Managing and working activities

The activities module helps to manage work items such as tasks, calls, and events. These activities represent different actions that users need to complete such as scheduling calls, email interactions, or internal follow-ups.

Each activity contains key information about it such as subject, owner, schedule, duration, priority, status, and related records. Maintaining these details helps to track ongoing work and monitor progress.

Adding an activity

Activities can be created independently or associated with modules such as tickets, contacts etc. When linked to related records, activities provide additional context and help maintain a clear timeline of interactions and follow-up actions.

Viewing activities

Activities can be organized using list views, making it easier to monitor ongoing and upcoming work. Standard views are available by default, and custom views can be created based on specific requirements. Shared views can also be configured so multiple agents can access the same activity lists.

Tasks

Tasks represent actionable work items that must be completed within a defined time frame. Tasks are commonly used to track follow-ups, internal coordination, or operational steps required during issue resolution.

Calls

Calls represent scheduled or completed phone interactions with contacts. Recording calls helps maintain a history of communication and ensures that important discussions are documented.

Read more: Managing and working with calls

Events

Events represent scheduled meetings, demonstrations, or appointments that occur at a specific time and duration. Events help teams plan and manage time-bound engagements.

Read more: Managing and working with events

Editing an activity

Activity details may need to be updated when schedules change or when additional information must be added. Editing allows updates to fields such as subject, owner, schedule, status, priority, and related records.

To edit an activity

Navigate to the Activities module.
From the List view, click he required activity .
In the Activity detail page, click More options (...) icon
Click Edit option.
Update the required fields.
Click Save.

Deleting an activity

The deleted activities will be moved to the recycle bin.

To delete an activity

Navigate to the Activities module
Select the required activity record.
In the activity detail page, click More options (...) icon
Click Delete.
Click Delete in the confirmation pop-up.

Permanently deleting activities

The deleted records from the recycle bin will be permanently removed from the desk.

To delete activity permanently

Navigate to Setup > Data administration > Recycle bin.
Choose the required activity type from the module list.
Select the records and click Delete.

Restoring activities

Permanently deleted activities from the recycle bin cannot be recovered or restored back to the activity module. Restoring records also restores their associated information.

To restore an activity

Navigate to Setup > Data administration > Recycle bin.
Choose the records to restore.
Click Restore.

Assigning activity owner

For call and event activities the owner cannot be changed while creating the record, Ownership for multiple activities can be updated directly from the list view.

To assign an owner

Select the required activities.
Click Assign to from the mass actions menu.
Select an agent or team.

Mass actions in activity views

Multiple activities can be performed from the list view. Available mass actions include:

Delete activities
Assign owner

Standard and custom activity views

Activity list views display tasks, calls, and events grouped based on predefined criteria.

To access activity list views

Click Activities.
In the activities home page, select All views from the left panel.
Choose the required view to display the activities listed under it.

The following standard activity views are available:

All activities
All canceled activities
All completed activities
All missed calls
All open activities
My activities
My canceled activities
My completed activities
My missed calls
My open activities
My overdue activities
My team activities
Overdue activities
Spam activities
Today + overdue
Today's activities

Note: During the first access, the all activities view is displayed. The system remembers the last accessed view and displays it during subsequent access.

Custom views can be created to display activities based on specific criteria.

To create a custom list view

Click Activities.
In the activities home page, click + icon next to activities on the left panel.
Enter a view name.
Define the filter criteria for the activities.
Specify the visibility:

Only me
All agents
Specific agents

Click Create.

The custom view appears in the left panel below the standard views. Custom activity views can also be managed with more options such as:

Edit - Modify the view name, filter criteria, or visibility settings.
Delete - Remove the custom view when it is no longer required.
Clone - Create a duplicate of an existing view and modify the criteria if needed.
Open in new tab - Open the selected view in a separate browser tab.
Star - Mark the view as important to quickly access it from the starred views section.

List view criteria

Filter criteria determine which activities appear in a custom view. Conditions can be defined using fields such as owner, status, priority, due date, or created time.

Note:

Age in days can be used for date and datetime fields to filter recently created or overdue activities.
Standard views cannot be modified.
Custom views can be opened in a new tab using the right-click option.

Sorting activities in list views

Activities in the list view can be sorted using the following fields:

To sort activities

Click More options (...) icon in the activities page.
Select the preferred sorting option.

The list refreshes and displays activities based on the selected order.

Filtering activities in list views

Activities can be filtered using parameters such as:

Agent
Due date or start time

Note: By default, 10 activities are displayed per page. Up to 50 records can be displayed per page, and the system remembers the selected preference.

To filter activities

Click the filter icon.
Select the required filter conditions.

The list refreshes and displays activities that match the applied filters.

Activity History

Activity History maintains a record of changes made to Tasks, Calls, and Events. It records the values entered when an activity is created and tracks subsequent updates to its fields.

When a support representative modifies an activity, The History tab of the individual activity record displays the previous and updated values of the changed fields.

Activity History Tracking

Activity History records two types of changes:

Added - Field values entered when the activity was created.
Updated - Previous and updated values of the modified fields.

For example, when a support representative changes the due date of a task, Activity History displays the original due date and the updated due date. Similarly, changes to call and event details are recorded in their respective activity histories.

Accessing History tab in an activity record

Activity History can be accessed from individual Task, Call, and Event records.

To review activity changes:

Navigate to Activities.
Select Tasks, Calls, or Events from the left panel.
Open the required activity record.
Select the History tab.
Review the activity creation details and subsequent field updates.

Activity Deletion and Audit Log

History tab in activity records creation and updates but does not retain a separate deletion entry after an activity record is deleted.

The Audit Log provides a separate record of actions performed on activity records, including additions, updates, deletions, and record views.

For example, if a support representative deletes a task, the task's History tab will no longer contain the activity record that has been removed. An admin can refer to the Audit Log to review the recorded deletion action.

Note:

Activity History is available for Tasks, Calls, and Events.
Activity History is associated with individual activity records.
Deleting an activity removes the associated Activity History.
The Audit Log provides a separate record of deletion actions.
Access to Activity History and the Audit Log is subject to the applicable edition and permissions.

Managing and working Activity | Zoho Desk