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Prevent Reopening Old Closed Tickets

When a customer replies to a ticket that was closed weeks or months ago, the Update Existing Autotask Ticket action finds the old ticket and adds a note to it. This reopens a stale ticket instead of creating a fresh one.

This tutorial shows how to use the Ticket Filter on the Update Existing Autotask Ticket action so that replies to old closed tickets skip the update and fall through to the Create action, producing a new ticket instead.

How It Works​

The Update Existing Autotask Ticket action has an optional Ticket Filter that adds query conditions to the ticket lookup. If the matched ticket does not satisfy the filter conditions, the action treats it as "not found" and does not update it. Processing continues to the next action in the rule, which is typically the Create Autotask Ticket action.

By adding a filter that excludes tickets that have been completed for more than a configurable number of days, you get the following behavior:

ScenarioWhat happens
Reply to an open ticketUpdate action matches and adds a note (normal behavior)
Reply to a ticket closed less than 14 days agoUpdate action matches and adds a note (recently closed, still relevant)
Reply to a ticket closed more than 14 days agoUpdate action skips it; Create action fires and makes a new ticket
New email with no ticket numberUpdate action finds nothing; Create action fires and makes a new ticket

Prerequisites​

  • A working mailbox with the standard Update-then-Create rule pattern (see Create Your First Mailbox if you have not set this up yet)
  • The Update Existing Autotask Ticket action must be the first action in the rule, with the Create Autotask Ticket action below it

Step 1: Open the Update Existing Autotask Ticket Action​

  1. Navigate to the mailbox and rule where your Update action lives
  2. Expand the Update Existing Autotask Ticket action step

Step 2: Enable the Ticket Filter​

  1. Check the Filter tickets checkbox
  2. The filter query builder appears below

Step 3: Configure the Filter Conditions​

Set the filter mode to Any of these (this is an OR condition: the ticket must match at least one of the criteria).

Add two conditions:

Condition 1: Completed Date is recent

FieldOperatorValue
CompletedDateGreater Than{{date subtract="14 days" to_tz="Autotask"}}

This matches tickets that were completed within the last 14 days. Adjust the number to your preference (e.g., 30 days, 7 days).

Condition 2: Status is not Complete

FieldOperatorValue
StatusDoes Not EqualComplete

This matches any ticket that is not in a completed status.

The combined filter reads: match this ticket if it is not complete, OR if it was completed within the last 14 days. In other words, only skip the ticket if it has been complete for longer than 14 days.

The generated query preview at the bottom of the filter builder should look similar to:

( `CompletedDate` > '{{date subtract="14 days" to_tz="Autotask"}}')
or ( `Status` != "5")
Choosing the right number of days

14 days is a common starting point. If your team resolves tickets quickly and customers rarely reply after a week, try 7 days. If your projects have longer cycles and late replies are expected, try 30 days. There is no single right answer; pick a window that matches how your team works and adjust if needed.

Step 4: Save and Test​

  1. Click Save on the rule

Test with an open ticket​

  1. Send a reply email that references an open ticket number in the subject
  2. Navigate to History and verify the Update action matched and added a note

Test with a recently closed ticket​

  1. Close a test ticket in Autotask
  2. Send a reply email referencing that ticket number
  3. Verify the Update action matched and added a note (the ticket was closed less than 14 days ago)

Test with an old closed ticket​

  1. Find a ticket that was closed more than 14 days ago (or temporarily change the filter to subtract="1 minute" for testing)
  2. Send a reply email referencing that ticket number
  3. Verify the Update action did not match, and the Create action fired and created a new ticket
Use Replay while iterating

Click the Play button on any history entry to reprocess the same email through your current rule configuration. You do not need to send a new test email after each adjustment.

How the {{date}} Helper Works​

The {{date subtract="14 days" to_tz="Autotask"}} expression is a text helper that generates a date value at the moment the rule runs:

  • subtract="14 days" subtracts 14 days from the current date and time
  • to_tz="Autotask" converts the result to your Autotask instance's timezone, ensuring the comparison is accurate regardless of your server's timezone

The filter compares the ticket's CompletedDate against this computed value. If the ticket was completed before that date (more than 14 days ago), the condition is false and the ticket is excluded.

Key Takeaways​

  • The Ticket Filter controls which tickets the Update action is allowed to match. It does not change which emails trigger the rule.
  • Use "Any of these" (OR) logic so that both open tickets and recently closed tickets are eligible for update.
  • The {{date}} helper generates a dynamic date at processing time, so the 14-day window always moves forward automatically.
  • No changes are needed to the Create action. It already fires when the Update action does not find a match. The filter makes the Update action "not find" old closed tickets, and the Create action handles the rest.