Kaizen #182 - Queries in Canvas List View

Kaizen #182 - Queries in Canvas List View



Hello everyone!

Welcome to another week of Kaizen!

We're back with another post in this series on Queries in Canvas List View.

Queries in Zoho CRM allow you to dynamically retrieve data from CRM as well as third-party services directly within the CRM platform.
You can construct a query of one of the following types:
  1. CRM Module type query to retrieve data from CRM modules.
  2. COQL type query to construct a query using the COQL API.
  3. REST API type query to fetch data from an external service and use it in Zoho CRM.
You can associate a query with the 'Decision' component of Kiosk, Canvas Detail View, or Canvas List View.

In this post, we will take up a use case and see how you can associate a query with Canvas List View.

Use case

Sales and support teams often need quick access to Zoho Desk tickets related to a contact in Zoho CRM. To avoid switching between apps to check ticket statuses, we can use the Queries feature to fetch the latest Zoho Desk ticket's details of a contact dynamically and display them on the Canvas List View page of the Contacts module.
This ensures that CRM users can instantly view the most recent ticket linked to a contact without leaving Zoho CRM.

Follow along to see how you can achieve this!

Step 1 - Add a Source

  1. Go to Setup > Developer Hub > Queries > Sources > Add Source.
  2. Under Information,
    1. Give a name for the source and its Base URL. Queries will make API calls to this URL to fetch data. Ensure to add this to Trusted Domain.
    2. Specify any default parameters and headers for this base URL.
  3. Under Connection, choose the connection you have created with Zoho Desk with the necessary scopes. If you haven't, create one.
  4. Click Save.

Notes
Note
Queries will make API calls to the URL you add in the Source and consume credits that are applicable in that service. Ensure you monitor your API usage in your source provider.

Step 2 - Create a REST API Query

  1. Go to Setup > Developer Hub > Queries > Add Query.
  2. Under Source, choose the source you created in step 1.
  3. Under Information,
    1. Enter the Name, API Name, and the Endpoint of the query.
    2. Specify the parameter email that takes the dynamic variable {{Contact_Email}} as its value. This is to fetch the latest ticket from Zoho Desk for a contact with the email in this variable during runtime. Refer to our Kaizen post on Handling Query Variables in Zoho CRM for additional details.
    3. Specify Headers, if any.
  4. You can serialize the output to fit your needs using JavaScript in the Serializer.

  5. Click Next.
  6. Enter an email address in the box to test the query.

  7. Click Save. You can see the response of the query and the serialized response if you had serialized the output.

  8. Click Next.
  9. You can see the Schema of the query. The Schema acts as a bridge/mapping layer between external API responses and Zoho CRM's internal data structure. For example, the response of the Desk API returns result[].assignee.firstName, which is mapped to CRM as Assignee > FirstName. Schema ensures that the CRM UI knows how to display the field correctly.
    With the right mapping in the schema, you can avoid manual data entry or syncing, and use the API data in workflows, reports, and dashboards.
    You can change the CRM Field Type and Label to suit your needs. Refer to our Kaizen post on Serialization and Schema Management for more details.
  10. Click Save to save the query.
Now that our query and fetching data from Zoho Desk is sorted, let's move on to the Canvas.

The Custom List view in Canvas enables you to stack records horizontally, one above the other.
Follow the steps in the How to Work with Canvas? guide to create a Custom List View Canvas for the Contacts module.
  1. On the Canvas, click the database icon for the Queries component.
  2. Click Associate Query.
  3. Give an Association Name and select the Source(added in step 1) for the query.
  4. Under Query, select the query you created.
  5. The Variables section will contain the variables in the query. The drop-down displays all fields in the Contacts module. Select the Email field.
  6. Under Result Mapping, choose Email as the Source Record Field and Contact > Email as the Query Response Path. The Query Response Path is populated from the schema of the query.
  7. Click Done to associate the query with the canvas.

  8. You can see all the fields of the query on the left. Drag and drop the required fields on the canvas.

  9. Save the canvas.

Time for the big reveal!
The following GIF shows how the ticket details from Zoho Desk are populated on the Canvas List View of the Contacts module.
Info
Note that every time you reload the canvas, the query underneath makes an API call to the source provider to fetch data for the contacts in Zoho CRM. Ensure your API calls are monitored to avoid exhasuting your credits.


We hope you liked this post.

Let us know your thoughts in the comments or write to us at support@zohocrm.com.
Topic suggestions are welcome! See you all next week!


Cheers!


----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------










    Nederlandse Hulpbronnen


      • Recent Topics

      • Zoho Live Chat/Support

        What is going on with Zoho support lately? I've tried to use the live chat feature 4 different times and it refuses to connect to any (despite waiting over 30 minutes one of the tries). I finally gave up and emailed my question nearly a week ago and still
      • Can we have a module to records Certificate No and TDS rates for Lower TDS Certificates by the vendors ?

        Can we have a module to records Certificate No and TDS rates for Lower TDS Certificates by the vendors ?
      • Tip #38- Track Organizational Changes: A Guide to Using Action Log Viewer- 'Insider Insights'

        Hello Zoho Assist Community! Ever needed to trace who did what and when within your remote support operations? Let’s say your support team is growing, and you want to monitor key activities like settings updates, user invites, module changes, or permission
      • Tip of the Week #67– Avoid confusion – Mark duplicate threads.

        When customers send the same message to multiple email addresses, such as support@ and sales@, your team may end up seeing the same message in different inboxes. This creates confusion, risks double replies, and clutters your workspace. Use the Mark as
      • Tax in Quote

        Each row item in a quote has a tax value.  At the total numbers at the bottom, there is also a Tax entry. If you select tax in both of the (line item, and the total), the tax doubles. My assumption is that the Tax total should be totalling the tax from
      • Final Reminder: Discontinuation of Older ASAP Widgets and Mobile SDK Support

        We launched the new ASAP Help Widget last year, introducing a unified and enhanced experience. Since then, older configurations have been placed in read-only mode, with all major updates and improvements built exclusively on the new version. As part of
      • Zoho Subscriptions -- Zoho Commerce integration

        Is there integration between Zoho Subscriptions and Zoho Commerce? I would like to create subscription plans in Zoho Subscritpions and list them for on my Zoho Commerce store.
      • Website show Blank white screen

        Customer called me to tell me my website is currently down upon review it shows a white screen however I can access everything via editor. JITCADCAM.com
      • How manufacturing analytics can transform your enterprise with Zoho Projects Plus

        Did you know that every single car is made up of 30,000 to 40,000 individual parts? All of these are manufactured meticulously in various facilities before being assembled into one. The global manufacturing industry spans a wide range from delivering
      • Projects custom colors replaced by default orange

        Since yesterday, projects uploaded to Zoho, to which I had assigned a custom color, have lost the customization and reverted to the default color (orange). Has anyone else had the same problem? If so, how did you resolve it?
      • Customize your SalesIQ live chat with Custom CSS and blend it with your website design

        Hi everyone. Hope you all are having a great day! SalesIQ offers various inbuilt customization choices for your chat widget and window like changes in colour, theme, font etc. Although these choices are many, sometimes they may not match with the design
      • From Email Address When Replaying to Missed Chats

        One of the most common things we do is follow up on every missed chat.  Missed chats are like money in the bank, people just waiting for your response and to start a relationship with our companies. However, SalesIQ only lets you respond from 1 email address from your entire account?! We have happily paid for 4 subscriptions, but our users cannot reply from their own email address?  How are we supposed to build customer relationships? The fix to this issue is so simple, just load in the logged in
      • how to treat a same person as customer and vendor in zoho

        hi team, in my company, few persons acting as creditors as well as debtors (which means sometimes we pay them... some times we paid by them). in that case i would like to maintain a same ledger for that person.in zoho books it is treating creditor and
      • Narrative 6 - The impact of rebranding

        Behind the scenes of a successful ticketing system - BTS Series Narrative 6 - The impact of rebranding Every organization has invested in branding to set itself apart, and that should be reflected in the help desk. Zoho Desk enables organizations to apply
      • custom color palette for picklist in Sheet

        Migrating over from Google Sheets and missing the ability to customize the individual item colors of my picklist/dropdown menus. Is this something that is possible? A search showed me creating a custom color palette in Analytics is possible but I am not
      • What's New - July 2025 | Zoho Backstage

        Start smart, end strong. From knowing who’s coming to celebrating who showed up, July’s updates help you run events that feel organized from the first invite to the final thank you. Planning an event used to be like writing a choose-your-own-adventure
      • Image Upload Field API get encrypted ID and sequence number

        Hello is there a way to extract the encrypted id and sequence number from image upload fields through the Zoho CRM API? I created a custom script with javascript within Zoho CRM, but I want to extract the encrypted id and sequence number for all my images
      • Attention: Changes to 10DLC TCR pricing and new authentication requirements

        Hi everyone, Starting August 1, 2025, The Campaign Registry (TCR) is introducing new pricing changes and a mandatory brand verification process called Authentication+ 2.0, which will affect how you register and manage your 10DLC messaging services. These
      • Better Time Tracking

        We need better time tracking customization for IT MSPs. We also need reporting that is built in, rather than having to try and fumble with creating custom reports. We also need to be able to mark whether a ticket has been billed or not, I don't think
      • Scheduled Tickets Need Updated

        There is a very clunky manual way to create reoccurring scheduled tickets. This should be created to be easy for the administrator to create. We create several (10 to 12) reoccurring tickets per account for biweekly and monthly auditing purposes.. The
      • Team Feeds Improvements

        Team Feeds needs to show a feed of every action within the department. Currently it seems that the feed will only show a ticket that I've personally commented on or interacted with/followed. A feed should be that, a feed. As a manager I would like to
      • Better Security, Better User Experience | Help Center Update | June'25

        As part of our commitment to enhancing user experience and security, we are happy to announce updates to our authentication mechanism. This update introduces several key enhancements designed to improve the password recovery process and streamline the
      • Upload Logo to Account Page

        It would be nice to set a logo for an Account
      • View Agent Collision on Ticket List Page

        It would be nice from the ticket listing page (views) to see what agents are working on what tickets rather than having to click into each ticket throughout the day to see what agents are working on what tickets. This functionality would also be desired
      • Restrict user from viewing the detail standard view

        Is there any way to restrict a user(it can be user-field-based) from viewing the detail standard view? Basically, I have created a canvas detailed view so that on some conditions I can hide some data from the users but the standard view client script
      • Upload Picture to Contact

        It would be nice to upload a profile picture to a contact.
      • Allowing Pictures for Client Contacts

        Do you have any plans to allow us to add pictures of our client contacts? There is a silhouette of a person there now, but no way that I can see where I can actually add a picture of the individual.
      • Paid Support Plans with Automated Billing

        We (like many others, I'm sure) are designing or have paid support plans. Our design involves a given number of support hours in each plan. Here are my questions: 1) Are there any plans to add time-based plans in the Zoho Desk Support Plans feature? The
      • Agent name Alias

        I am seeing that Full name of my staffs are written on every ticket response which is not good for some reasons. It is possible to user like this: Manny P. (First Name with Last Name's First Letter) or  Manny (First Name) This is want we want to show
      • Unable to add attachments to tickets through Desk API

        I able to use the Desk API to generate tickets. However when I try to use the tickets/{ticketId}/attachments endpoint, I always get an Unauthorized error. My app has Desk.Tickets.ALL included in its scope so this should not be an issue
      • What's wrong with this COQL?

        What's wrong with this COQL? Code returns "invalid operator found". SELECT id, Name, Stage, Account, Created_Time, Tag FROM Production_Orders WHERE (Account = '4356038000072566002' AND Stage NOT LIKE '%customer%') ORDER BY Created_Time DESC LIMIT 200
      • [Feature Request] Add support for internationalized top-level domains mail hosting

        This is an important request to add support for internationalized domains mail hosting to https://www.zoho.com/mail/ In this case, that is only limited to domain name/mail address however currently it's already possible for us send mails etc using below
      • Add Enable/Disable to Field Rules and other Rules

        Hi, Sometimes I have rules setup for fields, and until I want to enable them for use, I can set the fields to Hidden but rules still show them, today you have to delete rules and then recreate them again, would be nice to have a toggle for Enabled/Disabled
      • Syncing stuck for days

        Hello when I made an account a few days ago and synced all my notes to it, it is still syncing. My app is only 400mb so I do not know why it is taking so long. Please help
      • Workflow runs on every edit despite not ticking the field repeat this workflow whenever a parent is edited.....

        Hi, It is my understanding that this workflow should only trigger once. Why is this triggering on every edit of the field? Based on another support query - directly from Zoho, If i tick the box 'repeat this workflow whenever a parent is edited' it should
      • How do you add or update tags on Zoho CRM records via n8n? (Workarounds or best practices?)

        Hi all, I’m running into some limitations with the Zoho CRM node in n8n and was wondering how others have handled this: From what I see, the standard Zoho CRM node in n8n doesn’t allow you to add or update tags when creating or updating contacts/leads.
      • API PARAMETER FOR TICKET CLOSED TIME

        Hi, Is there a parameter for filtering tickets by closed time in zoho api, i can see closed time in the API response i get, but can't get tickets by that field while calling. Regards, Anvin Alias
      • Reply to email addresses wrong.

        I have setup my Zoho mail account using my main domain and I also have an Alias setup from a different domain. In Settings - Mail - Compose I have selected to the option "For replies, send using The same email address to which the email was sent to".
      • Meeting integration with Otter.ai

        Would love for an integration with an AI transcription service like Otter.ai to be integrated with Zoho Meeting. Thanks
      • How to close/delete a free creator account?

        I have a free zoho creator account associated with my email address that is not being used.  I want to become a user of another paid zoho creator account but I can not associate with the paid account with the same email.  I assume if I can close or delete the free account I will be able to use the paid account. I have emailed support but no response. Suggestions?
      • Next Page