Using Macros - Zoho Desk Knowledgebase

Creating and using Macros

Macros are a set of actions that can be executed on tickets. These sets of actions include sending emails, creating tasks, and updating a field in the tickets with a specified value. You may have a set of actions that you perform on a daily basis or frequently to some records. You can combine all these actions in a single macro that can be applied manually to tickets by agents. This saves you from having to take the extra effort of performing three different actions across the ticket interface. 

Take, for example, the following scenario and how using macro makes the job easier:
Scenario - You are customer support executive and receive a call from a customer reporting a bug in their application. After the conversation you raise a support request and perform the following set of actions:
  • Send an Acknowledgment email to the customer.
  • Update the Status field as 'Developer Ticket'.
  • Create a task for the other developers in your team to fix the bug.
In such a case, you can create one macro that includes all the actions as mentioned above.
Permission Required
- Users with Administrative profile who have the permission to manage Helpdesk Automation can create Macro rules.
- Agents who have the permission to update a ticket can access a Macro rule.
Check Feature Availability and Limits

Setting availability for Macro rules

Administrators can set the visibility of macro rules, allowing it to be displayed to all agents, certain agents, teams, roles, or subordinates, depending on their needs. Through visibility settings, administrators can effectively manage the list of macros that appear within a ticket.
For example, agents who are specialized in dealing with tickets related to software applications, can trigger some actions such as:
  1. Assigning a task to assess application feasibility and practicality to the Research and Development (R&D) team.
  2. Update the status of the "Request type" field as software requirement.
  3. Send an email notification to the product development team for design and implementation.
Likewise, the  R&D analyst would trigger a set of alerts to notify the product managers, technical experts,  and engineering team to initiate subsequent processes through another macro rule.
In the above case, the agents can be given access to the macro rule that is relevant to them and the R&D analyst can be given access only to the rule that concerns their set of activities.  

Note:
  1. Macro rules are department specific.
  2. In each macro rule, you can configure up to 10 emails, 10 tasks, and 10 field updates.
  3. You cannot define conditions in macro rules.
  4. A macro rule can be applied to a maximum of 50 tickets.

Creating a Macro

You can create macros that will be shared with the other agents in your help desk.
To create a macro
  1. Click the Setup icon () in the top bar.
  2. In the Setup Landing  page, click Macros under Automation.
  3. In the Macros List  page, click Create Rule in the upper-right area.
  4. In the New Macro  page, specify a Name and Description for the Macro.
  5. Select Availability for the macro rule, All Agents or Specific Agents.
  6. If you select Specific Agents, choose agents, teams, roles or roles and subordinates from the drop-down.   

  7. Click Next .

Sending Alerts

  1. Under  Actions , do the following:
    • Click the Add icon () and select New from the drop-down list corresponding to Alerts .
    • In the New Alert window, specify a Name for the Alert.
    • Choose an Email Template from the drop-down list.
      The selected email template will be used to send emails when the macro is run.
    • Specify who should be receiving this Alert. 
      You can choose between
      Groups , Roles , Roles and Subordinates or Agents .
    • Enable the following options if you will like to notify other users:
      • Record Owner: Owner of the ticket
      • Record Creator: User who created the ticket
      • Notify Contact:  Requestor who submitted the ticket
      • Additional Recipients: Enter the e-mail addresses, separated by a comma


  2. Click Save .
You can associate this alert with an existing or a new macro.

Creating Tasks

  1. Under  Actions , do the following:
    • Click the Add icon  )  and select  New  from the drop-down list corresponding to  Tasks .
    • In the  New Task  window, s pecify the task related details like Subject , Status , Priority , Assignee Due Date,  etc.
  2. Click Save .
The task will be assigned to the specified agent when the macro is run. You can also associate this task with an existing or a new macro.

Updating Fields

  1. Under  Actions , do the following:
    • Click the Add icon  )  and select  New  from the drop-down list corresponding to  Field Updates .
    • In the  Create Assignment Value  window, s pecify a Name for the Assignment Value.
    • Choose a Field and specify a value for it.
      The field will be updated with the specified value when the macro is run.
  2. Click Save.
    Please remember to click Save  again, in the New Macro page to retain your settings.

Deactivating a Macro

You can activate or deactivate the macros at any time. When you deactivate a macro, it will be removed from the Active macros list, making it unavailable to your agents. Macros can be reactivated, when needed.
To deactivate a macro
  1. Click the  Setup  icon  ) in the top bar.
  2. In the  Setup Landing  page, click  Macros  under  Automation .
  3. In the  Macros List  page, click the Deactivate  icon (   ) corresponding to the macro.
The macro will be deactivated instantly. You can head over to the Inactive List and click the Activate  icon (   ) to re-activate a macro.

Deleting a Macro

You can delete the macros when you no longer need them. When you delete a macro, it will be permanently removed from your help desk and cannot be recovered.
To delete a macro
  1. Click the  Setup  icon  (  ) in the top bar.
  2. In the  Setup Landing  page, click  Macros  under  Automation .
  3. In the  Macros List  page, click the Delete icon  (  ) corresponding to the macro.
  4. Click OK.

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