Zoho Creator monthly roundup - September 2024

Zoho Creator monthly roundup - September 2024

Hello all,

We're back with an exciting set of new features and enhancements that will elevate your Creator experience even further. In case you missed it, we’ve recently revamped our Product Roadmap page, now with a refreshed design and showcasing all the updates planned for the rest of the year. Be sure to check it out for a peek into what's coming next!

Now, let's dive into the updates for this month:
  • Zia assistance using Zoho GenAI
  • Field permissions for portal users
  • Enhanced flow for connection creation
  • SAML authentication enhancement for portals
  • Extension testing before publishing
- - - - - - - - - -

Zia assistance using Zoho GenAI 

We’re excited to announce the launch of our own large language model (LLM), Zoho GenAI, which will power Zia assistance by default. However, we’ll continue offering OpenAI as a paid option via BYOK (bring your own key).

How does it work?
  1. Going forward, when you use Zia Assistance to create a new app or form, or get next-field suggestions, Zia will be powered by Zoho GenAI by default.
  2. If you prefer to use OpenAI with Zia, you can integrate it by visiting the Zia section under Operations and configuring it by adding your API key.
Business value
By leveraging Zoho GenAI as the default option for Zia Assistance, you benefit from our in-house AI capabilities at no extra cost. The dual options (Zoho GenAI and OpenAI) also offer enhanced flexibility and convenience, allowing you to choose the product that best fits your needs.
 
Applicable for: C6
Availability: US, IN DCs
Reference: Understand Zia features in Creator
 
- - - - - - - - - -

Field permissions for portal users 

Our existing portal permission sets have empowered you to control the application components and data that portal users can access and interact with. With this new update, we’re taking it a step further by giving you the ability to configure field-level permissions within the portal, providing you with even more granular control over which fields are visible to your portal users. A key use case for this feature is handling personally identifiable information (PII), allowing you to control exposure to sensitive fields (like email addresses) by selectively granting or restricting access based on user permissions.

How will it work?
You’ll now find a Field Permission option under the More section on the Portal User Permissions page.

 
Business value 
Field permissions provide greater flexibility and security and ensure portal users see only the information that’s relevant to them.
 
Applicable for: C5, C6
Availability: All DCs
Reference: Understand portal permissions

- - - - - - - - - -

Enhanced flow for connection creation 

We’ve made several updates to streamline the connection creation flow, with the aim of making it easier for you to create and authorize connections:
  • Automatic connection name: The connection name will now be auto-generated when you select a connector. You can still edit it at any time.
  • Simplified authorization: By default, the same authorization will apply across all environments. If you prefer different authorizations for each environment, select the Use different authorizations for each environment option and specify the relevant environments.
  • Auto-generated authorization account name: The authorization account name will be automatically generated based on the third-party account name, if available, or assigned a system-generated name. You can edit this name later, on the Connection Details page.
Business value
This update streamlines third-party integration by enabling one-click connection creation for any selected built-in connector, reducing manual input and automating tasks, leading to increased efficiency and fewer potential errors.

Applicable for: C5 & C6
Availability: All DCs

- - - - - - - - - -

SAML authentication enhancement for portals     

We've rolled out enhancements to the user addition flow for Zoho Creator portals that use SAML authentication. Previously, there was no direct sync between the portal and the identity provider (IDP), requiring admins to manually add users under the Portal Users section before they could access the portal using SAML. With this new update, users from the IDP will now be automatically added as portal users upon signing up using SAML. The consumption of limits, as per your pricing plan, will be calculated as signups occur.

Note: This feature is applicable only to public portals.

Business value 
This enhancement simplifies user management by automating the user addition process, providing a smoother and more efficient onboarding experience.

Applicable for: C5, C6
Availability: All DCs
Reference: Understand SAML authentication

- - - - - - - - - -

Test extensions before publishing 

We'll be rolling out a new feature that lets you test your extensions on a sample application before you publish them. Previously, the process involved only development and publishing. With this enhancement, it will now include development, testing, and publishing. This added testing phase allows you to evaluate how your extensions perform in a live setting, giving you the chance to make any needed adjustments before completing the publishing process.

How will it work?
  • Going forward, you'll find a Test option for the Extensions.
  • By clicking this, you'll be taken to a sample application where you can create a new page and insert your widget. Once done, click Access Application to see how your extension appears and functions on the page.
Business value
This enhancement enables you to test your extensions in a sample environment before publication, ensuring they function as intended and minimizing the risk of issues after launch.

Applicable for: Creator in Sigma
Availability: All DCs

- - - - - - - - - -

That wraps up this month's updates. Feel free to share your thoughts on these updates in the comments below!
 
Regards,
The Zoho Creator Team



      • Sticky Posts

      • Zoho Creator - 2023 Release Projection 1

        Hello everyone! A very Happy New Year to you and your family. Hope you're all good and having a great time using Zoho Creator to make your lives easier and your businesses prosper. 2022 was an action-packed year for us at Creator, and we hope to continue

      • Zoho Creator User Group meetups in a city near you! - Oct - Nov, 2023

        Greetings from the Zoho Creator team! We're hosting a series of Zoho Creator meetups in various cities across the globe, and we'd love to meet you there! Our meetups are a great opportunity to network with industry peers, exchange ideas and best practices,

      • Zoho Creator - 2023 Release Projection 2

        Hello everyone! Time truly flies when you're having an incredible journey, and today we mark the completion of an eventful and action-packed six months. It feels like just yesterday when we embarked on this adventure together with the launch of our new

      • Upcoming Updates - August 2022

        Hi all, Greetings from the Zoho Creator team! Today we've got news for you on some exciting updates. And rest assured— there’s more to come! In this post, we'll be going over the upcoming features and improvements for this month as mentioned below. A

      • Introducing Zoho Creator's v2 APIs

        Hello App Creators, Welcome to Zoho Creator's v2 APIs! This post will serve as the central point for migrating implementations of Creator's current APIs (v1) to v2. Improvements that v2 brings OAuth-based authentication, which is more secure than the

        • Recent Topics

        • Client Script also planned for Zoho Desk?

          Hello there, I modified something in Zoho CRM the other day and was amazed at the possibilities offered by the "Client Script" feature in conjunction with the ZDK. You can lock any fields on the screen, edit them, you can react to various events (field

        • One person/cell phone to manage multiple accounts

          Hi. I have a personal Free account to keep my own domain/emails. Now I need to create a Business account to my company's own domain, but I have only one mobile phone number I use to everything. How do I do to manage this? Can I manage a Free domain and

        • Tracking KPIs, Goals etc in People

          How are Zoho People users tracking employee targets in People? For example, my marketing assistant has a target of "Collect 10 new customer testimonials every month". I want to record attainment for this target on a monthly basis, then add it to their

        • Zoho Desk: Ticket Owner Agents vs Teams

          Hi Zoho, We would like to explore the possibility of hiding the ‘Agents’ section within the Ticket Owner dropdown, so that we can fully utilise the ‘Teams’ dropdown when assigning tickets. This request comes from the fact that only certain agents and

        • Can not Use Attachment Button on Android Widget

          this always pops up when I touch the attach button on android widget. going to settings, there is no storage permission to be enabled. if I open the app, and access the attach feature there, I can access my storage and upload normally.

        • Zoho Notebook Sync problem

          I'm facing a problem with syncing of notebook on android app. It's not syncing. Sometimes it syncs after a day or two.  I created some notes on web notebook but it's not syncing on mobile app. Please help!!!!

        • Custom Fonts in Zoho CRM Template Builder

          Hi, I am currently creating a new template for our quotes using the Zoho CRM template builder. However, I noticed that there is no option to add custom fonts to the template builder. It would greatly enhance the flexibility and branding capabilities if

        • Announcing new features in Trident for Mac (1.24.0)

          Hello everyone! Trident for macOS (v.1.24.0) is here with interesting features and thoughtful enhancements to redefine the way you plan and manage your calendar events. Here's a quick look at what's new. Create calendar events from emails. In addition

        • Need Easy Way to Update Item Prices in Bulk

          Hello Everyone, In Zoho Books, updating selling prices is taking too much time. Right now we have to either edit items one by one or do Excel export/import. It will be very useful if Zoho gives a simple option to: Select multiple items and update prices

        • Vendor Master Enhancements for Faster Purchase Entry

          I’d like to suggest a few features that will improve accuracy and speed during purchase voucher entry: Automated Item Tax Preference in Vendor Master Add an option to define item tax preference in the vendor master. Once set, this preference should automatically

        • Mass Mail Statistics - Number of unsent emails

          How do I find out which emails were not sent?

        • Button to add product to cart

          Is there a way to have a button on a page, that when clicked, will add Qty 1 of a product to the cart?

        • Est-il possible d'annuler l'envoi d'un mail automatique ?

          Bonjour, Lorsque je refuse un candidat, il reçois un mail dans les 24h pour l'informer que sa candidature n'est pas retenue. J'ai rejeté un candidat par erreur. Savez-vous s'il possible d'annuler l'envoi de ce mail ? Merci d'avance pour votre aide.

        • Can't change form's original name in URL

          Hi all, I have been duplicating + editing forms for jobs regarding the same department to maintain formatting + styling. The issue I've not run into is because I've duplicated it from an existing form, the URL doesn't seem to want to update with the new

        • New in Cadences: Option to Resume or Restart follow-ups when re-enrolling records into a Cadence, and specify custom un-enrollment criteria

          Managing follow-ups effectively involves understanding the appropriate timing for reaching out, as well as knowing when to take a break and resume later, or deciding if it's necessary to start the follow-up process anew. With two significant enhancements

        • embed a form in an email

          Hello, how to embed a form in an email that populates Zoho CRM cases? I would like to send emails to a selected audience offering something. In the same email the recipients - if interested - instead of replying to can fill in a Zoho CRM form that creates

        • Zoho Bookings - Reserve with Google

          Does Zoho Bookings plan to to integrate with Reserve with Google?

        • How to add Zoho demo site page designs to my Zoho Sites website

          Hi, I would like to add the design from the following demo URLs into my current Zoho website. I have already created two new pages on my site, named “Menu2” and “Menu3.” For the “Menu2” page, I want to use the design from this demo: https://naturestjuice-demo.zohosites.com/menu

        • Digest Août - Un résumé de ce qui s'est passé le mois dernier sur Community

          Bonjour chère communauté ! Voici le résumé tant attendu de tout ce qui a marqué Zoho le mois dernier : contenus utiles, échanges inspirants et moments forts. 🎉 Découvrez Zoho Backstage 3.0 : une version repensée pour offrir encore plus de flexibilité,

        • Global Sets for Multi-Select pick lists

          When is this feature coming to Zoho CRM? It would be very useful now we have got used to having it for the normal pick lists.

        • Text snippet

          There is a nice feature in Zoho Desk called Text Snippet. It allows you to insert a bit of text anywhere in a reply that you are typing. That would be nice to have that option in Zoho CRM as well when we compose an email. Moderation Update: We agree that

        • Kaizen #206 - Answering your Questions | Displaying Related Purchase Orders from Zoho Books in CRM Deals using Queries

          Hello everyone! We're back with another post in the Kaizen series. We're grateful for the feedback we received from all of you! One of the questions we received was "I would like to see the list of Purchase Orders in Zoho Books for a Deal in CRM." We

        • Add Analytics function for Title case (capitalising each word in a string)

          At present, you can only capitalise each word in a string in Analytics during data import. It would be really useful to be able to do this with a formula column, but there is no Title Case function.

        • How to conditionally embed an own internal widget with parameters in an html snippet?

          Hello everyone, I'm trying to create a dynamic view in a page using an HTML snippet. The goal is to display different content based on a URL parameter (input.step). I have successfully managed to conditionally display different forms using the following

        • Introducing AI-powered Assessments & Zoho's native LLM, Zia

          We’ve shipped a cleaner, faster way to create assessments in Zoho Recruit. 🚀 Instead of manually building question banks or copying old templates, you can now generate ready-to-use assessments in just a few clicks, all tailored to the role you’re hiring

        • Where can I find rejected inbound mails and their reason for rejection

          Hi, I was recently made aware by a mailing list which I am subscribed to (ffmpeg-devel@ffmpeg.org) that my Zoho mail Mail account is rejecting some emails. If I look under Admin Panel > Security & Compliance > Quarantine > Incoming, the list there is

        • Sync more than one Workdrive

          Hello Please I'm facing some difficulties since some days. In my company we have many zoho accounts in different organisations. And I have to find a way to sync all these Workdrives. I spend many hours to search it on zoho Workdrive but no solution. Could someone help me ? Any idea how I can achieve it ? Thanks in advance. Regards

        • Zoho writer unable to merge documents to PDF with basic fonts in Hebrew or fonts from my computer

          I created several forms that will be merged into PDF files through Zoho Writer and I am unable to receive the PDF in the basic fonts of the Hebrew language or in the fonts I have on my computer. The writer exports to PDF an exchange font that looks very

        • Base Currency Adjustment Reversal

          Two questions surrounding the base currency adjustments (BCA). I recently ported over from QB so I need to enter the base currency adjustments. In QB, it will calculate the BCA for you at the end of the year and then reverse it at the top of the following year. Makes sense. Does Zohobooks not do this as well? I created a BCA for Dec 31, 2016 but no reversing entry was made Jan 1, 2017. Am I supposed to manually do a reversal? I'm not even allowed to post journals directly to the 'exchange gain loss'

        • Please implement UAE Central Bank FX rates

          Hello, as I understand from your knowledge base, any UAE business account created from September 15, 2018 does not have foreign exchange rates fetched automatically. This is a serious inconvenience and I am not sure why ZOHO has not looked into the ways

        • Unable to enable tax checkboxes

          Hi Zoho Commerce Support, I'm writing to report an issue I'm having with the tax settings in my Zoho Commerce store. I've created several tax rates under Settings > Taxes, but all of them appear with the checkbox disabled. When I try to enable a checkbox,

        • Search Records returning different values than actually present

          Hey! I have this following line in my deluge script: accountSearch = zoho.crm.searchRecords("Accounts","(RS_Enroll_ID:equals:" + rsid + ")",1,200,{"cvid":864868001088693817}); info "Account search size: " + accountSearch.size(); listOfAccounts = zoho.crm.searchRecords("Accounts","(RS_Enroll_ID:equals:"

        • Making digital signatures accessible to all: Introducing accessibility controls in Zoho Sign

          Hi there! At Zoho Sign, we are committed to building an inclusive digital experience for all our users. As part of our ongoing efforts to align with Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), we’re updating the application with support that will go

        • Super Admin Access to All Courses and Spaces in Zoho Learn

          Dear Zoho Learn Team, We hope this message finds you well. We are using Zoho Learn extensively for internal and agent training. While managing our courses and spaces, we encountered a significant limitation regarding admin access and course management.

        • Print checks for owner's draw

          Hi.  Can I use Zoho check printing for draws to Owner's Equity?  This may be a specific case of the missing Pay expenses via Check feature.  If it's not available, are there plans to add this feature?

        • [New Release 2024] Create and embed custom capabilities across CRM with Kiosk Studio, our latest no-code tool

          [Update | New series] We've started publishing a series of posts on Kiosk Studio. It's called Kiosk Studio Sessions and you can check out the first one here! [Update | 15 Oct} Session #2 is live! This one will look at how to create a kiosk for your call

        • Revenue Management: #10 Common Mistakes while Recognizing Revenue

          We are at the end of the series on Revenue Management, covering how different businesses recognise revenue. Even with clear standards like ASC 606 and IFRS 15 in practice, businesses often struggle with the nuances of revenue recognition. Especially growing

        • Windows Desktop App - request to add minimization/startup options

          Support Team, Can you submit the following request to your development team? Here is what would be optimal in my opinion from UX perspective: 1) In the "Application Menu", add a menu item to Exit the app, as well as an alt-key shortcut for these menus

        • integarting attachments from crm to creator

          when i tried to integrate pdf attachments from crm to creator via deluge i am getting this error {"code":2945,"description":"UPLOAD_RULE_NOT_CONFIGURED"} the code i used is attachments = zoho.crm.getRelatedRecords("Attachments","Sales_Orders",203489100020279XXX8);

        • Search Option

          🚫 Current Limitation: As of now (September 2025), Zoho FSM lacks a global search functionality, which makes it difficult to quickly: Find specific Work Orders by number or keyword Search for customer records or contact info Locate assets, jobs, or service

        • Next Page