Kaizen #172 - Leveraging the 'crmAPIResponse' Object in Queries

Hello everyone!

Welcome back to another week of Kaizen!

We released the Queries feature sometime back and hope you have tried it out.

A little gist about this feature before we move on to our post.

Zoho CRM's Queries feature enables dynamic data retrieval from both CRM modules and external services, facilitating seamless integration and informed decision-making.

Key Components

• Sources: Pre-configured sources like Modules and COQL are available, with the option to add custom sources via REST APIs.
  
• Queries: Fetch data by selecting modules, writing COQL statements, or specifying REST API endpoints, headers, and parameters.
  
• Variables: Incorporate variables in criteria, COQL statements, and endpoints to pass dynamic values during execution.
  
• Schema: Auto-generated schemas define the structure of query responses, with editable paths, field types, and labels for customization.
  
• Serializer: Utilize JavaScript to manipulate and customize query responses, ensuring data is in the desired format for further processing.
  

Types of Queries

• Modules: Retrieve records by selecting specific modules and fields, applying conditions to filter data as needed.
  
• COQL (CRM Object Query Language): Write SQL-like queries to fetch data, supporting complex operations like joins and aggregations.
  
• REST API: Fetch data from external services by specifying endpoints, headers, parameters, and connections.
  

With the Queries feature, you can efficiently access and display relevant data within Zoho CRM, enhancing workflow efficiency and decision-making capabilities.

A little insight into Functions before we dive into today's Kaizen!

Functions, Queries, you get the connection, right? Read on!

Many of us use Functions in Zoho CRM extensively to perform our business logic and customize the way things work in Zoho CRM. You can use Functions in blueprints, workflows, Circuits etc.

Let's say you have a function that gets the employee records from the Employees module. Technically, the function executes an API call or an integration task, and gives a response.

The response can be a string or map(JSON), depending on how the function is written and where it is used. Since functions can be used in many places, the same response format may not be the right one to be used in a circuit or a workflow.

This is where the genie 'crmAPIResponse' object comes into picture!

The power of the 'crmAPIResponse' object

The crmAPIResponse object to be returned in the CRM function should encapsulate the response in a way that it can be used in Queries, Circuit, workflow etc. The details needed are encapsulated as a map. It should include details like crmStatusCode, status, message, body in order to construct the desired format for handling data and customizing the error handling logic.

Let's consider the following example function where we use the getRecordByID integration task.

The response of the integration task contains all the fields in that module, but we want only certain parts of the response JSON and also add custom error messages, to be used in other components like Queries, Circuits, etc,.

Here is the code.

{ leadId = "3652397000018025772"; // Replace with a valid Lead ID // Initialize customAPIResponse map customAPIResponse = map(); // Fetch lead details crmResponse = zoho.crm.getRecordById("Leads", leadId); // Log the raw response for debugging info "CRM API Raw Response: " + crmResponse; // Validate and process the response to include only the required fields if (crmResponse != null && crmResponse.containsKey("id")) { // Extract required fields filteredData = map(); filteredData.put("id", crmResponse.get("id")); filteredData.put("Last_Name", crmResponse.get("Last_Name")); filteredData.put("Email", crmResponse.get("Email")); customAPIResponse.put("crmStatusCode", 200); customAPIResponse.put("status", "success"); customAPIResponse.put("message", "Lead data retrieved successfully."); customAPIResponse.put("body", filteredData); // Include only filtered data } else { customAPIResponse.put("crmStatusCode", null); customAPIResponse.put("status", "error"); customAPIResponse.put("message", "Invalid or null response from Zoho CRM API."); customAPIResponse.put("body", null); } // Return the customAPIResponse return {"crmAPIResponse": customAPIResponse}; }

Here, you can see that we have parsed the response of the integration task to get the Last_Name, Email, and record ID using the crmResponse.get("field_API_name") statement and constructed the customAPIresponse object using the customAPIResponse.put("key", "value") statement.

The statement return {"crmAPIResponse": customAPIResponse}; returns the response body as depicted in the previous statements.

Response to the info "CRM API Raw Response: " + crmResponse; statement

"CRM API Raw Response: {"Owner":{"name":"Patricia Boyle","id":"3652397000000186017","email":"p.boyle@zylker.com"},"$field_states":null,..}}}

Response of the return {"crmAPIResponse": customAPIResponse}; statement

{     "crmAPIResponse": {         "crmStatusCode": 200,         "status": "success",         "message": "Lead data retrieved successfully.",         "body": {             "id": "3652397000018025772",             "Last_Name": "Math",             "Email": "math@gmail.com"         }     } }

Error response

{     "crmAPIResponse": {         "crmStatusCode": null,         "status": "error",         "message": "Invalid or null response from Zoho CRM API.",         "body": null     } }

You can see that we have used the crmAPIResponse object to get only the required keys from the response and constructed a much simpler response.

Refer to our help page on Response Object for more details.

Finally, to today's Kaizen!

We've established that you can use the crmAPIResponse object to construct responses in a way that's suitable to be consumed at another place like a circuit or a workflow.

We also know that Queries allows you to have sources of the REST API type to fetch data from various sources. This means that you can have a standalone function that is enabled as a REST API as a source in Queries.

Let's see an example.

There is a simple function that uses the getRecords integration task to get the records from the Employees module.

I have used the crmAPIresponse object to construct a response as shown in the following code.

string standalone.getRecords() { result = zoho.crm.getRecords("Employees"); response = Map(); response.put("status_code",200); response.put("body",{"code":"success","details":result,"message":"function executed successfully"}); return {"crmAPIResponse":response}; }

The response of this function is a string in the crmAPIResponse object as shown in this image.

1. Save this function and enable REST API.
   
   
2. You can see that the domain is https://www.zohoapis.com. To be able to use this in a Query, register this domain in Trusted Domain.
   
   
3. To create a REST API type source, you must add the source. Go to Setup > Developer Hub > Queries > Sources tab.
4. Click Add Source and give the details like the name, base URL, headers, and parameters under the Information section.
   
   
5. Click Save.
6. Go to the Queries tab and click Add Query.
   
7. For Source, choose the source you just added.
   
8. Under Information, enter the name, API name of the query.
   
9. For the endpoint, enter the API Key URL of the function.
   
   
10. Enter the parameter name and values in the Parameter field.
    
11. Click Add Serializer if you want to serialize the response. In this example, I have serialized the response to include only the Name, Email, and Position fields in the output. The result contains the 'body' object that we returned in the crmAPIResponse object of the function.
    
    
    
    
12. Click Save to save the serialization.
    
13. Click Next to view the schema of the query. Make changes as required.
    
14. Save the query.
    

You can now use this query in Canvas or associate it with Kiosk to solve your business needs.

Let us see how the crmAPIResponse object in the function affects the response of the query.

Query with the function without crmAPIResponse:

Let's consider that the function getRecords() does not use the crmAPIResponse object. In that case, the function returns a response that is a string. This response string cannot be serialized or used elsewhere.

Schema of the query without crmAPIResponse:

Query with the function with crmAPIResponse and serialization:

The same getRecords() function that uses the crmAPIResponse object allows you to construct the response as JSON. You can serialize this response easily and use it in a circuit, query, workflow etc.

You can see here that the response is now a JSON.

Schema of the query with crmAPIResponse:

In conclusion, you can use the crmAPIResponse object in Functions to construct the desired response and use the REST API-enabled function as a source in Queries.

Leveraging the advantage of the crmAPIResponse object in functions and using it in Queries increases the prospect of solving many more business cases easily and customize more efficiently.

We hope you liked this post and found it useful. Let us know your thoughts in the comments.

If you'd like us to cover any other topic in this series, feel free to comment or reach us at support@zohocrm.com.

Cheers!

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

More enhancements in the COQL API are now live in Zoho CRM API Version 7. Check out the V7 Changelog for detailed information on these updates.

See Also

• Related Kaizen - Handling Variables in Queries, Serialization and Schema Management in Queries 
• Queries in Zoho CRM
  
• Functions in Zoho CRM
  
• Response Object in Zoho CRM
  
• Previous Kaizen - FAQs on COQL API
  
• Kaizen Directory
  

• Topic Participants

• Shylaja S

  

• Zsolt Simon self-employed

• Sticky Posts

• Kaizen #198: Using Client Script for Custom Validation in Blueprint

  Nearing 200th Kaizen Post – 1 More to the Big Two-Oh-Oh! Do you have any questions, suggestions, or topics you would like us to cover in future posts? Your insights and suggestions help us shape future content and make this series better for everyone.

• Kaizen #226: Using ZRC in Client Script

  Hello everyone! Welcome to another week of Kaizen. In today's post, lets see what is ZRC (Zoho Request Client) and how we can use ZRC methods in Client Script to get inputs from a Salesperson and update the Lead status with a single button click. In this

• Kaizen #222 - Client Script Support for Notes Related List

  Hello everyone! Welcome to another week of Kaizen. The final Kaizen post of the year 2025 is here! With the new Client Script support for the Notes Related List, you can validate, enrich, and manage notes across modules. In this post, we’ll explore how

• Kaizen #217 - Actions APIs : Tasks

  Welcome to another week of Kaizen! In last week's post we discussed Email Notifications APIs which act as the link between your Workflow automations and you. We have discussed how Zylker Cloud Services uses Email Notifications API in their custom dashboard.

• Kaizen #216 - Actions APIs : Email Notifications

  Welcome to another week of Kaizen! For the last three weeks, we have been discussing Zylker's workflows. We successfully updated a dormant workflow, built a new one from the ground up and more. But our work is not finished—these automated processes are

• Recent Topics

• PDF limit

  Hello everyone, We have received an e-mail that we have reached our PDF limit. (see screenshot) However, I cannot find any reference to a PDF limit in our tariff plan (Premium). (see screenshot). What is the maximum number of PDFs that can be generated

• 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.

• Credit Card Pre-Authorization with later Capture/Settlement

  We really enjoy the convenience of being able to pay off a customer's invoice using our Auth.Net integration with Zoho Books. Unfortunately, we can only take advantage of this feature with a small percentage of our customers as it leaves a gaping hole

• Zoho Projects and CRM Integration in Analytics

  Hi Team, In Zoho CRM, I’ve integrated CRM with Zoho Projects and associated a project within the CRM. The integration is visible under the Deals module. However, I’m unable to find this data in Zoho Analytics. Does anyone know where this information is

• Accessibility in Zoho CRM: Not just a feature—a way to empower

  For instructions on setting up these controls, please check this help document: Configuring accessibility controls. Hello everyone, Today (December 3, 2024), on the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, we begin our journey towards a CRM that

• Automation Series #1: Round Robin vs Direct Assignment in Zoho Desk

  Direct Assignment vs Round Robin: Choosing the right routing method in Zoho Desk This post is part of the "Desk Automation Series," Chapter 1. Through this series, we will help you choose the right automation type in Zoho Desk by comparing commonly confused

• Invalid tax authority ID.

  How do I correct this ?

• Pay Pal Paylater button

  I am testing the paypal setup to have my customers pay invoices with paypal and credit cards. But it seems to have two options. Paypal and Pay later. I don't want my customers access to pay later feature. How can I turn that part off.. My other integration

• Zoho Workshops are coming to the Netherlands - Join us on 14-16 April in Amsterdam!

  Dear Zoho Community Members, After succesful recent editions in the UK and Scandinavia, we’re pleased to invite you to the upcoming Zoho Benelux Workshop 2026, taking place 14–16 April 2026 in Amsterdam. This three-day, in-person event at the Park Plaza

• How to install Widget in inventory module

  Hi， I am trying to install a app into Sales Order Module related list, however there is no button allow me to do that. May I ask how to install widget to inventory module related list?

• Sub form auto field population based on parent form

  I have a parent form called "Sites" with a text field called "Site". I have a subform called "Design Comments" (actual form name "Review Comments") with a lookup field name "Sites1" that looks up from the Sites form. I want the Sites1 lookup field to

• Building Toppings #7 - Using schedules and workflow functions

  Hello Biginners, In our previous forum post, we explored install and uninstall actions and learned how to trigger custom logic the moment a topping is added or removed from an organization. In this post, we'll look at how to automate actions during regular,

• Simplify scripting with Zia assistant bot

  Hello everyone, Building automation using Deluge custom functions gives users flexibility and control. Traditionally, creating these functions required writing scripts, testing the logic, and validating the configuration before using it. With Zia assistant

• Zoho Sprints iOS app update: Global view, screen capture control, file encryption, tags enhancement

  Hello everyone! We are excited to introduce new features in the latest version(v2.1) of the Zoho Sprints iOS app update. Let’s take a quick look at what’s new. 1. Global view Global view brings all your project items into one centralised space. You can

• Resource Management System built using Zoho CRM, Creator, Projects, and People:

  In a Resource Management System built using Zoho CRM, Creator, Projects, and People: CRM Deal Closed → Creator Allocation Engine → Zoho Projects Task Assignment What is the recommended architecture to handle dynamic reassignment when: an employee goes

• Request to Remove LinkedIn Verification from My Emai

  I would like to submit a complaint regarding my Zoho Mail account. I previously used this email address to verify a LinkedIn account, but that LinkedIn account has now been closed. I need to remove or cancel the verification associated with the closed

• Pin multiple columns and adjust column widths in CRM subforms

  Hello all, Subforms act as secondary forms or tables in which you can associate multiple line items to a primary record and thereby ensure more structured and comprehensive data organization. We've made some recent enhancements to subforms. Here's what's

• Removing To or CC Addresses from Desk Ticket

  I was hoping i could find a way to remove unnecessary email addresses from tickets submitted via email. For example, a customer may email the support address AND others who are in the helpdesk notification group, in either the TO or CC address. This results

• From Zoho CRM to Paper : Design & Print Data Directly using Canvas Print View

  Hello Everyone, We are excited to announce a new addition to your Canvas in Zoho CRM - Print View. Canvas print view helps you transform your custom CRM layouts into print-ready documents, so you can bring your digital data to the physical world with

• Announcing Kiosk 1.1 - Customize screen titles, configure new fields & actions, use values from your Kiosk to update fields, and more.

  Hello all We are back again with more enhancements to Kiosk. So what's new? Enhancements made to the Components Add titles for your Kiosk screens and adjust its width to suit your viewing preferences. Three new fields can be added to your screen: Percentage,

• CRM Percent custom fields: When will it show the % symbol and behave like %?

  1. Actually Percent custom fields fail to show the % symbol. 2. When in formulas Percent fields work like number: 100 x 5% = 5 ideal world 100 x 5% = 500 what happens actually 3. When importing Percent fields the % symbol has to be removed and the data

• Introducing Color Coding of Picklist Values

  Dear Everyone, Greetings!! Zoho CRM is uplifting the user experience. Recently, we had some notable aesthetic improvements in CRM like Kanban View UI enhancement, New List view UI enhancement, color coding of tags, and color coding of picklists in meetings.

• Where can I find the best mail backup tool for Windows?

  Later this evening I found Mail Backup Tool in google. Actually I was looking for a solution to download/save emails to my local drive. As I had plenty of important data stored in my email account. So i was not in a mood to take this thing lightly. This made me curious to found any software which can help me to backup my data to hard drive. Then I found the above application which was like a gem. A complete email backup solution for Zoho Mail, Gmail, Yahoo Mail, Office 365 and more than 40+ email

• Mailbox storage showing incorrect usage

  My mailbox shows 4.99 GB used out of 5 GB. However, actual mailbox usage is only around 394 MB. Trash and Spam are already empty. IMAP/POP is not enabled. WorkDrive is not in use. This appears to be a storage calculation issue. Please help to recalculate

• Super Admin Logging in as another User

  How can a Super Admin login as another user. For example, I have a sales rep that is having issues with their Accounts and I want to view their Zoho Account with out having to do a GTM and sharing screens. Moderation Update (8th Aug 2025): We are working

• Es posible cambiar el lenguaje de los modulos del ASAP?

  Es posible cambiar el lenguaje de estos textos? Tengo Zoho configurado en español pero aun así me muestra estos textos en ingles:

• Option to Automatically Publish Job Openings to the Career Website via API or Workflow

  Currently, when creating Job Openings using the Zoho Recruit API, the records are successfully inserted into the system. However, there is no way to automatically publish these Job Openings to the Career Website. In the Job Opening field data, there are

• Evaluate applicants faster: Profile Summary and Skill Sets now in Applications

  Evaluating applicants often requires switching between modules to understand their skills and background. With this update, we’ve extended two capabilities directly to the Applications module: Skill Sets and Profile Summary. You can now review applicants

• Free webinar: How to use passkeys with Zoho Vault

  Hi everyone! Passkeys are transforming the way we sign in—making authentication safer, faster, and completely passwordless. No more memorizing complex passwords or worrying about credential theft. With Zoho Vault, you can securely manage both passwords

• Adding Markdown text using Zoho Desk API into the Knowledge Base

  Hi Zoho Community members, We currently maintain the documentation of out company in its website. This documentation is written in markdown text format and we would like to add it in Zoho Knowledge Base. Do you know if there is REST API functionality

• Is it possible to embed Zoho Bookmarks in the Cliq sidebar?

  Is there any way that each Zoho user can access their bookmarks (that live in https://bookmarks.zoho.eu/ which is technically a part of Zoho Mail) directly within Cliq? As a widget, or an item in the sidebar? My team does not use Mail, it uses Cliq all

• Enhancing Zia's service with better contextual responses and article generation

  Hello everyone, We are enhancing Zia's Generative AI service to make your support experience smarter. Here's how: Increased accuracy with Qwen One of the key challenges in AI is delivering responses that are both contextually accurate and empathetic while

• Let us add Lookup fields in the Blueprint Transitions

  We are unable to add Lookup Fields in the blueprint transitions in Zoho Desk, we wanted to make it a requirement for our workflow but since it's not available in the transition we cannot. The lookup field exists in the Layout: But it cannot be added/selected

• How can we clear a signature field with deluge?

  I would like to clear a signature field in the Edit -> On Load. I have tried input.signature = ""; input.signature = null; clear input.signature; None of the above is working. is there any other way I am missing?

• Online PDF Editor

  Hello Team, There is a small glitch i found when i was using your online software called "PDF Editor", There is a menu bar on right side comes when we click on 3 dots for any pdf, but that entire menu has no options to choose, that is totally blank, please

• How do I disconnect my Salesforce integration?

  I need to integrate a different Salesforce sandbox with my Zoho form.

• Zoho Recruit - Email Relay

  Good day, Has anyone succeeded in setting up an email relay for Office 365? If I add the details from https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/pop-imap-and-smtp-settings-8361e398-8af4-4e97-b147-6c6c4ac95353, I get the connection error. Regards, Eka

• Zoho Recruit -> Exchange Online Relay

  HI! I have tried to connect Recruit to our MS 365 Exchange Online without any luck. I use this guide https://help.zoho.com/portal/en/kb/recruit/outreach/email-relay/articles/email-relay-zoho-recruit#Configuring_Email_Relay_Settings Do anyone have the

• Error AS101 when adding new email alias

  Hi, I am trying to add apple@(mydomain).com The error AS101 is shown while I try to add the alias.

• an issue in Zoho CRM where the workflow rule is not triggering

  H I’m currently facing an issue in Zoho CRM where the workflow rule is not triggering when a new lead is created through a webform. I’ve double-checked the criteria and field updates, everything seems fine but it still doesn’t fire. Has anyone faced this

• Next Page