Understanding how creating, deactivating, or deleting ticket fields impacts tickets

When using custom ticket fields, there are different actions available. Each of these actions affect tickets and the API differently.

Note: You cannot alter a field type after the custom ticket field is created. You will need to create a new custom field and remove the original from your ticket form (see Adding a custom ticket field).

This support tip will discuss the results of performing the following actions:

• Deactivating custom ticket fields
• Deleting custom ticket fields
• Creating new custom ticket fields
• Altering drop-down field options

Deactivating custom ticket fields

This section will describe the effects of deactivating custom ticket fields. Any data lost from the deactivated field can be recovered again by reactivating. After re-activating, the custom field will be available in the ticket view of the agent interface again.

• Closed and archived tickets: Deactivating ticket fields will alter Closed tickets. The ticket field will no longer appear in the ticket form in the agent interface.
• Unclosed tickets: The ticket field will no longer appear in the ticket form in the agent interface.
• API: The data in the custom ticket field remains stored in the ticket audits endpoint below. For more information on ticket audits see, Ticket audits in our developer docs.

GET /api/v2/tickets/{ticket_id}/audits/{id}.json 

Deleting custom ticket fields

This section will describe the effects of deleting custom ticket fields. If you delete a custom ticket field, you will not be able to recreate or recover the field or its data. If you would like to preserve the field data, it is recommended to deactivate the field instead.

• Closed and archived tickets: Deleting custom ticket fields will alter Closed tickets. The ticket field will no longer appear in the ticket form in the agent interface.
• Unclosed tickets: The ticket field will no longer appear in the ticket form in the agent interface.
• API: If a field was deleted, its data, including the field ID, is saved in the API. The ticket audits endpoints tracks and stores every change to a ticket, including custom ticket field data after the field itself is deleted (see Ticket audits). This is the only location deleted custom ticket field data is stored.

Creating new custom ticket fields

This section will describe the effects of adding new custom ticket fields. For information on creating new custom fields see, Adding custom ticket fields to your tickets .

• Closed and archived tickets: Creating a new custom field will alter Closed and archived tickets. The new custom field will be added to the ticket form in the agent interface. It will display a null '-' or empty value depending on the type of custom field.
• Unclosed tickets: Creating a new custom field will alter tickets set to any status less than Closed . The new custom field will be added to the ticket form in the agent interface. It will display a null '-' or empty value, depending on the type of custom field.
• API: The newly created ticket field only alters less than Closed tickets, if a value is added to the field. If the new field is added to a ticket form, but data is never added to the field, it will not appear in the ticket audits. This is true for all tickets with custom fields but no data added, regardless of when the fields are created.

Altering drop-down field options

Drop-down fields display the same behavior as other custom ticket fields in tickets, reporting, and the API. However, drop-down field options can be changed and edited.

It is important to note drop-down field options are directly connected to their assigned tag. For example in the image below, the option 'red' is connected to the tag 'color_red'.

This section discusses the following ways to alter drop-down fields:

• Deleting drop-down field options
• Changing drop-down field options

Deleting drop-down field options

When you delete a drop-down field option, your tickets are affected in the following ways.

• Closed and archived tickets: If an option is deleted from a drop-down, but the drop-down is still active, Closed tickets will display a yellow caution sign and a 'Missing field value' warning.

• Unclosed (including Solved) tickets: The drop-down will change to a null '-' value, but will not display an error in the ticket.

The tag from the drop-down field is not deleted from the ticket tag field, so you can still use it in your reports. This also means if you recreate the drop-down field option with the exact same tag, the ticket field will change back to the selected value.

Changing drop-down field options

Changing the field option title but not its tag, effectively replaces the old field option as opposed to creating a new option. Reusing tags for new fields is not recommended as it will replace the existing title value on all tickets (including Closed) and could skew reporting.

The inverse of this is also true, if you want to edit an existing drop-down field option title, you can ensure that the name is replaced in all instances by keeping the same tag. This can be useful for reporting if you only want to report on a new title, not a new tag.

Note: When editing ticket fields, please keep the following objects in mind:
- Macros
- Views
- Triggers
- Automations 
If you have any of these that look at the custom field being edited, know that the tag must remain the same in order for your object to continue to function. If the tag no longer exists for a given field-value, the object will give you an error.