Update Existing Autotask Ticket

The Update Existing Autotask Ticket action locates an existing Autotask ticket from an incoming email and adds a note to it. It can also optionally change the ticket's status.

It identifies the ticket to update in two ways: by scanning the email (typically the subject line) for an Autotask ticket number, or by cross-referencing the email thread using Reply-All Storm Catcher™ to match emails that don't contain an explicit ticket number.

Workflow Action

This is a workflow action. It locates the ticket either by scanning the email for a ticket number or by matching the email thread via Reply-All Storm Catcher™. If you already know the ticket ID, use API: Create an Object with the TicketNote entity for direct control. Learn more about the difference between workflow actions and single API call actions.

When to Use This Action

Use this action when:

• You want to add notes to existing tickets based on incoming human-generated emails
• You need to detect ticket numbers from email subject lines or body content
• You want to use Reply-All Storm Catcher™ to match emails that don't contain explicit ticket numbers

Don't use this action for:

• Creating new tickets: Use Create Autotask Ticket instead.
• Automated alert emails: System-generated emails from monitoring tools or automated systems are better handled with different actions.
• Known ticket IDs: If you already know the ticket ID, use the lower-level API: Create an Object action with the TicketNote entity.

Common Pattern: Pairing with Create Autotask Ticket

This action is typically used together with Create Autotask Ticket in a two-step pattern:

1. Update Existing Autotask Ticket runs first and attempts to find an existing ticket
2. If no ticket is found, Create Autotask Ticket runs next to create a new one

This pattern handles both replies to existing tickets and new support requests with a single rule:

Rule: "Process Support Email"
  1. Update Existing Autotask Ticket
     - If ticket found: adds note, workflow stops (or continues based on your setting)
     - If no ticket found: sets flag and continues to next action
  2. Create Autotask Ticket
     - Creates new ticket only if step 1 didn't find one

How It Works

This action operates in two phases: first it finds the ticket, then it updates it.

Phase 1: Find the Ticket

1. Search for a ticket number: Scan configured fields (subject, body, etc.) for an Autotask ticket number pattern
2. Reply-All Storm Catcher™ (optional): If no ticket number is found, check email headers to find a ticket from the same email thread
3. Locate the ticket: Query Autotask to verify the ticket exists
4. Follow merged tickets (optional): If the ticket was merged, follow the chain to the final ticket

If no ticket is found after these steps, the action sets UnableToLocateExistingAutotaskTicket to true and continues to the next action (typically Create Autotask Ticket).

Phase 2: Update the Ticket

Once a ticket is found:

1. Add a note: Create a new ticket note with the configured content
2. Update status (optional): Change the ticket status if configured
3. Attach files (optional): Add email attachments and/or .eml file to the ticket
4. Add additional contacts (optional): Add other email recipients as ticket contacts

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Ticket Number Detection

The action searches the fields you specify for text matching the Autotask ticket number pattern (e.g., T20240115.0042). By default, it searches the email subject line.

You can configure it to search:

• Email subject
• Email body
• Custom parsed values from previous actions
• Any other available variable

Reply-All Storm Catcher™

When enabled, Reply-All Storm Catcher™ solves a common problem with email threads.

The problem: A customer sends an email that creates a new ticket. Other recipients on that email reply-all, but their replies don't contain the ticket number. Without Reply-All Storm Catcher™, each reply would create a new ticket.

The solution: Reply-All Storm Catcher logs the Message-ID header and associated ticket for every email processed by Create Autotask Ticket. When Update Existing Autotask Ticket processes an email without a ticket number, it checks the email headers to see if the message is a reply to an email that previously created a ticket. If there's a match, it uses that ticket.

Result: All reply-all responses are added as notes to the original ticket instead of creating duplicates.

For more details on how email threading works and troubleshooting tips, see the Reply-All Storm Catcher documentation.

Merged Ticket Handling

If Follow trail of merged tickets is enabled and the located ticket has been merged into another ticket, the action follows the merge chain to find the final active ticket and adds the note there.

Configuration

Ticket Matching

Field	Description
Fields to Search for Ticket Number	Select which fields to search for the ticket number. Default: email subject. You can add multiple fields including body, custom variables, or parsed values.
Enable Reply-All Storm Catcher™	When enabled, if no ticket number is found, check email headers to match the email to an existing ticket from the same thread.
Follow trail of merged tickets	When enabled, if the matched ticket was merged into another ticket, follow the chain to the final ticket.

Ticket Filter

Field	Description
Enable Ticket Filter	Enable to add additional conditions that limit which tickets can be matched.
Additional Ticket Query Filter	Query conditions to filter ticket matches. Only shown when Enable Ticket Filter is enabled.

Use the ticket filter to restrict matches to specific ticket types, statuses, or other criteria. For example, filter to only match tickets with certain queue assignments.

Ticket Note

Configure the fields for the new ticket note. Click Additional Fields to add more fields.

Field	Description	Default
Title	Note title/subject	{{email.subject}} (or "New email from [address]" if empty)
Description	Note content	Email headers and body
Note Type	Type of note (e.g., internal, external)	Configured per your Autotask settings
Publish	Visibility setting	Published

Change Ticket Status

Field	Description
Ticket Status After Update	Optionally change the ticket status after adding the note. Leave empty to keep the current status.

Attachments

Field	Description
Attach email attachments to ticket	Creates an Autotask attachment for each file attached to the email.
Prevent duplicate attachments	Ensures each file is attached only once per ticket.
Attach original email as .eml file	Attaches the complete original email as an .eml file.
Attach HTML email as image	Converts the HTML email content to an image attachment.

Advanced

Field	Description
Add email recipients as Additional Contacts	Searches for existing Autotask Contacts matching other recipients (To, CC) and adds them to the ticket. Only matches existing Contacts; does not create new ones.
Suppress Autotask API exceptions	If enabled, the workflow continues even if the Autotask API returns an error. Use sparingly.
Override Autotask Connection	Use a specific Autotask connection instead of the default. Only shown if you have multiple Autotask connections configured.

Action When Complete

Controls what happens after the note is added successfully:

Option	Behavior
Continue processing remaining actions	Continue with remaining actions on this rule and other matching rules.
Stop processing the actions on this rule	Stop this rule but allow other matching rules to process.
Stop processing the actions on this rule and all other rules	Stop all processing for this message.

Returned Variables

When you configure Store the results in Variable, these variables become available for use in subsequent actions:

Status Flags

Variable	Type	Description
IdentifiedAutotaskTicketNumber	bool	true if text matching an Autotask ticket number pattern was found
LocatedExistingAutotaskTicket	bool	true if the ticket was found in Autotask
UnableToLocateExistingAutotaskTicket	bool	true if no matching ticket was found (signals Create Autotask Ticket should run)
CreatedNewAutotaskTicketNote	bool	true if the note was created successfully
CreatedNewAutotaskTicketNoteCausedError	bool	true if note creation failed
UpdatedStatusOfTicket	bool	true if the ticket status was updated
UpdatedStatusOfTicketCausedError	bool	true if status update failed
AttachedEmlToTicket	bool	true if the .eml file was attached
AttachedEmlToTicketCausedError	bool	true if .eml attachment failed

Created Objects

Variable	Type	Description
Ticket	object	The matched Autotask ticket, including id and TicketNumber properties
TicketNote	object	The created ticket note
TicketAdditionalContactsCreated	array	Additional Contacts added to the ticket

Example usage: {{custom.myVariable.Ticket.TicketNumber}}

FAQs

What happens if no ticket number is found in the email?

If no ticket number is found and Reply-All Storm Catcher™ doesn't find a match, the action sets UnableToLocateExistingAutotaskTicket to true and continues to the next action. This allows Create Autotask Ticket to run and create a new ticket.

How does Reply-All Storm Catcher™ know which ticket to use?

Reply-All Storm Catcher™ maintains a cross-reference between email Message-ID headers and Autotask ticket numbers. When Create Autotask Ticket creates a new ticket, it logs the Message-ID of the original email. When Update Existing Autotask Ticket processes a reply (which contains the original Message-ID in its headers), it looks up the associated ticket.

For more details, see the Reply-All Storm Catcher™ documentation.

What ticket number formats are recognized?

The action recognizes standard Autotask ticket number formats like T20240115.0042. The pattern matching is designed to find ticket numbers in various contexts, including when surrounded by brackets or other text.

Can I update tickets without adding a note?

No, this action always creates a note. If you only need to update ticket fields without adding a note, use the API: Update an Object action with the Ticket entity.

What happens if the ticket was merged?

If Follow trail of merged tickets is enabled, the action follows the merge chain to the final active ticket and adds the note there. This ensures notes go to the correct ticket even when the original ticket number is in the email but that ticket has since been merged.