Learn how to use Bigin's Developer Console to build toppings

Learn how to use Bigin's Developer Console to build toppings

Hey Biginners,

In our last post, we discussed what toppings are, why they're essential to extending Bigin's capabilities, and how the Bigin Developer Center serves as the starting point for building them. As a cloud platform, the Developer Center empowers developers with a dedicated space exclusively for creating and managing toppings, as well as publishing them to the Bigin Marketplace. Once they create their topping drafts in the Bigin Developer Center, developers can enter the Bigin Developer Console, which is where the actual development takes place.

The Developer Console provides all the resources needed for the entire development journey, from creating and automating to testing toppings before they go live. By using these features, you can create a unique topping that perfectly bridges the gap between Bigin and user-specific needs.


Now let's dive into each of the Bigin Developer Console's features for creating toppings.

Customization

When building a topping, you can include custom components from the Bigin Developer Console. These components range from simple fields to related lists that enable easier navigation through Bigin's user interface.

You can add custom fields in addition to the standard fields available in Bigin to handle your topping requirements. Using custom buttons and links can streamline actions in Bigin or integrate Bigin data with external URLs, applications, or systems. To establish a direct relationship between the records inside Bigin, you can use related lists.
For a step-by-step implementation guide to creating these custom components, please refer to the following links:
  1. Fields
  2. Buttons
  3. Links
  4. Related lists
  5. Widgets
Next, let's explore the Bigin Developer Console's automation features and incorporate them to adding more functionalities to your topping.

Automation features

The Bigin Developer Console offers features that automate repetitive tasks, simplify processes, reduce manual effort, and enhance user efficiency. You can incorporate automation features like workflows, schedules, functions, signals, and more.

A developer creating a topping to improve pipeline management in Bigin might seek to automate repetitive tasks, such as managing stages and assigning responsibilities. For instance, when a new deal enters the "Inquiry" stage in the Sales pipeline, the system promptly assigns it to an appropriate sales rep through an automatic owner assignment rule, which eliminates the need for manual intervention. Likewise, you can set a schedule to send automated email reminders to prospects who haven't responded within a week and define a signal that notifies users in real time when a recipient opens an email.

To learn more about how to implement these automation features in your toppings, check out our detailed implementation guide here. Alongside our automation features, we also enable developers to create custom functions using Deluge scripts.

Custom functions

The Bigin Developer Console enables developers to create custom functions using Zoho's Deluge scripting language. These functions serve to implement business-specific logic in toppings, and are invoked by other functions or components. They eliminate the need for manual repetitive tasks by enabling developers to define specific functions once and invoke them as needed.

Custom functions are categorized into two types: standalone functions and REST API functions.

Standalone functions are self-contained blocks of code that can be invoked from any part of the topping. They can also be invoked from other functions, which enables modular and reusable scripting. On the other hand, Bigin's REST API functions allow developers to expose Deluge code as an API endpoint, enabling external applications to invoke the custom logic hosted in the topping.

For a comprehensive understanding of custom functions, their types, and how to implement them, please refer to our Functions Guide.

While these features enhance the utilities of toppings and improve Bigin's native functionalities, there's another kind of feature that helps expand Bigin's capabilities by integrating it with other applications.

Connections

One sort of topping you may want to build is a connection that transfers data between Bigin and a third-party service. Connections simplify this integration process, ensuring seamless data exchange between applications. Once a connection is established, you can access authenticated data.

Preconfigured default services are available when you're creating a connection. For these services, developers only need to provide the connection details, select the necessary scopes from the available list, and establish the connection. If their preferred services aren't preconfigured, developers can create custom connections by providing service details and authentication credentials. In this case, understanding the authentication and authorization protocols these third-party applications follow is essential for successful integrations.

Consider a scenario in which a sales team wants to notify customers about the sales process by sending instant message notifications via Twilio. For example, when a deal advances to the Proposal Sent stage, Bigin can trigger an SMS notification via Twilio to provide the customer with proposal details. Similarly, when the deal status changes to Closed-Won, the system automatically sends a confirmation message from Bigin to update the customer about the deal's successful closure.

To implement this functionality, developers can create a connector to integrate Bigin with Twilio, as well as to include the logic necessary for sending the message. Also, by incorporating Bigin automation features like workflows, developers can set up triggers that execute functions when certain conditions are met. This streamlines communication, enhances customer satisfaction, and keeps customers informed throughout the sales process. For more information on creating and managing connections, please refer to our detailed guide.

While connections handle backend integrations to enable data exchange between Bigin and other applications, connected apps comes into play when you need an interactive way to engage with both internal data and data from external applications directly within the Bigin interface.

Let's see how Bigin's connected app functionality facilitates this interaction!

Connected apps

A connected app enables an external application to integrate with Bigin through an interface, which is a widget that enhances Bigin's functionality and provides users with a seamless experience in Bigin. You can design your own UI interface and have complete control over the widget.

For example, sales teams often need customers to sign contracts or agreements before closing deals. With a connected app, you can embed an e-signature widget like Zoho Sign directly into Bigin. This enables users to send documents for signatures, track their statuses, and receive signed copies—all without leaving Bigin.

Read here to learn how to build a connected app, create a widget, and embed it into Bigin's UI.

Once you've built all the custom components you need for your topping, you can test it out inside the Bigin Developer Center itself. Let's explore how!

Testing and publishing your topping

Testing ensures that the topping is working as expected, and is important to do before publishing. The Bigin Developer Console provides a sandbox environment wherein you can thoroughly test all your customization components, connections, widgets, and workflows.
Once testing is complete, you can publish the topping through either of the following methods:
  1. Private: Make the topping available to specific users.
  2. Marketplace: The topping becomes accessible to all Bigin users after being validated by the Marketplace approval team.
In the next post, we'll explore testing and publishing in detail and implement real-time use cases.

Stay tuned!

<< Previous                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  Next>>

      • Recent Topics

      • Automate pushing Zoho CRM backups into Zoho WorkDrive

        Through our Zoho One subscription we have both Zoho CRM and Zoho WorkDrive. We have regular backups setup in Zoho CRM. Once the backup is created, we are notified. Since we want to keep these backups for more than 7 days, we manually download them. They

      • Boost your CRM accuracy with smart Data Enrichment

        Hello all! In this post let's look at data enrichment from a holistic perspective to gain more clarity on how you can use it. So, here's a quick recap of what data enrichment is and how you set it up it to enhance your existing module data! What is data

      • Is Zoho One Desktop more secure than Zoho One Web SaaS?

        Is Zoho One Desktop more secure than using Zoho One in browser? Inherently, it seems desktop would be unless you don't do things like share your pw or leave pc on. I am concerned about data being on the cloud or someone else's server and database.

      • Social Profile Logo Format

        Hello, I'm using Zoho Sites and am attempting to add a couple of social media accounts to my profile that aren't included in the default platforms that are available. What format is the logo required to be in? I have tried .png and .jpg with no success.

      • Is it possible to set a region lookup table so that my deal country can lookup this lookup table

        Hi there, I would like to be able to add a data lookup table with the following fields: Country, Region. And then in my deal report, i can then lookup this table to fish out the region in my report. This will be important for my sales process to categorise

      • Test Emails Show Sent "via zcsend.net" in My Gmail Account

        I noticed the following info... However, a few email service providers such as Outlook and Gmail will display that the email was sent by zcsend.net (Zoho campaigns’ server) on your behalf instead of just your from email address.  In order to prevent this, you can go for either of these options: Do not select the check box meant for DomainKey Signature which is listed under Unverified sender domains. Include our mail servers by advanced authentication method such as SPF/ Sender ID and DomainKey/ DKIM.

      • Whatsapp Connection Status still "Pending" after migration

        Hello, I migrated my WhatsApp API to Zoho from another provider a day ago. So far the connection status is still “Pending”. There is a problem? How long does it usually take?

      • Internal Error When Accessing Team Inbox.

        All our users are seeing this error in teaminbox. Because its a critical tool kindly resolve this issue ASAP.

      • Calling the new 'Custom API' feature from within a Custom Widget

        From what I've learned it is not possible to call an endpoint from the new "Custom API" feature within a Creator Widget. The SDK's doesn't support it yet, when calling it natively you end up with CORS issues or at least I couldn't get it working even

      • Cannot post to Instagram. I get the error: Insufficient permission to publish on this page. Check with your page Admin to update permissions.

        We had another admin that left the company. Since he left, we get this error when posting to Instagram.

      • Enhance productivity with the revamped Zoho Sheet View

        Hello folks, For some time now, you've been able to use the Zoho Sheet View to quickly edit multiple records or to insert a batch of new records. Its tabular interface allows users to engage in these tasks productively. Despite this, the existing Sheet

      • Can I re-send the Customer Satisfaction Survey after a ticket closure?

        Hello, Some customers does not answer the survey right after closure, is it possible to re-send after a few days or weeks? Best Regards!

      • Sharing URLs and direct access

        Hello, I am storing my team's email signature images on Workdrive. I am creating a public image download share and adding “?directDownload=true” so that the image can be accessed without the Workdrive interface. A few questions: 1) Can we generate friendly

      • Zoho desk desktop application

        does zoho desk has a destop applicaion?

      • Ability to re-order Workflow Rules

        We really need the ability to re-order workflow rules within departments.  Either the ability to drag/drop them into a different order or something.

      • Ticket to article and Ticket to template

        Hello! I would like to know if it is possible (and how) to do the following actions: 1. To generate an article from a ticket (reply + original message) 2. Easy convert an answer to an email template

      • Create an article template

        I have a question concern the Knolwedge Database from Zoho Desk. There is any possibility to create an article template ? Exemple of what I research : TODAY : I want to create a lot af articles with the same baseline > I create one article > I copy/paste

      • Persisting email signals to contact timeline?

        Hello there. Regarding the email signals that are logged when a contact opens an email, am I correct that these signals are not logged to a contact's timeline? Ideally, I would like to have this context available for future follow-ups, if the contact

      • Add Attachment Support to Zoho Flow Mailhook / Email Trigger Module

        Dear Zoho Support Team, We hope you are well. We would like to kindly request a feature enhancement for the Mailhook module in Zoho Flow. Currently, the email trigger in Zoho Flow provides access to the message body, subject, from address, and to address,

      • FOLDER DISAPPEARED

        Hello Zoho Community. I recently found a problem with no explanation: a folder in Zoho Analytics just disappeared, but the tables and SQL sentences still existed, the folder was not deleted. The solution for me in this case was to create a new folder,

      • Unified WhatsApp Number Management in Zoho Desk and SalesIQ

        Dear Zoho Desk Support Team, We are currently utilizing both Zoho Desk and Zoho SalesIQ for our customer support operations. While both platforms offer WhatsApp integration, we are facing challenges due to the requirement of separate WhatsApp numbers

      • Change of Blog Author

        Hi, I am creating the blog post on behalf of my colleague. When I publish the post, it is showing my name as author of the post which is not intended and needs to be changed to my colleague's name. How can I change the name of the author in the blogs?? Thanks, Ramanan

      • Zoho FSM API Delete Record

        Hi FSM Team, It would be great if you could delete a record via API. Thank you,

      • How create a draft via workflow?

        I wish to create a workflow rule for specific emails that creates a draft response - not an automatic email reply, but just a draft with a set response ready to be verified by an agent who can then manually select recipients. Alternatively, the workflow

      • Instant Messaging Update | Now migrate your WhatsApp Business phonenumber from another BSP to Zoho Desk | Dec'23

        Hi All, Everything seems to move at lightning speed these days, and time is certainly flying by for the IM team. But we are delighted at how much ground we covered this year. 🚀 For one, we enabled WhatsApp business phone number migration so that you

      • 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

      • Upload ticket attachments via Drag-&-Drop

        Hello, if you want to upload a file to the ticket attachment you need to click the button and use the file browser to select and upload the desired file. In many cases, it would be much more efficient if you could simply drag the file to the browser window...

      • Can we disable add to cart in Zoho Commerce?

        Hello, Our sales happen on the phone. During the call the customer is directed to our website to inspect the products together with the sales rep. So we need a way to present our inventory. I figured Zoho Commerce is a good fit for this use case. However

      • Introducing WhatsApp integration in Bigin

        Greetings! In today's business landscape, messaging apps play a significant role in customer operations. Customers can engage with businesses, seek support, ask questions, receive personalized recommendations, read reviews, and even make purchases—all

      • Issues with Zoho Sheet in Mac

        I have downloaded the Zoho App from App Store but It is failing to Save As, Open & Download Operations. App Store

      • Zoho One account closure vs deactivation

        I wonder what are the best practices and guidelines around deactivating vs deleting Zoho accounts in organisations? Any practical considerations?

      • Global Search placement in the new UI

        Having a hard time with the global search placement in the UI redesign. Surely I can't be the only one. Previously global search placement was perfect. A bar at the top/center of the page. Exactly where you would expect it to be. Since the new UI has

      • Cliq iOS can't see shared screen

        Hello, I had this morning a video call with a colleague. She is using Cliq Desktop MacOS and wanted to share her screen with me. I'm on iPad. I noticed, while she shared her screen, I could only see her video, but not the shared screen... Does Cliq iOS is able to display shared screen, or is it somewhere else to be found ? Regards

      • CRM gets location smart with the all new Map View: visualize records, locate records within any radius, and more

        Hello all, We've introduced a new way to work with location data in Zoho CRM: the Map View. Instead of scrolling through endless lists, your records now appear as pins on a map. Built on top of the all-new address field and powered by Mappls (MapMyIndia),

      • Role Management

        I am creating an analytics dashboard for a company that will be utilized by its various departments such as Finance, Marketing, and HR. My goal is to design the dashboard with separate tabs for each department. Additionally, I plan to implement role-based

      • Schedule Zoho CRM reports only on Business Days

        Hello, Is it possible to schedule reports only on business days ? We currently get daily sales reports on weekend which has no value since the sales team doesn't work on weekends. Thanks

      • Missing the "Find & Merge Duplicates" choice

        Hi, I am missing the "Find & Merge Duplicates" choice. I looked under the "More Actions" menu in Contacts, Accounts, Vendors, and Leads and it is not there.  I have full permissions.  Please assist me on finding this feature. Thanks!

      • How to install Widget in inventory module

        Hi， I am trying to install a app into Sales Order Module related list, however there is no button allow me to do that. May I ask how to install widget to inventory module related list?

      • Improved Contact Sync flow in Google Integration with Zoho CRM

        Hello Everyone, Your contact sync in Google integration just got revamped! We have redesigned the sync process to give users more control over what data flows into Google and ensure that this data flows effortlessly between Zoho CRM and Google. With this

      • Cannot see Application from Lookup field

        Hi all, I am trying to access data for an application on our account via a lookup field; however, the application doesn't appear in the dropdown at all. Can anyone shed any light on this, please? I have asked Zoho support; however, they're just as confused,

      • Next Page