Setting up contextual workspaces

<body>
<p id="docs-hc-snippet" style="display: none;">Contextual workspaces enable you to present ticket tools and features based on specific workflows. For example, your company might have a specific workflow to use when a customer makes a return or when they have a billing issue. This article describes how to create a contextual workspace and define the conditions that will launch the workspace.</p>
<div class="article-banners">
<div id="docs-wmp-link">
<a href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/5411234991258-plan" rel="noopener" target="_blank">What's my plan?</a>
</div>

<div class="article-banner" id="suite_ee">
<table>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>
<strong>All Suites</strong>
</td>
<td>Enterprise or Enterprise Plus</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
</div>

<div class="article-banner" id="support_e">
<table>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>
<strong>Support</strong>
</td>
<td>Enterprise</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
</div>

</div>

<div class="body">

<div class="p">
<div class="note fastpath">
<span class="fastpathtitle">Location: </span> <span class="ph">Admin Center &gt; Workspaces &gt; Agent tools &gt;
Contextual workspaces</span>
</div>
</div>
<p class="p">Contextual workspaces enable you to present ticket tools and features based on specific
workflows. For example, your company might have a specific workflow to use when a customer
makes a return or when they have a billing issue. This article describes how to create a
contextual workspace and define the conditions that will launch the workspace.</p>
<p class="p">This article contains the following topics:</p>
<ul class="ul" id="topic_cxf_ztn_wcb__ul_uv2_g5n_wcb">
<li class="li"><a class="xref" href="#topic_l1z_tvt_w2b">About contextual workspaces</a></li>
<li class="li"><a class="xref" href="#topic_ryq_tzl_bcc">Activating contextual workspaces</a></li>
<li class="li"><a class="xref" href="#topic_e3m_l5n_wcb">Creating a contextual workspace</a></li>
<li class="li"><a class="xref" href="#topic_xcq_sgt_w2b">Setting workspace conditions</a></li>
<li class="li"><a class="xref" href="#topic_wrs_ztv_bgb">About the agent experience</a></li>
<li class="li"><a class="xref" href="#topic_kgm_xmq_gjc">Contextual workspace limitations</a></li>
</ul>
<p class="p">For information on how to manage contextual workspaces, see <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4408822138522--Update-Managing-contextual-workspaces-Enterprise-" target="_blank">Managing contextual workspaces</a>.</p>
</div>
<div aria-labelledby="ariaid-title2" class="topic nested1" id="topic_l1z_tvt_w2b">
<h2 class="title topictitle2" id="ariaid-title2">About contextual workspaces</h2>
<div class="body">
<div class="div">
<p class="p">Contextual workspaces optimize your support workflow, without restricting the tools agents need
to complete their jobs. With contextual workspaces, you can simplify the forms and
relevant macros that agents see when they first open a ticket, and you can expand,
collapse, or reorder apps. You can also create a <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/5447690090138" target="_blank">custom layout</a> and assign it to a contextual workspace,
giving agents the ideal ticket interface to do their jobs, based on the criteria you
specify. </p>
<p class="p">The set of contextual workspaces you define can be as simple or as detailed as you need. For
example, you could have a single workspace that defines the ticket form and tools
your Customer Support team uses, or you could define a full set of workspaces for
your Fulfillment Center based on different types of international shipping
locations, product types, and currencies. </p>
<p class="p">Contextual workspaces are for recommendations, not restrictions. Agents can still search for
other macros that are available to them, apply other forms, or use other apps if
desired. </p>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div aria-labelledby="ariaid-title3" class="topic nested1" id="topic_ryq_tzl_bcc">
<h2 class="title topictitle2" id="ariaid-title3">Activating contextual workspaces</h2>
<div class="body">
<p class="p">To get started with contextual workspaces</p>
<ol class="ol" id="topic_ryq_tzl_bcc__ol_k4j_wzl_bcc">
<li class="li">
<span class="ph">In <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4581766374554#topic_hfg_dyz_1hb" target="_blank">Admin Center</a>, click <img class="image" id="topic_ryq_tzl_bcc__d10e1227" src="https://zen-marketing-documentation.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/en/ac_workspaces_icon.png">
<strong class="ph b">Workspaces</strong> in the sidebar, then select <strong class="ph b">Agent tools &gt; Contextual
workspaces</strong>.</span><p class="p">You’ll see a Welcome page with a description of contextual workspaces. </p>
<p class="p"><img class="image img-screenshot" id="topic_ryq_tzl_bcc__image_y4f_g1m_bcc" src="https://zen-marketing-documentation.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/en/contextual_workspaces_welcome_acf.png" width="500"></p>
</li>
<li class="li">Click <strong class="ph b">Get started.</strong>
<p class="p">When you’re ready to start adding contextual workspaces, follow the instructions in
<a class="xref" href="#topic_e3m_l5n_wcb">Creating a contextual workspace</a>. </p>
</li>
</ol>
</div>
</div>
<div aria-labelledby="ariaid-title4" class="topic nested1" id="topic_e3m_l5n_wcb">
<h2 class="title topictitle2" id="ariaid-title4">Creating a contextual workspace</h2>
<div class="body">
<p class="p">You create new contextual workspaces, and edit existing ones, from the Contextual
workspaces page. You can create up to 500 active workspaces for an account and include up to
10 conditions per
workspace.</p>
<p class="p"><img class="image img-screenshot" id="topic_e3m_l5n_wcb__image_xyt_3dx_qfb" src="https://zen-marketing-documentation.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/en/contextual_workspaces_list_acf.png" width="600"></p>
<div class="p">
<div class="note note">
<span class="notetitle">Note:</span> Agents who have a <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4408882153882" target="_blank">custom role</a> with permission to <strong class="ph b">Manage contextual
workspaces</strong>, may not have permission to access all tabs when creating a contextual
workspace. For example, only admins can access the Apps tab.
</div>
<strong class="ph b">To create a contextual workspace</strong>
</div>
<ol class="ol" id="topic_e3m_l5n_wcb__ol_aqr_s5n_wcb">
<li class="li"><span class="ph">In <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4581766374554#topic_hfg_dyz_1hb" target="_blank">Admin Center</a>, click <img class="image" id="topic_e3m_l5n_wcb__d10e1227" src="https://zen-marketing-documentation.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/en/ac_workspaces_icon.png">
<strong class="ph b">Workspaces</strong> in the sidebar, then select <strong class="ph b">Agent tools &gt; Contextual
workspaces</strong>.</span></li>
<li class="li">Click <strong class="ph b">Create Workspace</strong>. A new workspace builder opens. The builder includes five
tabs: Details, Layout, Ticket form, Macros, Knowledge, and Apps. </li>
<li class="li">On the Details tab, enter a <strong class="ph b">Title</strong> and <strong class="ph b">Description</strong> for the workspace, then
enter the conditions that will launch the workspace. <p class="p">For more information, see <a class="xref" href="#topic_xcq_sgt_w2b">Setting workspace conditions</a>.</p>
<p class="p"><img class="image img-screenshot" id="topic_e3m_l5n_wcb__image_pww_pb4_w2b" src="https://zen-marketing-documentation.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/en/contextual_workspaces_details_acf.png" width="600"></p>
</li>
<li class="li">On the Layout tab, select a layout to apply to the workspace. You can apply one layout
to a contextual workspace. If you don’t assign a layout, the default ticket layout is
used.<p class="p"><img class="image img-screenshot" id="topic_e3m_l5n_wcb__image_nnp_1yl_bcc" src="https://zen-marketing-documentation.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/en/contextual_workspaces_layout_acf.png" width="600"></p>
<div class="note note">
<span class="notetitle">Note:</span> If you
<a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/5447837810714#topic_dl4_nmp_qwb" target="_blank">change the default layout</a> on the Layouts page,
the new default is automatically applied to any contextual workspaces that reference the
default. </div>
</li>
<li class="li">On the Ticket Form tab, use the <strong class="ph b">Active form</strong> drop-down to select a predefined
ticket form to associate with the workspace. <p class="p"><img class="image img-screenshot" id="topic_e3m_l5n_wcb__image_rxq_bqg_dfb" src="https://zen-marketing-documentation.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/en/contextual_workspaces_forms_acf.png" width="600"></p>
<p class="p">You can begin
typing the name of the form to filter the displayed list, or you can scroll through the
list to locate the form you need. When you select a form, a read-only list of ticket
fields appears. </p>
<p class="p">If you do not want to apply a ticket form, select <strong class="ph b">No
change</strong> from the menu. </p>
<div class="note note">
<span class="notetitle">Note:</span> Service catalog forms are not supported in
contextual workspaces.</div>
</li>
<li class="li">On the Macros tab, select one or more macros to associate with the workspace.<p class="p"><img class="image img-screenshot" id="topic_e3m_l5n_wcb__image_zkq_2qg_dfb" src="https://zen-marketing-documentation.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/en/contextual_workspaces_macros_acf.png" width="600"></p>
<p class="p">To select
macros, you can begin typing the name of the macro to locate potential matches, filter
the list by <strong class="ph b">Categories</strong> or <strong class="ph b">Permissions</strong>, or scroll through the list to
locate the macro you need. Only shared macros are available when creating a
workspace.</p>
<p class="p">If your macros are sorted into categories, you can click the category
name to drill down the list.</p>
</li>
<li class="li">On the Knowledge tab, add default filters to help agents find the content they need when
using this workspace. <p class="p"><img class="image img-screenshot" id="topic_e3m_l5n_wcb__image_jl4_glv_xyb" src="https://zen-marketing-documentation.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/en/contextual_workspaces_knowledge2_acf.png" width="600"></p>
<p class="p">Settings
include: </p>
<ul class="ul" id="topic_e3m_l5n_wcb__ul_lrw_mt5_xyb">
<li class="li" dir="ltr">
<strong class="ph b">Brand</strong>: Choose the brands you want to include as default search
filters.</li>
<li class="li" dir="ltr">
<strong class="ph b">Language</strong>: Choose the languages you want to include as default
search filters.</li>
<li class="li" dir="ltr">
<strong class="ph b">External source</strong>: Choose the external source to show by default.
This is content that is external to your help center, but that can be configured to
appear in your help center's search results. External source options are available
only when <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4593564000410" target="_blank">federated search is configured</a>.</li>
<li class="li">
<strong class="ph b">Article placement</strong>: For articles that are published in multiple locations,
select the category or section of the article to show by default. </li>
</ul>
<p class="p">Default search filters for <strong class="ph b">Brand</strong> and <strong class="ph b">Language</strong> are automatically
applied to agent search queries unless they are manually changed or removed by agents.
Configuring the filters that agents use the most reduces the time they spend customizing
default search filters before searching for content. For example: </p>
<p class="p"><img class="image img-screenshot" id="topic_e3m_l5n_wcb__image_snz_2tl_bcc" src="https://zen-marketing-documentation.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/en/contextual_workspaces_knowledge_filters_acf.png" width="400"></p>
<div class="p">If you want
to:<ul class="ul" id="topic_e3m_l5n_wcb__ul_jtb_psl_bcc">
<li class="li">Remove the selected filters, click <strong class="ph b">X</strong> to remove the filters displayed in the
Default filters list.</li>
<li class="li">Add new filters, use the drop-down menu to select the filters that you want to
add. <p class="p">You can click the <strong class="ph b">&gt;</strong> icon to display the filters grouped under a
filter type (for example, Brand or Language). Select up to five filters within
each filter type that you want to use as default search filters.</p>
</li>
</ul>
</div>
<div class="note note">
<span class="notetitle">Note:</span> To change knowledge section settings that are not part of this workspace,
see <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/7263163614874" target="_blank">Configuring the knowledge section in the context
panel</a>.</div>
</li>
<li class="li">On the Apps tab, select one or more apps to expand in the Apps panel. Only apps in the
ticket sidebar can be set in contextual workspaces.<div class="note note HC">
<span class="notetitle">Note:</span> If you’re using
contextual workspaces with <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/5447690090138" target="_blank">custom layouts</a>, Zendesk recommends configuring apps as part of
a layout (instead of using this Apps tab) to get the best experience for your
agents.</div>
<p class="p"><img class="image img-screenshot" id="topic_e3m_l5n_wcb__image_hlr_2dt_yfb" src="https://zen-marketing-documentation.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/en/contextual_workspaces_apps2_acf.png" width="600"></p>
<p class="p">You can begin
typing the name of the app to filter the displayed list, or you can scroll through the
list to locate the app you need. </p>
<p class="p">To change the order that apps appear in tickets,
click the grabber at the end of an app and drag it to a new location. Alternatively, you
can click the double up or down arrows next to the app to move it one location at a
time. The apps order you set here takes priority over the order you set for tickets on
the <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4409155972378#topic_tc5_qn4_ym" target="_blank">My apps</a> page. </p>
<p class="p"><img class="image img-screenshot" id="topic_e3m_l5n_wcb__image_bnx_lbt_yfb" src="https://zen-marketing-documentation.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/en/contextual_workspaces_apps_handles2_acf.png" width="600"></p>
<p class="p">Agents can
manually click the header of any app to expand or minimize it. The apps you select to
<strong class="ph b">Expand by default</strong> will be expanded for all tickets viewed in the workspace.
</p>
</li>
<li class="li">Click <strong class="ph b">Save and activate</strong>. You are returned to the Workspace edit page, and the new
workspace is added to the list.</li>
</ol>
</div>
</div>
<div aria-labelledby="ariaid-title5" class="topic nested1" id="topic_xcq_sgt_w2b">
<h2 class="title topictitle2" id="ariaid-title5">Setting workspace conditions</h2>
<div class="body">
<p class="p">On the Details tab, you can set the conditions that launch the workspace. Each workspace
can include up to 10 conditions. For instance, in the example below, any <em class="ph i">High</em>
priority ticket sent to the <em class="ph i">VIP Triage</em> group will have the contextual workspace
applied. </p>
<p class="p"><img class="image img-screenshot" id="topic_xcq_sgt_w2b__image_oyx_n4m_bcc" src="https://zen-marketing-documentation.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/en/contextual_workspaces_conditions_acf.png" width="600"></p>
<div class="p">
<div class="note note">
<span class="notetitle">Note:</span> Workspace conditions are very similar to <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4408893545882#topic_i3y_fkz_1cb" target="_blank">Trigger conditions</a>, but with a subset of choices.
To see a list of supported conditions, open the drop-down menu. </div>
</div>
<p class="p">Workspace conditions are very similar to <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4408893545882#topic_i3y_fkz_1cb" target="_blank">Trigger conditions</a>, but with a subset of choices. To
see a list of supported conditions, open the drop-down menu. </p>
<div class="p">
<strong class="ph b">To add workspace conditions</strong><ol class="ol" id="topic_xcq_sgt_w2b__ol_dpq_dj5_w2b">
<li class="li">On the Details tab, click the <strong class="ph b">Add condition</strong> button under one of these two
categories: Meet ANY of the following conditions, Meet ALL of the following
conditions.<ul class="ul" id="topic_xcq_sgt_w2b__ul_wmy_xvl_bcc">
<li class="li">If you add conditions under <strong class="ph b">Meet ALL of the following conditions</strong>, all of
the conditions must be true for the workspace to apply.</li>
<li class="li">If you add conditions under <strong class="ph b">Meet ANY of the following conditions</strong>, one or
more of the conditions must be true for the workspace to apply.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li class="li">Select a condition from the <strong class="ph b">Conditions</strong> drop-down list. </li>
<li class="li">Select a field operator.<p class="p">A <em class="ph i">field operator </em> determines the relationship
between your condition and its value. For example, if you select the field operator
<strong class="ph b">Is</strong>, your condition must be equal to the value. Different conditions contain
different field operators.</p>
</li>
<li class="li">Select a value. Each condition contains a unique value.</li>
<li class="li">Continue to add as many <strong class="ph b">ANY</strong> and <strong class="ph b">ALL</strong> conditions as needed to create the
correct logic for the workspace. <p class="p">Zendesk recommends keeping your conditions simple so
they are easier to troubleshoot and maintain. If you include conflicting conditions,
an error message appears.</p>
</li>
</ol>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div aria-labelledby="ariaid-title6" class="topic nested1" id="topic_wrs_ztv_bgb">
<h2 class="title topictitle2" id="ariaid-title6">About the agent experience</h2>
<div class="body">
<p class="p">After the workspace is activated and the conditions are met, agents will see ticket
features that match the workspace definition. For example, when a US customer returns a
camera, the ticket might look like this:</p>
<p class="p"><img class="image img-screenshot" id="topic_wrs_ztv_bgb__image_lzg_vkw_bgb" src="https://zen-marketing-documentation.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/en/cw_agent_view_annotated.png" width="730"></p>
<p class="p">When agents click <strong class="ph b">Apply macros</strong>, they will see a list of <strong class="ph b">Relevant macros</strong> as
defined by the contextual workspace. They can click the return arrow (<strong class="ph b">&lt;</strong>) in the
<strong class="ph b">Relevant macros</strong> heading to view and use all macros available for the ticket. </p>
<table border="1" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" class="simpletable" id="topic_wrs_ztv_bgb__simpletable_xxl_y4m_bcc" summary="">
<col style="width:52.38095238095239%">
<col style="width:47.61904761904761%">
<thead>
<tr class="sthead">
<th class="stentry" id="d52e492" style="vertical-align:bottom;text-align:left;">Relevant macros (as defined by the workspace)</th>
<th class="stentry" id="d52e495" style="vertical-align:bottom;text-align:left;">All macros</th>
</tr>
</thead>
<tbody>
<tr class="strow">
<td class="stentry" headers="d52e492" style="vertical-align:top;"><img class="image img-screenshot" id="topic_wrs_ztv_bgb__image_j41_gpm_bcc" src="https://zen-marketing-documentation.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/en/contextual_workspaces_macros_relevant_acf.png" width="300"></td>
<td class="stentry" headers="d52e495" style="vertical-align:top;"><img class="image img-screenshot" id="topic_wrs_ztv_bgb__image_mmw_dpm_bcc" src="https://zen-marketing-documentation.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/en/contextual_workspaces_macros_all_acf.png" width="300"></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<div class="note note">
<span class="notetitle">Note:</span> When the workspace is activated on a <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/7335734335258" target="_blank">closed ticket</a>, macros are unavailable, forms are read only, but
the layouts, apps and knowledge settings still apply.</div>
</div>
</div>
<div aria-labelledby="ariaid-title7" class="topic nested1" id="topic_kgm_xmq_gjc">
<h2 class="title topictitle2" id="ariaid-title7">Contextual workspace limitations</h2>
<div class="body">
<ul class="ul" id="topic_kgm_xmq_gjc__ul_nyf_vnq_gjc">
<li class="li">In contextual workspaces, the Present operator in this condition:<p class="p">Object | Ticket |
<em class="ph i">Custom-Text-Field</em> | Present</p>
<p class="p">Checks whether the custom text field is
present in the ticket and considers the condition a match regardless of whether the
field has a value or not. In trigger conditions, the Present operator checks and
considers the condition a match only if the field has a value. </p>
</li>
</ul>
</div>
</div>
<script id="docs-schema-markup" type="application/ld+json">{
"@context": "https://schema.org",
"@type": "TechArticle",
"@id": "https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4408833498906",
"url": "https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4408833498906",
"headline": "Setting up contextual workspaces",
"description": "You can create and activate contextual workspaces to customize ticket tools, forms, macros, layouts, and apps based on specific workflow conditions to optimize support processes.",
"articleSection": "Ticket customization",
"datePublished": "2021-10-16T03:57:02+00:00",
"dateModified": "2026-07-24T17:18:05.506350+00:00",
"inLanguage": "en-US",
"mainEntityOfPage": {
"@type": "WebPage",
"@id": "https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4408833498906"
},
"author": {
"@type": "Organization",
"name": "Zendesk",
"@id": "https://www.zendesk.com"
},
"publisher": {
"@type": "Organization",
"name": "Zendesk",
"@id": "https://www.zendesk.com"
},
"isPartOf": {
"@type": "WebSite",
"name": "Zendesk Help",
"@id": "https://support.zendesk.com/hc/"
},
"about": {
"@type": "SoftwareApplication",
"name": "Zendesk",
"@id": "https://www.zendesk.com"
}
}</script><script id="fast-path-script">
//<![CDATA[
const fast_path_style = document.createElement('style');
fast_path_style.innerHTML = `#article-body .fastpath{font-size:.9em;background-color:#f3f3f3;border:1px solid #d3d3d3;padding:10px 10px 8px;margin-bottom:16px}#article-body .fastpath::before{content:none!important}`;
document.head.appendChild(fast_path_style);
//]]>
</script>
</body>