Building extensions #5: Integrating applications with Zoho Projects through Connections

Building extensions #5: Integrating applications with Zoho Projects through Connections

In our last post, we discussed the essential features that a Zoho Projects extension can provide. Starting with this post andin every subsequent post going forward, we'll go through each of those features in depth, one by one, with an example use case.
In this post, we'll explore the Connections feature in detail.

Connections: When and why?

Creating a tightly coupled integration requires the establishment of a secure connection between applications. To achieve this secured connection, the Sigma platform provides the Connection feature that can be used to establish a secure link and perform data operations across applications seamlessly and efficiently through an extension.

Use case

Working on development-related tasks might require dealing with a variety of files, such as code snippets, help documents, or service level agreements. While several file management applications are available to securely store and organize data, manually handling file storage between applications remains challenging.

For our example, let's use Zoho Projects to manage all tasks, and Dropbox to manage and store data.

What is the difficulty faced?

Dropbox offers a file request feature that allows you to collect files and organize them into folders. However, as we talked about in our previous post, manually categorizing and uploading task-related files to their respective file request folders in Dropbox would be a time-consuming and laborious activity. Instead, it would be more efficient to integrate Dropbox with Zoho Projects so that uploading task files to Dropbox file request folders can be done instantly from within Zoho Projects.


How can it be sorted?

You can create a connection between Zoho Projects and Dropbox. With the secure connection setup, the file request folders available in Dropbox can be listed on the task details page of Zoho Projects through an extension. You may then easily upload files from Zoho Projects to their corresponding folders in Dropbox, saving time and making you more organized.

What are the components required to achieve this use case?

  1. A connection between Zoho Projects and Dropbox.
  2. An extension configuration that includes:
  • Creating an extension
  • Configuring the plugin manifest
  • Setting up the widget code to display the Dropbox file request folders inside the Zoho Projects task details page.
Now, let's see how we can achieve each of these components.

1. Creating a secure connection using the Connection feature

  • Log in or sign up into developer.zoho.com.
  • Go to Sigma and access your workspace.
  • Once you enter your workspace, select the Connections section in Sigma.
Note: Connections created in Zoho Projects are also accessible within the Connections section in Sigma. These connections can be used in extensions to connect with other applications.

  • Choose the service as Zoho Projects and select your Zoho Projects organization. Click on Create Connection.

  • Sigma offers a list of default services from which you can choose and easily connect with Zoho Projects. If the application you want to integrate isn’t in the default list, you can add and build a connection with it using the custom services option.
Note: If you’re looking to connect Zoho Projects with another Zoho Product that also follows the OneAuth authentication mechanism, select the service Zoho OneAuth from the Default Services list to create the connection.

  • In our example, the application to connect with Zoho Projects is Dropbox, and because it’s in the Default Services list, go ahead and choose Dropbox.

  • After choosing the service, enter the connection name. A connection link name will be populated automatically.
  • Toggle Use credentials of login user to Yes if you want every user installing the extension to access the connection using their own login credentials, or No if admin credentials are enough to access the connection.
  • In our example, we'll proceed with the former. So toggle to Yes, and then click Create and connect.
Note: For services in which the option to choose the scopes is displayed, choose the necessary scopes, and then click Create and connect.

  • You’ll be directed through a series of authorization steps before being prompted to connect with Dropbox by entering your login information.
  • The connection will be established successfully once you sign in with Dropbox, and you will be redirected to the Connection Summary details page in Sigma.
  • To access this connection as part of an extension, you’ll need to configure the sample code provided under the JSON section in the plugin-manifest.json file. We’ll explore this in the next section.

2. Extension configuration

Now that we've successfully established our connection, let's look at how we can achieve our use case feature of displaying the Dropbox file request folder within the Zoho Projects task detail page. As mentioned earlier, to accomplish this, we’ll need to implement the following measures.
A. Create an extension

B. Configure the plugin-manifest.json file

C. Set up the widget code
Let's explore these steps in order.

A. Create an extension
B. Configure the plugin-manifest.json file
  • As previously stated, to access the connection established between Zoho Projects and Dropbox, the connection must first be configured in the plugin-manifest.json file.
  • Copy the JSON sample code from the Connection Summary Details page and paste it into the plugin-manifest.jsonfile as the value for the connections key.

  • You will also need to white list the Dropbox domain for Dropbox calls to be processed without being blocked.
  • Include the domain in the plugin-mainfest.json file as the value for the whiteLitsedDomains key.

  • As we saw in our earlier post, the plugin-manifest.json file includes a widget called Projects Extension by default. For our example, because we’re connecting with Dropbox and constructing a widget that will include Dropbox request folders to upload files, enter the widget name and location.

  • The final configured plugin-manifest.json file for our example would be as follows:
  1. {
  2. "connectors": [{
  3. "connectionLinkName": "dropbox",
  4. "userAccess": true,
  5. "sharedBy": "xxxxxxx",
  6. "connectionName": "dropbox",
  7. "serviceName": "dropbox",
  8. "isUserDefinedService": false
  9. }],
  10. "whiteListedDomains": ["https://api.dropboxapi.com"],
  11. "service": "PROJECTS",
  12. "cspDomains": {
  13. "connect-src": []
  14. },
  15. "storage": true,
  16. "locale": ["en"],
  17. "config": [],
  18. "modules": {
  19. "widgets": [{
  20. "name": "Dropbox - File Upload",
  21. "location": "taskdetails_rightpanel",
  22. "url": "/app/dropbox.html"
  23. }],
  24. "triggers": []
  25. }
  26. }

C. Setting up the widget code

Now, that we’ve created an extension and configured the plugin manifest file, let's finally set up the widget code in order to display all Dropbox file request folders inside our task details right panel.

Dropbox.html widget code: Please find the widget code snippet as an attachment in this post.
  • In this widget code, we’ve invoked the Dropbox API to list file request folders by constructing and passing the required data along with the connection we had established for Dropbox.
  • The API will be invoked and return all of the file request folders in the task details right panel, from which users can click on the link and directly upload files to Dropbox from within a task in Zoho Projects itself.
Sample output
  • Once the code is setup, publish and install the extension to check the functionality in the Zoho Projects portal.
  • Enter a task and click the extensions icon in the right panel.

  • From the lists of your Dropbox file requests, select the requests to which you wish to upload files.

  • The file will be successfully uploaded in the respective Dropbox file request.


We’ve demonstrated how to upload files directly to Dropbox file request folders from within Zoho Projects in this example. As part of your extension, you can use the Connections feature to do a variety of tasks, some of which are highlighted below.
  • View and update files associated with a certain request.
  • Create Dropbox folders and share them with collaborators.

Connections, therefore serves as a powerful tool that assists you in establishing a connection with other apps and performing smooth data transactions across your applications, thereby improving business functions and optimizing your work.

We hope this information was useful to you. Continue to follow us for further updates!

Sign up for a Zoho Developer account and start developing extensions for Zoho products using Sigma.

SEE ALSO


Next>>

    • Recent Topics

    • CRM Validation Rules Support Only Single Condition

      Simply put, CRM validation rules support only a single condition for each field on "All Records". You also cannot specify additional validation rules on the same field because it has already been used in an existing validation rule. The ONLY solution

    • Unapproved Leaves are hard to distinguish in Attendance View

      This is a an unapproved leave request It appears in the Attendance view without any visual indicator if its approved or not For a whole day request this might be manageable but for hourly requests it gets very hard to know which are approved, which are

    • Performance Appraisal Probation Period

      Hello All,  Is there any possible way to create an appraisal cycle for new staff members, at the end of probation period? Many thanks!

    • Zoho Creatorの一括操作における処理の同期/非同期について

      現在、Creatorのレポート機能を利用して、複数のレコードに対して一括で処理を実行しようとしていますが、処理の実行順序について確認したいことがあります。 レポート内の複数レコードに一括で処理を実行した際、処理は同期的に行われるのでしょうか？それとも非同期的に行われるのでしょうか？ 【同期処理の場合】 レコード①に対する処理が開始され、終了後にレコード②に対する処理が開始され、最後にレコード③に対する処理が実行されるように、処理が順番に行われる場合。 【非同期処理の場合】 レコード①、レコード②、レコード③の処理が一斉に開始され、それぞれ並行して処理が行われ、全処理が終了する場合。

    • Mail Delivery Failed

      Good morning,   I have just set up an account with 5 users, however each time a message is sent to 1 user a m'mail delivery failed' message is generated. See below.   Any ideas   Thanks   Rob   This message was created automatically by mail delivery software. A message that you sent could not be delivered to one or more of its recipients. This is a permanent error. The following address(es) failed: robb@thesmartgroup.ae mailbox is full: retry timeout exceeded ------ This is a copy of the message,

    • Delete commerce website

      I need to delete a commerce website, but the only option is to click on settings, REQUEST DELETE, choose an urgency notice, add a message....AND THEN nothing, no way to send the request. Why is nothing simple!?!?!  I just want to delete the store.  The

    • Adding external users to Zoho Social under Zoho ONE licence - how to best achieve this

      My client has a small business, and we are looking to implementing Zoho ONE with a single flexible user licence as that is all they really need and offers the best pricing for the range of modules we eventually wish to set them up with, one of which will

    • Has anyone built a custom AI support agent inside Zoho (SalesIQ/Zobot)?

      Hi all, I’ve been experimenting with building my own AI support assistant and wanted to see if anyone here has tackled something similar within Zoho. Right now, I’ve set up a Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) pipeline outside of Zoho using FAISS. It

    • This mobile number has been marked spam. Please contact support.

      Problem Description: One of our sales agents in our organization is unable to sign in to Zoho Mail. When attempting to log in, the following message appears: This mobile number has been marked as spam. Please contact support at as@zohocorp.com @zohocorp

    • What’s New in Zoho Inventory | April 2025

      Hello users, April has been a big month in Zoho Inventory! We’ve rolled out powerful new features to help you streamline production, optimise stock management, and tailor your workflows. While several updates bring helpful enhancements, three major additions

    • When Zoho Tables Beta will be open to EU data center

      Hello all, We in EU are looking at you all using and testing and are getting jealous :) When we will be able to get into the beta also? We don't mind testing and playing with beta software. Thank you!

    • Pass current date to a field using Zoho Flow

      I am trying to generate an invoice automatically once somebody submits a record in Zoho CRM. I get an error in the invoice date. I have entered {{zoho.currentdate}} in the Date field. When I test the flow, I get "Zoho Books says "Invalid value passed

    • API: Mark Sales Order as Open + Custom Status

      Hi, it's possible to create Custom Status (sub-status actually) states for the Sales Order. So you have Open, Void. Then under Open you can have Open, and create one called Order Paid, Order Shipped, etc etc...which is grouped under Open. I can use the

    • Multi-Unit Inventory with Flexible Unit Selection (Purchase in One Unit, Sell in Another)

      We need multi-unit inventory management in Zoho Books with the flexibility to choose units (e.g., Box or Piece) at the time of purchase or sale. For example, if 1 Box = 10 Pieces, we should be able to record purchases in Boxes but sell either in Boxes

    • Zoho Quartz Screen Recording

      Hello, can we get access to Quartz, please, as a standalone solution? It would be great for creating training videos for current and future staff on how to use Zoho software according to our company requirements. Thank you

    • This domain is not allowed to add in Zoho. Please contact support-as@zohocorp.com for further details

      This is the error i keep getting when trying to use my Zoho Domain Mail. This domain is not allowed to add in Zoho. Please contact support-as@zohocorp.com for further details Find attached. I hope this can be resolved very quickly so i can go on and make

    • Tip 26: How to hide the "Submit" button from a form

      Hi everyone, Hope you're staying safe and working from home. We are, too. By now, we at Zoho are all very much accustomed to the new normal—working remotely. Today, we're back with yet another simple but interesting tip--how to hide the Submit button from your forms. In certain scenarios, you may want to hide the submit button from a form until all the fields are filled in.  Use case In this tip, we'll show you how to hide the Submit button while the user is entering data into the form, and then

    • filter broke my data

      I uploaded a file recently from Sheets and it has top 2 rows frozen, with table headers in second row and each one is filterable. somehow my first 2 columns became unfiltered and no matter what I do I cannot reapply the filter?? also didn't realize they

    • Email address for forwarding is not saving and there's no confirmation ema

      Steps to reproduce: 1. Enter my forward email in the email forward section of the account 2. Click save 3. See a notification stating saved successfully 4. Refresh the page, no forward email is saved 5. No email confirmation received at the forwarding

    • How do I move Notes around within a Group?

      It says here: " You can now sort notes by title (alphabetically), or by date modified and date created. You can even organize your notes by dragging and dropping them into a particular order. To sort your notes, simply go to Settings and tap “Sort By.” Please note: all sort settings will be saved and synced across devices, except for custom sorting. Custom sorting will be device specific."However, I am unable to 'custom sort' in either Notebook for Mac or on the Web. In addition, I can't find the

    • javax.mail.authenticationfailedexception 535 authentication failed

      Hi, I am facing 535 authentication failed error when trying to send email from zoho desktop as well as in webmail. Can you suggest to fix this issue,. Regards, Rekha

    • Pocket from Mozilla is closing shop. Don’t lose your favorites . Move them to Zoho Mail Bookmarks now! 📥🔖

      The end of Pocket shouldn't mean the end of your important links and content. Easily import them into Zoho Mail's Bookmarks and continue right where you left off. You can bring over your entire Saves, Collections, and tags just the way they are. Bookmarks

    • Zoho Sign: need to leave document pending for up to a year, or maybe there's a better way?

      I have zoho one, maybe there's a better way to do this with another service than sending a zoho sign template from zoho crm. At the end of the day this requirement is due to regulations, no matter how dumb it may seem. I'm just looking for a way of getting

    • 'Add Tax To Amount' not reflected in Invoice

      Hi Zoho Support, I'm experiencing an issue with tax calculation display in my invoice template. Despite having "Add tax to amount" box checked in the template settings, the Amount column is not showing the tax-inclusive total for line items. Current behaviour:

    • To Do: shareable task links without login

      Hi! I’m using Zoho Mail and ToDo in my daily work, and I’ve run into one limitation that’s a real blocker for me. Right now, to share tasks with managers or directors, they need to have a Zoho account and be added to a group. In practice, many of them

    • Separate Items & Services

      Hi, please separate items and services into different categories. Thank you

    • Unable to edit or delete email address

      I signed up for free Zoho today. I usually am pretty good at understanding and configuring things like this, but your interface baffles me, and your online help is cryptic to say the least. I have spent hours just trying to set up a couple of email accounts in Zoho before pointing my domain MX records to Zoho. I solved some other issues on my own, but I can't figure out this latest problem: I have created two email addresses in Zoho. Let's call the first one myname@mydomain.com and the second one

    • Mastering Zia Match Scores | Let's Talk Recruit

      Feeling overwhelmed by hundreds of resumes for every job? You’re not alone! Welcome back to Let’s Talk Recruit, where we break down Zoho Recruit’s features and hiring best practices into simple, actionable insights for recruiters. Imagine having an assistant

    • We are unable to process your request now. Please try again after sometime or contact support@zohoaccounts.com

      I cannot sign up and return the error of we are unable to process your request now. Please try again after sometime or contact support@zohoaccounts.com

    • Multi-currency - What's cooking ?

      Hi,       We have been doing this feature for sometime and we would like to give you some glimpses of it.  Working with Multi Currency :        Multicurrency support gives you the ability to handle business transactions in multiple currencies. You can define a base currency for your organization and add more currencies with exchange rates based on the base currency.  Setup :        From the setup page, you can manage all the currencies supported by your organization.       Currencies page        

    • Integrating Chatbot with Zoho Creator Application

      Is it possible to integrate a chatbot with a Zoho Creator application?

    • How to reduce programmatically the image uploaded by user?

      I need a function that will automatically reduce the pixel dimension to 800 x 600 pixels / 180 resolution or (approx. 1.37MB) of image uploaded by user from digital camera, for example, 2271 x 1704 pixels /180 resolution or approx. 11.1MB. After the user selected the image, the function will able to detect if pixels is above 800x600, process the photo (crop/ reduce) and resume upload. Need help...  

    • Dark mode for Zoho Creator / Zoho CRM Code editor

      Hi Team, Is there any plans for Dark mode in Zoho creator / Zoho Crm code editor and development pages in pipeline?

    • Is there a way to make a button scroll down?

      Looking to have a button on a landing page scroll down to another section on the page. Any recomendations outside of coding?

    • Collective-booking event not added to all staff calendars

      We assign two staff to certain events. When the client books this event, it adds it to one staff calendar (the 'organiser') but not the other. How can I ensure all staff assigned to a collective booking get the event in their calendar? (A side note: it

    • ZOHO Android Client

      Hi, I installed the Android app, but it had an issue, so I reinstalled it. I was able to add multiple accounts, but now when I add the next account, it just duplicates the one I already have and will not even allow me to enter the info for another account.

    • I'd like to suggest a feature enhancement for SalesIQ that would greatly improve the user experience across different channels.

      Hello Zoho Team, Current Limitation: When I enable the pre-chat form under Brands > Flow Controls to collect the visitor’s name and email, it gets applied globally across all channels, including WhatsApp, Messenger, and Instagram. This doesn't quite align

    • Enhance Barcode/QR Code scanner with bulk scanning or continuously scanning

      Dear Zoho Creator, As we all know, after each scan, the scanning frame closes. Imagine having 100 items; we would need to tap 100 times and wait roughly 1 second each time for the scanning frame to reopen on mobile web. It's not just about wasting time;

    • Managing Rental Sales in Zoho Inventory

      I am aware that Zoho Inventory is not yet set up to handle rental sales and invoicing. Is anyone using it for rentals anyway? I'd like to hear about how others have found work arounds to manage inventory of rental equipment, rental payments, etc. Th

    • Megamenu

      Finally! Megamenu's are now available in Zoho-Sites, after waiting for it and requesting it for years! BUT ... why am I asked to upgrade in order to use a megamenu? First: Zoho promised to always provide premium versions and options for all included Zoho-applications

    • Next Page