How to make a Zendesk macro ask the agent for details

To make a Zendesk macro ask the agent for an order number, amount or date, install Slotwell and write blanks into the macro's reply text, for example [[text:Order number]] or [[date:Ship date]]. When an agent picks the macro in the Slotwell sidebar, each blank becomes a field. Slotwell checks the answers, shows a preview, and Fill reply puts them into the reply.

Steps

1. Open the macro. In Admin Center, go to Workspaces > Agent tools > Macros and edit the macro.
2. Replace each gap with a blank. Where the reply said "We refunded $XX.XX", write We refunded $[[number:Refund amount; min=1; max=500]].
3. Save the macro.
4. Check it. Open Slotwell from the left navigation bar, click Check macros, and fix anything listed. Try it shows the reply for any set of answers.
5. Use it on a ticket. The agent clicks the macro in the Slotwell sidebar, answers the form, watches the Preview, and clicks Fill reply. The macro's normal actions (status, group, tags, fields) apply as usual, then the answers go into the reply.

Blank types

Every blank is required unless it says optional. Use the same label twice to print the same answer twice.

Start with values from the ticket

default= fills a blank before the agent sees it, so they only correct it when needed:

Other settings after ;: hint= adds help text under the field, min= and max= set bounds (numbers, character counts or dates), format= sets how a date prints (default MMMM D, YYYY), and save=<ticket field id> also writes the answer into a ticket field.

Example

Hi [[text:First name; default=requester.first_name]],

We refunded $[[number:Refund amount; min=1]] to your card on
[[date:Refund date; default=today]]. It usually shows within a
few days.

The agent sees three fields with the name and date already filled, types the amount, and the reply is written for them.

Applying the macro from the regular macro menu

Agents don't have to change habits. If someone applies a macro with blanks from Zendesk's own macro menu, the sidebar shows Your reply has N blanks to fill. Fill the blanks opens the same form. Square brackets are safest for macros applied this way; curly-bracket tokens such as {{text:Order number}} also work.

What it costs

Slotwell is billed monthly by Zendesk per Zendesk account, by number of shared macros: Team $99 a month (up to 25), Professional $199 (up to 250), Enterprise $349 (any number). Every feature is on every plan, with a 14-day free trial. The full token reference is in the Slotwell documentation.