Automation#31: Automate Splitting Names for New Contact Records

Automation#31: Automate Splitting Names for New Contact Records


Hello Everyone, 
This week, we present to you a custom function, which allows you to split the first and last names from the user's email ID based on the separator used in the ID.
Having grown into a large firm, Zylker Techfix aims to optimize its processes, data management, and organization. By default, contacts are created by extracting the customers' names from the email addresses and saving them in the "Last Name" field in the Customers' module. 


To create an organized directory, Zylker Techfix wanted to separate the first and last names from the email address using the (.) separator in the email ID. 
This custom function allowed them to achieve this with their contacts. Now, you can organize your contacts within Zoho Desk too.
Follow the steps below to configure the custom function within the workflow rule.

Prerequisites
1. Create a connection.
  1.1 Go to Setup(S) and choose Connections under Developer Space.
  1.2 Click Create Connection.
  1.3 Select Zoho Desk under Default Connection.
  1.4 Set the connection name as deskcontact.
  1.5 Disable the toggle for User Credentials of Login User.
  1.6 Under Scope, choose the below scope values:
Desk.contacts.UPDATE
Desk.contacts.READ
  1.7 Click Create and Connect.
  1.8 Click Connect and click Accept.
Connection is created successfully.

Create a Workflow Rule
1. Go to Setup(S), choose Workflows under Automation. 
2. Under Workflows, click Create Rule.

In the Basic Information section,
3. Select Contacts from the drop-down menu under Module.
4. Enter a Rule Name and Description for the rule.
5. If you want to activate the rule right away, select the Active checkbox. Else, create the rule and activate it later.
6. Click Next.
 
In the Execute on section, follow these steps:
7. Select Create.   
8. Click Next.
 
9. In the Criteria section, add criteria if required. click Next.
 
10. In the Actions section, click the + icon and select New next to Custom Functions.
11. Under Basic Information, enter Name and Description for the custom function. Choose Contacts under Module.
12. Under Argument Mapping, give a desired Method Name. Map the arguments as below: 
       12.1 In the Argument Name field, type contactId and select Contact ID under the Contacts Section.                                
13. In the script window, insert the Custom Function given below:
  1. //------------- User Inputs ----------
  2. orgId = "60xxxxxxxx0"; //replace with your Org ID
  3. operator = "."; 
  4. //---------------------------------
  5. logs = Map();
  6. try {
  7. contacts = zoho.desk.getRecordById(orgId,"contacts",contactId, "deskcontact");
  8. firstName = contacts.get("firstName");
  9. lastName = contacts.get("lastName");
  10. if(lastName.contains(operator))
  11. {
  12.        if(operator.contains(".")){
  13.          lastName = lastName.subString(0,lastName.indexOf("@"));
  14.        }
  15.        firstName = lastName.subString(0,lastName.indexOf(operator)).trim();
  16.        lastName = lastName.subString(lastName.indexOf(operator) + 1);
  17.        updateContact = zoho.desk.update(orgId,"contacts",contactId,{"firstName":firstName,"lastName":lastName},"deskcontact");
  18.    }
  19. }
  20. catch (errorInfo)
  21. {
  22. logs.insert("errorInfo":errorInfo);
  23. }
  24. info "logs: \n" + logs;

  26. if(logs.containKey("errorInfo"))
  27. {
  28. throws "Error happen in the CF execution";
  29. }
NOTE
a. In Line 2, Enter your OrgId with  "  ".
To access OrgId, go to Setup (S) >> Developer Space >> APIs >> API Authentication.
14. Click Save to save the custom function.
15. Click Save again to save the workflow.
Context
Once configured, this function splits the first and last names for incoming new contacts. This custom function applies to new contacts and new incoming tickets.


We hope this custom function helps you manage your contacts efficiently. Share your feedback and connect with us for more tips and insights. 
See you next week!
Regards,
Lydia | Zoho Desk

    • Sticky Posts

    • Register for Zoho Desk Beta Community

      With the start of the year, we have decided to take a small step in making the life of our customers a little easier. We now have easy access to all our upcoming features and a faster way to request for beta access. We open betas for some of our features

    • Share your Zoho Desk story with us!

      Tell us how you use Zoho Desk for your business and inspire others with your story. Be it a simple workflow rule that helps you navigate complex processes or a macro that saves your team a lot of time; share it here and help the community learn and grow with shared knowledge. 

    • Tip #1: Learn to pick the right channels

      Mail, live chat, telephony, social media, web forms—there are so many support channels out there. Trying to pick the right channels to offer your customers can get pretty confusing. Emails are most useful when the customer wants to put things on record. However, escalated or complicated issues should not be resolved over email because it's slow and impersonal.  When you need immediate responses, live chat is more suitable. It's also quick and convenient, so it's the go-to channel for small issues. 

    • Welcome to Zoho Desk Community - Say hello here!

      Hello everyone! Though we have been here for a while, it’s time to formally establish the Zoho Desk Community; we’re really happy to have you all here! This can be the place where you take a moment to introduce yourself to the rest of the community. We’d love to hear all about you, what you do, what company or industry you work for, how you use Zoho Desk and anything else that you will like to share! Here’s a little about me. I am Chinmayee. I have been associated with Zoho since 2014. I joined here

    • Webinar 1: Blueprint for Customer Service

      With the launch of a host of new features in Zoho Desk, we thought it’ll be great to have a few webinars to help our customers make the most of them. We’re starting off with our most talked about feature, Blueprint in Zoho Desk. You can register for the Blueprint webinar here: The webinar will be delivered by our in-house product experts. This is a good opportunity to ask questions to our experts and understand how Blueprint can help you automate your service processes. We look forward to seeing

      • Recent Topics

      • Finding rhythm through poetry

        Poetry has long been a powerful form of expression, discovery, and reflection. For many, it is a way to pen down their thoughts and experiences. The "poetic license" allows writers to shape their words with rhythm and flow. This year, on World Poetry

      • Bring your own credentials (BYOC) for connections in Zoho Creator

        Hello everyone, We're excited to announce an important step forward in how integrations and authentications work in Zoho Creator. Zoho Creator is a versatile platform for integrations, enabling you to connect with thousands of third-party services using

      • CRM x WorkDrive: File storage for new CRM signups is now powered by WorkDrive

        Availability Editions: All DCs: All Release plan: Released for new signups in all DCs. It will be enabled for existing users in a phased manner in the upcoming months. Help documentation: Documents in Zoho CRM Manage folders in Documents tab Manage files

      • Project Management Bulletin: March, 2026

        We are passionate about equipping our users with efficient solutions that help them run their businesses successfully. Our collective efforts over the past 2 years have culminated in the launch of Sprints 3.0— built with reliable features, impactful integrations,

      • Composite items inside of composite items; bill of materials needed

        Hi Zoho and Everyone, I am evaluating whether Zoho Inventory will work for my small business. I grow and harvest herbs and spices but also get from wholesalers. I use all these items to make herbal teas, but also sell them as individual items on my Shopify store and Etsy. I discovered the composite item bundling and am wondering if I could get some assistance since there is no bill of materials: Our herbal company's best selling tea is a sleepytime tea. Sleepytime Tea can be purchased in three weights

      • Automation Series: Sync Task Status with Zoho Desk Tickets

        In Zoho Projects, you can automatically close and reopen an associated Zoho Desk ticket when the status of a task is changed. This syncs the current state of the task with the support ticket without manual updates. For instance, a support team handling

      • Auto-Generate Line Numbers in Item Table Using HTML & CSS Counters (Zoho Books & Zoho Inventory Custom Templates)

        <div> <style> /* Start counter from 0 inside tbody */ tbody#lineitem { counter-reset: rowNumber; } /* Increment counter for each row */ tbody#lineitem tr { counter-increment: rowNumber; } /* Show counter value in first column */ tbody#lineitem tr td:first-child::before

      • Does zoho inventory need Enterprise or Premium subsrciption to make Widgets.

        We have Zoho One Enterprise and yet we can't create widgets on inventory.

      • Introducing Radio Buttons and Numeric Range Sliders in Zoho CRM

        Release update: Currently out for CN, JP, AU and CA DCs (Free and standard editions). For other DCs, this will be released by mid-March. Hello everyone, We are pleased to share with you that Zoho CRM's Layout Editor now includes two new field formats—

      • New UI for Writer - Disappointed

        I've been enjoying Zoho Writer as a new user for about 6 months, and I really like it. One of my favorite things about it is the menu bar, which you can hide or leave out while still seeing most of your page because it is off to the left. I think this

      • Zoho CAMPAIGNS working hours

        Hi I use Campaigns Automation workflows to automate follow-ups to my Leads. I discovered this weekend that emails are being sent out on Sundays. How do I limit my Campaigns outgoing emails to business working hours? This is very important! Thanks, D

      • Depositing funds to account

        Hello, I have been using Quickbooks for many years but am considering moving to Zoho Books so I am currently running through various workflows and am working on the Invoicing aspect. In QB, the process is to create an invoice, receive payment and then

      • Create Receipt of a Donation (not a sale)

        We are a non-profit organization that receives general donations. How do I create a receipt of payment for the donor and categorize the payment as a Gift? I tried the method of creating an invoice; however that automatically created a "Sales" transaction

      • Function #2: Create a Deal in Zoho CRM when an Estimate is created in Zoho Books

        For those who use Zoho CRM integrated with Zoho Books, here's a nifty function that helps you optimize your sales process by adding a Deal in Zoho CRM whenever an estimate is created in Zoho Books. Custom Function: To create the custom function, go to

      • New Custom View -Sorting the Custom fields

        While creating a New Custom View in invoice , Customers, Bills ,expense etc , the sorting of custom fields are not available , a query function "order by / sort by  " may also be included in  Define new criteria module  which will be more beneficial to

      • Grouping Undeposited Funds to Move to other accounts

        In the bank option it would be nice to check what transactions in undeposited funds I want to move to other accounts. Then while checking this it can accumulate totals and created whats essentially a deposit slip. Once the transaction is moved it should

      • Sync your CRM Tasks with Zoho Projects

        Zoho Projects integration with Zoho CRM helps you manage your tasks more efficiently. You can create all project related activities right inside your CRM using this integration. Create new portal or associate an existing portal, add projects to the portal,

      • Zoho CRM strips whitespace in text fields

        When editing field text with multiple spaces: CRM - both UI and API trim / compress the whitespace to a single space when saving: Is this known / expected / documented behaviour?

      • WorkDrive API returning empty response even after placing file in Team Folder

        Hi everyone, I am trying to fetch a file from Zoho WorkDrive using a Deluge standalone function in Zoho People. The API call executes successfully using a configured connection, but the response is coming back empty. I have verified the following: The

      • Custom Button makes scroll bar go down in report

        I have a report with a Custom button called Completed. A colleague mentionned to me that when he pressed this custom button it scrolled down the page which is annoying since he want to stay at the same space on the repoort. There is no reload linked to

      • Quickbooks Integrations Stopped Working

        All of our Quickbooks integrations have stopped working. I am checking in to see if: a) this is a known issue b) if anyone else is having this issue. As usual, Zoho support is unavailable.

      • sync two zoho crm

        Hello everyone. Is it possible to sync 2 zoho crm? what would be the easiest way? I am thinking of Flow. I have a Custom Module that I would like to share with my client. We both use zoho crm. Regards.

      • CRM x WorkDrive: We're rolling out the WorkDrive-powered file storage experience for existing users

        Release plan: Gradual rollout to customers without file storage add-ons, in this order: 1. Standalone CRM 2. CRM Plus and Zoho One DCs: All | Editions: All Available now for: - Standalone CRM accounts in Free and Standard editions without file storage

      • Incorrect Functioning of Time Logs API (Version 3)

        We need to fetch the list of time logs for each task for our company internal usage. We are trying to achieve it by using the next endpoint: https://projects.zoho.com/api-docs#bulk-time-logs#get-all-project-time-logs Firstly, in the documentation the

      • Zoho CRM Queries Now Support Databases and Cloud Data Sources

        Hello everyone! We're thrilled to announce a major enhancement to the Queries feature in Zoho CRM! Queries now support a broader range of external data sources, allowing you to fetch live data and combine it with CRM records, all using a unified query

      • Salesforceに添付ファイルを格納したい

        お世話になっております。 Salesforceに添付ファイルを格納したく、カスタムオブジェクトに連携し、 「ファイルのアップロード」項目を設けました。 実際、エラーもなく送信出来たのですが、実際生成されたカスタムオブジェクトのレコードを見ると、どこにも添付ファイルがありません。仕様として、この添付ファイルはSalesforceのどこに格納されるのでしょうか？ 今回作りたいフォームは、複数の書類を添付するため、Zohoformのファイルアップロード項目「本人確認書類」「源泉徴収票」などの項目を、Salesforce側にも設けた「本人確認書類」「源泉徴収票」という各項目にURLリンクとして紐づけたいと思っておりました。

      • Dynamic image in form works in the app but not on the customer portal.

        img = frm_Fichas[ID == input.Nombre].Foto; imgno = Nophoto[ID2 = 1].Image; if(len(img) > 1) { img = img.replaceAll("/sharedBy/appLinkName/",zoho.appuri); img = img.replaceAll("viewLinkName","Fichas_de_personal_public"); img = img.replaceAll("fieldName","Foto");

      • Is it possible to retrieve function (Deluge) code from Zoho CRM externally?

        Hi Everyone, Is it possible to fetch or retrieve the Deluge function code from Zoho CRM using an external method (API or any other approach)? I would like to know if there is any way to access or extract the function script outside of Zoho CRM, or if

      • Uplifted homepage experience

        Editions: All editions. Availability update: 17th February 2026: All editions in the CA and SA DC | JP DC (Free, Standard and Professional editions) 23 February 2026: JP (All Editions) | AU, CN (Free, Standard, Professional editions) 27 February 2026:

      • Darshan Hiranandani : How many participants can join a Zoho Meeting at once?

        Hi everyone, I'm Darshan Hiranandani, trying to find out the maximum number of participants that can join a Zoho Meeting at once. Has anyone here used Zoho Meeting for larger groups and can share their experience or knowledge about the participant limit?

      • Where is the scheduled report in New UI?

        Hi Team, Seems there is not such a field in New UI, hence I have to switch to old UI to handle request..

      • Approval Workflow for Purchase Orders Abrir

        The requirement is , that all purchase orders greater than or equal to 5000 go through an approval process from certain people, but within books I only see that the approvers can be by levels or any approver but we cannot enter a rule like these. Can

      • WeTravel + Zoho CRM Integration - Has Anyone Built a Connector or Extension?

        Hi all, I'm exploring options for integrating Zoho CRM with WeTravel (booking & payment platform for tour operators). Zapier seems to be the common method but seems limited. I'm wondering if anyone in the community has developed a more comprehensive solution,

      • Option in pipeline deal to select which hotel or branch or store if client has more than one local store

        Hi, I would like to know if there is an option in the deal pipeline to select which hotel, branch, or store a deal is related to—if the company has more than one location. For example, I have a client that owns several hotels under the same company, and

      • Undo article like/dislike

        It seems to be not possible to undo your like/dislike for an article. Would be great if you can. Kind regards, Helen

      • Nested notebooks

        Dear Sir/Madam, I would like to know if it is possible to nest notebooks. It would be very helpful when there are too many, as it would improve organization. Thank you for your response. Best regards.

      • Tax in Quote

        Each row item in a quote has a tax value. At the total numbers at the bottom, there is also a Tax entry. If you select tax in both of the (line item, and the total), the tax doubles. My assumption is that the Tax total should be totalling the tax from

      • Issue with "Send Email" from Quotes not loading Email Template data

        Hi everyone, I'm currently experiencing an issue when using the "Send Email" option from a Quote record in Zoho CRM. What’s happening: When I go to the Quotes module and select a record, then click Send Email, the attached file (Quote) correctly pulls

      • Dynamically Fetching Lookup Field Display Value

        I have an audit trail form, Audit_Changes, that tracks old vs new values across different forms. For lookup fields, the old/new value is the ID, but I also need the display value. What's a best practice for dynamically fetching the display value of the

      • Stop Scrolling, Start Asking: Meet Zia for Your Files

        Hey everyone 👋 The era of 'scrolling and searching' is officially over. Whether it's a dense legal contract or a long meeting recording, searching for specific details is a massive time-sink. We think you should be able to interact with your files, not

      • Next Page