations where the custom module can be viewed. To do this:
- Login to Zoho Developer Console.
- Click on Vertical Solutions.
- Select the solution that you want to work on.
- Choose Modules from the left panel, and click the Visibility tab.
- The list of custom modules you have created will be displayed in the Module List picklist. Choose the custom module that you want to edit.
- Choose the locations from which you want to hide your module's visibility and click Save. This will hide the custom module from appearing in the chosen locations in the subscriber accounts.
Note: When you enable the Preview Mode option and test the application in a sandbox using the Test your Application button, all of the Visibility page configurations are applied and the developer can test accordingly in the sandbox environment. If it is disabled, the configurations will not be applied in the sandbox environment.Packaged Modules
Packaged Modules are modules that are created in the console by a developer and deployed to the subscriber orgs during signup or through upgrade. The following content explains how these modules behave in subscriber orgs.
To know more about packaging, please refer to our guide on Components Packaging in Vertical Solutions Platform.
The table outlines the actions that can be performed over Modules.
Property | Upgrade Type | Modify Access |
Create a module | Upgradable | Developer and Subscriber Editable |
Rename a Module | Upgradable | Developer Editable |
Show/Hide a Module (organize modules) | Non-upgradable | Developer and Subscriber Editable |
Rearranging Modules | Non-upgradable | Developer and Subscriber Editable |
Module Permissions | Non-upgradable | Developer and Subscriber Editable |
CHANGES AND IMPACTS
When a Module created/modified, published and deployed as an upgrade to the subscribers accounts, it will have the following impact on the subscriber accounts.
- Add a new Module : The module gets placed in the subscriber orgs. The active status(Active/Inactive) will be based on the developer's definition.
- Rename an Existing Module: The Module's label will be changed, however the API name shall remain as per the initial definition.
- Delete a Module : A module once created by the developer cannot be deleted.
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