Automation#36: Auto-create time-entry after performing the Blueprint transition

Automation#36: Auto-create time-entry after performing the Blueprint transition


​
Hello Everyone,
This week’s edition focuses on configuring a custom function within Zoho Desk to streamline time tracking within the Blueprint. In this case, we create a custom field, and request the agent to enter the spending time within the single line field and then move to the next status within the blueprint. This entry updates under the Time Entry tab within the ticket.
Businesses rely on automated time entry to track time, but certain workflows require manual input. For example, ZylkerTechFix, a company specializing in hardware servicing and repairs, needed a precise way to log time spent on servicing devices across departments.
After an initial assessment, the support team transfers the ticket to the Engineering team. The time taken for servicing varied based on the complexity of the issue. To ensure accurate tracking, agents were required to manually log the time spent at this stage. A custom single line field was added to capture this information, and the organization flow was integrated into a Blueprint, making it seamless for agents and transparent for customers.
Let's go through setting up a Blueprint with a custom function that allows agents to manually log the time spent in a specific status once they've completed the process. This helps track time at each stage, improving efficiency and customer communication.

Prerequisites

Create a connection

  1.1 Go to Setup(S) and choose Connections under Developer Space.
  1.2 Click Create Connection.
  1.3 Select Zoho OAuth under Default Connection.
  1.4 Set the connection name as desk_connection.
  1.5 Under Choose Scopes, choose the below scope values:
Desk.tickets.READ
Desk.tickets.UPDATE
  1.6 Click Create and Connect.
  1.7 Click Connect.
  1.8 Choose the Zoho Desk's organization to connect with Deluge, and click Submit.
  1.9 Click Accept.
Connection is created successfully.

Create a custom single line field

a. Navigate to Setup >> Customization >> Layouts and Fields.
b. Select Tickets module and the Department in which you will configure the Blueprint.
c. Click on the layout. Add single line field which has the field value length of 255. Give the Name – Spending Time.
This single line field is  for the agent to manually enter the time taken to handle this ticket. Enter the time in this format HH:MM:SS (eg: 02:15:30)  .

Configure Custom Function within the Blueprint

Create a Blueprint with the required transitions for your process.
1. To create a Blueprint, go to Setup >> Automation >> Blueprint. 
2. Choose the department (the same department where you created the custom field) and click on Create Blueprint.
3. Give a desired name under Blueprint Name and description.
4. Choose Tickets under the module and let the Field be Status.
5. Add Criteria as Specific records/All records as required.
6. Add Advanced configuration as required.
7. Click Next.
8. Drag and drop the required States for your organization flow. Connect the different states  
9. Click on the + icon between the states to add a transition. Give a Name and Description for the transition.
10. Click Add transition

Within Transitions

11. Under Before, add the Agents whom you would like to give access to the Blueprint.
12. Add Transition Owner from a Different Department, Choose Department and Criteria if required.
13. Under During, click on Add Operations >> Fields >> choose Spending Time.  This will be marked validation and Mandatory.
14. Under After, click on New next to custom functions.
15. Under Configure Custom Function, enter Name and Description.
16. In the script window, insert the Custom Function given below:
  1. // ----<<<< User Inputs >>>>----
  2. // --- Replace ".com" with appropriate domain extension based on customer's location/DC ---
  3. deskURL = "https://desk.zoho.com";
  4. customFieldAPIName = "cf_"; // Replace the custom field API Name
  5. orgId = "";// Replace the org ID
  6. // ----<<<< Initial Configs >>>>----
  7. logs = Map();
  8. logs.insert("ticketId":ticketId,"timeEntryValue":timeEntryValue);
  9. //---------------------------
  10. try
  11. {
  12. // --- Perform the time calculation tasks ---
  13. executedTime = toText(now,"yyyy-MM-dd'T'HH:mm:ss.SSS'Z'","GMT");
  14. timeEntryValueList = timeEntryValue.toList(":");
  15. logs.insert("timeEntryValueList":timeEntryValueList);
  16. secondsSpent = timeEntryValueList.get(0).toNumber() * 3600 + timeEntryValueList.get(1).toNumber() * 60 + timeEntryValueList.get(2).toNumber();
  17. logs.insert("secondsSpent":secondsSpent);
  18. getHistory = invokeurl
  19. [
  20. url :deskURL + "/api/v1/tickets/" + ticketId + "/history?operationName=Blueprints_History"
  21. type :GET
  22. connection:"desk_connection"
  23. ];
  24. agentId = getHistory.get(0).get("agentId");
  25. logs.insert("getHistory":getHistory);
  26. createTimeEntry = invokeurl
  27. [
  28. url :deskURL + "/api/v1/tickets/" + ticketId + "/timeEntry"
  29. type :POST
  30. parameters:{"executedTime":executedTime,"secondsSpent":secondsSpent,"ownerId":agentId} + ""
  31. connection:"desk_connection"
  32. ];
  33. logs.insert("createTimeEntryApiResponse":createTimeEntry);
  34. update = zoho.desk.update(orgId,"tickets",ticketId,{"cf":{customFieldAPIName:""}});
  35.     logs.insert("Update":update);
  36. }
  37. catch (errorInfo)
  38. {
  39. logs.insert("errorInfo":errorInfo);
  40. }
  41. info "logs: \n" + logs;
  42. if(logs.containKey("errorInfo"))
  43. {
  44. throws "Error happen in the CF execution";
  45. }
17. Click on the Edit Arguments in the script editer window, give a desired Method Name. Map the arguments as below:
       17.1 In the Argument Name field, type ticketId and select Ticket Id in the Tickets Section.
       17.2 In the Argument Name field, type timeEntryValue and select Spending Time in the Tickets Section. Click Done.
Notes

NOTE

a. In Line 3, replace .com in the address with .in/.eu/.ca based on your DC.
b. In Line 4, enter the API name of the custom field.
To fetch the API name, go to Setup (S) → Customization → Layouts and Fields. Select the department for which you've configured this blueprint under Tickets module. Select the layout, click on the gear icon(Field settings) of the custom field and select Edit properties. Copy the API name under Edit field and paste it in line 4 of the code.   
​
Notes
​
c. In Line 5, enter the Org ID. Go to Setup >> Developer Space >> APIs. Under API Plan Details, you will fine the metric Org ID and its Values. Copy the value and paste it in line 3.  
18. Click on Save & Complete Blueprint.
19. Click Yes, Proceed. 
Your configuration is complete.

In the ticket, when the agent chooses to move to the next transition, the spending time values has to be entered by the agent in the format HH:MM:SS. Once the value is entered, the ticket proceeds to the next transition.
Info
You can utilize the custom field "Spending Time" across multiple transitions too. Each time a transition occurs, the field resets, allowing users to input the time spent during subsequent transitions.
Please share your thoughts and understanding of how the Blueprint feature has helped your business. If you need help with Blueprints, our mailbox is open to hear you: support@zohodesk.com. 
Until the next post,
Lydia | Zoho Desk 



      • 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

        • Recent Topics

        • This domain is not allowed to add. Please contact support-as@zohocorp.com for further details

          I am trying to setup the free version of Zoho Mail. When I tried to add my domain, theselfreunion.com I got the error message that is the subject of this Topic. I've read your other community forum topics, and this is NOT a free domain. So what is the

        • Related list Mobile Device

          Hello, We use an the Zoho creator application to make reports linked to Accounts. On the computer: it's easy to go the Account and see all the created reports in the related list below On iPad/Phone ZOHO CRM APP: we cannot see the reports on those accounts

        • Zoho Quartz Screen Recording

          Hello, can we get access to Quartz, please, as a standalone solution? It would be great for creating training videos for current and future staff on how to use Zoho software according to our company requirements. Thank you

        • auto close automated alert tickets which are similar

          Hello ZOHO Community, we are using ZOHO Desk to process automated monitoring alerts. Scenario: Our monitoring system creates a ticket when a threshold is exceeded, e.g. Subject: Computer 1 – CPU usage 100% – Error A few minutes later, once the issue resolves

        • Maintain knowledge base integrity by moderating article comments

          Hello everyone, A knowledge base provides a self-service platform where customers can refer to articles, user manuals, and other resources to learn about the company's products or services and troubleshoot problems. Often, readers leave a comment on the

        • Making another calendar your default calendar

          I am trying to make another calendar my default calendar when I add events to it. It keep going to a single calendar, I need it to go to my google calendar by default, as this is linked to other services / websites. I cannot find an option to make it

        • Customer ticket creation via Microsoft Teams

          Hi all, I'm looking to see if someone could point me in the right direction. I'd love to make it so my customers/ end users can make tickets, see responses and respond within microsoft teams. As Admin and an Agent i've installed the zoho assist app within

        • Option to Delete Chats in IM

          Currently, there is no option to delete any chats in IM, regardless of their source.

        • Restrict Users access to login into CRM?

          I’m wanting my employees to be able to utilize the Zoho CRM Lookup field within Zoho Forms. For them to use lookup field in Zoho Forms it is my understanding that they need to be licensed for Forms and the CRM. However, I don’t want them to be able to

        • Shifts in Zoho People vs Zoho Shifts?

          Hello Zoho People Team, We hope you are doing well. We are evaluating the Shifts functionality within Zoho People and comparing it to the standalone Zoho Shifts product. We’ve encountered comments and discussions suggesting that the Shifts feature inside

        • Referencing a cell from another sheet

          My workbook has multiple sheets. Each sheet has some calcluated totals in certain cells. The front master sheet has a list of everything that is detailed on the other sheets, with the totals. These could change at any time, so the totals need to be references to the other cell's value, not a fixed number. So on the master sheet, I put in =, then go the other sheet and choose the cell and hit Enter. In regular Excel, this works. But in the Zoho sheet, it doesn't work. I have to edit the result by

        • Group mail for external email addresses

          Hello, I was just wondering if the Group mail feature works with external email addresses - e.g. gmail.com or a completely different domain? it seems only internal addresses (hosted with Zoho) receive the mail. Thanks, Oliver

        • Is Zoho Shifts included in the Zoho One plan?

          In case the answer is no: there's any plan to make it available via One? Thank you

        • Marketing Automation Requirements Questions

          I would like to set up a multi-email drip campaign- please see the structure below and confirm if I can achieve this set up in Zoho marketing automation. Where applicable, highlight gaps and workarounds. Thanks Drip email campaign- Can I create one drip

        • The email address you have entered belongs to a different deployment/region.

          Hi, I am trying to create the user - mprust@crombiecomputers.co.uk but keep getting the message below -  The email address you have entered belongs to a different deployment/region. Please contact support@zohoaccounts.com for assistance. Look forward

        • Use Zoho Flow Credits for CRM ‘Actions by Zoho Flow’

          Hello Team, We would like to submit a feature request regarding credit usage for “Actions by Zoho Flow” in Zoho CRM. Use Case: We are Zoho One users and actively use Zoho Flow, where our organization has 52,000 Flow tasks per month. In Zoho CRM, we use

        • Unusual activity detected from this IP. Please try again after some time.

          Hello Zoho admin and IT team We are a registered website in Eloctronic services and we been trying to add our users to the zoho system but this issue faced us ,, hope you unlocked us please.

        • Alert if a field is ticked.

          Hi There, We have two modules named Opportunities (Deals) and End Users (CustomModule1), as per the image below. Within Opportunities, we have a lookup field that looks up from the End Users Module. We are looking to get an alert either via email or another

        • CRM x WorkDrive: We're rolling out the WorkDrive-powered file storage experience for existing users

          Release plan: Gradual rollout to customers without file storage add-ons, in this order: 1. Standalone CRM 2. CRM Plus and Zoho One DCs: All | Editions: All Available now for: - Standalone CRM accounts in Free and Standard editions without file storage

        • Syncing with Google calendar, Tasks and Events

          Is it possible to sync Zoho CRM calendar, task and events with Google Calendar's tasks and events. With the increasing adoption by many major tool suppliers to sync seamlessly with Google's offerings (for instance I use the excellent Any.do task planning

        • Zoho CRM Analytics - Allow To Reorder Dashboards

          I would like to suggest that you add the ability to reorder dashboards in the Analytics Module. I can see that this has been requested some time ago, the latest 9 years ago. I am not sure if this is a big or small endeavor, but such a small fix can go

        • Plans to allow more columns of monitoring, and monitoring not only your own channels?

          Are their any plans to allow more columns of monitoring, and monitoring not only your own channels? Here's why - I'm sure I'm not alone in that we sell other brands products, so not only am I interested in my own brand social channels, but also the social

        • Managing functions

          Can someone let me know if there are any plans to improve the features for managing functions in CRM? I have lots of functions and finding them is hard. The search only works on the function name and the filter only works on function type. I have created

        • Kaizen #194 : Trigger Client Script via Custom buttons

          Hello everyone! Welcome back to another interesting and useful Kaizen post. We know that Client Scripts can be triggered with Canvas buttons and we discussed this with a use case in Kaizen#180. Today, let us discuss how to trigger Client Script when a

        • Adding Choices in a Sub-Form Dropdown

          Hi, Has anybody tried Adding Choices to a Dropdown in a Zoho Creator Sub-Form programmatically? My Deluge code adds rows to a subform with 2 fields A and B. A - text field. B - dropdown. My Deluge script adds the row and displays A successfully. For the

        • Zoho CRM Email Templates 100% Width No Background How?

          Hi, On the Zoho CRM Email Templates in setup > customization > templates > new templates > I choose blank template, but still it puts in a gray background and a max width for the email. I just want to make an email that looks like an email I would send from gmail that has no background or max width. How do you do this? 

        • Checking client unsubscribe details

          Hi team, Can you please let me know where we can check if a client has unsubscribed, along with the date and time it was done? If this information is not available at our end, please help confirm the unsubscribe date for the below email ID from the backend:

        • Email forwarding setup fails

          I'm trying to set up email forwarding from my Zoho email to my gmail address. I followed the directions to set up email forwarding here: https://www.zoho.com/mail/help/email-forwarding.html. I did only steps 1-6. After doing this, rather than setting

        • Integration with...

          Dear Zoho Commerce team, Please could you consider the integration within Zoho Commerce / Inventory and Qapla'? (https://www.qapla.it/en/) This app is better than Aftership in many ways: - Aftership integration require PRO plan and price start from more

        • Scan and Fill CRM Lookup Field

          Not sure if there is a reason why this isn't possible or if I'm just missing it. But I would like to be able to use the scan and fill feature on the mobile app to prefill the CRM lookup field and fetch the rest of the data in the form.

        • Customer Management: #2 Organize Customers to Enhance Efficiency

          When Ankit started his digital services firm, things felt simple. A client would call, ask for a website or a one-time consultation, Ankit would send an invoice, get paid, and move on. "Just one client, one invoice. Easy.", he thought. Fast forward a

        • Zoho Mail and Zoho Flow integration to automatically create ToDo tasks from outbound emails

          How do i setup Zoho Mail and Zoho Flow integration to automatically create ToDo tasks from outbound emails

        • Attachments between Zoho and Clickup, using Flow.

          Olá suporte Flow, tudo bem ? Estamos usando o flow para integrar Zoho Desk com o clickup. Não localizamos a opção de integrar anexos entre do zoho Desk para o clickup. Gostaríamos de saber se migrando para o plano pago, teremos suporte para fazer a integração

        • Adding an Account on Zoho Mail Trigger in Zoho Flow

          I'm trying to create a flow using the zoho mail trigger "Email Receive". My problem is that when I select this trigger, it only shows one account from the account dropdown. I'm planning to assign it on a different email. How can I add other email ad

        • Linnworks

          Unless I am missing something, the Linnworks integration is very basic and limited. I have reached out to support but the first response was completely useless and trying to get a reply in a timely manner is very difficult. Surely I should be able to

        • Test data won't load

          I am using a Flow to receive orders from WooCommerce and add them to a Zoho Creator app. I recently received an order which failed, and when attempting to test the order I found that it just shows a loading animation and shows up in the history as "queued."

        • AddHour resets the time to 00:00:00 before adding the hour.

          Based on the documentation here: https://www.zoho.com/deluge/help/functions/datetime/addhour.html Here's my custom function: string ConvertDateFormat(string inputDate) { // Extract only the date-time part (before the timezone) dateTimePart = inputDate.subString(0,19);

        • WhatsApp Report in Bigin CRM

          Reporting feature for Bigin CRM’s integrated WhatsApp that provides insights such as: Number of WhatsApp conversations closed Number of messages sent and received Number of conversations replied to Response and closure metrics for WhatsApp chats More

        • How to Hide System-DefinedTemplates in Service Report

          Is there any option available to hide system-defined templates? these templates are causing confusion for field users.

        • WhatsApp Link is not integrating

          Hello, I am using zoho flow. when new row added in google sheet it sends email to respected person. In email body I have a text "Share via WhatsApp". behind this text I putted a link. But when the recipient receives email and wants to share my given info

        • Next Page