Kaizen 202 - Answering Your Questions | Testing and Using REST APIs in Widgets

Kaizen 202 - Answering Your Questions | Testing and Using REST APIs in Widgets



Hello Developers!

Welcome back to a fresh week of Kaizen! 

Thank you for your active participation in sharing feedback and queries for the 200th milestone. This week, we will look at the following queries related to widget:
  • Widget Testing 
  • Using REST API in Canvas Widgets: Make HTTP calls in widgets (e.g., to external tax or product APIs)
Here are the queries that we have already answered for you from this milestone:
  1. Kaizen #200 - Answering Your Questions | Token generation using the Python SDK
  2. Kaizen #201 - Answering Your Questions | Webhooks, Functions, and Schedules

Widget Testing

One of the queries we received was simply stated
Quote
Widget Testing
 without any specific context. Since the user has not provided detailed input, we are assuming this is about how to test a widget during development.

You can test your Zoho CRM widget locally using the Zoho CLI. Run the following command from the root directory of your widget project:

zet run

This launches the widget on a local server where you can validate the UI and functionality before pushing it live.


Since the localhost connection opens in a new tab and is not private, you will need to manually authorize it. 

Click Advanced, then choose Proceed to 127.0.0.1 (unsafe) to continue. 

Notes
Note

If your widget needs to access data from your Zoho CRM organization, such as fetching or updating records, it must be deployed within a Zoho CRM iframe. To do this, you should upload the widget through the Zoho CRM Widgets setup page.

We recommend using the sandbox environment in such cases before deploying the widget to your production environment.

Making HTTP Calls from Widget

Following is a query we received from a user:
Quote
Using REST API in Canvas Widgets: Make HTTP calls in widgets (e.g., to external tax or product APIs)
Yes. You can make HTTP requests to external services from any type of Zoho CRM widget using the ZOHO.CRM.HTTP object from the Widget JS SDK.

Canvas Widget - What's Supported? 

Though full widget support within Canvas is on our roadmap, currently, you can invoke widgets from a Canvas view using Client Script. This lets you render widgets inside fly-outs or pop-ups. Here is a quick start guide on how you can achieve it:

Create a Widget

1. Create a widget project and code your logic using Zoho CLI as explained in our widget help page.

2. In Zoho CRM Developer Hub, create a new widget and set the type as Button.



Create a Client Script

3. Navigate to Client Scripts in Developer Hub and click New Script.

4. You can create your script either in the Modules or Commands category based on your use case. 

For assistance, refer to the step-by-step guide on Creating Client Script and Commands.



In the Category Details section, ensure to select Canvas as the page type. Canvas views are supported in the following page contexts: List, Detail, Create, and Clone. 

Choose the one that aligns with where your widget needs to appear.


5. Here is the sample script to render widget in a pop-up. 

ZDK.Client.openPopup({
api_name: 'Canvas_Widget',
type: 'widget',
animation_type: 4, 
height: '450px',
width: '450px',
},
{
data: 'sample data to be passed to "PageLoad" event of widget'
}); 

Here is the sample script to render widget in a fly-out. 

ZDK.Client.createFlyout('myFlyout', { 
animation_type: 4, 
height: '600px', 
width: '500px'
}
);
ZDK.Client.getFlyout('myFlyout').open({ api_name: 'Canvas_Widget', type: 'widget' });

For detailed guidance, check out our Client API documentation on Pop-up and Fly-out.

You can also check out the Kaizen #99 on Rendering Widgets using Client Script for a detailed guide based on a real-time use case. 

Using REST APIs from External Applications

The ZOHO.CRM.HTTP object enables you to make secure API calls directly from the Zoho CRM widget. It acts as a proxy, routing requests through Zoho servers, which eliminates the need for external applications to support CORS.

While this SDK is primarily used for integrating third-party services, it also supports Zoho CRM API calls. This provides you with greater flexibility to:
  • Customize header and parameter structures
  • Maintain a consistent calling pattern for both internal and external APIs within the widget.
Here is a basic syntax of the SDK:

ZOHO.CRM.HTTP.<method>({
  url: "<request-url>",
  headers: {
       // Request headers as Key-value pairs
    "Authorization": "Bearer <token>" // example
  },
  params: {
    // Request params as Key-value pairs

   "ids": "1234567890" // example
  },
  body: "<stringified JSON>", // Required for POST, PUT and PATCH
})
.then(function(response) {
  console.log("Response:", response);
});

Supported Methods
  • ZOHO.CRM.HTTP.get({ ... })
  • ZOHO.CRM.HTTP.post({ ... })
  • ZOHO.CRM.HTTP.put({ ... })
  • ZOHO.CRM.HTTP.patch({ ... })
  • ZOHO.CRM.HTTP.delete({ ... })
For more detail check out the HTTP method section of JS SDK help page.

Samples using Zoho CRM Contact Roles API

Let us explore a complete CRUD (Create, Read, Update, Delete) example using Zoho CRM’s Contact Roles API.

These structures have to be used within the JS function where you are executing your code logic. 

POST Contact Roles


// Prepare the API request
        var request = {
          url: "https://www.zohoapis.com/crm/v8/Contacts/roles",
          headers: {
            Authorization: "Zoho-oauthtoken 1000.XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX265bcf20e4"
          },
          body: {
            "contact_roles": [
              {
                "name": "Sales Lead",
                "sequence_number": 1
              }
            ]
          }
        };
         // Make API call 
        ZOHO.CRM.HTTP.post(request).then(function(data) {
          console.log(data);
 })

GET Contact Roles


// Prepare the API request
var request = {
          url: "https://www.zohoapis.com/crm/v8/Contacts/roles",
          headers: {
            Authorization: "Zoho-oauthtoken 1000.XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX265bcf20e4"
          }
        };
        // Make API call 
        ZOHO.CRM.HTTP.get(request)
          .then(function(response) {
 console.log(response);
})

UPDATE Contact Roles

// Prepare the API request
        var request = {
          headers: {
            Authorization: "Zoho-oauthtoken 1000.XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX265bcf20e4"
          },
          body: {
            "contact_roles": [
              {
                "name": "Evaluator",
                "id": "5545974000000006871"
              }
            ]
          }
        };
        // Make API call 
        ZOHO.CRM.HTTP.put(request).then(function(data) {
          console.log(data);
 })

DELETE Contact Roles


// Prepare the API request
        var request = {
          params: {
            ids: "5545974000002617002"
          },
          headers: {
            Authorization: "Zoho-oauthtoken 1000.XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX265bcf20e4"
          }
        };
        // Make API call 
        ZOHO.CRM.HTTP.delete(request).then(function(data) {
          console.log(data);
 })

We hope you found this post useful. 

Let us know if you have any questions in the comments or drop us an email at support@zohocrm.com.

Cheers!

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Related Reading


------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    • Sticky Posts

    • Kaizen #197: Frequently Asked Questions on GraphQL APIs

      🎊 Nearing 200th Kaizen Post – We want to hear from you! Do you have any questions, suggestions, or topics you would like us to cover in future posts? Your insights and suggestions help us shape future content and make this series better for everyone.

    • Kaizen #198: Using Client Script for Custom Validation in Blueprint

      Nearing 200th Kaizen Post – 1 More to the Big Two-Oh-Oh! Do you have any questions, suggestions, or topics you would like us to cover in future posts? Your insights and suggestions help us shape future content and make this series better for everyone.

    • Celebrating 200 posts of Kaizen! Share your ideas for the milestone post

      Hello Developers, We launched the Kaizen series in 2019 to share helpful content to support your Zoho CRM development journey. Staying true to its spirit—Kaizen Series: Continuous Improvement for Developer Experience—we've shared everything from FAQs

    • Kaizen #193: Creating different fields in Zoho CRM through API

      🎊 Nearing 200th Kaizen Post – We want to hear from you! Do you have any questions, suggestions, or topics you would like us to cover in future posts? Your insights and suggestions help us shape future content and make this series better for everyone.

    • Client Script | Update - Introducing Commands in Client Script!

      Have you ever wished you could trigger Client Script from contexts other than just the supported pages and events? Have you ever wanted to leverage the advantage of Client Script at your finger tip? Discover the power of Client Script - Commands! Commands

    • Recent Topics

    • Introducing Zoho Commerce 2.0 — It's more than just selling!

      Hello! We are proud to launch Zoho Commerce 2.0, a reimagination of how online businesses look, feel, and function. This launch is both timely and symbolic, as we reaffirm our commitment to empowering small and medium enterprises with powerful, yet simple-to-use

    • Introducing prompt builder in Zoho CRM

      We’ve introduced a new way to put Zia’s generative AI to work—right where your teams need it most. With the all new prompt builder for custom buttons, you can create your own AI instructions to generate tailored content, suggestions, or summaries across

    • Item Batch Creation/Updation

      I have a requirement to integrate a local system with Zoho Books. I need to create items in Zoho Books with batch tracking enabled, but I couldn't find a specific API for that in the Zoho Books API documentation. Is there a dedicated API endpoint to create

    • Education Zoho User Group (ZUG) virtual meetup featuring Zoho Sign

      Hi there! The educational sector often faces the hassle of handling extensive paperwork, which leads to increased operational costs. A digital signature solution like Zoho Sign can help you modernize your processes, go fully digital, and seamlessly collect

    • Troubleshooting Delays in Zoho CRM Automation Workflows for Lead Status Updates

      Dear Zoho Community, I am refining a sales pipeline in Zoho CRM, implemented in May 2025, to enhance efficiency for a small business managing client leads. While the CRM effectively tracks leads, I am encountering delays in automation workflows that update

    • 📣 [Webinar] Spikra shows how businesses leverage Zoho Bookings to increase revenue

      [Webinar] Spikra shows how businesses leverage Zoho Bookings to increase revenue Hi all, Service-based businesses need to be on top of their client experience game to stay ahead. Spikra, one of our Advanced Zoho Partners, has been helping businesses deliver

    • Kaizen #172 - Leveraging the 'crmAPIResponse' Object in Queries

      Hello everyone! Welcome back to another week of Kaizen! We released the Queries feature sometime back and hope you have tried it out. A little gist about this feature before we move on to our post. Zoho CRM's Queries feature enables dynamic data retrieval

    • transforming 1D tables to 2D and the other way round

      Does Dataprep have tools to convert 1D tables to 2D tables and the other way round? The actions that are commonly called "pivot" and "melt". What I mean is transitioning between these two kinds of table: 2D id ____ name ____ surname ____ age 00 ____ Matt

    • How I Migrate data from one SharePoint Tenant to another

      I want to perform SharePoint tenant to tenant migration, but the problem is I don't know how to do so. I’ve heard about different SharePoint Migrator, but I’m not sure which one is the best for this type of migration. Any guidance would be really he

    • Rebrand your CRM with the all-new custom domain mapping setup

      UPDATES TO THIS FEATURE! 19th Jan, 2024 — Custom domain mapping has been made available for portal users in Zoho One and CRM Plus. 23rd June, 2023 — Custom domain mapping has been made available for all users, in all DCs. Hello everyone! We are elated

    • authentication

      We cannot connect via IMAP. We are receiving the following error: Error: You are yet to enable IMAP for your account. Please contact your administrator (Failure)

    • Bad User: Authenticated but not connected

      Zoho CRM cannot send/receive emails and it appears as if it may be an api configuration change either via Zoho or MS. Does anyone have information on how to fix this error message? I am admin on all my accounts. Zoho and MS are blaming each other.

    • Edit email address that appears on invoice

      Hi How do I change the email address that appears on invoices, it is showing the email address that i used to sign up to zoho with but I want to change it to another email address that we use for accounts. also is there a way to edit the position of a

    • Zoho Tasks - Add Sorting by Priority

      We are able to Group by and Filter by Priority but for some reason we can't Sort by Priority on the Task lists. Please allow for sorting by priority if the current view is not grouped by priority.

    • customize payment page

      Is there a way to customize, other than the theme colour, the payment page that customers are taken to from invoices? I can't seem to find a way. I just don't like the formatting of the current page and would like to make it look better. I've looked at

    • Zoho People > Candidate Form > error Editable Primary Lookup is needed to set add permission

      Hello All I have try to turn on the add feature in the candidate form It show the error Editable Primary Lookup is needed to set add permission What is missing from my side?

    • 6 time-saving tips for working with tables in Zoho Writer

      Tables have always been the best way to represent data. They help you structure and categorize information systematically and present them in a simpler way. While tables in Zoho Writer are easy to implement, some tasks might not be that obvious.  Here are some time-saving tips to help you work better with tables in Zoho Writer:    1. Insert Multiple Rows / Columns in a Table Adding more rows and columns is the most common action performed while working with tables. Instead of using the Table tab,

    • Add Built-in "Partner Finder" / "Contractor Directory" Tab to Zoho Desk Help

      Hi Zoho Team, We hope you're doing well. We would like to request a new feature for the Zoho Desk Help Center: A built-in, configurable "Partner Finder" / "Contractor Directory" tab or section, similar in concept to your own Zoho Partner Finder at: 🔗

    • Can't get sender adress to work

      Hi, I am having some trouble getting the sender adress to work for responses on tickets. I would like to configure a sender adress that is different from the zohodesk emailadress that is normally used. These are the steps I have followed: 1. Add a new

    • Question Regarding Deleted Reports in Zoho Desk Analytics

      Dear Zoho Desk Support Team, I hope this message finds you well. We have a question regarding the Analytics module in Zoho Desk, specifically related to deleted reports/dashboards. We would like to understand the following: Is there a recycle bin, recovery

    • Add an option to start zobot when user clicks the Chat with Us button

      I would like to have an option to start the zobot when user clicks on "Chat with us" button when chat widget is maximized that way visitors could see first the homepage and decide which channel they would like to use to connect, or to see the quicke help

    • Zoho Books - Feature Request - Provide "Show PDF View" toggle on Invoice records

      I have noticed it is possible to activate or deactivate the PDF preview on some records but not all. This would be very helpful on Invoices when a custom template is being used and the PDF preview does not represent the output file. Not available on:

    • Incorrect Handling of XLSX data

      Trying to import an XLSX schedule of bills into Zoho Books I ran across the problem of date formatting. To replicate: Build a CSV file with bill dates in whatever format you like and import it - this should work if you match the "dd/MM/yyy" etc. format

    • Disable Smart Filters By Default

      The smart filters "feature" is causing confusion for Zoho Mail users. New emails should be delivered to the inbox unless they have specifically opted to redirect them somewhere else. People don't understand that new emails might be waiting in a random

    • Share saved filters between others

      Hi, I am in charge to setup all zoho system in our company. I am preparing saved filters for everybody, but the only one can see its me. How can others see it? Thanks

    • Adding Columns to Reports

      Hi, Is it possible to choose fields to be added as columns in the reports? Thank you.

    • How do I automatically assign the project owner for all tasks in Zoho Projects?

      I have been researching for days on how to automatically assign all the tasks to the project owner on creation of the project in Zoho Projects. I have been having to go in and manually change all the task owner from 'unassigned' to the owner of the project

    • CRM Kiosk - Action for GetRecords

      I have a Kiosk screen with GetRecords and want to use the selected records in a custom function. My particular case is to set a lookup value on the selected records. Generally speaking though, I want to work with the selected records in a function. I

    • 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

    • Extract Archived Projects using Zoho Projects API

      In my organization we archive the projects when they are already completed, charged, invoiced, so that only those that are still pending process remain active. I need to access all projects (active and archived) from an external system, but the API v3

    • Email for customer to provide payment information

      Is there a way for customers when you set up a subscription to get an email that prompts them to put in their billing information to start their subscription? Also, can you show the subscription in their portal?

    • Unable to display field label from a hidden Single Line Textbox in Description

      Hi folks, I'm unable to display my hidden field, e.g. ${zf:SingleLine4} , in my description. I'm pre-filling this hidden Single Line Text box via "Field Alias - Pre-fill URL" settings. I noticed that my decimal form fields work, e.g. ${zf:Decimal}, and

    • Lookup fields

      Is there any way to add Lookup fields to Zoho FSM -- I do not see the option but I see default lookup fields in different modules

    • Zoho Analytics - Bill Table

      Hi I am new to Zoho and mainly work in Books. Recently learned of Zoho Analytics and am exploring it to create reports that would be useful for me. For example, I want to create a bills cash forecast by week for cash flow planning. When I start to create

    • Creating a tax - amount table in Analytics

      Hi everyone, I would like to create a report in Zoho Anayltics that creates the tax and amounts in a table. I have been able to create a report that shows me all the tax accounts, but I can't get it combined with the amounts of the accounts. Is there

    • Is it possible to do custom domains on test accounts that use saml setups?

      In Zoho Billing, Is it possible to do custom domains on test accounts that use saml setups for the customer portal?

    • I’m facing an issue while trying to upload a PDF file to a custom file upload field within the Leads module via the Zoho CRM API.

      Hi Zoho Team, I’m facing an issue while trying to upload a PDF file to a custom file upload field within the Leads module via the Zoho CRM API. I am able to manually upload a PDF into this field through the UI. I am also able to upload files as attachments

    • No chat option

      Chat option is not available in Android app.

    • How to add custom templates in zoho sheets mobile

      How can I add custom templates in Zoho spreadsheet mobile?

    • Order Items

      Hi .. We have to implement orders with line but each line should have a separate record and not as a subform, does anyone have experience with that kind of solution what is the best practice for that kind of thing Thanks

    • Next Page