Eighth Insight - Oversee module relationships with Lookups

Eighth Insight - Oversee module relationships with Lookups

The Wheels of Ticketing - Desk Stories

Oversee module relationships with Lookups


‌Learning about lookups

A lookup field provides a powerful way to display and utilize data from another module directly within a field of your current module. This functionality establishes a seamless connection between different data sources, enabling users to access and work with related information effortlessly. Rather than duplicating data, which leads to inconsistencies and increased data management complexity, a lookup field acts as a bridge that consolidates information.

A lookup field enables users to retrieve and display data from a specific module based on an established relationship between two records. The data from the associated record is displayed within the lookup field, making it easy to view and use related information. Lookup fields are generally editable and show information retrieved from the associated record.
Quote
Lookup fields help display related information, filter data based on related fields, and manage complex relationships between different modules.
IdeaIn a ticketing system, the Contact ID field in the "Tickets" module is a lookup field that retrieves contact information from the "Contacts" module. 

Linking modules

To create connections between two custom modules, it's essential to incorporate lookup fields. These fields are added to module layouts to establish relationships across different modules, whether they are standard-standard, custom-standard, or purely custom. For example, an "Assets" custom module can connect to another custom module or a standard module, such as "Contacts."

This connection allows users to link relevant records (such as contacts) with their respective items (like assets), making it easier to access and view information from either module. Adding a lookup field establishes a direct relationship, which enables users to perform actions such as linking, viewing, unlinking, or generating new tickets without needing to navigate away from the current module.

The importance of linking two modules through a lookup field lies in its ability to enhance information flow and improve data accessibility. By forming distinct relationships between various data points (such as assets and contacts), Zoho Desk facilitates more effective tracking, management, and resolution of customer inquiries and operational tasks. 
Info
Users with the "Manage Layouts and Fields" permission or those in a support administrator role can connect custom or standard modules by adding a lookup field to the module's layout (Standard layout for custom modules) through an easy drag-and-drop interface. 

How it works in practice

There was a small but mighty help desk company called "Fix Tickets." The team at Fix Tickets was dedicated to resolving customer issues promptly and efficiently. One day, they decided to improve their ticketing system with a new feature: lookup fields.


On Monday morning, a customer named Amy reached out with a problem. Her internet was down, and she submitted a ticket through the help desk portal to request assistance. As her ticket entered the system, a lookup field allowed the help desk staff to view relevant information from the Accounts module instantly, the Contracts module, as well as any past tickets. 

Using lookup fields eliminated the need for manual search, and a support agent quickly realized that Amy's account required verification. Meanwhile, Gunther received an email update regarding the status of the customer's ticket. They sent Amy an email update with instructions to verify her account and restore her connection. The entire process was seamless, all thanks to the lookup field functionality, which allowed Fix Tickets to access information quickly and enhance customer satisfaction.


As the week progressed, more tickets came in, and the team continued to rely on the lookup fields. They noticed a significant increase in their efficiency and a decrease in the time spent per ticket. Soon, customer satisfaction scores began to increase as positive reviews poured in from happy customers like Amy.

Uses of Lookup Fields

Data integrity

Lookup fields ensure that data entered into Zoho Desk is valid and consistent. By referencing existing data, such as user accounts or product information, you minimize the chances of errors and maintain the overall integrity of the database.

Consistency across records

Lookup fields ensure that the same values are used consistently across different records. This benefits teams by reducing duplication, enhancing the quality of data available in tickets, and providing team members with more insight into relevant information by linking records across modules.

Improved user experience

By allowing users to select from predefined options, lookup fields make data entry faster and easier. This reduces the time spent typing and searching for information, providing a more efficient ticket submission process.

Improved reporting and analytics

Lookup fields facilitate more accurate and meaningful reporting. By linking tickets to specific accounts, departments, or products, you can generate insights that help improve service delivery and customer satisfaction.

Streamlined workflow automation

Lookup fields can be utilized in workflow rules to automate ticket assignments and efficiently escalate issues. For instance, if a ticket pertains to a specific product, it can automatically be routed to the relevant product team.

Better relationship management

By associating tickets with customers or contacts through lookup fields, support teams can easily view related interactions and history. This context enables agents to provide more personalized and informed responses.

Simplified data management

Lookup fields enable organisations to manage relationships and processes involving various entities, such as users, products, and departments. Changes to the data automatically reflect wherever it’s invoked by a lookup field to ensure that all users are working with the most current and relevant information.

Faster issue resolution

Providing agents with quick access to related data through lookup fields speeds up the resolution process. Whether it’s identifying the correct department to solve a problem or accessing customer history to investigate an account issue, lookup fields enhance data quality, user experience, and operational efficiency.

Takeaway

Lookup fields can help your organization leverage its data to enhance all aspects of customer service, including routing and managing tickets, resolving customer inquiries, and reporting and analysis. This approach equips users with insights into exactly when and where they need them, which empowers them to make well-informed decisions and deliver effective service.

 

Please stay tuned for more Desk Feature stories.

 

Cheers,

 

Kavya Rao

The Zoho Desk Team


    • Recent Topics

    • Issue with Save & Share Link – Works for Others but Not Creator

      I’ve enabled the "Save and Share" feature in Zoho Forms, and it works correctly for all users accessing the public link—except for me (the form creator). Issue Details: When I save and share the link, recipients see a “no permission” error. The form is

    • Save the pdf report from a registration form in a Folder

      Through Zoho Forms I created a registration form with quite a lot of rules to handle different variables (TEAM types, payment in installments, etc.), and the result is pretty good. The automatic PDF that is sent to the respondent upon submission is already

    • zoho forms integration to zoho work drive

      Scenario: A user fills out a Zoho Form, entering details such as email, mobile number, and other required information, and uploads supporting documents like PAN, Aadhaar, etc. Upon submission, the data is available in Zoho Forms Reports. Requirement:

    • Zoho Forms to Zoho CRM Integration failed - can I restart it?

      The integration of Zoho Form to Zoho CRM has failed. Is there a way for me to restart it for the impacted entry?

    • insert an equation, but in document, it shows an image not available.

      I'm new to Zoho writer and used Zoho writer in desktop app version . When I inserted an equation, I got an image not available sign. Any help is appreciated. Thanks, Charles

    • Zoho Desk Android app update - Swipe action customization

      Hello everyone! We have brought in support for the swipe action customization in latest version(v2.9.13) of the Zoho Desk Android app update, enabling you to configure left and right swipe gestures on tickets to carry out the actions swiftly without opening

    • Import KB template OR Export template for zoho desk?

      Greetings. Can you tell me if there is a way to get an EXPORT of my KB articles? OR is there a template you supply for importing KB articles into my zoho desk? I am looking for a method of understanding what fields can be imported, and what their possible

    • XML format to import knowledgebase into Zoho Desk

      Hi, We just started to use Zoho Desk and want to import our knowledgebase from our old support system (Freshdesk) to Zoho Desk. Can anyone give us information about the format of xml file to import? There is no explanation on the related page.

    • Zoho Desk integration with Power BI

      Hi, I want to be able to create a Power BI report which has live updates of ticket data from zoho desk, is this possile at all? Thanks Jack

    • Arranging Ticket Templates

      Is there any way to arrange our ticket templates? It doesn't look very organised when it's just arranged according to when they were created. We want the list to look more organised, by arranging/grouping them by topics, or even just by alphabetical

    • What they mean with "Portal"?

      I just downloaded this app to take my personal notes on digital art studio because it seemed to me the most comfortable app to do it, I use it very often, what do they mean by “no activity on your portal”? I have about 1 year of work here and I don't

    • Inactive User Auto Response

      We use Zoho One, and we have a couple employees that are no longer with us, but people are still attempting to email them. I'd like an autoresponder to let them no the person is no longer here, and how they can reach us going forward. I saw a similar

    • favorites no longer listed

      Hello, I can no longer navigate to my Favorites from the pulldown at the top of my grid view (see attached screenshot). I wasn't able to find it anywhere! Please help me display my Favorites. Thank you!

    • Notecards Disappeared

      Got a new phone. Downloaded and signed in Zoho Notebook. Not finding the Note cards. Just Empty Note books. Frustrating.

    • Table Errors

      Hello, I'm new to Zoho Notebook and using it on several Mac/Apple devices. My question is regarding tables: Why do they become broken, and how to fix the error without retyping all my data? (Please see the screenshot attached.)

    • Online Calculator with Zoho Forms?

      I'd like to build a custom calculator on my website. Zoho Forms seems to offer all the fields for basic calculations performed live without pressing any "Calculate" buttons. Unfortunately, there is still that "Submit" button at the bottom. There is nothing

    • Zoho Tables instead of Zoho Creator Spreadsheet reports <3

      That would make my day for sure. Zoho Creator is create, but miss data entering as AirTable/Spreadsheet can. Seeing Zoho putting effort in this makes me think maybe one day we could see a similar interface for Zoho Creator spreadsheet reports. B.

    • Zoho Sheet - Desktop App or Offline

      Since Zoho Docs is now available as a desktop app and offline, when is a realistic ETA for Sheet to have the same functionality?I am surprised this was not laucned at the same time as Docs.

    • Notebook Stack

      Hi Everyone I Hope you´re fine, I´m sorry if this idea was posted before (I made a search but I haven´t find anything related). So, Having the possibility of stacking notebooks would be an interesting way to order notebooks that correspond to the same

    • Writing on sketch cards is bugged when zoomed in

      When zoomed in, it writes a noticeable distance above or to the side of where you're actually trying to write. The further you're zoomed in, the more noticeable it is. Zooming is also entirely absent on the desktop version.

    • Swipe between notes on iPhone

      It'd be convenient if I could move from one note to the next in a notebook simply by swiping left to right.

    • Sales IQ chat is not working in signed android apk

      I have integrated ZOHO sales IQ support chat and i have followed each step and its working fine in my development build but when i create signed APK for it. Chat does not work in it and showing awaiting for detail. I previously asked the same query but

    • COQL order by COUNT not working

      Dear community, I am trying to get a list of deal amounts per planner working on it and sorted to get see who has the least amount of deals. For some reason, I am unable to use sort by in combination with a COUNT. My original code was: query = "select

    • I want to duplicate a report and name it something else

      Hi, I have created a report, and now want to reproduce it and call it something else. so that I will end up with TWO separate reports with different titles. Please tell me how do I copy / reproduce a report please

    • Zoho CRM: Sales Rep Professional Certification Program on Coursera

      We are happy to share that we have published the Zoho Sales Representative Professional Certificate in partnership with Coursera, a leading platform for online learning and career development that offers access to courses and degrees from leading universities

    • OS X Notebook quits immediately upon launch

      NoteBook for OS X (Sequoia, but also under Sonoma) always quits immediately upon launch (so I cannot use the "Attach user log" option). I've restarted my MacBook but the problem persists. If it helps, attached is a diagnostic report from Library>Log

    • Can External users upload files or images to WorkDrive?

      I want to know if it is possible for someone externally through a link and PW be able to upload files and images onto WorkDrive?

    • Multi-line fields character limits

      Is there a way to set the character limit higher on multi-line fields so that we are not losing information pasted into the field? When the text is entered or pasted, there is no error to say that the text is too large. After saving and going back to view most of the text is gone.   Also, when viewing the resume, the text is not wrapped in the multi line fields and can t be read without scrolling across the page.

    • Taz bot not working — What should I do to resolve this issue?

      I am experiencing issues with the Taz bot in Zoho Cliq—not receiving responses or it does not seem to work as expected. Could you please explain why the Taz bot might not be functioning and what steps I should take to resolve this issue? Thank you!

    • OneNote Migration

      I am trying to migrate two notebooks from OneNote. For five days now I have had no notification that migration has completed and the migration page show 50% complete - one notebook completed one not finished. It just stays like this. I am unable to cancel

    • Set various time slot reminders for task and event

      Hi I would like known if there is possibility to set various time reminders for a task or event like we have the possibility to do in google calendar or google task. For example I'am creating an event or task and I want to be alerted before 30min and

    • Zoho Calendar not functioning---cannot edit, add attendees, etc.

      Hello, My calendar is acting strange. I'm using Chrome as my browser and pop ups are not blocked (the calendar worked fine yesterday). When creating an event, I'm not able to "edit" the event and add attendees, etc. The link is non-responsive. I cannot

    • Unable to send message; Reason:554 5.1.8 Email Outgoing Blocked

      Hi, I sent few emails and got this: Unable to send message; Reason:554 5.1.8 Email Outgoing Blocked And now I have few days since I cant send any email. Is there something wrong I did? Also can someone fix this please

    • Spilt Axis for stacked column and line graph

      Each month around this time I prepare a business review deck. One of the biggest annoyances I have with Zoho, also happens to be something that most other platforms have provided for a long time now, and that is being able to create a chart with stacked

    • Pin a note on top

      Dear Zoho Notebook Team, Please highly consider adding ability to pin a note on top and arrange pinned notes. I have a lot of notes that I want to pin important ones on top and this feature is missing badly. Thank you.

    • Windows 11 app ver 2.2.8

      I have been trialing Zoho Notes syncing between my PC and iphone. No problems with iphone but the Windows 64 bit app ver 2.2.8 was very buggy and would lock up completely, needing a Control Alt Delete etc to close it down. It seemed to be connected to

    • Deluge Script: Onboarding → Access Form

      Hello everyone, Edit: Sorry, I think I put this topic in the wrong section. I’ve recently run into an issue that’s been giving me a bit of a headache for the past few weeks. Context: This is my first time using Deluge to create a script, but it’s not

    • Windows Device Authentication

      We have recently started using ManageEngine, and my boss saw a device management feature in the Zoho One directory. We thought it would either help give us more intergration into Zoho one through bringing ManageEngine services through Zoho one. Or, it

    • How can I change spell check language?

      I cannot find the way to change spell check language. My "display language" is English, and I want to have the same one for Spell Check, but it is Russian!!! How can I change it? In one of your explanations you mentioned that I have to choose it from

    • Mail is so slow - doesn't even work!

      Mail has been getting slower and slower - and today it's not even pulling up emails in either Inbox or Unread. This is beyond frustrating since email is a big part of business. Sent a request through the useless help portal - no response. Called the useless

    • Next Page