Hello everyone!
We're bringing back our Deluge Tips & Tricks series, where we show you how to make the most of Deluge for achieving a wide range of use cases.
Working with dates and times is a fundamental part of almost any business application. Whether you're timestamping entries, scheduling tasks, or sending notifications, knowing how to manipulate date and time values in Deluge is a crucial skill.
Deluge provides simple yet powerful functions to help you fetch the current time, reformat values, and perform time zone conversions. This post highlights how Deluge can become your go-to for handling many different use cases.
Zoho variables
Let's begin with the basics. Zoho variables are special predefined variables in Deluge that can be used across different Zoho services. Currently, Deluge offers two such variables related to dates and times: zoho.currentdate and zoho.currenttime. These return the current date, and the current date and time respectively, based on the format you've configured in the settings of the respective Zoho service. For more information, visit the
Zoho Variables help doc.
While the aforementioned Zoho variables are your go-to for fetching the current date and time, their default format is primarily useful for basic logging. But, in many scenarios, you may need to display this information in a different format or even convert it to another time zone. Fortunately, Deluge has you covered. Let's take a look at how:
Customizing date and time formats
Converting date formats
Different users often prefer different date formats when entering data, and Deluge makes it easy to handle these variations. For example, if you have a date stored as a string and need to convert it into a date variable, either to perform calculations or reformat it, you can use the toDate() and toString() built-in functions.
Here's a sample script which converts date from the dd/mm/yyyy format to the dd-mm-yyyy:
// Convert a string to a date variable
dateAsString = "03/12/2024 03:15:35";
dateObject = totime(dateAsString, "dd/MM/yyyy hh:mm:ss");
info dateObject;
// Convert the date object back to a string in a new format
info dateObject.toString("dd-MM-yyyy hh:mm:ss");
Converting time formats (24 hours to 12 hours)
You may sometimes need to switch between a 24-hour format and a 12-hour format when using zoho.currenttime. Thankfully, Deluge makes this simple. Here’s how you can do it:
currentTime = zoho.currenttime;
info currentTime.toString("dd-MM-YYYY hh:mm:ss a");
// Example output: 25-09-2025 11:11:11 AM
Handling time zone conversions
In today's globalized world, your customers may be spread across different time zones, and to add to the complexity, large countries like the USA or Russia have multiple time zones even within their own borders. This can easily lead to head scratching scenarios when working with time-based data. Fortunately, Deluge has got your back here too.
The trick is to first convert the date-time string into a unixEpoch timestamp and then use toDateTimeString() to display it in the target time zone.
Converting your account's time to a user's time zone
The zoho.currenttime variable returns the time based on the setting you've chosen. Let's assume that your account is set for IST (Indian Standard Time) and you want to display it for a user in Los Angeles. Here's how to do it:
// zoho.currenttime returns an IST time
datetimeString = "21-Aug-2025 15:50:13";
// Convert the string to a Unix timestamp
unixValue = datetimeString.unixEpoch();
// Convert the Unix timestamp to a datetime string in the target timezone
info toDateTimeString(unixValue, "dd-MMM-yyyy hh:mm:ss", "America/Los_Angeles");
// Output: 21-Aug-2025 03:20:13
Converting between two specific time zones
What's more, the same approach can also be applied to convert between two time zones. You can specify the source time zone during the Unix conversion to do this. This is particularly useful when your input string is from a known time zone that isn't your server's default.
The below script demonstrates time conversion from IST to Sydney time:
// Specify the source timezone (IST) when converting to Unix epoch
unixValue = "25-Aug-2025 14:28:53".unixEpoch("IST");
// Convert to the target timezone (Australia/Sydney)
info toDateTimeString(unixValue,"dd-MMM-yyyy HH:mm:ss","Australia/Sydney");
// Output: 25-Aug-2025 18:58:53
You can learn more about toTime and toDateTimeString functions at these help links.
We hope these tips help you handle date and time operations in your Deluge scripts more effectively—they can be used across all Zoho services that support Deluge.
Deluge is a vast and powerful language and we aim to help you master it to make your life easier. We'll be back with more tips and tricks soon, so stay tuned!
And if you have any questions or other cool tricks, please share them below!
Until next time,
The Deluge Team
Recent Topics
Pincode based Product Restriction
we have different types of products. 1) Very bulky items like plywood. 2) Too delicate items like glass These type of products we want to sell to local customers. Other products we want to supply all over India. There should be an option to restrict products
Can multiple agents be assigned to one ticket on purpose?
Is it possible to assign one ticket to two or more agents at a time? I would like the option to have multiple people working on one ticket so that the same ticket is viewable for those agents on their list of pending tickets. Is something like this currently
Related Lists filter
I have Contacts showing in our Accounts module. I customized the Contacts module with an Employment Status field, with the following picklist options: "Primary Contact", "Secondary Contact", "Active Staff(not a main contact)", and "No longer employed".
Standalone custom function not generating logs
Why dont't standalone custom functions generate logs when the're called from another function? I have some functions (workflow, buttons and blueprint) that have common parts, so I put that part in a standalone function which is called from the others.
Automated log-out/session end
I'm concerned about security of our data. Is it possible to set an automatic time-out for user sessions on Zoho CRM, after a certain period of inactivity or when the session reaches a certain duration (12 hours perhaps)?
Add "Reset MFA" Option for Zoho Creator Client Portal Users
Hello Zoho Creator Team, We hope you are doing well. We would like to request an important enhancement related to Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) for client portal users in Zoho Creator. Currently, Creator allows us to enforce MFA for portal users,
Support Bots and Automations in External Channels
Hello Zoho Cliq Team, How are you? We actively use Zoho Cliq for collaboration, including with our external developers. For this purpose, external channels are a key tool since they work seamlessly within the same interface as all of our other channels
Urgent Security Feature Request – Add MFA to Zoho Projects Client Portal Hello Zoho Projects Team,
Hello Zoho Projects Team, We hope you are doing well. We would like to submit an urgent security enhancement request regarding the Zoho Projects Client Portal. At this time, as far as we are aware, there is no Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) available
Creator HTML page refresh
Hi, I have added around 5 different html snippets in single creator page. I understand, I can refresh the entire page from page script using Navigational URLs https://help.zoho.com/portal/en/kb/creator/developer-guide/others/url-patterns/articles/navigational-urls
Zoho Desk - Custom Module Related List Columns on Tickets
I have a custom module in Zoho Desk called Asana Tasks, each task has a lookup to a Ticket. On the Ticket I want to see the columns of the Asana Tasks in the related list . Is there a way to do this? Right now it just has the name of the record and I
Google Analytics import data inaccurate (as of October 11, 2025)
We have Zoho Analytics connected to GA4 to import daily event data. This has been running without issue for a couple of years. However, a month ago we started noticing discrepancies. All data until October 10 lines up perfectly - October 11 onward is
What is your opinion of the new UI?
Hi Everyone, I would like to see what everyone thinks of the new Zoho One Dashboard. I don't get it, but perhaps I'm missing something. What are your thoughts?
Zoho mail to Teaminbox
Hello, We're searching for new mail program. Now I'm testing a bit with zoho mail and team inbox. My findings in the research: Pop mail throught zoho mail is almost instant. Any pop or imap via external provider takes a couple minutes to 15 minutes before
What are the OAuth scopes needed to access the Zoho MCP server?
I think I'm authenticating with the MCP server endpoint successfully using a bearer token but I can't successfully initialize an MCP session. I'm using the official MCP Python sdk (https://github.com/modelcontextprotocol/python-sdk). I get as far as here
Account blocked for IMAP use
Hello, My email client (Evolution) can't sync mail anymore. It gives the error: "Your account is temporarily blocked for IMAP use. This may happen if you exceed the maximum number of simultaneous IMAP connections allowed. Kindly try again after some time."
Is SMTP included in the free plan?
My client has a Zoho Mail Free 14 day trial that ends tomorrow. She has set up a domain email address with SMTP on a third party app and is wondering if it will continue working once her plan downgrades to the free forever plan. Thanks
Zoho mail issue.
I have verified my domain ohhoexpress.online by adding necessary TXT and MX records. But when I am sending email to any external email id, it is showing as zohomail.com. Also while I am sending mail to internal mail id, it is saying user not found whereas
My email is blocked from sending
I get this message when I try to send any message .. > Unable to send message, Reason 554 5.1.8 Email Outgoing Blocked We have urgent emails to send and the issue continues to persist from yesterday. Please help us with this issue as soon as possibl
[WEBINAR] Smooth year-end closure with Zoho Books (KENYA)
Hello there, This webinar is for all Kenyan businesses looking to wrap up their financial year smoothly! Join our free session to learn how Zoho Books can simplify your year-end process. What to expect from this webinar: - All the latest updates in Zoho
cannot recieve or send emails
we are not recieving or cannot send emails.Shows sysytem error
Zoho Sites - contact us form
I have added a contact us form to my website. I wanted to change the layout so I deleted the section of Contact Us form. When I again try to add the section of Contact Us form, it shows error that "This form already exists on this page." I am unable
switching from POP3 to IMAPI do I need to change settings in Web email?
hi so I am using Outlook with My Zoho mail, also have Verizon email /AOL. they no longer support POP3 and said imapi is much better, so I want to switch my ZoHo to imapai. I googled and it said i need to change it in my account....i looked at my account
What functionality is new in the Z025 Spaces UI dashboard compared to the previous Zoho One dashboard?
My company is interested in creating a revamped dashboard this coming year, and are trying to weigh different platform options. The new Spaces UI is said to be a more "feature-rich" dashboard experience than the previous. Could a developer please explain
Collections Management: #5 Convenience on Offer, using Self-Checkout
"Is this the right page? Oh, now, it wants my address again. Why am I being redirected?" These were the exact thoughts running through Karan's mind as he tried to subscribe to an application he genuinely liked. He clicked "Buy Now", expecting a quick
Uploading a signed template from Sign to Creator
Good day, Please help me on how to load a signed document back into Creator after the process has been completed in Sign. Below is the code that I am trying, pdfFile = response.toFile("SignedDocument_4901354000000372029.pdf"); info pdfFile; // Attach
PROBLEMA
Salve, non riesco a inviare email, e mi esce una tabela errore temporaneo. come posso risolvere il problema ?
Tip #50- A Closer Look at the Unattended Access Dashboard- 'Insider Insights'
Having complete visibility and quick access to everything you need certainly makes managing multiple remote devices a lot easier, and that is precisely what the Unattended Access Dashboard in Zoho Assist is designed to offer. Once you go to the Unattended
How to update custom multi-user field in Zoho Projects?
I'm trying to update custom multi-user fields in Zoho Projects via a Deluge function in CRM. The code I have so far is below. It works for updating standard project fields and single-line custom fields, but it does not work to update multi-user fields.
Tip of the Week #75– Manage your social media messages from a single shared inbox.
Are you tired of jumping between apps or browser tabs to reply to your business's Facebook and Instagram DMs? Handling customer messages on social media might seem simple, but switching between multiple platforms can easily lead to lost messages, duplicate
Zoho Map integration tasks have changed - you need to "Locate all instances of Zoho Map integration tasks in your Deluge scripts by searching for the v1 marker... before 16 January 2026"
The Zoho Map deluge integration task has been changed (as at 21 October 2025) to provide a more structured, JSON-like response. This change affects all three Zoho Map integration tasks (Geocode, Reverse Geocode, and Distance Between). More details can
Using files from Zoho CRM in Gemini/ChatGPT/Claude
Hi all, I’ve got subscriptions to Gemini and a few other AI tools which I use for tasks like data enrichment, email composition, etc. In our workflow, we often receive various documents from clients — such as process workflows, BRDs/requirement documents
Zoho Analytics & Zoho Creator - Modified Time value
I'm trying to use the Zoho Creator system field 'modified time' in Zoho Analytics, but it's consistently showing 12 hours 'out' In Zoho Creator In Zoho Analytics Is this a constant difference that I just need to correct with a timezone change - or is
Zoho CRM - Option to create Follow-Up Task
When completing a Zoho CRM Task, it would be very helpful if there was an option to "Complete and Create Follow-Up Task" in the pop-up which appears. It could clone the task you are closing and then show it on the screen in edit mode, all the user would
Portal For Different Apps
I found some older threads on this but didn't see anything very recent. I'm new to Zoho One so forgive me if my terminology is off a bit. I was hoping set up a single point of entry into Zoho One. So, many of the apps could be found in one single place
Calls undetected
Zoho Voice records indicate my last call ended at 6:00 PM. All incoming and outgoing calls occurred between 6:00 PM and 7:00 PM.
Unable to Select Authenticated Domain as Sender
We’ve already authenticated our domain, but it’s still not appearing in the sender list when we try to run a campaign. Could you please check what might be causing this issue?
Forever FREE Business Email with Zoho Mail
Forever FREE Business Email with Zoho Mail: is it available?
Zoho Projects - Project Details on the Project Menu
Hi Project's team, I've helped may businesses setup and use Zoho Project and one thing I see time and time again is confusion on where to find the Project Details information. I would be much more intuitive if Project Details was on the menu before Dashboard.
Introducing WhatsApp integration in Bigin
Greetings! In today's business landscape, messaging apps play a significant role in customer operations. Customers can engage with businesses, seek support, ask questions, receive personalized recommendations, read reviews, and even make purchases—all
Zia Conversation Summary: Context at a glance for every customer interaction
Hello everyone! Every customer conversation tells a story—but in CRM, that story is rarely in one place. A sales rep moving between multiple leads has to reopen long email threads, check call remarks, and revisit meeting notes just to remember what was
Next Page