Setting Temporary Filters in Next Ticket

The Allow technicians to set a temporary filter option in Next Ticket lets technicians to work on tickets from other teams' queues occasionally. This feature enables them to assist with other teams' tickets whenever additional support is needed. Once enabled by an administrator, temporary filters may be assigned to technicians or teams over a pre-defined schedule. 

Temporary filters are available in Next Ticket for ConnectWise PSA and Autotask. 

This article discusses when to use temporary filters and how administrators and technicians can use this option.  

When to use Temporary Filters for ticket dispatch

Temporary filters can facilitate more efficient ticket processing and shorter resolution times in scenarios like the following:

• Helping with support overflow - Get other teams' tickets when their ticket volume becomes too high to handle or at risk of breaching SLA (service level agreement) timeframes.
• Responding to urgent or high-priority tickets - Acknowledge and resolve critical issues needing immediate attention, regardless of which team's queue they are in.
• Maintaining Service Level Agreements (SLAs) - Teams and technicians may be assigned temporary filters and pulled in to assist with backlogs 
• Covering employee absences - A technician may temporarily step in to fill an employee's absence, ensuring work continuity.
• Leveraging cross-team expertise - Temporary filters may be utilized when a ticket requires specialized knowledge or skills that another team has. This can also open cross-training opportunities for junior team members to learn from other teams' expertise. 

Once the administrator has created temporary filters and enabled the Allow technicians to set a temporary filter option (applicable to MS Teams), a temporary filter can be applies on the next ticket assignment.  

Prerequisites 

The following are required to use temporary filters:

• Only the Admin and Admin Only roles can configure, edit, and assign the temporary filters. 
• The Allow technicians to set a temporary filter switch must be activated.
• The Next Ticket user role is required to access tickets assigned by the Next Ticket app. 

For administrators: Temporary filter configurations 

Assigning a temporary filter to a technician 

1. On the Next Ticket app, navigate to Settings > User Management for ConnectWise Manage. 
   
   
   
   
2. Select the technician's name and go to the Temporary Filter column. 
   
   
   
   
3. Select a filter for the selected user and click Apply. 
   
   
   
   
4. Next, go to the Temporary Filter Activation Time column and select the duration for the filter's activation. 
   
   
   
   
5. Click OK. 

Assigning a temporary filter to a batch of technicians 

1. On the Next Ticket app, navigate to Settings > User Management for ConnectWise Manage. 
   
   
   
   
2. Select the users you wish to assign temporary filters to and click the Batch Action Temporary Filter button. 
   
   
   
   
3. In the Batch Action Temporary Filter window, select Batch Overwrite under Select Action, and the temporary filter from the dropdown list. 
   
   
   
   
4. Next, set the Activation Time then click Apply.
   
   These settings will be shown in the Temporary Filter and Temporary Filter Activation Time columns.  

Activating the "Allow technicians to set a temporary filter" option

Activating the Allow technicians to set a temporary filter switch enables technicians to assign temporary filters to themselves in MS Teams. 

1. On the Next Ticket app, navigate to Settings > Options. 
   
   
   
   
2. In Options, go to the Basic tab and select the Allow technicians to set a temporary filter switch. 
   
   
   
   
3. Click Save. 

For technicians: How to use temporary filters

Selecting temporary filters from MS Teams 

You can only select temporary filters from MS Teams if the temporary filter option is activated and a temporary filter is configured to be available. 

Follow these steps:  

1. Type nt-filter or ntf and press ENTER. 
   
   
   MSPbots will send a message showing the filter or filters you are currently using.  
   
   
2. Select the filter or filters you want to apply temporarily.  
   
   
   
   
3. Then select a Start Time and End Time to set the activation schedule for your temporary filter. 
   
   The Start and End times follow the user's time zone. In this case, where you are setting the schedule, these time settings will follow your time zone.  If the schedule were set by an admin from a different location, the settings would follow the admin's time zone. 
   
   
4. Click Submit. You will receive a message confirming that a temporary filter will be applied during the indicated Start and End Times.  
   
   
5. The next message contains the dispatched priority ticket based on your selected temporary filters.
    
   
   
   If you see the following message, contact your administrator. The option to switch filters may be OFF. 
   
   

Applying temporary filters from the Next Ticket portal

To apply temporary filters from the Next Ticket portal, select your preferred filter or filters from the dropdown list and click Request Next Ticket.

The filters on the list are the same as those the admin configured to be available according to the set schedule. 

A pop-up message appears right before the temporary filter's scheduled activation time starts. Click Refresh to apply the temporary filters. 

Another message appears when the scheduled activation time ends. Click Refresh to reapply the default filters.