Creating a Gmail integration using custom connectors

Creating a Gmail integration using custom connectors

Hello everyone!

Greetings from Deluge. Following up on our series aimed at exploring the capabilities of Deluge, today we'll take an in-depth look into the Deluge custom connections that can be created across Zoho services.

Deluge boasts an extensive range of over 260 built-in integrations spanning more than 35 Zoho services. These integrations streamline data access and modification with these services, from a single point in Zoho, without having to toggle between services. However, we understand that the needs of our users vary widely, and sometimes existing integrations may not cover every scenario.

That's where custom connections come in. Think of them as the Swiss Army Knife of integrations, enabling connections with hundreds of services—such as Gmail and Outlook—and seamlessly integrating them with your favorite Zoho services. With custom connections, you have the power to build your own integrations with virtually any third-party service and tailor them to meet your requirements. Moreover, since the custom connections use the OAuth 2.0 authentication mechanism, you're getting best-in-class security while integrating with third-party services.

What are connections? 
Before we dive into the details of custom connectors, let's take a glimpse at what connections are in Deluge. Connections are a means to connect your Zoho account and any third-party accounts you wish to integrate with. Once a connection is created and connected, you can use it in Deluge integration tasks or invokeURL scripts to perform REST operations on the target service from the required Zoho service. For more information, visit our Connections help doc.
  
Use case 
Assume the sales team of an organization uses Zoho CRM for managing leads, customer retention, and customer acquisition, and uses Gmail for communication purposes, like following up with potential clients via email.   While the system works as is, it's time-consuming and prone to error, so an integration between Gmail and Zoho CRM is necessary to improve efficiency.

A custom connection to your Google account will enable you to sync your Zoho CRM and Google accounts, allowing you to perform actions related to your Google account from Zoho CRM. For example, you can invoke the connection using the invokeURL task in Zoho CRM and send an email to your leads from your Gmail address.

Steps to configure the Google custom connection

Configuration video


Configuration steps
Creating Google OAuth credentials
  1. Visit https://console.cloud.google.com/.
  2. Click the dropdown and choose the required project.
  3. Navigate to the hamburger menu on the left and click APIs and services -> Library.
  4. You'll be taken to the API library page. Navigate to the Google Workspace section and click Gmail API.
  5. Next, click Enable on the Gmail API product details page.
  6. In order to use this API, you'll need to create credentials. Click CREATE CREDENTIALS.
  7. On the Create credentials page, choose Gmail API in the Select an API dropdown and User Data under the What data will you be accessing? section. Click Next.
  8. Next, on the OAuth consent screen, enter the App name, User support email, and Developer contact email address. Then click Save and Continue.
  9. Next, under the Scopes section, click the ADD OR REMOVE SCOPES button.
  10. In the Update selected scopes pane, search and select the gmail.readonly scope. Click Update, and then click Save and continue.


  11. Now, under the OAuth Client ID section, choose Web application in the Application type dropdown. Then name your app.


  12. Enter https://deluge.zoho.com/delugeauth/callback as the Authorized redirect URI.
  13. Click Create and download your credentials. This Client ID and others will be required later, while creating a connection in Zoho CRM.
  14. Navigate to the OAuth consent screen and click Add users under Test users. Enter the user's email address and click Save.
Creating a custom connector for Gmail
  1. Now the action shifts to Zoho CRM. Navigate to crm.zoho.com -> Settings -> Connections.
  2. Choose Custom Services and click Create Service.
  3. On the Create Service screen, choose OAuth 2.0 as the Authentication type and Header as the Parameter.
  4. Enter the Client ID, Client Secret, and Authorize URL generated from Google as shown in step 12 above.
    Tip: Having the Offline access type will allow your application to refresh tokens even when the user is not actively using the application.
  5. Then enter https://oauth2.googleapis.com/token as the Access token URL and Refresh token URL.
  6. Specify the necessary scopes like read and create, etc. and then click Create Service.
  7. On the next page, click Create Connection. Give the connection name and choose the scopes. Then click Create and Connect.
  8. Finally, authenticate the connection on the Google accounts page. Your custom connection will be created, and the two services can be integrated!
Now that the connection between Zoho CRM and Gmail has been established, you can use the invokeURL task to access and modify data in Gmail using the different APIs.

Sample
You can use the below code in invokeURL task to get the latest emails from Gmail.

userId = "emailaddress@gmail.com";
get_gmail = invokeurl
[
url: "https://gmail.googleapis.com/gmail/v1/users/"+userId+"/messages"
type: GET
connection : "connectionname"
];
messageID = get_gmail.get("messages").get(0).get("id");

get_gmail_withID = invokeurl
[
url: "https://gmail.googleapis.com/gmail/v1/users/"+userId+"/messages/"+messageID
type: GET
connection : "connectionname"
];

Content_of_the_mail = get_gmail_withID.get("snippet");
info "Mail Content : " + Content_of_the_mail;

gmail_values = get_gmail_withID.get("payload").get("headers");
for each headers in gmail_values
{
if ( headers.get("name") == "Subject" )
{
info "Subject of the Mail : " + headers.get("value");
}
if ( headers.get("name") == "From" )
{
info "From Address : " + headers.get("value");
}
}

References

----

And that's a wrap for today! We hope you found this post informative and start using custom connections to experience the full capabilities of Deluge and Zoho.

Kindly let us know if you have any questions, feedback, or suggestions in the comments, or write to us at support@zohodeluge.com!
 
Regards,
The Deluge Team
      • Recent Topics

      • How many clients can be added to Zoho Practice?

        How many clients can be added to Zoho Practice without having their zoho app?
      • Add Comprehensive Accessibility Features to Zoho Writer

        Hello Zoho Writer Team, We hope you are doing well. We would like to submit a feature request to enhance Zoho Writer with a full set of accessibility tools, similar to the accessibility options already available in the Zoho Desk agent interface. 🚧 Current
      • Need more details on API Usage Dashboard

        Hi Team, We have implemented Zoho Expense for a client and has done some integrations with well known third party ERP via api. Recently we have noticed a huge spike in the API consumption. But we couldn't get the root cause for the same. I accept there
      • 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
      • Preview an upload PDF or File

        I have a form where the customer has to upload a file (normally PDF - never jpeg)  When in report view I want to be able to preview the uploaded file without having to download it.  If I click on the upload it downloads to my computer, I want to be able
      • Edit item custom fields

        Getting this error : Transactions have been created with the custom field. Hence it cannot be deleted. Not trying to delete it, just trying to change which modules to show in or to not show at all in transactions !
      • Rendering PDF to view on page

        My company upload lots of PDF files onto Zoho. But every time we open it, it downloads the file instead of viewing it on the web page. Does Zoho allow uploaded PDF files to be rendered to view on web page yet? I've been trying to use <embed> or <object> but it cannot be loaded.  (similar thread: https://help.zoho.com/portal/community/topic/how-to-open-a-pdf-file-of-a-view-in-preview-mode)
      • 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
      • Create folder is fetch fails

        coming from zapier... zapier has a google drive task that searches for a specific folder in google drive, and if it fails to find the folder it will create a folder based on the search criteria, and contine along the singluar path of the flow. Trying
      • Workflow workdrive rollout

        Hi! When will workflow be rolled out to all users? Thanks.
      • Workdrive and ChatGPT Team Synced Connectors

        Hi, we want to be able to integrate Zoho Workdrive with OpenAI’s ChatGPT Team plan. Google Drive and OneDrive both offer this, zoho please catch up asap. We dont want to have to put our company files in google drive, we want to allow chatgpt Team edition
      • Are Environments Worth It?

        In concept, Environments in ZC is a great idea. I think the flow is pretty smart when you compare it to GitHub, especially for a low code audience. However, in practice, I've found it to be unpredictable, and I've only used it a few times. Aside from
      • 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
      • InvokeURL butchering JSON for OpenAI API calls

        My organization works with mostly educational institutions. We have a custom module called "Schools", which is the user-entered school name they put when using our service (which they enter along with their state and zip code). We want to map this to
      • Is it possible to pull the Zoho desk data into Zoho analytics in real time

        Hi - I am looking to add more dashboards and reports of Zoho Desk in analytics. I see there is a schedule to pull the data into analytics, but I'm wondering if there is an option to pull the data in real time instead of a specific interval?
      • Contact's title in "Contact Role Mapping"

        When I'm creating a deal, I'd like to see the contacts title in the listing. Right now, I only see this: How can I get the contact's title in there?
      • Microsoft Teams now available as an online meeting provider

        Hello everyone, We're pleased to announce that Zoho CRM now supports Microsoft Teams as an online meeting provider—alongside the other providers already available. Admins can enable Microsoft Teams directly from the Preferences tab under the Meetings
      • Account in Quick View Filter

        I have a report that I often run against a specific Account. Every time, I have to go into the edit menu and change the Advanced Filter. I would prefer to use the Quick View Filter, but it does not allow me to use the one and only field that makes any
      • Account in Quick View Filter

        I have a report that I often run against a specific Account. Every time, I have to go into the edit menu and change the Advanced Filter. I would prefer to use the Quick View Filter, but it does not allow me to use the one and only field that makes any
      • Ability to Create New Items When Zoho Trident is Minimized via tray or taskbar icon

        Allow users to create new items (emails, calendar events, tasks, etc.) directly from the system tray icon or by right clicking the task bar icon, even when the window is minimized or not actively running in the foreground. This enables quick access to
      • Bug Report and Suggestions for Improvement in Zoho Applications

        Hi Zoho Team, I’d like to report a few bugs and improvement suggestions I’ve noticed while using Zoho products: Zoho Cliq Video Call: The camera sometimes turns off automatically during video calls. This seems to be a bug — please check and fix it. Zoho
      • 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
      • I can not see Undeliverable emails from my Mass Email Leads activity in CRM

        I am sending email templates and I can not see the Undeliverables? I only receive the "Out of Office" replies and any manual replies from the lead. Can you please let me know where the Undeliverable emails are sent so I can use the information to clean up the database?
      • Select Zoho Contacts as Meeting Participants in Zoho Cliq

        Hello Zoho Cliq Team, We hope you're doing well. We would like to request an enhancement to the meeting scheduling functionality in Zoho Cliq. Current Limitation: When scheduling a meeting in Zoho Cliq, participants can only be selected from: Organization
      • Creating Secret via Vault API

        Hi I am trying to create a secret through vault api.  This is the response I get. One thing I am not sure is how to decrypt the secretdata, how to get the secrettypeid? {     "operation": {         "result": {             "error_code": "",             "message": "Sorry, we are unable to process your request.",
      • Ability to Select External Users from Participants List When Scheduling Meetings

        Hello Zoho Cliq Team, We hope you're doing well. We would like to request an enhancement to the meeting scheduling experience in Zoho Cliq. Current Limitation when scheduling a meeting in Zoho Cliq: External users can be selected from the list only under
      • Kaizen #212 - Map Dependency Fields in Zoho CRM using APIs

        Welcome back to another week of Kaizen! Over the past few weeks, we have been addressing your questions and feedback shared through our Kaizen 200th feedback form. Thank you for your continued engagement and thoughtful queries. We truly enjoy helping
      • Enhancing Zia's service with better contextual responses and article generation

        Hello everyone, We are enhancing Zia's Generative AI service to make your support experience smarter. Here's how: Increased accuracy with Qwen One of the key challenges in AI is delivering responses that are both contextually accurate and empathetic while
      • CRM for email in Outlook: how to ignore addresses?

        We’re using the "Zoho CRM for email" add-in for Outlook. When opening an email, the add-in displays all email addresses from the message and allows me to add them to the CRM or shows if they’re already contacts. However, sometimes people listed in To
      • Zoho Sign Reminder email template

        Is there a template we can edit for the reminder emails? I don't see it in Settings / Choose a template
      • Outdated state in mexico

        Hello Zoho team, the drop down to add the state for customers, when they introduce their state in mexico has a city named “Distrito Federal” that name changed many years ago to “ciudad de mexico”. could you please update this so my clients can find the
      • Is anyone using Zoho Flow with airtable?

        I need to build a flow that collects data from airtable and uses some of that data to create folders and files in google drive. I have fully function version of this in zapier and want to migrate to zoho. I am trying to perform a very basic fetch from
      • Default in fields on Form B based on the user selection in Form A

        Hi Everyone, I have added an action button to a form report to bring up a new form based on user selection, see it indicated in red below: Then when the ne form loads, I want to default in some of the fields based on the record the user was selected on.
      • SOME FEATURES ARE NOT IN THE ZOHO SHEET IN COMPARISION TO ZOHO SHEET

        TO ZOHO sir/maam with due to respect i want to say that i am using ZOHO tool which is spreadsheet i want to say that some features are not there in zoho sheet as comparison to MS EXCEL like advance filter and other Features which should be there in ZOHO
      • Organization Emails in Email History

        How can I make received Org Emails to show up here?
      • AI in Zoho Workplace: A Sneak Peek into What’s Coming!

        Hello everyone, We’re super excited to share something we’ve been working on and we want you to be part of it! You may have seen our announcement blog post introducing a major evolution in how AI works within Zoho Workplace. Want to be among the first
      • Display Client Name in Zoho Creator Client Portal Dashboard

        Hello Zoho Creator Team, We hope you are doing well. Zoho Creator recently introduced the option to set a client’s display name in the Client Portal settings, which is very helpful for providing a personalized portal experience. However, there is currently
      • Meet Canvas' Grid component: Your easiest way to build responsive record templates

        Visual design can be exciting—until you're knee-deep in the details. Whether it's aligning text boxes to prevent overlaps, fixing negative space, or simply making sure the right data stands out, just ironing out inconsistencies takes a lot of moving parts.
      • Migrate file from Single File Upload to Multi File Upload

        Dears, I have created a new field Multi File Upload to replace the old Single File Upload field. I'd like to ask you guys what is the best way to migrate the files to the new field?
      • Best way to share/download presentation files in Zoho without losing formatting?

        Hello Zoho Community, I often work with PPT/PDF files in Zoho Docs and share them with colleagues. While PDFs usually give a direct download option, I’ve noticed that PPT/PPTX files sometimes only open in the viewer without a clear download link. Is there
      • Next Page