By default, agents can't use the help center to submit or comment on tickets. Instead, if an agent clicks a link to a ticket form or clicks a ticket in My activities, they are redirected to the Support ticket interface. However, you can enable agents to submit requests and comment on them through the help center. This flow is typically useful in multi-brand or multi-department use cases where an agent may also be an end user. For example, an agent in one department may use a ticket form to request support from another department.
This article covers the following topics:
Enabling access to request forms
Streamline your workflow by allowing agents to submit requests and comment on them directly through your help center. You may want to turn on this setting if you've restricted agent access on tickets where they're the requester.
To allow agents to manage requests through the help center
- In Guide, click the Settings (
) icon in the sidebar, then select Guide settings.
- Select the check box to Enable agents to manage requests from your help
center.
- If you have multiple help centers, use the brand drop down menu in the top left corner to switch between the brands and select which help center to apply the setting to.
- Click Update to save your changes.
Key information for managing requests
The agent interface is a powerful system, but for the average requester, submitting ticket forms and using the help center is a simpler experience. There are also a few limitations to the feature regarding the following:
-
Ticket form limitation for light agents
Light agents can submit tickets through a request form, but the tickets are filled out as internal comments, which means it is not visible in the request portal. Subsequent comments to the tickets are also posted as internal notes and are not visible to light agents.
-
Ticket permissions and multi-department awareness
An agent who submits a request in Guide can easily find their ticket when they are logged into Support, because tickets submitted through a request form in Guide are accessible in the ticket interface in Support.Note: For multi-department (multiple groups), use cases that host, for example HR or other departments that handle sensitive information, remember that the submitting agent has access to all conversations on their ticket, (including internal conversations). -
Limited view for agent interactions with ticket forms and ticket fields
When an agent attempts to submit a request from the help center, only ticket forms that are Editable for end users appear in the list of available forms that the agent can use. In addition, these ticket forms will only include ticket fields that are Editable for end users or Read-only for end users. Ticket forms and ticket fields that are Agent only don’t appear in the help center. To view these settings, go to Manage > Ticket Forms or Manage > Ticket Fields, and then open a ticket form or ticket field for editing.
Agents cannot submit a request via the help center or the Web Widget (Classic) if the ticket form includes conditional ticket fields that are required for agents that aren’t also required for end users. Submission will fail when the agent attempts to submit the request. This only happens with required conditional ticket fields and not with other types of required ticket fields.
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Agents can’t mark a ticket as solved
Agents and Light agents can't change a ticket to “Mark as solved” from the help center, this is done in Support. However you can enable agents to manage requests.
-
Agents can’t reopen solved tickets with a comment
If an end user comments on a ticket that has been solved from the request page, the ticket automatically reopens. However the ticket does not automatically reopen when an agent or light agent submits a comment to a solved ticket (the comment is submitted and added to the thread as a comment).
-
Agents can't rate tickets
Only end users can submit satisfaction ratings to tickets.
11 comments
Kristina King
Hello! I was directed here from another thread where I was trying to find a way Light Agents could see non end-user forms without having to open a new ticket as an agent and choose the type from there.
How do agents tell if they're logged into Guide vs. Support? I don't want to end up confusing internal folks who don't use Zendesk regularly.
0
Brett Bowser
Hey Kristina,
If an agent/light-agent logs in they will have access to both Guide and Support. They won't be required to log into one or the other again. As for end-users, they will only be able to log into Guide and not Support.
Let me know if that doesn't make sense!
0
Kristina King
I have another question on this based on the article. "Limited view for Agent interactions with ticket forms and ticket fields
When an agent enters a request, they are only able to use ticket forms that are available to end users, (Agent only ticket forms are not available). The agent will only see the fields that are required for the end user when filling out the request form."
So does this mean there is no way for Light Agents to access forms unless they do so as Support agents? There is no way to access agent-only forms from the Guide? I just enabled the setting but I don't see those forms in the drop-down.
I also tried to access a specific agent-only form via URL (https://jamasoftware.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/requests/new?ticket_form_id=360001339731), and while it took me to guide instead of Agent view, it didn't take me to the form. What am I doing wrong?
0
Sabra
Hey Kristina! There is not a way for agent-only forms to be filled out from Guide. It can only be done through Support.
0
Drew Milbrath
From the Guide settings, how do I enable a "Submit Request" button or the ability to see the form fields?
1
Melissa Norton
@... is your Guide activated so end users can see it?
0
Dave Dyson
@... Thanks for responding! Looks like Drew was able to get things sorted out on their end.
0
Raida Lopez
Hi there! I have my employees set to Agent in the Guide roles and access, however they're unable to add an article. There's actually no Add button displayed on their Help Center screen. What else should I do to gran them access to create articles that would still need my approval? TIA!
0
Francis Casino
I've created a ticket to look into this further. You can expect to receive an email shortly.
1
Mehboob Ali
Could you please confirm if there's an API that can be used to inquire about the status of the setting 'Enable agents to manage requests from Help Center'?
0
Jupete Manitas
Thank you!
0