Zoho Creator Glossary
Your guide to understanding key terminology used within Zoho Creator
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A
Active Directory
A feature in Zoho Creator that enables a one-way sync of the user list from your external directory to within Zoho. This is powered by Zoho Directory, which acts as a medium through which you can access and import the user list stored in your external directory. This eliminates the need to manually add and manage every user identity separately in the Zoho platform.
Where to access it: Governance > Active Directory.
Active records distribution
A type of chart in Blueprint Analytics that shows the number of records currently present across the stages of a blueprint.
Where to access it: Operations > Blueprint Analytics.
Administrator
A type of user in Zoho Creator who has permission to build and edit apps, has access to data, and can perform various managing operations. Admins have access to the left pane, which contains critical features like Governance, Organization, Operations, Billing, Users, and so on. Only the super admin can add administrators to an account. How to add administrators: Users > Add Administrator.
How to add administrators: Users > Add Administrator.
Aggregate blueprint analysis
A type of chart in Blueprint Analytics that gives a consolidated view of all the information present in the other eight types of charts. Each of those provide various statistics, and this chart consolidates all that information and presents it in one chart.
Where to access it: Operations > Blueprint Analytics.
API Management
This feature enables you to enable or disable Zoho Creator REST APIs for the selected applications. For example, disabling it for an app will prevent API actions, such as adding records using the Add Record API, from functioning for that particular app.
Where to access it: Operations > API Management
Application Activity
An extensive dashboard in the Metrics feature that displays usage statistics of all applications based on users' access and hits in the live mode. It captures important KPIs such as Apps Accessed, Idle Apps, App Hit Count, Daily Average His per App, App Access Trend, Usage by Hit Count, and App Trend by hit count.
Where to access it: Metrics > Application Activity
Application IDE
The Application IDE (Integrated Developer Environment) contains and displays the backend framework of your application components such as Forms, Reports, Pages, Schedules, and Workflows, in Deluge script format. For example, attributes of a form like field type, name, visibility, success message, along with functions, schedules, and custom scripts, are written and displayed in Deluge script. The same applies to all the other app components as well. This script can be exported as a .DS file and can be imported to replicate the same application.
Where to access it: Application Settings > Application IDE
Applications Usage
The Applications Usage section provides insights into the usage details of various components within the app. For example, it includes information on the number of apps created and remaining based on the subscription plan, how many records have been entered, and how many more can be stored, similar to other aspects, such as Storage, Portal users, APIs, Connections, and so on.
Where to access it: Billing > Application Usage
Applications Portals
Portals enable you to set up personalized logins for external users. Instead of constructing your own authentication and security systems, you can configure Zoho Creator portals. This allows your users to log in to their dedicated internal system and access restricted data. Users can sign up with your portal instead of requiring a Zoho account.
Where to access it: 'Portal' under the Deploy Section
Approvals
Approvals are a type of workflows that can be used to set up an approval process in which records can be marked as approved or rejected sequentially. This workflow can be configured by defining criteria for sending records for approval, establishing multiple approval levels, and assigning an approver for each level. Additionally, actions can be triggered when a record is approved or rejected.
Where to access it: Workflow > Approvals
Arguments
When defining functions to perform operations, you must provide arguments, which act like placeholders for the operands. For example, when creating a function to add two numbers, you can define two number-type arguments. When you call the function, you can specify the actual two numbers to be added, such as variables, field values, or literal numbers, which substitute the arguments during the function's execution.
Where to access it: Workflow > Functions
AR Library
AR Library is a feature that brings in augmented reality functionality into your apps. This is achieved by incorporating marker-less and marker-based AR sets, which consist of images. In marker-based AR, users scan a specific marker (or a subject), which triggers the predefined images to be superimposed onto the camera view when the visual matches the marker image. For example, a student can scan images present in textbooks to view animated explanations in the Creator application. Marker-less AR sets display the predefined virtual images when using the camera. For example, furniture companies can allow customers to virtually place their products within their homes to visualize how they would look and fit.
Where to access it: Microservices > AR Library
Audit Trail
The Audit Trail feature records data operations, such as editing and deleting activities performed on records, within an application. It also records the details of the users performing these actions along with the timestamp. Additionally, it also captures logs related to printing and exporting actions performed on the records. Users can apply filters according to specific dates, actions executed, record IDs, and the email addresses of users involved.
Where to access it: Operations > Audit Trail
Average blueprint duration
A type of chart in Blueprint Analytics that illustrates the time required for a record to progress through a blueprint from the initial stage to various end stages. This functionality helps organizations analyze the duration of various processes. If optimization is needed, additional charts, such as average stage duration or average transition duration, can be utilized to pinpoint any bottlenecks within the workflow.
Where to access it: Operations > Blueprint Analytics
Average stage duration
A type of chart in Blueprint Analytics that illustrates the average time a record stays in a specific stage for a given period. If the stage has multiple transitions, then the average transition duration chart can be used to figure out the transition that is taking up more time in the process.
Where to access it: Operations > Blueprint Analytics
Average transition duration
A type of chart in Blueprint Analytics that illustrates the average duration a record remains in a particular stage until a transition occurs. This chart is similar to the Average Stage Duration chart, but varies when considering parallel transitions or multiple exit routes from a stage. Organizations can use this chart to analyze which transitions are prolonging their business processes. To expedite operations, organizations can assign additional transition owners.
Where to access it: Operations > Blueprint Analytics
B
Backup
The Backup feature allows you to take a backup of application structure along with its data, and restore it whenever needed. After the backup, you can download a copy of the backup file which is provided in a zip format, containing both the Deluge script file and .csv files containing application data. You can perform a one-time backup or schedule backups to occur automatically at regular intervals. Each time you perform a backup, Zoho Creator generates a new version of the application's backup file.
Where to access it: Operations > Backup
BI & Analytics
Bi & Analytics is one of the three solution types available on the Creator platform. Powered by Zoho Analytics, it empowers you to develop robust dashboards and reports based on the data available in your Creator applications. Using these comprehensive data visualizations, you can delve into your data and uncover valuable insights effortlessly, eliminating the need for an additional subscription to a separate analytics service.
Where to access it: Create Solution > BI & Analytics
Billing
The Billing section offers a comprehensive overview of your current subscription status, along with details into various aspects such as:
General Details - Includes information about your current plan, support plan, billing type (monthly or yearly), subscription renewal date, and an option to upgrade to a higher plan.
Current Plan Details - Displays the number of users and different types of solutions in your account, indicating the usage against the maximum limit allowed.
Applications Usage - Displays usage details of various components within the application, such as the number of apps created and remaining based on the subscription plan, records entered versus storage capacity, portal users, APIs, connections, and more.
Integration Flow Usage - Highlights the number of enabled integration flows and associated flow tasks.
Where can it be accessed: Billing section
Blueprint Analytics
Blueprints serve as a powerful tool for optimizing process management by enabling automation, validation, and collaboration among stakeholders. Blueprint Analytics, which comes as a part of Blueprints, offers valuable insights into the performance of blueprints. By correlating data and generating statistical reports in the form of charts, Blueprint Analytics provides a comprehensive overview of blueprint records. These charts offer valuable insights into blueprint processes, for example average time taken for a blueprint or the average time taken in a stage, empowering organizations to make data-driven decisions and optimize their blueprints effectively.
Where to access it: Operations > Blueprint Analytics
Blueprints
Blueprints enable users to create a digital representation of their business process. Through its features such as automation, validation, and collaboration, users can streamline their processes effectively. Blueprints consist of two primary components:
- Stages are the various milestones in the process that highlight key points of progress.
- Transitions act as intermediate phases between stages, defining the conditions necessary for moving from one stage to another.
Where to access it: Workflow > Blueprints
C
Contextual Messages
Reports come with generic product messages that are standardized across applications. These messages do not make any reference to the report or data in it. There could be use cases where personalized messages in reports may be needed to provide more meaningful interaction with your users. Contextual messages enable you to achieve this by personalizing your reports with messages that blend with the report and the data inside it. Additionally, you can customize these contextual messages in various languages besides English.
Where to access it: Settings > Contextual Messages
Connections
Whenever an integration operation is required in Zoho Creator, a Connection becomes essential. Connections facilitate the authentication process and enable seamless integration to the intended external service accounts. Connections can be utilized in various contexts, such as form workflows, report workflows, integration fields, integration tasks, and so on.
In Zoho Creator, there are three types of connections:
System Connection: Automatically created when users perform certain integrations with selected Zoho services.
Admin Connection: Only super admins, admins, and developers can create and authorize these connections. Other regular users cannot authorize the connection but can utilize them once authorized by the admin or developer.
Logged-in User Connection: These connections are created by super admins, admins, or developers, and can be authorized by respective logged-in users.
Where to access it: Microservices > Connections
Custom AI Model
Custom Models are related to the AI Modeler feature which offers various machine-learning models to be integrated into your applications. These AI models come in two formats: ready-to-use and custom. While ready-to-use AI Models are suitable for generic applications, custom models offer the flexibility to train the model according to your specific business use cases. Using Custom Models, you can provide the model with sample data which is relevant to your business for it to get trained. Additionally, you can test whether it works as intended before deploying it into your applications. For example, you can select the OCR custom model to extract required values from invoices. To ensure it works according to your invoice patterns, you can train the model with your organization's invoice samples, test it, and then deploy it into an application built to extract key information such as invoice number, total amount, product details, and so on.
The three available custom models are Prediction, OCR (Optical Character Recognition), and Object Detection.
Where to access it: Microservices > AI Models > Build - Custom Models
Custom API
Using Custom APIs, you can trigger existing functions in your applications in the form of APIs. This can be used to trigger APIs and perform actions that are not supported by the default APIs. While Developer APIs (REST APIs) execute predefined actions, custom APIs can be scripted (using functions) to execute custom actions in your applications from external platforms.
Where can it be accessed: Microservices > Custom API
Custom Authentication
Custom authentication in Zoho Creator, powered by Zoho Directory, allows users to sign in using credentials from a third-party Identity Provider (IdP). Also known as single sign-on (SSO), this enables users to access multiple services, including Zoho Creator, using a single set of credentials. This makes the process of authentication easy and convenient for users. Zoho Directory supports two protocols for authorization and authentication purposes: SAML and JWT.
Custom Connectors
To perform an integration in Zoho Creator, we need to create a connection with the intended service. Each service is represented using a Connector, which contains the properties required to connect to a particular service, reducing the complexity in performing and establishing a secure connection. Zoho Creator offers two types of connectors:
- Built-in Connectors are predefined, simple-to-use, and enable you to create a connection quickly.
- Custom Connectors enable integration with other third-party services that are not available in Built-in Connectors. You can configure your own connectors for services using Basic, API Key, and OAuth2 authentication.
Where to access it: Microservices > Connections
Creator Version
Zoho Creator runs on two versions: C5 (older) and C6 (current). Some features may be unavailable, partially available, or function differently depending on the version you are using.
D
Data Sharing
In Zoho Creator, we have multiple layers of security to enhance data protection. Not everyone in an organization needs access to all the data guarded by the application. Therefore, restricted access to data is made possible using Users, Roles, and Permissions. However, there might be exceptions where data access needs to be extended to specific roles or users who are not granted access by default. To address this need, you can use Data Sharing, which allows you to extend access rights to users or roles who do not have default access to certain data. The two types of access levels using Data Sharing are:
Read-only - The shared records can only be viewed.
Read/Write - The shared records can be viewed and edited.
Where to access it: Application Settings > User Permissions > Data Sharing
Datasource
Datasources in Zoho Creator allow you to link with specific modules of third-party applications, such as the Leads module in Salesforce or the Billings module in Quickbooks. This targeted integration establishes a direct link to the required module in the third-party service, rather than a general connection. Datasources can be used in Integration forms and fields. When an integration form is created, it lists all the fields from the integrated third party module, and data entered here is automatically synced in the third party service. In Integration fields, the data is automatically fetched from the third party module for the user to select.
Where to access it: Microservices > Datasources
Development environment
Environments in Zoho Creator allow you to test applications before rolling them out to production. There are three environments:
Development: For creating and editing apps. Any changes to the application are made in this environment.
Stage: For testing the app. You can test the app from different user permission perspective to ensure everything works as expected.
Live: For production use.
Applications can be accessed in all three environments, each with its own separate data storage. The Development Environment is where the application is initially built and edited.
Where to access it: Deploy > Environments
Deluge
Deluge (Data Enriched Language for the Universal Grid Environment) is an online scripting language integrated with Zoho services. It allows users to incrementally add logic to their applications, making them more powerful and robust. When defining complex application workflows, custom scripts are required. For example, while collecting data in an app like Zoho Creator can be done using drag-and-drop, more advanced tasks, such as sending an email upon form submission, fetching data, updating records, or performing similar actions, require Deluge. Deluge is Zoho's proprietary language, designed and built by Zoho.
Detail View
There are two views for a report: Quick View and Detail View. Both views can be customized with layouts that clearly present the data and configured with actions to trigger custom behaviors from the report.
Detail View is what you see when you click on a record. In the Detail View, you have access to a variety of predefined layouts, allowing you to choose an appropriate structure. The selected layout enables you to customize which fields are displayed and specify their positions according to your preference.
Where to access it: Design > App report > Detail View
Demo Users
In the Stage environment, you can add demo users with various permissions and roles to test the app. Demo users are predefined, meaning you must select from a provided list of options. You can assign different permissions and roles to these demo users to check how each will view and interact with the app in the current environment.
Where to access it: Environments > Stage Settings > Demo Users
Domain Authentication
Domain Authentication is a configuration related to the Sender Email feature. Whenever you add a new sender email address to your Zoho Creator account, its domain has to be authenticated using the Sender Policy Framework (SPF) and Domain Keys Identified Mail (DKIM) records. Unauthenticated domains are automatically listed in the Domain Authentication section and are marked with a "Pending Authentication" status. Domain authentication ensures that the recipient's email service provider is able to verify the legitimacy of emails sent as part of your application workflows.
Where to access it: Operations > Email Management > Domain Authentication
Domain Restriction
The Domain Restriction feature allows you to restrict application access to users whose email addresses belong to a verified domain. When enforced, the status of users whose email addresses do not belong to verified domains will be changed to "Inactive," preventing them from accessing the application unless their domains have been verified.
Where to access it: Operations > Domain Restriction
E
Edit Mode
Zoho Creator offers two modes: one to create an application, and the other to run the application:
- In Edit Mode, you can build and edit the components of the app, such as forms, pages, reports, and workflows. This mode serves as the workstation where your application's vision comes to life.
- In Live Mode, you can access the app and preview it from an end-user's perspective. In this mode, you (or users) can view and access or utilize the application.
Email Analytics
Email Analytics provides actionable insights into the emails sent from your applications. It offers comprehensive tracking of email status, logs, reports, and recipient activity. Users can view logs and track the delivery progress of their emails in real-time. Additionally, webhooks can be configured to receive notifications on email openings and link clicks, providing a better understanding of recipient engagement and overall email performance. Users can also set up custom bounce addresses to better understand and address delivery issues.
Where to access it: Operations > Email Management > Email Analytics
Email Management
Email Management is a module in Zoho Creator that allows configurations related to sender email addresses in your account:
- Sender Email: The sender email in Zoho Creator refers to the 'From' address used in the automated email notifications sent from your Zoho Creator application. Besides the app admin's email address or the logged-in user's email address, you can add custom email addresses. Following a small verification procedure, your custom email addresses will be available for sending emails from your app.
- Domain Authentication: Whenever you add a new sender email address to your Zoho Creator account, its domain is automatically listed in the Domain Authentication section with a "Pending Authentication" status. This domain needs to be authenticated using the Sender Policy Framework (SPF) and Domain Keys Identified Mail (DKIM) records. Domain authentication ensures that the recipient's email service provider is able to verify the email's legitimacy.
- Email Analytics: Email Analytics offers comprehensive tracking of email status, logs, reports, and recipient activity. Users can view logs and track the delivery progress of their emails in real-time. Additionally, webhooks can be configured to receive notifications on email openings and link clicks, providing a better understanding of recipient engagement and overall email performance.
Where to access it: Operations > Email Management
Endpoint URL
This is a term related to Custom APIs. While Developer APIs (REST APIs) execute fixed, predefined actions when invoked, custom APIs can be scripted to execute customized user-defined actions in Creator from external platforms. The API endpoint URL refers to a specific URL that the custom API feature automatically generates based on the provided details, such as the API link name, the associated function, the admin name, and more. This URL works as the API endpoint and invokes the associated function to perform actions in your Creator application from third-party applications.
Where to access it: Microservices > Custom API
F
Fields
In Zoho Creator, forms are used to collect and store data, and each form is made up of fields that enable users to enter the required data. For example, a form to collect contact details can have separate fields to capture name, email address, phone number, residence address, and so on. Each record stored in this form represents the contact information of an individual, and each field in a record stores one piece of that information. A form in your Zoho Creator app functions similarly to a table in a database or a sheet in a spreadsheet. A field functions similarly to a column within the sheet or table. Each field has a type and a data type, and comes with its own set of configurations or properties.
Where to access it: Form Builder
Filter
There are three types of filters in Zoho Creator:
Filter: Displays only records that meet specific criteria. This is a developer operation to decide which records should be displayed in the report.
Quick Filter: Allows configuring filters based on picklist and date/date-time field values. This is a user operation where the user can choose to use or ignore the configured quick filter.
Custom Filter: Enables filtering records using pre-set criteria. These filters can be quickly applied using a click and can be removed to revert to the original report. This is a user operation where the user can choose to apply or ignore the custom filter.
Where to access it: Report Properties
Forms
A form is a key component of your Zoho Creator application that enables you to collect and store data. In other words, it allows end-users to enter data into your application, making forms one of the primary points of interaction between your users and your application. Forms are comprised of various fields used to collect unique types of information. Each data entry upon a form submission is termed as a record. The form builder is the interface where you can customize different properties, both common to the form as a whole and specific to individual fields.
Form Template
Zoho Creator enables you to create forms in the following ways:
- From scratch
- By importing data
- Using an integrated datasource (based on third-party modules)
- From an existing template
When creating a form using a template, you have access to a library of 75+ templates covering various fields such as education, business, construction, sales, and IT, spanning 14 industry categories. Once a form is created using a template, it can be further customized by deleting unnecessary fields or adding new ones.
Where to access it: Create new form > From a template
Favicon
Favicons are small images or icons displayed in web browser tabs to represent a website. When you set a favicon in Zoho Creator, it is applied to all applications in your account. When an app is loaded in live mode, the website tab will display the specified favicon.
Where can it be configured: Organisation > Favicon
Functions
Functions encapsulate a set of code to execute specific tasks. When defining functions to perform operations, you must provide arguments, which act like placeholders for the operands. When invoking the function, you can specify the actual values, such as variables, field values, or literal numbers, which substitute the arguments during the function's execution. This key functionality of functions helps to apply them across various uses:
Write Once and Reuse Utilities: If you want to repeat certain scripting functionality across different parts of an application or in a different application, you can define it as a function and reuse it.
Bridge the Gap Between Applications: Functions can be called across applications. For example, use functions to manipulate data in one application using scripts in another application.
As Custom Actions in Reports: Functions can be integrated into a GUI action, such as custom actions in reports, enabling the user to invoke a specific function on selected records in a report.
Custom API: Utilizing existing functions in the form of APIs, which can be triggered from external services.
Functions can be configured with arguments of various data types and may or may not return a value. Zoho Creator supports functions in three languages: Deluge, Node.js, and Java.
Where to access it: Workflow > Functions
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Governance
Governance is a module in Zoho Creator used to manage user identities and regulate session management. Powered by Zoho Directory, Governance encompasses four major features:
- Security Policy: Using this feature you can set up a set of rules guiding users on authentication methods. The four components are:
- Password Policy
- Multi-factor Authentication
- Allowed IPs
- Session Management
- Custom Authentication: Provides single sign-on (SSO), allowing users to sign in to their Zoho account through a different identity provider. After signing in to your service, users are automatically logged in to all linked applications within Zoho.
- Directories: Zoho Directory facilitates the integration of user identities from an external directory to a specific internal directory. This secure and straightforward method enables managing users within Zoho and storing user identities. One-way synchronization from your existing directory to the Zoho Directory Admin Panel achieves this.
- Domains: Verified domains in Zoho Directory allow for:
- Adding confirmed users
- Creating domain-based group aliases
- Assisting in hosting mailboxes
This setup ensures a secure and efficient management of user identities and session regulations within Zoho Creator.
Grouping
Zoho Creator's reports can feature grouped records, allowing you to segregate data based on specified fields and their values. By grouping your data, you can achieve a structured arrangement of information. The Grouping feature lets you specify one or more fields based on which the records will be grouped. Records with the same value for the grouping field are grouped together, and the grouping field value appears as a heading for those set of records.
When more than two grouping fields are specified, records containing the same corresponding values for both fields are grouped, with the grouping fields’ values appearing as headers. Additionally, the groups can be sorted as Ascending, Descending, or Custom Order. When specifying multiple fields for grouping, the order set for the first grouping field takes precedence, followed by the second, and so on.
Additionally, records can be grouped based on any required column/field when accessing the report in live mode. This action rearranges any predefined grouping. However, when the grouping is removed, the report reverts to its predefined grouping.
Where to access it: Report Properties
I
Integration flows
Integration Flow is a type of solution in Zoho Creator, powered by Zoho Flow, that enables your app to integrate with other apps in Zoho Creator or external cloud applications. It allows you to set up workflows to automate interactions among the apps you use, with the ability to visualize how these integrations should function.
An integration flow consists of a trigger and one or more actions. The trigger initiates the actions to be executed. For example, you can configure a flow that sends an email 15 minutes after a form is submitted in Zoho Creator. In this example, delaying for 15 minutes and sending an email are two actions in the flow, and submitting the form is the trigger.
Currently, you can create integration flows with over 800 external cloud apps.
Where to access it: Zoho Creator Home Page
Instances of transition
This is a type of bar chart in Blueprint Analytics that illustrates the number of times the transitions have been performed. This data helps in identifying the predominant trends in the business process. A higher transition occurrence denotes that the action is frequently performed over the records.
Where to access it: Operations > Blueprint Analytics
Integrations Flow Usage
The Integrations Flow Usage is a section under Billing that presents the usage details of the integration flows in your Creator account. It displays the following attributes' current usage along with their respective maximum limits according to your subscription plan:
- Flows: The number of integration flows that are enabled in your Creator application.
- Flow Tasks: The total number of flow tasks that have been executed in the current month. Except the trigger, decision, and set variable actions, all other actions in a flow are counted as tasks. For example, in a flow that contains one trigger and two actions, whenever the flow is executed, it is counted as two tasks. The next execution will add two more tasks to the total, making the count four.
Where to access it: Billing > Integrations Flow Usage
L
Localization
The localization feature in Zoho Creator allows you to translate various elements of your application. This increases your app's accessibility for users worldwide. You can translate the following:
- Application name
- Display names of app sections, forms, reports, and pages
- Display names of buttons and fields within forms
- Display names of fields and custom actions in reports
- Choices displayed in dropdowns, radio buttons, checkboxes, and multi-select fields
- Names of months and days in date and date-time pickers
You can select the following language options:
- English: The default language.
- User's Browser Language: The app's UI elements will be translated into the language set in the user's web browser.
- User's Zoho Account Language: The app's UI elements will be translated into the language set in the user's Zoho account settings.
- User's Preferred Language: Provide multiple language options, allowing users to switch between languages and access your app in their preferred language.
For Right-to-Left (RTL) languages such as Hebrew, Persian, and Arabic, you can also enable an RTL layout. This adjustment enhances localization and provides a better user experience for RTL language users.
Where to access it: Application Settings > Localization
Live Mode
Zoho Creator offers two modes: one to create an application, and the other to run the application:
- In Edit Mode, you can build and edit the components of the app, such as forms, pages, reports, and workflows. This mode serves as the workstation where your application's vision comes to life.
- In Live Mode, you can access the app and preview it from an end-user's perspective. In this mode, you (or your users) can view and access or utilize the application.
M
Marker Based AR
Marker Based AR is a part of the AR library feature which brings in augmented reality functionality into your apps. The AR Library feature comprises of markerless and marker-based AR sets, which consist of images. In marker-based AR, users scan a specific marker (or a subject), which triggers the predefined images to be superimposed onto the camera view when the visual matches the marker image. For example, a student can scan images present in textbooks to view animated explanations in the Creator application. Marker-less AR sets display the predefined virtual images when using the camera. For example, furniture companies can allow customers to virtually place their products within their homes to visualize how they would look and fit.
Where can it be used: Microservices > AR Library
Markerless AR
Markerless AR is a part of the AR library feature which brings in augmented reality functionality into your apps. The AR Library feature comprises of marker-less and marker-based AR sets, which consist of images. In marker-based AR, users scan a specific marker (or a subject), which triggers the pre-defined images to be superimposed onto the camera view when the visual matches the marker image. For example, a student can scan images present in textbooks to view animated explanations in the Creator application. Marker-less AR sets display the pre-defined virtual images when using the camera. For example, furniture companies can allow customers to virtually place their products within their homes to visualize how they would look and fit.
Where can it be used: Microservices > AR Library
Marketplace
Zoho Marketplace is a platform where users can browse various low-code apps and extensions created by developers. It contains a wide range of apps that cater to various use cases and business, and users can install them directly into their accounts without having to build apps from scratch.
Note: If you’re a Partner or developer, you can create applications using the Developer Console and publish them to Zoho Marketplace. Users with similar needs can install your app, either for free or at a price you set.
Where to access it: Operations > Marketplace
Metrics
Zoho Creator comes with a built-in monitoring tool called Metrics, which provides a comprehensive view of usage statistics across applications and users (anyone accessing the live mode of the application). It contains a dashboard which offers insights into engagement statistics using key performance indicators (KPIs), charts, heat maps, and more.
Metrics is divided into three tabs to deliver detailed insights through specific KPIs:
- Application Activity: Tracks usage statistics for all applications based on users' access and interactions in live mode. Application activity can be filtered by:
- All users – Includes users, portal users, and public users.
- Users – Includes users and public users, including developers accessing live mode.
- Portal users – Includes only portal users.
- User Activity: Captures usage statistics for users and public users accessing live mode.
- Portal User Activity: Tracks usage statistics for portal users accessing the application’s portal.
Where to access it: Metrics section under Manage
Microservices
Microservices, a module in Zoho Creator, lets you create standalone services that can be deployed into your applications. For instance, you can create microservices such as third party connections, AI Models, AR sets, and so on, just once and reuse them in multiple applications. As your business processes grow, the complexity of your application's flow can increase. Microservices help simplify this complexity by allowing you to incorporate small, functional pieces of functionality into your Creator applications.
In Zoho Creator, there are five types of microservices you can use:
- Connections: To perform integration with third-party services.
- Datasources: Works with connections to integrate with targeted third-party modules.
- AI Modeler: Integrates AI capabilities into your applications.
- AR Library: Offers an interactive 3D experience by overlaying digital data (images) onto real-life objects captured by your device’s camera in real-time.
- Custom APIs: Trigger specific functionalities using existing functions by invoking them as APIs.
Where to access it: Microservices (in the account dashboard)
Mobile
The Mobile module in Zoho Creator empowers you to create native mobile apps through code-signing for both iOS and Android, and also provides robust mobile SDK support.
Here’s an overview of the mobile app options available:
- Zoho Creator mobile app - For all web applications that you create, corresponding mobile apps are automatically generated and are available in the Zoho Creator Mobile App, for both iOS and Android. Customized app changes can be made for mobile devices and tablets separately.
- Code signed apps - Users can also build custom native Android/iOS apps. This makes the apps available as a separate mobile app for iOS and Android devices. The native app can be created in two different variants for the employees (users) and customers.
- Mobile SDK - The Zoho Creator Software Development Kit (SDK) is aimed at helping you easily build a custom app with multiple features and functionalities from Creator. The SDK methods enable you to programmatically fetch and edit data within different Zoho Creator modules such as Forms, Reports, and, Pages. Additionally, you can design the app's UI according to your style guides while powering the back-end development using the SDK.
- Apps as PWA on Mobile browser - A PWA is one that enables a native app-like experience on a mobile browser. Your users will be able to access your apps from any mobile device that supports browsing the internet.
Where to access it: To customize changes specific to the mobile or tablet device, click the phone or tablet icon in the edit mode of the application. To code sign apps or to access SDK files, navigate to the Mobile section under Deploy.
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Notifications
The Notifications section in your Zoho Creator account keeps you informed about various events by providing instant alerts for specific activities. All your notifications are consolidated under the Notifications pane, accessible by clicking the bell icon visible in the Edit mode.
Notifications are triggered for the following activities:
- Record Comments: When someone @mentions you in the record comments within any report.
- Approval Actions: When you need to review a record in an Approval process.
- Blueprint: When a record has a pending stage transition.
- Push Notification using Deluge Task: When a push notification is triggered using the Deluge task.
- Important Announcements and Updates: When there are crucial updates related to your account, such as data loss warnings, feature deprecations, account management changes, and more.
Where to access it: Top right corner in an app's edit mode
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OCR Model
OCR pertains to the AI Modeler feature. Zoho Creator provides support for five common machine-learning models that can work efficiently for business applications. These models come in two varieties: ready-to-use models and custom models.
While ready-to-use AI Models are suitable for generic applications, custom models offer the flexibility to train the model according to your specific business use cases. Using Custom Models, you can provide the model with sample data that is relevant to your business for it to get trained. The OCR Model, available both as a custom model and a ready-made model, is designed for text-recognition. For example, you can select the OCR custom model to extract required values from invoices. To ensure it works according to your invoice patterns, you can train the model with your organization's invoice samples, test it, and then deploy it into an application built to extract key information such as invoice number, total amount, product details, and so on.
Where can it be accessed: Microservices > AI Modeler
Operations
The Operations section helps you efficiently manage various functions for Solutions and their components from a central location. These operations can be used to perform key tasks such as backing up data, enabling troubleshooting to resolve issues, or maintaining logs of the activities inside your solution. Each Solution type (Application, BI & Analytics, and Integrated Flows) has a unique set of operations. For example, if you require to embed your report on another website you can perform this using the Publish option in Operations.
Where can this section be accessed: Manage > Operations
Organization
The Organization section helps maintain your organization details, such as the organization logo, favicon, contact information, super admin details, and timezone. These elements are utilized across various parts of your apps. For example, the logo and favicon will appear in the app interface and URL, respectively. Similarly, the time zone is effected across date-time fields and system variables.
Where can this section be accessed: Manage > Organization
Object Detection
Object Detection is part of the AI Modeler feature. Zoho Creator provides support for five common machine-learning models that can work efficiently for business applications. These models come in two varieties: ready-to-use models and custom models.
While ready-to-use AI Models are suitable for generic applications, custom models offer the flexibility to train the model according to your specific business use cases. Using Custom Models, you can provide the model with sample data that is relevant to your business for it to get trained. The Object Detection Model, available both as a custom model and a ready-made model, is designed to identify objects in images by comparing the uploaded user-input data to predefined object sets. For example, you can train an Object Detection custom model with your organization's asset inventory, allowing the system to automatically populate asset details when updating stock or adding new items.
Where to access it: Microservices > AI Modeler
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Pages
Pages help you in achieving data-loaded and functional dashboards for your users. Using pages, you can aggregate and extract information from the data collected through different forms. It comes with various options like panels, charts, search bars, buttons, scripting, and more, which let you design interactive, user-friendly layouts containing manageable chunks of visual information. Additionally, multiple forms and reports can be embedded into a single page, offering a comprehensive, at-a-glance overview of your business operations and all relevant application components on a single screen.
Payments
Payment workflows allow you to collect online payments from your users directly through forms. You can define conditions based on which the payment workflow should be initiated, and you can set a field in the form to represent the amount to be collected. You can also configure actions to be executed after the payment succeeds or fails. For example, when customers place an order through a form, you can use the value in the Total Amount field as the amount to be collected in the payment workflow. You can configure email notifications to customers depending on whether the payment succeeds or fails.
Where to configure: Payments > Workflow
Portal User
Portal users are external individuals, such as customers, suppliers, or vendors, who need to interact with or use your applications but are not part of your organization. For such external users, you can configure Portals, a feature that allows external users to log in to dedicated systems and access their data within Zoho Creator or the app components for which they have been granted access. Portal users can sign up for the portal without needing a Zoho account.
Where to add Portal Users: Portal > Create or select a portal > Add Portal Users
Prediction
Prediction is part of the AI Modeler feature. Zoho Creator provides support for five common machine-learning models that can work efficiently for business applications. These models come in two varieties: ready-to-use models and custom models.
While ready-to-use AI Models are suitable for generic applications, custom models offer the flexibility to train the model according to your specific business use cases. Using Custom Models, you can provide the model with sample data that is relevant to your business for it to get trained. The Prediction Model, available as a custom model, is designed to predict an outcome based on past data. Once we provide sufficient test data, the prediction model can learn to link patterns with the outcomes. For example, in an insurance application, the Prediction Model can assess whether a claim request is legitimate or not based on historical claim patterns.
Where to access it: Microservices > AI Modeler
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Quick View
There are two views for a report: Quick View and Detail View. Both views can be customized with layouts that clearly present the data and configured with actions to trigger custom behaviors from the report.
Quick view is the high level view of the report in its entirety. It gives you all the records of the report. In the Quick View, you have access to a couple of predefined layouts, allowing you to choose an appropriate structure. The selected layout enables you to customize which fields are displayed and specify their positions according to your preference.
Where to access it: Design > App report > Quick View
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Ready to Use Model
The AI Modeler feature in Zoho Creator supports five key machine-learning models that can work efficiently for business applications. These models come in two formats: ready-to-use and custom.
Ready-to-use AI models let you use artificial intelligence in your Zoho Creator application without necessarily having any prior machine learning expertise. Commonly used AI models for business scenarios are already prebuilt in Zoho Creator, trained with data, and made readily available for you to deploy in your applications. For example, you can use the ready-made Sentiment Analysis AI Model to analyze customer reviews and feedback and identify areas of improvement.
Where to access it: Microservices > AI Models > Deploy - Ready to Use Models
Reports
Reports in Zoho Creator is a key component that helps you analyze, track, or record information. It is the collection of data submitted through forms. Each report is based on the submissions made through forms, with each record in the report corresponding to each data entry in the form.
A default list report with a standard table layout is generated by default for every form. However, you can create multiple reports from a single form, allowing you to view and interpret the data in various ways. Zoho Creator offers eight different types of reports, including Kanban, Calendar, and Spreadsheet, to suit different reporting needs.
Records entered Blueprint
A type of chart in Blueprint Analytics that denotes the number of records that entered the blueprint in a specific time period. The X-axis represents the blueprint name, and the Y-axis represents the count of records.
Where to access it: Operations > Blueprint Analytics.
Records exited Blueprint
A type of chart in Blueprint Analytics that denotes the number of records that exited the blueprint during a specific time period. Available as a bar chart, stacked bar, and donut pie types, the X-axis denotes the name of the end stages and the Y-axis denotes the count of records.
This chart gives a breakdown of the records that exited through the different stages of the blueprint.
Where to access it: Operations > Blueprint Analytics.
Record Templates
Record templates enable you to present the data in each record in a structured manner. The primary use case of record templates is to design a template based on the data in records, for example to generate invoice templates. You can add predesigned elements like headings, images, and tables, and adjust their display using dedicated toolbars for various elements. The Fields tab allows you to incorporate form fields and related fields, while template properties let you customize page size, backgrounds, and headers/footers for a personalized look.
Where to access it: Application Settings > Record Templates
Roles
Roles in Zoho Creator are primarily meant to manage access to records created by users at different levels within the organizational hierarchy. Using Roles can create a role hierarchy and assign users to different roles. Users in higher roles will be able to access the records of users in lower roles but not vice-versa. You can allow peers (users at the same level) to access each other's records, and you can also set up data sharing rules to override the existing access based on role hierarchy. This means that users at lower levels can also access records created by users in higher roles if required.
Where to access it: Application Settings > User Permissions > Roles
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Schema Builder
The Schema Builder works like a relationship diagram, illustrating the logical structure of your application. It offers a graphical representation of the app's components and existing relationships between the forms. From the Schema Builder, you can create new relationships between forms or edit existing ones, making the process of managing relationships in your application simpler.
Where to access it: Application Settings > Developer Tools > Schema Builder
Security Policies
Security Policies, powered by Zoho Directory, is a feature in Zoho Creator that helps you create a set of rules related to application security that needs to be followed by the whole organization. It increases the levels of authorization to ensure login security, helps create complex passwords, restricts the number of logins, helps create IP address-based restrictions, and more. The four most important attributes of a security policy that Creator provides to help maintain a high-profile security system are:
- Password Policy
- Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA)
- Allowed IPs
- Advanced Settings
Where to access it: Governance > Security Policies
Schedules
Schedules are a type of workflow that let you automate custom actions based on date values. Users can select a custom date or use a date field in a form, and the actions are triggered automatically at the specified date and time. Additionally, you can specify a frequency for the actions to be repeated and a criteria based on which the scheduled action will be triggered.
Where to access it: Workflow > Schedules
Stateless Forms
Stateless forms are used when data does not need to be stored within the form. Since records are not stored, workflow actions can only be triggered at form and field level events, such as when the form loads or an input is provided for a field. For example, Stateless forms can be used for scenarios where data needs to be pushed to another service without the need for storing it in Creator.
How can it be created: Form Properties > Duplicate a form > Uncheck "Data will be stored in Zoho Creator"
Stages
Stages are a key component of the Blueprints feature in Zoho Creator. Blueprints enable you to create a digital representation of all your business processes. It includes features such as automation, validation, and collaboration that let you streamline all your processes effectively. Blueprints consist of two components: Stages and Transitions. Stages are the various milestones in a process. For example, to manage interview processes you can create a blueprint with stages as Applied, Resume Accepted, Invited for interview, Selected, Rejected, and so on.
Where to access it: Workflow > Blueprints
System Integrations
The System Integrations section under Operations provides a centralized view of our in house services that are integrated with Zoho Creator in the backend by default. These integrations are created automatically when you perform certain actions that involve services from other Zoho products. For example, Zoho Checkout is used for processing payments within Zoho Creator. Some other service integrations include ZeptoMail (for Email Analytics), Zia (for AI related features), Zoho Analytics (for creating Pivot Charts and tables), and Cloud Functions. Having all these in one place makes it easier for the admin to oversee and control these backend integrations.
Where to access it: Operations > System Integrations
System Connections
Whenever an integration operation is required in Zoho Creator, a Connection becomes essential. Connections facilitate the authentication process and enable seamless integration to the intended external service accounts. Connections can be utilized in various contexts, such as form workflows, report workflows, integration fields, integration tasks and so on.
In Zoho Creator, there are three types of connections: System Connections, Admin Connections, and Logged-in User Connections. System Connections are automatically created when users perform integrations that include an optional connection parameter. When the connection parameter is not specified, a connection is generated by default. The super admin should authorize the connection for it to be utilized. For example, when a Zoho CRM Get Records Deluge integration task is executed without specifying optional connection parameters, the system automatically generates a Zoho CRM connection. To execute the integration script successfully, the super admin must authorize it using their account credentials.
Where to access it: Microservices > Connections
Super Admin
The super admin is the primary administrator who created the account in Zoho Creator. This individual has access to all features included in their Creator subscription. Each Creator account is limited to one super admin, who receives important communications, such as billing information. The super admin can add more admins and developers to the account.
Where it's listed: Users Section
Support Access
Support Access is a feature to let the support team debug your applications issues effectively. Enabling the Support Access feature allows the Zoho Creator support team to gain edit access to your app and experience first-hand the problem you've been facing. The Support team will have access exclusively to the app for which you have granted support access, and will not be able to view your account homepage, the account setup page, the account subscription page, or any other application in your account. Additionally, they will also not have access to your account password.
Where to access it: Operations > Support Access
Sender Email
Sender Emails are a part of the Email Management feature. In this section, you can specify custom email addresses which can be used in the "From" email address when setting up email notifications. Apart from the app admin's email address or the logged-in user's email address, you can also use these custom email addresses as the "From" address when sending out emails through application workflows. Custom email addresses have to be verified before they can be used.
Where to set up: Operations > Email Management > Sender Email
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Transitions
Transitions are a key component of the Blueprints feature in Zoho Creator. Blueprints enable you to create a digital representation of all your business processes. It includes features such as automation, validation, and collaboration, that let you streamline all your processes effectively. Blueprints consist of two components: Stages and Transitions. While Stages represent the various milestones in the process, transitions are the intermediate phase between two stages. They contain the criteria to be met for records to move from one stage to another, and they also include actions to be triggered when moving between stages, for example sending emails to applicants when records progress from the "applied" to "resume selected" stage.
Where to access it: Workflow > Blueprints
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User Activity
User Activity, a part of Metrics sections, captures usage statistics of all users and public users in the live mode of your applications. It captures important statistics such as number of users who have accessed or not accessed an app, daily average hits per user, stickiness average, among other important metrics. This helps with an analysis of how users are interacting with your apps over different time periods.
Where to access it: Metrics > Application Activity
Users
Users is a module that lets you add and manage users for your account and applications. Users are individuals who have been granted access to interact with or use your applications. They can be assigned roles and granted customized permissions to access specific app components and data or to perform specific operations.
There are three types of users:
- Super Admin: The master administrator who created the account and has full access to all features and settings.
- Admins: Added by the super admin, admins have access to account-level operations, such as Solutions, Microservices, Environments, Users, Governance, Organization, and more. They can also build and edit applications.
- Solution-specific Users: In an application, solution-specific users can be of two types: live users and developers. Live users interact with and use your applications, while developers can edit applications. These users can be added by the super admin or admin.
Where to access it: Users section in the account dashboard
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Version History
Version History is a feature in the Environments module. When you publish apps to the Stage environment, each package of apps and their changes published at one instance is called a version. Version History lists all the published versions and the app changes in each of those versions. This serves as a reference to review past changes and the evolution of applications.
Where to access it: Environments > Version History
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Widgets
Widgets are a powerful tool using which you can extend the capabilities of your Zoho Creator applications. You can configure functionalities that go beyond the built-in features or are not natively supported by the platform. Using Widgets you can completely redesign the UI to enhance the front-end experience of your app without any platform-specific limitations. By importing files that contain your own libraries and functionalities using JavaScript, HTML, and CSS, you can fully customize the user experience by embedding widgets in Pages. Users can create custom widgets or install ready-made extensions from the marketplace. Additionally, Widgets also offer JS APIs that allow you to perform seamless operations with the application data.
Where to access it: Page > Widgets
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