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 #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

• Kaizen #152 - Client Script Support for the new Canvas Record Forms

  Hello everyone! Have you ever wanted to trigger actions on click of a canvas button, icon, or text mandatory forms in Create/Edit and Clone Pages? Have you ever wanted to control how elements behave on the new Canvas Record Forms? This can be achieved

• Kaizen #142: How to Navigate to Another Page in Zoho CRM using Client Script

  Hello everyone! Welcome back to another exciting Kaizen post. In this post, let us see how you can you navigate to different Pages using Client Script. In this Kaizen post, Need to Navigate to different Pages Client Script ZDKs related to navigation A.

• Kaizen #210 - Answering your Questions | Event Management System using ZDK CLI

  Hello Everyone, Welcome back to yet another post in the Kaizen Series! As you already may know, for the Kaizen #200 milestone, we asked for your feedback and many of you suggested topics for us to discuss. We have been writing on these topics over the

• Recent Topics

• Important update: Enhanced security measures for account operations in Zoho Cliq

  Greetings from the Zoho Cliq team! We’d like to share an important security update that has an influence on some admin actions such as password reset, MFA reset, and MFA backup code generation. What’s changing? With our latest security enhancements, these

• Boosting efficiency through faster ticket rendering

  This enhancement will provide faster access for support teams and end-users, significantly boosting productivity for everyone. Get ready for a more efficient and satisfying experience! Immediate benefits Faster ticket rendering reduces wait times and

• Read webpage - MSXML2.ServerXMLHTTP

  I have the following VBA script, put together from various sources (mainly zoho forum/help/support, so it once worked, I guess): private Sub GetListOfSheets() Dim url As String Dim xmlhttp As Object Dim parameters As String Dim html As String range("B1").value

• Sales Receipts Duplicating when I run reports why and how do we rectify this and any other report if this happens

  find attached extract of my report

• Can I execute two 'functions' when completing a mail merge from CRM?

  Hi, I have set up a mail merge from CRM Deals to a template. I want a copy of this to be saved in Workdrive, and then a copy also saved back into the deal record from which the merge occurred. I can do both independent of each other, and managed to get

• No Functional Autosave or Manual Save Button

  Application : Zoho Notebook So I wanted to try Zoho Notebook(On Ubuntu) as an application, I installed the application and went solving my LeetCode problems visually(Drawing mode), at one point the app just stopped saving anything... Every time I tried

• Enterprise subscription support

  My organization sells subscription services to enterprise customers, which is a different model from the consumer subscription model that Zoho Billing has been designed to support and I beleve this capability should be added. An enterprise subscription

• Issue with Creator's IF logic

  Hi, I found the following code produces unexpected results: if(-1.0 < 0.0000000) {       info "True"; } else {       info "False"; } if(-1.0 < 0.000000) {       info "True"; } else {       info "False"; } The output returned is: False True However, the

• Need option to send Package PDF in shipment email (Shipment PDF is missing Lot info)

  Is there any way to automatically attach the Package PDF instead of (or alongside) the Shipment PDF in the notification emails? We really need this feature because the default Shipment PDF creates a blind spot for our customers. It does not display Batch/Lot

• zoho creator view is not present in the workspace and blank reports

  Hi Support,  Users who have "write" permissions keep getting this error for all of our embedded reports all of a sudden. See screen shot below: Meanwhile, my developer permissions account sees a blank screen in view and edit mode as shown in the screenshots

• Customize portal email template

  Can i fetch only first name of the user in portal email template instead of the below code Hi ${User.FULL_NAME}

• Can't we let users decide which options they'd like to add at embed widget?

  It seems embed widget DOES NOT offer a feature, where users can choose options upon subscribing plans. What Zoho has instead, is that admins have to manually create plan with options. How come no one in Zoho dev team never raised issue about usability

• Reupload and rename from one field to another field (file upload)

  Hi Everyone, Sorry, i have question to use invoke url for rename and reupload attachments file to another field. Tested on development mode. Zoho C6. Refer to https://www.zoho.com/creator/help/api/v2/upload-file.html look my error notification. Does anyone

• Printing Multi-Page Reports (PDF Export)

  Hi, I am moving a report from Google's Looker Studio to Zoho Analytics and trying to reproduce the Looker page by page dashboard editing experience. With Google, what you see is what you get when you print to PDF. But I can't seem to create the same experience

• Resume Harvester: New Enhancements for Faster Sourcing

  We’re excited to share a set of enhancements to Resume Harvester that make sourcing faster and more flexible. These updates help you cut down on repetitive steps, manage auto searches more efficiently, and review candidate profiles with ease. Why we built

• I NEED TO NUMBER TO TEXT NO HERE

  =NUMBERTEXT NEEED

• Error: View is not present in the workspace

  When saving a dashboard, user receives a popup with the following error. "View is not present in the workspace" What does this mean or refer to? There is no further insight given.

• Dear Zoho CEO: Business Growth is about how you prioritise!

  All of us in business know that when you get your priorities right, your business grows. Zoho CRM and Zoho Books are excellent products, but sadly, Zoho Inventory continues to lag behind. Just this morning, I received yet another one-sided email about

• Is there any way to send an Excel received by email to Dataprep?

  Every day I receive an email alert with an Excel file that I want to process through a Dataprep pipeline. To do this, I need to: -Save the file to disk -Open the pipeline -Run the pipeline -Update the source -Several clicks to select and open the saved

• Bin Locations

  Dear all, I am wondering if someone has the ability to develop the bin locations option for zoho inventory (integrated with zoho books) Regards, Ryan

• Create and populate a record in an instant: Introducing zero-shot field prompting to Zia's ICR

  A couple of months ago, we upgraded our in-house AI image detection and validation tool, Zia Vision, with intelligent character recognition (ICR). By training Zia with sample images, you could create and enrich CRM records with data extracted from standard

• How to Prevent Users From Skipping LMS Videos in Zoho People

  How to Prevent Users From Skipping LMS Videos in Zoho People Hello Zoho Developers, In this blog, we will quickly look at how you can stop users from skipping or fast-forwarding videos in Zoho People LMS. Zoho People provides a feature called Disable

• Sent mail sort by date disappeared

  Hello, We used to be able to sort the emails by date in the sent folder, but this feature has recently disappeared. Can we bring it back?

• Sync desktop folders instantly with WorkDrive TrueSync (Beta)

  Keeping your important files backed up and accessible has never been easier! With WorkDrive desktop app (TrueSync), you can now automatically sync specific desktop folders to WorkDrive Web, ensuring seamless, real-time updates across devices. Important:

• [Integration Edition] Deluge Learning Series – Custom API with Deluge | November 2025

  We’re excited to conclude this four-month Integration Edition of the Deluge Learning Series: Session 1 – Integrating Zoho Apps with Deluge Using Built-In Integration Tasks Session 2 – Integrating Zoho Apps with Deluge Using invokeURL and invokeAPI Session

• Automate Backups

  This is a feature request. Consider adding an auto backup feature. Where when you turn it on, it will auto backup on the 15-day schedule. For additional consideration, allow for the export of module data via API calls. Thank you for your consideration.

• Tips for Organizing Workflows and Improving Team Coordination in Zoho

  Hi everyone, I’m looking for some general advice on how different teams are organizing their daily work within Zoho’s apps. Our team recently expanded, and we’re trying to streamline how tasks, discussions, and documents are shared so everything stays

• Batch/lot # and Storage bin location

  Hi I want to ask for a feature on Zoho inventory I own a warehouse and I've gone through different management software solutions with no luck until I found Zoho, it has been a game changer for my business with up to the minute information, I'm extremely happy with it. It's almost perfect. And I say Almost because the only thing missing for me (and I'm sure I'm not alone) is the need of being able to identify the lot number of my inventory and where it is located in the warehouse. Due to the nature

• Prevent user from viewing all records?

  I have a report that is meant to be used by vendors to view only the records that are assigned to them. All the vendor information is stored in a separate application, so I need to call a function to get the current user's ID (not the zoho user ID). The report settings criteria doesn't support using function calls, so instead I'm embedding the report in an html page like this: if (thisapp.Global.CurrentUserIs("Vendor")) {       personID = common.getLoggedInPersonID();       query = "Assigned_Vendor.ID="

• Series Label in the Legend

  My legend reads 'Series 1' and 'Series 2'. From everything I read online, Zoho is supposed to change the data names if it's formatted correctly. I have the proper labels on the top of the columns and the right range selected. I assume it's something in

• Zoho Site pages not displaying in iframes

  I simply want to show a Zoho Site page inside an iframe on another non Zoho website. When testing this across many browsers, the iframe content simply does not appear. IE reports that the host does not allow their content to be displayed in iframes. Very disappointing. Is there a way around this please? Here is the URL of the page I would like to appear in an iframe. http://ips-properties-to-rent.zohosites.com

• Zoho Inventory as connector in Zoho Creator

  Hello, It doesn't appear that Zoho Inventory is one of the many built in connectors in Zoho Creator? I see that there are non-Zoho inventory applications that have built in connectors such as Cin7, which leads me to believe that I'm missing something

• Send Zoho Forms Link using Zoho CRM Email Templates

  I have set up Zoho Forms and CRM integration to pre-populate data from Zoho CRM to Zoho Forms. The setup is working fine. I have also created an email template in the Zoho CRM deals module to send Zoho forms links. So when I send an email using that template

• My go to On Load Client Script - Fast, efficient, and works for ALL profiles; Hides everything except initial fields

  This is my on Load client script that I use for Create pages. I use a modified version for Edit and Display pages which you can create yourself using the same basic structure that I will give you below. First up, the script. Below that will be an explanation

• CRM x WorkDrive: File storage for new CRM signups is now powered by WorkDrive

  Availability Editions: All DCs: All Release plan: Released for new signups in all DCs. It will be enabled for existing users in a phased manner in the upcoming months. Help documentation: Documents in Zoho CRM Manage folders in Documents tab Manage files

• Zoho Books Finance Modules Not Accessible in Zoho CRM Mobile App

  We have integrated Zoho CRM with Zoho Books using the Zoho Finance Suite integration. In the CRM web version, we can see the Finance modules (Estimates/Quotes, Invoices, Sales Orders, Items, Payments) and are able to create invoices and quotes directly

• Custom Search using HTM+CSS Snippet

  Suppose I wanted to create my own list view using HTML and CSS snippets inside a Page with a custom search input at the top of the list (not the Search snippet). Without Javascript, is there a way to retrieve a user's entry from that search input and

• Cliq iOS can't see shared screen

  Hello, I had this morning a video call with a colleague. She is using Cliq Desktop MacOS and wanted to share her screen with me. I'm on iPad. I noticed, while she shared her screen, I could only see her video, but not the shared screen... Does Cliq iOS is able to display shared screen, or is it somewhere else to be found ? Regards

• Mass Update of Lookup Fields not possible

  Hello List I've created a custom field for Leads and Contacts 'Current Campaign'. This is very Handy as I can filter leads and then related them to a campaign. Everything ready, but then I realized that mass update doesn't work for lookup fields... a

• Zoho CRM Kiosk Upload Files

  Hello all, We are trying out Kiosks at the moment to see where it can fit best in our business. We are still a bit off in the application but lets say we will sort this out. My question is the following - when I create a Kiosk I can add "File Upload"

• Next Page