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 to differentiate if whatsapp comes from certain landing page?

        I create a Zobot in SalesIQ to create a Whatsapp bot to capture the lead. I have 2 landing pages, one is SEO optimized and the other want is optimized for leads comes from Google Ads. I want to know from which landing page this lead came through WhatsApp
      • Zoho Desk - Community

        As a regular user of Zoho Cares Community I would really love to see the publish date of articles. For example, when I look at Announcements, it would be very beneficial to see which ones were posted recently, over those which have just and a recent comment.
      • access to quartz for my customers

        Hi how can I have access to the application quartz you use for us to send you screen rocording, this feature would be immensely useful for our customers support https://quartz.zoho.com/
      • Issue with Inline Images in Email Reply via Zoho Desk API

        Hi, I am attempting to send inline images in an email reply using the Zoho Desk API, but the images are not being displayed inline for the recipient. I have followed this documentation: https://desk.zoho.com/DeskAPIDocument#Uploads https://desk.zoho.com/DeskAPIDocument#Threads#Threads_SendEmailReply
      • Turning off the new UI

        Tried the new 'enhanced' UI and actively dislike it. Anyone know how to revert back?
      • Change Last Name to not required in Leads

        I would like to upload 500 target companies as leads but I don't yet have contact people for them. Can you enable the option for me to turn this requirement off to need a Second Name? Moderation update (10-Jun-23): As we explore potential solutions for
      • How to search a value stored in a subform?

        Hello, We store serial numbers in subforms but now we would like to be able to search the values to be able to easily find the record with the serial number. I saw that it's not possible to search such values through global search but is it possible to do it an other way? Thank you,
      • Field Dependency Not Working on Detail Page in Zoho Desk

        Hi Support Team, I’ve created field dependencies between two fields in Zoho Desk, and they are working correctly on the Create and Edit layouts. However, on the Detail page, the fields are not displaying according to the dependencies I’ve set — they appear
      • How do the keyword critera work?

        Hi, I'm working on automated assignment of tickets based on keywords. How does this feature work? Where does this criteria look for keywords - email address, subject, email body? Can you please clarify this as I want to avoid overlapping with criteria
      • Error: Unsupported content type: text/html;charset=UTF-8 after tryeing to get the token for n8n automation

        I am working on ZOHO Desk automation and need to get the ZOHO auth token for n8n I have created the app in ZOHO Desk API, got client id and client secret. Added all data required to get a token in n8n. After I sign in with my ZOHO credentials in ZOHO
      • Improving Collaboration Features in Zoho Portal

        Hello Zoho Community, I’ve recently started exploring Zoho services and I’m really impressed with the wide range of features. However, I feel there is still room for improvement in the collaboration area. For example, it would be really helpful if we
      • Clear Tag & Linking Between Quotes and Sales Orders

        Hi Zoho Team, In Zoho Books, when a quote is converted into a sales order, it would be extremely useful to have: A clear tag/indicator on the quote showing that it has been converted into a sales order. A direct link in the sales order back to the originating
      • New in Cadences: Option to Resume or Restart follow-ups when re-enrolling records into a Cadence, and specify custom un-enrollment criteria

        Managing follow-ups effectively involves understanding the appropriate timing for reaching out, as well as knowing when to take a break and resume later, or deciding if it's necessary to start the follow-up process anew. With two significant enhancements
      • Send a campaign to one recipient.

        Very often I speak to a customer and they say they didn't see my email (maybe it went in Junk, maybe they deleted it). Anyway, I just want to go into the Campaign and send it to one person. You already have a feature very close to this - when sending a Test. While developing a campaign, I can send tests to anyone. Why can't we have this AFTER  the campaign has been sent? I know, there's a caveat, and that's in the use of merge tags. Most of the time I only use FNAME, but maybe you could check if
      • Feature Request - Insert URL Links in Folders

        I would love to see the ability to create simple URL links with titles in WorkDrive. or perhaps a WorkDrive extension to allow it. Example use case: A team is working on a project and there is project folder in WordDrive. The team uses LucidChart to create
      • Try FSM again for our business

        We already have our customers individual equipment in CRM with serial numbers, install dates, warranty length and importantly next service which is generally 2 years. a month before the service date is due we get get a report and send out service reminders.
      • GST Slabs Redefined: Stay Compliant Using Zoho Books!

        Hello Everyone! The Government of India is rolling out new GST rates, a major reform aimed at simplifying the current tax structure starting 22 September 2025. GST will move from four slabs (5%, 12%, 18%, 28%) to two main slabs (5% and 18%), plus a special
      • Zoho CRM button to download images from image upload field

        Hello, I am trying to create a button in Zoho CRM that I can place in my record details view for each record and use it to download all images in the image upload fields. I tried deluge, client scripts and even with a widget, but feel lost, could not
      • Get Cliq Meetings in my O365 calendar

        Hi, we are currently evaluating to replace the Teams Messaging and Meetings with Cliq. We currently still have all our email and calendars in O365. What i want to achieve is, to create a (ZOHO) meeting from Cliq and have this meeting added to my Outlook/O365
      • Issue with Zoho Help Portal – Tickets Missing or Not Answered

        Hi, How are you? I think there may be an issue with the Zoho Help Portal. I opened a few tickets directly in the help portal a some time ago but never received any response I also opened ticket 148356451 by email. I did receive a reply to it, but the
      • Changing the Default Search Criteria for Finding Duplicates

        Hey everyone, is it possible to adjust the default search criteria for finding and merging duplicate records? Right now, CRM uses some (in my opinion nonsensical) fields as search criteria for duplicate records which do nothing except dilute the results.
      • Zoho Creator as LMS and Membership Solution

        My client is interested in using Zoho One apps to deploy their membership academy offer. Zoho Creator was an option that came up in my research: Here are the components of the program/offer: 1. Membership portal - individual login credentials for each
      • DUNS & Bradstreet and Credit risk monitoring integration with Zoho books

        Small businesses not being paid by bigger clients and clients of all sizes is a huge problem. It will be nice if Zoho develops integration with DUNS & Bradstreet(D&B) and Credit risk monitoring integration with Zoho books. That have small businesses can
      • Filtering Tickets based on Email headers

        We're starting to get a lot more junk coming into our Zoho Desk, which is then triggering unnecessary email alerts to agents. Once thing we could do to cut this junk in half, is to filter tickets based on email headers. Any email containing the `List-Unsubscribe`
      • Zoho Forms - Form Rules based on attachment fields

        Many businesses use forms to collect documents and images from customers. In many cases, you may want to trigger a notification or other automation based on whether or not an attachment was added. I've noticed that attachment fields do not appear in Rules
      • Add QUOTE OWNER profile image to a Quote Template

        I can add their email address.. phone number, DOB. I need to add a users profile picture so when they assign a template to a quote they own it adds their picture to the cover page. I've tried hacking a solution together but there has to be an easier way.
      • Elevate your CX delivery using CommandCenter 2.0: Simplified builder; seamless orchestration

        Most businesses want to create memorable customer experiences—but they often find it hard to keep them smooth, especially as they grow. To achieve a state of flow across their processes, teams often stitch together a series of automations using Workflow
      • No Response from Zoho Support in 8 Days - Typical?

        I have a couple of issues I'm trying to work through. Initially, I was getting support from support@zohofsm.com, but I have not received a response in 8 days (11 on another question). Is this typical? Can I pay for support? For context, I am not spamming
      • Office 365 and CRM mail integration: permission required

        Has anyone run into this weird problem? My email server is Office 365. When I try to configure Zoho CRM to use this server, a Microsoft popup window opens requesting user and password. After entering that, I get a message in the Microsoft window saying
      • Age Calculation

        I've attempted to calculate the age of someone based on their birthday input by using the formula field. It works but I don't want all those decimals on there. I then tried to use "set variable" after birthday input but I get a field type mismatch, long vs. floating. Any ideas would be wonderful.
      • Open filtered deals from campaign

        Do you think a feature like this would be feasible? Say you are seeing campaign "XYZ" in CRM. The campaign has a related list of deals. If you want to see the related deals in a deal view, you should navigate to the Deals module, open the campaign filter,
      • Change scheduling emails time

        When sending an individual email there is a great feature to schedule them to send later. I could only use the one time that is suggested. Is there a way to select another time? Regards, Glenn
      • Zoho CRM: how can I control which contacts to sync with Outlook?

        I was just playing around syncing contacts from Zoho to MS Outlook (MS365 account.) The problem is our firm has hundreds of thousands of contacts and I don't want to bury my contacts list in outlook. Any help with this is greatly appreciated.
      • How to overcome limitations in meetings

        As a company, one of our deliverables is a meeting between two other companies, where we act as facilitators. So, if we recorded this meeting  in Zoho CRM, it should be connected to 2 accounts, 2 contacts, and 1 campaign (a campaign, in our use, is the
      • Different MRP / Pricing for same product but different batches

        We often face the following situations where MRP of a particular product changes on every purchase and hence we have to charge the customer accordingly. This can't be solved by Batch tracking as of now so far as I understand Zoho. How do you manage it as of now? 
      • Add a 'Log a Call' link to three dot icon in Canvas

        Hi, There's a three dot element when creating a canvas called 'More'. I would like to modify this to add a link that says 'Log a Call' in order to quickly record the details of a cellphone call. I'd also like this to be a simple 'contact' selection and
      • Syncing Zoho Forms with Bigin - Embedding issue?

        Hello everyone, I created a Zoho Form for a page on my GoDaddy website to collect leads, which then transfers the data to Bigin. However, I'm facing an issue where it doesn't seem to work properly. I've integrated Zoho Forms with Bigin and tried embedding
      • Can not add fields to a Section

        I feel like I'm missing something obvious: I can add new Sections to my form but I can not add fields to the Sections. I've tried fields already on the form as well as dragging and dropping new fields into the Section but nothing will go into it. What
      • Record Logged in User while using CRM lookup field

        Is it possible, while using the Zoho CRM lookup field, to automatically use the user account logged into Zoho CRM in a hidden field? I was hoping to add employee accounts to my current plan. But would like a record on the Form submission of who submitted
      • Form Rules for Suburb Categories to alternate landing pages or Making a Fields Contents ALL CAPS

        I need to send differentform submissions to two to three different thank-you URLs (for Meta/Google pixels) depending on which suburb a user selects in a form. I have ~400 suburbs split into two categories (A and B, based on business value). Current challenges:
      • Next Page