If you've recently started using Slack and Freshdesk, you'll notice an integration already set up for you. There are several ways to use this information to your advantage, but understanding this new integration can be challenging to unlock its potential. This blog post addresses some of the most common queries about Slack-Freshdesk integration, providing clear answers to help you maximize the benefits of this powerful combination.
Q1: Can You Set Filters to Send Specific Tickets into Slack Automatically?
Yes, you can set filters to send specific tickets into Slack, but currently, this feature is limited to filtering based on ticket priority. This means that you can't filter tickets based on all potential criteria (like ticket type, requester, creation date, etc.) before they are delivered to your Slack workspace, but you can do so based on a ticket's priority level.
Q2: Can You Customize What an Agent Can Do with a Ticket on Slack?
You can customize what a Freshdesk agent can perform with a ticket posted on Slack, but this depends on the permissions set for these agents in Freshdesk. Like how different agents in the Freshdesk organization have distinct authority over ticket properties, these same permissions carry over to the linked Slack workspace when you use the Freshdesk-Slack integration.
Q3: Is There a Limit to Team Collaboration on Slack?
No, there is no limit to the number of team members you can collaborate with on a ticket in Slack. The platform is designed to promote effective communication, teamwork, and collaboration amongst teams of all sizes. This means you can involve all necessary team members, whether agents, developers, or management, without limitation.
Q4: Can I Link Related Tickets in Slack?
As of now, you cannot link related tickets within Slack. The current Freshdesk-Slack integration allows for sharing tickets from Freshdesk into Slack and vice versa. However, it does not support linking or associating related tickets directly within the Slack interface.
Q5: What Happens When a Slack Collaborator is Deactivated?
When a collaborator in Slack is deactivated, it doesn't mean their contributions to the team's discussions and actions vanish. Even if the user no longer has access to their Slack account, all the comments, replies, ticket updates, and other contributions they made while active will remain visible in the conversation threads.
These contributions will continue to appear under their name, thus retaining the context and historical record of every interaction they were a part of. This ensures that the information flow and team understanding from past collaborations are not disrupted.
Q6: What if a Slack Channel Mapped to Freshdesk is Archived?
If a Slack channel mapped to a Freshdesk group gets archived, it's important to know that tickets will continue to be sent to the archived channel. This is due to the continued active status of the Freshdesk group linked to the channel. Although Slack archives the channel's history, it doesn't automatically cease its integrations or activities linked to other platforms, such as Freshdesk, in this case.
Consequently, new tickets will still be posted in the archived Slack channel, though your team might not monitor the channel anymore. To prevent this from happening, you need to disconnect or change the mapping in the Freshdesk app settings within Slack. Essentially, you will want to either unlink the archived Slack channel from the Freshdesk group or switch the linkage to a new, active Slack channel where your team can actively monitor and handle ticket queries.
Q7: Which Freshdesk Plan Do I Need for Slack Integration?
The Slack app is available for all Freshdesk plans that offer API access. This compatibility allows for seamless integration of these platforms, permitting direct communication between your Freshdesk tickets and your Slack environment regardless of the specific Freshdesk plan you are subscribed to.
Q8: Are Inline Images and Attachments Synced?
Yes, but currently, inline images and attachments are not directly synced as part of the ticket replies or private notes from Freshdesk to Slack or vice-versa. Instead, they're delivered as links.
When a user replies to a ticket or adds a note with an inline image or attachment in Freshdesk, the attachment gets created within Freshdesk's secure server, and a link to that location is posted along with the message in the corresponding Slack Channel.
Q9: Why Choose the New App Over the Old?
The newer version of the Freshdesk-Slack integration app offers new features designed to enhance productivity and improve user experience within Slack. These enhancements include:
- Ticket Actions: With the new app, agents can perform quick ticket actions directly within Slack, including changing the status, adding notes, and more, giving your team more control and reducing the need to switch back and forth between Slack and Freshdesk.
- Conversation Syncing: The newer app enables the syncing of Slack conversations as ticket notes on Freshdesk. Any thread in Slack associated with the ticket is stored and can be viewed directly in Freshdesk, preserving all context and information.
- Dashboard Views: Agents can find detailed dashboard views in Slack with custom ticket filters. This reduces the need to switch to Freshdesk to view tickets and lets agents perform their work without leaving the Slack interface.
All these new features make supporting customers from Slack more streamlined and efficient.
Q10: Can Both the Old and New Apps Coexist?
Technically, the old and the new Freshdesk integration apps can coexist in Slack. However, doing so is generally not recommended.
The primary reason is that having both applications installed could result in receiving duplicate notifications for the same events from both apps. One of these notifications would be informational (from the older app), and the other would be actionable (from the newer app). This scenario can clutter your Slack channels and generate confusion for your team.
Moreover, managing settings, mappings, and notifications across two apps for the same purpose can become unnecessarily complex. Instead of streamlining your team's work, having both apps operational side-by-side could confuse your workflows.
Q11: What's the Future of the Old App?
Currently, Freshdesk continues to support the old app for existing users. However, they have not provided a specific timeline for its discontinuation. Freshdesk intends to include new features, enhancements, and innovations in the newer version of the Freshdesk-Slack integration app while maintaining support for the older app.
Developing new features and improvements will be more focused on the new app. Therefore, the capabilities of the old app are likely to remain limited compared to its newer counterpart.
