Zoho Developer Community Monthly Digest – February 2025

Zoho Developer Community Monthly Digest – February 2025



Hello everyone,
​
First of all, an apology is in order—our January digest got swept away by a whirlwind of hackathon madness. But fear not, February's digest is here to make up for lost time! We’ve got everything from upcoming events like the Zoho Developer Hangout (with a special focus on Catalyst!) to our new Client Script Commands session. We also dive into resources like the latest Zoho CRM Developer updates and Kaizen posts to help you stay ahead. Plus, the community spotlight showcases real developer problem-solving moments, and some of the best insights shared in our Cliq channel.

So, without further ado, grab your favorite beverage, settle in, and let’s jump into the updates!

Previous Month Highlights
​
Before we dive into this month's updates, let's take a moment to celebrate the grand success of the ZDC Hackathon 2024. After 46 days of innovation, intense competition, and collaboration, we wrapped up the first-ever Zoho Developer Community Hackathon with a bang!

With over 1,000 participants, 797 teams, and representation from 45 countries, this truly was a global event. A special shout-out to all our participants—students, independent developers, customers, and partners—who brought their A-game to the table.

The judges had their work cut out, but after thorough evaluation, we're proud to announce the winners:



A massive thank you to everyone who participated and made this hackathon a tremendous success! You can check out all the category-wise winners on our website. Until next time, keep the innovation rolling and stay tuned for the next challenge!

Upcoming Events

Client Script

Title: Part 5: Introduction to Client Script Commands 
Date: March 11, 2025
Time: 10:00 AM IST & 8:00 PM IST (GMT+5:30)

In this session, we'll explore a new dimension of Client Script that enables users to trigger them anytime and anywhere in CRM, extending their event-driven functionality beyond just specific modules and pages. Using Client Script Commands, the user can either use custom keyboard shortcuts or command palette to execute Client Scripts. Click here for registration and more details.

Zoho Developer Hangout: Episode 19

Title: Catalyst for Zoho Developers
Date: March 13, 2025
Time: 8:30 AM CT / 8:00 PM IST

This session, presented by our power user @Christopher Mowers, is for Zoho developers who are familiar with typical approaches to working in the Deluge environment and who would like to learn to adapt to the approach that Catalyst requires. We will cover the Catalyst services that are most relevant to you as a Zoho developer and the fastest and most reliable ways to integrate your Catalyst layer with other Zoho applications. We will also cover important factors to consider when planning to use Catalyst as a part of your Zoho solution. Register now to get tips from the expert!

Zoho Community Developer Bootcamp – Deluge

Date: March 15 & March 29
Time: 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM IST
Place: New Delhi & Mumbai

All applications must be automated to improve themselves as well as the businesses they serve. Zoho provides a plethora of relevant solutions for all your application needs. However, to cater to specific requirements and handle more complex business logic, we use our in-house scripting language—Deluge. Save your spot to immerse yourself in our engaging hands-on bootcamp, designed to equip you with the skills and knowledge to harness the full potential of Deluge for Zoho applications.

Catalyst 101

Title: Introduction to Catalyst
Date: March 18, 2025
Time: 10:00 AM IST & 8:00 PM IST (GMT+5:30)

Catalyst is a full-stack cloud development platform that simplifies the complex. Build, test, host, deploy, and optimize solutions like never before. Its easy learning curve eliminates complexities, empowering you to craft bold innovations at the lowest total cost of ownership (TCO). This is a four-part learning initiative that focuses on offering a thorough understanding of Catalyst—Zoho's cloud computing platform. Click here for registration and more details.

ZDK CLI (Zoho Development Kit Command Line Interface)

Date: Mar 20 | Apr 10
Time: 10:00 AM IST & 8:00 PM IST (GMT+5:30)

Managing metadata in Zoho CRM shouldn’t feel like navigating a maze. Yet, the endless clicks to modify profiles, roles, modules, or layouts—and the challenges of version control—can quickly become overwhelming. What if you could skip the hassle and manage your metadata effortlessly? Introducing ZDK CLI—your one-stop solution for streamlining metadata modifications, pushing changes directly from the command line, and tracking updates seamlessly with your preferred Version Control System (VCS). Register now to discover how to take control of your CRM workflow with ZDK CLI.

Extensions 101

Title: Zoho Projects – Modal Boxes
Date: March 27, 2025
Time: 10:00 AM IST & 8:00 PM IST (GMT+5:30)

This series aims to guide developers through the process of building extensions for various Zoho products using the Zoho Developer platform, Sigma. Our previous sessions in this series covered extension development for multiple Zoho products and highlighted the platform's key capabilities for developing efficient extensions. Register for the upcoming sessions, where we'll delve deep into developing extensions for Zoho products like Projects, CRM, Books, and Desk.

Learning Table Series

Title: Creator for the Logistics industry
Date: April 3, 2025
APAC & ANZ: 11 AM to 12 PM IST - Registration Link
EMEA: 4 PM to 5 PM IST - Registration Link
Americas: 9 PM to 10 PM IST - Registration Link

We designed this series to provide users with valuable insights and knowledge about Creator's capabilities in various business use cases and applications. We have adopted the 12 Months 12 Industries concept. Every month, we will focus on a specific industry, illustrating its unique processes with real-time business scenarios and how to make best use of Creator for that industry. Our previous webinar on Creator for the Manufacturing Industry was a success, and in the upcoming session, we'll be exploring Creator for the Logistics industry.
 
Creator Tech Connect

Title: Product Release Updates in Zoho Creator
Date: April 10, 2025
APAC & ANZ: 11 AM to 12 PM IST - Registration Link
EMEA: 4 PM to 5 PM IST - Registration Link
Americas: 9 PM to 10 PM IST - Registration Link

Creator's tech connect series would comprise of technical sessions that provide immersive training on the key essentials and technical nuances of building a solution in Zoho Creator. This is a great opportunity for our developer community to stay informed about Creator's new feature releases, product roadmap, best practices to follow while scripting in deluge, new deluge concepts, and cloud functions. In our previous session, we discussed enhancing dashboards with Javascript widgets in Zoho Creator. In the upcoming session, we will explore the recent product release updates in Zoho Creator.

Resource Spotlight

Info
We've consolidated all the resources from the developer community learning series into a centralized hub for your convenient access. Consider bookmarking our Zoho Developer Community website to stay informed about the latest updates in the developer community.
  • Zoho CRM Developer Updates:
    • Introducing Catalyst Solutions to streamline automation at scale with minimal effort. 
    • The Bulk Data Processor CodeLib, powered by Catalyst, offers a ready-to-use solution for bulk reading, processing, and writing large datasets. It automatically handles the setup with pre-configured resources. Simply add your custom processing logic, and let the solution do the heavy lifting for you!
    • Refer to our Getting Started guide for setting up and the GitHub Repository for Code Samples.
Fill out this Early Access Form to get this feature enabled for your account. This feature will tentatively be opened in the second week of April, 2025.
    • Client Script support for Subforms is now available across all DCs.
Subform events are triggered from user actions, such as adding or deleting rows or updating data in subform.
These events allow you to run Client scripts for validation, automation, or dynamic updates.
By leveraging Subform Events, you gain precise control over subform behaviour. Click here to view the announcement post. Click here to view the updated help document.
    • Client Script functionality is extended to Zoho CRM Portals, allowing businesses to enhance portal interactions without creating new scripts. We understand that many of you have been eagerly awaiting this enhancement, and we are pleased to inform you that this support is now live for US DC. We will update once its rolled out for other DCs. Click here to view the announcement post.
    • Python SDK - Upgraded python SDK supporting V7 APIs to version 4.0.0. GitHub, pypi.
    • Upgraded NodeJS SDK supporting V7 APIs to version 4.0.0.
    • Kaizen Posts

      • Kaizen 171 - Check out the frequently asked questions on the Zoho CRM COQL API in the Zoho Community Forum with answers.
      • Kaizen 172 - This post discusses how you can use the 'crmAPIResponse' object in a standalone function and use that REST API-enabled function as a Source in Queries.
      • Kaizen 173 - Comparing Zoho CRM REST APIs and Zoho CRM GraphQL APIs.
      • Kaizen 174 - Learn how to trigger Client Scripts anywhere within Zoho CRM, extending the scope of Client Script beyond standard pages and events.
      • Kaizen 175 - Learn how to configure a Settings Widget for your Zoho CRM extension to enable key configurations and enhance user experience.
      • Kaizen 176 - Learn how you can optimize your queries in different ways using record ID as a variable.

      • Kaizen 177 - This post explains the Duplicate Check Preferences API, the Upsert API, and their differences, along with real-time scenario.

      • Kaizen 178 - Learn in detail about Criteria and Filter support in Zoho CRM APIs, how to construct them, and explore the various comparators supported for different field types.

      • Kaizen 179 - Discover when to use ZDK CLI vs. Zoho CRM UI for CRM customization. Learn the best practices while using ZDK CLI.

  • Building extensions for Zoho Finance Suite applications: 
  • Zoho Finance: We've supported new SDK methods in widgets. You can now include a confirmation modal and display success and failure messages in your widgets. Additionally, we have created a separate help document for the widget locations supported in Zoho Books.

  • Zoho IoT: The Internet of Things is no longer a futuristic concept—it’s a driving force for innovation across industries. Zoho IoT simplifies the complexity of IoT, offering a low-code platform that empowers businesses to harness the full potential of their data. Learn all about how you can build, visualize, and automate your workflows with Zoho IoT.

  • The Ultimate Guide to Automation: Are you tired of spending time on repetitive tasks? Automating routine processes not only boosts efficiency but also frees up your team to focus on what truly matters. Discover how automation can streamline workflows, reduce errors, and drive business growth. 

  • Zoho Cliq: Stay ahead of the game with Cliq Bot Calls! Automate alerts, speed up decision-making, and keep your team in sync—all without lifting a finger. Find out how this feature can transform your workflow.

  • Zoho DataPrep: Data preparation is evolving, and 2025 is set to bring smarter, faster, and more automated solutions! From AI-powered cleaning to real-time data enrichment, stay ahead of the trends shaping the future of data. Explore the top data preparation trends for 2025.

  • Zoho RPA: Not all tasks are created equal—some are perfect for automation! Discover which business processes are best suited for Robotic Process Automation (RPA) and how automating them can save time and reduce errors.

  • Zoho Analytics: This article explores how Zia can help you leverage advanced analytics, helping businesses identify trends, predict outcomes, automate insights like never before, and make smarter business decisions.

Community Discussions

Zoho Developer Forum

Developers ZUG Cliq Channel

Info
These conversations are confined to the Developers ZUG Cliq channel members. If you're keen on becoming a part of this space, visit our website, click JOIN NOW, and complete the form to get an invite to the channel.

Ever feel like you're banging your head against a wall trying to figure out a tech problem? Well, you're not alone! This month, we saw some awesome examples of how a community of Zoho users can turn those frustrating moments into "aha!" moments.
  • Real People, Real Problems, Real Solutions:
    • Imagine you're coding a script, and suddenly, it just...stops working. That's what happened to @Andre. Instead of spending hours pulling his hair out, he asked for help. And guess what? @Mike spotted a potential cause right away—a sneaky change behind the scenes. That's the power of having experienced folks around!
    • Or picture this: you're trying to connect two apps, but you keep getting an error message. @Buddy Quaid ran into this with Zoho Writer and CRM. Thankfully, @Mike (again, our resident superhero!) explained the missing piece, and boom, problem solved.
    • And it's not just about fixing errors. @Himali was trying to figure out a tricky workflow in Zoho Inventory. The community jumped in, explained the process, and @Bijoy even suggested a workaround to make things smoother. That's how we learn from each other!
    • We also had a great chat about keeping track of all those automations and workflows. Anyone else feel like you're herding cats sometimes? It was awesome to see everyone sharing their tips and tricks.
  • Unlocking the Power of Zoho Together:
  • Why this matters? (especially if you're new here):
    • You're never alone: Tech can be confusing, but in a community like this, you'll always find someone willing to help. So, the next time you're stuck, just ask the community—someone might just have the answer (or three)!
    • Learn by doing: Seeing how others solve problems is a fantastic way to learn something new. 
    • Discover hidden gems: You might stumble upon a clever trick or workaround you never knew existed.
    • We talk about the practical stuff: Like how to manage and keep track of your automations and workflows across the Zoho platform.

Community Spotlight

Cliq Contributors

We want to express our sincere appreciation to all our community contributors. Your commitment, expertise, and the time you invest are invaluable to the community. 



For those who are new to the Zoho Developer Community, check out this post to get started. 

Make sure to follow the digest every month for the most recent updates and conversations. Stay connected and participate in the forums and the Cliq channel to be featured in the upcoming month's digest. Wishing you all an amazing month ahead!


SEE ALSO



      • Recent Topics

      • Google Fonts Integration in Pagesense Popup Editor

        Hello Zoho Pagesense Team, We hope you're doing well. We’d like to submit a feature request to enhance Zoho Pagesense’s popup editor with Google Fonts support. Current Limitation: Currently, Pagesense offers a limited set of default fonts. Google Fonts

      • Control Position of “X” (Close) Button in Popup Editor

        Hello Zoho PageSense Team, We hope you're doing well. We would like to request a customization improvement in the PageSense popup editor. Current Limitation: Currently, the position of the “X” (close) button is fixed and cannot be customized in the popup

      • Add Standalone “Save” Button in Pagesense Popup Editor

        Hello Zoho Pagesense Team, We hope you're doing well. We would like to request an important usability improvement in the Pagesense popup editor. Current Limitation: There is currently no dedicated Save button while building a popup. The only way to save

      • Text Direction Control in Pagesense Popup Editor

        Hello Zoho Pagesense Team, We hope you're doing well. We’d like to submit a feature request to add text direction control in the Pagesense popup editor. Current Limitation: Currently, the popup editor does not provide native support for RTL (Right-to-Left)

      • Autosave in Pagesense Popup Editor

        Hello Zoho Pagesense Team, We hope you're doing well. We’d like to submit a feature request to enhance the Pagesense editor with an autosave functionality. Current Limitation: Currently, changes made in the Pagesense editor must be manually saved. In

      • Billing frequency is not displayed correctly.

        Hello There is an issue while displaying the billing frequency on a subscription quote. I am able to activate the subscription details and get this lovely overview: If I am adding a Plan which I charge quarterly, first of all it should be possible to

      • 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.",

      • Is It Possible to Hide Menu Option from Main Navigation?

        Is it possible to hide a menu option, e.g. Admin, from the Main Navigation based on some criteria, e.g. login = zoho.adminuser

      • Unleash the power of detail, with Table View.

        What use is context that's not available where you need it? With this in mind, we bring you the Table View. This feature will add more power to the way you organize and work through your ticket load. Table View comes in handy when you want more control over the ticket information you see. This is a nifty tool for users who find themselves limited in terms of the level of information that is being offered in the Classic View and Compact View. With an upper limit of 15 columns, agents can glean most

      • Kaizen #126 - Circuits in Zoho CRM - Part 1

        Hello everyone! Welcome back to another week of Kaizen! Today, we will discuss an exciting topic—Circuits in Zoho CRM. For starters, we will discuss what Circuits are, how beneficial they are for businesses, different views of a Circuit, and the different

      • Multiple clients in one project

        Hi team, What is the possibility to have more than one client to be linked for one project in the Zoho Books? Our business model is to have a project, and this project have expenses/bills, as well, we issue invoices for this same project to several customers.

      • Workdrive on Android - Gallery Photo Backups

        Hello, Is there any way of backing up the photos on my android phone directly to a specific folder on Workdrive? Assuming i have the workdrive app installed on the phone in question. Emma

      • 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

      • 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

      • 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

      • 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

        Hi Everyone!! Welcome back to another week of Kaizen series! 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

      • 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

      • 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

      • 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.

      • 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

      • Workflow Failure - Notifications

        Good afternoon, I have just experienced an error whereby a Workflow failed, for a reason currently unknown. The problem is that one of my users had to flag this manually (thankfully he's very thorough) and this otherwise would have flown under the radar.

      • Introducing Bin Locations In Zoho Inventory

        Hello users, We are excited to let you know that your wait for the Bin Locations feature has now come to an end! Yes, you heard us right! We are here to introduce the much-awaited Bin Locations now in Zoho Inventory. But before we dive into the feature

      • Error "Invalid client task found corresponding properties" only when triggered from workflow ?

        Hi All, I am facing an error message I never encountered previously: Error in executing On Add - On Load script Error in executing thisapp.get_all_projects_api_call function. Line:(2) Error in executing thisapp.getAccessTokenFromRefreshToken function.

      • How to interpret Campaign report statistics - definitions/explanation

        I am trying to make sure I understand the Campaign report correctly Do you have a list of definitions for: Delivered - it has reached the recipient's inbox Campaign reach - is this the number that have opened the campaign email? Unique Opens Clicks/Open

      • Feature request - pin or flag note

        Hi, It would be great if you could either pin or flag one or more notes so that they remain visible when there are a bunch of notes and some get hidden in the list. Sometimes you are looking for a particular name that gets lost in a bunch of less important

      • Schedule a Call by Date and Time when a specific lead status is selected

        Hi Wanting to create a workflow where a call can be scheduled by date & time when a specific lead status is selected. Can only currently set the date by Due Date - Trigger Date - Plus 'x' day(s) Thanks

      • Zoho CRM's Copy Customization functionality now works across DCs, for customized accounts, and more

        Availability This feature is available in Standard, Professional, Enterprise, and Ultimate editions. These changes have been rolled out to all users in all DCs. For more information, please refer to these help documents: Overview | Instructions Hello

      • How can I bold text on Zoho Forms submit buttons?

        In the old theme builder, I could bold the text on a form's submit button. With the new theme builder, I can only change the text of the header or fields in the form, and not the button itself.

      • Hiding Pre-defined Views

        You can enhance Zoho with custom views - but you cannot hide the pre-defined views. Most users focus on 4 or 5 views. Right now for EVERY user EVERY time they want to move to one of their 4 or 5 views - they have to scroll down past a long list of pre-defined views - we don't use ANY of the pre-defined views. Adding the feature to allow a predefined view to be hidden completely or only visible to certain users would be a big improvement in usability for Zoho CRM. This feature is already available

      • [Integration Edition] Deluge Learning Series – Third-Party Integrations with Deluge | October 2025

        We’re excited to continue this three-month edition of the Deluge Learning Series: Session 1 – Integrating Zoho Apps with Deluge Using Built-In Integration Tasks Session 2 – Integrating Zoho Apps with Deluge Using invokeURL and invokeAPI Session 3 – Third-Party

      • Feature Request: Tag, Search, and Report on Individual Private Comments

        Zoho Desk Team, First, I want to say that we are extensive users of Zoho Desk and it is a core part of our support operations. We rely heavily on the private comments feature for internal communication, knowledge sharing, and maintaining a clear history

      • Zoho CRM Community Digest - August 2025 | Part 2

        Hello Everyone! Here's a quick round-up of handy tips, clever workarounds, and product updates from late August. Product Updates: Meeting Enhancements in Zoho CRM! Track whether a meeting is online, in-office, or at the client’s location using the new

      • Assistance Needed: Ticket Status Not Updating and Sorting by Last Customer Reply in Zoho Desk

        Hello, I’m facing two issues in Zoho Desk that I’d like your guidance on: Ticket Status Not Updating: When a customer replies to a ticket, the status does not change to Reopened. Instead, it remains in Waiting on Customer, even after the customer’s response

      • Round robin

        Hi, I'm trying to set up a round robin to automatically distribute tickets between agents in my team but only those tickets that are not otherwise distributed by other workflows or direct assignments. Is that possible and if so which criteria should I

      • Time Entry Notifications

        Hi All - I have support staff who place notes of their work in the time entry section of Zoho Desk. Is there a specific workflow or setting I need to enable to have the ticket holder updated via email when an entry is saved?

      • Change text in help desk

        Hi, Please let me know how can i change the this text, see screenshot.

      • Next Page