Building extensions #7: Create custom widgets for a simplified end-user experience

Building extensions #7: Create custom widgets for a simplified end-user experience

Discover the benefits of using widgets!

We explored the significance of widgets, prerequisites, and the availability of JS SDK methods as part of our previous post. In this post, let's go over a detailed example of using widgets along with certain Zoho Projects JS SDK methods.

Use case: A developer is working on a Zoho Projects task and wants to know if there are any existing references that could be used to get a head start on their work.

Goal: Our goal here is to simplify the developer's job by presenting them with articles that are relevant to the task at hand.

Solution: Widgets! To achieve this goal, it would be ideal for the developer to have access to relevant Zoho Desk articles from a tab on the Task Details page. This can be accomplished by developing a custom widget.

Required components:
  1. A connection between Zoho Projects and Zoho Desk.
  2. An extension configuration process that includes:
A. Creating an extension
B. Configuring the plugin manifest
C. Setting up the widget code to display the Zoho Desk articles on the Zoho Projects Task Details tab
We have already explored the steps to establish a connection, create an extension, and configure the plugin-manifest.json file as part of our earlier posts. You can refer to those resources for detailed guidance. In this case, we have already completed most of these steps (screenshots below).

1. Connection

We have created a connection to establish a secure integration between Zoho Projects and Zoho Desk.



2. Extension Configuration
A. Extension creation: We have created a new extension for Zoho Projects.



B. Plugin-manifest.json configuration: Once the extension is created, we next configure the plugin-manifest.json file to include the created connection and a widget.
For our extension use case, the plugin-manifest.json file is configured as shown in the below screenshot.



C. Setting up the widget code:
Now that we have the connection established, the extension created, and the plugin-manifest.json configured, let's go ahead and set up the custom widget code to achieve our goal.

Index.html - Widget code

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<title>App Default Screen</title>
<style>
div.a {
line-height: 200%;
}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<div class="a">
<ul id="demo" style="font-size:20px"> <b>Article Details</b></ul>
</div>
</body>
<script>
var subject = "";
Util = {};
zohoprojects.init().then(function() {
//Fetching the task subject using the Zoho Projects JS SDK method
zohoprojects.get("task.name").then(function(response) {
subject = response.data;
var articledetails = {
type: "GET",
headers: {
"orgId": "xxxxxxx",
"Content-Type": "application/json"
}
};
//Using the request JS SDK method to invoke and get the Desk articles matching the task subject 
using the connection
zohoprojects.request(url, articledetails, "zohodeskforlistingarticles").then(function(response) {
var list = document.getElementById('demo');
var a = document.createElement("a");
var result = response.result;
var data = result.data;
//Looping through the articles
for (i = 0; i < data.length; i++) {
var title = data[i].title;
var author = data[i].author;
var authorname = author.name;
var weburl = data[i].webUrl;
var entry = document.createElement('li');
entry.innerHTML = title.link(weburl) + " by " + authorname;
list.appendChild(entry);
}
});
});
});
</script>
</html>
  • Here, we utilized the Zoho Projects JS SDK method to extract the task name, which is the task subject.
  • We then used the Zoho Projects Request method to invoke the Zoho Desk API to search for articles.
  • The Request method is used to make requests to third-party applications. It must be invoked with the belowparameters:
  • Third-party API URL: This is the URL of the third-party application's API that needs to be invoked. In our case, we need to fetch articles from Zoho Desk based on a search value, so we used the Zoho Desk Articles Search API. We've included a search query parameter in the API as the title of the help article (wildcard search), and we've set the value of the search query parameter (title) as the task's subject. As a result, the API will look for any Zoho Desk help articles that satisfy a wildcard match with the task subject.
  • Data object: Depending on the type of action being performed, each API requires a method type, body, header, and/or parameters to be invoked. To invoke the third-party application API, a data object with the necessary API details must be created. In our scenario, a header providing the Zoho Desk org ID is required to call the Zoho Desk article search API, which we have hardcoded.
  • Connection: To work on the data of a third-party application safely, we would need to connect to that application. The link name of the connection created for the third-party application is the value of the connection parameter. This value will be available in the JSON code generated when the third-party application connection is established. This connection allows you to invoke the Zoho Desk API securely.
  • Once the API is invoked by providing the necessary parameters for the Request method, the response for the invoked Zoho Desk search articles API is returned. We extract the information we require from the response, like the title, author name, and web URL. We then list and display this data in the Zoho Projects task details widget, Related Articles.
Sample output
  • Access your Zoho Projects portal and enter into a task.

  • Choose the Related Articles task tab, which is the widget we created.

  • The widget displays the available Zoho Desk articles that are related to the task at hand.

  • Finally, click on an article to view its detailed information in Zoho Desk.


Using this method, developers working on Zoho Projects tasks can discover relevant articles and get helpful information to troubleshoot problems.

You can further enhance this use case by including a text box in the widget that allows the developer to enter a keyword and search for related articles using the Zoho Desk search articles API.

You can also accomplish use cases such as creating a task tab widget to associate data with a task. Every time the task loads, task-specific data can be displayed on the Task tab. To accomplish these kind of use cases, the data storage feature is available in Zoho Projects. We look forward to exploring the data storage feature,, and other use cases for custom widgets, in future posts.

We hope you found this information useful. Follow this space for further updates!

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

SEE ALSO


Next>>

    • Recent Topics

    • Impossible to import Journal from Freshbooks

      I have been trying to import journals from Freshbooks since August 30th. Every time I try to import, I get an error message. I have already made sure every row has a date. First it was saying the account and notes had unexpected input and that every debit/credit

    • Peppol: Accept Bill (Belgium)

      Hi, This topic might help you if you're facing the same in Belgium. We are facing an issue while accepting a supplier bill received by Peppol in Zoho Books. There is a popup with an error message: This bill acceptance could not be completed, so it was

    • Convert invoice from zoho to xml with all details

      How to convert an Invoice to XML format with all details

    • Prevent subform editing on a module's detail's page

      Hi everyone, We would like to prevent any editing of the subform data in the : Create page Edit page Details page (as subform editing is now allowed by the recent UX update) We are able to prevent editing by making the subform fields read only in the

    • 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

    • Refresh frequency

      Dear Zoho Team, I really, truly appreciate that Zoho Books gets frequent updates. As a matter of fact this is how a good SaaS company should stay on top. However, I feel that I have to hit refresh almost every day. This was exciting at the beginning but

    • Zoho Books | Product updates | January 2026

      Hello users, We’ve rolled out new features and enhancements in Zoho Books. From e-filing Form 1099 directly with the IRS to corporation tax support, explore the updates designed to enhance your bookkeeping experience. E-File Form 1099 Directly With the

    • Weekly Tips : Save Time with Saved Search

      Let's assume your work requires you to regularly check emails from important clients that have attachments and were sent within a specific time period. Instead of entering the same conditions every time—like sender, date range, and attachments included—you

    • Bring real app analytics into Zoho Creator apps with Zoho Apptics

      We’re kicking off the year with a release we’ve been looking forward to for a long time. After being in the works for a while, Zoho Creator and Zoho Apptics are now officially integrated, bringing in-depth product analytics directly into the Zoho Creator

    • Discontinuing Zoho ShowTime service on May 30, 2026

      Hello everyone, As a follow-up to our earlier announcement, we’d like to share an important update regarding Zoho ShowTime’s discontinuation timeline. Zoho ShowTime, our online training platform, reached its end of life on December 31, 2025, and its services

    • emailing estimates

      Shows up in the customer mail logs as sent but nobody is receiving them, even when I send them to myself I don't get them ??? Something wrong with the mail server or my end ?

    • Ability to CC on a mass email

      Ability to CC someone on a mass email.

    • Bookings duration - days

      Hi team, Is there any way to setup services/bookings that span multiple days? I am using Zoho Bookings for meeting room bookings. Clients may wish to book a room for more than one day, for up to a month.  If not, is there a plan to allow services to be setup with durations of Days as well as hours and minutes? Many thanks, Anna.

    • Customer address in Zoho Bookings

      Hello,  Is it possible to add customer address information to the Zoho bookings appointment screen? Or have it pull that information automatically from the CRM? We are wanting to use this as a field management software but it is difficult to pull the address from multiple sources when it would be ideal to have a clickable address on the appointment screen that opens up the user's maps.  It would also be advantageous for the "list view" to show appointment times instead of just duration and booking

    • Feature Request - Allow Customers To Pick Meeting Duration

      Hi Bookings Team, It would be great if there was an option to allow customers to pick a duration based on a max and minimum amount of time defined by me and in increments defined by me. For example, I have some slots which are available for customers

    • New feature: Invite additional guests for your bookings

      Hello everyone, Greetings from Zoho Bookings! We are happy to announce the much-awaited feature Guest Invite, which enhances your booking experience like never before. This feature allows additional participants to be invited for the bookings to make

    • Changing the owner of a call

      Am I correct in my conclusion that I cannot change the owner of a call in Zoho? The field does not show up in the screen, nor can I make it show up as the systems does not give me that option. I cannot "mass update" it either. I tried it, but Zoho refuses to change the name of the owner. Please help out: how do I change the owner of a call.

    • 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

    • Remove Profiles from "Forecast" Module

      How can I remove Profiles from My forecast Module? Image Below The only revenue generators are the VP's, and the Estimation Managers, and the Estimators subordinate to the Est. Managers. How can I remove the unused Profiles? Its frustrating to see them

    • Uplifted homepage experience

      Editions: All editions. Availability update: 17th February 2026: All editions in the CA and SA DC | JP DC (Free, Standard and Professional editions) 23 February 2026: JP (All Editions) | AU, CN (Free, Standard, Professional editions) 27 February 2026:

    • Restoring records from the recycle bin programatically

      Background I'm working on a piece of software to automate conversion of Leads into Deals based on order status from my company's website. The process is mostly complete, right now I'm just working on handling a few edge cases to ensure data integrity.

    • Does Zoho Learn integrate with Zoho Connect,People,Workdrive,Project,Desk?

      Can we propose Zoho LEarn as a centralised Knowledge Portal tool that can get synched with the other Zoho products and serve as a central Knowledge repository?

    • All new Address Field in Zoho CRM: maintain structured and accurate address inputs

      Availability Update: 29 September 2025: It's currently available for all new sign-ups and for existing Zoho CRM orgs which are in the Professional edition exclusively for IN DC users. 2 March 2026: Available to users in all DCs except US and EU DC. Latest

    • Create static subforms in Zoho CRM: streamline data entry with pre-defined values

      Last modified on (9 July, 2025): This feature was available in early access and is currently being rolled out to customers in phases. Currently available for users in the the AU, CA, and SA DCs. It will be enabled for the remaining DCs in the next couple

    • SalesIQ Identity Update for Logged In Wordpress User

      Hey folks, SalesIQ does not automatically detect when a visitor logs in to WordPress and update their identity to match. For example, if a client of ours visits the site and logs in, SalesIQ will not track them correctly by default. The Solution The solution

    • Add zoho calendar to google calendar

      Hi I keep seeing instructions on how to sync Zoho CRM calendar with google calendar but no instructions on how to view Zoho calendar in my google calendar.

    • Paragraph spacings in Zoho Notebook are double-spaced only. Is there a way to keep the original spacing format?

      Sorry I don't know the proper terminologies but the best way I can put it is all single-spaced paragraphs that I copy to Zoho Notebook become double-spaced paragraphs. It's very inconvenient and counterproductive when copying and pasting things from and

    • Changing line space in Notebook

      My lines are double spaced. How do i change to single space?

    • Workdrive on Android - Gallery Photo Backups

      Hello, Is there any way of backing up the photos on my android phone directly to a specific folder on Workdrive? Assuming i have the workdrive app installed on the phone in question. Emma

    • Auto sync Photo storage

      Hello I am new to Zoho Workdrive and was wondering if the is a way of automatically syncing photos on my Android phone to my workdrive as want to move away from Google? Thanks

    • Is anyone experience missing functions in the new UI until hard refresh?

      The set of functions including search is almost always missing upon loading an app in the new UI. If you refresh, the functions return. (see second screenshot) Anyone else experiencing this?

    • Not receiving New Ticket Emails

      Hello! The company I work for uses the Zoho ticketing system, however, I've noticed I'm not receiving email notifications when new tickets are published. I have admin rights to see these tickets on Zoho Desk and respond to them, but am not receiving the

    • Can't update a field on a parent form from a child form's On Success workflow

      Title: Can't update a field on a parent form from a child form's On Success workflow Hi everyone, I'm building a simple Golf Lesson Tracker app and I'm stuck on what should be a basic operation — updating a number field on a parent form when a child form

    • Approvals in Zoho Creator

      Hi, This is Surya, in one of  my creator application I have a form called job posting, and I created an approval process for that form. When a user submits that form the record directly adding to that form's report, even it is in the review for approval.

    • Upload from Zoho Creator File Upload field to OpenAI Vector Store

      I’ve struggled for quite a while to get this working properly. For a long time we relied on Azure Functions as a workaround to handle file transfers between Zoho Creator and OpenAI Vector Stores. It worked, but added unnecessary infrastructure and complexity.

    • Calendar start time limit

      Hi all, Has anyone found a magical way to filter calendar reports to start from, let's say 8:00, and not 0:00? Or at least to auto scroll there like Google Calendar for example?

    • Enable Free External Collaboration on Notecards in Zoho Notebook

      Hi Zoho Notebook Team, I would like to suggest a feature enhancement regarding external collaboration in Zoho Notebook. Currently, we can share notes with external users, and they are able to view the content without any issue. However, when these external

    • EU Problem

      Hi all, we've been facing issues with the Europe data center for two days. It's starting to disrupt our daily workflow. Any word on when this will be resolved?

    • How can I clone my website in order to try new templates?

      I want to try a new template for my existing Zoho website without the risk of changing the current site or accidentally publishing the wrong template. Therefore I thought a 'clone website'-option should be somewhere, but I can't find it. How do I try

    • Custom Module Missing from Roles & Permissions List

      Hi Zoho Community, I created a new Custom Module in Zoho Expense. The module is fully built and I can see it in the Module Builder (Settings > Customization > Modules). However, I am unable to deploy this to my users because the module does not appear

    • Next Page