Custom fields for tickets

In addition to tags and Contact Properties, you can create custom fields for your tickets. This allows you to have a number of fields visible in the upper part of your ticket info, where your agents can put in custom values or select pre-determined values from a dropdown list. It is also possible to make a field mandatory to fill out, which is not possible with tags or Contact Properties. Furthermore, custom fields can be used as a condition when creating custom ticket Views (similarly to tags and Contact Properties).

In this article, you will learn:

• How to manage custom fields
• How to create different types of custom fields
• How to use custom fields in tickets
• How to use custom fields when creating ticket Views

Managing custom fields

You can find all your custom field options inside your project's Settings > Tags and properties section:

Inside, open the Custom fields tab, and you will see the available options - as well as a list of any custom fields you may have already created:

Creating different types of custom fields

Inside the Custom fields tab, hit the Create a Custom field button in the top-right. This will take you to the creation screen, where you can select several different options:

Name

Give a short name to your new custom field; this will be shown inside each ticket's info panel on the right.

Field requirement

The field can either be optional or required. An optional field allows an agent to fill it out, but is not mandatory; a required field must be filled out in order to solve the current ticket.

Field type

The field can either allow custom text to be typed in, or it can be a dropdown that shows a list of pre-determined values to choose from. These values need to be created during the creation process.

When you create a custom field that is of the text type, there are no additional settings; you can use the Save Custom field button at the bottom, and the field becomes available in each ticket, so that your agents can fill it out when necessary.

However, when creating a dropdown custom field, you need to determine a list of values that are going to be available. In addition to that, you can also decide if your agent will be allowed to create new values of their own (directly from inside the ticket):

Using a dropdown along with the required setting may be especially useful if you need your agents to always fill out a specific field before a ticket is solved. This will make sure that agents do not forget to complete the required fields.

Using custom fields in tickets

Once you've created your custom fields, they will become visible inside each ticket - in the ticket info panel on the right, making them visible quickly:

In the example above, the Model field can be filled out by typing:

The Sales rep field, on the other hand, will show a dropdown list of available values - and the agent can choose one of them:

Please note that the asterisk next to this field means that it's required (the ticket will not be possible to solve without completing the field).

If a dropdown field had the 'Allow agents to add new values from the Inbox' option enabled during creation, agents can also type in a new, custom value. Typing a new value in the field will result in a button appearing, allowing the agent to create a new value and add it to the dropdown list:

Once the fields are filled out, they will remain visible this way to any agent who opens the ticket. This allows quick access to relevant information, and the option to easily change the information if necessary.

If a field is required (like the Sales rep field in our example above), it will be impossible to solve the ticket without completing the field first. If an agent attempts to solve a ticket without filling out the required field, an error message will appear:

In addition to that, the ticket info panel will highlight which field must be completed:
 

Using custom fields as conditions in ticket Views

Similarly to ticket tags and Contact Properties, custom fields can be used as conditions in your custom ticket Views. For details, please see this dedicated guide on Views.

When creating your custom ticket View, open the condition dropdown, and you will find the Custom field option listed there:

Once you click on that option, you will see a list of all your existing custom fields. Choose the one you need for your current condition:

Once selected, you can determine the rest if the condition details, so that your custom field information is used for your View properly.