Customizing Ticket IDs in Zoho Desk
It is essential for companies to identify and track support tickets to locate them quickly and to reference them in conversations. Zoho Desk identifies and distinguishes tickets using a unique reference number called a ticket ID. Whenever a ticket ID is mentioned in a comment, or feed, the ticket is automatically hyperlinked for quick access. Customers can also use the ticket ID to follow up on and track their tickets through any channel.
Permission Required
Users with Manage General Settings permission can customize the Ticket ID.
Structure of a Ticket ID
A ticket ID is composed of a starting number, prefix, and/or suffix; the latter two components are optional. A hash (#) symbol always preceds a ticket ID.
Starting Number
The starting number is a unique number that is associated with a ticket when it is created. By default, the starting number of your first ticket will be 101, and the subsequent numbers will be 102, 103, and so on. You can find the starting number of your next ticket in the Ticket ID Configuration section and change it to any number of your choice, as long as it's higher than the current highest ticket ID in your help desk. For example, if you currently have 500 tickets, your starting number must be greater than 500 to prevent duplication.
Note: The starting number must not exceed 9 digits.
Prefix and Suffix
Prefix and suffix are alphanumeric affixes that can be added to the starting number. You can add vital information like channel, or created date, as the prefix or suffix, so agents can find context from the ticket ID.
Note:
- Your prefix and suffix together should not exceed 16 characters.
- They can contain letters, numbers, and special characters, excluding ` ~ # % ^ & * = + [ ] \ | : ; " < >, as well as spaces and emojis.
There are two types of affixes: static and dynamic.
Static
Static values are the same for all tickets, they appear the way you enter them, for example, if you use "Issue" as a prefix, then your ticket IDs will be Issue101, Issue102, Issue103, and so on.
Here are some ways you can use a static prefix/suffix to customize your ticket IDs:
Prefix/Suffix | Example |
Company Name | Zyl101, Zyl102, Zyl103.... |
Request number | Reqno_101, Reqno_102, Reqno_103.... |
Region/Country | IN_101, IN_102, IN_103.... |
Dynamic
Dynamic values change by ticket. Incoming channel is a good example of a dynamic prefix. When incoming channel is used as the prefix, the ticket ID of a ticket received via email will be email101.
To use dynamic values in your prefix and suffix fields, you must enter the placeholder of the field you want to include in the ticket ID. All default and custom ticket fields, except lookup, multi-select lookup, text area, and encrypted fields, are available as placeholders.
Here's a list of all available dynamic values:
Field | Placeholder |
Created date | {{DD}} |
Created month | {{MM}} |
Created year in two digits | {{YY}} |
Created year in four digits | {{YYYY}} |
${email} | |
Phone | ${phone} |
Subject | ${subject} |
Status | ${status} |
Due date | ${dueDate} |
Priority | ${priority} |
Channel | ${channel} |
Category | ${category} |
Subcategory | ${subCategory} |
Classifications | ${classification} |
Language | ${language} |
*Besides these standard fields, custom fields are also available.
You can select a placeholder by clicking on the curly brackets in the prefix/suffix field.
Note:
- Your ticket ID can be a combination of dynamic and static values. For example: Zylker101${language}.
- You can use static and dynamic combinations within a single prefix/suffix field. Example: Zyl{{DD}}_101.
- Prefix/suffix can contain more than one dynamic placeholder. Example: Zyl_Jan101_{{DD}}/{{MM}}.
Ticket ID Trimming
When using dynamic values as your prefix or suffix, you will need to enter the placeholder and not the actual value. This can make it difficult to predict the exact value and stay within the 16-character limit. When this is the case, we will use logic to trim down your prefix and suffix.
Take a look at these examples to understand how this logic is applied:
Prefix
Suffix
Ticket id
Logic
ZpadFeedbackWidget
(18 characters)
nil
ZpadfeedbackWidget101
Since we do not have a suffix, we allot all 16 characters for the prefix. Remaining characters are omitted.
Zpadfeedbackwidget
(18 characters)
7/11/2022
(10 Characters)
ZpadFeedbackwidget101_7/11/20
Since both a prefix and suffix are present, we allot 8 characters for each.
Phone_
(6 characters)
_07-11-2022
(10 characters)
Phone_101_07/11/2022
Since the prefix is less than 8 characters, we display it as is and allot the remaining characters for the suffix.
In the example, the prefix is 6 characters long, so the remaining 10 characters are allotted for the suffix. Because the suffix is exactly 10 characters long, no trimming is necessary.
Community
(9 characters)
_06/01
(6 characters)
Community101_06/01
Since the suffix is less than 8 characters, we show it as is and allot the remaining characters for the prefix.
In the example, the suffix is 7 characters long, so the remaining 9 characters are used for the prefix. The prefix is exactly 9 characters long, so no trimming is needed.
Customizing Ticket ID
You can customize the ticket ID by changing the next starting number and adding a prefix or suffix of your choice.
Customization can take place at both org and department levels.
Organization-wide Ticket ID
An organization-wide ticket ID is common across departments and applies to all tickets In the organization.
To customize organization-wide ticket ID
- Go to Setup (
).
- Select General Settings under Customizations.
You'll land on the General settings for tickets page. - Click on the edit icon (
) next to Organization-wide Ticket ID.
- Enter a prefix and/or suffix. This step is optional.
The sample preview shows what the ticket ID will look like. - Click Save if you're satisfied with the preview.
Department-specific Ticket ID
Department-specific ticket ID settings help you add a separate ticket ID for each department. Let's say you have two departments in your organization, called Zphone and Zpad. The ticket IDs of these departments could be Zphone101 and Zpad101, respectively.
Note: The starting number series of a department-specific ticket ID cannot be the same as that of the organization wide ticket ID. Similarly, the starting number series of two department level ticket IDs cannot be the same as well.
To customize department-specific ticket ID
- Go to Setup.
- Select General Settings under Customizations.
You'll land on the General settings for tickets page. - Under Department Specific ticket ID, click on Add department-specific Ticket ID.
- From the panel that appears on the right side, do the following:
- Select a department
- Enter a starting number
- Add a prefix and/or suffix
- See the preview.
- Click Save.
Repeat the same process to add a ticket ID for other departments.
Points to remember
- Configured departments will follow their department-specific ID. The rest will follow the org-wide ticket ID.
- If you have configured department-specific ticket IDs for all departments in your company, then the org-wide ID will become inactive.
- When you delete the ticket ID settings for one of your departments, or when you add a new department, it will follow the org-wide settings.
Deleting a department-specific ticket ID
When you delete a department's customized ticket ID, the department will automatically switch to the org-wide ticket ID setting.
To delete a department-specific ticket ID
- Go to Setup
- Select General Settings under Customizations
- Under Configure Department-specific Ticket ID, you will see the list of departments that have their own ticket IDs.
- Hover over a department and click on the (
) delete icon.
- The department's ticket ID setting will be deleted permanently.
Ticket ID Duplication
A ticket ID may be duplicated when your organization's ticket ID uses the same starting number as one of your departments' ticket ID.
You can prevent duplication by using a unique starting number and using affixes for your organization and each of its departments.
Hiding Ticket ID from the Subject Line
By default, replies sent to email tickets will have the ticket ID in their subject line. If you don't want to display the ticket ID to customers, you can hide it.
To hide ticket ID from the subject line
- Go to Setup.
- Select General Settings under Customizations.
- From the General Setting for Tickets page, scroll down to Hide Ticket ID in Outgoing Replies.
- Select Edit Configuration.
- On the panel, select the departments for which you want to configure the setting.
- Click Save.
The ticket ID will be hidden from the subject line of outgoing email replies for the selected departments.
Showing Ticket ID in Forwarded Tickets
By default, the ticket ID is hidden in threads and tickets forwarded via email. Including the ID in the subject line could help the recipient track the ticket.
To show ticket ID in forwarded tickets
- Go to Setup.
- Select General Settings under Customizations.
- From the General Setting for Tickets page, scroll down to Show Ticket ID in Forwarded Tickets.
- Select Edit Configuration.
- From the panel, select the departments for which you want to configure this setting.
- Click Save.
The ticket ID will be visible in the subject line of forwarded email tickets and threads for the selected departments.
Question and Answers
Q. In case of using a dynamic prefix like due date, will the ticket ID be updated when the due date is updated?
A. No, the ticket ID will not be updated. It will retain its original value.
Q. Let's say I use the due date as the prefix in the ticket ID. What will be the prefix of a ticket that doesn't have a due date?
The prefix of the ticket that doesn't have a due date will be empty. The ticket ID will contain on the starting number and suffix (if used.)
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