Create custom widgets for a simplified end-user experience | Community | Zoho Projects

Create custom widgets for a simplified end-user experience | Community | Zoho Projects

Discover the benefits of using widgets!

We explored the significance of widgets, prerequisites, and the availability of JS SDK methods as part of our previous post. In this post, let's go over a detailed example of using widgets along with certain Zoho Projects JS SDK methods.

Use case: A developer is working on a Zoho Projects task and wants to know if there are any existing references that could be used to get a head start on their work.

Goal: Our goal here is to simplify the developer's job by presenting them with articles that are relevant to the task at hand.

Solution: Widgets! To achieve this goal, it would be ideal for the developer to have access to relevant Zoho Desk articles from a tab on the Task Details page. This can be accomplished by developing a custom widget.

Required components:
  1. A connection between Zoho Projects and Zoho Desk.
  2. An extension configuration process that includes:
A. Creating an extension
B. Configuring the plugin manifest
C. Setting up the widget code to display the Zoho Desk articles on the Zoho Projects Task Details tab
We have already explored the steps to establish a connection, create an extension, and configure the plugin-manifest.json file as part of our earlier posts. You can refer to those resources for detailed guidance. In this case, we have already completed most of these steps (screenshots below).

1. Connection

We have created a connection to establish a secure integration between Zoho Projects and Zoho Desk.



2. Extension Configuration
A. Extension creation: We have created a new extension for Zoho Projects.



B. Plugin-manifest.json configuration: Once the extension is created, we next configure the plugin-manifest.json file to include the created connection and a widget.
For our extension use case, the plugin-manifest.json file is configured as shown in the below screenshot.



C. Setting up the widget code:
Now that we have the connection established, the extension created, and the plugin-manifest.json configured, let's go ahead and set up the custom widget code to achieve our goal.

Index.html - Widget code

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<title>App Default Screen</title>
<style>
div.a {
line-height: 200%;
}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<div class="a">
<ul id="demo" style="font-size:20px"> <b>Article Details</b></ul>
</div>
</body>
<script>
var subject = "";
Util = {};
zohoprojects.init().then(function() {
//Fetching the task subject using the Zoho Projects JS SDK method
zohoprojects.get("task.name").then(function(response) {
subject = response.data;
var articledetails = {
type: "GET",
headers: {
"orgId": "xxxxxxx",
"Content-Type": "application/json"
}
};
//Using the request JS SDK method to invoke and get the Desk articles matching the task subject 
using the connection
zohoprojects.request(url, articledetails, "zohodeskforlistingarticles").then(function(response) {
var list = document.getElementById('demo');
var a = document.createElement("a");
var result = response.result;
var data = result.data;
//Looping through the articles
for (i = 0; i < data.length; i++) {
var title = data[i].title;
var author = data[i].author;
var authorname = author.name;
var weburl = data[i].webUrl;
var entry = document.createElement('li');
entry.innerHTML = title.link(weburl) + " by " + authorname;
list.appendChild(entry);
}
});
});
});
</script>
</html>
  • Here, we utilized the Zoho Projects JS SDK method to extract the task name, which is the task subject.
  • We then used the Zoho Projects Request method to invoke the Zoho Desk API to search for articles.
  • The Request method is used to make requests to third-party applications. It must be invoked with the belowparameters:
  • Third-party API URL: This is the URL of the third-party application's API that needs to be invoked. In our case, we need to fetch articles from Zoho Desk based on a search value, so we used the Zoho Desk Articles Search API. We've included a search query parameter in the API as the title of the help article (wildcard search), and we've set the value of the search query parameter (title) as the task's subject. As a result, the API will look for any Zoho Desk help articles that satisfy a wildcard match with the task subject.
  • Data object: Depending on the type of action being performed, each API requires a method type, body, header, and/or parameters to be invoked. To invoke the third-party application API, a data object with the necessary API details must be created. In our scenario, a header providing the Zoho Desk org ID is required to call the Zoho Desk article search API, which we have hardcoded.
  • Connection: To work on the data of a third-party application safely, we would need to connect to that application. The link name of the connection created for the third-party application is the value of the connection parameter. This value will be available in the JSON code generated when the third-party application connection is established. This connection allows you to invoke the Zoho Desk API securely.
  • Once the API is invoked by providing the necessary parameters for the Request method, the response for the invoked Zoho Desk search articles API is returned. We extract the information we require from the response, like the title, author name, and web URL. We then list and display this data in the Zoho Projects task details widget, Related Articles.
Sample output
  • Access your Zoho Projects portal and enter into a task.

  • Choose the Related Articles task tab, which is the widget we created.

  • The widget displays the available Zoho Desk articles that are related to the task at hand.

  • Finally, click on an article to view its detailed information in Zoho Desk.


Using this method, developers working on Zoho Projects tasks can discover relevant articles and get helpful information to troubleshoot problems.

You can further enhance this use case by including a text box in the widget that allows the developer to enter a keyword and search for related articles using the Zoho Desk search articles API.

You can also accomplish use cases such as creating a task tab widget to associate data with a task. Every time the task loads, task-specific data can be displayed on the Task tab. To accomplish these kind of use cases, the data storage feature is available in Zoho Projects. We look forward to exploring the data storage feature,, and other use cases for custom widgets, in future posts.

We hope you found this information useful. Follow this space for further updates!

Sign up for a Zoho Developer account and start developing extensions for Zoho products using Sigma.

SEE ALSO


Next>>



        • Recent Topics

        • We are unable to process your request now. Please try again after sometime or contact support@zohoaccounts.com

          I cannot sign up and return the error of we are unable to process your request now. Please try again after sometime or contact support@zohoaccounts.com

        • Multi-currency - What's cooking ?

          Hi,       We have been doing this feature for sometime and we would like to give you some glimpses of it.  Working with Multi Currency :        Multicurrency support gives you the ability to handle business transactions in multiple currencies. You can define a base currency for your organization and add more currencies with exchange rates based on the base currency.  Setup :        From the setup page, you can manage all the currencies supported by your organization.       Currencies page        

        • Integrating Chatbot with Zoho Creator Application

          Is it possible to integrate a chatbot with a Zoho Creator application?

        • How to reduce programmatically the image uploaded by user?

          I need a function that will automatically reduce the pixel dimension to 800 x 600 pixels / 180 resolution or (approx. 1.37MB) of image uploaded by user from digital camera, for example, 2271 x 1704 pixels /180 resolution or approx. 11.1MB. After the user selected the image, the function will able to detect if pixels is above 800x600, process the photo (crop/ reduce) and resume upload. Need help...  

        • Dark mode for Zoho Creator / Zoho CRM Code editor

          Hi Team, Is there any plans for Dark mode in Zoho creator / Zoho Crm code editor and development pages in pipeline?

        • Is there a way to make a button scroll down?

          Looking to have a button on a landing page scroll down to another section on the page. Any recomendations outside of coding?

        • Collective-booking event not added to all staff calendars

          We assign two staff to certain events. When the client books this event, it adds it to one staff calendar (the 'organiser') but not the other. How can I ensure all staff assigned to a collective booking get the event in their calendar? (A side note: it

        • ZOHO Android Client

          Hi, I installed the Android app, but it had an issue, so I reinstalled it. I was able to add multiple accounts, but now when I add the next account, it just duplicates the one I already have and will not even allow me to enter the info for another account.

        • I'd like to suggest a feature enhancement for SalesIQ that would greatly improve the user experience across different channels.

          Hello Zoho Team, Current Limitation: When I enable the pre-chat form under Brands > Flow Controls to collect the visitor’s name and email, it gets applied globally across all channels, including WhatsApp, Messenger, and Instagram. This doesn't quite align

        • Enhance Barcode/QR Code scanner with bulk scanning or continuously scanning

          Dear Zoho Creator, As we all know, after each scan, the scanning frame closes. Imagine having 100 items; we would need to tap 100 times and wait roughly 1 second each time for the scanning frame to reopen on mobile web. It's not just about wasting time;

        • Non-depreciating fixed asset

          Hi! There are non-depreciable fixed assets (e.g. land). It would be very useful to be able to create a new type of fixed asset (within the fixed assets module) with a ‘No depreciation’ depreciation method. There is always the option of recording land

        • Managing Rental Sales in Zoho Inventory

          I am aware that Zoho Inventory is not yet set up to handle rental sales and invoicing. Is anyone using it for rentals anyway? I'd like to hear about how others have found work arounds to manage inventory of rental equipment, rental payments, etc. Th

        • Megamenu

          Finally! Megamenu's are now available in Zoho-Sites, after waiting for it and requesting it for years! BUT ... why am I asked to upgrade in order to use a megamenu? First: Zoho promised to always provide premium versions and options for all included Zoho-applications

        • Cannot access KB within Help Center

          Im working with my boss to customize our knowledge base, but for some reason I can see the KB tab, and see the KB categories, but I cannot access the articles within the KB. We have been troubleshooting for weeks, and we have all permissions set up, customers

        • Zoho Flow to Creator 3001 Respoonse

          I have updated my Flows with the new V2 connection to Zoho Creator, but now some Flows do not work. They take in data from a Webhook and are supposed to create a record in Creator, however creator returns a 3001 message along with a failure, but I cannot

        • File Upload to Work Drive While Adding Records in Zoho Creator Application

          Hi I am trying to set a file attachment field in zoho creator form, to enable the user to upload a scanned document from their local pc. The file should be uploaded to zoho workdrive and not to the default zoho creator storage. The file link should be

        • Why not possible to generate?

          Using this https://desk.zoho.com/DeskAPIDocument#TicketCount#TicketCount_Getticketcountbyfield on my ZML script url :"https://desk.zoho.com/api/v1/ticketsCountByFieldValues?departmentId=XXXXXXXXXXX&accountId!=XXXXXXXXX&customField1=cf_country_1:XXXXXX&field=overDue"

        • email

          Hi My crm email is not working, can you check, I have zoho one account.

        • Need option to see Mass Emails & Cadences in Gmail Outbox OR a dedicated Zoho Outbox

          Hi everyone, Right now, when we send 1:1 emails from gmail (with gmail API connected to Zoho CRM), those emails appear both in gmail's sent folder and in Zoho CRM. That works well. But when we send Mass Emails or Cadence emails form Zoho CRM, they are

        • I can't found API for Sales Receipts

          Hello May you please help me to find an API document for Sales Receipts to get data and retrive a custom fields like Invoice and credit notes Regards

        • Kaizen #205 - Answering Your Questions | Managing Picklists and Enabling History Tracking via Zoho CRM APIs

          Hello everyone! Welcome back to another post in our Kaizen series. In this post, we will look at how you can manage picklist fields in Zoho CRM using APIs. This topic was raised as feedback to Kaizen #200, so we are taking it up here with more details.

        • Multiple Vendor SKUs

          One of the big concerns we have with ZOHO Inventory is lack of Vendor Skus like many other inventory software packages offer. Being able to have multiple vendor skus for the same product would be HUGE! It would populate the appropriate vendor Sku for

        • Internally created tickets

          Hi there When tickets are created internally on-behalf of customers - there is nothing to show that the ticket was created by an internal agent. This means, that it's easy for our agents to confuse tickets which were created by internal team members and

        • Automatically change website passwords

          Hi everyone, We just switched to a Professional package to also use the "Automatically change website passwords" function. But I cannot find anything about it, how to use it, anywhere. Does anyone know how I can use this function? Best, Caspar

        • Change Invoice Prices for an Effective Date

          Hi, It would be a really good feature to be able to change the prices on invoices/recurring invoices from an effective date in the event of price increases. For instance, I am in the process of increasing prices that will be effective from a specific

        • "Other Current Asset" accounts as "Paid Through" accounts in Expense

          It would be incredibly useful to be able to assign accounts of type Other Current Asset as Paid Through accounts in Expense. Currently, Other Current Liability are permitted as Paid Through Accounts. This makes sense, as Credit Cards are current liabilities.

        • Multi column open text questions that allows respondents to add rows for additional information

          I need to create a question that has 2 columns with open text, but I also need to allow respondents to click a "+" button, or something similar, so that they can add additional information if they choose to. I've tried using the Multiple Textboxes type

        • Bot Filtering & Apple Mail Privacy Protection Compliance in Zoho Campaigns

          Dear Campaigns Users, The wait is over! We’re excited to announce that the enhanced bot filtering feature is now live in Zoho Campaigns. This update brings greater accuracy to your email campaign reports by distinguishing real user engagement from automated

        • Découvrons les détails qui simplifient vos journées de travail avec Trident

          Nous nous installons dans des routines efficaces et rodées avec le temps. Chaque matin, nous ouvrons nos e-mails, passons aux messages, consultons notre agenda, puis attaquons nos tâches. Ce processus nous semble maîtrisé, mais est-il réellement optimisé

        • Issue with Purchase Rate Showing as “0” After Importing Items List

          Dear Zoho Books Support Team, Good day. I’m reaching out regarding an issue I’m facing while importing my items list into Zoho Books. Despite mapping all fields correctly and including the purchase price for each product in my Excel file, the Purchase

        • API for Task Entity in Zoho Books

          I’m working on automating task creation in Zoho Books via a custom button in the Bills Module. The goal is to create a task in the Tasks Module and assign it to the Finance Team, so they can track progress efficiently. While reviewing Zoho Books documentation,

        • create invoice in zoho books from the zoho forms

          Is there a native way to have create invoice in zoho books, when zoho form is completed?

        • Email undelivered

          GOod Day I am always receiving an uncategorized-bounce to my email. I am not sure why this is happening.

        • Add inventory_valuation_method to items endpooints

          To ensure consistent item creation it would be helpful to have the inventory_valuation_method (FIFO vs WAC) be able to be set at item creation or as an update (consistent with current behavior where it is not allowed for items with existing transactions)

        • Use Zoho to send sales receipts for Gocardless transactions

          I've been using gocardless for years and have d/d mandates set up on there. Each week we get bulk payments from customer d/d's. However, we need to send sales receipts to these customers. So I know I can sync mandates into Zoho, and then I can set up

        • Zoho - Gocardless sales receipts

          I've been using gocardless for years and have d/d mandates set up on there. Each week we get bulk payments from customer d/d's. However, we need to send sales receipts to these customers. So I know I can sync mandates into Zoho, and then I can set up

        • Introducing Rollup summary in Zoho CRM

          ------------------------------------------Moderated on 5th July'23---------------------------------------------- Rollup summary is now available for all organizations in all the DCs. Hello All, We hope you're well! We're here with an exciting update that

        • Introducing Connected Workflows in Zoho CRM for Everyone : Free Your Teams to Focus on What Matters

          Hello Everyone, We’re thrilled to introduce the next big evolution in Zoho CRM for Everyone -- Connected Workflows. This new feature builds on our commitment to deliver a CRM that’s truly inclusive, adaptable, and designed for consistent collaboration

        • Introducing Connected Records to bring business context to every aspect of your work in Zoho CRM for Everyone

          Hello Everyone, We are excited to unveil phase one of a powerful enhancement to CRM for Everyone - Connected Records, available only in CRM's Nextgen UI. With CRM for Everyone, businesses can onboard all customer-facing teams onto the CRM platform to

        • Cooling-off Period Just Got Better: More Coverage, More Control

          We’ve enhanced the Cooling-off Period feature in Zoho Recruit to give you more control over repeat applications and referrals. This helps you maintain a cleaner, more efficient recruitment pipeline. With this enhancement, you can: Prevent duplicate candidate

        • Next Page