Custom Fields

What Are Custom Fields?

Custom fields extend Zendesk's data model by allowing you to capture additional information on tickets, users, and organizations. They're essential for tracking business-specific data that doesn't fit in Zendesk's standard fields.

Examples: customer account number, product version, issue category, contract tier, etc.

What Configly Captures

For each custom field, Configly stores:

• Basic Information

  • Field title and key (API name)
  • Field type (text, dropdown, checkbox, etc.)
  • Description
  • Active/inactive status

• Field Type Configuration

  • Dropdown/tagger options (for dropdown, multi-select, and tagger fields)
  • Default value
  • Regular expression (for regex fields)
  • Date configuration (for date fields)

• Display Settings

  • Position (order in forms)
  • Visibility (agent-only, end-user visible)
  • Required status

• Field Context

  • Resource type (ticket, user, or organization)
  • Tag associations

• Metadata

  • Created and updated timestamps

Custom Field Types

Zendesk supports three resource types for custom fields:

Ticket Fields

Fields attached to tickets. Most common type.

Examples:

• Issue category (dropdown)
• Product version (text)
• Priority justification (textarea)
• Customer type (dropdown)
• Contract end date (date)

User Fields

Fields attached to user profiles (both agents and end-users).

Examples:

• Employee ID (text)
• Department (dropdown)
• Manager name (text)
• Hire date (date)

Organization Fields

Fields attached to organization records.

Examples:

• Account tier (dropdown)
• Contract value (decimal)
• Renewal date (date)
• Industry (dropdown)

Viewing Custom Fields

Navigate to Custom Fields from your connection dashboard to see all your fields. You can:

• Filter by resource type (ticket, user, organization)
• Filter by field type (text, dropdown, checkbox, etc.)
• Filter by active/inactive status
• Search by title or key
• Sort by position or last updated
• View field options for dropdown/tagger fields
• Compare field configurations across connections

Common Dependencies

Custom fields are referenced by many other objects:

• Triggers - Conditions check field values, actions update fields
• Automations - Same as triggers
• Macros - Actions update field values
• Views - Conditions filter by field values, columns display field data
• SLA policies - Conditions may check field values
• Ticket forms - Display specific fields based on form configuration
• Apps - Third-party apps may read/write custom field values

Before deleting a custom field, use Configly to check dependencies!

Learn more about dependency tracking →

Tips for Admins

Planning Custom Fields

• Name clearly - Field title shows to users, so make it understandable
• Key naming - API keys can't be changed, so choose wisely (use snake_case)
• Field type matters - Pick the right type from the start (can't change later)
• Dropdown vs text - Dropdowns enable reporting and consistency

Field Options (Dropdowns/Taggers)

• Keep options stable - Changing option values can break triggers and automations
• Use consistent casing - "High", not "high" or "HIGH"
• Limit options - Too many options make dropdowns unwieldy
• Default values - Set sensible defaults to reduce agent effort

Before Making Changes

• Check dependencies - Use Configly to see what breaks if you delete a field
• Deactivate before deleting - Test the impact by deactivating first
• Communicate changes - Let agents know when field options change
• Update documentation - Keep field descriptions accurate

Common Patterns

• Required fields - Use sparingly; they can block ticket creation
• Conditional fields - Show fields only on relevant ticket forms
• Cascading dropdowns - Use tags to link field options (advanced)
• Agent-only fields - Hide internal fields from end-users

Maintenance

• Inactive fields - Remove old fields that are no longer used
• Unused options - Clean up dropdown options that are obsolete
• Field sprawl - Audit regularly to prevent too many custom fields
• Naming consistency - Standardize field naming conventions

Using Configly

• Diff fields - Compare field configurations between environments
• Track changes - See what changed in field definitions over time
• Identify dependencies - Before removing a field, see what will break
• Audit field usage - Review all fields to find cleanup opportunities

Example Use Cases

Issue Category (Ticket Field - Dropdown)

Tracks the type of issue reported.

Configuration:

• Type: Dropdown
• Required: Yes
• Options: "Technical Issue", "Billing Question", "Feature Request", "Bug Report", "Other"
• Default: "Other"

Usage: Used in triggers to route tickets, in views to filter by category, in reporting.

Dependencies to watch: Triggers that assign based on category, views filtering by category

Account Tier (Organization Field - Dropdown)

Tracks the customer's service level.

Configuration:

• Type: Dropdown
• Required: No
• Options: "Free", "Basic", "Pro", "Enterprise"
• Default: "Free"

Usage: Used in SLA policies for priority customers, triggers for VIP routing, views for filtering.

Dependencies to watch: SLA policies, triggers checking tier, views displaying tier

Product Version (Ticket Field - Text)

Captures the version of the product experiencing an issue.

Configuration:

• Type: Text
• Required: No
• Max length: 50
• Regex validation: Optional (e.g., ^\d+\.\d+\.\d+$ for semantic versioning)

Usage: Used in macros to ask for version, in views to display, in reporting.

Dependencies to watch: Macros that update this field, views that display it

Contract End Date (Organization Field - Date)

Tracks when a customer's contract expires.

Configuration:

• Type: Date
• Required: No

Usage: Used in automations to send renewal reminders, in views to see expiring contracts, in reporting.

Dependencies to watch: Automations checking date, views filtering by date

Field Type Reference

Custom Field Limits

Be aware of Zendesk limits:

• Total custom fields: 200 ticket fields, 100 user fields, 100 org fields
• Dropdown options: 1000 options per field (but keep it reasonable)
• Performance: Too many custom fields can slow down ticket loading

Related Objects

• Triggers - Automated rules that read/write custom fields
• Automations - Time-based rules using custom fields
• Macros - Manual actions that update custom fields
• Views - Filtered lists that display and filter by custom fields