Building Extensions #5: Configuration setup while building extensions - Part 1

Building Extensions #5: Configuration setup while building extensions - Part 1

This series aims to equip developers with all they need to build extensions for Zoho Desk in Zoho Sigma and publish them in Zoho Marketplace.
 
With our series of posts so far, we have introduced you to our development environment setup (Sigma) to build extensions and the steps needed to upload them in Zoho Marketplace. This post will brief you on the configuration settings that are necessary while building extensions for Zoho Desk.
 
Extensions can either add a new custom feature to Zoho Desk that suits your business needs or integrate a third-party application with Zoho Desk. You may also use the advanced features provided within Zoho Desk to weave and craft sophisticated apps for Zoho Desk.
 
Regardless of the type of extension you may build, configuration details play an important role in them. The information needed to set up the extension should be added as a part of the configuration while building an extension. The location to load the extension widget within Zoho Desk, the authorized communication between Zoho Desk and third-party applications, and all the other required information are configured in the plugin-manifest.json file that is stored in the extension project directory.

Plugin-manifest 

The plugin-manifest file is included in the extension project directory by default. It has various keys included in it, each serving a unique function for configuring the extension. Let's explore the purpose of the keys that are included in the plugin-manifest file.
{
  "locale": [
    "en"
  ],
  "service": "DESK",
  "storage": false,
  "type": "personal",
  "whiteListedDomains": [],
  "modules": {
    "widgets": [
      {
        "location": "desk.ticket.detail.rightpanel",
        "url": "/app/widget.html",
        "name": "Desk Extension",
        "logo": "/app/img/logo.png",
        "icon": "/app/img/icon.png"
      }
    ]
  },
  "zohoAuthorisation": {},
  "connectors": [],
  "config": [],
  "moduleSupport": false
      }

locale

The details regarding the languages supported by the extension have to be specified here. All translation files need to be stored in .json format inside the "translations" folder of the extension's project folder.

service

This key stores the name of the Zoho product for which the extension is created.

storage 

At times, there may be a need for you to store data and use it whenever needed in your extension. This can be accomplished by enabling data storage for your extension. Set the value to "true" to enable the feature. It is disabled by default.

whiteListedDomains 

When you build an extension that integrates Zoho Desk with a third-party application, you will be invoking APIs. The domain names of these APIs have to be authorized by Zoho Desk and whitelisted to ensure a secure data transfer between the two applications.
 
Only whitelisted domains can be used to make an API call. Requests for domains that are not included in this key will be blocked. If your extension does not include third-party service requests, this key is declared as an empty array.

widgets

The details regarding widgets created for the extension are added to this key. An extension can have multiple widgets and the details can be added here as an array of objects. The following are the parameters that construct a widget object:
 
  • location: The information about where to load a widget needs to be added here. All locations where the widget could be loaded are predefined.  
  • url: The path of the widget's html file can be added here, either as a relative path (for internally hosted extensions) or an absolute path (for externally hosted extensions).
  • name: Name of the extension (displayed in the extension header)
  • logo: Path of the extension's logo (displayed in the extension header)
  • icon: Path of the extension's icon (displayed only on the widget chat bar and subtab)
Our next post will continue with the authorization part of configuration.
 
Stay tuned!


<<Previous                                                                                                                                   Next>>

    Nederlandse Hulpbronnen


      • Recent Topics

      • ME SALE ESTE ERROR: No fue posible enviar el mensaje;Motivo:554 5.1.8 Email Outgoing Blocked

        Ayuda!! Me sale este error al intentar enviar mensajes desde mi correo electronico de Zoho! Tampoco recibo correos pues cuando me envia rebotan. Ayuda, Me urge enviar unos correo importantes!! Quedo atenta MAGDA HERNANDEZ +5731120888408

      • Client Script | Update - Client Script Support For Custom Buttons

        Hello everyone! We are excited to announce one of the most requested features - Client Script support for Custom Buttons. This enhancement lets you run custom logic on button actions, giving you greater flexibility and control over your user interactions.

      • Zoho Mail not working

        Zoho Mail not working

      • I can't add a new customer in Zoho invoice? Anyone had this issue before?

        Ive been using Zoho invoice for over 6 years. Today I wanted to add a new customer to send an invoice to but it doesn't save when I try to access it from the pulldown menu when you go to send a new invoice.

      • Spreadsheet View click & focus issue in Arabic (RTL) localization

        Hello Zoho Support Team, I am facing an issue in Zoho Creator Spreadsheet View when using Arabic localization (RTL). Scenario: My app supports English (LTR) and Arabic (RTL). I created a Spreadsheet View for a form. In English, everything works correctly.

      • Customer address in Zoho Bookings

        Hello,  Is it possible to add customer address information to the Zoho bookings appointment screen? Or have it pull that information automatically from the CRM? We are wanting to use this as a field management software but it is difficult to pull the address from multiple sources when it would be ideal to have a clickable address on the appointment screen that opens up the user's maps.  It would also be advantageous for the "list view" to show appointment times instead of just duration and booking

      • Ghost email notification on a form

        Hello, We have recently encountered an error where I can not see a email notification set up for a form which I am currently the owner, although neither the form nor the notification were created by me. However, neither can the Super Admin access the

      • bulk edit records and run internal logic

        hi there is few logics in manner "it this than that" logics work well when i edit entry openning it one by one (via workflow "on add/edit - on success" , for custom field "on update/on user input") but when i try bulk edit records - logic does not work.  how can i turn on logic to work as programmed - for mass editing records via bulk edit?

      • Limitations on editing a message in Cliq

        Hi I've checked the documentations and there's no mention of how many times a message can be edited. When trying with code, I get various numbers such as ~1000 edits or so. Please mention if there's a limit on how many times one can change a message via

      • email address autocomplete

        Is there a way to eliminate certain addresses from showing up in auto complete when entering an address? Many old and unused addresses currently show up, many of which I would like to get rid of. Thanks

      • How to use MAIL without Dashboard?

        Whenever I open Mail, it opens Dashboard. This makes Mail area very small and also I cannot manage Folders (like delete/rename) etc. I want to know if there is any way to open only Mail apps and not the Dashboard.

      • How can i download and secure all my mails from the archive folders?

        Hi, i would like to download all my mails from my archive folders and secure it on my external HDD. Is this possible? Thx. amir

      • How to open filtered report in popup using Zoho Creator Deluge?

        First report: There is so many records in Report, If I click one record, pop up is occur. Second report (Pop up): there is also so many record data, and this pop up is also Report, not Form. First report: It has got "Sales Order" field. when I click any

      • Can you default reports/charts to report the current week?

        Our data table maintains two years of data. Management wants certain report to automatically filter the report to the latest calendar week. I know I can do this manually with filters but I want the report to automatically default to the latest calendar

      • Rendering PDF to view on page

        My company upload lots of PDF files onto Zoho. But every time we open it, it downloads the file instead of viewing it on the web page. Does Zoho allow uploaded PDF files to be rendered to view on web page yet? I've been trying to use <embed> or <object> but it cannot be loaded.  (similar thread: https://help.zoho.com/portal/community/topic/how-to-open-a-pdf-file-of-a-view-in-preview-mode)

      • Overlapping Reports in Dashboards

        It's rare, but occasionally it would be a good feature if I were able to overlap reports, either fully or partially in the Dashboards. Also, then having the ability to move objects to the front or rear, or make them transparent/translucent would be good

      • Feature request - pin or flag note

        Hi, It would be great if you could either pin or flag one or more notes so that they remain visible when there are a bunch of notes and some get hidden in the list. Sometimes you are looking for a particular name that gets lost in a bunch of less important

      • 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

      • 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

      • Next Page