# Using an External Ticketing System

{% hint style="info" %}
Before starting, ensure the following:

* You have [integrated your Slack Workspace with ClearFeed](/clearfeed-help-center/getting-started/signing-up-for-clearfeed.md)
* You have integrated ClearFeed with the ticketing system
* Product edition is set to "Integrations" in [Plans & Billing](https://web.clearfeed.app/settings/plans-and-billing)
  {% endhint %}

Once done, you can create your first collection - a group of Slack channels that have similar helpdesk settings

## Create Collection

1. Navigate to [Collections](https://web.clearfeed.app/collections) from the side navigation bar.
2. Click on the `Add new Collection` button on the bottom-left of the page.
3. Choose support team members as **Responders**
   * Responders are members of the support team
   * Responder settings are used to manage status changes on your ticketing system. Responses from your support team on Slack are considered like responses from the ticketing system
4. Add **Request channels** on which you plan to provide support to customers
   * All public Slack channels can be added from the web app
   * Private Slack channels can be added by typing `/invite @Clearfeed` on the Slack channels. They can only be added after a Collection is created
5. Under the Triage Channel configuration, choose the `Proceed without Triage` option
6. Under **Ticketing Settings**, select your preferred integration and define how tickets should be created:

   **Trigger Mode**:

   * **Emoji-Based**: Tickets are created when a specific emoji (e.g., :tickets:) is added to a thread.
     * Choose which users' reactions should trigger ticket creation — either **anyone** or **only responders**.
   * **Automatic**: Tickets are created for **every new message** posted in the request channel.

## Creating Tickets

1. Anyone can apply :tickets: on a Slack thread on request channels and convert them to tickets
   * In case of automatic trigger, any new message from non-responders on the channel would create a ticket automatically
2. After a ticket is created, ClearFeed will post a reply on the request thread with the following information: Ticket ID, Title (with a link to the ticket), and Color Coded Ticket Status.

## Bidirectional sync

* Replies on the Slack threads are synced to the integrated ticketing system
* Any public comments on the ticket are synced back to the same Slack thread
* The status from the integrated ticketing system is also synced with the Slack thread

## Additional Features

* Slack Forms for creating tickets with fields from external helpdesks
* Controls on which fields from external helpdesks are editable from Slack
* Controlling which Ticket fields to display on Slack
* Ability to work on tickets on Slack from Triage channels
* To explore these in detail, explore individual sections for each integration:
  * [Zendesk](/clearfeed-help-center/integrations/zendesk.md)
  * [Freshdesk](/clearfeed-help-center/integrations/freshdesk.md)
  * [Intercom](/clearfeed-help-center/integrations/intercom.md)
  * [JIRA Service Management](/clearfeed-help-center/integrations/jira-service-management.md)
  * [Salesforce](/clearfeed-help-center/integrations/salesforce.md)
  * [JIRA](/clearfeed-help-center/integrations/jira.md)
  * [Linear](/clearfeed-help-center/integrations/linear.md)


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