Title: Store, retrieve, and access entity-specific data in widgets using | Community | Zoho Projects

Title: Store, retrieve, and access entity-specific data in widgets using | Community | Zoho Projects

Data storage - Overview

Storing data related to the extension you are working on is essential. It can be saved as key-value pairs for an entity or extension, known as entity and extension properties, respectively. Data can be saved for the following entities using entity properties: projects, tasks, issues, and milestones. Similarly, using extension properties, data can be recorded for an app and stored for the extension.

Support and Limitations

The entity properties allow you to store, retrieve, update, and delete data for an entity, while the extension properties allow you to do the same with an extension. Learn more about data storage functions that can be performed using entity and extension properties.

The data stored for an entity using entity property will be retained if the extension is uninstalled. However, when an extension is uninstalled, any data stored using the extension property is lost. You can refer to the limitations of entity properties and limitations of extension properties for additional details.

Scenario

A manufacturing firm uses Zoho CRM to manage its production and sales units, and also uses Zoho Projects for task management. Customers of the firm may raise cases of the"feature request" type to the solution experts for an enhancement or a request for a new feature for the existing products. The solution expert logs these requests as cases in Zoho CRM and begins working on the feature request through a task in Zoho Projects. In this way, the Zoho CRM solution expert who is the task owner in Zoho Projects can handle and manage the development-related activities to provide the feature as a solution to the customer through the Zoho Projects task.

Additionally, multiple customers may request the same feature for a product. In this scenario, it would be easier for the task owner or solution expert to keep track of all their CRM cases related to a feature request in one space, so that whenever a requested feature is completed, this can be communicated with customers of these tracked cases.

What can be done to ease the solution expert/task owner work?

The task owner would benefit from viewing a list of all their open Zoho CRM cases from inside the Zoho Projects task tab. This would allow them to view and associate the cases related to the feature request they are working on from within the task.
Once they have completed the feature enhancement and come up with a solution for the request, they can simply preview all of the Zoho CRM cases related to that feature request from within the task itself and offer an update to the customers.

Goal: Ease user experience by allowing them to view and associate Zoho CRM cases within the task details tab.

Solution

To accomplish this goal, we are going to use data storage along with a few other features in our extension.
  • First, allow the task owner to view case-specific details from the list of CRM cases. For this, we can create a task details tab widget named "CRM Cases". In this widget, we can include a drop-down menu and select a case to access case-specific details. This can be accomplished using the widgets approach explained earlier in this post.
  • Using the data storage concept, store the associated case for the task entity, allowing the task owner to view it as "Associated CRM Cases" alongside the drop-down selection the next time the widget loads. This enables the task owner to associate several cases with the task and view them all in a single widget.                                                              

Required components
  • A connection between Zoho Projects and Zoho CRM needs to be established to establish a secure integration between the products.
  • An extension configuration process includes:
  1. Creating an extension.
  2. Configuring the plugin manifest.
  3. Setting up the widget code.
  • Display all open Zoho CRM cases of the task owner as a drop-down list in a task details widget tab called "CRM Cases", and thereby allow the task owner to choose a case for which they want to view further details.
  • Implement the modal box feature to display case-specific details of the chosen case and also allow the task owner to associate the case to the task through a button in the modal box
  • Store the associated case for the task using the data storage concept (entity.store) in the modal box.
  • Display the associated cases by retrieving (entity.retrieve) it from the stored data and having them displayed as part of the widget along with the drop-down that displays the open cases.
Let's explore these components now.

Connection

We have created a connection to establish a secure integration between Zoho Projects and Zoho CRM. You can refer to this post for detailed guidance on establishing a connection.
                                                                  
                                     

Extension configuration

Extension creation: We have created a new extension for Zoho Projects. Learn more about the steps to create an extension

                                      

Plugin-manifest.json configuration: Once the extension was created, we configured the plugin-manifest.json file to include the created connection and a widget. For detailed understanding on configuring the plugin-manifest.json file, refer to our earlier post.
For our extension use case, the plugin-manifest.json file is configured as shown in the below screenshot.
                                     
                                                                  
Setting up the widget code

Now that we've set up the other components, let's move on to writing our widget code and incorporating the data storage and modal box feature.
Displaying CRM cases in "CRM Cases" task tab - Please find the index.html code snippet attached in the post.
  • In the code snippet, the current Zoho Projects user's email is retrieved using the current_user instance of zohoprojects.get JS SDK method and saved in a variable called "currentuseremail".
  • The user's CRM org ID and their CRM cases are then fetched by invoking the Get Organization Details and Get Records APIs, respectively, using the Zoho Projects request JS SDK method. Certain mandatory parameters must be passed to the SDK method to invoke the mentioned CRM APIs, such as the third-party URL, data object, and connection. If you require further details on how the Zoho Projects Request method works, you can refer to our earlier post, which explains the working and the required parameters for invoking this method in detail.
  • From the Zoho CRM get records API response, a drop-down list is generated in the widget, with the Zoho Projects task owner's open CRM cases.
  • The end-user can select a value from the drop-down list to view the case-related details. This selected value (the selected case) is then fetched. When the Get Case Details button is clicked, a modal box instance is created and opened using the modal.create and instance methods. When the modal box opens, the selected case ID value is emitted using the emit method and the keyword "stored-files".
  • Using the emitted values, the case details is populated in a modal box, and if the solution expert finds that the case is related to the feature request handled in the Projects task, the case ID is saved using the entity.store method and associated with the current task. (This is addressed in the casedetails.html code in the next section).
  • The associated value stored in the modal box using the entity.store method is then retrieved in the index.html page using the entity.retrieve method. Using the retrieved associated case ID, when the widget loads, the Zoho CRM Get Records API is invoked again. From the response, the unclosed cases and the cases which have the email ID as that of the current Zoho Projects user's email address (fetched earlier and saved in variable currentuseremail) are filtered and displayed as the "Associated CRM cases" in the widget.

Modal box to display the details of the chosen case - Please check casedetails.html code snippet attached in this post
  • In the code snippet, the value emitted from the index.html, using the emit method for the keyword "stored-files" is received by the on method in the modal box UI. Using the received value, a hit is made to the Zoho CRM Get Records APIs using the Zoho Projects Request Method again.
  • The essential details are retrieved from the case-specific details returned by the Zoho CRM Get Records API and displayed to the task owner for reference. These details allow them to check on the case and associate it with the current Zoho Projects task if it is related to the feature request.
  • If the case is associated, the associated case value ID is saved with the entity.store property.
  • This stored and associated value is then received and retrieved using the entity.retrieve in index.html, from which the Associated CRM cases value are populated in the widget as mentioned earlier. This is addressed in the index.html code in the previous section.
Now that we have completed the setup and have all the extension components ready, let's go ahead and see the output.

Sample output: 

                                     

In this example, we used the data storage for an entity feature to save task-related data and retrieve it when needed. Similarly, we can store data for an app to perform various storage functions such as save, retrieve, update, and delete. We hope you found this information useful. Keep following this space for more insights!

Sign up for a Zoho Developer account and start developing extensions for Zoho Projects using Sigma.


SEE ALSO


Next>>

    • Recent Topics

    • Holidays

      Hi; For defining Holidays, you need to add logic to handle the year as well as the month & day. We need to be able to enter Holidays for the next year. I need to add a holiday for January 2, 2017, but I can't until January 1st, which is a Sunday and we

    • Delete a department or category

      How do I delete a Department?  Also, how do I delete a Category? This is pretty basic stuff here and it's impossible to find.

    • Remove or hide default views

      I'm looking to only have the views pertinent to my organization.  Is there a way to show only my custom views (or separate them to a different area or something)? If not, this should be a feature as switching from Zendesk we had this option...

    • Analytics Module: Can you move items from one dashboard to another?

      Is there a way to move items from one dashboard to another? I want to rearrange my dashboard now that I know what i'm doing but i don't want to remake my various widgets? Edit: Hey Zoho, This would be a good feature: to be able to move/copy widgets to

    • Copy Widget to another Dashboard

      I can see the option to clone a widget to the same dashboard but is it possible to copy it to another dashboard?

    • Introducing Record Summary: smarter insights at your fingertips

      Hello everyone, Building on the recent launch of Zoho's in-house Zia Large Language Model (Zia LLM)—a major milestone in Zoho CRM’s AI capabilities—we’re excited to introduce the Record Summary feature. This powerful addition makes use of Zia LLM to simplify

    • Suppress "spreadsheet will not be saved" message on published sheet

      I have published a sheet and have one column on that sheet that the user can edit (a dropdown picklist where the user can select the status for each line). Is there a way to suppress the Zoho Sheet message "Any changes made to this published spreadsheet

    • Missing "Email Authentication" tab

      Backstage is alerting users about "Unauthenticated Domains" with a large prompt in the backend. It adds a link to learn more. On this tutorial page, it shows where to find the "Email Authentication" tab in this screenshot. However, in our Backstage, that

    • Show item Cost value on Item screen

      The Item screen shows Accounting Stock and Physical Stock. It would be very helpful if value information could be displayed here as well, for instance Cost Price. Currently, to find the Cost Price (as used for inventory valuations) from inside the item

    • Integration with Moodle

      Greetings, I hope find all doing well and safe. I've recently returned to using Zoho Flow after a break and was hoping to connect my WooCommerce store with Moodle, the world's most widely used learning management system. My goal was to automatically enroll

    • How to Record Loan with interest

      I have received loans from friend he give me like 2 loans so far one is one year repayment and one short, how to properly record his payment, and repayment and give him statement  for each loan he give me 

    • Task status - completed - other options

      I have a dumb question I know i can make custom statuses for the tasks - but is there anyway to make additional "completed" statuses like for instance if i have a task "call back customer" and i leave a vm for them to call back marking it "completed -

    • Task module and related-to field

      In modules other than the Task Module I can add several lookup fields to provide a variety of relationships. In the Task module lookup fields are not available. There is only one "related to" field which I want to use for Company. But I want to relate

    • Add Lookup Field in Tasks Module

      Hello, I have a need to add a Lookup field in addition to the ones that are already there in the Tasks module. I've seen this thread and so understand that the reason lookup fields may not be part of it is that there are already links to the tables (https://help.zoho.com/portal/en/community/topic/custom-fields-on-task-module).

    • migrating from Zoho Invoices (CRM) to Zoho Books

      Good day, I was wondering if there was a easy way to migrate all the quotes and invoices from Zoho Invoices CRM to Zoho Books. We plan to move to using Zoho Books in a few weeks and would like to have all the quotes and invoices from the past 3 years

    • Zoho MA and Custom Module

      I am trying to create a sync between Markting Automation and Zoho CRM. I am mapping a custom module from the CRM. The custom module has email field mobile phone field However I cannot finish the integration since the system keeps asking me for email or

    • When is partial reimbursement going to be launched?

      Hi there. I saw somewhere that the partial reimbursement feature is in the work. What is the update and ETA of that? Our clients and prospects have been asking us and we agree that that is an important feature to have.

    • Year-End Wrap: Declutter Your Inbox Using Email Filters

      Ping!—an email drops in. And another. And another! It's finally that time of the year when your inbox will be bursting with messages from team members, clients, and marketing agents, leaving you feeling overwhelmed and distracted. Sounds familiar? Now

    • Unified Notes View For Seamless Collaboration

      To facilitate better coordination among different departments and team members, the notes added to a record can now be accessed in all its associated records. With this, team members, from customer service representatives to field technicians, can easily

    • Q4 Europe In-person Zoho User Group Meetup: Streamlining Your Business Processes & Introduction to Zoho CRM for Everyone

      Hello Zoho Community, We are excited to announce our upcoming Zoho User Group meetup in Europe! This session is designed to help you streamline your business processes using Zoho CRM, with a special focus on enhancing customer interactions and leveraging

    • Formula fields - Request for dynamic recalculation / proper implementation

      Hi Guys, I have a big problem with Zoho formula fields. They don't recalculate each time the record is viewed - only when a record is edited. Formula fields should be updated dynamically each time a record is retrieved. As an example: I have a formula

    • Items attribute questions

      Many of my items have attributes, such as size and color. How can I add new fields to the "New Items" screen to capture that in my Purchase Orders, Items, and Sales Order pages? I only see these attribute fields when adding an Item Group. Also, on the

    • Organize and Track Phases with Phase Custom Views

      Phase Custom Views let you filter and display phases based on specific criteria. This helps you focus on what’s most relevant for you and your team. Filter phases using criteria such as budget, status, and more. Share views with specific users or teams

    • Record Asset Received as Payment

      How exactly would you account for this in books? For example, I receive a mini computer for a review and I get to keep it after the video is published. Would debit my normal asset account (e.g. Computers) and credit an income account (e.g. Other Income).

    • Invoice Line Item Report

      Is it possible to run an 'Invoice Line Item Report'? The 'Invoice Details Report' shows one row per invoice. I would like one row per Invoice Line Item.

    • Transform Your Customer Support with AI-Powered Chatbots in Zoho SalesIQ

      Ever wondered how some companies seem to have superhuman customer support? Let's uncover their secret! In the digital age, customer expectations are skyrocketing. Did you know that according to McKinsey, 75% of consumers expect a response within five

    • Progressive Invoicing

      Progressing invoicing is needed for many industries. It would be great to see it implemented into Zoho Books as well. Set up and send progress invoices in QuickBooks Desktop (intuit.com)

    • Client Script - mapping data from different module

      Dear ZOHO Team Firstly I need to describe the need - I need to have data from Contacts module based on lookup field - the 5 map limit is not enough for me because I have almost 20 fields to copy So I have decided to make a Customer Script - and from unknown

    • DORA compliance

      For DORA (Digital Operational Resilience Act) compliance, I’ll want to check if Zoho provides specific features or policies aligned with DORA requirements, particularly for managing ICT risk, incident reporting, and ensuring operational resilience in

    • Files Uploaded to Zoho WorkDrive Not Being Indexed by Search Engines

      Hello, I have noticed that the files I upload to Zoho WorkDrive are not being indexed by search engines, including Google. I’d like to understand why this might be happening and what steps I can take to resolve it. Here are the details of my issue: File

    • Zoho Creator Upcoming Updates - December 2024

      Hi all, We're excited to be back with the latest updates and developments on the Creator platform. Here's what we're going over this month: Deluge AI assistance Rapid error messages in Deluge editor QR code & barcode generator Expandable RTF and multi

    • Customer can't comment on SO or Invoice

      Hi I just saw that my customers are not able to submit a comment either on invoices or sales order. What happens if my customer hits submit is just nothing. only a red line appears on top of the page which probalby indicates an error. I'm not able to

    • Zoho Creator customer portal limitation | Zoho One

      I'm asking you all for any feedback as to the logic or reasoning behind drastically limiting portal users when Zoho already meters based on number of records. I'm a single-seat, Zoho One Enterprise license holder. If my portal users are going to add records, wouldn't that increase revenue for Zoho as that is how Creator is monetized? Why limit my customer portal to only THREE external users when more users would equate to more records being entered into the database?!? (See help ticket reply below.)

    • See Calendar When Creating Meetings On Record Page

      It would be a great user experience to see you calendar while you are creating a meeting on a record page. Here is how I imagine it could look:

    • Saved filters, layout rule support, related list quick navigation, and more

      Hello Everyone, We're excited to share some new features and enhancements in the Zoho CRM iOS and Android apps that will improve your mobile experience. These updates will make your CRM journey more efficient and user-friendly. Here's a look at what's

    • Power of Automation: Automatically send an email to all portal users with today's list of Open tasks.

      Hello Everyone, A Custom Function is a user-written set of code to achieve a specific requirement. Set the required conditions needed as to when to trigger using the Workflow rules (be it Tasks / Project) and associate the custom function to it. Requirement:-

    • Introduction of Robotics Process Automation in Zoho products

      It will be great if Zoho can start advancing from automation to robotics process automation. For a start, it can be started with smart document understanding. Provide OCR engines Google cloud, Microsoft Azure Computer vision OCR, Microsoft OCR, Omnipage

    • Lock a custom field on a deal record but keep all other fields editable?

      I have a custom field, which auto-populates a job number upon converting a lead to a deal but the automation breaks if someone accidentally edits that field. I want to lock that field but keep all other fields open. Is this possible? I've tried through

    • Add Feature To Hide Plugin Sections On Record View

      Hi team, I'm trying to help a client tidy up their CRM. When it comes to record view some sections and fields are visible no matter what Layout Rules are applies and they are not removeable from the layout editor. I would like to see an option to hide

    • Creator Simplified #10: Predefine Form Field Values and Make Them Read-Only for Users

      Hey Creators, Ready for this week's tip in the Creator Simplified series? Today, we will explore how to have read only fields in a form. Use Case: Assume a scenario where the default value for a Department field needs to be English Literature, but you

    • Next Page