Automation #3 - Auto-sync email attachments to tickets

Automation #3 - Auto-sync email attachments to tickets



This is a monthly series where we pick some common use cases that have been either discussed or most asked about in our community and explain how they can be achieved using one of the automation capabilities in Zoho Desk.

Most of our customers use email as their primary channel for customer support. Keeping that in mind we ensured Zoho Desk's multi-channel capability allowed for every email received in your inbox to be automatically converted into tickets in Zoho Desk. But for some time now, we have been receiving question on how to convert email attachments into ticket attachments within Zoho Desk. This process, which is mostly achieved manually now by many customers, can be automated using a simple script.

This automation involves two components: a connection and a workflow rule. We will first start by creating the connection and then set up the workflow rules to execute the custom function.

To create the connection, perform the following steps:
  1. Go to Setup > Connections under Developer Space
  2. Click "Create Connection"
  3. Select "Zoho OAuth" under "Default Connection"
  4. Give the connection name as "ticketattachment"
  5. Under Scope below values
    Desk.tickets.READ
    Desk.tickets.UPDATE
  6. Click "Create and Connect"
  7. Click "Connect" and click "Accept"
Connection is created successfully.

To create workflow rule and associate custom function, perform the following steps:
  1. Go to Setup, and under Automation, click Workflows.
  2. On the left panel, under Workflows, click Rules > Create Rule,
    In the Basic Information section, carry out the following steps:
  3. In the Module drop-down menu, select Tickets.
  4. Enter a name and description for the rule.
  5. If you want to activate the rule right away, select the Active checkbox. Else, you can just create the rule now and activate it later, on the Rules page.
  6. Click Next.
    In the Execute on section, perform the following steps:
  7. Select the Create checkbox to execute this rule every time a new ticket is created. 
    NOTE: If you would like to fetch all the attachment sent out and received in tickets, select "Customer Reply" and "Agent Response"
  8. Click Next, skip the "Criteria" and Click Next.
  9. In the Actions section, carry out the following steps:
  10. Click the + icon under "Action" and select "New" next to Custom Functions
  11. Enter a name and description for the custom function.
  12. In the script window, input the Custom Function you find below:

    1. //Replace your zoho desk URL accordingly
    2. getTicketThread = invokeurl
    3. [
    4. url :deskDomain + "/api/v1/tickets/" + ticketID + "/latestThread"
    5. type :GET
    6. connection:"ticketattachment"
    7. ];
    8. dir = getTicketThread.get("direction");
    9. info "Direction " + dir;
    10. if(dir == "in")
    11. {
    12. prefix = "customer_";
    13. }
    14. else
    15. {
    16. prefix = "agent_";
    17. }
    18. listAttachments = getTicketThread.get("attachments");
    19. for each  attach in listAttachments
    20. {
    21. attachmentURL = attach.get("href");
    22. filename = prefix + attach.get("name");
    23. getAttachment = invokeurl
    24. [
    25. url :attachmentURL
    26. type :GET
    27. connection:"ticketattachment"
    28. ];
    29. if(getAttachment != null)
    30. {
    31. if(isText(getAttachment))
    32. {
    33. getAttachment = getAttachment.toFile(filename);
    34. }
    35. //info getAttachment;
    36. param = Map();
    37. param.put(filename,getAttachment);
    38. getAttachment.setParamName("file");
    39. uploadResponse = invokeurl
    40. [
    41. url :deskDomain + "/api/v1/tickets/" + ticketID + "/attachments"
    42. type :POST
    43. parameters:param
    44. headers: {"Content-Type":"multipart/form-data"}
    45. connection:"ticketattachment"
    46. ];
    47. info uploadResponse;
    48. }
    49. }
  13. Click Edit Arguments
  14. In the Name field type TicketID, and from the Value drop-down list select Ticket Id under Ticket Information
  15. Click "Save" to save the custom function
  16. Click "Save" again to save the workflow.
This should help you fetch attachments from incoming or outgoing response of a ticket and update them under tickets attachments tab.

    Access your files securely from anywhere











                            Zoho Developer Community





                                                  • Desk Community Learning Series


                                                  • Digest


                                                  • Functions


                                                  • Meetups


                                                  • Kbase


                                                  • Resources


                                                  • Glossary


                                                  • Desk Marketplace


                                                  • MVP Corner


                                                  • Word of the Day


                                                  • Ask the Experts



                                                            • Sticky Posts

                                                            • Register for Zoho Desk Beta Community

                                                              With the start of the year, we have decided to take a small step in making the life of our customers a little easier. We now have easy access to all our upcoming features and a faster way to request for beta access. We open betas for some of our features
                                                            • Share your Zoho Desk story with us!

                                                              Tell us how you use Zoho Desk for your business and inspire others with your story. Be it a simple workflow rule that helps you navigate complex processes or a macro that saves your team a lot of time; share it here and help the community learn and grow with shared knowledge. 
                                                            • Tip #1: Learn to pick the right channels

                                                              Mail, live chat, telephony, social media, web forms—there are so many support channels out there. Trying to pick the right channels to offer your customers can get pretty confusing. Emails are most useful when the customer wants to put things on record. However, escalated or complicated issues should not be resolved over email because it's slow and impersonal.  When you need immediate responses, live chat is more suitable. It's also quick and convenient, so it's the go-to channel for small issues. 
                                                            • Welcome to Zoho Desk Community - Say hello here!

                                                              Hello everyone! Though we have been here for a while, it’s time to formally establish the Zoho Desk Community; we’re really happy to have you all here! This can be the place where you take a moment to introduce yourself to the rest of the community. We’d love to hear all about you, what you do, what company or industry you work for, how you use Zoho Desk and anything else that you will like to share! Here’s a little about me. I am Chinmayee. I have been associated with Zoho since 2014. I joined here
                                                            • Webinar 1: Blueprint for Customer Service

                                                              With the launch of a host of new features in Zoho Desk, we thought it’ll be great to have a few webinars to help our customers make the most of them. We’re starting off with our most talked about feature, Blueprint in Zoho Desk. You can register for the Blueprint webinar here: The webinar will be delivered by our in-house product experts. This is a good opportunity to ask questions to our experts and understand how Blueprint can help you automate your service processes. We look forward to seeing


                                                            Manage your brands on social media



                                                                  Zoho TeamInbox Resources



                                                                      Zoho CRM Plus Resources

                                                                        Zoho Books Resources


                                                                          Zoho Subscriptions Resources

                                                                            Zoho Projects Resources


                                                                              Zoho Sprints Resources


                                                                                Qntrl Resources


                                                                                  Zoho Creator Resources



                                                                                      Zoho CRM Resources

                                                                                      • CRM Community Learning Series

                                                                                        CRM Community Learning Series


                                                                                      • Kaizen

                                                                                        Kaizen

                                                                                      • Functions

                                                                                        Functions

                                                                                      • Meetups

                                                                                        Meetups

                                                                                      • Kbase

                                                                                        Kbase

                                                                                      • Resources

                                                                                        Resources

                                                                                      • Digest

                                                                                        Digest

                                                                                      • CRM Marketplace

                                                                                        CRM Marketplace

                                                                                      • MVP Corner

                                                                                        MVP Corner







                                                                                          Design. Discuss. Deliver.

                                                                                          Create visually engaging stories with Zoho Show.

                                                                                          Get Started Now


                                                                                            Zoho Show Resources


                                                                                              Zoho Writer Writer

                                                                                              Get Started. Write Away!

                                                                                              Writer is a powerful online word processor, designed for collaborative work.

                                                                                                Zoho CRM コンテンツ




                                                                                                  Nederlandse Hulpbronnen


                                                                                                      ご検討中の方




                                                                                                            • Recent Topics

                                                                                                            • Kaizen #142: How to Navigate to Another Page in Zoho CRM using Client Script

                                                                                                              Hello everyone! Welcome back to another exciting Kaizen post. In this post, let us see how you can you navigate to different Pages using Client Script. In this Kaizen post, Need to Navigate to different Pages Client Script ZDKs related to navigation A.
                                                                                                            • Zoho Projects Webhook fails with HTTP Error 0

                                                                                                              Hello Zoho Community, I am pulling my hair out over this one. I have setup a very basic http(s) server that always responds "ok" and code 200 to incoming GET requests. It will accept any parameters, and any path. Really, all it does is say "ok," and log
                                                                                                            • API 500 Error

                                                                                                              Hello amazing ZOHO Projects Community, I get this message. How can we solve this? { "error": { "status_code": "500", "method": "GET", "instance": "/api/v3/portal/2010147XXXX/projects/2679160000003XXXX/timesheet", "title": "INTERNAL_SERVER_ERROR", "error_type":
                                                                                                            • ZOHO Campaignで表のカラムの幅を調整したい。

                                                                                                              表を作成した際、個々のカラムの幅を調整したいのですが、方法が分かりません。 どなたかご存じの方ご教示ください。
                                                                                                            • Navigate with Ease: Announcing Improvements to Your Zoho CRM for Everyone's Setup Experience

                                                                                                              Hello Everyone, We’re thrilled to announce new enhancements to the Setup Menu in our Zoho CRM for Everyone system, designed to simplify your workday and streamline your overall experience. What's New? Addition of a Setup Homepage Faster Search in Setup
                                                                                                            • Currency abbreviations

                                                                                                              Hello, Im stuck, and need help. I need the currency fields for example, opportunity value, or total revenue, to be abbreviated, lets say for 1,000 - 1K, 1,000,000 - 1M, and so on, how should I do this?
                                                                                                            • Unable to use Sign "You have entereed some invalid characters"

                                                                                                              Unable to use Sign "You have entered some invalid characters" I do not see any invalid characters. The text in "Leave a Note" is plain text which I entered directly into the field. See attached screenshot
                                                                                                            • Auto-upload Creator Files to WorkDrive

                                                                                                              Hi everyone, I’m working on a workflow that uploads files from Zoho Creator to specific subfolders in Zoho WorkDrive, as illustrated in the attached diagram. My Creator application form has two multi-file upload fields, and I want—on successful form submission—to
                                                                                                            • Tables for Europe Datacenter customers?

                                                                                                              It's been over a year now for the launch of Zoho Tables - and still not available für EU DC customers. When will it be available?
                                                                                                            • Creator Change History: Ways to improve

                                                                                                              Hi Everyone, Recently been working in developing this change history(an idea from Zoho Forms) - unlike forms that you can this with a click but using Creator, we can use "old" keyword. The concept I come up with is to put the result in a table however,
                                                                                                            • Cannot connect to 365 business calendar and Teams, says personal but it is not.

                                                                                                              hi I have a number of users connected to their 365 business accounts. Adding a new user and it thinks hes got 365 personal edition. He does not.... Anyone know what's going on. Trying for days now. Bookings go into his MS calendar but as its thinks its
                                                                                                            • Exciting Updates to the Kiosk Studio Feature in Zoho CRM!

                                                                                                              Hello Everyone, We are here again with a series of new enhancements to Kiosk Studio, designed to elevate your experience and bring even greater efficiency to your business processes. These updates build upon our ongoing commitment to making Kiosk a powerful
                                                                                                            • Kaizen #129 : Client Script Support for Blueprints

                                                                                                              Hello everyone! Welcome to another week of Kaizen. Today, let us discuss about how you can use Client Script during a Blueprint transtion to meet your requirements. This Kaizen post will provide solution for the post - Need non-mandatory fields in blueprint
                                                                                                            • Search Bar Improvement for Zoho Commerce

                                                                                                              Hey everyone, I've been using Zoho Commerce for a bit now, and I think the search bar could really use an upgrade. Right now, it doesn't show products in a dropdown as you type, which would make finding items a lot faster. On Shopify, for example, you
                                                                                                            • Making digital signatures accessible to all: Introducing accessibility controls in Zoho Sign

                                                                                                              Hi there! At Zoho Sign, we are committed to building an inclusive digital experience for all our users. As part of our ongoing efforts to align with Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), we’re updating the application with support that will go
                                                                                                            • Account Owner Field From Accounts Module to be Displayed in Contacts module

                                                                                                              I have a field in the Accounts Module in the CRM called "Account Owner" i want that field to be also mapped into the Contacts Module custom single line field called "Account Manager".
                                                                                                            • Update a field in the ZOHO Form, basis numeric value in another field in the same form

                                                                                                              I am trying to create a questionnaire in ZOHO, where clients need to answer 10 questions, and basis response, values are assigned. I have created a total score field where the sum of the values is stored. But i am unable to create a rule whereby another
                                                                                                            • Default Sorting on Related Lists

                                                                                                              Is it possible to set the default sorting options on the related lists. For example on the Contact Details view I have related lists for activities, emails, products cases, notes etc... currently: Activities 'created date' newest first Emails - 'created
                                                                                                            • How to update "Lead Status" to more than 100 records

                                                                                                              Hello Zoho CRM, How do I update "Lead Status" to more than 100 records at once? To give you a background, these leads were uploaded or Imported at once but the lead status record was incorrectly chosen. So since there was a way to quickly add records in the system no matter how many they are, we are also wondering if there is a quicker way to update these records to the correct "Lead Status". I hope our concern makes sense and that there will be a fix for it. All the best, Jonathan
                                                                                                            • Meet up de Zoho en Bilbao

                                                                                                              Buenos días comunidad! Estamos estudiando hacer un Meet up en Bilbao desde zoho y varios Partners. Para que la experiencia sea excelente, queremos saber cuantas pesonas se vendrían a Bilbao al evento. Y para que sea lo mas útil posible, que temas dentro
                                                                                                            • Option to Customize Career Site URL Without “/jobs/Careers”

                                                                                                              Dear Zoho Recruit Team, I hope you are doing well. We would like to request an enhancement to the Career Site URL structure in Zoho Recruit. In the old version of the career site, our URL was simply: 👉 https://jobs.domain.com However, after moving to
                                                                                                            • In Zoho inventory Converting sales return to cerdit note from using Api from Creator Error details: {"code":-1,"message":"Invalid Sales Return ID."}

                                                                                                              In Zoho inventory Converting sales return to cerdit note from using Api from Creator Error details: {"code":-1,"message":"Invalid Sales Return ID."} this is button Function used in the Creator map Inventory.Create_Credit_note(int CRE_ID) { return_value
                                                                                                            • Marketing Tip #2: Recover lost sales with abandoned cart emails

                                                                                                              Did you know most online shoppers don’t complete checkout? Automated cart recovery emails are an easy way to bring them back. A simple reminder can recover sales you’d otherwise lose. Try this today: Enable abandoned cart emails in Zoho Commerce and set
                                                                                                            • Billing Management: #9 Usage Billing in IoTs

                                                                                                              We live in a world where connectivity has become a lifestyle rather than a luxury. From smart thermostats that adjust your home's temperature to GPS trackers monitoring end-to-end fleets and sensors that optimize energy grids, the Internet of Things has
                                                                                                            • {"code":1038,"message":"JSON is not well formed"}

                                                                                                              Today this began failing: sales_order_data = zoho.books.createRecord("salesorders",books_organization_ID,order_data); with this error message. {"code":1038,"message":"JSON is not well formed"} This code has been running for two years. Here is the input
                                                                                                            • How can I migrate Shared Mailbox from Zoho Mail to Team Inbox?

                                                                                                              I am unable to migrate mails from my shared mailbox in Zoho Mail to Team Inbox. I am the super admin of my Zoho One plan and yet I am getting an error saying only admins can do this? I don't understand the issue.
                                                                                                            • Remember all the ways we've posted?

                                                                                                              The world celebrates World Postal Day in 2025 with the theme “#PostForPeople: Local Service. Global Reach". The story of the “post” is a story of human connection itself, evolving from simple handwritten notes carried over long distances to instant digital
                                                                                                            • In arattai received message can't be deleted

                                                                                                              The issue has been noticed in following: arattai app (Android) arattai app (Window) arattai web While the message posted by me may be deleted, the ones received from others can't be. The item <Delete> change to <Report> when the message is a received
                                                                                                            • Add Support for Authenticator App MFA in Zoho Desk Help Center

                                                                                                              Hello Zoho Desk Team, We hope you are doing well. We would like to request an enhancement related to security for the Zoho Desk Help Center (customer portal). Currently, the Help Center supports MFA for portal users via SAML, JWT, SMS authentication,
                                                                                                            • Can no longer upload my own Notebook cover

                                                                                                              I've had Notebook for over a year and have been able to create my own notebook covers, but when I tried to upload my own cover for a new notebook today, the upload feature has suddenly been starred, requiring me to upgrade my account. When did this
                                                                                                            • External File Share - Allow delete

                                                                                                              Hi Team, when I share an external link and give it edit rights the external user can add but not delete files and folders. what am i doing wrong?
                                                                                                            • Elevate your CX delivery using CommandCenter 2.0: Simplified builder; seamless orchestration

                                                                                                              Most businesses want to create memorable customer experiences—but they often find it hard to keep them smooth, especially as they grow. To achieve a state of flow across their processes, teams often stitch together a series of automations using Workflow
                                                                                                            • Zoho Desk - Cannot Invite or Register New User

                                                                                                              Hi who may concern, we encountered a problem that we cannot invite user or the visitor cannot register for a user at all through our help center portal, with the snapshot shown as below and the attachement. It always pops up that "Sorry, Unable to process
                                                                                                            • Kaizen# 209 - Answering Your Questions | All About Client Script

                                                                                                              Hello everyone! Welcome back to another exciting Kaizen post! Thanks for all your feedback and questions. In this post, let's see the answers to your questions related to Client Script. We took the time to discuss with our development team, carefully
                                                                                                            • Allocating inventory to specific SO's

                                                                                                              Is there a way that allocate inventory to a specific sales order? For example, let's say we have 90 items in stock. Customer 1 orders 100 items. This allocates all 90 items to their order, and they have a back order for the remaining 10 items which could
                                                                                                            • Reports: Custom Search Function Fields

                                                                                                              Hi Zoho, Hope you'll add this into your roadmap. Issue: For the past 2yrs our global team been complaining and was brought to our attention recently that it's a time consuming process looking/scrolling down. Use-case: This form is a service report with
                                                                                                            • Custom domain issue

                                                                                                              I recently changed records for my support area custom domain for a few months, I then wanted to come back to Zoho, but now I can't connect it and I can't login as it's having an SSL issue. I cannot get a good response from support, as I've been notified
                                                                                                            • SOME FEATURES ARE NOT IN THE ZOHO SHEET IN COMPARISION TO ZOHO SHEET

                                                                                                              TO ZOHO sir/maam with due to respect i want to say that i am using ZOHO tool which is spreadsheet i want to say that some features are not there in zoho sheet as comparison to MS EXCEL like advance filter and other Features which should be there in ZOHO
                                                                                                            • 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.
                                                                                                            • Open Sans Font in Zoho Books is not Open Sans.

                                                                                                              Font choice in customising PDF Templates is very limited, we cannot upload custom fonts, and to make things worse, the font names are not accurate. I selected Open Sans, and thought the system was bugging, but no, Open Sans is not Open Sans. The real
                                                                                                            • Next Page