Kaizen #154 - Dynamically Update Picklist Values in Zoho CRM Workflows

Kaizen #154 - Dynamically Update Picklist Values in Zoho CRM Workflows



Hello all!
Welcome back to another interesting Kaizen post.
Today, we will discuss how to add automatically or remove values from a picklist field using Deluge within a workflow. This post serves as a solution for the forum post.

Use case

The sales team migrates users from Pipedrive to Zoho CRM. In Pipedrive, the team managed deals using a Kanban view displayed based on the Closing Months (a picklist field). They automated the updating of picklist values to include current and upcoming months based on the deals' closing timelines. 

In Zoho CRM, to replicate this process, users should manually update the picklist values. The requirement is to automate updating the picklist options during record creation or editing within a workflow.

Solution

By triggering the PATCH Fields API (introduced in V6) through a Deluge function within a workflow, this process can be easily automated. Automating picklist updates saves time, reduces the chances of human error, and ensures that picklist values are always up-to-date.
  • First, create a custom picklist field called "Closing Month" in the Deals module.
  • Then, use the custom picklist along with the Closing Date (a mandatory field date field in the Deals module) within a Deluge function in the Workflow. 
  • The PATCH Fields API can be used within the Deluge function to automate updating picklist values and to list the current and upcoming closing dates in deals.
Let us see the steps in detail on how to achieve this case.

Example

Consider the Closing Month as a custom picklist in the Deals module with three months: January, February, and March. Whenever a new deal is created and its closing month matches one of the picklist values, the record will be updated with the corresponding month in the Closing Month field and placed under the existing picklist value in the Kanban view. If the new closing month is not already in the picklist values, then the Deluge function will automatically create a new picklist value, and the record will fall under the new picklist value section in the Kanban view. 

Follow the steps below to achieve our case in Zoho CRM:
  1. Create a Custom Picklist Field in the Deals module.
  2. Set Up a Workflow.
  3. Add a Deluge Function within a workflow.
  4. Configure the Workflow.

1. Create a Custom Picklist Field in the Deals Module

  • Go to Setup > Customization > Modules and Fields.
  • Select the Deals module and the desired layout where you want to add the picklist.
  • Click on New Fields and then Add New Field.
  • Select Picklist as the field type, name it "Closing Month", and add a list of months (In this post, only three months have been added for example purposes).

                                  
  • Click Done to save the new picklist field.

2. Set Up a Workflow

  • Navigate to Setup > Automation > Workflow Rules.
  • Click on Create Rule, select the Deals module, and name the workflow in the Rule Name.
  • Set the rule to trigger on record creation or update.
                               
The workflow triggers based on the value of the Closing Date in the Deals module, executing the function when the Closing Date is not empty.


3. Add a Deluge Function within a workflow

You can either create a custom function or you can associate an existing one. Below is the Deluge code used within the workflow. 
  1. //To map months with Numbers
  2. month = {1:"Jan",2:"Feb",3:"Mar",4:"Apr",5:"May",6:"June",7:"Jul",8:"Aug",9:"Sep",10:"Oct",11:"Nov",12:"Dec"};
  3. //To retrieve the Deal record
  4. dealRecord = zoho.crm.getRecordById("Deals",dealRecordID);
  5. info dealRecord;
  6. //To retrieve the Closing Date
  7. closingDate = dealRecord.get("Closing_Date");
  8. info closingDate; 
  9. //To get the predefined value from the closing month
  10. closingMonth = month.get(closingDate.month());
  11. closingYear = closingDate.year();
  12. //To Format the Month and Year from the Closing Date
  13. picklistValue = closingMonth + " " + closingYear;
  14. info picklistValue;
  15. //Retrieving Current Picklist Values
  16. Dealsfield = invokeurl
  17. [
  18. url :"https://www.zohoapis.com/crm/v7/settings/fields/5725767000003664513?module=deals"
  19. type :GET
  20. connection:"zohocrm"
  21. ];
  22. info Dealsfield;
  23. picklistValues = Dealsfield.get("fields").get(0).get("pick_list_values");
  24. info picklistValues;
  25. //Checking if the Picklist Value Already Exists
  26. flag = false;
  27. for each  option in picklistValues
  28. {
  29. if(option.get("display_value").equals(picklistValue))
  30. {
  31.   flag = true;
  32.   info flag;
  33. }
  34. }
  35. //Adding a New Picklist Value if It Doesn't Exist
  36. if(flag == false)
  37. {
  38. requestBody = Map();
  39. requestList = List();
  40. requestData = Map();
  41. picklist = list();
  42. picklistobj = Map();
  43. picklistobj.put("display_value",picklistValue);
  44. picklist.add(picklistobj);
  45. requestData.put("pick_list_values",picklist);
  46. requestList.add(requestData);
  47. requestBody.put("fields",requestList);
  48. info requestBody + "";
  49. updateField = invokeurl
  50. [
  51.   url :"https://www.zohoapis.com/crm/v7/settings/fields/5725767000003664513?module=deals"
  52.   type :PATCH
  53.   parameters:requestBody + ""
  54.   connection:"zohocrm"
  55. ];
  56. info updateField;
  57. }
  58. //To update the Deal Record
  59. requestBody = Map();
  60. requestList = List();
  61. requestData = Map();
  62. requestData.put("Closing_Month",picklistValue);
  63. requestList.add(requestData);
  64. requestBody.put("data",requestList);
  65. info requestBody + "";
  66. dealreecordUpdate = invokeurl
  67. [
  68. url :"https://www.zohoapis.com/crm/v7/Deals/" + dealRecordID
  69. type :PUT
  70. parameters:requestBody + ""
  71. connection:"zohocrm"
  72. ];
  73. info dealreecordUpdate;


4. Configure the Workflow

Create a custom function by clicking the New Function or associate an existing one to the workflow. In our case, the deluge program has already been written and configured (associated) to the workflow. 

                            
  • Under the workflow actions, select Function and choose the function you created.
  • Ensure that the function is set to run when the workflow is triggered.

Creating a Deal with a Closing Date of January 2nd (Using an Existing Picklist Value)
                                               


Creating a Deal with a Closing Date of April 1st (Adding a New Picklist Value)



The new picklist value, which was not a value previously, has now been added to the picklist.

You can add values to a picklist field using the PATCH Field API. To remove an option from a picklist, use the Update Custom Layout API. Refer to the Sample input to mark picklist options as unused section in the Layouts API documentation.​

Cheers!!!

Related Links
Additional Links

    • Sticky Posts

    • Kaizen #198: Using Client Script for Custom Validation in Blueprint

      Nearing 200th Kaizen Post – 1 More to the Big Two-Oh-Oh! Do you have any questions, suggestions, or topics you would like us to cover in future posts? Your insights and suggestions help us shape future content and make this series better for everyone.

    • Kaizen #226: Using ZRC in Client Script

      Hello everyone! Welcome to another week of Kaizen. In today's post, lets see what is ZRC (Zoho Request Client) and how we can use ZRC methods in Client Script to get inputs from a Salesperson and update the Lead status with a single button click. In this

    • Kaizen #222 - Client Script Support for Notes Related List

      Hello everyone! Welcome to another week of Kaizen. The final Kaizen post of the year 2025 is here! With the new Client Script support for the Notes Related List, you can validate, enrich, and manage notes across modules. In this post, we’ll explore how

    • Kaizen #217 - Actions APIs : Tasks

      Welcome to another week of Kaizen! In last week's post we discussed Email Notifications APIs which act as the link between your Workflow automations and you. We have discussed how Zylker Cloud Services uses Email Notifications API in their custom dashboard.

    • Kaizen #216 - Actions APIs : Email Notifications

      Welcome to another week of Kaizen! For the last three weeks, we have been discussing Zylker's workflows. We successfully updated a dormant workflow, built a new one from the ground up and more. But our work is not finished—these automated processes are

      • Recent Topics

      • [Webinar] Solving business challenges- Handling the challenge of transitioning to Zoho Writer from legacy tools

        Moving to Zoho Writer is a great way to consolidate your business tools and become more agile. With multiple accessibility modes, no-code automation, and extensive integration with business apps and content platforms, Zoho Writer helps solve your organization's

      • How can I effectively manage a website with your help?

        I’m wondering if it’s possible to develop a custom website with specific features using Zoho as an alternative platform. My goal is to create a website similar to https://tmsim.ph, with the same kind of functionality and user experience. I would truly

      • Introducing the Yes/No field: Binary decisions made beautiful

        Greetings, form architects! What would you do when you need a simple yes/no answer on your form? Normally, you add a Radio field. Type Yes. Type No. Until now. The new Yes/No field is purpose-built for binary decisions. It is preconfigured, visually consistent,

      • Move email between inboxes?

        Is it possible to move emails from one team inbox to another? We would like to be able to have a single "catch-all" inbox for incoming requests, and then move the email to the appropriate department inbox. I was hoping we would be able to accomplish this

      • The power of workflows in Zoho Marketing Automation - Video Webinar

        In this Zoho Marketing Automation video webinar, our experts walk you through: Why you may want to create marketing workflows How to create marketing workflows Use Zoho CRM data and apply workflows to automate your marketing strategy How workflows can

      • Offer already made- but I withdrew it

        I made an offer letter, but made a mistake on it. I withdrew the offer but now I can't recreate the correct offer. Zoho keeps saying that "A same offer has already been made". I look in the "offers" and there are NO offers (this is the first time I've

      • Zoho CRM's sales trend and sales follow-up trend dashboards are now customizable

        Dear Customers, We're here with good news! Sales trend and sales follow-up trend are two system-defined dashboards that help you understand trends and anomalies in your sales outreach and conversion efforts. They use Zia's intelligence to identify patterns

      • Introducing Rule-Based AI Coding Assistants for Zoho Finance Widgets

        Hello customers, We’ve introduced rule-based AI coding assistants to speed up Zoho Finance widget development. You can try them out in Cursor AI and GitHub Copilot. This helps you build widgets quickly using simple prompts, while ensuring the generated

      • Marketing Tip #21: Create an About Us page

        People don’t just buy products, they buy from brands they trust. An About Us page helps customers understand who you are, what you stand for, and why your business exists. It adds a human touch to your store and reassures shoppers that there’s a real

      • Zobot to handle single choice menu when dynamic list content is more than 10 items

        Whatsapp supports maximum of only 10 items for its single choice menu. When we need to show a dynamic list with content more than 10, this could be challenging. We essentially need to add a next and previous buton here in order to make it functional.

      • Add the ability to Hide Pages in Page Rules

        Hi, We have Field Rules to show and hide fields and we have page Rules, but we can't hide a page in Page Rules so it isn't completed before the previous page (And then have the Deny Rules to prevent submitting without both pages completed), we can only

      • Column letter from number

        Hello, I am trying to select a cell and i have the column number. How do i do this or is there a way of getting the letter from the number? Thank you

      • Composite Product (kit) - Dynamic Pricing

        I am setting up Composite Products for item kits that I sell. I also sell the items from the kit individually. Problem is when pricing changes on an individual part, the Composite Product price does not change meaning when the cost of item # 2 in the

      • View Answer Bot conversations?

        We are trialing Zia and are experimenting with Answer Bot on our knowledge base. So far so good! Management asks me if it is possible to view Answer Bot conversations, the purpose being to look over its shoulder and confirm that it is working as des

      • Train Zia answer bot on only part of Knowledge Base?

        We are trialing Zia answer bot and hope to use it on the knowledge base to help our users find the information they are looking for. I have found how to train Zia on the entirety of our knowledge base. But is there a way to train it on only certain categories

      • Smarter holiday planning with yearly-specific Holiday Lists

        Hello everyone! Managing holidays and business hours is now easier and more efficient. Holiday Lists now support holidays that fall on different dates every year, while business hours now supports more than one holiday list. This helps businesses manage

      • Temporary Outage in Zoho Cliq Affecting US Users – July 23, 2025

        We experienced a service disruption in Zoho Cliq that impacted core functionality for users in the US region. The issue occurred between Jul 23, 2025, 06:54:00 PM IST and 07:13:13 PM IST, lasting approximately 19 minutes. To restore service stability,

      • ERROR CODE :550 - 550 5.1.1 Invalid email recipients

        This message was created automatically by mail delivery software. A message that you sent could not be delivered to one or more of its recipients. This is a permanent error. mustafa.ashraf@techlink-eg.net, ERROR CODE :550 - 550 5.1.1 Invalid email recipients

      • Function #20: Custom calculation in item table of invoices

        When you create an invoice in Zoho Books, the 'Amount' of a line item is typically calculated as the product of the "Quantity" and the "Rate" of the item. For instance, if an item has a sales rate of $50 and a quantity of 5 is sold, then the amount would

      • Impossible to import Journal from Freshbooks

        I have been trying to import journals from Freshbooks since August 30th. Every time I try to import, I get an error message. I have already made sure every row has a date. First it was saying the account and notes had unexpected input and that every debit/credit

      • How to Create a Fixed Sliding Time Window (D-45 to D-15) in Zoho Analytics ?

        Hello, I would like to create a report in Zoho Analytics based on a sliding time window between D-45 and D-15, with a fixed snapshot of that specific period. The data displayed should strictly reflect activity recorded between D-45 and D-15 only, without

      • Wie veröffentliche ich ein PDF Datei?

        Hallo! Wie veröffentliche ich PDF Datein ich habe ein PDF Datei und den sieht ihr im Upload ich möchte ihn veröffentlichen wie? Mit Freundlichen Grüßen, Herr Bahaa Addin Chkirid

      • Zoho Campaigns: An Outstanding Email Marketing Tool

        Introducing Zoho Campaigns! A product designed by Zoho, the Zoho Campaigns is made to create, deliver, and manage integrated email campaigns that can help in boosting the sales of a company and its customer base. Zoho Campaigns is actually an email marketing

      • Zoho Creator Developer Console | Improved Distribution and Lifecycle Management for apps

        Hello everyone, We're excited to introduce new enhancements now in the Zoho Creator Developer Console. These updates strengthen private app distribution through licensing controls and extend environment support across all installed apps, helping teams

      • Anchor Links in Dashboards

        Hello,  Our dashboards frequently have multiple sections that would be more easily skipped between using anchor links. Please consider adding an anchor link feature to the text widget? This could be done by adding an anchor link option to the text widget next to the "remove" option (see screenshot). The option would assign an ID to the <div> containing the text widget in the live dashboard. Then, the chosen ID could be linked using a traditional <a href="#link_id"> in the html section of the text

      • Zoho Books emails suddenly going to Spam since 11 Nov 2025 (Gmail + now Outlook) — anyone else?

        Hi everyone, We migrated to Zoho Books in July 2025 and everything worked fine until 11 Nov 2025. Since then, Zoho Books system emails are landing in customers’ Spam (first Gmail, and now we’re seeing Outlook/Office 365 also starting to spam them). Impacted

      • Sync images with Shopify/Cart

        Hello, sync images with shopify or other cart, it cuts out the double work of having to upload to shopify/cart and zoho. Thanks

      • Is it Possible to Modify Standard Report Urls

        Is there a way to permanently modify standard report Urls? Use case: Suppose I have a Products report. Showing list as timeline, calendar, or kanban doesn't make sense. Want to hide that from users by adding #Report:Products?zc_ShowAs=false&zc_Print=false

      • Price List

        II want to restrict the items to display in sales, quote, etc for which custom rates are added in price list. How I can do the same in Zoho books

      • External User onboarding for zoho connect is not really intuitive.

        So the external user is sent an invite, which has a button that directs them to login to zoho to view the invite, but if they don't have a zoho account, they cannot access that invite, which seems kinda silly, as there is not real way on for them to create

      • Having trouble fetching contents of Zoho Connect Feeds using the API, requesting alternative API documentation.

        I'm trying to retrieve feed/post data from Zoho Connect using the API but facing challenges with the current documentation. What I've tried: OAuth authentication is working correctly (getting 200 OK responses) Tested multiple endpoints: /pulse/nativeapi/v2/feeds,

      • How to upload file to Connect using API?

        Hi there. I looked at the API documentation and nowhere did it mention how to use the API method to upload a file even though it is mentioned that it is possible to be done so. Please help.

      • Select the task view on the board in the Zoho Connect iPhone app

        Hello. How do I select the task view on the board in the Zoho Connect iPhone app? The Android app has this functionality.

      • Auto tagging

        Some of the articles I enter into Notebook get there when I enter them in Raindrop.io and IFTTT copies the articles in Notebook. When this happens the notes are tagged but instead of useful one word tags with topic the tag pertains to the specific article

      • Zoho Sheet for Desktop

        Does Zoho plans to develop a Desktop version of Sheet that installs on the computer like was done with Writer?

      • WebDAV support

        I need WebDAV support so that I can upload/download (and modify) documents from my local file system. Is anything planned in his direction?

      • Constant refresh required in lots of Zoho tabs

        "Hey Zoho, if you can sync my notification bell across 15 tabs using a BroadcastChannel, why can't you send a 'Data Refresh' signal the same way? We don't need a browser reload—we just need the data to sync without us clicking F5 like it's 1999." "PS:

      • What's New in Zoho Billing | January 2026

        Excited about the latest enhancements in Zoho Billing? Our January updates bring an intelligent AI assistant, smarter subscription management, and improved tax compliance, saving you time and reducing manual work. Dive into the details below to see how

      • 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

      • Inserting images into Articles or Knowledgebase

        Hi, Are there any plans in improving the Knowledgebase text editor so it would allow inserting images through Windows clipboard via copy-paste? Say for example I took a screenshot using the snipping tool in Windows and I'd like to insert that image to

      • Next Page