Automation#32:Auto Add New Portal Users to the Help Center User Groups

Hello Everyone,

Introducing a custom function that automates the process of adding new portal users to Help Center user groups, making user management effortless!

By default, Zoho Desk allows you to assign new portal users to groups manually. But with this custom function, the process is completely automated, ensuring seamless categorization.

Why User Groups?

Zylker Techfix was dedicated to helping customers through their Help Center. While they actively supported users, there was one challenge: everyone received the announcements, irrespective of their requirements.

Zylker Techfix wanted a smarter way to engage their users by sending targeted announcements based on individual interests, such as gadgets, office equipment, and operations.

To make this happen, they created user groups and assigned new users accordingly. But manually adding users to the right groups was time-consuming.

So, they automated the process! With a custom function, they streamlined operations, ensuring every new portal user was automatically assigned to the right Help Center user group. More relevance, better engagement, zero manual effort.

Let’s walk through the steps to incorporate this custom function into your workflow.

Prerequisites

1. Create a connection

  1.1 Go to Setup(S) and choose Connections under Developer Space.

  1.2 Click Create Connection.

  1.3 Select Zoho Desk under Default Services.

  1.4 Set the connection name as zohodesk.

  1.5 Disable the toggle for User Credentials of Login User. 

  1.6 Under Scope, choose the below scope values:

Desk.contacts.READ

Desk.contacts.UPDATE

  1.7 Click Create and Connect.

  1.8 Click Connect and click Accept.

Connection is created successfully.

Create a Workflow Rule

1. Go to Setup, choose Workflows under Automation. 

2. Under Workflows, click Create Rule.

In the Basic Information section,

3. Select Contacts from the drop-down menu under Module.

4. Enter a Rule Name and Description for the rule.

5. If you want to activate the rule right away, select the Active checkbox. Else, create the rule and activate it later.

6. Click Next. 

In the Execute on section, follow these steps:

7. Select Field Update. Select field isPortalUser. 

8. Click Next.

9. In the Criteria section, add isPortalUser is and select the checkbox. click Next. 

10. In the Actions section, click the + icon and select New next to Custom Functions.

11. Enter a Name and Description for the custom function. Choose Contacts under Module.

12. Under Argument Mapping, give a desired Method Name. Map the arguments as below:

      12.1 In the Argument Name field, type contactId and select Contact ID under the Contacts Section.

13. In the script window, insert the Custom Function given below:

1. // ---------------User inputs------------------------------------------
2. deskUrl = "https://desk.zoho.com/api/v1/"; // replace based on user dc
3. groupId = "<<GROUP ID>>"; // replace the group id in your desk portal
4. //---------------------------------
5. logs = Map();
6. try 
7. {
8. getContactStatus = invokeurl
9. [
10. url :deskUrl + "contacts/" + contactId + "/helpCenters"
11. type :GET
12. connection:"zohodesk"
13. ];
14. contactUserId = getContactStatus.get("data").get(0).get("userId");
15. if(contactUserId != null)
16. {
17. addUserToGroup = invokeurl
18. [
19. url : deskUrl + "groups/" + groupId + "/users/add"
20. type :POST
21. parameters:"" + {"users":{{"id":contactUserId}}}
22. headers:{"Content-Type":"application/json"}
23. detailed:true
24. connection:"zohodesk"
25. ];
26. info "addUserToGroup" + addUserToGroup;
27. }
28. }
29. catch (errorInfo)
30. {
31. logs.insert("errorInfo":errorInfo);
32. }
33. info "logs: \n" + logs;
34. if(logs.containKey("errorInfo"))
35. {
36. throws "Error happen in the CF execution";
37. }

User Inputs

a. In Line 2, replace .com in the URL based on your DC. 

b. In Line 3, enter the group ID to which you would like to add your new portal users. To access group ID, go to Setup >> Help Center >> Select the Department having your preferred User group >> choose User Groups on the left panel >> Select the user group >> The Id in the address bar is the required Group ID. 

Note: Configure the Workflow for the contacts module in the respective department where you want to add portal users to be added to the User group. 

14. Click Save to save the custom function.

15. Click Save again to save the workflow.

Share with us how this custom function helps you in your operations! Drop a comment below or reach out to us at support@zohodesk.com, we’re just an email away!

Meet you in the next post!

Regards,

Lydia | Zoho Desk

• Topic Participants

• Lydia | Zoho Desk

  

• Aukua Systems, Inc.

• Shivani | Zoho Desk

  

• Sticky Posts

• Register for Zoho Desk Beta Community

  With the start of the year, we have decided to take a small step in making the life of our customers a little easier. We now have easy access to all our upcoming features and a faster way to request for beta access. We open betas for some of our features

• Share your Zoho Desk story with us!

  Tell us how you use Zoho Desk for your business and inspire others with your story. Be it a simple workflow rule that helps you navigate complex processes or a macro that saves your team a lot of time; share it here and help the community learn and grow with shared knowledge. 

• Tip #1: Learn to pick the right channels

  Mail, live chat, telephony, social media, web forms—there are so many support channels out there. Trying to pick the right channels to offer your customers can get pretty confusing. Emails are most useful when the customer wants to put things on record. However, escalated or complicated issues should not be resolved over email because it's slow and impersonal.  When you need immediate responses, live chat is more suitable. It's also quick and convenient, so it's the go-to channel for small issues. 

• Welcome to Zoho Desk Community - Say hello here!

  Hello everyone! Though we have been here for a while, it’s time to formally establish the Zoho Desk Community; we’re really happy to have you all here! This can be the place where you take a moment to introduce yourself to the rest of the community. We’d love to hear all about you, what you do, what company or industry you work for, how you use Zoho Desk and anything else that you will like to share! Here’s a little about me. I am Chinmayee. I have been associated with Zoho since 2014. I joined here

• Webinar 1: Blueprint for Customer Service

  With the launch of a host of new features in Zoho Desk, we thought it’ll be great to have a few webinars to help our customers make the most of them. We’re starting off with our most talked about feature, Blueprint in Zoho Desk. You can register for the Blueprint webinar here: The webinar will be delivered by our in-house product experts. This is a good opportunity to ask questions to our experts and understand how Blueprint can help you automate your service processes. We look forward to seeing

• Recent Topics

• CRM gets location smart with the all new Map View: visualize records, locate records within any radius, and more

  Hello all, We've introduced a new way to work with location data in Zoho CRM: the Map View. Instead of scrolling through endless lists, your records now appear as pins on a map. Built on top of the all-new address field and powered by Mappls (MapMyIndia),

• Integrating Zoho People Attendance to Biometric Machine (ZKTeco 40 k )

  Please help us for Integrating Zoho People Attendance to Biometric Machine (ZKTeco 40 k )

• Move email between inboxes?

  Is it possible to move emails from one team inbox to another? We would like to be able to have a single "catch-all" inbox for incoming requests, and then move the email to the appropriate department inbox. I was hoping we would be able to accomplish this

• Updating records through Zoho Sheets View doesn't update timeline or trigger workflow rules

  I have noticed that when i update a series of record with the zoho sheets view (see here http://d.pr/i/ahnR) it doesn't update timeline history or trigger workflow rules. I am using it in the Deals module. Looking forward for some more info. Denis

• Manage control over Microsoft Office 365 integrations with profile-based sync permissions

  Greetings all, Previously, all users in Zoho CRM had access to enable Microsoft integrations (Calendar, Contacts, and Tasks) in their accounts, regardless of their profile type. Users with administrator profiles can now manage profile-based permissions

• inability to use different primary address on invoice per location

  my company operates in two different locations with different email address. The problems then is the inability to edit the primary to suite the invoice for the second location.

• AI Search and Record Retrieval Inside Zoho Creator – Is This Possible?

  Is it possible to integrate an AI assistant into Zoho Creator that can intelligently search, retrieve, and analyze records within the application’s forms and reports? Can AI access and query existing Creator data securely using Deluge or APIs to provide

• Rename Service Report

  Some of our customers are requesting the name of the service report PDF to be in a specific format, for example, instead of REP-001.PDF some are requesting to include their name like customername.pdf. is that possible?

• Smarter holiday planning with yearly-specific Holiday Lists

  Hello everyone! Managing holidays and business hours is now easier and more efficient. Holiday Lists now support holidays that fall on different dates every year, while business hours now supports more than one holiday list. This helps businesses manage

• AI Search and Record Retrieval Inside Zoho Creator – Is This Possible?

  Is it possible to integrate an AI assistant into Zoho Creator that can intelligently search, retrieve, and analyze records within the application’s forms and reports? Can AI access and query existing Creator data securely using Deluge or APIs to provide

• Scheduled AU Data Center Database Version Upgrade for Zoho Forms

  Dear Zoho Forms' users, We would like to update you on a scheduled AU Data Center database version upgrade for Zoho Forms. Find the schedule below: Migration window: Sunday, 22nd February 2026 12.00 AM to 12.30 AM AEDT This migration is a part of our

• Cannot get code to work with v2.mergeAndStore!

  Please can someone help me pass subform items into a repeating mail merge table row using v2.mergeAndStore? I have a mail merge template created in Writer and stored in Workdrive. This template is referenced by a custom CRM function which merges all of

• Hotmail is blocking the zoho mail IP

  Greetings, Since last Tuesday (5 days ago today) I wrote to Zoho support and I still haven't received a single response (Ticket ID: 2056917). Is this how you treat people who pay for your email service? I am making this public so that those who want to

• Zoho Bookings and Survey Integration through Flow

  I am trying to set up flows where once an appointment is marked as completed in Zoho Bookings, the applicable survey form would be sent to the customer. Problem is, I cannot customise flows wherein if Consultation A is completed, Survey Form A would be

• Zoho CRM Community Digest - December 2025 | Part 2

  Hello Everyone! During the final weeks of December, Zoho CRM introduced updates that not only enhanced product capabilities but also offered deeper guidance through Kaizen posts. This section highlights what was released and shared in the last two weeks

• CRUD actions for Resources via API

  Hello, is it possible to perform CRUD actions through the API for Resources? We want to create a sync from Zoho CRM Car record to Bookings resources to create availabilities for Car bookings. For Test drives, not only the sales person needs to be available,

• Kaizen #186 : Client Script Support for Subforms

  Hello everyone! Welcome back to another exciting Kaizen post on Client Script! In this edition, we’re taking a closer look at Client Script Support for Subforms with the help of the following scenario. " Zylker, a manufacturing company, uses the "Orders"

• Unable to Assign Multiple Categories to a Single Product in Zoho Commerce

  Hello Zoho Commerce Support Team, I am facing an issue while assigning categories to products in Zoho Commerce. I want to assign multiple categories to a single product, but in the Item edit page, the Category field allows selecting only one category

• オンライン勉強会のお知らせ Zoho ワークアウト （2/19 参加無料）

  ユーザーの皆さま、こんにちは。コミュニティチームの中野です。 2月開催のZoho ワークアウトについてお知らせします。 今回はZoomにて、オンライン開催します。 ▶︎参加登録はこちら（無料） https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/6AyVUxp6QDmMQiDGXGkxPA ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ Zoho ワークアウトとは？ Zoho ユーザー同士で交流しながら、サービスに関する疑問や不明点の解消を目指すイベント「Zoho

• doubts about customer happiness in zoho desk

  Good afternoon, Desk community. The reason for my message is that I have a question regarding the customer satisfaction surveys we can ask our clients to rate our service. I know that in Desk, you can activate Customer Happiness to send a survey to the

• COQL API in JS Widget only pulling 200 records

  Hello! We've been building a custom homepage widget using the Zoho JS SDK, and it seems that this https://help.zwidgets.com/help/latest/ZOHO.CRM.API.html#.coql only allows 200 records. I thought the limit was 2000 for COQL queries, but am I mistaken?

• Standard Description Field - Can I change label or add dd tooltip

  Is there a way fo you guys to allow the customer to change the label name for the description field in the customer portal when submitting tickets. Or at least allow us to add a tooltip to clarify what description we need from them. I know I can create my own separate multi line description field but if I do that, it doesn't have the nice toolbar with Bold, Italic, Underline, color, font, indent, etc. Can you please allow us to add a tooltip to the zoho standard description field?

• Introducing parent-child ticketing in Zoho Desk [Early access]

  Hello Zoho Desk users! We have introduced the parent-child ticketing system to help customer service teams ensure efficient resolution of issues involving multiple, related tickets. You can now combine repetitive and interconnected tickets into parent-child

• Ability to CC on a mass email

  Ability to CC someone on a mass email.

• Different Task Layouts for Subtasks

  I was wondering how it would be possible for a subtask to have a different task layout to the parent task.

• Compensation | Salary Packages - Hourly Wage Needed

  The US Bureau of Labor Statistics says 55.7% of all workers in the US are paid by the hour. I don't know how that compares to the rest of the world, but I would think that this alone would justify the need for having an hourly-based salary package option.

• Customizing Helpcenter texts

  I’m customizing the Zoho Desk Help Center and I’d like to change the wording of the standard widgets – for example, the text in the “Submit Ticket” banner that appears in the footer, or other built-in widget labels and messages. So far, I haven’t found

• Ability to Edit Ticket Subject when Splitting a Ticket

  Often someone will make an additional or new request within an existing ticket that requires we split the ticket. The annoying part is that the new ticket maintains the subject of the original ticket after the split so when the new ticket email notification

• Automatically Update Form Attachment Service with Newly added Fields

  Hi, When I have a Form Setup and connected to a 3rd Party Service such as OneDrive for Form Attachments, when I later add a new Upload Field I have to remove and redo the entire 3rd Party Setup from scratch. This needs to be improved, such as when new

• 🚀 WorkDrive 6.0 (Phase 1): Empowering Teams with Content Intelligence, Automation, Accessibility, and Control

  Hello, everyone! WorkDrive continues to evolve from a robust file management solution into an intelligent, secure, and connected content collaboration platform for modern businesses. Our goal remains unchanged: to simplify teamwork, strengthen data security,

• Reopen ticket on specific date/time

  Is there a way that we can close a ticket and setup a reopen of that ticket on a specific date and time? (without using the "on hold" ticket option)

• Column letter from number

  Hello, I am trying to select a cell and i have the column number. How do i do this or is there a way of getting the letter from the number? Thank you

• API credit COQL COUNT

  The docs describe API credits in COQL from the LIMIT perspective: https://www.zoho.com/crm/developer/docs/api/v8/COQL-Overview.html When using aggregate functions such as `COUNT` or `SUM`, is that billed as 1 API credit?

• Weekly Tips : Save Time with Saved Search

  Let's assume your work requires you to regularly check emails from important clients that have attachments and were sent within a specific time period. Instead of entering the same conditions every time—like sender, date range, and attachments included—you

• Remove 'This is an automated mail from Zoho Sign' in footer

  Hi there, Is it possible to remove or change the text under the e-mail templates? I can't figure out how to do that: Would love to hear from you. Kind regards, Tristan

• Organize and manage PDFs with Zoho PDF Editor's dashboard

  Hello users, Zoho PDF Editor's dashboard is a one-stop place to upload, sort, share PDF files, and more. This article will explore the various capabilities that Zoho PDF Editor's dashboard offers. A few highlights of Zoho PDF Editor's dashboard: Upload

• Custom function return type

  Hi, How do I create a custom deluge function in Zoho CRM that returns a string? e.g. Setup->Workflow->Custom Functions->Configure->Write own During create or edit of the function I don't see a way to change the default 'void' to anything else. Adding

• Passing Info from Function to Client Script

  Hello, I have recently started making use of client script for buttons, allowing me to give the user information or warnings before they proceed. This is great. However, I have never quite managed to pass back any extra information from the function to

• Drag 'n' Drop Fields to a Sub-Form and "Move Field To" Option

  Hi, I would like to be able to move fields from the Main Page to a Sub-Form or from a Sub-Form to either the Main Page or another Sub-Form. Today if you change the design you have to delete and recreate every field, not just move them. Would be nice to

• Zoho Payroll for Canada

  Is anyone else having problems getting setup for Canada?

• Next Page