What are widgets in Zoho Creator?
Widgets in Zoho Creator are custom-built UI components that allow developers to create highly interactive and visually dynamic elements within an application. These widgets are built using standard web technologies—HTML, CSS, and JavaScript—and can be seamlessly embedded into your Zoho Creator app to provide a richer user experience.
Purpose of Widgets:
Widgets extend the default UI capabilities of Zoho Creator. While forms, reports, and pages offer a wide range of built-in tools, widgets empower developers to add personalized components like:
Custom charts and visualizations
Interactive maps
Advanced sliders or calendars
Data tables with search, filter, and sort
Third-party service embeds (e.g., weather widgets, payment info, maps)
How Widgets Work:
Widgets operate as mini web apps within your Creator application. You can:
Design a widget in your local system using HTML/CSS/JavaScript.
Upload it as a ZIP file to Zoho Creator.
Define properties and parameters to control its behavior.
Use it on pages, inside panels, or even link them to workflows.
Each widget is sandboxed to ensure security and performance and can communicate with Zoho Creator’s data using REST APIs and custom Deluge scripts.
Use Cases:
Custom Visual Dashboards: Build a widget that displays multiple charts in one panel using JavaScript chart libraries (e.g., Chart.js, D3.js).
Interactive Map View: Show GPS-tracked assets or employees using Google Maps inside a widget.
E-commerce Add-ons: Integrate live product previews, carousels, or pricing calculators.
Financial Calculators: Add mortgage or tax calculators based on complex JS logic.
Features of Zoho Creator Widgets:
Custom Parameters: You can pass dynamic values (like user ID, role, or date) to widgets.
API Integration: Call third-party APIs directly from within the widget.
Data Interaction: Use Zoho Creator’s REST APIs to fetch or update data within the widget.
Event Handling: Capture user interactions like button clicks or slider movement to trigger actions.
Widget Development Workflow:
Create the widget files locally: HTML (structure), CSS (styling), JavaScript (logic).
Use the Creator CLI (Command Line Interface) to create a widget project.
Bundle and upload the widget into Zoho Creator as a .zip file.
Configure its display settings and parameters.
Embed it into a page or link it with data forms/reports.
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