Workflow: Forward notifications to an external email address on ticket updates

<p>This workflow shows how to forward notifications to an end user on ticket updates with <a href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4591924111770-Using-lookup-relationship-fields" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">lookup relationship fields</a> and triggers.</p><p>While <a href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4408883282458-Notifying-external-email-targets" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">email targets</a> provide a straightforward way to notify an external address, a lookup relationship field combined with a user object offers flexibility and customization options for the email. For example, you can set a subject line that is relevant to the specific ticket to add context. This approach also lets you choose the recipient for each ticket, unlike email targets which require a fixed address.</p><p id="h_01HXY1HE26P3B12BWCYXQM4MFJ">The workflow includes the steps below:</p><div style="margin-bottom: 20px; text-align: right;">
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</script><div class="accordion"><h3 id="section_02">Step 1: Create the ticket field</h3></div><div class="panel">
<p>This ticket field links to the user custom object and returns the user email address.</p>
<ol>
<li data-list-item-id="e2a241d61dfb12a3817c14daa8785ba82">In <a href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4581766374554-Using-Zendesk-Admin-Center#topic_hfg_dyz_1hb" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Admin Center</a>, click <img src="https://zen-marketing-documentation.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/en/ac_objects_rules_icon.png" id="topic_qzx_ck5_y3b__d7e1204"> <strong>Objects and rules</strong> in the sidebar, then select <strong>Tickets</strong> &gt; <strong>Fields</strong>
</li>
<li data-list-item-id="e3ae96e64db86dd2da5872ee012ae2706">Click <strong>Add field</strong>
</li>
<li data-list-item-id="e2600e452e0cef1dc7fbcb642df55ce67">Select <strong>Lookup relationship field</strong>
</li>
<li data-list-item-id="e378be796c4a92408ea3ab7612475af20">In the <strong>Display name</strong> field, enter <strong>Forwarding address</strong>
</li>
<li data-list-item-id="e7407d1e67bdc89f7960bff7214f1f0bc">In the <strong>Select a related object</strong> dropdown, select <strong>User</strong>
</li>
<li data-list-item-id="eb00ee915510ddc8b06b4546eca99b1af">
<p>In the <strong>Set filter</strong> section under <strong>Meet ALL of the following conditions</strong>, add the <strong>Role | Is | End user</strong> condition</p>
<p><img src="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/article_attachments/8320981802906" alt="Ticket field that links to the user custom object and returns the email address" width="437" height="377"></p>
</li>
<li data-list-item-id="ea0349bb0ff1288a3484ab9215ba744f9">Click <strong>Save</strong>
</li>
</ol>
</div><div class="accordion"><h3 id="01HXY1G18XYBGPX37812NDQPP4">Step 2: Add the ticket field to a ticket form</h3></div><div class="panel"><ol>
<li data-list-item-id="e480ef956354fac4a56692ddf0ed11b63">In <a href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4581766374554-Using-Zendesk-Admin-Center#topic_hfg_dyz_1hb" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Admin Center</a>, click <img src="https://zen-marketing-documentation.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/en/ac_objects_rules_icon.png" id="topic_qzx_ck5_y3b__d7e1204"> <strong>Objects and rules</strong> in the sidebar, then select <strong>Tickets</strong> &gt; <strong>Forms</strong>
</li>
<li data-list-item-id="e903cfabc2ca778a0bec9873b4f402640">Click the form you want to edit</li>
<li data-list-item-id="e4991c28c04e76be32bc4959e91f3c3f3">In the <strong>Available ticket fields</strong> panel, click the plus icon (<strong>+</strong>) to add the ticket field to the form<br><img src="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/article_attachments/8320961722650" alt="Add the forwarding address to the form">
</li>
<li data-list-item-id="ee8120ed72331f29ddb75aa857f5d465c">Drag the ticket fields to reorder<br><img class="wysiwyg-image-resized" style="aspect-ratio: 1100/1110; width: 44.24%;" src="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/article_attachments/10012334485402" alt="Drag the the fields in the form to reorder" width="1100" height="1110">
</li>
<li data-list-item-id="ebef36cd59e0f1baa61c54738a065d229">Click <strong>Save</strong>
</li>
</ol></div><div class="accordion"><h3 id="section_03">Step 3: Set up the trigger</h3></div><div class="panel">
<p>Create a trigger that sends the email notification to the user.</p>
<ol>
<li data-list-item-id="e0fc7b285ade0d7d733a8e8ec50c00d94">Create a <a href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4408886797466-Creating-ticket-triggers-for-automatic-ticket-updates-and-notifications" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">trigger</a>
</li>
<li data-list-item-id="e2021b1a404610cb8b174a5c2988b8452">Under <strong>Meet ALL of the following conditions</strong>, add the conditions <strong>Ticket &gt; Ticket | Is | Updated</strong> and <strong>Ticket &gt; Tags | Contains at least one of the following | </strong><code>your_tag</code>
</li>
<li data-list-item-id="e2628eb88f5c084bc53601ea6cf745212">Under <strong>Actions</strong>, add <strong>Other &gt; Notify by &gt; User email | Object &gt; Lookup relationships &gt; Forwarding address</strong>, <strong>Email subject | </strong>Enter your custom subject line, and <strong>Email body | </strong>Enter your custom message</li>
<li data-list-item-id="e2efd7d61db14f65d46fb74210ef423c1">
<p>Click <strong>Create trigger</strong></p>
<p><img src="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/article_attachments/10569918777370" alt="Trigger that notifies external email address on updates.png" width="1970" height="1602"></p>
</li>
</ol>
</div><div class="accordion"><h3 id="section_04">Step 4: Train your agents</h3></div><div class="panel">
<p>The lookup relationship field appears in the agent interface. Agents can search for end users by name or email address.</p>
<p>You can also use the <strong>Forwarding address</strong> field when you create <a href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/sections/5634465167514-Business-rules" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">business rules</a> for tickets.</p>
</div>