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Custom Fields

What Are Custom Fields?

Custom fields extend Zendesk's data model by allowing you to capture additional information on tickets, users, and organizations. They're essential for tracking business-specific data that doesn't fit in Zendesk's standard fields.

Examples: customer account number, product version, issue category, contract tier, etc.

What Configly Captures

For each custom field, Configly stores:

  • Basic Information
  • Field title and key (API name)
  • Field type (text, dropdown, checkbox, etc.)
  • Description

  • Active/inactive status

  • Field Type Configuration

  • Dropdown/tagger options (for dropdown, multi-select, and tagger fields)
  • Default value
  • Regular expression (for regex fields)

  • Date configuration (for date fields)

  • Display Settings

  • Position (order in forms)
  • Visibility (agent-only, end-user visible)

  • Required status

  • Field Context

  • Resource type (ticket, user, or organization)

  • Tag associations

  • Metadata

  • Created and updated timestamps

Custom Field Types

Zendesk supports three resource types for custom fields:

Ticket Fields

Fields attached to tickets. Most common type.

Examples: - Issue category (dropdown) - Product version (text) - Priority justification (textarea) - Customer type (dropdown) - Contract end date (date)

User Fields

Fields attached to user profiles (both agents and end-users).

Examples: - Employee ID (text) - Department (dropdown) - Manager name (text) - Hire date (date)

Organization Fields

Fields attached to organization records.

Examples: - Account tier (dropdown) - Contract value (decimal) - Renewal date (date) - Industry (dropdown)

Viewing Custom Fields

Navigate to Custom Fields from your connection dashboard to see all your fields. You can:

  • Filter by resource type (ticket, user, organization)
  • Filter by field type (text, dropdown, checkbox, etc.)
  • Filter by active/inactive status
  • Search by title or key
  • Sort by position or last updated
  • View field options for dropdown/tagger fields
  • Compare field configurations across connections

Common Dependencies

Custom fields are referenced by many other objects:

  • Triggers - Conditions check field values, actions update fields
  • Automations - Same as triggers
  • Macros - Actions update field values
  • Views - Conditions filter by field values, columns display field data
  • SLA policies - Conditions may check field values
  • Ticket forms - Display specific fields based on form configuration
  • Apps - Third-party apps may read/write custom field values

Before deleting a custom field, use Configly to check dependencies!

Learn more about dependency tracking →

Tips for Admins

Planning Custom Fields

  • Name clearly - Field title shows to users, so make it understandable
  • Key naming - API keys can't be changed, so choose wisely (use snake_case)
  • Field type matters - Pick the right type from the start (can't change later)
  • Dropdown vs text - Dropdowns enable reporting and consistency

Field Options (Dropdowns/Taggers)

  • Keep options stable - Changing option values can break triggers and automations
  • Use consistent casing - "High", not "high" or "HIGH"
  • Limit options - Too many options make dropdowns unwieldy
  • Default values - Set sensible defaults to reduce agent effort

Before Making Changes

  • Check dependencies - Use Configly to see what breaks if you delete a field
  • Deactivate before deleting - Test the impact by deactivating first
  • Communicate changes - Let agents know when field options change
  • Update documentation - Keep field descriptions accurate

Common Patterns

  • Required fields - Use sparingly; they can block ticket creation
  • Conditional fields - Show fields only on relevant ticket forms
  • Cascading dropdowns - Use tags to link field options (advanced)
  • Agent-only fields - Hide internal fields from end-users

Maintenance

  • Inactive fields - Remove old fields that are no longer used
  • Unused options - Clean up dropdown options that are obsolete
  • Field sprawl - Audit regularly to prevent too many custom fields
  • Naming consistency - Standardize field naming conventions

Using Configly

  • Diff fields - Compare field configurations between environments
  • Track changes - See what changed in field definitions over time
  • Identify dependencies - Before removing a field, see what will break
  • Audit field usage - Review all fields to find cleanup opportunities

Example Use Cases

Issue Category (Ticket Field - Dropdown)

Tracks the type of issue reported.

Configuration: - Type: Dropdown - Required: Yes - Options: "Technical Issue", "Billing Question", "Feature Request", "Bug Report", "Other" - Default: "Other"

Usage: Used in triggers to route tickets, in views to filter by category, in reporting.

Dependencies to watch: Triggers that assign based on category, views filtering by category

Account Tier (Organization Field - Dropdown)

Tracks the customer's service level.

Configuration: - Type: Dropdown - Required: No - Options: "Free", "Basic", "Pro", "Enterprise" - Default: "Free"

Usage: Used in SLA policies for priority customers, triggers for VIP routing, views for filtering.

Dependencies to watch: SLA policies, triggers checking tier, views displaying tier

Product Version (Ticket Field - Text)

Captures the version of the product experiencing an issue.

Configuration: - Type: Text - Required: No - Max length: 50 - Regex validation: Optional (e.g., ^\d+\.\d+\.\d+$ for semantic versioning)

Usage: Used in macros to ask for version, in views to display, in reporting.

Dependencies to watch: Macros that update this field, views that display it

Contract End Date (Organization Field - Date)

Tracks when a customer's contract expires.

Configuration: - Type: Date - Required: No

Usage: Used in automations to send renewal reminders, in views to see expiring contracts, in reporting.

Dependencies to watch: Automations checking date, views filtering by date

Field Type Reference

Type Description Example Use Case
Text Single-line text input Account number, order ID
Textarea Multi-line text input Detailed description, notes
Dropdown Single-select from options Category, priority, region
Tagger Multi-select tags Multiple products affected
Checkbox Boolean true/false VIP customer, urgent flag
Date Date picker Contract end, issue start date
Decimal Numeric with decimals Contract value, refund amount
Integer Whole number Number of users, quantity
Regex Text validated by regex Phone number, email, version

Custom Field Limits

Be aware of Zendesk limits:

  • Total custom fields: 200 ticket fields, 100 user fields, 100 org fields
  • Dropdown options: 1000 options per field (but keep it reasonable)
  • Performance: Too many custom fields can slow down ticket loading
  • Triggers - Automated rules that read/write custom fields
  • Automations - Time-based rules using custom fields
  • Macros - Manual actions that update custom fields
  • Views - Filtered lists that display and filter by custom fields