Introducing new options for more flexible validation rules in CRM

Introducing new options for more flexible validation rules in CRM

Notes
Editions:  Professional and above
DCs: All
Release plan: We've started rolling out this enhancement to customers. It is being released in a phased manner and will soon be available to all customers in all DCs.

[Update | 26 Sep 2024] This enhancement has been released to all users in all DCs.

Help doc: Working with validation rules

Hello everyone,

You can configure validation rules to alert users of mistakes and prevent incorrect data from being submitted. They are useful in situations like the following:
  • Preventing a form from being saved if the social security number doesn't contain nine characters.
  • Validating an IBAN number against the specified format.

We've added new configuration options to validation rules for increased flexibility. With these options, you can:
  • Quickly validate individual fields
  • Allow the record to be saved with an alert
  • Decide where the error messages will be displayed.
Let's look at them one by one.

Quickly validate individual fields


Fields were previously validated only upon clicking the save button. To validate fields as you filled out a form, you had to:
  • Ensure that the mandatory fields were filled
  • Click the save button to validate a field.
Each click of the save button triggers the execution of all validation rules, displaying error messages throughout the form.

Now, we've added a new option: "Field verify and save". Users may need to quickly validate an important field before they proceed to other fields. In such cases, they can pick Field verify and save for validating those important fields.



Validation will take place when you click the "Verify" button next to the field and when saving the record. This speeds up field verification by allowing you to click a button right next to the filled field and executing only that field's validation rule.

This is available for both validation rules based on criteria and those that use functions.

Notes
[Updated on 23 Jan 2025] The field verify and save option is not available in:

Allow the record to be saved with an alert

Let's say that you have a company policy that prohibits discounts exceeding 15%, and that your sales reps are encouraged to avoid offering discounts over 10%.

The challenge lies in not allowing values above 15% at all, while also permitting values above 10% but reminding sales reps that discounts above 10% are not ideal.

You can manage situations like this by setting the validation preference as:
  • Stop with error (prevents the saving of the record)
  • Allow by alert (allows the saving of the record after getting confirmation from the user)


When you choose to stop with an error, the record will not be saved with the entered value. This feature is beneficial for completely blocking the input of inaccurate data. Before this enhancement, this was the default behavior of all validation rules.



With this enhancement, we've added the allow by alert option to remind users to verify the data before saving it. This enables them to save a record after being reminded of the policy and confirming that they understand it, which is useful when the entered value isn't optimal and you want to ensure the user has not made an error.



You can set this preference independently for each condition in your validation rule.
Notes
This option is available for validation rules using criteria where the validation happens on Save only.

Decide where the error messages will be displayed

Additionally, you can select where error messages will appear for a specific condition in a validation rule.



If a field's value is not related to another field, it's best to display the error near the field itself. This enables users to quickly identify and correct any mistakes. Therefore, you should select the on primary field option for these scenarios. Previously, all error messages were displayed in this manner.



In complex and data-intensive forms, validation errors may occur due to inter-dependencies between the values entered in different fields. In these cases, consolidating these validation errors in one place can help users resolve these issues more efficiently. With this enhancement, you can choose the top of page option in such scenarios.



You can set the error location separately for each condition in your validation rule.
Notes
This option is available for validation rules using criteria where the validation happens on Save only. It will be available in all conditions where the validation preference is Stop with error.

In addition to the above changes, you can now create validation rules for lookup fields as well.

Do share your feedback in the comments section below!

      Zoho Campaigns Resources


        • Desk Community Learning Series


        • Digest


        • Functions


        • Meetups


        • Kbase


        • Resources


        • Glossary


        • Desk Marketplace


        • MVP Corner


        • Word of the Day


        • Ask the Experts


          Zoho CRM Plus Resources

            Zoho Books Resources


              Zoho Subscriptions Resources

                Zoho Projects Resources


                  Zoho Sprints Resources


                    Zoho Orchestly Resources


                      Zoho Creator Resources


                        Zoho WorkDrive Resources



                          Zoho CRM Resources

                          • CRM Community Learning Series

                            CRM Community Learning Series


                          • Tips

                            Tips

                          • Functions

                            Functions

                          • Meetups

                            Meetups

                          • Kbase

                            Kbase

                          • Resources

                            Resources

                          • Digest

                            Digest

                          • CRM Marketplace

                            CRM Marketplace

                          • MVP Corner

                            MVP Corner




                            Zoho Writer Writer

                            Get Started. Write Away!

                            Writer is a powerful online word processor, designed for collaborative work.

                              Zoho CRM コンテンツ






                                ご検討中の方

                                  • Recent Topics

                                  • Feature Request - Insert URL Links in Folders

                                    I would love to see the ability to create simple URL links with titles in WorkDrive. or perhaps a WorkDrive extension to allow it. Example use case: A team is working on a project and there is project folder in WordDrive. The team uses LucidChart to create
                                  • Try FSM again for our business

                                    We already have our customers individual equipment in CRM with serial numbers, install dates, warranty length and importantly next service which is generally 2 years. a month before the service date is due we get get a report and send out service reminders.
                                  • GST Slabs Redefined: Stay Compliant Using Zoho Books!

                                    Hello Everyone! The Government of India is rolling out new GST rates, a major reform aimed at simplifying the current tax structure starting 22 September 2025. GST will move from four slabs (5%, 12%, 18%, 28%) to two main slabs (5% and 18%), plus a special
                                  • Zoho CRM button to download images from image upload field

                                    Hello, I am trying to create a button in Zoho CRM that I can place in my record details view for each record and use it to download all images in the image upload fields. I tried deluge, client scripts and even with a widget, but feel lost, could not
                                  • Get Cliq Meetings in my O365 calendar

                                    Hi, we are currently evaluating to replace the Teams Messaging and Meetings with Cliq. We currently still have all our email and calendars in O365. What i want to achieve is, to create a (ZOHO) meeting from Cliq and have this meeting added to my Outlook/O365
                                  • Issue with Zoho Help Portal – Tickets Missing or Not Answered

                                    Hi, How are you? I think there may be an issue with the Zoho Help Portal. I opened a few tickets directly in the help portal a some time ago but never received any response I also opened ticket 148356451 by email. I did receive a reply to it, but the
                                  • Changing the Default Search Criteria for Finding Duplicates

                                    Hey everyone, is it possible to adjust the default search criteria for finding and merging duplicate records? Right now, CRM uses some (in my opinion nonsensical) fields as search criteria for duplicate records which do nothing except dilute the results.
                                  • Zoho Creator as LMS and Membership Solution

                                    My client is interested in using Zoho One apps to deploy their membership academy offer. Zoho Creator was an option that came up in my research: Here are the components of the program/offer: 1. Membership portal - individual login credentials for each
                                  • access to quartz for my customers

                                    Hi how can I have access to the application quartz you use for us to send you screen rocording, this feature would be immensely useful for our customers support https://quartz.zoho.com/
                                  • DUNS & Bradstreet and Credit risk monitoring integration with Zoho books

                                    Small businesses not being paid by bigger clients and clients of all sizes is a huge problem. It will be nice if Zoho develops integration with DUNS & Bradstreet(D&B) and Credit risk monitoring integration with Zoho books. That have small businesses can
                                  • Filtering Tickets based on Email headers

                                    We're starting to get a lot more junk coming into our Zoho Desk, which is then triggering unnecessary email alerts to agents. Once thing we could do to cut this junk in half, is to filter tickets based on email headers. Any email containing the `List-Unsubscribe`
                                  • Zoho Forms - Form Rules based on attachment fields

                                    Many businesses use forms to collect documents and images from customers. In many cases, you may want to trigger a notification or other automation based on whether or not an attachment was added. I've noticed that attachment fields do not appear in Rules
                                  • Add QUOTE OWNER profile image to a Quote Template

                                    I can add their email address.. phone number, DOB. I need to add a users profile picture so when they assign a template to a quote they own it adds their picture to the cover page. I've tried hacking a solution together but there has to be an easier way.
                                  • Elevate your CX delivery using CommandCenter 2.0: Simplified builder; seamless orchestration

                                    Most businesses want to create memorable customer experiences—but they often find it hard to keep them smooth, especially as they grow. To achieve a state of flow across their processes, teams often stitch together a series of automations using Workflow
                                  • New in Cadences: Option to Resume or Restart follow-ups when re-enrolling records into a Cadence, and specify custom un-enrollment criteria

                                    Managing follow-ups effectively involves understanding the appropriate timing for reaching out, as well as knowing when to take a break and resume later, or deciding if it's necessary to start the follow-up process anew. With two significant enhancements
                                  • No Response from Zoho Support in 8 Days - Typical?

                                    I have a couple of issues I'm trying to work through. Initially, I was getting support from support@zohofsm.com, but I have not received a response in 8 days (11 on another question). Is this typical? Can I pay for support? For context, I am not spamming
                                  • Office 365 and CRM mail integration: permission required

                                    Has anyone run into this weird problem? My email server is Office 365. When I try to configure Zoho CRM to use this server, a Microsoft popup window opens requesting user and password. After entering that, I get a message in the Microsoft window saying
                                  • Age Calculation

                                    I've attempted to calculate the age of someone based on their birthday input by using the formula field. It works but I don't want all those decimals on there. I then tried to use "set variable" after birthday input but I get a field type mismatch, long vs. floating. Any ideas would be wonderful.
                                  • Open filtered deals from campaign

                                    Do you think a feature like this would be feasible? Say you are seeing campaign "XYZ" in CRM. The campaign has a related list of deals. If you want to see the related deals in a deal view, you should navigate to the Deals module, open the campaign filter,
                                  • Change scheduling emails time

                                    When sending an individual email there is a great feature to schedule them to send later. I could only use the one time that is suggested. Is there a way to select another time? Regards, Glenn
                                  • Zoho CRM: how can I control which contacts to sync with Outlook?

                                    I was just playing around syncing contacts from Zoho to MS Outlook (MS365 account.) The problem is our firm has hundreds of thousands of contacts and I don't want to bury my contacts list in outlook. Any help with this is greatly appreciated.
                                  • How to overcome limitations in meetings

                                    As a company, one of our deliverables is a meeting between two other companies, where we act as facilitators. So, if we recorded this meeting  in Zoho CRM, it should be connected to 2 accounts, 2 contacts, and 1 campaign (a campaign, in our use, is the
                                  • Different MRP / Pricing for same product but different batches

                                    We often face the following situations where MRP of a particular product changes on every purchase and hence we have to charge the customer accordingly. This can't be solved by Batch tracking as of now so far as I understand Zoho. How do you manage it as of now? 
                                  • Add a 'Log a Call' link to three dot icon in Canvas

                                    Hi, There's a three dot element when creating a canvas called 'More'. I would like to modify this to add a link that says 'Log a Call' in order to quickly record the details of a cellphone call. I'd also like this to be a simple 'contact' selection and
                                  • Syncing Zoho Forms with Bigin - Embedding issue?

                                    Hello everyone, I created a Zoho Form for a page on my GoDaddy website to collect leads, which then transfers the data to Bigin. However, I'm facing an issue where it doesn't seem to work properly. I've integrated Zoho Forms with Bigin and tried embedding
                                  • Can not add fields to a Section

                                    I feel like I'm missing something obvious: I can add new Sections to my form but I can not add fields to the Sections. I've tried fields already on the form as well as dragging and dropping new fields into the Section but nothing will go into it. What
                                  • Record Logged in User while using CRM lookup field

                                    Is it possible, while using the Zoho CRM lookup field, to automatically use the user account logged into Zoho CRM in a hidden field? I was hoping to add employee accounts to my current plan. But would like a record on the Form submission of who submitted
                                  • Form Rules for Suburb Categories to alternate landing pages or Making a Fields Contents ALL CAPS

                                    I need to send differentform submissions to two to three different thank-you URLs (for Meta/Google pixels) depending on which suburb a user selects in a form. I have ~400 suburbs split into two categories (A and B, based on business value). Current challenges:
                                  • how to differentiate if whatsapp comes from certain landing page?

                                    I create a Zobot in SalesIQ to create a Whatsapp bot to capture the lead. I have 2 landing pages, one is SEO optimized and the other want is optimized for leads comes from Google Ads. I want to know from which landing page this lead came through WhatsApp
                                  • Collaps Notes

                                    There are times when long/large notes are added to a record i.e. Accounts or Deals etc. Currently, the full note is displayed in the notes related list section. It would be great if by default only 5 to 10 rows of the note are displayed when the note
                                  • Zoho Down

                                    I have a drop in my Zoho One services.
                                  • Runing RPA Agents on Headless Windows 11 Machines

                                    Has anyone tried this? Anything to be aware of regarding screen resolution?
                                  • Problem for EU users connecting Zoho CRM through Google Ads for Enhanced conversions

                                    Has anyone else experienced this problem when trying to connect Zoho CRM through Google Ads interface to setup enhanced conversions? Did you guys get it fixed somehow? The Problem: The current Google Ads integration is hardcoded to use Zoho's US authentication
                                  • Why am I getting event Pop-up Notification for events that have been cancelled?

                                    Why is Calendar Notification still popping up for events that have been cancelled or changed? Each time events are cancelled or changed, I have observed that I am still getting notifications for them. Below is a sample pop-up notification for one of the
                                  • Rich Text For Notes in Zoho CRM

                                    Hello everyone, As you know, notes are essential for recording information and ensuring smooth communication across your records. With our latest update, you can now use Rich Text formatting to organize and structure your notes more efficiently. By using
                                  • Whatsapp Limitation Questions

                                    Good day, I would like to find out about the functionality or possibility of all the below points within the Zoho/WhatsApp integration. Will WhatsApp buttons ever be possible in the future? Will WhatsApp Re-directs to different users be possible based
                                  • Issue with Inline Images in Email Reply via Zoho Desk API

                                    Hi, I am attempting to send inline images in an email reply using the Zoho Desk API, but the images are not being displayed inline for the recipient. I have followed this documentation: https://desk.zoho.com/DeskAPIDocument#Uploads https://desk.zoho.com/DeskAPIDocument#Threads#Threads_SendEmailReply
                                  • Create a draft in reply to an email via Emails API

                                    Hi, I’d like to use the outgoing webhook to automatically create a draft reply to incoming mail. How can I use the Emails API to create a draft reply that is linked to an existing email thread? I couldn’t find the relevant method in the documentation.
                                  • India Tech Support

                                    Is there no phone tech support number for India? And no chat facility either?
                                  • Billing Management: #1 Billing an Universal Business Routine

                                    Hello, As the saying goes, "Do the hardest job first", we started with the complex subject in finance, revenue management, which is considered to be the backbone for any business. Now, let's shift our focus and take a deep dive into this Billing Management
                                  • Next Page