Kaizen #63 - Layout Rules in Zoho CRM

Kaizen #63 - Layout Rules in Zoho CRM

Hello and welcome to another week of Kaizen!

This week, we will be discussing Layout Rules in Zoho CRM.
If you need to modify the layout of a module based on user inputs, or to show or hide sections based on the value of a specific field, we have got just the perfect solution for you.

What is a Page Layout?

In simple terms, a page layout is a template where you can add, choose and arrange the fields and sections that will be displayed in a module. Depending on your application requirement, you can either edit the standard layout, or create custom layouts.

What are Layout Rules and why you need them?

Layout rules are a set of criteria that you define to modify the layout of a module. These rules help you keep your layouts clean and clutter-free. Often, you may need to set up dynamic layouts, where the value selected for one field determines the subsequent sections and fields. 
For example, in an automobile rental company, the field requirements for a two-wheeler will differ from the ones for a car. By using layout rules, you can display only the relevant sections and fields based on the type of vehicle being rented. This article will use an automobile rental company as an example to explain Layout Rules.

Who can access Layout Rules feature?

Only users with permission to Customize Zoho CRM profile can access this feature.

How and when are Layout rules triggered?

You can trigger the rule when the chosen primary field meets one of the following conditions.
  • is
  • isn't
  • contains
  • doesn't contain
  • starts with
  • ends with
  • is empty
  • is not empty
You can trigger the following actions when the criteria are met:
  • Show Fields - To show specific fields. For example, show the Number of Helmets field only if the Helmets Required is YES.
  • Show Sections - To show specific sections. For example, display the Four wheeler section only if the vehicle type is Four wheeler. 
  • Set Mandatory Fields - To set specific fields mandatory. For instance, make the car type field mandatory if the vehicle type is Four wheeler.
  • Show Subforms - To show specific subforms. For example, to show the Accessories Required only if the user chooses to rent accessories.

How to create Layout Rules?

  1. Go to Setup > Customization > Modules.
  2. Select the module.
  3. Go to the Layout Rules section and + New Layout Rule.
  4. In the New Layout Rule pop-up, enter the following details:
    1. Rule Name
    2. Rule Description
    3. Select the Layout to which the rule is applicable.
    4. Choose the primary field that controls the rule.
    5. Choose a condition to initiate the rule.
  5. Click Next.
  6. In the Rule Page, click + Trigger an action.
  7. Select the action and choose the corresponding section/field/subform according to the action you have selected.
  8. Click Save.


How to trigger more than one action with a condition?

With a single condition, you can trigger more than one action by repeating steps 6 to 8. For instance, if the vehicle type is two-wheeler, you can show the two-wheeler section, and make the bike-type field mandatory.

How to add more criteria to a condition?

To add more than one criteria to the condition, click on Edit Condition after initiating the rule. For example, you can show the Number of seating rows field only if the car type is MUV/SUV AND the seating capacity is greater than 4.



Note : You can add a maximum of five criteria in each condition, combined using AND or OR. You can use the primary field for only one criterion, and this criterion can only have AND operator with others.

How to add more conditions?

To add more conditions and actions depending on the same primary field, click on Choose an option and add them. For example, if the Vehicle Type is Four-wheeler, show the Four wheeler section of the layout.



How to make a field mandatory?

Apart from showing specific fields, sections or subforms, you can also make a field mandatory depending on a condition. For example, you can make the Number of Helmets field mandatory if the Helmets Required field is checked.



Layout Rules in action


The image illustrates the effects of the layout rules. Two-wheeler or Four-wheeler sections are shown depending on the value of the Vehicle Type field. The Number of Helmets required field becomes mandatory if Helmet Required field is checked. If the car type is MUV or SUV, AND the Maximum seating capacity is more than 5, then the Number of seating rows field is displayed.

API support for Layouts and Layout Rules

If you do not specify the layout while creating a record using API call, the standard layout will be applied by default. If you specify a layout, the record will be assigned to it along with mandatory field check configured for that specific layout. In either scenario, the Show Field/Section/Subform layout rules applicable will be applied to the view record page in the UI. 

Mandatory Field Layout Rules

In order to apply the mandatory field rules, you must include the apply_feature_execution key in the input JSON. This is supported for Insert, Update and Upsert Records API from v2.
Currently API support is only available for Mandatory Field Layout Rules, during inserting or updating a record. 
Here is the sample JSON to create a record applying the layout rules.


 {
    "data": [
        {
            "Email": "patricia.boyle@zoho.com", 
            "Name": "Patricia",
            "Name1" : "Matt",
            "Mobile_Number" : "999999999",
            "Vehicle_Type": "Two wheeler",
            "Bike_Type": "Standard",
            "Helmets_Required": true,
             "Layout": {
                "name": "Standard",
                "id": "4876876000002670001"
            }
        }
    ],
     "apply_feature_execution": [
       {
           "name": "layout_rules"
       }
   ]
 }


In this example, the system will throw the following MANDATORY_NOT_FOUND error since we have made the Number of Helmets field mandatory if the Helmets Required field is True.


 {
    "data": [
        {
            "code": "MANDATORY_NOT_FOUND",
            "details": {
                "layout_rule": {
                    "name": "Helmet Mandatory Rule",
                    "id": "4876876000002695023"
                },
                "api_name": "No_of_Helmets"
            },
            "message": "required field not found",
            "status": "error"
        }
    ]
 }


You can use apply_feature_execution key in the Update and Upsert Record APIs to apply mandatory field rules to those records created without apply_feature_execution key.

Show Field/Section/Subform Rules 

API support is currently not extended to these rules. When using API calls, you can add values to all fields, even if they are hidden by layout rules.  Get Records API returns all the fields in the layout. In other words, using APIs bypasses layout rules for Show Field/Section/Subform.

Points to remember

  • You can include the primary field of one layout rule in the "Show Field" and "Set Mandatory Fields" actions for other layout rules, but not as a primary field for another rule.
  • The Record Owner field or a multi-select picklist field cannot be the primary field for a rule.
  • Layout rules are active when creating a record manually and when creating a record through the API. However, when using the API, only mandatory field rules are applied. Layout rules are not available for records generated via import, webforms or lead convert page. Refer to Layout Rule Exceptions for more details.
  • When you edit a primary field associated with a layout rule, and if the actions triggered include making one or more fields mandatory, the system will capture these mandatory fields via a pop-up prompt. For example, when you edit a record, and change the Helmets Required from No to Yes, the Number of Helmets Required field will be captured via a pop-up prompt.
  • You cannot use Layout Rules on Auto Number, Lookup, Multi Select Lookup, User Lookup, Formula, File Upload and Multi Line field types.
  • Layout Rules are applicable for create, edit and view pages.
We hope you found this post useful. We will meet you next week with another interesting topic!
If you have any questions let us know in the comment section.

Related Links




      Zoho Campaigns Resources


        • Desk Community Learning Series


        • Digest


        • Functions


        • Meetups


        • Kbase


        • Resources


        • Glossary


        • Desk Marketplace


        • MVP Corner


        • Word of the Day


        • Ask the Experts


          • Sticky Posts

          • Kaizen #197: Frequently Asked Questions on GraphQL APIs

            🎊 Nearing 200th Kaizen Post – We want to hear from you! Do you have any questions, suggestions, or topics you would like us to cover in future posts? Your insights and suggestions help us shape future content and make this series better for everyone.
          • Kaizen #198: Using Client Script for Custom Validation in Blueprint

            Nearing 200th Kaizen Post – 1 More to the Big Two-Oh-Oh! Do you have any questions, suggestions, or topics you would like us to cover in future posts? Your insights and suggestions help us shape future content and make this series better for everyone.
          • Celebrating 200 posts of Kaizen! Share your ideas for the milestone post

            Hello Developers, We launched the Kaizen series in 2019 to share helpful content to support your Zoho CRM development journey. Staying true to its spirit—Kaizen Series: Continuous Improvement for Developer Experience—we've shared everything from FAQs
          • Kaizen #193: Creating different fields in Zoho CRM through API

            🎊 Nearing 200th Kaizen Post – We want to hear from you! Do you have any questions, suggestions, or topics you would like us to cover in future posts? Your insights and suggestions help us shape future content and make this series better for everyone.
          • Client Script | Update - Introducing Commands in Client Script!

            Have you ever wished you could trigger Client Script from contexts other than just the supported pages and events? Have you ever wanted to leverage the advantage of Client Script at your finger tip? Discover the power of Client Script - Commands! Commands

          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

                                  • Capture Reason for absence next to Campaign Member Status. Is there a reasonable workaround?

                                    I've reviewed the topics I could find to do with this but still couldn't find anything that satisfies our requirements: We would like to track a *reason* (picklist or text, doesn't matter which) why a Campaign Member (Lead or Contact associated with a
                                  • Zoho Learning Management System - Certificate Upload by Employees

                                    We are planning to enroll employees in courses which are hosted by coursera or similar sites. I want to share the links of those courses and also want employees to upload their completion certificate once they are done. Is this function possible in
                                  • Add RTL and Hebrew Support for Candidate Portal (and Other Zoho Recruit Portals)

                                    Dear Zoho Recruit Team, I hope you're doing well. We would like to request the ability to set the Candidate Portal to be Right-to-Left (RTL) and in Hebrew, similar to the existing functionality for the Career Site. Currently, when we set the Career Site
                                  • Button or Links order

                                    Is there a way to re-order the buttons or links that are created?
                                  • Adding Multiple Products (Package) to a Quote

                                    I've searched the forums and found several people asking this question, but never found an answer. Is ti possible to add multiple products to a quote at once, like a package deal? This seems like a very basic function of a CRM that does quotes but I can't
                                  • 'Pin' notes, so that specific ones are always visible at the top of the 'notes' tab.

                                    It doesn't appear Bigin has the functionality to 'pin' a note to then have it always show at the top of the notes tab section of a record. Often times we have a large number of records, but key information we may want to have easily visible to all at
                                  • Request for Subform Support in Zoho CRM Webforms

                                    Hi Team, I hope you're doing well. I would like to bring to your attention that currently, Zoho CRM Webforms do not support Subforms, which limits our ability to send forms that mirror the actual structure used within Zoho CRM. This feature is extremely
                                  • Formatting Mailing Labels

                                    I want to use the "Print Mailing Labels" function on the drop down list, but I am not seeing a way to change the formatting on the mailing labels. At the moment, the information that appears on the mailing labels ARE NOT mailing addresses, but random
                                  • Maxima Address on FSM Customer

                                    Im trying to add probably 50 customers from one company but couldn't make it since it has limit..how do i add the limit?
                                  • How to Track Inventory Usage from Zoho FSM to Zoho Inventory?

                                    Hi everyone, We’re currently working on integrating Zoho FSM with Zoho Inventory, and we’ve encountered a challenge we’re hoping the community can help us understand better. Here’s the context: When we create a Work Order in Zoho FSM that involves parts
                                  • View subform entries without viewing a record in Zoho CRM | Kiosk Studio Session #8

                                    In a nutshell Have you ever wanted to take a quick peek at a record's subform? Examples might be invoiced items in an invoice, ordered items in a sales order, or purchased items in a purchase order. Let's say you're viewing your list of invoices in Zoho
                                  • How to Create a YTD vs Last YTD Comparison Report in Zoho Analytics?

                                    Hi everyone, I'm trying to build a report that compares Year-to-Date (YTD) metrics from this year to last year. I’m struggling to get accurate results using custom formulas or aggregate functions. Has anyone successfully created a YTD vs LYTD comparison
                                  • Transforma tu Inventario: Control Inteligente y Funciones Clave en Zoho Inventory (Spanish Webinar)

                                    ¿Tu empresa necesita mayor trazabilidad y control en almacenes? Conoce cómo gestionar tu inventario con eficiencia y automatización... ¡y descubre las sorpresas que trae Zoho Analytics! Participa en nuestro webinar gratuito en español, este 19 de agosto
                                  • Dashlane discontinued its free plan: Here's why Zoho Vault's free plan is worth the switch

                                    Hey everyone, Dashlane password manager has officially announced that its free plan will be discontinued starting September 16, 2025. This change means that current free users will need to either upgrade to a paid subscription or export their data and
                                  • Mails are not being sent from custom Deluge function

                                    We are having troubles to implement sending Invoices / Sales_Orders etc. automatically using following deluge script: attachment_template_id = "aaaa"; record_id = "bbbb"; mail_template_id = "cccc"; //NEW aproach fileUrl = "https://www.zohoapis.com/crm/v8/settings/inventory_templates/"
                                  • Currency transition

                                    We are using Zoho CRM in Curacao, Dutch Caribbean. Our currency is currently the ANG. Curacao will be transition ing from using the ANG (Antillean Guilder) to using the XCG currency (Caribbean Guilder) on March 31st 2025, see: https://www.mcb-bank.com/caribbean-guilder.
                                  • Notes and Attachments visibility can now be restricted based on profiles

                                    Dear All, We hope you're well! We are here with a quick update about Notes and Attachments profile permissions. In the past, a record's Notes and Attachments were visible by default to all users with record access. However, as notes and attachments can
                                  • Zoho webinar--hard for agencies

                                    So, this is just a dive into our use case, and why we've been disappointed in Zoho webinar. We are a small marketing agency, and we wanted to add webinars to the services we provide, as many of our clients want to learn to use them as part of their content
                                  • Celebrating Raksha Bandhan with Zoho Desk: A Bond of Trust, Protection, and Service

                                    Raksha Bandhan, celebrated across India, symbolizes the sacred bond of protection and affection between siblings. “Raksha” means protection, “Bandhan” means bond or knot: together, it represents a knot of care and security. On this occasion, we'd like
                                  • Banking > Import statements with a csv file

                                    Good morning, I am regularly using the "import statement" option to match my transactions. I've been using csv files produced by my bank online and was able to import my transactions. Until now. Thank you for your help for fixing this ! Alex.
                                  • ZOHO BOOKS - RECEIVING MORE ITEMS THAN ORDERED

                                    Hello, When trying to enter a vendor's bill that contains items with bigger quantity than ordered in the PO (it happens quite often) - The system would not let us save the bill and show this error: "Quantity recorded cannot be more than quantity ordered." 
                                  • Has anyone successfully added Microsoft Graph API Oauth2 as a connection?

                                    I'm having trouble getting Microsoft Graph API created as a connection in zoho crm. Has anyone successfully added Microsoft Graph API Oauth2 as a connection? My issue is not necessarily on the Zoho side, but understanding how to set up the Microsoft side
                                  • Syncing Timesheets between Projects and Desk

                                    All users able to see their own timelog entries from all apps in one place, synced immediately. All managers able to view total/all time entries from one place. This is something that has come up for us and multiple clients. Example: we have a client
                                  • Spell Check default language

                                    Hello All, Is it possible to set the Spell Check default language? I can't find it in the settings. Thanks a lot! Levente
                                  • Zoho Backstage 3.0 - Boostez vos événements avec des outils malins

                                    Zoho Backstage vous accompagne dans l’organisation d’événements réussis, avec des outils qui simplifient la planification, optimisent l’exécution et renforcent la connexion avec votre public. La version 2.0 a apporté une nouvelle interface, plus de flexibilité
                                  • Portal user activity reporting

                                    Aside from the metrics section in the admin dashboard, is there a way to view/create reports for portal user activity? Im looking for a more granular option to see exactly what users are utilizing the portal. Thanks!
                                  • Automation #11 - Auto Update Custom Fields with Values from Emails

                                    This is a monthly series designed to help you get the best out of Desk. We take our cue from what's being discussed or asked about the most in our community. Then we find the right use cases that specifically highlight solutions, ideas and tips to optimize
                                  • Admins to set Agents Picture

                                    Admins should not have to rely on agents to set a nice profile picture for them. Admins get the headshot pictures from HR and should be able to upload and set their picture, not rely on them to: 1) upload a picture at all 2) upload a good picture 3) upload
                                  • Time Tracking Reporting and Billing

                                    I wish for the time tracking module to be enhanced further. Currently it is independent of Support Plans and Contracts. Support Plans and Contracts are also mostly separate. We need a better dashboard of this with the ability to natively mark billed or
                                  • Enhanced Email Signature Folding

                                    We have departmental signatures setup which are great, however, when viewing ticket details, it gets very overwhelming when scrolling though threads and conversations where you scroll past ten different signatures of your own team, then ten signatures
                                  • How to add formatting in zoho.cliq.postToUser(...) message?

                                    In a CRM Deluge function, I'm trying to use the message formatting guidelines given here: https://www.zoho.com/deluge/help/cliq/posting-to-zoho-cliq.html#message-formats My message is: message: #Title text. The result in Cliq is: #Title text. (no large
                                  • How to add line breaks in zoho.cliq.postToUser(...) message?

                                    In a CRM function using Deluge I'm sending this message and attempting to add some line breaks but they are ignored. Is there another way to add these breaks? My message: message: New urgent task\nDescription \nThis is a fake description.\n A new line?
                                  • Zia Agents/End of Day Reports

                                    As a manager or owner it would be nice if Zia analyzed today's (or this week's tickets) and gave an end of the day report to management team. - what important tickets were worked on or submitted today? - what agents were unproductive today and answered
                                  • Project Cost Tracking

                                    I see there are questions/concerns that Zoho doesn't track costs to a tasks in a project. We are a manufacturer and are in the early stages of tracking costs to project. I would like to expand out the COGS Chart of accounts in Books and record costs via
                                  • How to record if the payment made is return due to transaction failed.

                                    So there is Bill of $2000, and a payments made transaction to clear the bill. The amount is actually deducted from bank account. However, a few days later, I found the bank returned only $1750 cause there are $250 bank service charge for this failed transaction.
                                  • Help Center Customization UI

                                    The customization screens for the help center needs the UI improved. It looks straight out of 2004. The Zoho Desk normal UI is great. All it takes is uniform fonts and colors across all parts of the tool... I compare this to Zendesk Guide.
                                  • Este domínio já está associado a esta conta

                                    Fui fazer meu cadastro na zoho e quando digitei meu domínio recebi essa mensagem que meu domínio estava associado a uma conta que eu nem faço idéia de quem seja. Como que faço pra resolver isso? Atenciosamente, Anderson Souza.
                                  • I need some help in Expenses Per Diem Policy

                                    this is my script written for restricting the PerDiem Components. Say if Lodging and Per Day Allowance both is selected from Per Diem Page then the report should gets auto rejected. When Im trying to executing it says the following error {"code":11,"message":"The
                                  • Adding Photos to Dashboards on Zoho Analytics

                                    I am creating a dashboard to showcase data from survey results from focus groups. I am creating a focus group participant profile tab where it is filtered by the name of the participant and showcases information about them using KPI widgets. I am running
                                  • What is the difference between Retainer invoice and Advance Payments?

                                    Retainer invoice seem like they are just advance payments with extra details. Instead of creating a Sales Order with order details, a retainer is created. It feels like they are a workaround to link advance payments with sales orders. Is there any advantage
                                  • Next Page