Deluge in Zoho Services #4: Zoho Sheet

Deluge in Zoho Services #4: Zoho Sheet

Hello everyone,

Greetings from Deluge! It's been a while since we connected, but now we're back in action, continuing our series of posts on Zoho services that support Deluge. We hope you found the previous post in this series useful. In today's post, let's explore the ways in which you can use Deluge to achieve more with Zoho Sheet.

Custom functions is the Zoho Sheet feature that uses Deluge. These functions are written using the Deluge scripting language to manipulate data more effectively, communicate with third-party applications, and fetch/update values based on your requirements. Custom functions enable you to program your own functions and add different types of business logic. Apart from creating and running custom functions using Deluge, Zoho Sheet also allows bringing in data from other Zoho or third-party services using connections. Integrating with other services requires you to create a connection, thereby ensuring data transfer between the connected services. 

Many organizations have their own business logic that requires personalized functions. For example:
  • Let's say you've maintained inventory stock details in the Item Details report inside your Zoho Books account. As prices keep fluctuating everyday, it could become frustrating and tedious to individually edit and update each record in your report. To resolve this, you can maintain the required data in your Zoho Sheet. You can achieve data synchronization between both the services by configuring a custom function that performs the following actions via API calls.
    • Pulls the required data from the Item Details report in your Books account and populates the same in your sheet.
    • Pushes data to the Item Details report in Books as and when data is created/edited in your sheet.
      This way the data in your Books report will be automatically updated each time you add new data to your sheet.  
  • Let's say you've collected and stored the feedback comments of your customers in your sheet. You need to analyze the sentiments of these comments, categorize them as — Positive, Negative, and Neutral and submit the final sheet to the appropriate authority. To achieve this, you can create a custom function using zoho.ai.analyseSentiment task. The function checks a comment, analyzes its emotion and returns the detected emotion along with its probability percentage.

Example

Let's say you own a business named Zylker Corp. Your business has clinched a good number of sales-ready deals in the current year. But handling a large number of deals every day makes it difficult to determine which ones to focus on.

You're in charge of tracking and maintaining these deals, and you need to fetch all of them, along with their relevant details, such as Deal Name, Amount, and Closing Date for a certain period, and then populate that data inside your sheet.

This data is useful in generating real revenue for your business. However, this is time-consuming if done manually, and can also lead to errors. To overcome this, Deluge can be used to create custom functions that can actually pull data from your Deals module inside Zoho CRM.

Note: To use custom functions that require fetching data from other services (in this case, we're fetching data from Zoho CRM and populating them in Zoho Sheet), the ow​​​​ner of the spreadsheet must hold an account in Zoho CRM.

These custom functions are similar to the macros in an Excel sheet. A macro is an action or set of actions that you can run as many times as you want. If you have tasks in Microsoft Excel that you repeatedly perform, you can create a macro to automate those tasks. 

Similarly, you can create a custom function by specifying set criteria and running it repeatedly whenever required. In other words, you can automate repetitive tasks using custom functions to save time and manual effort. 

How it works



Steps to create a custom function

1. Create connection 

  1. Navigate to Tools > Custom Functions and click Manage Connections.
  2. Click Create Connection. Select the Default Services tab under Pick Your Service.
  3. Select the Zoho OAuth service from the list of services. 
  4. Enter a suitable Connection Name. Here, we named it crm_oauth_connection. The Connection Link Name will be auto-filled accordingly.
  5. Choose scopes ZohoCRM.coql.READ and ZohoCRM.modules.deals.ALL.
    Note:
    • This connection is used to authorize Zoho CRM to fetch records from all its modules through a COQL query.
    • We're using the COQL API here, since selecting a date range in  the function's criteria isn't supported in the Get Records API.
    • Refer to the API page to learn how to get records through a COQL query.
  6. Click Create and Connect. You'll be redirected to the service authentication page.
  7. Click Connect, then click Accept to allow DRE to access data in your Zoho account. The required connection is now created.
  8. The CONNECTION SUMMARY page will display your connection details.

2. Create custom function

  1. Navigate to Tools > Custom Functions and click Create Custom Function.
  2. Enter a valid function name.
  3. Select the data type of the return value for the specific function to be created from the Result Type dropdown. Here, you need to choose list as the return data type, since we need the output to be displayed as a list of values (vertically).
  4. You can also add the required arguments and their types for the function in the Create Custom Function popup. Here, you must add the following arguments—StartDate and EndDate—with their data types as date. This is because we're going to fetch the deal details between the specified start and end dates.

  5. Click Create and your custom function will be created.

3. Script using Deluge

  1. Navigate to Tools > Custom functions > View Deluge Editor.
  2. Select the added custom function (DEALS_BETWEEN), write the following script in the editor, and click Save.
  1. //List is the return data type. StartDate and EndDate are the parameters, whose values will, in turn, be supplied as params while making the CRM API call.
  2. list DEALS_BETWEEN(date StartDate, date EndDate)
  3. {
  4. //Use toString to convert the input dates to accepted date formats in Sheet.
  5. start_date = StartDate.toString("yyyy-MM-dd");
  6. end_date = EndDate.toString("yyyy-MM-dd");
  7. //Construct a map with the required deal details in the defined map variable using a select query. The deal details include field names from the Deals module in CRM.
  8. query_map = Map();
  9. query_map.put("select_query","select Deal_Name, Amount, Closing_Date from Deals where Closing_Date between '" + start_date + "' and '" + end_date + "'");
  10. //Invoke the Zoho CRM API to fetch the records from the Deals module through a COQL query. The connection you created earlier will be used here.
  11. response = invokeurl
  12. [
  13. url: "https://www.zohoapis.com/crm/v3/coql"
  14.  type: POST
  15. parameters:query_map.toString()
  16. connection:"crm_oauth_connection"
  17. ];
  18. //resultList is the variable to declare a list.
  19. resultList = List();
  20. response_data = response.get("data");
  21. //The below "for" statement parses the records inside the Deals module and fetches the specified details
  22. for each record in response_data
  23. {
  24. resultMap = Map();
  25. resultMap.put("Deal Name",record.get("Deal_Name"));
  26. resultMap.put("Amount",record.get("Amount"));
  27. resultMap.put("Closing Date",record.get("Closing_Date"));
  28. resultList.add(resultMap);
  29. }
  30. //Returns the response in the format expected by Zoho Sheet.
  31. return resultList;
  32. }
Note: 
  • In the above script, Deal_Name, Amount, and Closing_Date are API names of fields in the Zoho CRM Deals module.
  • You can test your custom function by clicking Run and entering sample values.
If you want to get the required API names for other CRM fields:
Log in to your CRM account.
Navigate to Settings > APIs (under Developer Space) > CRM API > API names.
Click the Deals module. The API names page will list the API names of all the fields in the Deals module. 
You can then use the required API names in your script.

4. Execute function

Enter the function in the below format. Your sheet will be populated with the deal details (Deal Name, Amount, and Closing Date) between the specified time period.

Input format:

=DEALS_BETWEEN("2022-01-01";"2022-11-11")

where,

DEALS_BETWEEN
name of your custom function
2022-01-01 
start_date value
2022-11-11
end_date value

You can refer to help page to learn in-depth about how to achieve the above custom functions using Deluge in Zoho Sheets. 
We hope you found this post useful—we'll be exploring Deluge in Zoho Connect in our next post. Please let us know if you have any questions, feedback, or suggestions in the comments, or write to us at support@zohodeluge.com.

Thank you!

You can also check out our preview posts in this series!




        • Recent Topics

        • Zoho Forms - Improve the CRM integration field to query data from more than one module

          Hi Forms team, Something I get stuck on regularly is pre-populating a form with data when that data is spread across 2 or 3 modules. For example Contacts, Accounts and Deals. I don't want to duplicate the information in CRM so I end up writing a function

        • desbloquear cuenta

          Buenos dias  Cordial saludo Tengo una cuenta libre en zoho mail asociado a un dominio, pero uno de los usuarios se bloquea el correo porque dice que ha excedido el límite de correo, por favor podrian desbloquearla y como hago para que esta persona debe enviar sus correos sin ningun probleama. Gracias de antemano

        • Reupload and rename from one field to another field (file upload)

          Hi Everyone, Sorry, i have question to use invoke url for rename and reupload attachments file to another field. Tested on development mode. Zoho C6. Refer to https://www.zoho.com/creator/help/api/v2/upload-file.html look my error notification. Does anyone

        • Not Receiving Incoming Mail

          I can send emails from my account but I do not receive any. I originally set up forwarding and it worked for a while and then stopped. I turned off forwarding and now do not receive any emails. Could you please check what is causing this issue? Thank you

        • Will zoho thrive be integrated with Zoho Books?

          title

        • BARCODE PICKLIST

          Hello! Does anyone know how the Picklist module works? I tried scanning the barcode using the UPC and EAN codes I added to the item, but it doesn’t work. Which barcode format does this module use for scanning?

        • Stock count by bin location

          Is there a configuration to make a stock count by bin or area and not by product. these is useful to manage count by area Regards

        • Making preview pane "stick"

          Hello, Is it possible to fix/dock the preview pane so that it's always there? The modern monitors are all very wide so there's plenty of space horizontally. Having the preview pane disappearing and appearing again when you click on an email message in

        • Introducing Multi-Asset Support in Work Orders, Estimates, and Service Appointments

          We’re excited to announce a highly requested enhancement in Zoho FSM — you can now associate multiple assets with Work Orders, Estimates, and Service Appointments. This update brings more clarity, flexibility, and control to your field service operations,

        • Reason:554 5.1.8 Email Outgoing Blocked

          I have been struggling to set up my email address for some time now; it's difficult to locate what I need. Additionally, I cannot send or receive any emails. I keep receiving the "Reason: 554 5.1.8 Email Outgoing Blocked" error. There doesn't seem to

        • Trouble Connecting Zoho Mail via IMAP in n8n – Need Help

          Hi everyone 👋, I'm trying to connect my Zoho Mail account to n8n using the IMAP Email Trigger node, but I'm facing issues getting it to work fully. ✅ Here's what I’ve done so far: ✅ IMAP access is enabled in my Zoho Mail settings ✅ I’m using the correct

        • Unable to send message; Reason:554 5.1.8 Email Outgoing Blocked

          Hi, I sent few emails and got this: Unable to send message; Reason:554 5.1.8 Email Outgoing Blocked And now I have few days since I cant send any email. Is there something wrong I did? Also can someone fix this please

        • Changes to the send mail Deluge task in Zoho CRM

          Hello everyone, At Zoho, we continuously enhance our security measures to ensure a safer experience for all users. As part of our ongoing security enhancements, we're making an important update on using the send mail Deluge task in Zoho CRM. What's changing?

        • Page Rules in Forms

          🚀 Dynamic Page Navigation Implementation I successfully implemented dynamic page navigation based on a user's radio button selection. The goal was to direct users to a specific, corresponding page while ensuring they only interact with the flow determined

        • Unusual activity detected from this IP. Please try again after some time

          When i try to create new addresses on my account i am getting this error, it has been 24 hours now and i am still getting this error can anyone help

        • Cancellation of written-off invoice

          Hi, Can I know when we cancel the write off (write back), in which FY, the reversal is recorded. It doesn't ask as to when the write off should be cancelled to reflect!. It shouldn't reflect in the year in which the invoice was written off since the Year

        • Create Invoice automated with Package

          Does anyone knows how to create an invoice from a SO when we have created the package? We do these manually. and validate that the product packed is the product invoiced (if the order is partially packed) Regards, JS

        • I want to create a mailing list, NOT a group.

          Can I create a mailing list in Zoho mail? I just want to be able to make a list of email addresses and give the list a name. Then when I type the list name, the list of email addresses will be automatically listed. When I create a group it sends an email

        • how to download all my files

          We are in the middle of zoho docs to zoho workdrive migration. I can not access my zoho docs page. I get redirected immediately to a zoho workdrive page. I would like to download all my files so that I have a backup in case something goes wrong with the

        • Read webpage - MSXML2.ServerXMLHTTP

          I have the following VBA script, put together from various sources (mainly zoho forum/help/support, so it once worked, I guess): private Sub GetListOfSheets() Dim url As String Dim xmlhttp As Object Dim parameters As String Dim html As String range("B1").value

        • Export Invoices to XML file

          Namaste! ZOHO suite of Apps is awesome and we as Partner, would like to use and implement the app´s from the Financial suite like ZOHO Invoice, but, in Portugal, we can only use certified Invoice Software and for this reason, we need to develop/customize on top of ZOHO Invoice to create an XML file with specific information and after this, go to the government and certified the software. As soon as we have for example, ZOHO CRM integrated with ZOHO Invoice up and running, our business opportunities

        • no me llegan los correos a Zoho mail

          No puedo recibir correos pero sí enviarlos, ya hice la modificación de MX y la verificación de teléfonos, qué es lo que ocurre? gracias

        • Group Calendar as Default for adding new events, etc?

          Hi, I want to make the group calendar (that I created, if that makes a difference) the default for anything new I add to the calendar. How can I do that? thanks.

        • Bookmark Loading is Buffering

          Hi, i clicked on the bookmark tab, around yesterday and since then it's been constantly buffering and doesn't allow me to access the mail's i have tried login in and out but of no help also trying to share a screenshot of the issue around 232 kb size,

        • Zoho Webinar custom registration fields into Zoho CRM

          I am pushing webinar registrations into zoho crm as leads and this is working fine. I have added a few custom fields to my webinar registration and I wish for these fields values to get mapped into the resulting CRM lead record. I am not seeing anywhere

        • How to restrict user/portal user change canvas view

          Hi , I would like to restrict user / portal user change their canvas view because I hide some sensitive field for them. I dont want my user switch the canvas view that do not belong to them But seems Zoho do not provide this setting?

        • GitLab Extension for Zoho Desk: Connecting support and development for faster resolutions

          Hello everyone! We’re excited to introduce the GitLab Extension for Zoho Desk, an integration that bridges the gap between support and development teams. This allows tickets to be converted into actionable GitLab issues for faster resolutions, better

        • Download Google Drive Shared Image/File Using Deluge – Complete Guide

          Download Google Drive Shared Image/File Using Deluge – Complete Guide When working with Google Drive share links inside Deluge, many developers face a common challenge: 👉 How can we download a Google Drive file directly using Deluge? This article explains

        • How to update Acuity appointment fields from Zoho Flow?

          Hi, I need help with Zoho Flow → Acuity Scheduling integration. What I’m doing Appointment created in Acuity Zoho Flow creates a Zoho Calendar event I want to send the Zoho Calendar Event UID back into Acuity (into a custom form field) This is so that

        • When will Zoho Learn be able to support SCORM files on the mobile app?

          When I click the SCORM content, I just get a message saying it's not possible yet. Yet implies that it will be coming soon. All I'm asking for is a realistic timeline so I know whether or not to invest my time in using it. If it will be soon, then I will

        • No horizontal scroll bar in reports

          Hi support team, I created a pivot table report which contains many columns (in my application about 15). The problem is that there is no bottom scroll bar to display colums that does not fit within the browser page. I saw that it was possible to resize colums, but colums sizes are not saved within the session. So could you add scroll bar, and eventually make colums sizes stored in the user session ? Best regards,

        • Zoho Map integration tasks have changed - you need to "Locate all instances of Zoho Map integration tasks in your Deluge scripts by searching for the v1 marker... before 16 January 2026"

          Details of an issue specific to Zoho CRM + Deluge Functions (originally posted in this forum) can be found here: https://help.zoho.com/portal/en/community/topic/zoho-map-integration-tasks-have-changed-you-need-to-locate-all-instances-of-zoho-map-integration-tasks-in-your-deluge-scripts-by-searching-for-the-v1-marker

        • filter broke my data

          I uploaded a file recently from Sheets and it has top 2 rows frozen, with table headers in second row and each one is filterable. somehow my first 2 columns became unfiltered and no matter what I do I cannot reapply the filter?? also didn't realize they

        • Request to remove domain "greentechcoatings.vn" from previous Zoho account

          Hello Zoho Support, I would like to register the domain "greentechcoatings.vn" in my new Zoho Mail account, but I receive the message "This domain is already associated with another account". Please remove the domain from any previous/unknown account

        • Trigger actions in third-party apps using Zoho Flow

          Greetings, I hope you're all doing well. We're excited to share an enhancement to Bigin's workflow capabilities. Zoho Flow Actions are now available in Bigin, enabling you to automate tasks across third-party applications directly from your workflow and

        • Enroll, Script, Win: Hackathon 2025!

          Hello CRM Developers! Are you ready to create some magic with Client Script, Widgets and Functions in Zoho CRM? Let’s make Hackathon 2025 an unforgettable adventure! The Zoho Developer Community Hackathon 2025 is here, and it’s your time to shine! REGISTER

        • Zoho Help Desk - Not receiving emails

          Hello… I am on your trial version of help desk… and I am having trouble getting emails from Zoho Help Desk to my MS Outlook Exchange Server… So when a customer sends ticket request I am not getting an email with a notification? I have read your articles

        • Almost all Flows are being queued

          A few days ago I saw one of my Flows status was Queued. This was the first time this had ever happened. Now, almost every Flow that triggers is Queued for at least a few minutes. If I re-trigger the Flow (which causes separate problems) they sometimes

        • Employment Contract / HRMS Documents - Zoho People

          How do I create customized HR documents for disbursal from Zoho People ? Example, say offer letters ? appointment letters ? Memos ? We want to be able to preset these in one or ther other form and issue them to employees who are in Zoho People.

        • Send Zoho Forms Link using Zoho CRM Email Templates

          I have set up Zoho Forms and CRM integration to pre-populate data from Zoho CRM to Zoho Forms. The setup is working fine. I have also created an email template in the Zoho CRM deals module to send Zoho forms links. So when I send an email using that template

        • Next Page