Zoho Developer Community Monthly Digest - October 2023

Zoho Developer Community Monthly Digest - October 2023



Hello everyone!

Welcome to the spooktacular October edition of the Zoho Developer Community Digest. October is a month when technology and cybersecurity awareness take center stage, as it is globally recognized as Cybersecurity Awareness Month. It's a time when developers don their virtual capes, not only to embrace the eerie vibes of Halloween but also to stand guard against ghoulish hackers. We'll be exploring how to stay safe in the digital realm and unveil some exciting updates in the developer world at Zoho. Let's get down to business!

Techtober Highlights

Cybersecurity Awareness Month

With the emergence of a multitude of cyber threats, it's paramount to reinforce the importance of cyber safety and decipher the malicious threats and vulnerabilities. Zoho's dedication to data security and privacy is widely known. To uphold this commitment, Zoho participated in the Cybersecurity Awareness Month campaign. Read through this blog to understand the history of Cybersecurity Awareness Month, Zoho's theme this year, and how to leverage tools and practices to improve online security.

Zoho Developer Hangout - Episode 10

In this episode, our community member @Anonymous User, CRM Engineer at Vaspian, offers insights on developing maintainable applications, and imparts a great deal of  knowledge from his experiences in handling errors in Deluge. He goes on to talk about different scenarios where tools like Zoho Catalyst, GCP, AWS, and other serverless functions come in handy, and their effective utilization for different business use cases. 

Zoho QEngine

We're thrilled to introduce a test automation software to run your entire testing lifecycle. Check out what's in store for developers and quality teams as the beta version of Zoho QEngine is now open to public. 

Catalyst 2.0

The all-new Catalyst brings you a host of services that are designed to fuel your ideas and accelerate your app development. From powerful AI/ML tools, to browser automation, to seamless application hosting, there's a solution for your every need. Read more about it here.
​
Zoho Cliq 5.0

An enterprise-ready and AI-driven solution designed to make your communication smarter and more efficient. Cliq 5.0 is tailored for enterprises with advanced AI features to make work effortless including additional features for smarter meetings, and a revamped developer platform. Check out what's new here.

Upcoming Events

Here are the exciting events lined up for the community in the coming weeks:
  1. Zoho Cliq for Developers 101: In this season's Developers 101 series, we're focusing on Zoho Cliq developer platform. This is a three-part series, curated to provide a comprehensive understanding of the various Cliq Platform components, such as slash commands, bots, widgets, and more. Beyond that, it elucidates specific business problems these features address. For registration and more details, click here.

  2. Zoho Developer Hangout 11: In this episode, Zoho MVP @Bhoomi Joshi and her teammate @Ram Adarasupally, are set to share their take on the significance of custom portals, integration of Zoho applications with third-party web portals, and the technology stack involved in the underlying architecture. They will also review the business process of a custom portal in a demo that focuses on banking integrations and custom API. Register here and know more.

  3. Extensions 101 (continued): The first five sessions of this series provided an overview of several key features within the Sigma platform, such as building extensions, authentication mechanisms, authorization methods, and creating widgets. The next two sessions in this series will focus on an authentication mechanism and its relevant authorization approach for integrating Zoho CRM with other applications. Register here to participate in this exciting series.

  4. Creator Tech Connect Series: Creator's tech connect series would comprise of technical sessions that provide immersive training on the key essentials and technical nuances of building a solution in Zoho Creator. This is a great opportunity for our developer community to stay informed about Creator's new feature releases, product roadmap, best practices to follow while scripting in deluge, new deluge concepts, and cloud functions. Click here for more information. 

    Date: November 16th, 2023

    Topic: Catchup and Release Updates in Zoho Creator

    APAC & ANZ: 11 AM to 12 PM IST - Registration Link

    Americas & EMEA: 9 PM to 10 PM IST - Registration Link


  5. Creator Learning Table Series: This series is designed to provide users with valuable insights and knowledge about Creator's capabilities in various business use cases and applications. This year we've adopted the "12 Months, 12 Industries" concept. Each month, we will focus on a specific industry, illustrating its unique processes with real-time business scenarios and how to make best use of Creator for that industry.

    Date: November 9th, 2023

    Topic: Learning Table Series: Creator For Hospitality

    APAC & ANZ: 11 AM to 12 PM IST - Registration Link

    Americas & EMEA: 9 PM to 10 PM IST - Registration Link

Community Discussions

Zoho Developer Forum

Developers ZUG Cliq Channel

Note: These conversations are confined to the Developers ZUG Cliq channel members. If you're keen on becoming a part of this space, please fill in this onboarding form to receive your invitation to join the channel.
  • Following the Zoho Developer Hangout - Episode 9, @Anonymous User shared an article that explains how to send JSON parameters from Client Script to a Deluge function when using ZDK.Apps.CRM.Functions.execute(). Get access to the well-regarded article here.
  • When @Anonymous User encountered difficulties updating an integration field in Zoho Projects using API (Deluge scripts), Tasha Willows-Staples stepped in and pointed him in the right direction in this conversation.
  • Take a look at the suggestions given by @Anonymous User, @Anonymous User, and @Anonymous User when Anthony wanted to trigger a notification in Zoho CRM when the current owner changes from a specific set of owners.
  • @Anonymous User was experiencing issues with Zoho CRM Client Script's "setValue" function on the Detail Page, and @Anonymous User provided a helpful workaround, which you can find in this conversation. 
  • Looking for a way to add alerts when users click the cancel or submit buttons in Zoho Creator and understand how to call these buttons in Deluge? Find the solution in this conversation.
  • @Anonymous User thoughtfully curated a repository of support email addresses for various products that would prove beneficial to the community. Click here to access the sheet.
  • Wondering what's the best approach to setup sales territories based on Zip Codes? You're in good company! When Brian reached out for advice, Jessica provided a starting point.
Resource Spotlight

We've consolidated all the resources from the developer community learning series into a centralized hub for your convenient access. Consider bookmarking the Zoho Developer Community website to stay informed about the latest updates in the developer community.
  • Zoho CRM Developer Updates:
    • Record Locking APIs were released in versions 3, 4, and 5, that allow you to lock, unlock records, view and edit locking information of locked records.
    • Upgraded the PHP SDK supporting v5 APIs to version 3.0.0.
    • Upgraded the Java SDK supporting v5 APIs to version 4.0.0.
    • Upgraded the NodeJS SDK supporting v5 APIs to version 3.0.0.
    • Released the Python SDK supporting v5 APIs, with support for new APIs.

Community Spotlight

ZDH Speakers

The contributions of our ZDH presenters have been instrumental in the success of the this segment. We extend our heartfelt appreciation for their efforts.

As a continuation of featuring a ZDH presenter each month, this time, we would like to introduce our third ZDH presenter, Christopher Mowers. Explore this post to discover the knowledge and insights he shared with the community.

Cliq Channel Contributors

The Developers ZUG Cliq channel has consistently served as the primary hub for community members seeking technical assistance and engaging in savvy discussions. Here are our top contributors who have gone the extra mile to support and assist the Zoho Developer Community:



We want to express our sincere appreciation to all our community contributors. Your commitment, expertise, and the time you invest are invaluable to the community. 


For those who are new to the Zoho Developer Community, check out this post to get started. 


We appreciate you dedicating your time to peruse this month's digest. Make sure to follow the digest each month for the most recent insights and conversations. Stay connected and participate in the forums to be featured in the upcoming month's digest. Wishing you a fantastic month ahead!


Happy coding!


SEE ALSO

    • Recent Topics

    • Zoho Books Custom Widgets Deprecation Error

      I created a simple sample widget with zet and published it using sigma Both in the Sandbox and Production the Widgets are showing this error

    • Problems with PDF files in notebook

      I'm evaluating Zoho Notebook as an alternative to Evernote and imported my Evernote account to Zoho Notebook. First issue is that notes in Evernote that comprise a PDF are turned into a 'group' with a single note page (that has the text from the Evernote

    • API (v3) Tasks sorting issue

      We are using the v3 API for Projects. When we gat all tasks, per page of 100 tasks, we get the task info alright. But when we try to sort based on DESC(last_modified_time) we don't get the correct sort order. It is roughly sorted by the last_modified_time,

    • Assemblies make my stock go negative

      I am sure this is just the way that we are using this feature, but we use assemblies, a lot. The issue for us is the way that the relive inventory and the fact that it makes our composite item stock go negative. I have added flows to auto assemble and

    • User Activity Reports

      I'd like to get data related to user activity.  For example, Login and logout times, emails sent/received, new records created , etc. Is that currently available. I just can't seem to find anything . Thanks, Dave

    • Help: Populate “Contact Owner” details into Customer custom fields (for email templates) in Zoho Books

      We want to send invoices on behalf of our sales agents, and include the agent’s name, email, and phone in the email body using placeholders. Plan is to copy the Customer Owner details into three Customer custom fields, so they can be used as placeholders

    • Undocumented Books API error message - 1000 - The requested action could not be completed. Please try again. | Unexpected error

      This code sometimes throws this error 1000 - The requested action could not be completed. Please try again. | Unexpected error What does it mean? result = zoho.books.updateRecord("salesorders",organization.get("organization_id"),salesorder_id,sales_

    • Partial payments for retainer invoices

      When a customer does not pay the entire retainer invoice there is no way to apply a partial payment. PLEASE add this function.

    • Making Tags Mandatory

      When creating an expense, is it possible to make the Tags field mandatory?  I see the option in settings to make other fields mandatory, like Merchant, Description, Customer, etc, but nothing about Tags. Thanks! Kevin

    • Mass Update not trigger workflows

      Hi, I have performed a mass update of all records in a custom module using a custom view. I have a dummy checkbox on my module that I turn on or off - hoping to trigger all the new workflows that have been created for that module. However, no workflows

    • Multi-Select lookup field has reached its maximum??

      Hi there, I want to create a multi-select lookup field in a module but I can't select the model I want the relationship to be with from the list. From the help page on this I see that you can only create a max of 2 relationships per module? Is that true?

    • Generating CRM reports based on date moved in staged history

      Hi everyone, I'm trying to generate CRM reports of jobs (I think these are called usually deals) based on when they were moved to a particular stage, ie all jobs that were moved to Proposal/Quote in the previous financial year. I can see from other similar

    • Modules for missed calls, emails, texts etc

      Hi there. Is there a way to create a module that would automatically show a list of all inbound calls that were missed by our users, as well as any inbound SMS's, emails & WhatsApp messages. That way, a user who is available, can work through that list

    • Subforms and automation

      If a user updates a field how do we create an automation etc. We have a field for returned parts and i want to get an email when that field is ticked. How please as Zoho tells me no automation on subforms. The Reason- Why having waited for ever for FSM

    • Ability to Set a General Email Signature for the Organization in Zoho Recruit

      Dear Zoho Recruit Team, I hope you're doing well. We would like to request a feature that would allow us to set a general email signature at the organizational level within Zoho Recruit. Currently it is only possible for individual users to create their

    • Custom Buttons & Links Now Supported in Portals

      We’ve just made portals in Zoho Recruit more powerful and customizable than ever! You can now bring the power of Custom Buttons and Links to your Candidate, Client, Vendor, and Custom Portals — enabling portal users to take direct action without recruiter

    • Live webinar: Transform data into impactful visuals with Zoho Show

      Data is frequently a core part of a presentation, whether it’s a sales pitch, project update, research report, or performance review. But when it’s just numbers on a page, the message you’re trying to convey can get buried. The real magic happens when

    • File attachments not working - web version

      Since Notebook announced better file attachments, I have experienced file attachments failing. When uploaded from my pc to the web version, notebook just spins. Acting like the attachment is very large. When it's 30k. If I cancel out of this, the notecard

    • API - Barebones Data for Send Doc For Signiture

      I am learning how to use with Zoho Sign API. I am wondering if someone can give me a bare bones JSON data sample for "Send Document For Signature". Below is the blank data that is pre-populated in postman. Seems like there is more here than the bare minimum

    • Revenue Management: #2 How to compute revenue?

      In our previous post, we discussed the revenue recognition standards under IFRS 15 and ASC 606 and the five-step model. Now, let's examine three distinct business scenarios to see how the standards and model work in practice. This will help you understand

    • External lookup in CRM (as in Books)

      Hello Context: We have a CRM module, similar to Deals, but for Purchasing. Once the PO is created, a link to this PO should be updated in that "deal". In Books, you can add a custom 'external' field which can look up into CRM modules. I'm asked to have

    • "Undo Send" Feature

      Would love it if TeamInbox had an "Undo Send" feature, that gives you 10 seconds or so to "undo" the sending of an email. Many other email clients already have this feature, and my clients really miss it, as it has saved them many times in the past when

    • Zoho Sites

      Does anyone have experience building Zoho sites or know how I can find someone who does?

    • Zoho Crm Lagging

      Hi Zoho Support Team, Starting from today, my Zoho CRM has been extremely slow and laggy when accessing any pages or modules. This is affecting my work and overall productivity. Could you please help to check if there are any ongoing issues or if there’s

    • Is there a way to reference/attach mails to deals/contacts when the mails haven't come through their contacts normal email and the mail comes through software / app who use their mail system

      There are often system mails that come through systems or other software which use their email addresses since they use their own mail servers to mail. This causes an issue as it does not record the mail in the history of the CRM since the email is not

    • Recommendation

      I give up on Zoho. It's never going to be an all in one solution, their own apps don't even connect. Can any one recommend an alternative at least for the crm / people.

    • CRM - Site/Location

      Hi Zoho, One massive oversight of the Zoho CRM is the inability to add multiple sites or locations to one account. Many organisations have several (in some cases, hundreds) of sites across the country or even the globe. The workaround to this, of course,

    • An unknown error occurred. Please contact support

      Whenever I visit this page I see this. I changed browser and still the same. Can someone from Zoho help me please?

    • How to Streamline Pick & Ship

      Is there a way to streamline the built-in pick and ship process? I guess mostly on the ship side. Our current process allows us to choose shipping super fast. It's an EasyPost plugin for WooCommerce. You have to populate the boxes / weights / shipping

    • How to add, delete or rename the "payment method" drop down?

      When we recorded payment in invoice, there's a "payment method" drop down with choices like cash, bank transfer... We want to add and delete or rename some new selection. How to do such adjustment? Please advice.

    • Smarter data gathering with Query component in Wizards

      Dear All, Introducing the Query Component in Wizards for CRM! A smart search field that saves you time and effort, and helps you manage and gather data more efficiently than ever before. Long and complex record entries can be overwhelming and prone to

    • Introducing teamspaces and team modules in Zoho CRM mobile app

      Hello everyone, We have an exciting update to share in the Zoho CRM mobile app. As part of CRM For Everyone—a new set of features that reflect our vision to democratize CRM and make it accessible for all—teamspaces and team modules are now available on

    • Client Script - change page and/or section background colours

      Hello, Would anyone be willing to help me with a bit of Client Scripting code? I have had a go myself but only been able to alter the form field styles, not the overall page/section/heading styles. I want to set a different page background colour for

    • Zoho SalesIQのチャットボット、ブロックのコピー機能

      Zoho SalesIQのチャットボットの構築でドラッグアンドドロップで作成を行っているます。 内容は同じブロックのコピーペースト機能がないみたいなのですが、同一のブロック、同一の複数のブロックをいくつも作成する場合は、皆様はどのように行われていますか？ 例えば添付の４つのブロックをまとめてコピーして、別のフローの先につなげる場合です。 教えていただけますと幸いです。よろしくお願いいたします。

    • Questions About Zoho Commerce Member Portal

      Hello, A couple questions about the Zoho Commerce Member Portal: 1. Can I add only specific pages be added to the Members Portal, and not the entire website? 2. When a customer signs up on my Zoho Commerce site, is there a setting that gives me a chance

    • Online Payment Fees

      We don't take many online credit card payments so the merchant service provider (PayPal) charges us the 2.9% fee for processing the amount. I would like the ability for the fee to be automatically added to the total amount for "ease of payment". We'd

    • Error occured. please try again!!!

      I created a new list. Added two new contact's email addresses. I try to EDIT either one of them to add their first name, last name and phone number. Whatever I try to edit and update, I get the error message  Error occured. please try again!!! And it doesn't update any of their info. I tried just editing first and last name. Still get the error. No matter what I try to update, I get the error. I tried creating a new list, and adding just one email address and then edit it and also get the error.

    • "Send email as" not work

      Hi team, I currently use ZOHO MAIL services on the MAKE platform (formerly INTEGROMAT). In MAKE I entered my ZOHO MAIL credentials but the problem is that when the emails are sent from the automation in MAKE, the emails do not come in with the name set

    • *UPDATE: ISSUE RESOLVED, SEE HOW FOR HELP* Issue imbedding Youtube Videos

      **UPDATE: RESOLVED** For anyone that is having a similar issue, try this workaround before attempting to have the Zoho techs fix it. I have been in communication with them for weeks about this and they can't seem to fix the issue. Thinking it may have just been my computer or my browser, I tried two different computers on two different networks, each running different versions of Windows, and tried it on Chrome, Firefox and IE; nothing worked. So, needless to say, it's an issue with Zoho somewhere.

    • Backorder For Composite Items

      Hello If i released SO for composite item and use backorder feature of zoho inventory then it should backorder child item items of composite and not composite item.This is basic of backordering.I conveyed this to zoho call center but no solution yet.

    • Next Page