Hi everyone,

From what I understand in Zoho Creator, lookup fields only display the stored value from the source record and do not dynamically update while a form is being filled.

Because of this, showing a real-time updated remaining quantity inside a lookup selection does not seem possible.

Scenario

There is a form called Packing Stock that stores packaging inventory.

Example record:

• Supplier: Alex

• Box Size: 14

• Total Boxes: 500

• Allocated Boxes: 200

• Remaining Boxes: 300

The remaining quantity is calculated as:

Remaining Boxes = Total Boxes − Allocated Boxes

Another form called Pallet Master is used to allocate boxes from Packing Stock through a lookup field.

When a user selects a packing stock record in the lookup, the details may display something like:

Alex | Size 14 | Remaining 300 Boxes

The user then enters the number of boxes to allocate.

The Requirement

Ideally, while entering the allocation quantity, the system would show an updated remaining value.

Example:

• Remaining: 300

• Allocation entered: 50

• Remaining shown: 250

However, since lookup fields only show the stored value from the source record, the remaining quantity in the lookup will still display 300 until the record is actually updated after form submission.

Question

Since dynamic lookup updates are not supported, what would be the recommended way to handle this scenario?

Possible approaches could be:

• Showing the current remaining boxes when the lookup record is selected and calculating the updated remaining inside the form.

• Updating the actual stock only after the form is submitted.

Are there any best practices or recommended patterns in Zoho Creator for handling this kind of allocation workflow?

Any suggestions would be appreciated.