How to Run a Automation at Scheduled Intervals?
Introduction
Time trigger rules run for every hour interval, match the tickets based on the given condition, and execute the defined actions. Time triggers help in triggering time-based actions and notification purposes.
You can drag and drop the rule to any position in the list, and the rule will execute sequentially as per the list order.
Some of the use cases are,
- Notify a group if the ticket is not assigned to an agent for ‘n’ number of hours.
- Automate the follow-up to save the agent’s time.
- Auto solve the ticket if it is waiting for customer status for more than ‘n’ number of hours.
- Auto close the ticket if it is in a solved state for more than ‘n’ number of hours.
Time trigger follows the given criteria to traverse on a ticket,
- Closed tickets will not be fetched.
- Tickets in which modification has been done within 30 days from the current date should be fetched.
- A ticket can participate 100 times by the time trigger rule on its life cycle. If it exceeds, the rule will not run on the ticket.
- Ticket should be active and should not be a spam ticket.
- Every rule will affect only the first 1000 tickets that match the condition.
- If the brand is deactivated, then the tickets associated with the brand will not be triggered.
- On considering the performance of time trigger automation, the string type fields will not be provided in condition.
To avoid the rule running on a ticket endlessly, ensure the below,
- Create a rule that matches only once (Use hour-based conditions) in a ticket.
- Create the rule with action to change the values of the ticket properties specified in the condition. So that the condition will be false when the rule is executed again on the same ticket.
Time trigger condition
In this automation, the following list of fields can be added in “AND” or “OR” conditions.
The condition fields are classified into three types as follows:
- System fields
- Hour-based fields
- Custom fields
System fields
It includes the default system fields.
| Field Name | Description |
|---|---|
| TicketID | Holds ticket ID associated with the organization. |
| Email Received At | Provides the email address of the inbox through which the ticket is created using email in the ticket creation process. |
| Brand | Brands associated with the organization. |
| Category | Specifies the category to which the newly created ticket belongs. |
| Status | Shows the status of the ticket. |
| Priority | Shows the priority of the ticket. |
| Type | Specifies the type of ticket. |
| Source | Source from which the ticket is created, such as agent portal, customer portal, email, etc. |
| Assigned Agent | Specifies the agent assigned for the particular ticket. |
| Assigned Group | Specifies the group to which the ticket belongs. |
| Tag | Specifies the tag associated with the tickets. |
| Visibility | Denotes visibility of the ticket, either public or private; private tickets will not be visible in the customer portal. |
| Creator | Specifies the creator of the ticket. |
| Requester | Specifies the requester of the ticket. |
| Requester Email | Represents the requester’s email address. |
| Contact Group | Represents the contact group (Company) of the ticket requester. |
Hour-based fields
Time-based fields are used to provide updates over the tickets at certain time ranges based on the various events in the ticket as mentioned below,
- Hours Since Created
- Hours Since Solved
- Hours Since Reopened
- Hours Since First Assigned
- Hours Since Assigned
- Hours Since Requester Responded
- Hours Since Agent Responded
- Hours Since Status Updated
- Hours Since Resolution Due
- Hours Since Modified
- Hours Since Response Due
- Hours Until Response Due
- Hours Until Resolution Due
- Hours Since Waiting on Statuses (Includes all the status configured within the organization)
Custom fields
It includes the custom fields of ticket, contact, and contact group modules.
Time trigger action
Find the list of actions that can be added to the time trigger automation.
The actions are classified into,
- Field Update
- Assignment Action
- Email Notification
- Comment Addition
Field update
The time trigger automation updates the following system and custom fields with the respective values chosen in action,
| Action Name | Description |
|---|---|
| Set Status | Sets the ticket to the specified status. |
| Set Priority | Sets the ticket to the specified priority. |
| Set Type | Sets the ticket to the specified type. |
| Set Category | Sets the ticket to the specified category. |
| Set Subject | Sets the ticket subject to the specified content. |
| Add Tag | Adds the specified tags to the ticket. |
| Remove Tag | Removes the specified tags from the ticket. |
| Add CC | Adds the specified ccs to the ticket if it is not present in the matched tickets. |
| Remove CC | Removes the specified ccs from the ticket. |
| Add Watcher | Adds the specified watchers to the ticket. |
Assignment action
Time trigger assigns the ticket to either a specified group or an agent.
| Action Name | Description |
|---|---|
| Set assignee | Assign the matched tickets in the following ways: 1. Group 2. Agent 3. Group and agent belong to it |
Email notification
Time trigger sends the notification to the specified user with the provided message. A maximum of 50 users can be chosen.
| Action Name | Description |
|---|---|
| Sent Email to User | Sends email to the chosen users with the specified subject and message. Provides placeholders to specify the contents related to the ticket dynamically. |
| Sent Email to Group | Sends email to the chosen group with the specified subject and message. Provides placeholders to specify contents related to the ticket dynamically. |
Comment Addition
Time trigger adds a note with the specified message to the matched tickets.
| Action Name | Description |
|---|---|
| Add Private Note | Adds a private note to the matched tickets with the specified message. |
Create a time trigger rule
Follow the given steps to create a time trigger rule,
- Select the Admin module in the left menu.
- Choose Time Triggers from the Ticket Automation menu.
- Click Add Rule on the top palette.
- Enter the Rule Name and Description on the create rule screen.
- Choose any business hours or calendar hours to be considered for the rule.
- Select the required fields from the list to frame a condition for determining the tickets to which the rule will be applied in AND and OR conditions.
- Click Add new condition to include a new condition.
Note : Here, the condition selected is Hours Since Waiting For Customer is equal to 40 hours.
- Click Next and select the actions to be applied to the tickets.
Note : The status of the ticket is set as Closed, and a private note is added.
-
Click Add to save the rule.
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Rule will be created and listed on the listing page. You can change the order of the rule by drag and drop.
Edit time trigger rule
- Click the Edit icon of the rule you want to edit on the listing page.
- Modify the condition and action as desired and click Update.
Time trigger rule deactivate or deletion
- Click the Options icon provided in the rule; it contains deactivate and delete options.
- Click the Deactivate option to deactivate the rule. After successful deactivation, the confirmation message will be shown.
Note : The deactivated rule will be moved to the Inactive tab, and later you can activate it if needed.
- Click the Delete option to hard delete the rule from the system, and it cannot be restored.
Refer the below video to know more about time trigger automation,
