OTOBO Dynamic Fields - Customizing Ticket Forms

OTOBO Dynamic Fields - Customizing Ticket Forms

In this day and age, flexibility in customer communication is essential. OTOBO, as an advanced ticket system and helpdesk software, offers solutions to meet the individual and specific requirements of organizations for their ticket management. A key element of this flexibility is the integration of so-called dynamic fields.

Management and Customization

Dynamic fields are managed via the Dynamic Fields module in the Processes & Automation group. Even in the base installation, OTOBO includes two predefined dynamic fields.

How to add a new Dynamic Field

1. First, select the object type and the dynamic field type from the dropdown menu in the left action bar.
2. Enter the required information in the specified fields.
3. Confirm by clicking Save.

Editing existing dynamic fields

1. Select the dynamic field you wish to change from the list.
2. Make the desired adjustments.
3. Select Save or Save and finish.

Deleting a dynamic field

1. Click on the trash can icon next to the field you want to delete.
2. Confirm your selection by clicking Confirm.

Tip

Use the filter function to quickly find a specific dynamic field.

Configuring settings for Dynamic Fields

Various settings are available, which may vary depending on the field type. Important general settings include:

• Name: A unique identifier for the field, consisting of alphanumeric characters.
• Label: The display name of the field on the active screens.
• Field order: Determines the display order of the field.
• Validity: Defines the active use of the field in the system.
• Field type: The type of dynamic field, set during creation and read-only.

It is possible to manually add translations for the labels of the dynamic fields to the language translation files, which allows for adaptation to different language environments.

Specific settings

Each dynamic field type has its own configuration options. Configuring these settings allows for precise adjustment of the behavior and appearance of the dynamic field.

Checkbox type

For dynamic fields of the Checkbox type, the Default value determines whether the checkbox is enabled (Selected) or disabled (Not selected) by default.

Contact with data

This special type of dynamic field allows you to add contacts with more detailed information to tickets. The Name field and Validity field are always required here. Additional fields can be defined using key-value pairs to set specific data attributes for contacts.

Important key-value pairs

• Name field and Validity field are two mandatory attributes that must be specified for every Contact with data field.
• Add fields allows for the specification of additional data attributes via key-value pairs.
• Required fields and Sorted fields determine which fields are mandatory and in what order they are displayed.
• Searchable fields define which fields are considered in search queries.
• Translatable values indicates whether the values should be translated into the user’s language.

Editing contact information

Adding a new contact

To add a new contact with data to a ticket, first select the corresponding dynamic field from the dropdown list in the action widget. With just a few clicks, you can then create a contact with all relevant information:

1. Select the required dynamic field for the contact.
2. Click on the “Add contact with data” button.
3. Enter all required information into the fields.
4. Confirm with “Save”.

Editing a contact

To edit existing contact data, simply select the desired contact from the list and make the adjustments:

1. Select the contact to be edited.
2. Adjust the information as needed.
3. Save the changes.

Dynamic Fields of the Date type

Saving a date as a value offers another level of ticket differentiation in OTOBO. These fields make it possible to record dates for events, deadlines, or other time-related information within a ticket.

Specific configuration options for the Date type:

• Default date difference: This can be used to define the default value of the field in relation to the current time (Now) in seconds.
• Defined time periods: Determination of a time period in years from which date values can be selected in the field to facilitate user guidance.

Dynamic Fields of the Date/Time type

These fields combine date and time for an exact time specification and share the settings with the date fields.

Dynamic Fields of the Dropdown and Multiple Selection type

The dynamic fields of the type Dropdown and Multiple Selection allow values to be selected from predefined lists. They offer the following configuration options:

• Possible values: Determines the selection options via key-value pairs.
• Default value: Sets a value as pre-selected.
• Add empty value: Integrates an empty selection option into the list.
• Tree view: Lists values in a structured way.
• Translatable values: Enables the translation of values based on the user’s language.

The settings and functionalities of the fields of the type Dropdown and Multiple Selection are similar and support multifunctional data collection in tickets.

Dynamic Fields of the Text type

The dynamic text field is used to capture a character string and is a fundamental tool for free text entry in tickets.

Overall, these dynamic field types demonstrate the versatility and adaptability of OTOBO, with which organizations can seamlessly adapt their ticket system to their individual operational requirements and workflows. The comprehensive configuration options for each field allow for precise and targeted data collection and processing, which contribute significantly to the effectiveness and efficiency of customer communication and ticket processing. In the modern helpdesk software and ticket system OTOBO, dynamic fields enable extensive personalization and efficiency gains in the processing of customer transactions. In particular, the dynamic fields of the Text and Textarea type offer a flexible solution for capturing and processing specific customer information.

Dynamic Fields of the Textarea type

The dynamic textarea field, for multi-line text input, additionally includes:

• Number of rows: Determines the height of the input field.
• Number of columns: Sets the width of the input field.

Dynamic Fields of the Database and Web Service type

OTOBO also integrates dynamic fields that can be filled directly from databases and Web Services, whereby these fields are included by default in version 10 and further documentation is in progress.

Displaying Dynamic Fields on screens

To use dynamic fields efficiently in everyday work, they can be displayed and made mandatory on various screens within OTOBO:

1. Activate the field by setting the Validity to “valid”.
2. Go to the System configuration in the Admin area.
3. Select the desired screen (Frontend → Agent → View).
4. Edit the corresponding setting ###DynamicField and add the desired field.
5. Define whether the field should be activated or considered mandatory.

Setting default values

A connected ticket event can be used to automatically set values for dynamic fields:

1. Open the System configuration.
2. Navigate to Core → Event → Ticket.
3. Activate the setting Ticket::EventModulePost###9600-TicketDynamicFieldDefault for the desired event.

Through these flexible configuration and application possibilities of dynamic fields, OTOBO can be precisely adapted to the individual needs of an organization, which contributes to increased efficiency and improved customer satisfaction. The integration of dynamic fields in OTOBO, the leading helpdesk software and ticket system, allows not only for the customization of ticket events and personal user settings, but also for the precise adaptation of the software to specific company needs.

Activating the Ticket Event Module

The Ticket Event Module makes it possible to automatically set values for dynamic fields during specific events, such as creating a ticket.

For example, a default value for a field can be set as part of the TicketCreate event as follows:

1. Access the System configuration of the Admin interface.
2. Navigate to Core → Ticket → DynamicFieldDefault.
3. Activation of the desired setting, e.g., Ticket::TicketDynamicFieldDefault###Element1.
4. Saving the changes.

If more than 16 fields are required, a custom XML file is required for advanced configurations.

Default values via user settings

Users can set individual default values for dynamic fields in their personal settings, which allows for another level of personalization.

The System configuration module offers the possibility to activate user-defined preferences so that users can define default values for dynamic fields via their personal settings page. This promotes an individualized user experience and improves ticket processing efficiency.

Advanced customization options

For advanced customizations, especially when more than one dynamic field is needed for user preferences, creating a custom XML configuration file is necessary. Each setting within this file must have a unique name to avoid conflicts within the system.

These advanced options point to the flexibility and broad adaptability of OTOBO, which supports companies of all sizes in optimizing their customer service management. Through the skillful application of dynamic fields in combination with the ticket event modules and individual user settings, OTOBO can be precisely adapted to the specific needs and processes of any company.

Further information

There are some plugins that add new dynamic field types. Furthermore, there are also some plugins that might make creating a new dynamic field unnecessary. However, these plugins are not part of the standard installation of OTOBO and must be installed separately. OTOBO Plugins - Package Manager