I changed the checkbox tag from my field and now my workflow is broken

Question

I added or updated the tag associated with the checkbox field in Admin Center when there are tickets with that particular checkbox field selected.

Zendesk un-checks the box if any of the following is true:

• The next update happens through an automation that modifies the ticket's tags or a tag-based field.
• The next update comes via email, and a trigger subsequently runs and modifies the ticket's tags or a tag-based field.
• The next update comes from Add Tags, Set Tags, or Remove Tags.

Is there a workaround for this behavior?

Prerequisites

• You'd like to add or update the tag for a checkbox field.
• Your account has tickets with that checkbox field checked.

Answer

Adding or updating the tag value associated with a checkbox field won't update any of the tickets in which the field is checked, and may disrupt the existing workflows of your account.

Removing the tag for a checkbox field won't disrupt existing workflows, but you should still follow the steps outlined below.

As a workaround, perform a correcting backfill using automations before adding, updating, or removing the tag of a checkbox field.

Add an automation to backfill checked tickets if you're updating an existing tag

If you want to change the existing tag of a checkbox field, then prior to modifying the default tag, add an automation that deletes the previous tag and adds the new tag to all relevant tickets.

To create the automation

1. Add an automation
2. Enter a title for the automation. For example, Backfill checked tickets with updated tag.
3. Under Meet all of the following conditions, add:
   
   • Ticket: Status category | Less than | Closed
   • Ticket: Your custom checkbox field | Checked
   • Ticket: Tags | Contains at least one of the following | old_tag
   • Ticket: Tags | Contains none of the following | new_tag
4. Under Perform these actions, add:
   • Ticket: Remove tags | old_tag
   • Ticket: Add tags | new_tag
5. Click Create automation

Once the automation fires in all the necessary tickets, update the tag of the checkbox field.

Add an automation to backfill checked tickets if you're removing a tag

If you want to remove a tag value from a checkbox field, then prior to deleting the default tag, run an automation to delete the current tag from all relevant tickets.

To create the automation

1. Add an automation
2. Enter a title for the automation. For example, Backfill checked tickets by removing tag.
3. Under Meet all of the following conditions, add:
   
   • Ticket: Status category | Less than | Closed
   • Ticket: Your custom checkbox field | Checked
   • Ticket: Tags | Contains at least one of the following | tag_to_delete
4. Under Perform these actions, add:
   • Ticket: Remove tags | tag_to_delete
5. Click Create automation

Once the automation fires in all the necessary tickets, remove the tag of the checkbox field.

Update the tag in the checkbox field

Once all the automations fire in all the necessary tickets, update the tag of the checkbox field.

Note: You can see when an automation fired in a ticket by viewing the events of that ticket. For more information, see this article: Viewing all events of a ticket.

To change the tag in the checkbox field

1. Open the checkbox field that you want to update
2. Under Field option, add or update the tag in the Tag (optional) field
3. Click Save