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By connecting the action builder to external systems, such as Microsoft Calendar, admins can integrate Zendesk with external systems in automated workflows, improving collaboration and maintaining a seamless experience across multiple platforms.
Note: The steps associated with external systems in action flows are referred to collectively as external actions.
This article contains the following topics:
  • Connecting Microsoft Calendar to action builder
  • Using Microsoft Calendar actions in action flows
  • Recipe: Automatically creating handover meeting in Microsoft Calendar when a ticket is reassigned

Connecting Microsoft Calendar to action builder

Before you can include external actions in your action flows, you must connect the action builder to the external system.

When connecting to external systems for use in action flows, the following best practices are recommended:
  • All external actions performed by an action flow are attributed to the user who connected the external system. Therefore, it is a best practice to use a dedicated service account rather than personal credentials when connecting to each external system.
  • All integrations request access to necessary scopes. However, it's important that you review and validate the scopes before authorizing the connection to the external system.
  • When managing credentials for API key-based tools, such as OpenAI, it's best to store keys in a secure vault or credential manager.
To connect Microsoft Calendar to action builder
  1. In Admin Center, click Apps and integrations in the sidebar, then select Actions > Action flows.
  2. Create or edit an action flow.
  3. Open the step sidebar.
  4. Under External actions, click Microsoft Calendar.
  5. Click Connect.
  6. Use Microsoft to authenticate the account.

    You must use a service account when connecting to Microsoft Calendar because it uses User Scopes. Authenticating with a personal account won't work properly.

    The following scopes are required: offline_access, User.Read, Calendars.Read, Calendars.ReadWrite, MailboxSettings.Read, MailboxSettings.ReadWrite.

    Note: All external actions performed by an action flow are attributed to the user who connected the external system.

After you've connected to the system, you'll see an indicator that it's connected and details about the instance you're connected to, as well as the actions available for Jira.

Using Microsoft Calendar actions in action flows

Microsoft Calendar action steps can be used to automatically create, update, and manage calendar events in Microsoft Calendar.

The following Microsoft Calendar actions are available:
  • Create event
  • Update event
  • Search for event
  • Delete event

Creating a calendar event

Use the Create event action to create a new calendar event. For example, you might want to automatically create follow-up meetings or reminders when high-priority tickets are created in Zendesk.

This action has the following inputs and outputs:

  Variables
Inputs external_id, calendar_id, title, start_time, end_time, attendees, description, location
Output id, link

Updating a calendar event

Use the Update event action to modify an existing calendar event, such as rescheduling it when a ticket due date changes.

This action has the following inputs and outputs:

  Variables
Inputs external_id, calendar_id, event_id, updated_fields
Output id, link

Searching for a calendar event

Use the Search for calendar event action to retrieve information about an existing calendar event. This is useful for checking whether an event already exists and verifying the details of an existing event.

This action has the following inputs and outputs:

  Variables
Inputs external_id, query (title, date range, attendee)
Output events (id, title, start_time, end_time, attendees, link)

Deleting a calendar event

Use the Delete event action to delete an existing calendar event.

This action has the following inputs and outputs:

  Variables
Inputs external_id, calendar_id, event_id
Output none

Recipe: Automatically creating handover meeting in Microsoft Calendar when a ticket is reassigned

The following example action flow automatically creates a meeting in Microsoft Calendar when a ticket is reassigned and invites the previous asignee and new assignee. This ensures consistent transfer of ownership with full context of the ticket, which reduces delays and improves accountability.

Such an action flow might consist of the following steps:
  1. Add an action flow trigger with the following details:
    1. Click Add trigger.
    2. In the step sidebar, under Zendesk, click Tickets.
    3. Click Routing and select Ticket assignment changed.
  2. Add a step to look up ticket details:
    1. In the action builder, beneath the action flow trigger, click the Add step icon ().
    2. In the step sidebar, under Zendesk actions, click Look up ticket.
    3. Under Ticket ID, click into the field and then click Select a variable instead.
    4. Within the variable menu, select Ticket assignment changed as the step that output the variable you want to use, and then select Ticket ID.
  3. Add a step to look up user details about the ticket assignee:
    1. In the action builder, click the Add step icon ().
    2. In the step sidebar, under Zendesk actions, click Look up user.
    3. Under User ID type, select Zendesk user ID.
    4. For User ID, click Add variable.
    5. Within the variable menu, select Look up ticket as the step that outputs the variable you want to use, and then select Assignee ID.
  4. Add a step to lookup details about the ticket requester's organization:
    1. In the action builder, click the Add step icon ().
    2. In the step sidebar, under Zendesk actions, click Look up organization.
    3. Under Organization ID type, select Zendesk organization ID.
    4. For Organization ID, click Add variable.
    5. Within the variable menu, select Look up user as the step that outputs the variable you want to use, and then select Organization ID.
  5. Add a step that creates a calendar event based on the information you collected for the ticket, assignee, and organization:
    1. In the action builder, click the Add step icon ().
    2. In the step sidebar, under External actions, click Microsoft Calendar and then select Create event.
    3. Under Calendar, select the appropriate calendar from the connected account in which to create the event.
    4. Under Title, enter Handoff ticket and then click add variableTicket ID.
  6. Click Save.
  7. Click Test totest the action flow.
  8. Click the options menu () and select Activate to begin using the action flow to automatically schedule ticket handoff meetings when a ticket's assignee changes.
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