How to Create a Collection of Dates, Sort Them, and Copy to Zoho CRM: A Developer’s Guide  Hello Developers and Zoho CRM Users!

Today, we’re diving into a practical task that many of you might find handy — creating a collection of dates, sorting them in descending order, and then copying that sorted list to a field in a Zoho CRM module. This task can be particularly useful for managing timelines, deadlines, or any date-related data within your CRM. Let’s jump right in!

Step 1: Setting Up Your Custom Function 

First things first, you need to set up a custom function within Zoho CRM. This function will handle the collection, sorting, and copying of dates. To do this, follow these steps:

1. **Log in to your Zoho CRM account.**
2. **Navigate to Setup** (the gear icon) in the top right corner.
3. Click on **Developer Space** and then *Functions*.
4. Click on the **Create Function** button.

Step 2: Create the Date Collection

In your custom function, you’ll want to start by creating a collection of dates. For this example, let’s assume you have a list of dates that you want to sort. Here’s how you can define that collection in Deluge (the scripting language used in Zoho):

deluge
// Sample collection of dates
dateList = list();
dateList.add(date(“2023-09-15”));
dateList.add(date(“2023-10-05”));
dateList.add(date(“2023-08-25”));
dateList.add(date(“2023-11-01”));

In this code, we create a list called dateList and populate it with a few dates. You can replace these dates with the ones you need to work with.

Step 3: Sorting the Dates 

Next, we need to sort this list in descending order. In Deluge, you can use the .sort() method in combination with a custom comparator. Here’s how to do it:

deluge
// Sort the list in descending order
dateList.sort((a, b) => {
    return b.compareTo(a);
});

This code sorts dateList so that the most recent dates come first. The compareTo method helps us compare two dates directly.

Step 4: Preparing to Copy Sorted Dates 

Now that you have your sorted list, the next step is to convert this list into a format suitable for the CRM field you intend to update. Let’s say you want to store the dates as a comma-separated string:

deluge
// Convert the sorted list to a string
sortedDateString = “”;
for each date in dateList {
    sortedDateString = sortedDateString + date.toString() + “, “;
}

// Remove the trailing comma and space
if (sortedDateString.length() > 0) {
    sortedDateString = sortedDateString.substring(0, sortedDateString.length() – 2);
}

In this snippet, we concatenate each date into a single string, ensuring to format it correctly by removing the final comma and space.

Step 5: Updating the CRM Module Field 

Finally, we’ll write the code to update a specific field in a Zoho CRM module with the sorted date string. Here’s how you can do that:

deluge
// Assuming you are updating a field called ‘Sorted Dates’ in a module named ‘Contacts’
recordId = <RECORD_ID>; // Replace with the actual ID of the record you want to update
updateMap = map();
updateMap.put(“Sorted_Dates”, sortedDateString); // Replace ‘Sorted_Dates’ with your actual field API name

updateResponse = zoho.crm.updateRecord(“Contacts”, recordId, updateMap);
info updateResponse;

Make sure to replace <RECORD_ID> with the actual ID of the record you wish to update and “Contacts” with the appropriate module name if you’re working with a different one.

Conclusion 

And there you have it! You’ve successfully created a collection of dates, sorted them in descending order, and copied that sorted list to a field in a Zoho CRM module. This process not only enhances your CRM data management but also automates tedious tasks, allowing you to focus on what truly matters — building relationships with your clients.

If you have any questions or need further clarification, feel free to reach out. Happy coding!