This will be long, Please bear with me - Next Gen Layout - Search

This will be long, Please bear with me - Next Gen Layout - Search

In general, I think that Zoho are going in the right direction with the Next Gen UI. The latest update brings some nice improvements and all-in-all from a user's perspective I think the improvements are generally very good.

However, there are some areas of the UI which have been sorely neglected or are simply baffling. The following may come off a blunt and it is a bit of a read, so please bear with me. I'll focus on 2 main areas - The navigation sidebar, and search.

NAVIGATION SIDEBAR:

1. Completely unnecessary settings access.

I really can't understand why module and system settings are exposed in the navigation sidebar. For some users such as system devs or admins, this may be a welcome feature. Personally, I'm rarely focused on settings for a single module, I'm usually focused on many areas of the backend.

For users, this should absolutely be a very big NO. There is absolutely no reason a normal user should have those settings exposed and so freely accessible. by all means, have the feature, but it should be an opt-in setting, not a default setting.

2. Meaningful quick access actions missing

Why oh why do we have a UI where users get quick access to create a client script, but have no 'Create Record' action? 




It would be far more logical to have a '+' next to the module name for creating a new record (The search Icon I'll get to in the next section).

user: "I want to create a new Deal"
action: Hover over "Deal" in sidebar --> Click '+' --> New Deal

3. Quick Access to add module to folder

The '+' on the Folder level of the sidebar is, I feel, completely unnecessary. Icons, Actions, Features, whatever term you want to use, should always be frequently used actions.

Frequently Used > One-and-done

Setting up your folders is something that is done once and rarely updated. There is no need to have quick access to adding modules to a folder when no new module has been added to the folder for months, or even years. Setting up your folders is what I would consider a "one-and-done" type of task. if that's buried down a level or 2 in a menu, it doesn't matter because you so very rarely use the function.

Putting "one-and-done" actions in your UI but hiding features used every day is not efficient or helping anyone with productivity.

4. Alternate to #2 Above

As an alternate to having a '+' next to each module, you could also use the '+' at the folder level to create a record for any module under the folder, a bit like this...



This is a far more logical use of the folder level + icon to me instead of the rarely used 'Add Module'

SEARCH:

Search in Zoho CRM has been neglected for far too long. And it's not that it's not effective, in my opinion, Zoho search's problem is that it's TOO EFFECTIVE most of the time.

If I'm searching for a record, I simply get too many search results. I don't WANT to search all modules all the time. If I'm searching for a Deal, I don't want to make multiple clicks. I want it to be as effortless and intuitive as possible.

1. Exclude/Include all modules from "All modules"

There are back-end modules and records that I never or very rarely need to search. One improvement is to make the default search to be "Frequent Modules" and allow users to set-up which modules fall into the Frequent category, or, let ZIA figure it out from usage patterns.

'Frequent Modules' should be the default search which should drastically cut down on irrelevant results

2. Why are we hiding the search type from the search bar?

Why can't we have the search type/filter in the header along with the search bar? You see it as soon as you click in the search field anyway. Why not show that all the time?

3. Set default search area

Users should be able to set the default module search for themselves. As an extension of 'Frequent Modules', if a particular user primarily only searches Accounts, then let them set that as the default instead of 'All Modules'. Or let them set multiple modules as their default.

Asking the user to have to constantly select the same setting over and over again is inefficient and causes unnecessary friction.

4. Search quick access in navigation bar.

Another logical use of the navigation bar is to add a search icon. After all, the navigation bar is for, well, navigating the system. 



If you had a search icon next to the module, then you could have the search window pre-filtered to that module you clicked the search icon for.

Need to search within deals? Click the search icon next to deals.

Having a search bar pop up would be bad UI, but have that pop up the main search window with 'Deals' pre-selected would be much more intuitive

5. Search Module should be pre-selected to be the module you're currently within

If you're in a list of deals, there's a high chance that you're doing something related to deals. So why not pre-select the search module to be the module you're currently in? Again, make this a per-user setting in a new 'Search Settings'. Yes, I know there's the filters which can be used for search, but if you're just wanting to do a quick search within deals, the filters are clunky.

6. Have Module Categories that match the folders in the Navigation Bar

Having the folders in the left navigation bar is great. Why not make these more of a global grouping, starting with search. So in my case, I've got a folder for "People and Companies" and "Sales" which include certain modules.... It would be great if these were selection you can make from the Module dropdown in the search.

So users could search for "Sales" records, and the only modules included in the search results would be those included in the "Sales" navigation folder.

Anyway that's all from me. I'm interested to hear your thoughts.

    • Recent Topics

    • Admin guide: Handling Mailbox Settings for better user management

      Managing day-to-day email scenarios, such as supporting users with multiple email addresses, ensuring uninterrupted email access during employee absences, enabling secure mailbox sharing, and enforcing organizational security and compliance, can be challenging

    • Cisco Webex Calling Intergration

      Hi Guys, Our organisation is looking at a move from Salesforce to Zoho. We have found there is no support for Cisco Webex Calling however? Is there a way to enable this or are there any apps which can provide this? Thanks!

    • Designing a practical Zoho setup for a small business: lessons from a real implementation

      I recently finished setting up a Zoho-based operating system for a small but growing consumer beauty business (GlowAtHomeBeauty), and I wanted to share a practical takeaway for other founders and implementers. The business wasn’t failing because of lack

    • DKIM (Marketing emails) UNVERIFIED (Zoho One)

      I'm having a problem with Zoho One verifying my Marketing Email DKIM Record for MYFINISHERPHOTOS.COM. I have removed and re-entered the ownership, DKIM (Transactional emails), SPF and Marketing DKIM and all of them come back verified except the DKIM (Marketing

    • Zoho Recruit Community Meet-up - India

      Namaste, India. 🙏🏼 The Zoho Recruit team is hitting the road—and we 're absolutely excited behind the scenes. Join us for the Zoho Recruit India Meet-up 2026, a morning designed to make your recruiting life easier (and a lot more effective). Date City

    • Generate a Zoho Sign link

      From time to time I get a response "I never received your you e-document for electronic signature" is there a way to generate a Zoho Sign link to share.

    • Is it possible to create a word cloud chart in ZoHo Analystics?

      Hi there, I have a volume of transaction text that I would like to analyse using word cloud (or other approcah to detect and present word frequency in a dataset). For example, I have 50,000 records describing menu items in restaurants. I want to be able

    • How to Fix the Corrupted Outlook 2019 .pst file on Windows safely?

      There are multiple reasons to get corrupted PST files (due to a power failure, system crash, or forced shutdown) and several other reasons. If You are using this ScanePST.EXE Microsoft inbuilt recovery tool, it only supports the minor corruption issue

    • [Webinar] A recap of Zoho Writer in 2025

      Hi Zoho Writer users, We're excited to announce Zoho Writer's webinar for January 2026: A recap of Zoho Writer in 2025. This webinar will provide a recap of the features and enhancements we added in 2025 to enhance your productivity. Choose your preferred

    • How to drag row(s) or column(s)?

      Hi. Selecting a row or column and then dragging it to a new position does not seem to work. Am i missing something or this is just not possible in Zoho Sheet? Cheers, Jay

    • Building Toppings #5 - Creating and configuring custom service connections in Bigin Toppings

      Hello Biginners, Integrating Bigin with external applications extends its capabilities and enables customized functionalities. In our last post, we saw how to create a default service connection. Today, we'll see how to create a custom service connection

    • Optimising CRM-Projects workflows to manage requests, using Forms as an intermediary

      Is it possible to create a workflow between three apps with traceability between them all? We send information from Zoho CRM Deals over to Zoho Projects for project management and execution. We have used a lookup of sorts to create tasks in the past,

    • Marketing Tip #15: Rank better with keyword-rich URLs for product pages

      Your product page URL is a small detail that can make a surprisingly big difference. Clean, readable URLs help in two ways: They’re easier for customers to trust and remember (no one likes clicking a link that looks messy or random). They help search

    • Conditional fields when converting a Lead and creating a Deal

      Hi, On my Deal page I have a field which has a rule against it. Depending on the value entered, depends on which further fields are displayed. When I convert a Lead and select for a Deal to be created as well, all fields are shown, regardless of the value

    • ATE Session on Payment Gateways: Our experts are live now. Post your questions now!

      Hello everyone, Our experts are all excited to answer all your questions related to payment workflows. Please feel free to join this session and learn more about this topic. If you have a query at anytime, please post them here.

    • Upload data deleted all Zoho form data that we manage

      Good morning. Let me introduce myself, I'm Iky from Indonesia. I'm experiencing an error or problem using Zoho Forms. I manage Zoho Forms, but I previously encountered an error when I misclicked the delete button in the upload format. It apparently deleted

    • ZOHO FORMにURL表示ができない

      初心者です。 ZOHO FORM で宿泊者名簿を作っています。 ゲストが、URLをクリックするとStripeで支払いができるようにURLを表示をしたいのですが、 上手くできません。 やり方が分かる方、ぜひ教えてください。

    • Custom module - change from autonumber to name

      I fear I know the answer to this already, but thought I'd ask the question. I created a custom module and instead of having a name as being the primary field, I changed it to an auto-number. I didn't realise that all searches would only show this reference.

    • No Automatic Spacing on the Notebook App?

      When I'm adding to notes on the app, I have to add spaces between words myself, rather than it automatically doing it. All my other apps add spacing, so it must be something with Zoho. Is there a setting I need to change, or something else I can do so

    • Holidays - Cannot Enter Two Holidays on Same Day

      I have a fairly common setup, where part-time employees receive 1/2 day's pay on a holiday and full-time employees receive a full day's pay. Historically, I've been able to accommodate this by entering two separate holidays, one that covers full-time

    • Zoho Bookings and Survey Integration through Flow

      I am trying to set up flows where once an appointment is marked as completed in Zoho Bookings, the applicable survey form would be sent to the customer. Problem is, I cannot customise flows wherein if Consultation A is completed, Survey Form A would be

    • Campaigns set up and execution assistance

      Hello Community, Can someone recommend a professional who can assist with the completion of my set up and deployment of Campaigns? Looking for a person or company that is not going to ask for big dollars up-front without a guarantee of performance to

    • Zobot with Plugs

      Hello, I am having a problem with Zobot using Plugs. Here is my current flow: When I run the flow, I should immediately see the messages from the initial cards (Send Message cards), then after running the plug, and finally, see the messages after the

    • Kaizen #223 - File Manager in CRM Widget Using ZRC Methods

      Hello, CRM Wizards! Here is what we are improving this week with Kaizen. we will explore the new ZRC (Zoho Request Client) introduced in Widget SDK v1.5, and learn how to use it to build a Related List Widget that integrates with Zoho WorkDrive. It helps

    • Remove Powered by Zoho at the footer

      Hi, I've read two past tickets regarding this but it seems that the instructions given are outdated. I assume the layout keeps on changing, which makes it frustrating for me to search high and low. Please let me know how exactly do I do this now? Th

    • Error AS101 when adding new email alias

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

    • No Need To Fix Something That Is Working

      Zoho Books is a great financial tool which helps businesses to become more efficient and productive with day-to-day operations. As such, every change, upgrade, improvement needs to be carefully thought before implemented in the software and I'm sure Zoho

    • Using email "importance" as workflow-criteria

      I'd like to set up a workflow that triggers if an incoming email has been flagged as "high importance" but I'm not seeing any way to do that. Hopefully I'm just missing something obvious...?

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

      I am trying to setup the free version of Zoho Mail. When I tried to add my domain, theselfreunion.com I got the error message that is the subject of this Topic. I've read your other community forum topics, and this is NOT a free domain. So what is the

    • What is Resolution Time in Business Hours

      HI, What is the formula used to find the total time spent by an agent on a particular ticket? How is Resolution Time in Business Hours calculated in Zohodesk? As we need to find out the time spent on the ticket's solution by an agent we seek your assistance

    • Check & Unchecked Task Segregation in Export

      It must have a feature to represent checked and unchecked tasks as [ ] and [✅] respectively when exporting it to Arratai or WhatsApp ; as Keep Notes by Google contains…

    • WorkDrive Download Issue

      My client has been sending me files via WorkDrive, which generally has worked fine. Recently files won't download at all. If you try and individually select and download a file, a popup will appear in the bottom right saying it's preparing and then it

    • Resolution Time Report

      From data to decisions: A deep dive into ticketing system reports What are time-based reports? Time-based reports are valuable tools that help us understand how well things are going by breaking down key metrics over specific periods. By tracking, measuring,

    • Support Custom Background in Zoho Cliq Video Calls and Meetings

      Hello Zoho Cliq Team, We hope you are doing well. We would like to request an enhancement to the video background capabilities in Zoho Cliq, specifically the ability to upload and use custom backgrounds. Current Limitation At present, Zoho Cliq allows

    • Add RTL (Right-to-Left) Text Direction Button in Zoho Cliq

      Greetings Zoho Team, We would like to request the addition of an RTL (Right-to-Left) text direction button in Zoho Cliq, similar to what is already available in other Zoho apps like Zoho Desk. Currently, while using Zoho Cliq with the English interface,

    • Enable Backgrounds and Video Filters for 1:1 Cliq Calls Across All Zoho Entry

      Hello Zoho Cliq Team, We hope you are doing well. We would like to request an enhancement related specifically to 1:1 video calls in Zoho Cliq. Current Behavior Zoho Cliq currently provides background and video filter options in the following scenarios:

    • Zoho Flow: Stripe a Zoho Marketing Automation

      Hola! Quiero hacer un flujo con Zoho Flow, para que cuando se haga un pago en Stripe, añada el lead en Zoho Marketing Automation. Lo he configurado, configurando el disparador como "Payment created" y mapeando el campo de Stripe "Receipt email address".

    • Need Customer Item Inward Module along with QC

      Need Customer Item Inward Module along with QC 1. Using Transfer Orders hit the item balance sheet 2. Items without inventory it becomes difficult for tracking purpose. 3. Custom Modules become tedious to capture multiple items, item subforms are not

    • LESS_THAN_MIN_OCCURANCE - code 2945

      Hi I'm trying to post a customer record to creator API and getting this error message. So cryptic. Can someone please help? Thanks Varun

    • Zoho email

      I need a list of email addresses of all contacts on my zoho

    • Next Page