A public Zoho Form can now fill itself in with data from Zoho CRM. When the form includes a CRM field, the person completing it starts typing, sees matching CRM records, picks the right one, and the linked fields on the form fill in with that record's details. Previously a public form could only pre-fill from one record: the record linked in the form's web address.
Before you start: this works only when the Zoho Forms integration is enabled in Zoho CRM, and a CRM user with the Administrator profile must first choose what can be shared. It is available with all paid editions of Zoho CRM in all data centres.
How it works for the person filling in the form
- Search. The CRM field in the public form behaves like a search box. The person starts typing.
- Pick. Matching records appear and they choose the right one.
- Watch it fill. The form fills in the linked fields with that record's details.
Each response is also tied to the record that person picked, so your team does not have to match submissions to records afterwards.
Benefits for your forms
- Less typing. People search and pick instead of entering every detail.
- Fewer mistakes. Details come straight from Zoho CRM, so there are no spelling slips or wrong numbers.
- Responses in the right place. Every submission is linked to the chosen record.
- One setup for all public forms. What is shared applies to every public form that uses CRM fields.
What people can and cannot see
Note: whatever your CRM administrator shares can be seen by anyone who fills in your public forms.
- The search shows only the fields the administrator has chosen to share, from the modules they have chosen to share.
- It shows only records that the form's creator can see in Zoho CRM, so existing permissions and sharing rules still apply.
- Private forms keep working exactly as they do today.
- If the administrator switches the option off, public forms stop pulling details from the CRM immediately, while their choices are saved for if it is turned back on. The Zoho Forms integration as a whole stays on.
Examples of public forms that benefit
| Form |
What the person picks, and what happens |
| Customer support request | The customer searches for their company name and picks it. The request is linked to the right account from the start, and the support team can see the customer's history immediately. |
| Warranty registration | The buyer searches for the model they bought and picks it. The form fills in the product name and code, and the registration is tied to the right product. |
| Bulk order enquiry | A shop owner searches the product catalogue and picks what they want to order. The sales team receives the enquiry with the correct product details. |
Setting it up
The configuration is done in Zoho CRM by a user with the Administrator profile, who chooses which CRM modules can be searched from public forms and which fields from each module can fill in the form. Zoho CRM warns about the exposure and asks for confirmation before anything is shared. Our companion article covers the administrator's steps: Zoho CRM: Pre-fill Public Forms with CRM Data.
Need help? As a Zoho Partner serving the UK and Ireland, we can design your public Zoho Forms, connect them to Zoho CRM, and decide what is safe to expose.
Book a discovery call with 1 Cloud Consultants.