Feature Request: Ability to set Default Custom Filters and apply them via URL/Deluge

Feature Request: Ability to set Default Custom Filters and apply them via URL/Deluge

I've discovered a significant gap in how Zoho Creator handles Custom Filters for reports, and I'm hoping the Zoho team can address this in a future update. This limitation has been raised before and continues to be requested, but remains unresolved.

The Issue
According to the official documentation, Custom Filters allow developers to create predefined filter combinations that users can select from a dropdown menu. This is a powerful feature for simplifying complex filtering scenarios for end users.
However, there is no way to set a default Custom Filter that automatically applies when a report loads, nor can Custom Filters be applied via URL parameters or Deluge scripts.
Example Use Case
Consider a simple Clients Report with Custom Filters for "Active Clients" and "Inactive Clients".
Desired behavior:
  • Report loads with "Active Clients" filter pre-applied by default
  • Users can remove the filter to see all clients
  • Users can switch to "Inactive Clients" filter when needed
Current reality: The report always loads unfiltered, showing ALL clients. Users must manually select the "Active Clients" filter every single time they access the report—there's no way to set it as the default.
The Problem
Zoho Creator provides excellent support for field-based filtering via functionality-based URLs—including operators like EQUALS, CONTAINS, BETWEEN, date ranges, and more. However, Custom Filters exist in complete isolation from all programmatic control.
Capability Field-Based URL Filtering Custom Filters
User can manually apply ✓ Yes ✓ Yes
Apply via URL parameter ✓ Yes
?FieldName=value
✗ No
Use operators (CONTAINS, BETWEEN, etc.) ✓ Yes
&FieldName_op=26
✗ N/A
Set as default on report load ✓ Yes (Report Criteria) ✗ No
Apply via openUrl in Deluge ✓ Yes ✗ No
Pre-select on embedded reports ✓ Yes ✗ No
"Hard" vs. "Soft" Filtering — The UX Problem
This limitation creates a fundamental UX trade-off that developers shouldn't have to make:
Approach Behavior User Experience
Report Criteria
(Hard Filter)
Permanently applied. Cannot be removed or changed by the user. Users are locked in. They cannot explore beyond the predefined criteria.
Custom Filter
(Soft Filter)
User-selectable. Can be applied, changed, or removed at will. Users start with a focused view but can remove it to see the bigger picture.
The problem: We are forced to use "Hard Filters" (Report Criteria) when the use case actually requires "Soft Filters" (a sensible default that users can adjust). This hurts the end-user's ability to explore data.
The "AND Logic Trap" with Pages:
Report Criteria is global—it persists everywhere: direct browser access, mobile app, embedded in Pages, and exports. When embedding a report in a Page, any criteria added via the Page Builder uses AND logic with the existing Report Criteria:
Report Criteria: Status == "Active"
Page Embed Criteria: City == "New York"
Result: Status == "Active" AND City == "New York"
You cannot "subtract" or override Report Criteria. If your "Clients Report" has hard-coded criteria showing only "Active" clients, you cannot embed that same report on an "Archived Clients" page. This forces you to clone the report entirely.
Custom Filters are designed to solve this—allowing a single report to adapt to different contexts. But without the ability to set a default Custom Filter via URL or Page embed, this flexibility is completely inaccessible.
The Current Workarounds (All Suboptimal)
To achieve "default filter" behavior, developers are forced into one of these suboptimal approaches:
Workaround 1: Report Cloning ("Report Bloat")
Many users simply duplicate the "Clients Report," rename it "Active Clients Report," and set hard-coded criteria. This leads to:
  • Application bloat with multiple near-identical reports
  • Violates the DRY (Don't Repeat Yourself) principle
  • Maintenance nightmare—changes must be applied to every clone
  • Confusing for users who see multiple similar reports in navigation
Workaround 2: URL Parameter Construction
Abandon Custom Filters entirely and replicate the filter logic using URL parameters:
// Instead of simply setting "Active Clients" as the default Custom Filter,
// developers must construct URL parameters manually:

base_url = "https://creatorapp.zoho.com/myaccount/crm-app/#Report:Clients_Report";

// Replicate the Custom Filter logic with field-based parameters
filter_params = "?Status=Active&Status_op=18"; // 18 = EQUALS operator

openUrl(base_url + filter_params, "same window");
Additional friction: Finding the correct Operator ID (e.g., 18 for EQUALS, 26 for CONTAINS, 58 for BETWEEN) requires digging through documentation. Custom Filters abstract this complexity away—losing them forces developers to deal with these obscure codes.
Problems with both approaches:
  • Complex filter logic must be duplicated—once in the Custom Filter definition (for manual use) and again in Deluge scripts (for automation)
  • No single source of truth for filter criteria
  • Maintenance nightmare when filter logic changes—updates required in multiple places
  • Users see raw URL parameters instead of friendly Custom Filter names
  • Custom Filters with complex multi-field criteria become extremely verbose URL strings
What Should Happen Instead
Proposed Solution 1: Default Custom Filter Setting
Add a simple option in Report Properties to designate one Custom Filter as the default:
Report Properties → Custom Filters → [Filter Name] → ☑ Set as Default
When enabled, this filter would automatically apply when the report loads, while still allowing users to switch to other Custom Filters or clear it entirely.
Proposed Solution 2: URL Parameter Support
Allow Custom Filters to be specified via URL parameter, consistent with existing functionality-based URL patterns:
https://creatorapp.zoho.com/myaccount/crm-app/#Report:Clients_Report?zc_CustomFilter=Active_Clients
This would enable developers to programmatically direct users to reports with the appropriate Custom Filter pre-applied, using a single clean parameter instead of replicating complex field-based criteria.
Proposed Solution 3: Deluge Integration
Support Custom Filter names in openUrl calls:
// Clean, maintainable approach
openUrl("#Report:Clients_Report?zc_CustomFilter=Active_Clients", "same window");

// Instead of duplicating all the filter logic
openUrl("#Report:Clients_Report?Status=Active&Status_op=18", "same window");
Real-World Impact
This limitation affects any workflow requiring:
  • Default filtered views — A Clients report should show "Active Clients" by default, not all clients
  • Dashboard navigation — Clicking a KPI tile should open a report with the relevant Custom Filter applied
  • Email links to filtered reports — "Click here to see overdue invoices" should pre-apply the appropriate filter
  • Embedded reports in Pages — Different page contexts should show different default filter states without cloning reports
  • Mobile experience — On mobile apps, filters are hidden behind menus. Users often miss them entirely. A default Custom Filter ensures users see relevant data immediately without navigating through menus on a small screen
  • User onboarding — New users should see a sensible default view, not unfiltered data overwhelming them

Developer Impact: Custom Filters are excellent for end-user experience but nearly useless for automation and programmatic control. This gap forces developers to maintain duplicate filter logic—once in Custom Filters for manual use, and again as URL parameters for automation.

Request to Zoho Team

Can this be addressed in a future update?

The current implementation forces developers to choose between:

1. User-Friendly Custom Filters
Easy for users to understand and apply manually, but no programmatic control or default state
2. URL Parameter Filtering
Full programmatic control via ?FieldName=value&FieldName_op=constant, but complex to maintain and requires duplicating filter logic

We shouldn't have to choose—Custom Filters should support both user interaction AND programmatic control.

Community Input Requested: Has anyone else encountered this limitation or found a workaround? I'd love to hear how others are handling scenarios where a default Custom Filter is needed.


    • Recent Topics

    • How to add packing & forwarding charge in purchase order & quotation???

      Hello Zoho Team I have just started using Zoho for my company and I wanted to make purchase order. My supplier charges fix 2% as packing & forwarding on Total amount of material and then they charge me tax. For example, Material 1 = 100 Rs Material 2
    • How to create a boxplot chart in Zoho Analytics?

      Hi, I'm looking forward to making a boxplot in Zoho Analytics, either with all my data or with a time segmentation. No documentation or YouTube video explaining that was found. I guess this is a feature gap. How feasible would it be to add this to Analytics?
    • What are the create bill API line item requiered fields

      While the following documentation says that the line items array is requiered it doesn't say what if any files are requiered in the array. Does anyone know? API documentation: https://www.zoho.com/inventory/api/v1/bills/#create-a-bill I'm trying to add
    • WorkDrive issues with Windows Explorer Not Responding

      We are using WorkDrive to collaborate on editing video content. We have a lot of files and quite a few are a few gigs. Recently anytime I try and work with the files Explorer freezes for a couple minutes whether it's dragging the files into Premiere or
    • Connecting Zoho Inventory to ShipStation

      we are looking for someone to help connect via API shipStation with Zoho inventory. Any ideas? Thanks. Uri
    • Where is the settings option in zoho writer?

      hi, my zoho writer on windows has menu fonts too large. where do i find the settings to change this option? my screen resolution is correct and other apps/softwares in windows have no issues. regards
    • Using IMAP configuration for shared email inboxes

      Our customer service team utilizes shared email boxes to allow multiple people to view and handle incoming customer requests. For example, the customer sends an email to info@xxxx.com and multiple people can view it and handle the request. How can I configure
    • When Does WorkDrive integrate with Books?

      When Does WorkDrive integrate with Books?
    • POP mailbox limits

      If I am accessing a remote POP mail server using Zoho Mail is there a mailbox quota for the account or is it all related to my mail account storage limits?
    • Warranty Service and Repair in Zoho FSM

      Hi There, We are a retail store that sells products and also performs installations and repairs. Our field technicians handle this work. Some repairs are covered by manufacturers, who reimburse us for both parts and labour. In these cases, we perform
    • Zoho Sheet for Desktop

      Does Zoho plans to develop a Desktop version of Sheet that installs on the computer like was done with Writer?
    • WhatsApp phone number migration

      Hi @Gowri V and @Pheranda Nongpiur, Thanks for implementing the promised enhancements to the integration between Zoho CRM and WhatsApp. The previous discussion has been locked, so I'm opening this new one. I am copying below a specific
    • WebDAV support

      I need WebDAV support so that I can upload/download (and modify) documents from my local file system. Is anything planned in his direction?
    • Suggestions for Improved Table Management and Dashboard Filter Controls in Zoho Analytics

      Dear Zoho Analytics Community, I hope you are doing well. I would like to share a few suggestions based on issues I am currently experiencing while working with visualizations and dashboards. Firstly, when I create a new visualization using the Sales-Order
    • SPF: HELO does not publish an SPF Record

      I am using Zoho mail. Completed all of the required prerequisites from the dashboard to avoid any issues with mail delivery. But when checking on mail-tester.com getting the following error. Can anyone help me solve this?
    • How do I create an update to the Cost Price from landed costs?

      Hi fellow Zoho Inventory battlers, I am new to Zoho inventory and was completely baffled to find that the cost price of products does not update when a new purchase order is received. The cost price is just made up numbers I start with when the product
    • Price Managment

      I have been in discussions with Zoho for some time and not getting what I need. Maybe someone can help explain the logic behind this for me as I fail to understand. When creating an item, you input a sales rate and purchase rate. These rates are just
    • Regarding the integration of Apollo.io with Zoho crm.

      I have been seeing for the last 3 months that your Apollo.io beta version is available in Zoho Flow, and this application has not gone live yet. We requested this 2 months ago, but you guys said that 'we are working on it,' and when we search on Google
    • Actual vs Minimum

      Hi all, I am sure I am not the only one having this need. We are implementing billing on a 30-minute increment, with a minimum of 30 minutes per ticket. My question is, is there a way to create a formula or function to track both the minimum bill vs the
    • Generate leads from instagram

      hello i have question. If connect instagram using zoho social, it is possible to get lead from instagram? example if someone send me direct message or comment on my post and then they generate to lead
    • Kaizen #234 - Automating Deal Handoff with Zia Assistant API, Workflow, Deluge, and Widget in Zoho CRM

      Hello all! Welcome back to a fresh Kaizen week. In this post, we will explore how to automate the deal handoff process in Zoho CRM using Zia Assistant API + Workflow + Deluge + Widgets. Here’s how the final output looks when a deal is reassigned 1. Deal
    • How do you print a refund check to customer?

      Maybe this is a dumb question, but how does anyone print a refund check to a customer? We cant find anywhere to either just print a check and pick a customer, or where to do so from a credit note.
    • Ability to assign Invoice Ownership through Deluge in FSM

      Hi, As part of our process, when a service appointment is completed, we automated the creation of the invoice based on a specific business logic using Deluge. When we do that, the "Owner" of the invoice in Zoho FSM is defaulted to the SuperAdmin. This
    • Enhancement to ICR’s field prompting: Preferred data extraction using advanced field prompting

      Dear Customers, We hope you’re well A quick background Intelligent Character Recognition (ICR) comes as part of Zia’s optical recognition capability called Zia Vision. When we introduced it last April, the data extraction was training-based and was applicable
    • See a list of all records enrolled in a cadence?

      I am looking for a way to see a list of all leads or contact currently enrolled in a cadence. I do not see any way to do this through the cadence UI.
    • Limitation in chart of accounts

      There is a limitation of 4000 accounts in chart of accounts  Zoho needs to remove this limit
    • How do I change the account bank charges are charged to?

      I want bank charges charged to my Credit Card Fees account. Is there a way to do this?
    • Real signature in Zoho Expense PDF report ?

      Hello ! Is there a way to put a real signature on the signature line when a PDF report is generated in Zoho Expense? Through Zoho Sign or another way? Can't seem to make it work.
    • Copy paste settings

      Hello all i have 2 organizations running in ZOHO books in one organization i have customised Tax rates, codes and customized templates instead of manually doing again in org 2 can i have some shortcut to copy paste or export and import??
    • Custom TDS on Vendor Credits via API

      Hi, We are using Zoho Books APIs for posting Bills and vendor credits. We are unable to post custom TDS amount posting vendor credits. Can you please share the API spec and Payload that need to be sent for Custom TDS for Vendor Credits.
    • "Unlink" Advance from Bill without Deleting the Payment Record

      I am writing to highlight a significant workflow issue in Zoho Books (India Edition) regarding Vendor Advances and Bills. The Scenario: I recorded an Advance Payment to a vendor. I matched/reconciled this payment in the Banking module. I received a Bill
    • Advance Payment Record Removed When Deleting Applied Credit from Bill

      Hello, So while working with vendor advance payments, I noticed that removing the applied credit from a bill also removes the corresponding entry from the Payments Made section. What I did : Recorded an advance payment to a vendor through Payments Made.
    • What is the best way to convert MSG file to Word format?

      The best way to convert MSG files to Word format is by using a reliable and professional tool Aryson MSG file Converter. Manual methods are often time-consuming and may not preserve email formatting, attachments, or metadata accurately. In contrast, Aryson
    • Address Typeahead Extension for Zoho Books

      I installed the Address Typeahead extension for zoho books but when I went to configure it, it said that that version was deprecated. Is there a newer version somewhere?
    • Zoho Projects : Task should auto-update to 'In Progress' if timer started

      Namaskaram. Right now, if a Task's timer is started, the Task stays in 'Not Started' status. One has to manually update it to 'In Progress'. From a #uxdesign standpoint, it is an unnecessarily two step process to start working on a task. It would be better that, if I start the timer on a task, it should automatically change to 'In Progress' status. Crafted with ❤️ Zoho Gurus | Zoho One Practice Team @ CubeYogi Zoho Authorised Partner | 7+ Yrs | 200+ Projects | 100+ Customers
    • Invoice template with sales tax totals

      Hi everyone,  I am trying to edit my invoice template so that only the total sales tax collected for my tax group shows up. Right now, under by sub total, each individual tax shows up and that takes up a lot of unnessary space, so I just want the one
    • Zoho Delayed Posting & Loss of Article Thumbnails on BlueSky

      Hello! I am wondering if anyone else has had the either of the following issues when posting to socials via Zoho and if there is a fix? 1. Post says it is scheduled or it is live when sent off via Zoho but it doesn't show up on socials till some time
    • Connection Not Secure (Certificate Mismatch) Error

      Hi, Just a fyi, when you go to https://bigin.zohocloud.ca/bigin/Home you get a "Your Connection Is Not private" error. (Certificate mismatch to domain.) I get to that page after I have signed up and signed in as a customer and select the Access Bigin
    • Recording the Investment

      Hello, - One Investor Invested to our company, So how do we record investment which we received in our bank in the Zoho books ? - How do we record if we provide shares to the investor in the Zoho books? Thanks
    • Export Invoices to XML file

      Namaste! ZOHO suite of Apps is awesome and we as Partner, would like to use and implement the app´s from the Financial suite like ZOHO Invoice, but, in Portugal, we can only use certified Invoice Software and for this reason, we need to develop/customize on top of ZOHO Invoice to create an XML file with specific information and after this, go to the government and certified the software. As soon as we have for example, ZOHO CRM integrated with ZOHO Invoice up and running, our business opportunities
    • Next Page