Tip 7: How to fetch data from another application?

Tip 7: How to fetch data from another application?



Hi everyone,

Following our Zoho Creator - Tips and Tricks series every fortnight, we are back today with a tip based on one of the most popular questions asked in our forum. This tip would help you fetch data from another application(App B) and use it in your current application(App A).

Just as your application can send data to other applications, similarly it can easily receive data from other applications. This can be easily achieved in Zoho Creator by creating a custom function in the application(App B) from which you need to fetch data. 

Functions are nothing but a unit of code written to perform a specific task.

Let's look at simple example to understand how to do this.

To explain this I have created two applications: Travel Request and Employee Details. And both of these applications contain a form each to collect data.


The Raise Travel Request Form in the Travel Request Application allows employees to raise request for their upcoming business trips.

The Add Employees Form in the Employee Details Application stores the all the information about the employees in your organization.







Use Case:

Here when an employee uses the Raise Travel Request Form to raise a request for his travel, we need to fetch the employee's Department and his Manager's Email ID from the Employee Details App and use it to auto-populate the fields in the Raise Travel Request Form  based on the Employee Email ID entered.

Step 1: Create a function

To achieve this we need to create a custom function in the Employee Details Application. Navigate to Workflow section and click on Custom Functions. Specify the following arguments to create the following function.




Once you click on CREATE, write the below given Deluge scripts to the function. 

  1. string Getemployeedetails(string Empemail)
  2. {
  3.  empdepartment = Add_Employee[Email_ID == Empemail].Department;
  4.  manageremail = Add_Employee[Email_ID == Empemail].Manager;
  5.  return empdepartment+","+ manageremail;
  6. }

 

Note: This function will return the Employee's department and manager email ID in a format like "Departmentvalue,Manageremailvalue" as a string.

Step 2: Call the function

Now that we have created this function, we need to call this function from the Travel Request Application. By calling the function, we will be able to fetch the required details from the Employee Details Application and autopopulate them in the Raise Travel Request Form.

For this we need to create a workflow On User Input of the Employee Email ID field and write the below given Deluge scripts.
 
  1. datavalue = employee_details.Getemployeedetails(input.Employee_Email_ID);
  2. input.Department = datavalue.getPrefix(",");
  3. input.Manager = datavalue.getSuffix(",");

Note: As we have configured the Getemployeedetails () function to return string value like "Departmentvalue,Manageremailvalue" , we need to use our built-in function getPrefix() and getSuffix() to get the values before and after comma value respectively.

Voila! That's all you need to do to fetch data from another application. Isn't it easy? Give it a try. If you have any doubts or queries regarding this tip, please feel free to add them as comments below. We would be happy to address them all.





        • Recent Topics

        • Please make it easier to Pause syncing

          right now it takes 3 clicks to get there. sounds silly, but can you make it just 2 clicks to get it done instead? thats how dropbox does it, 2 clicks to pause instead of 3.

        • How to create a Zoho CRM report with 2 child modules

          Hi all, Is it possible to create a Zoho CRM report or chart with 2 child modules? After I add the first child module, the + button only adds another parent module. It won't let me add multiple child modules at once. We don't have Zoho Analytics and would

        • Create static subforms in Zoho CRM: streamline data entry with pre-defined values

          Last modified on (9 July, 2025): This feature was available in early access and is currently being rolled out to customers in phases. Currently available for users in the the AU, CA, and SA DCs. It will be enabled for the remaining DCs in the next couple

        • SalesIQとPageSenseの利用について

          初めての投稿で場違いだったらすいません。 弊社ではSalesIQを運用しているのですが、追加でPageSenseの導入もしたいと現場からの声があります。 両サービスともクッキー同意バナーが必要なサービスなのですが 弊社では同意無しに情報はとりませんという方針なので 2つ入れると2つバナーを出す必要がでてきます・・・ 両サービスを運用されてる方があれば運用状況とか教えてほしいです。 PageSenseについては詳細まで機能を理解してないなかでの質問です。

        • How to integrate Zoho Forms with Zoho CRM on Standard Plan

          Hello Zoho Support Team, I am using the Standard Zoho Forms plan (USD 30/user) and I would like to integrate Zoho Forms with Zoho CRM so that certain fields in my forms can be automatically prefilled using data from Deals in CRM. Specifically, I want

        • CRM : Function to add user name to text field

          I have a lookup field in a module that is linked to the CRM users so we can assign a Project Lead to the customer. Sadly Zoho Marketing Automation doesn't sync Lookup fields so I need to extract information from the lookup to text fields: Lookup field

        • Export PDF File Name

          Is it possible to change the default Zoho .pdf naming scheme for inventory items like quotations? Would like to use the the Subject as the default quote name. Is this possible?

        • How to change the from address from 'no reply' for an email template in CRM

          Hi, We have our CRM set up with the from field as sales@XXX. I have just created a series of email templates and sent a test and they are sending from noreply@zoho I have tried searching for how to change the email template but don't have the options

        • Zoho CRM Client Script - SetCriteria in lookup Field

          Hello All One More Zoho CRM Client Script Tips & Trick. Now you can Set the Criteria on Your lookup in zoho CRM, It Comes With a Create Page, Edit Page, and Details Page (Standard). Example:- We have a Room Module that includes Room Name, Status, Campus,

        • Kaizen #71 - Client Script ZDKs for Detail (Canvas) Page

          Hello everyone! Welcome back to another interesting Kaizen post. In this post, we can discuss Client Script ZDKs support for Detail (Canvas) Page. What is Detail (Canvas) Page? A Detail(Canvas) Page allows you to customize the record detail page to your

        • how to use validation rules in subform

          Is it possible to use validation rules for subforms? I tried the following code: entityMap = crmAPIRequest.toMap().get("record"); sum = 0; direct_billing = entityMap.get("direct_billing_details"); response = Map(); for each i in direct_billing { if(i.get("type")

        • Add Custom Reports To Dashboard or Home Tab

          Hi there, I think it would be great to be able to add our custom reports to the Home Tab or Dashboards. Thanks! Chad

        • Rich-text fields in Zoho CRM

          Hello everyone, We're thrilled to announce an important enhancement that will significantly enhance the readability and formatting capabilities of your information: rich text options for multi-line fields. With this update, you can now enjoy a more versatile

        • Create Lead Button in Zoho CRM Dashboard

          Right now to create Leads in the CRM our team is going into the Lead module, selecting the "Create Lead" button, then building out the lead. Is there anyway to add the "Create Lead" button or some sort of short cut to the Zoho CRM Dashboard to cut out

        • Zoho Reports Duplicating Entries

          I have a custom costing tab with a table where we entre invoices. These are under a Heading (PO Subject) and notes added in the form with different line items. In the reports, I have organised the report to group per PO Subject, with the total of the

        • Validation Rule Not Working for Mandatory Field in Zoho Blueprint

          As a Zoho user, we created a validation rule for a specific field. However, we noticed that when we made the same field mandatory within a Blueprint, the validation rule we defined did not work. When we reported this issue to Zoho Support, they stated

        • Notes Issues

          Been having issues with Notes in the CRM. Yesterday it wasn't showing the notes, but it got resolved after a few minutes., Now I have been having a hard time saving notes the whole day. Notes can't be saved by the save button. it's grayed out or not grayed

        • Export from Contacts module to Products module in Zoho CRM

          Good afternoon, I would like to send a number of contact info from the Contacts module into the customized module (tickets to an event) in one operation. I have selected several contacts in the Contact module (people who I have labelled as people I want

        • Zoho Commerce

          Hi, I have zoho one and use Zoho Books. I am very interested in Zoho Commerce , especially with how all is integrated but have a question. I do not want my store to show prices for customers that are not log in. Is there a way to hide the prices if not

        • Can’t receive emailI c

          I have generated a basic for but when I submit it I don’t get a email, I’ve been in the settings and tested me email, all appears correct, can you please help me

        • Data Capture for Historical Activity (Especially One Lead Downloading Variois reports without Overwriting the info)

          Is there a better way in Zoho CRM to capture and archive a lead’s historical activity—specifically whenever they download reports—so that the data is stored without being overwritten?”

        • Client Script - Updating Field Value in Detail Page of a Lead

          Hello, I'm trying to use Client Script To enrich some data of the Lead when one of my User fill the "City" field in the detail page of the Lead. This is my Script: log (value); var response = ZDK.Apps.CRM.Functions.execute("getInfoCitta", { "nomeCitta":

        • Auto shapes in Zoho sheet.

          Does Zoho sheet supports inserting auto shapes (rectangle, circle...). I did not see any option to do so.  If its not supported currently, is there any plans on bring in this features. Any timelines ?

        • I Can't Clone Webinar that I Co-Organize

          How do i get our account admin to give me permission to clone our webinars? I am a co-organizer

        • I want to Make the due date of the project appears automatically

          hello everyone I want to know if the zoho projects app can add automatically the END DATE of the project I added the duration, start after dates of each tasks in the project template & the starting date of the project itself and the end date of it doesn't

        • Introducing Profile Summary: Faster Candidate Insights with Zia

          We’re excited to launch Profile Summary, a powerful new feature in Zoho Recruit that transforms how you review candidate profiles. What used to take minutes of resume scanning can now be assessed in seconds—thanks to Zia. A Quick Example Say you’re hiring

        • How to get the call recording external ID via desk API

          I have enabled phonbridge integration with Zoom Call. I am trying to access the call recording in Zoom by calling Zoom API. I have built a Desk workflow to trigger on a new call, to call a custom function. when calling the API, the response doesn't contain

        • Can't View Project Names in Mobile App

          I can't view project names on PO's in the app, nor can I add that as a viewable PDF field in inventory on the computer. I've attached screenshots showing that in the mobile version whether you are on the PO, editing the PO, or viewing the PO line items,

        • How do you print a refund check to customer?

          Maybe this is a dumb question, but how does anyone print a refund check to a customer? We cant find anywhere to either just print a check and pick a customer, or where to do so from a credit note.

        • Notebook

          I have purchased the monthly pro subscription of Notebook. But it does not support my XP-Pen to write something in it. So it is not useful to me. Hence I am requesting you to help me to discontinue this subscription.

        • Domain Mapping & Image Publishing Issues on Zoho Sites

          Hello, I am facing two issues with my Zoho Sites account: 1. Images not visible after publishing. 2. Domain mapping error: "Domain already exists". I am a paid customer. Please connect me with Live Chat Support or Zoho Assist so I can show my issue

        • Prevent duplicate with custom fields?

          I was wondering something about custom field/custom modules in Zoho Desk. For some reason you can make a custom field mandatory but not unique? For example, if I create a custom module to manage equipment and renewal and make a field serial number no

        • 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

        • "Is Zoho CRM customer" vs "Is linked with Zoho CRM"

          Recently while building a Flow, I was setting up a Decision action following a Zoho Invoice Fetch record action. There were 2 choices that I had not seen as something I could manually action in Zoho Invoice: "Is Zoho CRM customer" and "Is linked with

        • Two currencies

          More and more I am finding that internattional payments' fees are unpredictable. I would like, on my invoices that are in a foreign currency (eg. USD$ or EUR€) for there to be a GBP£ TOTAL display alongside the invoice's currency total. This would make

        • Automatic Matching from Bank Statements / Feeds

          Is it possible to have transactions from a feed or bank statement automatically match when certain criteria are met? My use case, which is pretty broadly applicable, is e-commerce transactions for merchant services accounts (clearing accounts). In these

        • Generate leads from instagram

          hello i have question. If connect instagram using zoho social, it is possible to get lead from instagram? example if someone send me direct message or comment on my post and then they generate to lead

        • Zoho PDF editor has a lot of issues.

          Zoho PDF editor needs a lot of work. It hangs and glitches a lot. Deletes annotations and clearings randomly.

        • Where is the desktop app for Zoho Projects???

          As a project manager, I need a desktop app for the projects I manage. Yes, there's the web app, which is AWESOME for cross browser and platform compatibility... but I need a real desktop app for Projects that allow me to enter offline information where

        • How to Automate Monthly PDF Reports with Filters in Zoho Creator

          Hi everyone, I’m trying to build an automated monthly reporting process in Zoho Creator and would appreciate suggestions or best practices from anyone who has done something similar. What I’m trying to do: I have a form called New_Customer with fields

        • Next Page