Readonly Ticket Fields

Using rules to make controlled ticket fields readonly

Formset uses rules to control the visibility of ticket fields.  Once a field is controlled, it will be hidden until a rule is satisfied that causes the fields to be displayed.  In addition to making the field visible, the rule can also specify that the field should be

1. Mandatory - it must have a value
2. Readonly - it is visible, but cannot be edited.

See Mandatory Fields for details of making a field mandatory.

When Formset evaluates the configured rules, there may be many rules which control the same ticket field.  The controlled ticket field will be made readonly if any of the satisfied rules marks it as readonly.

Configuring Readonly Rules

Go to the Formset configuration screen

For a selected rule, you specify the controlling ticket field and values and the ticket fields that will be controlled.

The image above shows a typically configured Formset rule.  In this case, when the Policy Type field is set to System, then the Category, Custom Impact, Policy Enforced, Policy Info and Product ticket fields will be shown.  If Policy Type is not System, then these five fields will be hidden (unless there are other rules which control any of these five fields).

The image above shows a similar rule, but in this case, when the Policy Type field is set to System, then the Category, Custom Impact, Policy Enforced, Policy Info and Product ticket fields will be shown, but the Customer Impact and Product fields will be disabled.  The agent will be able to see these fields, but will not be able to edit them.

Note that the purple tick for these two fields is faded compared to the others and the Enable/Disable icon has changed.

To switch between Enabled and Disabled, click the icon.

The example above shows two controlled fields (the whole field is controlled, not the option values) which are set to be disabled.  You can also choose to disable a field when the rule is controlling the available option values.

By default, whenever a field is controlled, the field will be set to enabled.

Help Center (Guide) Restriction

Readonly rules only apply to the Zendesk agent interface and not Guide.  Formset controls fields and values when an end user creates a new request through the Guide interface.  Because this will be a new request, all fields will be empty until the end user gives them a value, so making a field readonly in the guide interface does not make sense.

Agent Simulator

The Formset agent simulator is a useful tool that gives a visual indication of how the rules you have configured will behave when applied to a Zendesk ticket.  The simulator will show the field that become visible when a rule applies.  When a field is also marked as readonly, the visual representation changes slightly.

The image above shows the simulator display when the five controlled fields are enabled.  When the Policy Type is set to System, the five controlled fields are displayed and all are enabled so you can interact with them.

The image above shows the simulator display when 2 of the controlled fields are set to be disabled.  When the Policy Type is set to System, the five controlled fields are displayed with three enabled and two disabled.  The agent cannot interact with the disabled fields.

See Checking Configuration with the Agent Simulator for more details about the Simulator.

Note:  When using the Help Center simulator in Formset, fields will not be disabled.