Help Center Permissions - Zoho Desk Knowledgebase

Managing Help Center Permissions

When you set up the Help Center, you must determine who should have access to it. You may allow anyone to access the Help Center or only those who have registered for it. Providing an open Help Center is less of an effort for your legitimate customers who may only choose to read through your articles or community posts. However, it may lead to receiving spam or irrelevant tickets in your Zoho Desk.

On the other hand, customers will stand to benefit when they register for your Help Center. It allows your customers to:
  • Track the status of their tickets.
  • Submit their tickets without being asked for their email address (pre-filled).
  • View their most recent Help Center activities under the My Area section.
  • Complete their user profile including other modes of contact (like Facebook, Twitter, etc.,) so that future correspondence from these channels will stay in sync with their Help Center account.


Setting Help Center Access Permissions

There are 2 types of permissions that can be granted to your Help Center. One is whether you want your customers to register to access the Help Center, and another is whether they need to be signed in to submit their tickets. These permissions are mutually exclusive in that you can either mandate customers to register for access or require them to sign in to submit a ticket.

To set access permission:
  1. Go to Setup () > Channels > Help Center.
  2. Select the Help Center for which you want to set access permissions.
  3. Click Access Settings under the Help Center sub-menu.
  4. On the Access Settings page, enable Customers must register to access the Help Center option under Permissions.
    Note: Enabling this option will direct your customers to the login page where they need to sign in or register to access your Help Center.
  5. Alternatively, you can enable Customers must sign in to your Help Center to submit Tickets option.
    Note: Enabling this option provides for an open Help Center; however, customers must sign in to submit their tickets.
  6. The changes will be saved instantly.

Notes:
  • An open Help Center allows customers to submit tickets and search for solutions in the knowledge base or community. However, they must log in to track the status of their tickets.
  • The articles that are deleted from the KB are stored in the Recycle Bin. Only administrators can access the recycle bin. 
  • Only administrators can modify Help Center permissions.



Other Permissions

Creating a successful community forum can be a difficult task for any business. It needs dedication and resources to maintain a lively and resourceful community. Keeping this in mind, Zoho Desk allows you to display or hide the Community from your customers in the Help Center. 

To hide the community:
  1. Go to Setup () > Channels > Help Center.
  2. Select the Help Center for which you want to set access permissions.
  3. Click Access Settings under the Help Center sub-menu.
  4. On the Access Settings page, disable Display Community in the Help Center option under Permissions.
    The changes will be saved instantly.

It is quite common for users of an organization (Ex. account) to view tickets submitted by others from the same organization. You can enable this option for your Help Center so that users can see all tickets of their company rather than just the ones created from their own email address. 

To allow users to view all tickets:
  1. Go to Setup () > Channels > Help Center.
  2. Select the Help Center for which you want to set access permissions.
  3. Click Access Settings under the Help Center sub-menu.
  4. On the Access Settings page, enable Customers can view tickets of other users in their account option under Permissions.
    The changes will be saved instantly.

If you have configured private departments for internal ticket management, you can choose to show or hide tickets from those departments to your end users on the help center. If you have more than one department, you can display your department catalog when users submit a ticket from the help center. Users can click on a department to create their ticket in it. When this option is disabled, users can select their preferred department from inside the ticket form.

To show tickets from private departments:
  1. Go to Setup () > Channels > Help Center.
  2. Select the Help Center for which you want to set access permissions.
  3. Click Access Settings under the Help Center sub-menu.
  4. On the Access Settings page, enable Display tickets from private departments in the help center option under Permissions.
    The changes will be saved instantly.

If you have more than one department, you can display your department catalog when users submit a ticket from the help center. Users can click on a department to create their ticket in it. When this option is disabled, users can select their preferred department from inside the ticket form.

To show departments:
  1. Go to Setup () > Channels > Help Center.
  2. Select the Help Center for which you want to set access permissions.
  3. Click Access Settings under the Help Center sub-menu.
  4. On the Access Settings page, enable Show departments list page on choosing to submit a ticket option under Permissions.
    The changes will be saved instantly.


Cross-site scripting Attacks

Cross-site scripting is a security exploit in which attackers trick your help center into storing malicious client-side code (generally in the form of a browser side script) and later insert them into web pages when other users request them. These attacks can happen through numerous injection points, such as search field, feedback form, and forum posts. And when they happen, it can cause a variety of problems for your end users, ranging in severity from an annoyance to complete account compromise.

Defending against Cross-Site Scripting
Zoho Desk enables you to defend your help center from cross-site scripting attacks by restricting user input to a specific whitelist. This is achieved by defining where resources can be loaded from and preventing browsers from loading data from other locations. It only takes turning on a toggle to provide this extra protection for your help center.

To defend your help center against cross-site scripting:
  1. Go to Setup () > Channels > Help Center.
  2. Select the Help Center for which you want to enable defence against cross-site scripting.
  3. Click Access Settings under the Help Center sub-menu.
  4. On the Access Settings page, enable Defend your help center against Cross-site Scripting (XSS) (Recommended) option under Permissions.
    The changes will be saved instantly.
Note:
  1. Customers must access their help center on the latest three versions of popular browsers such as Chrome, Firefox, Edge, Safari, and Opera to mitigate cross-site scripting attacks.

Deactivating a user

Users can be deactivated from the organization's help center for various reasons, ranging from contact's moving out of the business to violation of guidelines, spamming or  uncivil behavior. Deactivation allows orgs to maintain  a decluttered database and promote a positive and respectful community environment upholding its standard.
By default, when a user is deactivated an email notification is sent to them. However, admins can set the Help Center permission such that notifications are disabled.
To stop sending notification to users
  1. Go to Setup () > Channels > Help Center.
  2. Select the Help Center for which you want to set access permissions.
  3. Click Access Settings under the Help Center sub-menu.
  4. Under Permissions, toggle off Send an email notification when a user is deactivated.
    The changes will be saved instantly.


    Access your files securely from anywhere

      Zoho CRM Training Programs

      Learn how to use the best tools for sales force automation and better customer engagement from Zoho's implementation specialists.

      Zoho CRM Training
        Redefine the way you work
        with Zoho Workplace

          Zoho DataPrep Personalized Demo

          If you'd like a personalized walk-through of our data preparation tool, please request a demo and we'll be happy to show you how to get the best out of Zoho DataPrep.

          Zoho CRM Training

            Create, share, and deliver

            beautiful slides from anywhere.

            Get Started Now


              Zoho Sign now offers specialized one-on-one training for both administrators and developers.

              BOOK A SESSION





                          Quick Links Workflow Automation Data Collection
                          Web Forms Enterprise Begin Data Collection
                          Interactive Forms Workplace Data Collection App
                          CRM Forms Customer Service Accessible Forms
                          Digital Forms Marketing Forms for Small Business
                          HTML Forms Education Forms for Enterprise
                          Contact Forms E-commerce Forms for any business
                          Lead Generation Forms Healthcare Forms for Startups
                          Wordpress Forms Customer onboarding Order Forms for Small Business
                          No Code Forms Construction RSVP tool for holidays
                          Free Forms Travel
                          Prefill Forms Non-Profit

                          Intake Forms Legal
                          Mobile App
                          Form Designer HR
                          Mobile Forms
                          Card Forms Food Offline Forms
                          Assign Forms Photography
                          Mobile Forms Features
                          Translate Forms Real Estate Kiosk in Mobile Forms
                          Electronic Forms

                          Notification Emails for Forms Alternatives Security & Compliance
                          Holiday Forms Google Forms alternative  GDPR
                          Form to PDF Jotform alternative HIPAA Forms
                          Email Forms
                          Encrypted Forms
                          Embeddable Forms
                          Secure Forms
                          Drag and Drop form builder
                          WCAG


                                            You are currently viewing the help pages of Qntrl’s earlier version. Click here to view our latest version—Qntrl 3.0's help articles.




                                                Manage your brands on social media

                                                  Zoho Desk Resources

                                                  • Desk Community Learning Series


                                                  • Digest


                                                  • Functions


                                                  • Meetups


                                                  • Kbase


                                                  • Resources


                                                  • Glossary


                                                  • Desk Marketplace


                                                  • MVP Corner


                                                  • Word of the Day


                                                    Zoho Marketing Automation

                                                      Zoho Sheet Resources

                                                       

                                                          Zoho Forms Resources


                                                            Secure your business
                                                            communication with Zoho Mail


                                                            Mail on the move with
                                                            Zoho Mail mobile application

                                                              Stay on top of your schedule
                                                              at all times


                                                              Carry your calendar with you
                                                              Anytime, anywhere




                                                                    Zoho Sign Resources

                                                                      Sign, Paperless!

                                                                      Sign and send business documents on the go!

                                                                      Get Started Now




                                                                              Zoho TeamInbox Resources



                                                                                      Zoho DataPrep Resources



                                                                                        Zoho DataPrep Demo

                                                                                        Get a personalized demo or POC

                                                                                        REGISTER NOW


                                                                                          Design. Discuss. Deliver.

                                                                                          Create visually engaging stories with Zoho Show.

                                                                                          Get Started Now









                                                                                                              • Related Articles

                                                                                                              • FAQs: Help Center

                                                                                                                What is help center in Desk? Help Center is a customer portal that allows users to learn about the product and understand its processes by accessing knowledge base articles. It provides a platform for self-help and learning, where users can find ...
                                                                                                              • Managing Help Center Users

                                                                                                                Help Center users are users who prefer to find solutions by reading through your knowledge base articles or community posts. When they are unable to find answers they can get it resolved from your agents by submitting a ticket. Users can also ...
                                                                                                              • Implementing a secure user authentication for help center using JWT

                                                                                                                User authentication and data exchange play a crucial role in today's interconnected digital world. The increasing reliance on online services, cloud computing, and the exchange of sensitive information necessitates robust mechanisms to verify the ...
                                                                                                              • Manage Knowledge Base Permission - Access Settings, Organizing Category, and Sort Order

                                                                                                                The customer service landscape has evolved from the traditional agent-centric service to more dynamic and empowering self-service options. Businesses are more focused on enabling their customers to find answers on their own, as it greatly impacts the ...
                                                                                                              • Customizing Help Center Home Page

                                                                                                                Customize the way your Help Center content is organized using the simple drag-drop method in Zoho Desk. You can add custom widgets, show or hide tabs and customize their appearance to keep your customers engaged with the right content at the right ...
                                                                                                                Wherever you are is as good as
                                                                                                                your workplace

                                                                                                                  Resources

                                                                                                                  Videos

                                                                                                                  Watch comprehensive videos on features and other important topics that will help you master Zoho CRM.



                                                                                                                  eBooks

                                                                                                                  Download free eBooks and access a range of topics to get deeper insight on successfully using Zoho CRM.



                                                                                                                  Webinars

                                                                                                                  Sign up for our webinars and learn the Zoho CRM basics, from customization to sales force automation and more.



                                                                                                                  CRM Tips

                                                                                                                  Make the most of Zoho CRM with these useful tips.



                                                                                                                    Zoho Show Resources