Available on Pro, Premium, and Enterprise subscriptions.
What
Create custom inbox triggers in Teamwork Desk to automatically perform actions when ticket-related events occur.
Why
  • Save time by automating steps in your workflow. You don't need to remember to update key details as tickets progress. Teamwork Desk can do that for you.
  • Streamline ticket management with automated updates when key events occur on tickets.
  • Manage tickets based on linked tasks, leveraging Teamwork Desk's integration with Teamwork.com.
Who
  • Site admins (can create and manage triggers across all inboxes)
  • Inbox admins (can create and manage triggers across inboxes where they're an admin)
When
Any time there is an action that regularly has to occur and there is an inbox trigger that can carry out that action.
← Swipe to scroll

Using individual inboxes?
Admins can also create triggers for individual inboxes. Go to Settings → Inbox → Individual inbox → Triggers to create one for a specific individual inbox.
  • Individual inbox triggers apply to one individual inbox only.
  • When using an inbox condition, only that individual inbox can be selected.
  • For manual triggers, only users with read and reply permissions on the individual inbox can activate the trigger.

Before you start

  • Teamwork Desk has two custom trigger types: automatic and manual. Choose the type that best fits your team's needs, or use both for different scenarios.
    • Automatic triggers run when a matched ticket is created or updated.
    • Manual triggers are manually applied to individual tickets by agents.
  • Task conditions and actions can only be used with automatic triggers.
Learn more about trigger flows and supported conditions & actions.



Create a custom trigger

Create custom triggers to carry out actions when certain ticket-related events occur.
Trigger flow: Conditions → Actions
When a ticket matches the trigger conditions, Teamwork Desk performs the selected actions.

Step 1: Name the trigger and apply it to inboxes

  1. Click your profile image and choose Settings.
  2. Switch to the Inboxes tab.
  3. Select the inbox you want to apply the trigger to.
  4. Choose Triggers from the left navigation menu.
  5. Select the Automatic tab.
  6. Click Create trigger.

    Triggers tab showing the Create trigger button
  7. Set a name for the trigger.
  8. Review the inbox(es) the trigger should be applied to. The current inbox is selected by default. Leave as is or click the dropdown to share the trigger with additional inboxes.
    Inbox admins can share a trigger with any other inboxes they're an admin on. Site admins can share a trigger with any inbox.
  9. Set a trigger description.
    Trigger setup fields for name, inboxes, description, status, and trigger type
  10. Review the trigger's Active status. It is active by default, meaning it will run as soon as its criteria are met after the trigger is created.
  11. Review the trigger's type (Automatic or Manual) and change if necessary.
    If Manual is selected, an additional toggle is displayed allowing you to grant agents permission to apply the manual trigger to tickets.


Step 2: Set the trigger's conditions

Set one or multiple conditions for the trigger. The trigger's actions will only take effect on tickets meeting the trigger's conditions. Don't worry, we cover actions in the next section.
 
  1. Scroll to the When... section.
  2. Click + Condition under the condition type you want to set:
    1. Meet any: Run the trigger's actions whenever a ticket meets any of a group of conditions.
    2. Meet all: Run the trigger's actions only when a ticket meets all of a group of conditions.
      You can set multiple meet any or meet all conditions on a trigger (or use them in combination).

      Meet any and meet all condition groups in a Desk trigger
  3. Choose a condition from the dropdown. This is the trigger condition that'll prompt the corresponding action(s) to occur.
    Trigger condition dropdown in Teamwork Desk
     
  4. Use property fields to refine the condition's criteria. When this criteria is met, one or multiple actions occur. Learn more about actions in the next section.
  5. Next:
    1. Stop there: Jump to the next section on this page to set the trigger's actions if one condition is sufficient.
    2. Keep going: Click + Condition to create each additional trigger condition you need, before moving on to actions.

Step 3: Set the trigger's actions

Set one or multiple actions for the trigger. These actions will only take effect on tickets meeting the trigger's conditions.

  1. Scroll to the Then... section.
  2. Click + Action.
  3. Choose an action (ex. add tags, assign to user, change priority) from the dropdown. This is the action that'll happen when the associated trigger condition is met.Trigger action dropdown in Teamwork Desk
  4. Use the property field to refine the action. This is applicable to most actions (ex. tags — you can specify the exact tags to apply to tickets), except Delete. The chosen property is applied to affected tickets when the trigger runs. 
    Action property field in a Desk trigger
  5. Next:
    1. Stop there: Jump to the next section on this page to review the trigger's status and type.
    2. Keep going: Click + Action to create each additional trigger action you need, before moving on to the next section.

Step 4: Review the trigger's status and type

  1. Review the trigger's type (Automatic or Manual) and change if necessary. 
    If Manual is selected, an additional toggle is displayed allowing you to grant agents permission to apply the manual trigger to tickets.
  2. Review the trigger's status. It is set to active by default, meaning it will run as soon as its criteria are met after the trigger is created.
     

Step 5: Apply the trigger to existing tickets

This step is optional but can be very useful depending on your workflow. Apply the trigger's actions (ex. add tags or change priority) in bulk to existing criteria-matching tickets, ensuring they are align with the automated workflow you're implementing for future tickets.

  1. Scroll to the bottom of the page.
  2. Check the Apply this trigger to all existing matched tickets box. When unchecked, the trigger will only be applied to future tickets.

Step 6: Review and save the trigger

Review & save the trigger and decide where you want to go next:

  1. Scroll to Summary at the bottom of the page.
  2. Review the trigger's setup. If you need to make any changes, scroll back to the relevant field and update as necessary.
  3. Save the trigger by choosing either:
    1. Create trigger: Create the trigger and return to the inbox's Triggers view.
    2. Create & view tickets: Create the trigger and open a preview of matched tickets.
      ️ For Create & view tickets, Teamwork Desk scans all tickets before showing results. The loading time for this depends on your site's volume of tickets.

Create triggers at site level

Site admins can manage triggers across all inboxes from Settings.

  1. Click your profile image and choose Settings.
  2. Switch to the General tab.
  3. Select Triggers from the left navigation menu.
  4. Click Add trigger to get started.

Best practices

  • Tell your team: Make sure to tell your team which automated processes you have set up so they can understand what'll happen when they complete or reopen tasks on tickets. This is good practice for all triggers, not just task-related ones.
  • Combine processes: Support more sophisticated workflows by adding multiple conditions / actions (or both) to a trigger.
    Need some ideas? Set a trigger to 1) change a ticket's priority to high AND 2) send an email to the assigned agent when the ticket's last open task is completed AND the ticket's inbox is "Customer Support."