Episode III : Powering Automation: Custom Functions in Action

Episode III : Powering Automation: Custom Functions in Action

Hello Everyone,

In our previous episodes, we explored custom functions and the Deluge programming language. If you’ve been wondering why the Episode series have been quiet, here’s the reveal!
On our community, we've been showcasing custom functions integrated with various automation tools on the Automation Series – to perform specific operations. Over the past few weeks, we’ve introduced how custom functions work within different automation types.


In this episode, we’ll explore the five key automations in Zoho Desk that support custom functions:
  • Workflows
  • Macros
  • Schedules
  • Blueprint
  • Guided Conversation
Do you remember how we closed Episode II with this line:
Quote
"To make a custom function work, it must be integrated with Automation"?
The automation tools within Zoho Desk shape your processes to fit your business needs. Now, let’s dive in and explore how they can work your way.

Workflow Rules : Automate with Ease

Workflow rules in Zoho Desk are simple yet powerful tools that trigger actions based on specific execution points like ticket create, edit, customer reply and criteria. With a steady stream of queries from both new and existing customers, automation is key. Depending on customer needs and ticket volume, you may want to:
  • Auto-assign tickets
  • Update fields
  • Add tags
  • Send instant replies
Workflow rules help streamline these routine tasks, boosting both efficiency and response times.
For more complex automation, you can enhance workflows using custom functions, enabling tailored operations that go beyond standard actions.
Here's an example of how custom functions can elevate your workflows and make your support process smarter and more efficient. Automation #4 - Auto Delete Tickets based on Rules  

Blueprint : Define your process

Every organization operates with defined processes and department structures to be consistent, efficient, and offer customers a fulfilling experience. While much of this is documented and shared through verbal training, there can be gaps, especially while onboarding new agents.
That’s where Zoho Desk's Blueprint comes in. It lets you build a structured flow, guiding agents through every step of ticket handling: assigning, resolving, seeking approvals, or escalating, ensuring consistency without overwhelming them.
This workflow framework supports:
  • Clear status transitions
  • Better customer communication
  • Efficient hand-offs between teams
  • Time tracking and compliance
The intuitive drag-and-drop interface allows you to set conditions, actions, and transitions. You can also enhance the process using Custom Functions to automate approvals, share tickets, and perform advanced operations tailored to your needs.
The "After Transition" section in Blueprint helps you trigger tasks, alerts, updates, or custom functions.
Let’s explore how to use Custom Functions with Blueprint in Zoho Desk here: Automation#36: Auto-create time-entry after performing the Blueprint transition  

Macros :Perform Single Action

When you need to update a field, send bulk emails, or create tasks for multiple tickets with a single click, Macros are the go-to solution.
In cases where a group of customers is affected by the same issue or waiting for an update, following up individually can be time-consuming. Macros help you handle these repetitive actions efficiently, saving time and effort.
You can also enhance Macros with custom functions, enabling more advanced, tailored operations beyond the standard actions:

Schedule actions : Schedules in Zoho desk

Schedules let you automate actions at a specific date and time, with the option to repeat them as needed. They are ideal for time-based automation and work seamlessly with custom functions.
You can either link existing custom functions from the gallery or create new ones directly within Schedules to handle tailored tasks.
To learn how to configure schedules, refer Creating and Managing Schedules in Zoho Desk.
To learn to configure custom function with Schedules, try this out: Automation#28 Notify Agents on Article Expiry  

Guided Conversations : Formatter

Self-service empowers customers, and Zoho Desk’s Guided Conversation (GC) feature makes it easy to create interactive, kiosk-style support flows. You can embed these conversations across messaging platforms like WhatsApp, LINE, Messenger, the Help Center, and ASAP, allowing users to find answers from your Knowledge Base.
GC includes blocks to:
  • Connect with an agent
  • Create tickets
  • Integrate with Zoho products
Guided Conversations support Custom Functions within the Webhook block, enabling advanced automation and personalized responses.
Here’s an example of how to configure a Custom Function within a Guided Conversation: Automation#23: Automate Guided Conversations in Zoho Desk with Business Hours  

Let’s wrap things up!

We hope this gave you a clear view of how to configure custom functions within Zoho Desk's automation tools. Whether it's Workflows, Macros, Schedules, Blueprint, or Guided Conversations—each one opens new possibilities for making your support process smarter and smoother.
If there’s a topic you’re curious about or would love to see us cover next on the community, drop your ideas in the comments below. We’d love to hear you speak and write to us.

​
Happy automating!
See you in the next post,
Lydia | Zoho Desk
 

    • Sticky Posts

    • Register for Zoho Desk Beta Community

      With the start of the year, we have decided to take a small step in making the life of our customers a little easier. We now have easy access to all our upcoming features and a faster way to request for beta access. We open betas for some of our features

    • Share your Zoho Desk story with us!

      Tell us how you use Zoho Desk for your business and inspire others with your story. Be it a simple workflow rule that helps you navigate complex processes or a macro that saves your team a lot of time; share it here and help the community learn and grow with shared knowledge. 

    • Tip #1: Learn to pick the right channels

      Mail, live chat, telephony, social media, web forms—there are so many support channels out there. Trying to pick the right channels to offer your customers can get pretty confusing. Emails are most useful when the customer wants to put things on record. However, escalated or complicated issues should not be resolved over email because it's slow and impersonal.  When you need immediate responses, live chat is more suitable. It's also quick and convenient, so it's the go-to channel for small issues. 

    • Welcome to Zoho Desk Community - Say hello here!

      Hello everyone! Though we have been here for a while, it’s time to formally establish the Zoho Desk Community; we’re really happy to have you all here! This can be the place where you take a moment to introduce yourself to the rest of the community. We’d love to hear all about you, what you do, what company or industry you work for, how you use Zoho Desk and anything else that you will like to share! Here’s a little about me. I am Chinmayee. I have been associated with Zoho since 2014. I joined here

    • Webinar 1: Blueprint for Customer Service

      With the launch of a host of new features in Zoho Desk, we thought it’ll be great to have a few webinars to help our customers make the most of them. We’re starting off with our most talked about feature, Blueprint in Zoho Desk. You can register for the Blueprint webinar here: The webinar will be delivered by our in-house product experts. This is a good opportunity to ask questions to our experts and understand how Blueprint can help you automate your service processes. We look forward to seeing

    • Recent Topics

    • Domain restriction for User Management actions in Zoho One

      Greetings, Zoho One Admins! To strengthen account security further and safeguard user management settings, we are imposing domain-based restrictions for user account-focused admin actions in Zoho One. In addition to password reset of user, organization

    • Zoho Mail iOS app update: Signature

      Hello everyone! In the latest version(3.1.7) of the Zoho Mail app update, we have brought in support to create, edit and remove signature within the app. You can create signature from the compose screen as well as from within the Settings module(inside

    • Copy paste from word document deletes random spaces

      Hello Dear Zoho Team, When copying from a word document into Notebook, often I face a problem of the program deleting random spaces between words, the document become terribly faulty, eventhough it is perfect in its original source document (and without

    • Zoho Mail iOS app update - RTL languages support and access emails using permalink and universal link, image upload resolution

      Hello everyone! In the most recent version of the Zoho Mail iOS app update, we have brought in support for RTL languages(Arabic and Urudu), providing a seamless reading experience with proper text alignment and layout throughout the app. We have also

    • Desktop app doesn't support notecards created on Android

      Hi, Does anybody have same problem? Some of last notecards created on Android app (v. 6.6) doesn't show in desktop app (v. 3.5.5). I see these note cards but whith they appear with exclamation mark in yellow triangle (see screenshot) and when I try to

    • Approval Button in Subform

      Hi Team, I’m working on a subform-based requirement where users will submit requests, and these requests must go through approval by multiple team managers. Each line item in the subform needs to be individually approved or declined based on the user's

    • Reporting Limitation on Lead–Product Relation in Zoho CRM

      I noticed that Zoho CRM has a default Products related list under Leads. However, when I try to create a report for Lead–Product association, I’m facing some limitations. To fix this, I’m considering adding a multi-lookup field along with a custom related

    • Zoho CRM for Everyone's NextGen UI Gets an Upgrade

      Hello Everyone We've made improvements to Zoho CRM for Everyone's Nextgen UI. These changes are the result of valuable feedback from you where we’ve focused on improving usability, providing wider screen space, and making navigation smoother so everything

    • Setting checkbox value on template in Sign from Creator

      Good day, Please help me understand how do I set a tick from a checkbox in Creator into a checkbox on a Sign template. Below is the only values on the Sign template and the code from Creator, "field_boolean_data": {}, "field_date_data": {}, "field_radio_data":

    • Zoho Projects - Unread Comment Icon

      Hi Projects Team, It would be great if there was a notification I con on the comments icon so it's easy to see which tasks have new comments. Something like a red circle with a number of unread comments would be great. Thanks for considering my feed

    • Zoho Projects - Update Feed via API

      Hi Projects Team, Please consider adding an API to allow update and retrieval of messages to the Feed. Thank you

    • Automated log-out/session end

      I'm concerned about security of our data. Is it possible to set an automatic time-out for user sessions on Zoho CRM, after a certain period of inactivity or when the session reaches a certain duration (12 hours perhaps)? 

    • Subform auto populate values

      Hi Team, I’m trying to retrieve values from Zoho People using API functions and dynamically populate them into a subform. For example, I’ve created a form with several fields that users will fill out. Based on their input, I need to fetch records from

    • What is New in CRM Functions?

      What is New in CRM Functions? Hello everyone! We're delighted to share that Functions in Zoho CRM have had a few upgrades that would happen in phases. Phase 1 An all new built-in editor for better user experience and ease of use. ETA: In a couple of days.

    • Gantt Chart - Zoho Analytics

      Are there any plans to add Gantt Charts capabilities to Zoho Analytics?

    • WhatsApp Calling Integration via Zoho Desk

      Dear Zoho Desk Team, I would like to request a feature that allows users to call WhatsApp numbers directly via Zoho Desk. This integration would enable sending and receiving calls to and from WhatsApp numbers over the internet, without the need for traditional

    • How to update Multi File upload field

      Assume that i have a multi file upload field,how can i update the same field again?

    • Request for Auto PO - Min–Max based Automated Purchase Feature

      Dear Zoho POS Team, I’m writing to request a feature enhancement that would significantly streamline inventory management for businesses using Zoho POS — particularly supermarkets, FMCG retail, and multi-store operations like ours. Feature Requested:

    • Presenting ABM for Zoho CRM: Expand and retain your customers with precision

      Picture this scenario: You're a growing SaaS company ready to launch a powerful business suite, and are looking to gain traction and momentum. But as a business with a tight budget, you know acquiring new customers is slow, expensive, and often delivers

    • Identify long running sync jobs/tables

      My sync process causes strain on my production database and I'd love some tools/alerts to help me identify which tables are taking the longest. The current screen only shows 3 tables at a time and truncates the last fetch time so that it is very cumbersome

    • Zoho Analytics Regex Support

      When can we expect full regex support in Zoho Analytics SQL such as REGEXP_REPLACE? Sometimes I need to clean the data and using regex functions is the easiest way to achieve this.

    • Unusual activity detected from this IP. Please try again after some time

      When i try to create new addresses on my account i am getting this error, it has been 24 hours now and i am still getting this error can anyone help

    • Automatically CC an address using Zoho CRM Email Templates

      Hi all - have searched but can't see a definitive answer. We have built multiple email templates in CRM. Every time we send this we want it to CC a particular address (the same address for every email sent) so that it populates the reply back into our

    • Solution to Import PST File into Office 365.

      MailsDaddy OST to Office 365 Migration Tool is an outstanding solution to recover OST files and migrate them into Office 365 without any hassle. Using this software users can multiple OST files into Office 365 with complete data security. It offers users

    • Series Label in the Legend

      My legend reads 'Series 1' and 'Series 2'. From everything I read online, Zoho is supposed to change the data names if it's formatted correctly. I have the proper labels on the top of the columns and the right range selected. I assume it's something in

    • Associate emails from both primary and secondary contacts to deal

      We need to associate emails from multiple contacts to a deal. Please advise how this can be achieved. At present, only emails from primary contacts can be associated. Thanks

    • New integration: Zoho Sign for Zoho Projects

      Hey there! We’re excited to announce the brand-new Zoho Sign integration for Zoho Projects! With this integration, users can now send documents for signatures, track their progress, and manage approvals—all without leaving Zoho Projects. This bridges

    • Boosting efficiency through faster ticket rendering

      This enhancement will provide faster access for support teams and end-users, significantly boosting productivity for everyone. Get ready for a more efficient and satisfying experience! Immediate benefits Faster ticket rendering reduces wait times and

    • Narrative 15: Blueprint - Automate, guide, and transform your support processes

      Behind the scenes of a successful ticketing system: BTS Series Narrative 15: Blueprint - Automate, guide, and transform your support processes Even organizations that deliver quality products and services can face low customer satisfaction when their

    • Every rating counts: Shaping customer experience

      We are back to that beautiful time of the year. It is the season to reflect, be thankful, and appreciate everything that has happened throughout the year. Thanksgiving is a time we connect with our family, friends, and relatives to strengthen relationships,

    • Different MRP / Pricing for same product but different batches

      We often face the following situations where MRP of a particular product changes on every purchase and hence we have to charge the customer accordingly. This can't be solved by Batch tracking as of now so far as I understand Zoho. How do you manage it as of now? 

    • Batch/lot # and Storage bin location

      Hi I want to ask for a feature on Zoho inventory I own a warehouse and I've gone through different management software solutions with no luck until I found Zoho, it has been a game changer for my business with up to the minute information, I'm extremely happy with it. It's almost perfect. And I say Almost because the only thing missing for me (and I'm sure I'm not alone) is the need of being able to identify the lot number of my inventory and where it is located in the warehouse. Due to the nature

    • ZOHO BOOKS - RECEIVING MORE ITEMS THAN ORDERED

      Hello, When trying to enter a vendor's bill that contains items with bigger quantity than ordered in the PO (it happens quite often) - The system would not let us save the bill and show this error: "Quantity recorded cannot be more than quantity ordered." 

    • Good news! Calendar in Zoho CRM gets a face lift

      Dear Customers, We are delighted to unveil the revamped calendar UI in Zoho CRM. With a complete visual overhaul aligned with CRM for Everyone, the calendar now offers a more intuitive and flexible scheduling experience. What’s new? Distinguish activities

    • Sync desktop folders instantly with WorkDrive TrueSync (Beta)

      Keeping your important files backed up and accessible has never been easier! With WorkDrive desktop app (TrueSync), you can now automatically sync specific desktop folders to WorkDrive Web, ensuring seamless, real-time updates across devices. Important:

    • Writer update results in BitDefender blocking it as malware

      After updating Writer to latest update, Bitdefender blocked the app and writer no longer runs.

    • Zia Conversation Summary: Context at a glance for every customer interaction

      Hello everyone! Every customer conversation tells a story—but in CRM, that story is rarely in one place. A sales rep moving between multiple leads has to reopen long email threads, check call remarks, and revisit meeting notes just to remember what was

    • Zoho Books - New Interface keep details with PDF View

      Hello, The Zoho Books Interface has changed for estimates etc... One thing is causing issues though. Before the change, in PDF view you could see the detail information including custom fields entered for the estimate. Now, you have to switch between

    • Zoho One Unified Portal - Applications

      Hello, It is great to see the work on the New Unified Customer Portal. Thanks for that. The number of applications is limited though. It is now only around the Zoho Books ecosystem (Books, Expense...) and Zoho Social. = Are other applications planned

    • Dropdown data depends on filters in another field.

      In my quote form I have a lookup field called Reseller that pulls from Accounts. I would like it to pull from Accounts, but only those accounts with an account field 'Type' where that is 'Reseller'. Does anyone know a way to do this? Similarly, I'd like

    • Next Page