Zoho CRM Extension · by TechWave Solutions

Manage WorkDrive In Zoho CRM

Every CRM record gets its own WorkDrive folder

A folder for every Lead, Deal, Invoice and more, created automatically and named your way. Upload, preview, share and track a record's files without ever leaving Zoho CRM.

Install in Zoho CRM → Read the user guide

• Runs inside Zoho CRM
• Files stay in your own WorkDrive
• 10 modules ready to use

Everything a record's files need

Built for teams who want quotes, contracts and photos kept with the record they belong to, not lost in email or shared drives.

Product specifications

Install and set up, step by step

A short video that installs Manage WorkDrive In Zoho CRM and configures it, from the install link to the first record folder.

Watch on YouTube

How to install and use it

Everything Manage WorkDrive In Zoho CRM does, in plain language.

1. How it works

Manage WorkDrive In Zoho CRM connects Zoho CRM with Zoho WorkDrive. Every record, such as a lead, a deal, an invoice or a task, gets its own folder in WorkDrive. A WorkDrive files panel on the record page lets your team work with that folder's files without switching apps.

1. An administrator installs the extension, chooses where the folders live in WorkDrive, and turns on the modules to use.
2. When someone creates a record in one of those modules, a folder is created for it in WorkDrive, named from the record's fields.
3. Everyone works with that record's files from the WorkDrive panel on the record page.

In WorkDrive, the folders are laid out like this:

2. Before you start

You need:

• Zoho CRM, and a user with administrator rights to install and set up the extension.
• Zoho WorkDrive, with a team. The WorkDrive account you connect must be a member of that team and allowed to create folders where the record folders will live.
• A browser that allows pop-ups for Zoho CRM. Downloads and "Open in WorkDrive" open in a new tab.

3. Install the extension

Prefer to watch? The installation and setup video shows every step below.

1. Open the install link for Manage WorkDrive In Zoho CRM. It opens the extension's install page in Zoho CRM. Click Install.
2. Sign in with your Zoho CRM administrator account. Tick the box to agree to the Terms of Service and the box that lets the extension access your data, then click Continue.
3. Choose who can use the extension. To show the files panel to everyone who works with records, choose Install for all users. You can also choose Install for admins only or Choose profiles. Click Confirm.
4. When asked to authorize the integration, click Authorize next to Zoho Auth and allow access to Zoho WorkDrive. Use the WorkDrive account that should own the record folders (see the note above).
5. Wait for the installation to finish, then continue with Set up.

What the installation adds

4. Set up (first time)

Setup is done once, by an administrator, on the extension's Settings page. It takes a few minutes.

Open the Settings page

1. In Zoho CRM, go to Setup → Marketplace → All → Installed.
2. Find Manage WorkDrive In Zoho CRM and click Settings.

The page is titled Manage WorkDrive In Zoho CRM, with the line "Choose where record folders live and how they are named." Setup has a few short steps, from top to bottom.

Step 1: Choose where the folders live

The first card, Root folder identification and configuration, shows Not set up until you finish this step. Pick one of three options:

• If your WorkDrive account belongs to more than one team, first pick the team that should hold the folders. Folders can't be moved between teams later.
• If a team folder called "Manage WorkDrive In Zoho CRM" already exists, it is selected for you and marked "already set up". Running setup again is safe: folders that already exist are reused, never duplicated.
• A team folder created here is not visible to the whole WorkDrive team. To let people browse it in WorkDrive itself, add them to the team folder in WorkDrive.

Then click Create module folders. When you see "Folders ready", the card changes to Ready and shows the Parent folder ID.

Inside the root you will find one folder per module: Leads, Contacts, Accounts, Deals, Sales_Orders, Invoices, Campaigns, Quotes, Purchase_Orders and Tasks.

Step 2: Turn on the modules you want

The Modules card lists every module with a switch. Nothing is on until you turn it on. The badge on the right counts them, for example "4 of 10 on".

• A switch saves as soon as you flip it. You will see "Leads enabled" or "Leads disabled". You don't need to press Update setting.
• On: every new record in the module gets a folder, and the files panel works on its records.
• Off: no new folders are created, and the files panel on the module's records says the module isn't set up. Folders that already exist are kept.
• A module that shows "no folder yet - run step 1" and "not available yet" has no module folder yet, so it can't be switched on.

Step 3: Decide how folders are named

The Module settings card has one tab per module. Settings lists modules by their CRM API names, so Sales Orders appears as Sales_Orders. An amber dot on a tab means it has changes you haven't saved yet. Open a module's tab and use the Dynamic Root Folder Name section.

Fields. Choose which of the record's fields make up the folder name, in order. Each chosen field appears as a numbered chip.

• Click + Add a field and search for the field. You can use text, email, phone, website, pick list, auto-number, number, decimal, currency, date and date-time fields.
• Click the × on a chip to remove that field.
• Fields are used in the order you added them. To change the order, remove a field and add it again.

Each module starts with a sensible default:

Separator. This joins the parts of the name. Choose Space (the default), Hyphen -, Underscore _, Dot ., Comma , or Dash  -  (a hyphen with spaces around it).

Extra text. This is optional text added to the end of every folder name. It can include smart tags, such as the record id or today's date.

Example folder. This shows a live preview of the name. Field names stand in for each record's real values.

Good to know about folder names:

• A field that is empty on a record is simply left out. If every chosen field is empty, the module's default field is used, and if that is empty too, the folder is called "Untitled".
• The characters \ / : * ? " < > | can't be used in folder names, so they are replaced with -.
• Names are limited to 200 characters.
• If two records would get the same name, the second folder is called "Name (2)", then "Name (3)", up to "Name (5)". To keep every name unique, add the ${record.id} smart tag.
• Changes apply to new folders only. Folders that already exist keep their names.

Smart tags

Click Smart tags next to Extra text to see the list. Click a tag to copy it, then paste it into Extra text. Type your own separators around tags, for example Project - ${date.year}. A tag can be used more than once.

• changes means the tag gives a different value each time. Its value is fixed when the folder is created.
• Dates use your CRM organisation's time zone. The preview uses your computer's clock, so near midnight the two can differ.
• Text that looks like a tag but isn't one is shown in red under the box, and goes into the name exactly as typed.

Step 4: Add standard subfolders (optional)

In Folder structure, list the folders to create inside every new record's folder, for example Contracts, Quotes and Photos. If you leave it empty, every record's folder starts empty.

• Click Add folder to add a folder at the top level. The naming window opens straight away.
• On each folder:
  • + adds a folder inside it.
  • The pen renames it.
  • − deletes it, with everything inside it.
• Hover over a folder to show the arrows:
  • ↑ ↓ move it up or down.
  • → moves it into the folder above it.
  • ← moves it out one level.
• The +/− toggle in front of a folder shows or hides what is inside it. It only changes the view.

In the Folder structure setting window you can name a folder:

• with fixed text in Extra text, such as Contracts;
• from record fields, just like the record folder, with + Add a field and a Separator;
• with smart tags.

This folder shows a preview. Click Save to keep the change.

Step 5: Triggers (advanced, usually left alone)

When a folder is created, its id is saved onto the record. Triggers decides whether that save starts your own automations:

• Workflow rules: run this module's workflow rules when the folder id is saved.
• Blueprint: let a Blueprint transition see the change.
• Approval process: let approval rules pick the record up.

Nothing is ticked by default, and that is the usual choice: folders are still created normally. If you tick one, saving the folder id counts as an edit, so rules that run on edit will fire. Make sure those rules can handle running twice.

Step 6: Save

The bar at the bottom of the page tells you where you stand: "Unsaved changes in Leads, Contacts." or "All changes saved." Click Update setting to save the naming, structure and triggers of every module you changed. You will see "Settings updated".

Add another module (including custom modules)

Besides the ten built-in modules, you can give any other module, including your custom modules, its own folders.

1. In Settings, open the last tab, + Add module.
2. Under Module, pick the module. Custom modules are listed first.
3. Under Field that stores the folder id, pick a single-line text field that can hold at least 40 characters. If the module has none:
   • click Create "WorkDrive Folder Id" on <module> to create one, or
   • add a Single Line field called WorkDrive Folder Id yourself under Setup → Customization → Modules and Fields, leaving its length at the default.
   If the module has more than one layout, drag the new field onto every layout whose records need a folder.
4. Click Add module. A folder for the module is created in your root folder, and the module is switched on straight away.
5. Add the WorkDrive panel to the module's record page. As the Settings page explains, this is done under Setup → Developer Space → Widgets, and the panel is then placed on the record page with Add Related List → Widget. Contact us if you need help with this step.
6. Create a workflow rule so new records get folders. See Use the custom action in a workflow rule.

Use the custom action in a workflow rule

The extension adds a custom action, Create a WorkDrive folder for each record, that you can use in any workflow rule.

1. Go to Setup → Automation → Workflow Rules and create a rule for the module.
2. Set it to run when a record is created. To also give older records a folder, choose Create or Edit.
3. Under instant actions, add the extension's custom action, Create a WorkDrive folder for each record.
4. The action's window asks for nothing. It shows what the module is set to do: the folder name, the subfolders, where the folder id is kept, and which automations run. Click Save there, then save the workflow rule.

The action never creates a second folder: a record that already has one is skipped. It also does nothing for a module that is switched off.

Folders for records that already exist

A folder is created when a record is created. Records that existed before you installed the extension or turned their module on don't have one. Their panel says No WorkDrive folder yet.

To give them folders, create a workflow rule on the module that runs on Create or Edit and uses the custom action, as described above. The next time one of those records is edited, it gets its folder. Records that already have a folder are left alone, so you can keep the rule.

5. Use the files panel

Open any record in a module that is turned on. The WorkDrive panel is in the record's related lists, and opens on the record's own folder.

A quick tour

1. Folder path (top). The first item, with the house icon, is the record's own folder. Click any part of the path to go back to it.
2. File list. Click a folder to open it, or a file to preview it.
3. Control column (right side). It holds all the panel's buttons, explained below.
4. Count (bottom). It shows what is in the folder, for example "2 folders · 5 files".

The control column, from top to bottom:

Hover over any button to see its name.

Views and sorting

• List view:
  • shows Name, Type, Size, Modified and Owner, with more columns appearing as the panel gets wider;
  • click Name, Size or Modified to sort, and click again to reverse;
  • folders always come first.
• Grid view shows each item as a card with a large icon.
• Compact view:
  • groups items under "Folders" and "Files" as small labels;
  • is good for browsing;
  • has no tick boxes and no ⋮ menu. Switch to List or Grid to work with files.

The panel remembers your view and sort order on your computer.

Small symbols after a name show a file's state:

• ★ means it is a favourite;
• a padlock means it is checked out;
• a file with a tick means it is marked as final.

Open folders and files

• Click a folder to open it.
• Click a file to preview it. If it can't be previewed, it opens in WorkDrive in a new tab.
• With the keyboard, use Tab to move between items, and Enter or Space to open one. Esc closes menus and windows.

Preview a file

The preview opens inside CRM, with Open in WorkDrive and Download buttons at the bottom.

Some formats, such as heic, tiff, avi, mkv and wmv, depend on what your browser can play or show. When a file can't be shown, you will see No preview available. Download it or open it in WorkDrive instead.

Upload files

• Click Upload files in the control column, or Upload in an empty folder. You can pick several files at once.
• Or drag files from your computer onto the list. "Drop files to upload into <folder>" shows where they will go.

Files go into the folder you are looking at, one at a time. A progress panel shows each file. The percentage is an estimate, and reaches 100% when WorkDrive confirms the file. Finished files disappear from the panel after a few seconds. Failed ones stay with the reason, and Dismiss clears them.

• Size limit: 250 MB per file. Larger files are refused before they are sent.
• Slow uploads: a large file is given more time, up to 20 minutes. If time runs out, the message says the file may still arrive. Press Refresh after a few minutes before sending it again, or you may end up with two copies.
• Same name: uploading never overwrites a file. If a file with that name is already there, WorkDrive keeps both and gives the new one a different name. To replace a file, use Upload new version… instead.
• Folders can't be uploaded, only files. Drag and drop is turned off while you are searching.

Create a folder

Click New folder in the control column, or in an empty folder. Type a name of up to 200 characters, and click Create. The folder is created inside the folder you are looking at.

Search

1. Click Search files in the control column and type in the box. The search starts as you type.
2. It searches the whole record folder, including subfolders, whichever folder you are in. The first 50 results are shown.
3. Work with results as usual: open, preview and use the ⋮ menu.
4. To leave the search, clear the box, press Esc, click Back in the folder path, or close the search box.

The ⋮ menu of a file or folder

In List and Grid view, hover over an item and click ⋮. A greyed-out entry means WorkDrive doesn't allow that action on the item. Share entries are hidden when sharing isn't allowed.

The ⚙ menu

The ⚙ More actions button opens a menu for the folder you are looking at:

• Sync Attachments: copies the record's CRM attachments into this folder. More
• Sync Folder Structure: creates the module's standard subfolders in the record's folder. More
• Go to WorkDrive Folder: opens this folder in WorkDrive, in a new tab.
• Download Current Folder as ZIP. More
• Recent Activity in Current Folder. More
• Share Current Folder (Anyone with the Link) and Share Current Folder (Specific Team Members).

Download, or open in WorkDrive

Download and Open in WorkDrive open in a new browser tab. If nothing happens, your browser has probably blocked the pop-up. Allow pop-ups for Zoho CRM, and try again.

Rename

Choose Rename, type the new name, and click Save. For a file, only the part before the extension is selected, so the extension (for example .pdf) is kept unless you change it.

Move or copy

Choose Move… or Copy to…, pick the destination folder and click Move or Copy. You can choose the record's own folder or one of the folders directly inside it. To move something deeper, or to another record, use WorkDrive.

Delete (move to trash)

Choose Move to trash and confirm. The item goes to WorkDrive's trash, and a folder takes everything inside it along. You can restore it from WorkDrive's trash until your organisation's retention period ends.

Tick Delete permanently to skip the trash. This can't be undone.

Select several items

• Tick the boxes in List or Grid view. In List view, the box in the header selects everything shown.
• A bar shows how many are selected, with Delete and Clear. Delete works like Move to trash, for all of them at once.
• The selection is cleared when you open another folder or start a search.

Share with team members

Choose Specific Team Members… on an item, or Share Current Folder (Specific Team Members) in the ⚙ menu.

• Already has access lists who can open the item, with their permission. Click Remove to take someone's access away.
• Give access to: open Choose team members…, search, and tick one or more people. Only members of the WorkDrive team can be chosen.
• Permission:
  • for a file: View, View and comment, View and fill, Edit or Share;
  • for a folder: View, Upload, Organize or Edit.
  A folder's permission applies to everything inside it.
• Send them an email about it is ticked by default.
• Remove their access on a date lets you set an end date and time.

Check the summary line, for example "2 people will get Edit access until …", and click Share.

Share with a link

Choose Anyone with the Link…, or Share Current Folder (Anyone with the Link) in the ⚙ menu. Anyone who has the link can open the item, without signing in.

1. Under What they can do, choose View only, View and comment, Edit - full access, or, for a folder, Upload only. Upload only lets people send you files without seeing what is already there, which is handy for collecting documents from a customer.
2. Choose the options you want:
   • Let them download a copy, for View only and View and comment;
   • Stop the link working on a date, which suggests a date a week ahead;
   • Ask for a password;
   • Ask who they are before opening, which asks visitors for their name and email address.
3. Read the coloured note. It says in plain words what anyone with the link will be able to do.
4. Click Create link, then copy the link and send it.

Links that already exist are listed at the top of the window, each with a summary, such as "View only · no download · password · expires 2026-10-14":

• Copy copies the link.
• Revoke stops the link working, straight away.
• Edit changes an existing link.
  • You can turn downloading on or off, where the link allows it.
  • You can set, change or remove the date it stops working.
  • You can add, change or remove the password.
  • Click Save changes when you are done.
  • What people can do with a link can't be changed. For that, create a new link and revoke the old one.

Favourites

Choose Add to favourites to mark a file or folder so it is easy to find again in WorkDrive. A ★ appears next to its name. Choose Remove from favourites to undo it. Favourites are kept in the connected WorkDrive account.

Check out and check in

Choose Check out (lock) before you work on a file. Everyone can still open it, but nobody else can edit or replace it. A padlock appears next to its name, and the message says "only you can edit … now". This affects the whole team, not just you. When you are finished, choose Check in (unlock). Only files can be checked out, not folders.

Mark as final

For a signed contract or an approved quote, choose Mark as final… and confirm. The file is marked as final in WorkDrive, so it can no longer be edited. It can't be undone from the panel. A small "file with a tick" symbol appears next to its name.

WorkDrive doesn't tell the panel whether a file was already marked final. So after you reload the page, a final file may offer Mark as final… again. Marking it again does no harm.

Versions & details

Choose Versions & details… on a file. Each tab loads the first time you open it.

Versions

• Lists every version, newest first. The current one is marked Current.
• Make current brings an older version back. It is saved again as a new version, so nothing is lost.
• Delete removes an older version. You are asked to confirm in the row.
• Upload new version… replaces the file with one from your computer:
  • it must be the same type, for example another .pdf;
  • it keeps the original file's name;
  • the old one stays in the list.
• A Zoho document gets a new version each time it is edited in WorkDrive, so it has no upload button.
• An older version can't be downloaded directly. Make it current first, then download the file.

Comments

• Shows the comments people have left on the file in WorkDrive, newest first.
• Replies are shown under each comment, and resolved threads are marked.
• Comments are read-only here. Click Open in WorkDrive to reply.

Zia summary

• Shows Zia's short summary of the file, if one exists.
• If there is none, click Summarise with Zia. It can take up to a minute. If it takes longer, open the tab again a little later.
• Each summary uses some of your organisation's Zia allowance, so nothing is summarised unless you click the button.
• Zia can't summarise every file. A very short file, or a file with no text, can't be summarised.

Views & downloads

• Shows how many times the item was viewed and downloaded, by team members and through public links. It also counts opens inside WorkDrive.
• It needs Editor access or above.
• For a folder, the menu item is called Details…, and it shows this tab only.

Download a folder as ZIP

In the ⚙ menu, choose Download Current Folder as ZIP. The panel makes a ZIP of everything in the folder you are looking at. When it is ready, click Download.

• The ZIP is also saved in that folder, named after the folder with the date and time, so you can close the window and download it later from its row.
• Earlier ZIPs of the same folder are left out of the new one.
• A ZIP holds up to the first 50 items of the folder. For a larger folder the window says so. Use Go to WorkDrive Folder to download all of it.
• If WorkDrive takes a long time, the window tells you to press Refresh in a minute and download the ZIP from its row.

Extract a ZIP

On a .zip file, choose Extract here… and click Extract. Its contents are unpacked into the folder the ZIP is in. The ZIP itself stays. Extracting it again makes a second copy.

Convert to a Zoho document

Office files can be turned into Zoho documents, so they can be edited in the browser:

• Word, RTF and OpenDocument text files become Zoho Writer documents;
• Excel, OpenDocument spreadsheet, CSV and TSV files become Zoho Sheet spreadsheets;
• PowerPoint and OpenDocument presentation files become Zoho Show presentations.

Choose Convert to Zoho …. The new name is filled in as the original name without its extension, and you can change it. Click Convert. The new document is created next to the original, which is left as it was.

Recent activity

In the ⚙ menu, choose Recent Activity in Current Folder to see what changed in the folder, and who changed it:

• files added, updated, renamed or moved;
• files moved to the trash, deleted or restored.

Pick 24 hours, 7 days (the default) or 30 days. The list is read when you open it and doesn't update by itself. Open it again to see newer changes.

Sync Attachments

In the ⚙ menu, choose Sync Attachments to copy the record's CRM attachments into the folder you are looking at.

• It copies one way, from CRM to WorkDrive. The CRM attachments are not changed.
• Attachments with the same name as a file already in the folder are skipped ("Already here"), so you can run it again safely.
• Link attachments are skipped, because they contain no file.
• When it is done, a message sums it up, for example "3 copied · 1 already here".

Sync Folder Structure

In the ⚙ menu, choose Sync Folder Structure to create the module's standard subfolders (from Step 4) in the record's folder.

• Use it for records created before you set up the structure, or after you change it.
• Folders that are already there are kept, not created twice.
• A subfolder named after a field label, because the field was empty, is renamed once the field has a value.
• It always works on the record's own folder, whichever folder you are in.

If the module has no structure set up, you will see "No folder structure is set for this module - add one in the extension settings."

6. Troubleshooting

What the panel's messages mean

Common error messages

After an update

Some updates add features that need more access to Zoho WorkDrive. After such an update, an administrator has to authorize Zoho WorkDrive again, once. Until then, the new features may show the "missing a WorkDrive permission" message.

7. Limits at a glance

These can't be done from the panel. Use WorkDrive for them:

• change what a link allows (create a new link instead);
• download an older version (make it current first);
• reply to comments;
• undo "Mark as final".

8. Frequently asked questions

9. Need help?

We are happy to help with installation, setup or anything else.

• Email: support@techwavesolutions.net

When you write to us, please include the module, what you clicked, and the exact message you saw. A screenshot helps a lot.

Manage WorkDrive In Zoho CRM · Built and supported by TechWave Solutions, an Official Zoho Partner