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Triggers

What Are Triggers?

Triggers are automated rules in Zendesk that fire when tickets are created or updated. They check conditions and perform actions like assigning tickets, sending emails, or updating fields.

Unlike automations (which are time-based), triggers execute immediately when a ticket event occurs and meets the specified conditions.

What Configly Captures

For each trigger, Configly stores:

  • Basic Information
  • Trigger name and description
  • Active/inactive status
  • Position (execution order)

  • Category tags

  • Conditions

  • All/any condition logic
  • Field conditions (ticket status, priority, assignee, etc.)
  • Custom field conditions

  • Time-based conditions

  • Actions

  • Field updates (status, priority, type, etc.)
  • Assignments (user, group)
  • Notifications (email to requester, followers, etc.)
  • Tag additions/removals

  • Custom field updates

  • Metadata

  • Created and updated timestamps
  • Creator and last updater

Viewing Triggers

Navigate to Triggers from your connection dashboard to see all your triggers. You can:

  • Filter by active/inactive status
  • Search by name or description
  • Sort by position or last updated
  • View full condition and action details
  • Compare trigger configurations across connections

Position Matters

Triggers execute in the order defined by their position value. This is critical because:

  • Earlier triggers can modify ticket fields that later triggers check
  • Multiple triggers can fire for the same ticket event
  • Position conflicts can cause unexpected behavior

Configly displays position values to help you understand execution order.

Common Dependencies

Triggers often reference:

  • Custom fields - In both conditions (checking field values) and actions (updating fields)
  • Groups - For group assignment actions and group membership conditions
  • Tags - For adding/removing tags and tag-based conditions
  • Brands - In conditions for brand-specific triggers
  • Users - For user assignment actions and requester conditions
  • Organizations - For organization-based conditions

Learn more about dependency tracking →

Tips for Admins

Before Making Changes

  • Check execution order - Review trigger positions to understand what fires when
  • Verify dependencies - Before deleting a custom field or group, check which triggers use it
  • Test in staging - Use Configly to preview trigger changes before applying to production

Common Patterns

  • Triage triggers - Set high position to catch tickets early (auto-assign, set priority)
  • Notification triggers - Set lower position after other triggers have updated the ticket
  • Cleanup triggers - Position last to handle edge cases

Maintenance

  • Inactive triggers - Old inactive triggers can clutter your configuration. Review periodically and delete unused ones.
  • Duplicate logic - Look for triggers with overlapping conditions that might conflict
  • Performance - Too many triggers can slow ticket processing. Consolidate where possible.

Using Configly

  • Diff triggers - Compare trigger configurations between sandbox and production
  • Track changes - See what changed in a trigger over time
  • Identify dependencies - Before removing a field, see which triggers will break
  • Document decisions - Use Configly's version history to understand why triggers were changed

Example Use Cases

New Ticket Routing

A trigger that checks ticket brand, requester organization, and ticket form, then assigns to the appropriate support group.

Dependencies to watch: Groups, organizations, custom fields (ticket form)

SLA Notifications

A trigger that fires when a ticket meets certain priority and status conditions, then notifies managers.

Dependencies to watch: Custom fields (priority, SLA fields), groups, notification targets

Auto-Close Solved Tickets

A trigger that checks ticket status and time in status, then auto-closes old solved tickets.

Dependencies to watch: Status field values, time-based conditions