The new and enhanced Auto Refresh feature in Freshservice is designed to improve the ticket and change management experience for agents by automatically updating field values without requiring a page refresh. This ensures agents can work efficiently without the risk of losing draft changes or missing critical updates.

Current Challenge

Agents often face the following issues while managing tickets:

  • Manual Refresh Requirement: Backend updates (triggered by workflow automation or user actions) require agents to click an update bubble, leading to a hard refresh of the page.

  • Missed Updates: Agents may overlook the update bubble, resulting in unintentional overriding of changes.

  • Loss of Draft Changes: Field-level draft changes are lost upon hard refresh, causing frustration and inefficiency.

How Auto Refresh Works

The Auto Refresh feature addresses these challenges by updating field values in real-time, eliminating the need for manual refreshes. Here’s how it works:

Scenario 1: Auto Refreshing Fields Without Conflict

  • Process: When a backend update occurs and the agent has no draft changes for the field, the field value is automatically updated.

  • Highlighting Updates: The updated field is highlighted to draw the agent’s attention.

  • Contextual Information: By hovering over the field, agents can see who made the update and what changes were made, providing transparency.



Scenario 2: Auto Refreshing Fields With Conflict

  • Conflict Detection: When a backend update conflicts with the agent’s draft changes, a conflict message appears below the field.

  • Conflict Messaging: The message shows the initial value (before the update) and the final value (after the update), giving the agent clear visibility into the changes.

  • Decision Making: The agent can choose to apply the backend change or retain their draft change, allowing them to make an informed decision based on the context.


Benefits

  • Seamless Updates: Agents receive real-time updates without the need for manual page refreshes.

  • Prevent Overwrites: Automatic conflict detection prevents unintentional overwriting of changes.

  • Retain Draft Changes: Field-level auto refresh preserves draft changes, ensuring that agents’ work is not lost.

  • Enhanced Transparency: Contextual information and conflict messaging provide agents with the necessary insights to manage updates effectively.