How to split a ticket in Zendesk

To split a ticket in Zendesk, install Twigwell, open the ticket and click Split this ticket in the apps sidebar. Tick the comments that belong in a new ticket, check the subject and requester, choose how the new ticket opens (internal note by default, so nobody is emailed), and click Split into 1 new ticket. Twigwell creates the new ticket with those comments and records the original's number in its "Split from ticket" field.

When to split

• A CC replies on someone else's ticket with a different question.
• A customer adds "also, unrelated..." to the end of a thread.
• One email carries a request for another team.

Zendesk has no built-in split for tickets, so Twigwell adds it as a sidebar app.

Steps

1. Open the ticket and click Split this ticket in the apps sidebar. The split window says "Pick the comments that belong in a new ticket. Nothing changes until you click Split."
2. Tick the comments for the new ticket. They're carried over oldest first, each under its author's name and date. Untick Name and date above each comment if you want only the words.
3. Check the Subject.
4. Check the Requester. Twigwell suggests the person who wrote the first comment you picked. Choose anyone on the thread, or Someone else (enter an email).
5. Choose How the new ticket opens (see the table below).
6. Set Assign to (same as the original, you, a group, or nobody), the Status, and whether Copy tags, Copy custom fields and Copy CCs apply. Add Extra tags if you like.
7. Click Edit the text if only part of a comment belongs in the new ticket. Your edited text replaces the carried comments.
8. Decide what the original gets. Under The original ticket, keep or turn off the Internal note listing the new tickets, optionally write a public reply with Also reply publicly, and choose its status.
9. Click Split into 1 new ticket. The button counts the new tickets you set up. The result lists the new ticket with Undo.

How the new ticket opens

Twigwell won't open a ticket publicly with an internal note in it. Untick the note, or open the ticket internally.

A reply that tells the customer

A public reply on the original is off unless you write one. A short one works well, and it can use placeholders:

I opened ticket #{{child.id}} for your other question, so we can answer each one properly.

Placeholders: {{parent.id}}, {{parent.subject}}, {{child.id}}, {{child.subject}}, {{agent.name}}, {{comment_count}}, {{requester.name}}.

What each ticket looks like afterwards

New tickets can take a minute to appear in the sidebar's lists, because they come from Zendesk search.

Undo a split

Click Undo in the result. Twigwell deletes the new ticket and adds a note to the original. An admin can restore the deleted ticket from Deleted tickets for 30 days. Agents need permission to delete tickets (Zendesk's Viewing and recovering deleted tickets explains the 30 days). Undo can't recall an email already sent.

What it costs

Twigwell is $4 per agent per month on the Standard plan, with every feature, billed monthly by Zendesk. There's a 14-day free trial; Zendesk asks for a card at install. All settings are in the Twigwell documentation.