Deluge in Zoho services #5: Zoho Connect

Deluge in Zoho services #5: Zoho Connect

Hello everyone,

Greetings from Deluge! Whoosh 🌬️ That's how quickly the first two months of 2023 came to an end, and now we're in full speed ahead! We hope you found the previous post in this series useful and are now back with our latest post.

Basically, ‌Zoho Connect is a team collaboration application that allows you to keep your workplace communication organized by building a thriving workplace culture for internal communications, employee engagement, and cross-team collaboration. As you all know, Deluge, our very own scripting language enables users to add logic to their applications/services, thereby making them more powerful and robust. Let us now explore the ways in which you can use Deluge to achieve more with Zoho Connect and stay powerfully connected!

In addition to supporting connections that enable you to log in to any Zoho or third-party service and access your data stored in those services, Zoho Connect supports Deluge in the following seven areas:

1. Incoming webhooks

In general, webhooks are used to trigger an action in one application using real-time events from an external service. Here, webhooks allow you to integrate Zoho Connect with other external services. They are of two types - Incoming webhooks and Outgoing webhooks (explained in the next heading).

Incoming webhooks are used to trigger an action inside Zoho Connect using real-time events from other Zoho products or third-party services. You can use incoming webhooks to post messages in Zoho Connect so that you can stay updated on activities in other applications without leaving Connect.Using Deluge, you can write custom logic that will be triggered upon an event in another application. For example, you can post messages in the Job Openings Connect group using these webhooks whenever a new opening is added to your portal. 

Note: Incoming Webhooks are available only at the Group level inside your Connect account.

Example

Let's assume that you had conducted a live workshop for your organization. Now, you've built a Feedback Form using Zoho Forms and emailed the form to your attendees. When an attendee fills in their details in the form and clicks submit, an incoming webhook will be triggered and the attendee's feedback will be added as a post inside the Feedback Group in Zoho Connect. Additionally, you can also present the feedback post in a presentable manner by using the advanced formatting options available for incoming webhooks.

See how it works



Note: Refer to the help page to learn how to achieve this automation.

2. Workflows

Workflows allow you to create a set of rules for Zoho Connect modules such as Profile, Feed, Events, Tasks, Polls, and Announcements, based on which the defined actions would be performed in a repetitive manner. These workflow rules can automate the specified actions like assigning tasks, creating events, and so on, whenever a rule is triggered. You (admin) can associate Deluge functions with the configured workflows and specify where (Network/Group) and in which instances that rule should be triggered. You can also set one or more conditions based on which the specified actions will be executed.

Example

Currently, in Connect, we can enable the Moderation option to allow group admins (moderators) to approve all posts and comments made in the group before they are made visible to everyone. To automate this process, we can use the Deluge AI tasks - analyze sentiment and keyword extraction that check the Connect posts for sentiments and extract the keywords that deem it unsuitable to be shared with a wider audience. For example, you have created a Zylker Writers Club group in Connect that allows its members to post their write-ups on a monthly basis. A workflow can be configured to check the live posts for their content. You can write a custom function for the workflow using Deluge to send a mail to the group admin asking them to review the posted content if the posts contain sensitive/hurtful content. Additionally, you can also configure the same function to create a task to be assigned to yourself (admin) with priority set as "high" and status as "to be reviewed". If the posts do not contain any sensitive content, an email can be sent to the group admin notifying them that posts have been made live in their group.

See how it works



Note: Refer to the help page to learn how to achieve this automation.

Custom Menu

Custom menus in Zoho Connect let you add customized menus to entities such as group conversations, tasks, and events, in addition to the default menus—Follow, Print, Bookmark, and Copy post URL that are already available. These custom menus can be configured to perform the required actions and solve requirement-specific use cases. You can write a Deluge custom function and define how the menu should work. These custom menus can then be shared with a set of users or groups.

Example

Let's assume you've created a Connect group named Zylker Feedback where you've configured the feedback collected from forms to be posted in this group. Now, let's assume you want to create a support ticket in Zoho Desk for the Connect feedbacks that are actionable. You can configure a custom menu named Create support ticket by defining a Deluge custom function for each of the required handlers and publishing the custom menu. When you access the respective group, you can click the ellipsis (three-dots) icon beside a post and the custom menu will be listed under the More option. You can click the menu, enter the required details and the ticket will be created successfully in Desk. This way, you can automate the process of ticket creation and ensure a quicker response to your customers.

See how it works



Note: Refer to the help page to learn how to achieve this automation.

4. Outgoing webhooks

An outgoing webhook enables you to trigger real-time updates from Zoho Connect to other Zoho products or third-party services. For example, you can send the details of posts or events in Connect to external services using these webhooks. This data transfer takes place via an authenticated API URL (webhook URL). You can also choose the required action to be performed when the trigger activity occurs i.e., either push information to a URL or perform an action defined in the Deluge custom function. For example, you can define a custom function to notify users in Zoho Cliq when an event is created or sync your data in Connect with third-party services like Trello.

5. Function APIs

While integrating two services using APIs, the structure of requests from one service must match the requirements of the other service. For example, to integrate Zoho Connect with SmartTask or any other task management application, the request and response structure of the Zoho Connect Create Task API must be followed.

However, the request and response structure of one service might not always meet the requirements of the other service. Function APIs include handlers that let you format the request and response structure of an API to match the requirements of a specific service. You can write a Deluge custom function to define how the request needs to be handled or customized by these handlers. Depending on the type of request made, the relevant handler will be triggered.

6. Scheduler

Schedulers in Zoho Connect enable you to automate your routine tasks without any user input. You can configure your schedulers to repeat at certain intervals — such as everyday, weekly or every month and thereby save manual time and labor.

7. User sync

Most organizations use enterprise directory systems (such as Active Directory or LDAP) to maintain employee information. For larger organizations, it can be difficult to manually add and manage users in the network. Zoho Connect's User Sync option simplifies these processes by enabling you to add, update, and disable user profiles in bulk using a .CSV file.

Handlers in User Sync enable you to perform customized actions on the input data. You can define the necessary action by writing a Deluge custom function in these handlers.

Currently, the User Sync option has two handlers: Function Handler and Post-Function Handler.
  • Function Handler: Define the action to be executed before syncing the user details with the Zoho Connect network. Ideally, this handler is triggered once a CSV file is uploaded. You can use this handler to make changes to the data in the CSV file. For example, you can write a function to change the email domain based on the location or reorder the first name and last name to align with local usage.
  • Post-Function Handler: Define the action to be executed after syncing the user details with the Zoho Connect network. You can use this handler to notify the admin that the user details are synced or send a welcome email to the newly added members.
You can refer to this help page to view more examples and sample scripts.
That’s it for now! We hope you found this post useful—we'll be exploring Deluge in Zoho Bug Tracker 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.

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




        • Recent Topics

        • Zoho Assist not rendering NinjaTrader chart properly

          Hi everyone. Just installed and testing Zoho Assist. I want to display my laptop' screen (Windows 11) on a monitor connected to my Mac mini. The laptop is running a stock trading program called NinjaTrader. Basically, when running, this program displays

        • Involved account types are not applicable when create journals

          { "journal_date": "2016-01-31", "reference_number": "20160131", "notes": "SimplePay Payroll", "line_items": [{ "account_id": "538624000000035003", "description": "Net Pay", "amount": 26690.09, "debit_or_credit": "credit" }, { "account_id": "538624000000000403", "description": "Gross", "amount": 32000, "debit_or_credit": "debit" }, { "account_id": "538624000000000427", "description": "CPP", "amount": 1295.64, "debit_or_credit": "debit" }, { "account_id": "538624000000000376", "description":

        • Adding Social Media Buttons to Basic Campaigns

          Hi, I'm quote new to using Zoho Campaigns and I can't work out how to add Social Media Buttons into my basic campaign? In MailChimp there's a button that brings the icons into your campaign for you. I've tried adding the social media icons as 'buttons' in Zoho but it's not looking great. Can anyone help? Thanks!

        • Dropshipping Address - Does Not Show on Invoice Correctly

          When a dropshipping address is used for a customer, the correct ship-to address does not seem to show on the Invoice. It shows correctly on the Sales Order, Shipment Order, and Package, just not the Invoice. This is a problem, because the company being

        • Best way to schedule bill payments to vendors

          I've integrated Forte so that I can convert POs to bills and make payments to my vendors all through Books. Is there a way to schedule the bill payments as some of my vendors are net 30, net 60 and even net 90 days. If I can't get this to work, I'll have

        • Link(s) between Notes

          Hello Everyone, It would be great if links could be created between notes. Let's say we have 5 Notes A, B, C , D, E. I would like to be able to link Note A to Note B but not in other way, so no link appears in Note B linking to Note A. An so on, linking

        • Regex in Zoho Mail custom filters is not supported - but it works!

          I recently asked Zoho for help using regex in Zoho Mail custom filters and was told it was NOT supported. This was surprising (and frustrating) as regex in Zoho Mail certainly works, although it does have some quirks* To encourage others, here are 3 regex

        • Feature Request: Assign Documents to Already Entered Bills, Expenses, Invoices, etc.

          Hi Zoho Team, We are regular users of the Documents module in Zoho Books and appreciate its ability to keep financial records well-organized. However, we’ve noticed a limitation: There is no way to attach a document from the "Documents > Files" section

        • I don't see any WITHDRAWL transaction at all

          Hi I manually imported my bank statement to Zoho books today and I am a complete newbie. I have been reading the knowledgebase but unable to fix this. I only see "Uncategorized 91 DEPOSIT transactions". I don't see any WITHDRAWL transaction at all. Also,

        • Shared inbox unable to see replies

          Hi we are a small company me and someone else, we have a shared inbox for our sale@ and contact@ however we have this issue where by if i reply to an email or the other person reply to the email, it does not show it to them and therefore we end up replying

        • Zoho Books | Product updates | August 2025

          Hello users, We’ve rolled out new features and enhancements in Zoho Books. From the right sidebar where you can manage all your widgets, to integrating Zoho Payments feeds in Zoho Books, explore the updates designed to enhance your bookkeeping experience.

        • Kaizen #136 - Zoho CRM Widgets using ReactJS

          Hey there! Welcome back to yet another insightful post in our Kaizen series! In this post, let's explore how to use ReactJS for Zoho CRM widgets. We will utilize the sample widget from one of our previous posts - Geocoding Leads' Addresses in ZOHO CRM

        • 404 error at checkout

          Our customers are getting a 404 error at checkout. Anyone else with the same problem?

        • FONT Sizing in Notebook

          Hi Kishore - What is the status of adding font sizing to the application? I have several things that I have pasted directly into Notebook and the fonts are HUGE! I would like the ability to highlight them and reduce the font to a legible size. Nothing

        • Can managers Upload documents to their direct rapports?

          Admin employees have the ability to upload documents to employees' files; however, managers do not have add/manage button - is it possible for managers to upload their direct reports' documents, such as absence documents or 121 documents. Is there something

        • Leave balance display for next year

          Is there a way to not have a rollover or not limit the leave balance depending on the date. For example an employee has 10 days leave balance and wants to apply for January leave in December. They cant because the rollover doesnt show the leave balance

        • Please add an “Auto-Apply Unused Credits” toggle

          Hello — please add a simple org-level option to automatically apply unused credits (credit notes, excess payments, retainers) to new invoices and/or bills. An ON/OFF toggle with choices “invoices”, “bills”, or “both” would save lots of manual work for

        • Zoho Books not working/loading

          Hi! I haven't been able to access/load Zoho Books for the past hours. I get a time out (and it is not due to my internet connection). Could you please check this asap? Thank you!

        • Custom Fields with Data Types for Expense and Payments Received in Zoho Books

          Hi all, We are glad to present to you, the option to create Custom Fields for the Expense and Payments received modules in Zoho Books. This also comes with an icing on top of it - Yes, the custom fields can now be created with different data types. Types like Text, Number, Decimal, Amount, Auto Number and Check Box are supported as of now. Rush to the gear icon at the top right corner, select 'More Settings', choose 'Preferences' in the left pane. Click the Expense/Payment preferences where you can

        • [Webinar] Automate sales and presales workflows with Writer

          Sales involves sharing a wide range of documents with customers across the presales, sales, and post-sales stages: NDAs, quotes, invoices, sales orders, and delivery paperwork. Generating and managing these documents manually slows down the overall sales

        • Zoho Cliq - Incident alert (Server outage - IN DC) | August 28

          We've received server down alerts and are currently investigating the issue (IN DC) to find the root cause. Our team is actively working to restore normal operations at the earliest. Status: Under investigation Start time: 09:44:21 AM IST Affected location:

        • Claude + MCP Server + Zoho CRM Integration – AI-Powered Sales Automation

          Hello Zoho Community 👋 I’m excited to share a recent integration we’ve worked on at OfficehubTech: ✅ Claude + MCP Server + Zoho CRM This integration connects Zoho CRM with Claude AI through our custom MCP Server, enabling intelligent AI-driven responses

        • How can I see content of system generated mails from zBooks?

          System generated mails for offers or invices appear in the mail tab of the designated customer. How can I view the content? It also doesn't appear in zMail sent folder.

        • Limitations on editing a message in Cliq

          Hi I've checked the documentations and there's no mention of how many times a message can be edited. When trying with code, I get various numbers such as ~1000 edits or so. Please mention if there's a limit on how many times one can change a message via

        • Problem with reports due to "Connected" items change - Yes this IS a problem

          Now that the change has been made to use "connected" items I can no longer run the reporting I need in CRM. I should be able to start with Deals as the parent, connect down to the Account (Account_Name) on the deal as the child, then to any child items

        • CRM x WorkDrive: File storage for new CRM signups is now powered by WorkDrive

          Availability Editions: All DCs: All Release plan: Released for new signups in all DCs. It will be enabled for existing users in a phased manner in the upcoming months. Help documentation: Documents in Zoho CRM Manage folders in Documents tab Manage files

        • Narrative 10: Assignment Rules - Streamlining Ticket Management

          Behind the scenes of a successful ticketing system: BTS Series Narrative 10: Assignment Rules - Streamlining Ticket Management In the complex world of customer support, a flood of incoming tickets can hit the help desk in seconds. Businesses must do more

        • Free webinar! Digitize recruitment and onboarding with Zoho Sign and Zoho Recruit

          Hello, Tired of being buried in onboarding paperwork? With the integration between Zoho Sign and Zoho Recruit, a powerful applicant tracking system, you can digitize and streamline the entire recruitment and onboarding process, all from one platform.

        • Custom form - Duplicate Value Present

          I am new to Zoho People. I create a new form on Zoho People quite simple. A date (by default the current date) and a radio button with 3 options (Yes, No, Not applicable) I defined the date as ‘No duplicate’ as only one entry by date is allowed. I added:

        • Zoho API connection issues

          Hi, Today at around 1930 GMT our application started experiencing intermittent timeouts from the Zoho API. These intermittent timeouts are not enabling our app to work properly. The API connection was working just fine before. HTTPSConnectionPool(host='www.zohoapis.com',

        • Query Regarding our Partnership between AIC-JKLU and Zoho

          Dear Zoho Team, I am writing to raise a concern on behalf of AIC-JKLU, one of Zoho’s incubator partners. Recently, our startups have been facing difficulties while trying to get themselves onboarded on Zoho through our dedicated partner link. Unfortunately,

        • Getting events in the future

          Hi I am trying to get events in the future by calling this API Endpoint https://www.zohoapis.eu/crm/v8/Events?fields=Event_Title,Created_By,Created_Time,Start_DateTime But that gives me all events in the database. How do I make a query that returns all

        • Created Date/Invalid Fields

          Since Saturday we have suddenly had issues with our webhooks and data retrieval from CRM. Specifically how Created Date is handled. It appears there was some sort of change within CRM that broke a lot of our code that has been in place for several years.

        • Problem for EU users connecting Zoho CRM through Google Ads for Enhanced conversions

          Has anyone else experienced this problem when trying to connect Zoho CRM through Google Ads interface to setup enhanced conversions? Did you guys get it fixed somehow? The Problem: The current Google Ads integration is hardcoded to use Zoho's US authentication

        • integration zoho form - drive

          I integrated my form with Google Drive. The report of user submissions from the Google Form becomes a Google Sheets table. When I used Google Forms for the same task, the summary sheet adapted to the form. For example, if I added a new field to the form,

        • Revenue Management: #9 Revenue Recognition in Media & Publishing

          Media & Publishing industry has evolved in recent times. It offers subscriptions, bundles digital and print access, runs sponsored content, and sometimes even sells ad spaces. If you run a media or publishing business, you will always get into a situation

        • Zoho CRM Community Digest - July 2025 | Part 2:

          Hello, Everyone! We’re closing out July with a can’t-miss highlight: Zoholics Europe 2025! Happening from September to October, it’s your chance to level up your CRM skills, covering everything from automation and CPQ to dashboards and advanced workflows.

        • How can I trigger a flow action only once while updating contact?

          Hi, we have a trigger to merge&mail file when the field YYY is filled out. For this acion I used "Create or update module entry". But unfortunately we get tens of email on a day with this merged file, because the contact is being regularly updated. The

        • Clone a Module??

          I am giong to repurpose the Vendors module but would like to have a separate but very similar module for another group of contacts called Buyers. I have already repurposed Contacts to Sellers. Is it possible to clone (make a duplicate) module of Vendors

        • Copy a Record Template from one Form to another

          I have a Creator application with several forms.  I developed a record template for one of the reports/forms but want to use most of it for another of the form/report combinations in the application. Is there a way to copy the template (code or otherwise) to another form?

        • Next Page