Zoho Creator Upcoming Updates — February 2023

Zoho Creator Upcoming Updates — February 2023

Hello all!

A very happy new year to all of you! We're back with the very first monthly update of the year! Your support has made Creator's journey in 2022 both momentous and remarkable, and we'll be striving hard to make sure 2023 is even more incredible. Moreover, we're overwhelmed by your response to our brand new Product Roadmap page—thank you so much!

We'd like to welcome you to the new year with a slew of crucial updates:
  • Blueprint Deluge tasks
  • Inactive accounts deletion
  • Old [C4] payment deprecation
  • Upgrading to new sharing for user and customer portals
  • Dynamically embed components in pages
  • Import data to reports via permalink
  • Parent window navigation for widgets
  • AI-model assistant to create apps from files
  • OpenAPI specification
- - - - - - - - - -

Blueprint Deluge tasks
 
We thought a rendezvous between two major Zoho Creator features—Deluge and Blueprint—would open up infinite possibilities. So we pulled up our socks to get working and came up with two new Deluge tasks related to blueprints. 
  1. thisapp.blueprint.executeTransition - This is a task that will let you execute a transition and move a record from one stage to another. This task is handy when you need to perform bulk actions on a large number of records.
  2. thisapp.blueprint.changeStage - This task will let you move from one stage to another stage without having to execute a transition. Moreover, this task will be applicable in a bidirectional way, meaning that you can use it to move to a stage that is present before or after the current stage in the blueprint.
Crucially, we've also managed to overcome the limitation which prevented records manipulated using Deluge from being a part of any Blueprints. Going forward, even records added/updated using Deluge tasks can partake in the blueprint process.

How do I benefit?
The ability to work with blueprint workflows using Deluge programming will help vastly improve the automation of business processes.
 
Applicable for: C5, C6
Availability: All DCs
Released on: 08-Feb-23
 
Note: Blueprint Deluge tasks will be rolled out in a phased manner. Initially, they will be available only for new signups, but then later will be rolled out for all.
 
- - - - - - - - - -
 
Inactive accounts deletion
 
In order to enhance performance, preserve security, reduce data retention, and safeguard the privacy of Creator users, we've decided to make the hard choice to delete inactive accounts. While we're sad to see some people leave Creator, we also see this as an opportunity to improve the performance of those who choose to stay with us. Any account that hasn't been accessed for 180 days will be considered as inactive and marked for deletion.
 
How will it work?
  1. After prolonged inactivity, an account will be listed for deletion.
    Note: Only inactive accounts with a free, expired, or unpaid subscription will be considered.
  2. The account admin will be informed via email of the impending deletion. Multiple reminders will follow.
  3. Finally, on a predetermined and well-publicized date, the account will be deleted.
  4. If the admin changes their mind and wants to retain their account, they can do so at any time before the deletion deadline, simply by clicking the Reactivate account button in the emails they've received.
How do I benefit?
Once this entire process is complete, the load on our systems will be reduced considerably, and we'll be able to reuse resources to serve you better. And finally, we're making rapid progress towards our ultimate aim of making Zoho Creator the fastest low-code development platform available.
 
Applicable for: C5
Availability: All DCs
Released on: 09-March-23
 
- - - - - - - - - -
 
Old [C4] payment deprecation
 
Creator vets will remember that you used to be able to configure payments from within Form properties in C4. While it worked well, we came up with something even better in C5—Payment workflows.
 
Upon its launch, we began a process of slowly consolidating all payments under Workflows. Then, awhile later, we deprecated support for the creation of new payments from form properties. But, by popular request, we allowed existing payment configurations to continue functioning as before.
 
Although old C4 payments were permanently disabled, the payment field was retained to store the payment configuration and its associated data. However, old C4 payment configurations will soon reach their end of life.
 
What should I do?
  1. Go to Form -> Form properties.
  2. Then navigate to the Payment section.
    i. If a payment configuration is present, then click the Delete icon.
    ii. If the payment configuration was removed earlier, then the payment field alone will be present. In this case, click Delete old payment.
    iii. If you don't see anything under the payment section, then you don't need to do anything. You're already good to go.
 
How do I benefit?
Shifting to payment workflows will enable you to collect payments by integrating with a large number of payment gateways. Additionally, any application which still has old payment configurations cannot become part of Environments. You don't want to miss out on that functionality!
 
Applicable for: C5, C6 users who are using the old payment method
Availability: All DCs
 
- - - - - - - - - -

Upgrading to new sharing for Users and Customer portal 

A small but significant percentage of Creator users continue to stick with the old sharing setup for users and customer portals. All good things come to an end, but this time around they'll be superseded by something vastly superior. The new sharing model brings with it massive upgrades—customizable permissions, field permissions, the ability to restrict visibility, and much more—to the process of sharing with users and customers. We're sure that you'll love the upgrade!
 
We realize that this could be a big change for some of you, though. With that in mind, we came up with a pretty helpful Upgrade wizard to assist you with the upgrading process. The upgrade wizard will give you a detailed preview of how the user and customer portal permissions and other configurations will be mapped after the upgrade.
 
How do I upgrade?
  1. Visit the Updates section under Account Setup and choose the Users and Customer Portal upgrade.
  2. In the upgrade wizard, select the application which should be upgraded to the new sharing.
  3. A preview of how the permissions will look after upgrading to the new sharing will be displayed.
  4. After carefully reviewing the permissions, you can finalize the upgrade.
 
How do I benefit?
  • The new sharing setup comes with the benefit of better-structured access control policies using permissions and roles.
  • Permission to access, view, edit, delete, import, and export records can be set as part of the new sharing process.
  • Getting the new sharing setup for user and customer portal is a mandatory prerequisite to upgrading to C6, the most powerful and innovative version of Creator yet.
  • You (already are and) will continue missing out on exciting updates by sticking with the old sharing setup. We intend to focus our developmental resources only on the new sharing version.
Applicable for: C5 users who are using the old sharing model
Availability: All DCs
 
- - - - - - - - - -
 
Dynamically embed components in pages

Currently, you can embed other Creator components (like forms, reports, etc.) in a page. Now we're taking it up a notch by opening up the possibility of embedding Creator components in a page as: 
  • Popup windows
  • Embed containers within the same page (both as HTML and iframe)
  • <div> containers
What do I need to do?
Just use the new zc_LoadIn page parameter to dynamically embed components into pages.
 
How do I benefit?
Apart from allowing you new ways to embed components into a page, the other advantage of this parameter is that now the page can show dynamic real-time values, without having to refresh the entire page. With the older fixed embed, you needed to refresh the page to get updated data.
 
Applicable for: C5, C6
Availability: All DCs
Released on: 06-Feb-23

- - - - - - - - - -

Import data to reports via permalink
 
We'll be launching standardized functionality-based URLs that'll allow your users to import data directly to reports. Save your users' time, as they'll no longer need to go to that particular report to upload data.
 
How will it work?
The import permalink will have the following pattern:
https://<base_url>/<account_owner_name>/<application_name>/report/<report_link_name>/import

Use it anywhere in any component to quickly direct the user to the import interface.
 
How do I benefit?
This standalone import permalink can provide you with innumerable ways to enable users to upload data to reports. Apart from saving them the hassle, the permalink can be added to other components, like pages, forms, workflows, and more.
 
Applicable for: C5, C6
Availability: All DCs
Released on: 06-Feb-23
- - - - - - - - - -
 
Parent window navigation for widgets

As you're probably aware, Widgets help you build components that aren't always possible using Creator's built-in functionalities. But, due to certain restrictions, you couldn't execute actions from widgets to their parent window (creatorapp.zoho.com). Annoying, right?
 
To overcome this limitation, we've come up with a new method, navigateparentURL(), which will ‌allow you to execute an action in the parent window from the child window itself. This method can handle the open, back, reload, close, and close all actions.
 
How will it work?
Just use the navigateparentURL() method present under the ‌ZOHO.CREATOR.UTIL with JavaScript functions. The action that's required to be performed (back, close, etc) should be passed as a param.
 
Syntax:
var param = {
action:${ACTIONVALUE}
url: ${URL}
window: ${WINDOWTYPE}
}
ZOHO.CREATOR.UTIL.navigateParentURL(param)
 
How do I benefit?
With the new method, you can provide a powerful yet greatly simplified experience to your users, with the help of UI buttons which perform actions in the parent window.
 
Applicable for: C5, C6
Availability: All DCs
Released on: 13-Mar-23
Reference: 
 
- - - - - - - - - -
 
AI-model assistant to create apps from files

Trying to create an app or form by importing a file containing large amounts of data can be a real headache! That's why we've come up with an AI-powered tool to help you achieve data normalization while importing files. Data normalization is the process of breaking down data into smaller tables with a more organized structure.
 
Our AI will quickly analyze the data you're importing and provide you with a list of suggestions to split them into smaller tables along with suitable relationships that can be established by showing you a list of reference forms and lookup fields.
 
What should I do?
  1. In the Import from file window when creating a new application in the wizard, click Restructure table under the Data section.
  2. You'll then be shown a list of suggestions. Choose the most suitable one and, if needed, make any changes as per requirements.
 
How do I benefit?
This features brings order to your disorganized data, segments it in a disciplined fashion, and makes it more suitable for consumption.
 
Applicable for: C5, C6
Availability: All DCs
Released on: 06-Feb-23
 
- - - - - - - - - -
 
OpenAPI specification

As part of our continuing process of standardizing the APIs across our products, Zoho Creator v2 APIs are now defined using OpenAPI specifications. The key advantage of embracing OAS is that it includes a standard and language-agnostic interface for describing APIs in a manner in which they are both machine-readable and interpretable by human readers.
 
How to get them?
  1. Visit the OpenAPI page under the API docs. There, you can download the OAS files as a whole or individually, as per your requirement.
  2. Alternatively, when you visit any individual API page (say Add records, for example) you'll see a Download OAS button. Use it to get the OAS file.
  3. Then use them in Swagger.
 
How do I benefit?
Since OAS is the industry standard, you can steeply reduce the learning curve of APIs. Anyone can easily determine how an API works, as the OAS files contain detailed information about the endpoints, components, and meta information.
 
Applicable for: C5, C6
Availability: All DCs
Released on: 06-Feb-23
 
- - - - - - - - - -
 
We'll notify you as these features are rolled out. In the meantime, let us know what you think about these updates in the comments below!
 
Regards,
Zoho Creator Team

    • Sticky Posts

    • Introducing Zoho Creator's 2025 Release Projection 2

      Hello Creators! I'm Prakash, from the Creator product management team, and today I'm delighted to unveil our next set of features as part of Release Projection 2 for 2025. With thoughtful analysis and planning, we've curated powerful new capabilities

    • 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

    • Recent Topics

    • Please verify my account

      Hi, We have just launched our website and received media coverage in our country. Hundreds of users are signing up for our platform every day. We would like to send them a welcome email, but we are unable to do so because our ZeptoMail account has not

    • Payment Card or Identity form-fill from Vault?

      Hello! I'm working on replacing Bitwarden with Vault and one issue I've run into is that I can't find any option to fill address and payment forms from Payment Card or Identity info that has been saved in Vault. Is there a way to do this? Is it a planned

    • Ability to add VAT to Retainer Invoices

      Hello, I've had a telephone conversation a month ago with Dinesh on this topic and my request to allow for the addition of VAT on Retainer Invoices.  It's currently not possible to add VAT to Retainer Invoices and it was mutually agreed that there is absolutely no reason why there shouldn't be, especially as TAX LAW makes VAT mandatory on each invoice in Europe!   So basically, what i'm saying is that if you don't allow us to add VAT to Retainer Invoices, than the whole Retainer Invoices becomes

    • Time Log Reminder

      Tracking the time spent on tasks and issues is one of the most important functions of a timesheet. However, users may forget to update the time logs because they have their own goals to achieve. But, time logs must be updated at regular intervals to keep

    • [Early-access] Introducing Zoho's CommandCenter - Cross-Zoho business process automation

        Resources to help Webinar recording | Documentation  Feature Restrictions Currently available on early-access only for US data center accounts Features Role CommandCenter as a Service uses signals across Zoho services to propel the movement of records

    • Tip #58- Accessibility Controls in Zoho Assist: Learning- 'Insider Insights'

      Learning should be clear and interruption-free for everyone. Timely feedback plays an important role in helping users understand actions as they happen, without breaking their focus. In this post, we’ll explore the final section of Accessibility: Learning.

    • ZIA "Generate Content" action doesn't have contexual data from the ticket

      "Generate Content" action doesn't have contexual data from the ticket. I try to get AI to help me with this ticket but it doesn't seem to have any ticket information as context. Although the ticket has a lot of information in it.

    • Zoho Desk - Zoho FSM Integration issue on Mobile and iPad

      Hello Team, I am trying to create a Work Order (WO) using the Zoho FSM integration (Add-on Service) that is integrated with Zoho Desk. The issue is that the integration is not working on mobile devices and iPads. While I am able to create the WO, Request,

    • E-File Form 1099 Directly With the IRS From Zoho Books

      The Form 1099 filing season has begun, and businesses are required to e-file certain forms with the IRS to report payments made to vendors and contractors. If your business made qualifying payments during the year, you must e-file the appropriate Form

    • Can I hide empty Contact fields from view?

      Some contacts have a lot of empty fields, others are mostly filled. Is there a way I can hide/show empty fields without changing the actual Layout? I would like to de-clutter my view, and also be able to add information later as I am able. I would be willing to learn to code a button, but I am highly confused about it and thus worried it would be beyond me.  I've looked at a lot of the developer documents and I'm not able to make a lot of sense of them.  Thank you in advance to anyone who knows the

    • Suggestions for showing subscribed Topics in CRM (contact record)

      We have several Topics set up in ZMA. We also have a sync set up between ZMA and CRM. I'd like to display the subscribed topics on the CRM Contact record. This will allow the Sales team (who uses CRM) to see at a glance what topics a Contact is subscribed

    • Replies sometimes creating separate ticket

      Sometimes when a customer responds to an email coming from Zoho Desk, instead of adding a reply to the original ticket, a separate ticket is created. This happens even though the response subject line contained the ticket number, and the person responding

    • Re-hide fields when option is unselected

      Hi all Can anyone help me with this - when I create a 'show' field rule for when a dropdown option is selected, how to I make it so the 'show' option re-hides if that option is no longer selected?

    • Allow Attaching Quartz Recordings to Existing Zoho Support Tickets

      Hi Zoho Team, We would like to request an enhancement to how Zoho Quartz recordings integrate with Zoho Support tickets. Current Behavior: At the moment, each Quartz recording automatically creates a new support ticket. However, in many real-world scenarios:

    • I'm getting this error when I try to link an email to a deal inside the Zohomail Zoho CRM extension.

      When I click "Yes, associate," the system displays an "Oops!! Something went wrong" error message. I have attached a screenshot of the issue for reference.

    • Custom Fields

      There is no way to add a custom field in the "Timesheet" module. Honestly, the ability to add a custom field should be available in every module.

    • Remove the “One Migration Per User” Limitation in Zoho WorkDrive

      Hi Zoho WorkDrive Team, Hope you are doing well. We would like to raise a critical feature request regarding the Google Drive → Zoho WorkDrive migration process. Current Limitation: Zoho WorkDrive currently enforces a hard limitation: A Zoho WorkDrive

    • Translation from Chinese (Simplified) to Chinese (Traditional) is not working. It randomly translated. Google Translate accurately but zoho translate is not working at all

      Hi friends, The newly added language for translation. https://www.zoho.com/deluge/help/ai-tasks/translate.html "zh" - Chinese "zh-CN" - Chinese (Simplified) "zh-TW" - Chinese (Traditional) my original text: 郑这钻 (and it is zh-CN) translated traditional

    • Consultant-Only Booking Page

      Zoho Bookings does not allow for Meeting Type OR Workspace-Wide booking pages to be turned off. This is detrimental to organizations that have territory-based or assigned accounts, because if prospects can go to these booking pages and either select the

    • All new Address Field in Zoho CRM: maintain structured and accurate address inputs

      The address field will be available exclusively for IN DC users. We'll keep you updated on the DC-specific rollout soon. It's currently available for all new sign-ups and for existing Zoho CRM orgs which are in the Professional edition. Latest update

    • Call result pop up on call when call ends

      I’d like to be able to create a pop up that appears after a call has finished that allows me to select the Call Result. I'm using RingCentral. I have seen from a previous, now locked, thread on Zoho Cares that this capability has been implemented, but

    • Custom Sorting based on other columns in table

      I need the ability to apply custom sorting to a text-based dimension in the X axis where the sorting is based on another column in the table. For example, I have a chart report where the X axis is a text label. I would like to be able to sort those text

    • Feature Request: Enable Custom PDF Layout Editor for All Modules (Including Package Slips)

      Hello Zoho Community and Product Team, I am writing to share a suggestion that would significantly enhance the customization capabilities within Zoho Books. We all appreciate the power of the Custom PDF Layouts (the "New" template engine) that allows

    • Is there a way to invoke deluge function from within a widget?

      Hi! I have custom functions in deluge and I was wondering whether there is any way to call this function through a widget? Something like on click of a button inside a widget, run the deluge custom function. Would this be possible?

    • Can a default task Priority be set?

      The "Priority" field in the Task layout does not allow a default to be set. Is there another way of doing it? Because the current default is "None" and the Zoho Kanban board design has selected this field as critical information to surface by including

    • Adding a threshold to a line chart based on date range

      I have a line chart that is tracking a percentage over time. It also has a filter for 50 different clients. I would like to create a threshold that is based on a portion of the date range. As I understand it, this would be done by adding a column to the

    • Resize Signature field dynamically

      On the tablet, it is perfect. But on smaller mobile devices and PCs, both web and application, it is too small for people to sign. Is there any plan to make the signature field size dynamically in the future update?

    • 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

    • Zoho Creator Application - New User Not able to access the application

      In Zoho Creator, The newly added user not able to access the " Added Application" - User has received the Invitation Email, but while clicking "confirm Account" in the invitation Email, the following error message has appeared. "Sorry! you cannot accept

    • Deleting Salutation Field

      We have updated our lead input screen and 'Salutation' has appeared. This is not visible in the 'Edit Pgae Layout' screen so cannot be moved to 'List of Removed Fields'  Salutation is visible in the list in 'Customization - Fields' however I can only 'Edit' or 'Replace' I cannot delete and I do not need this field on my lead input screen.  Please can you advise how to get rid of this.  Screen shots can be provided if needed.  Thank you Tasha

    • Auto-Generate & Update Asset Serial Numbers using a custom function (Assets Module)

      Hello Team, I’ve been working on a script to automate one of our processes in Zoho FSM, and the core functionality has been successfully implemented. However, I’m encountering an issue related to serial number allocation, which is not working as expected.

    • Partner with HDFC And Sbi Bank.

      Hdfc and sbi both are very popular bank if zoho books become partner with this banks then many of the zoho books users will benefit premium features of partnered banks.

    • Zoho Mail iOS app update: Access Delegated Mailbox.

      Hello everyone! You can now access the delegated mailbox from within the iOS version of the Zoho Mail app. To access the delegated mailbox: Open the Zoho Mail app. Go on to the 'Email' module. Tap the profile picture. Choose the delegated mailbox Please

    • How to convert Lead's country field from Text to Pick List

      Hi, I would like to change the default country field in ZCRM from text to pick list. It looks like not I can't delete default country field and recreate it as pick list nor can i create an new custom field country because such a label belong to default field. So what do I have to do? Any ideas? L

    • How create a draft via workflow?

      I wish to create a workflow rule for specific emails that creates a draft response - not an automatic email reply, but just a draft with a set response ready to be verified by an agent who can then manually select recipients. Alternatively, the workflow

    • New feature: Invite additional guests for your bookings

      Hello everyone, Greetings from Zoho Bookings! We are happy to announce the much-awaited feature Guest Invite, which enhances your booking experience like never before. This feature allows additional participants to be invited for the bookings to make

    • Improved Contact Sync flow in Google Integration with Zoho CRM

      Hello Everyone, Your contact sync in Google integration just got revamped! We have redesigned the sync process to give users more control over what data flows into Google and ensure that this data flows effortlessly between Zoho CRM and Google. With this

    • Image field in custom module

      Hi guy, Is there any hope of adding a custom image field in the custom module? We created a custom module to keep track of assets, and it would be helpful if we could attach an image to the record. Thanks Rudy

    • الخصم على مستوى فاتورة المبيعات

      السلام عليكم ورحمة الله وبركاته مطلوب في إنشاء خصم على مستوى فاتورة المبيعات وليس على مستوى البند أريد معرفة الطريقة؟

    • VAT and Taxes option not available

      Dear ZOHO Team , The VAT and Taxes options in my ZOHO books account not available,I tried to find how to enable or check the way to use this option but unfortunately couldn't find it anywhere ,I'm in UAE ,kindly let me know what to do to solve this issue

    • Next Page