Idea: Workflow Rule Trigger Only When Subform Row Is Updated (Thanks to New Inline Row Feature)

Idea: Workflow Rule Trigger Only When Subform Row Is Updated (Thanks to New Inline Row Feature)

Hi Zoho team and community,

With the recent update to Zoho CRM, we can now add or delete rows inside subforms without entering edit mode, using the inline Add row button. This is a fantastic improvement for user experience — seamless, fast, and efficient.

💡 My proposal is to take this even further:

We should now be able to create a workflow rule that triggers only when the subform rows are added, edited, or deleted — without requiring any changes in the parent record.

Why this matters:

Currently, workflows cannot specifically isolate subform changes as a trigger condition.

With this new inline edit capability, it’s finally technically possible to identify subform row mutations distinctly.

This would allow businesses to:

Send real-time notifications when a new treatment/procedure/item is added.

Trigger automation or validation only on row-level changes (pricing, quantity, etc).

Improve system performance by avoiding unnecessary workflow triggers when unrelated fields are changed.

Suggested Trigger Options:

Row Added to Subform

Row Updated in Subform

Row Deleted from Subform

This will enhance how we manage dynamic records like quotes, treatments, product lists, or project tasks — especially in B2B and healthcare scenarios like ours.

🙏 Looking forward to hearing feedback from other users and from the Zoho product team.

Thanks for the continuous improvements!


Info
Moderation Update (1st August 2025):
We have a separate post to track the votes and discussions around the need to support workflow rules based on subform action. We recommend you follow the thread below to stay updated on the progress.

Subforms and automation


We are locking this thread to ensure the conversations around this are happening in a single place. Thank you.