A macro is a prepared response or action that an agent can manually apply when they are creating or updating tickets (see About macros). If you created macros for support requests that can be answered with a single, standard response or action, agents can evaluate tickets and apply macros manually as needed.
This article contains the following sections:
Related articles:
Macros to get you started
There are a number of macros you can use to get started, including:
-
Close and redirect to topics
This sets the ticket status to Closed. If it is an incident of a known problem, the requester will be informed via a comment that the ticket has been closed and recommended that they visit the forums for more information about the incident.
-
Customer not responding
This is a reminder that can be sent to the requester if they have not responded to a request for more information on a pending ticket.
-
Downgrade and inform
This tells the requester that the priority of their request has been downgraded to low and that there may be some delay in resolving their request.
-
Take it!
This macro is a shortcut for agents to assign a new request to themselves.
Applying macros from the menu
You can manually apply one or more macros to a ticket at the same time. Keep in mind that what one macro does can easily be undone by another macro.
Just as you can make bulk updates to many tickets at once, you can also apply a macro to more than one ticket using your views. See Managing tickets in bulk.
So why would you apply more than one macro? A typical use case is a ticket that contains more than one question or issue—let's say two in this example. You might have set up two macros that both insert a comment into a ticket to answer each issue separately. By applying each macro to the ticket, you add two comments and address both issues in a single response.
You can view which macros were applied in the ticket's events log.
To apply a macro from the menu
- In a ticket, click Apply macro in the bottom toolbar.
- Select a macro from the list. You can filter the list by typing the beginning of a
macro's name.
Typically, your five most commonly used macros from the past week appear at the top of the macros list. The most-used macros display can be disabled, in which case, you'll only see the all macros list. See Disabling the most-used macros option.
If your macros are categorized, you can click through the levels of categorization to apply a macro.
Note: Macros cannot be set up for specific channels.The actions defined in the macro are applied. If the macro updated the ticket comment, you can edit the text before submitting the ticket.
In the Zendesk Agent Workspace, if you have a macro that inserts text into a ticket comment, you can set an insertion point in the ticket comment first, before you apply a macro. This enables you to control exactly where the macro text appears.
Note: If the macro updates the ticket comment but the tab the ticket is open in is closed before the ticket is submitted, the text of the macro will still appear in the composer when you return to the ticket. However, after submitting the ticket, only the comment is updated and the macro isn't shown in the events log for the ticket. - To apply another macro, click Apply macro again and select another macro.Tip: Check out how we use macros to manage tickets with Brett Bowser's Improve escalation workflows using macros.
- Submit the ticket.
Applying macros with a keyboard shortcut
If you have Agent Workspace activated, you can apply macros using a keyboard shortcut in a ticket comment. Using a macro keyboard shortcut can save you typing time by applying a macro to a ticket with just a few keys.
Macro keyboard shortcuts are activated by default. To deactivate macro keyboard shortcuts, see Activating and deactivating macros keyboard shortcuts.
For more information about other keyboard shortcuts, see Viewing and deactivating keyboard shortcuts.
To apply a macro with a keyboard shortcut
- In a ticket, type a slash (/) in the ticket’s comment.Note: If you want to exit the Macros menu after typing a slash (/), press the space bar.
Typically, your seven most used macros from the past week appear at the top of the macros list, including both shared macros and any personal macros you may use.
Note: If your account has Chat or Messaging activated, the list displays both macros and shortcuts. See Using shortcuts in Chat. - Select one of these or begin typing a macro name to filter the list.
- Click the macro name to apply it to the ticket.
The actions defined in the macro are applied. If the macro updated the ticket comment, you can edit the text before submitting the ticket.
- To apply another macro, type a slash (/) in the ticket comment.
Previewing macros
You can preview a macro from the Apply macro menu before applying it to a ticket.
To preview and apply a macro from the menu
- In a ticket, click Apply macro in the bottom toolbar.
- Find the macro you want to use in the list.
- Click the Open preview icon (
).
Alternatively, hover your cursor over the macro to display its description tooltip. From the tooltip, you can view the macro's description (if one exists) and access its preview by pressing Shift + Enter.
The preview shows the macro's title and description (if one exists), as well as the fields and elements the macro will change, add, or remove, including:
- Ticket fields
- Comments, replies, or notes (including placeholders and dynamic content)
- Attachments
- If the macro looks correct, click Apply Macro.
You can also click Cancel to return to the ticket screen, or click Open in Settings to view the macro's settings in Admin Center.
Using macros to update problem and incident tickets
Use caution when applying macros with placeholders to problem and incident tickets. It's easy to accidentally populate the wrong values in ticket comments when using macros with placeholders in this scenario. To avoid this, you often need use a backward slash (\) to escape the placeholder so that it populates the appropriate value within the related incident tickets.
For example: Hello
\{{ticket.requester.first_name}}
42 comments
Quinn Fox
Hey there!
I am trying to make an edit of one of the current macros as a piece of the macro is a process that is further out of date, and we have to manually go through and update the listed value with the new one when creating each additional ticket. I have tried going through and further cloning the macro but had received an error message, as well; I have also tried to create the macro from scratch, using the "Get Started" tab. My "Available For" section drop down is not providing any results, and further when saving the macro, I receive "Macro could not be created"
Could you please provide assistance with this?
1
Heather Rommel
Hi Quinn Fox,
There might be something off with permissions on the macro creating/editing. Check with your Zendesk Administrator to make sure you have edit macros in your role and give them the link to the macro you're trying to edit. It might be that the macro is assigned to a group you don't belong in or something along those lines.
Thanks,
Heather
0
RASMUS
I hope someone can help me.
My macro looks fine when I create it, but when I use it for Facebook Messenger reply. It looks like this:
<p>Hej JaTak</p><p><br></p><p>Det er godt at høre :-)</p><p><br></p><p>☑️ Du kan logge ind fra <a href="http://www.easylivesales.dk" rel="noreferrer">www.easylivesales.dk</a> på login-ikonet i toppen.</p><p>Der vil nu stå “Continue with Facebook”, med et grønt ”?”</p><p><br></p><p>☑️ Klik på det grønne ”?”
What might I be doing wrong?
0
Thomas Vogler
Why cant macros edit custom numeric ticket fields?
0
Nicole Saunders
Hi Thomas -
Macros can only update checkbox, drop-down, and multi-select fields. They cannot edit text or numeric fields; it's just not a part of the functionality they were built with.
0
Jonathan March
Thomas, for what it's worth, a workaround that we use is to have the macro put a prominent reminder in the comment, about what field should be modified. Not as useful as what you're looking for, indeed, but for occasional use, it does the job for us.
0
Jared Vicencio
how can I search for tickets that used a specific macro?
0
Heather Rommel
Hi Jared,
The only way I've found to do this is to add tags with the macros and then search on the tags (annoying, I know).
2
Micah Brown
I'm curious if there is shortcut method to inserting Macros. Instead of "clicking" on the macro, typing in a hash and then the title of the macro:
#usethismacro
Upon hitting enter, the macro text would fill the space.
I understand that not all macros have text, but being able do that for the ones that do have text would speed things up greatly.
I'm one of those people who prefers to keep my hands on the keyboard as much as possible and leave the mouse resting peacefully as much as possible.
0
Dave Dyson
Yes, you can use:
crtl
alt
m
to open the Macros box (orcrtl
option
m
on a MacOS keyboard).Here's how you can find (and enable/disable keyboard shortcuts in Zendesk): Viewing and deactivating keyboard shortcuts
0
Elizabeth A
Hi,
is there a way I can automatically limit the number of characters in my macros? eg 100 characters so that when the characters are above this number the macros will not save or I will be notified?
0
Joyce
The limit for any text input field, including Macros, is 63,000. This limit cannot be adjusted as this is standard across all accounts.
0
Mike Nicholls
Hey all,
Im currently trying to find the cause of a bug that is rather sporadic (10 x a day for one agent). Issue reported by several agents.
Use case:
Are there any known issues that may cause this ? Zendesk or my configurations.
0
Cheeny Aban
Are you experiencing the same when using incognito, or after clearing cache and cookies and logging in on a different browser? If yes, can you capture a har file or a video of the issue? If yes, I would suggest that you initiate a conversation with us so we can take a closer look.
0
Quinn Fox
In regards to Mike Nicholls comment,
I had personally experienced this as well and had found that these were drafts of unfinished tickets that had been further closed (they were no longer needed). I further tried closing and creating new tickets until I had further cycled to a blank one, which had worked, although I figured this had not been a resolution. I had further cleared the cache and the cookies, and this had seemed to rectify the issue, starting myself off with fresh tickets. I had not seen anywhere to view my drafts, and normally when closing tickets it states that changes shall be lost.
0
Camilo Gomez
If we update the fields that are used in a form and remove some of the fields that get updated by some of our macros would the macros fail due to not finding that field on the form?
Did some preliminary test and it does not seem to affect the processing of the ticket but I just want to confirm if there are any issues associated with this or would we have to audit our macros and remove any mention of these fields.
0
Dave Dyson
In my experience, a macro (or other business rule - trigger, automation, or view) that includes a deactivated/deleted ticket field will still include the instruction that referenced that field, but it will be skipped in processing.
For some additional info and best practices and caveats, see Understanding how creating, deactivating, or deleting ticket fields impacts tickets
0
Ben Ellis
Hello,
I've noticed that if 'light agent' applies a macro, then all other actions that should be followed to it (if were configurated) do not activate. How can we mitigate that, please?
0
Fellipe M.
Please note that Light Agents have some limitations. If the action present in the macro is one of the limitations listed in the article, then it won't be executed due to the role restriction. If the actions aren't listed as a limitation, then it's better you raise a ticket with Zendesk Support to investigate it further.
0
Carl Hajal
Can I get a macro to submit a ticket? in other words, can I apply the macro so the email will be automatically sent without having to click the submit button?
Thank you
0
Dave Dyson
Depending on your use case, it might be worth looking into Side Conversations: About side conversations
0
KATIA LAS HERAS URÍA
Hello!
How can I create a macro that allows our customers to change their response in a satisfaction survey?
I mean, if the customer wants to change their initial rating?
Thank you!
0
Dave Dyson
As long as the user's ticket is not Closed, they can change the satisfaction rating on the ticket by going to the ticket's request page in your help center. You can include a clickable link to their ticket by including #/10870850 or /https://support.zendesk.com/hc/requests/10870850 in a public comment added via a macro, and if they click that link in their email, they'll be taken to their request page in your help center (they'll be prompted to log in if they're not already logged in at that point), and assuming they've already submitted a CSAT rating and the ticket status isn't Closed yet, there will be an option for them to change their rating.
0
Katerina Frid
Hello! I'm trying to use Zendesk API to process the comments of agents and I have a couple of questions.
1) Is there a way to find out if a comment is a macro or not?
2) After choosing a macro as a template for a comment and applying changes (filling in placeholders, putting an additional text to the end) is it still considered as an 'AgentMacroReference' type event or it becomes a plane 'Comment' type event?
0
Adam Brown
Hi, is there a way to automate a macro? e.g. when a certain form is submitted, a specific macro is automatically triggered for that ticket.
0
Sydney Neubauer
Adam Brown
Not for adding a macro but you can create a trigger to do. It would look something like this:
ALL
Ticket is created
Form is [form]
Actions
Email user (requester)
[Comment of the macro]
0
Ellie Clements
Hello
I created a macro, but when I've gone to add a macro to an existing ticket it doesn't appear in the dropdown box or when I search for the name of the macro.
Please can I have some guidance on this.
0
Sydney Neubauer
Ellie Clements if it is a newly created macro, you will need to refresh your page for it to be searchable. How long ago did you make the macro?
0
Richard Tudge
Hi, I am trying to include the last public comment in a macro but the last comment is never formatted correctly, its just appears as a block of text.
Do I need to apply some kind of formatting to the placeholder.
thanks
0
Noly Maron Unson
Hi Richard,
There are comment placeholders that return unformatted comments are there are those that return formatted comments.
Here is the list of placeholders for Formatted comment data.
And here are the ones that return Rich text comment data.
Hope this helps.
0