Kaizen #154 - Dynamically Update Picklist Values in Zoho CRM Workflows

Kaizen #154 - Dynamically Update Picklist Values in Zoho CRM Workflows



Hello all!
Welcome back to another interesting Kaizen post.
Today, we will discuss how to add automatically or remove values from a picklist field using Deluge within a workflow. This post serves as a solution for the forum post.

Use case

The sales team migrates users from Pipedrive to Zoho CRM. In Pipedrive, the team managed deals using a Kanban view displayed based on the Closing Months (a picklist field). They automated the updating of picklist values to include current and upcoming months based on the deals' closing timelines. 

In Zoho CRM, to replicate this process, users should manually update the picklist values. The requirement is to automate updating the picklist options during record creation or editing within a workflow.

Solution

By triggering the PATCH Fields API (introduced in V6) through a Deluge function within a workflow, this process can be easily automated. Automating picklist updates saves time, reduces the chances of human error, and ensures that picklist values are always up-to-date.
  • First, create a custom picklist field called "Closing Month" in the Deals module.
  • Then, use the custom picklist along with the Closing Date (a mandatory field date field in the Deals module) within a Deluge function in the Workflow. 
  • The PATCH Fields API can be used within the Deluge function to automate updating picklist values and to list the current and upcoming closing dates in deals.
Let us see the steps in detail on how to achieve this case.

Example

Consider the Closing Month as a custom picklist in the Deals module with three months: January, February, and March. Whenever a new deal is created and its closing month matches one of the picklist values, the record will be updated with the corresponding month in the Closing Month field and placed under the existing picklist value in the Kanban view. If the new closing month is not already in the picklist values, then the Deluge function will automatically create a new picklist value, and the record will fall under the new picklist value section in the Kanban view. 

Follow the steps below to achieve our case in Zoho CRM:
  1. Create a Custom Picklist Field in the Deals module.
  2. Set Up a Workflow.
  3. Add a Deluge Function within a workflow.
  4. Configure the Workflow.

1. Create a Custom Picklist Field in the Deals Module

  • Go to Setup > Customization > Modules and Fields.
  • Select the Deals module and the desired layout where you want to add the picklist.
  • Click on New Fields and then Add New Field.
  • Select Picklist as the field type, name it "Closing Month", and add a list of months (In this post, only three months have been added for example purposes).

                                  
  • Click Done to save the new picklist field.

2. Set Up a Workflow

  • Navigate to Setup > Automation > Workflow Rules.
  • Click on Create Rule, select the Deals module, and name the workflow in the Rule Name.
  • Set the rule to trigger on record creation or update.
                               
The workflow triggers based on the value of the Closing Date in the Deals module, executing the function when the Closing Date is not empty.


3. Add a Deluge Function within a workflow

You can either create a custom function or you can associate an existing one. Below is the Deluge code used within the workflow. 
  1. //To map months with Numbers
  2. month = {1:"Jan",2:"Feb",3:"Mar",4:"Apr",5:"May",6:"June",7:"Jul",8:"Aug",9:"Sep",10:"Oct",11:"Nov",12:"Dec"};
  3. //To retrieve the Deal record
  4. dealRecord = zoho.crm.getRecordById("Deals",dealRecordID);
  5. info dealRecord;
  6. //To retrieve the Closing Date
  7. closingDate = dealRecord.get("Closing_Date");
  8. info closingDate; 
  9. //To get the predefined value from the closing month
  10. closingMonth = month.get(closingDate.month());
  11. closingYear = closingDate.year();
  12. //To Format the Month and Year from the Closing Date
  13. picklistValue = closingMonth + " " + closingYear;
  14. info picklistValue;
  15. //Retrieving Current Picklist Values
  16. Dealsfield = invokeurl
  17. [
  18. url :"https://www.zohoapis.com/crm/v7/settings/fields/5725767000003664513?module=deals"
  19. type :GET
  20. connection:"zohocrm"
  21. ];
  22. info Dealsfield;
  23. picklistValues = Dealsfield.get("fields").get(0).get("pick_list_values");
  24. info picklistValues;
  25. //Checking if the Picklist Value Already Exists
  26. flag = false;
  27. for each  option in picklistValues
  28. {
  29. if(option.get("display_value").equals(picklistValue))
  30. {
  31.   flag = true;
  32.   info flag;
  33. }
  34. }
  35. //Adding a New Picklist Value if It Doesn't Exist
  36. if(flag == false)
  37. {
  38. requestBody = Map();
  39. requestList = List();
  40. requestData = Map();
  41. picklist = list();
  42. picklistobj = Map();
  43. picklistobj.put("display_value",picklistValue);
  44. picklist.add(picklistobj);
  45. requestData.put("pick_list_values",picklist);
  46. requestList.add(requestData);
  47. requestBody.put("fields",requestList);
  48. info requestBody + "";
  49. updateField = invokeurl
  50. [
  51.   url :"https://www.zohoapis.com/crm/v7/settings/fields/5725767000003664513?module=deals"
  52.   type :PATCH
  53.   parameters:requestBody + ""
  54.   connection:"zohocrm"
  55. ];
  56. info updateField;
  57. }
  58. //To update the Deal Record
  59. requestBody = Map();
  60. requestList = List();
  61. requestData = Map();
  62. requestData.put("Closing_Month",picklistValue);
  63. requestList.add(requestData);
  64. requestBody.put("data",requestList);
  65. info requestBody + "";
  66. dealreecordUpdate = invokeurl
  67. [
  68. url :"https://www.zohoapis.com/crm/v7/Deals/" + dealRecordID
  69. type :PUT
  70. parameters:requestBody + ""
  71. connection:"zohocrm"
  72. ];
  73. info dealreecordUpdate;


4. Configure the Workflow

Create a custom function by clicking the New Function or associate an existing one to the workflow. In our case, the deluge program has already been written and configured (associated) to the workflow. 

                            
  • Under the workflow actions, select Function and choose the function you created.
  • Ensure that the function is set to run when the workflow is triggered.

Creating a Deal with a Closing Date of January 2nd (Using an Existing Picklist Value)
                                               


Creating a Deal with a Closing Date of April 1st (Adding a New Picklist Value)



The new picklist value, which was not a value previously, has now been added to the picklist.

You can add values to a picklist field using the PATCH Field API. To remove an option from a picklist, use the Update Custom Layout API. Refer to the Sample input to mark picklist options as unused section in the Layouts API documentation.​

Cheers!!!

Related Links
Additional Links

    • Recent Topics

    • Can't find add role button, is iet st because I have the free subscription

      Trying to add my accountant in Zoho Books if I press the add accountant button, I get stuck as it says no such role exists, and won't let me continue, I can't find the add roles button, so I am stuck. Is it because I have the free subscription? Also can't

    • Calendar view all appointments in workspace

      In the Calendar page, add the ability to view all appointments in the Workspace. The Manage Calendars filter requires me to select at least one user or resource, and it only lets me select up to five of them. There's no filter option to view the entire

    • Tip #13: Identify where your bookings come from with Source Tracking

      Source tracking is the practice of identifying where your bookings originated. This is important, because online bookings come from a wide variety of sources like social media platforms, your website, email and ad campaigns, partner websites, organic

    • Unable to Add Notes

      I've had a user report that they are unable to add notes to account records. I attempted and found the same issue. There is no option to save the note.

    • Workflow Rule Alert Not Working

      I have a workflow rule set (that I've been using for years) that suddenly stopped working. Module - Leads Execute on - Create Alerts - Email Active - Yes When I create my lead I no longer receive my email notification. 

    • Unify Overlapping Functionalities Across Zoho Products

      Hi Zoho One Team, We would like to raise a concern about the current overlap of core functionalities across various Zoho applications. While Zoho offers a rich suite of tools, many applications include similar or identical features—such as shift management,

    • Can zoho sign collect data feeding Zoho Sign?

      I m sending contracts to client who are not in my zoho CRM database yet. Can the data they enter in Zoho sign contract I send them, (that includes...) official company name address first name second name etc, ...Create or update a contact / account

    • IMAP ACCOUNT ACCESS PROBLEM

      Hi! I moved from Gmail some time ago to ZOHO. It works fine and it worked till yesterday. I found out that on my MAC OSX mail client I can not receive emails from ZOHO using IMAP. Gmail is set to IMAP and works OK. My company email account uses POP and works good as well. Is there anybody else who has such problem or this might be something with my email client...? I didi check for the settings but everything is as it was from the beginning. Honestly, I didn't change anything recently. It just stopped.

    • Modified approved time log

      I can’t seem to find a way to make change to approve time log entry. The case is the following. We pay the employees every 2 weeks, so employe A enter is time for the 2 weeks and then submit his timesheet. Now is superior approve the time he worked via

    • I want to Show the product list based on the drop Down

      in quotation app , amc form form i have Department drop down field and in subform i have loop up field item description taken from the anothe app PRO I want to show the product list look up based on the deparment selected example if they selected deparment

    • Inventory Barcode Creation - Add Picture of Item

      Hi I am trying to set up bar code labels and include a picture of the item on the label - any idea on how to add that field to the barcode generator?

    • Shared Snippets Everyone

      Hi, Now that the Shared Snippets have been released and I think will be the most used feature implemented in 2023 :) Creating and Using Snippets in Ticket Responses - Online Help | Zoho Desk Maintain consistency in ticket responses with shared snippets

    • Topics assigned to Contacts in Campaigns

      I have yet to find an efficient way to assign topics to contacts in campaigns with the new system in place.  We have daily contacts added to our system through various forms and we have to manually go in and add topics to contacts before each email campaign

    • Zoho CRM email formatting issues

      I have been having a hard time with formatting email templates. It feels like Zoho email is "fighting my edits." It refuses to change size, font, etc. Sometimes, the template looks great, then when the email gets sent, it looks completely different- some

    • Weekly Tips : Seamlessly collaborate with Share Drafts in Zoho Mail

      Ever found yourself stuck wondering how to get input on an important email draft without actually sending it? Maybe you want a teammate’s feedback or approval from your manager—without exposing sensitive info. Or perhaps you are working across different

    • How to Share a workdrive folder outside organization ?

      Hi, Earlier we were using Google Suite and were able to share the google drive folders with external organization ( Auditors , marketing collaterals ) as most of them had a personal gmail account they were able to access it without any issue. How can

    • Zoho CRM Account Duplication via Credit Application Form

      Hi, We send a credit application link to our customers via email, which is managed through Zoho Campaigns. When a customer submits the form, it automatically creates a new account in Zoho CRM. We would like to know how to stop this from creating duplicate

    • Flexible Milestone Invoicing

      If your Zoho Projects portal is integrated with Zoho Invoice/Books, you can now create an invoice for your milestones. You can enable it under Integration Preference and invoice milestones regardless of the project's billing type. For instance, consider

    • The get records i am getting produts that show in the show in the sub form item list field

      The get records i am getting produts that show in the show in the sub form item list field if(input.Department != null) { // Get filtered records once creator_ptid = zoho.creator.getRecords("harshadgroup","item-master","All_Products","Department == \""

    • Add Zoho Form Submission as Attachment to Zoho CRM Deal using Zoho Deal ID

      Hi Zoho team, I have a Zoho Form in which one of the fields will be hidden but will be defaulted with the Zoho Deal ID. Once the form is submitted, I want to reattach the submitted form (and another uploaded file field) into Zoho CRM Deals record. The crazy part is that Deal Name and Stage are the only two fields available for mapping. I have the actual Deal ID. Why can't I just use that. Can you please fix it so that I can properly attach the submission using Zoho Deal ID instead of name/stage (which

    • Payment link showing as malicious

      We've had a few customers who have been unable to pay invoices as the payment link (the domain is zohosecurepay.eu) is showing as a malicious website in their browser. Could anyone help with this please?

    • Side bar menu

      It would be great if you could stop the auto collapse of expanded menus when selecting a different module. It would save a lot of mouse clicks for a lot of users that frequently switch between sales & purchases as we do, it's easier to collapse them manually when not required !

    • Add Microsoft Entra ID to Zoho One

      Hi! Have anyone tried the Zoho connection to Microsoft Entra ID (https://help.zoho.com/portal/en/kb/one/admin-guide/directory-stores/articles/add-microsoft-azure-to-zoho-one?action=kbArticleFollow&actionId=4014605732522 ) This is a big operation and you

    • Multiple Respondents for One Survey Submission?

      Does anyone know of a way to allow multiple respondents to complete only one  survey and then also see (while completing the survey) the responses for their fellow colleagues who already answered that question? The situation is that our new customers have within their own organization, multiple employees that will need to assist in the one survey response. Since we don't always know which new respondent is the "who" that will have the answer, we need multiple respondents to be able to view the response

    • Can you remove the title from the forms?

      I am placing the iframes for my forms on my website.  Is it possible to remove or hide the title of the form so that it doesn't show up on the website? Is it possible to place text in the form like "clicking submit will take you to paypal." thanks

    • Lost the ability to sort by ticket owner

      Hi all, in the last week or so, we have lost the ability to sort tickets by Ticket Owner. Unlike the other columns which we can hover over and click on to sort, Ticket Owner is no longer clickable. Is it just us, or are other customers seeing this too?

    • Mask Name Field in Report

      Is it possible to have the Name field as "Last Name, First Name" in a scheduled report.

    • Custom Project View by Project Group

      Hi Zoho Team, I used to have a custom project view which showed all my active projects (not cancelled or completed) and the list was separated into projects groups. Some time ago, possibly a couple of months ago, I began to see all projects even cancelled

    • Unable to attach the file via the API.

      We are trying to attach files to a Candidate in Zoho Recruit using the API. We reviewed the following API documentation: 🔗 Upload Attachment While this API does allow file attachment via a URL, that’s not what we want — we do not want to attach public-facing

    • Zoho Books (UK) needs to be able to submit a CT600 CTSA return

      As well as a VAT Return, most (if not all) small businesses have to submit a CT600 Corporation Tax Self-Assessment. There are many providers who do this (like Xero) bujt not Zoho. Can you add this to the request list please? Many thanks Steve

    • Stock Update After Approver 1 Approval in Multi-Level Approval Flow

      Hi Team, We have configured a multi-level approval process for POs/Bills. Our requirement is to update the item stock quantity based on the billed quantity immediately after Approver 1 approves the bill. Please find the script attached below. However,

    • Zoho Form Auto Fill

      I am setting up a Zoho form for my independent sales reps to request quotes. Their names are in the first field under a dropdown menu. The next field is their email address. I want the email address field to automatically be filled in when they select

    • Image Resolution Restriction Option in Zoho Forms File Upload

      Hi Zoho Forms Team, Greetings, We would like to request a feature enhancement for Zoho Forms regarding the file upload field. Currently, Zoho Forms allows us to restrict the file size of uploaded images, but not the image resolution (in megapixels). This

    • Can't select Leave type while applying a leave

      Hello, while trying to apply a leave, I can't find any leave type among the options in the Leave type select: Here are my leave settings. Daily: Hourly: Tried to clear cache and to navigate from another browser, but the problem persists. Any hint? Thank

    • Mes débuts sur Zoho Forms | 13 champs à l'export ! seulement

      Bonjour, je débute sur Zoho Forms, je viens de créer un formulaire avec tests dans la foulée et je n'ai que 13 champs qui remontent sur mon export CSV alors que j'ai plus de questions et champs qui devraient remonter. J'ai actuellement une formule payante

    • Introducing real-time document commenting and collaboration in Zoho Sign

      Hi, there! We are delighted to introduce Document commenting, a feature that helps you communicate with your recipients more efficiently for a streamlined document signing process. Some key benefits include: Collaborate with your recipients easily without

    • Adding Photos Into Form (as a form creator)

      As the form creator, is it possible to add images to my form? (I don’t mean adding an image upload field, but rather inserting a JPG file into the form so that users can view the image.)

    • [Training] AI-Powered Application Development Bootcamp 2.0 - Zoho Creator

      Hello everyone, Ready to take your app-building skills to the next level with the power of AI? We’re excited to invite you to AI-Powered Application Development Bootcamp 2.0—a 90-minute, live training session designed to help developers, business users,

    • What is the easiest/fastest way to attach an email or PDF to a Zoho record?

      Hi everyone, We use Outlook with Office 365 and have the need to either ideally attach a .msg email directly to an account or custom module in Zoho, or if not attach just the PDF that would be sent in that email. The Zoho plugin is very basic for Outlook

    • Free webinar! Close deals faster with Zoho Sign from Zoho CRM

      Hello, Are you tired of chasing down signatures and getting stuck with paperwork delays in your sales process? With the seamless integration between Zoho Sign and Zoho CRM, you can create and send documents for signing online, close deals faster, and

    • Next Page