## Documentation Index

Access the complete documentation index at:
https://www.zoho.com/books/developer/llms.txt

Use this file to discover all available documentation pages before proceeding.

# Custom Actions

Custom Actions enables you to create personalized workflow actions tailored to suit your business needs. You can set up your own triggers and conditions for these actions and execute them based on your specific configuration.

## How Custom Actions Work

Custom Actions is a component within an extension. So, you’ll have to create an extension in Sigma and create a widget before you can configure the custom action. Once configured, you can publish it as an extension privately. Next, you can install the **Custom Actions** extension in your Zoho Books organization, and it will be listed under the default Workflow Actions in Zoho Books settings. Here, you can create new actions that can be associated with a workflow rule, and the action will be executed when the workflow rule’s conditions are met.

**Scenario:** Zylker Inc. has a customer named Bailey Miles. When Bailey places an order, Zoho Books sends her an order confirmation SMS. Before shipping, Zoho Books sends another SMS with a link to track her product. After delivery, she gets a final SMS asking for feedback. Instead of using different functions and workflows for each SMS, Custom Actions now handles all three SMS notifications with a single function, making it simpler and more efficient.

* * *

## Create a Custom Action

**Prerequisites:**

*   You must create an extension in [Sigma](https://sigma.zoho.com/) for the custom action you want to create.
*   You must create a widget within that extension for the custom action.
*   While creating the widget, ensure the ZIP file you upload has the file location set to **customactions.widget**. The **’name’** and **’entity\_type’** fields are mandatory while creating a widget.

To create a custom action in the extension:

*   Go to the [Sigma](https://sigma.zoho.com/) portal and click **Extensions** on the left sidebar.
*   Hover over the new extension you created and click the **Edit** icon.
*   You’ll be redirected to the _Zoho Books Developer Portal_. Click the _Build_ tab in the top bar.
*   Click _Automation_ on the left sidebar, and select **Custom Actions**.
*   Click **\+ New Custom Action** in the top right corner.

![New Custom Action](/books/developer/images/extensions/extension-components/new-custom-action.png)

*   In the _New Custom Action_ page, fill in the following fields:
    *   **Custom Action Name:** Enter a name for your custom action.
    *   **Description:** Provide a description.
    *   **Module:** Choose the modules where this action will be used.
    *   **Widget:** Select the widget you’ve created from the dropdown.
    *   **Global Fields:** Check this box if you want to use global fields in your deluge code.
*   In the _Deluge Editor_, enter the script for your custom action based on your preferences and the associated widget.
*   Click **Save**.

![New Custom Action Widget](/books/developer/images/extensions/extension-components/new-custom-action-widget.png)

Now, after configuring custom actions in the extension, [publish](/books/developer/extensions/publish-extension.html) the extension and then [install](/books/developer/extensions/install-extensions.html) it in your organization.

* * *

## Create Actions for Your Custom Action Extension

After you install the extension, it will be listed under the default Workflow Actions in your Zoho Books organization. As an example, here we have considered creating a SMS Notification custom action. To create an action under the newly installed custom action extension:

*   Go to **Settings**.
*   Select **Workflow Actions** under _Automation_.
*   Select the custom action extension from the left sidebar.
*   Click **\+ New SMS Notification** in the top right corner and popup will open.

![New SMS Notification Custom Action](/books/developer/images/extensions/extension-components/sms-notification-custom-action.png)

*   Enter the name for the action and other necessary details.
*   Click **Save**.

![New SMS Notification Custom Action](/books/developer/images/extensions/extension-components/new-sms-notification.png)

Now, you can associate this custom action with a workflow rule.

* * *

## Associate the Custom Action With a Workflow Rule

*   Go to **Settings**.
*   Select **Workflow Rules** under _Automation_.
*   Click **\+ New Workflow Rule** in the top right corner.

![New Workflow Rule](/books/developer/images/extensions/extension-components/new-workflow-rule.png)

*   Set up the workflow rule by entering the details and criteria.
*   Choose **Immediate Actions** or **Time-Based Actions**.
*   In the right sidebar, choose **SMS Notifications** from the _Type_ dropdown and select the **SMS Notification** action you configured earlier in Zoho Books from the _Name_ dropdown.

![Associate Custom Action](/books/developer/images/extensions/extension-components/associate-custom-action.png)

*   Click **Associate**.
*   Click **Save** to save the workflow rule, or **Save as Draft** if you want to save the rule as a draft.

Now, the custom action is associated with the workflow rule. Every time the criteria mentioned in the workflow rule is satisfied, the custom action will be executed.

**Note:** You can create up to 10 custom actions per extension, and you can associate one custom action with each workflow rule.

**Insight:** Once a custom action is associated with a workflow rule, it cannot be deleted. You’ll have to delete the rule to delete the custom action.

* * *

## Sample Widget Details for Custom Actions

You can refer to the following examples to create your widgets for custom actions:

*   [Widget for Email Notification](/books/developer/extensions/custom-actions.html#widget-for-email-notification)
*   [Widget for SMS Notification](/books/developer/extensions/custom-actions.html#widget-for-sms-notification)

**Prerequisites:**

*   When creating the widget, ensure that the ZIP file you upload has the file location set to **customactions.widget**. The **’name’** and **’entity\_type’** fields are mandatory while creating a widget.

### Set Up Email Notifications

When you set up an **Email Notification** with Custom Actions, be sure to include the fields: **‘subject’**, **‘message’** and **’to address’** along with the mandatory fields you’ve already added. Here’s a sample code to configure the email notification:

```js
let customActionInputData = {};

customActionInputData['message'] =  document.getElementById("message").value;
customActionInputData['subject'] =  document.getElementById("subject").value;
customActionInputData['toAddress'] =  document.getElementById("address").value;

let updateCustomActionData = {
    "name" : document.getElementById("name").value,
    "entity_type" : document.getElementById("entity").value,
    "description" : document.getElementId("descp").value,
    "customaction_input" : JSON.stringify(customActionInputData)
};

ZFAPPS.set('customaction', updateCustomActionData)
```

### Configure the Widget

Now, after setting up the email notification, you can use the **SDK Method ZFAPPS.set(“customaction”, object)’** to save the data.

After saving the data and associating the widget with the custom action, you can access the details in the **’entity’**, **’entity\_details’**, and **‘config’** fields within the Deluge function of that custom action.

Field

Description

**entity**

Shows the name of the selected module.

**entity\_type**

Displays details of the selected module.

**config**

Contains subject data, message content, and recipient address.

In the **ON\_CUSTOMACTION\_PRE\_SAVE** event, you need to specify the required fields and other fields for the **Save** action. This event checks and performs necessary tasks before saving the custom action in Zoho Books. Read our help document on [Pre Save](/finance/developer/widget-sdk-documentation/books/v1/client-library/events/on_pre_save) for more details.

### Set Up SMS Notifications

When you set up a **SMS Notification** with Custom Actions, be sure to include the **‘message’** field and specify the content in it, along with the mandatory fields you’ve already added. Here’s a sample code to configure to configure the SMS Notification:

```js
 ZFAPPS.extension.init().then(Zapp) => {
    Zapp.instance.on("ON_CUSTOMACTION_PRE_SAVE", async(data) => {
    let updateCustomActioData = {
        "name" : document.getElementById("name").value,
        "entity_type" : document.getElementById("entity").value,
        "description" : document.getElementId("descp").value,
        "customaction_input" : document.getElementId("message").value,
    };
    ZFAPPS.set('customaction', updateCustomActionData).then(function(data) {
    });
})
)}
```

**Notes:**

*   You can customize the above sample codes to match your business needs.
*   Once you’ve set up the SMS notification, [you can configure the widget for it by following the steps mentioned above](/books/developer/extensions/custom-actions.html#configure-widget).