How to Use the Zendesk App – OptiSigns

In this article, we'll show how to display your Zendesk dashboards and views on your digital signs with OptiSigns.

What You'll Need
Creating a Zendesk App
Signing In to Zendesk
Deploying a Zendesk App

Zendesk is a customer service platform for managing support tickets, chat and help centers. With the Zendesk app, it's possible to display your Zendesk dashboards and views on your digital signs, so your support team can keep an eye on queues and performance without opening a laptop.

Let's get started.

What You'll Need

An OptiSigns account - Standard Plan or higher
A Zendesk account, with access to the dashboard or view you want to display
An OptiSigns-enabled device
A screen, set up and paired with OptiSigns (see our Getting Started guide)
A keyboard and mouse you can connect to the device, for the first sign-in

Creating a Zendesk App

First, open the Zendesk dashboard or view you want to display, such as a dashboard in Zendesk Explore. Copy its address from your browser's address bar.

Next, go to the OptiSigns portal. Go to Files/Assets and select Apps.

Files/Assets page with the Apps button highlighted in the left sidebar

Search for Zendesk and select the Zendesk app.

Add App dialog searched for Zendesk, with the Zendesk app card highlighted

The Zendesk app settings will open. Fill in the following:

Name - The name of your Zendesk asset. This is for organizational purposes within OptiSigns only and will not display on your screens.
URL - The Zendesk address you copied.
Update Interval - How often the app checks Zendesk for updates, measured in seconds. The default is 600 (every 10 minutes). Set it to 0 to check only when the app first loads.

Zendesk app form with Name, URL and Update Interval filled in, and an arrow on Save

Now hit Save. You'll have created a Zendesk app, and it will appear in your Files/Assets.

The saved Zendesk app asset in Files/Assets

Signing In to Zendesk

Zendesk dashboards and views are private, so the screen needs to sign in to Zendesk to show them. The Zendesk app doesn't store a login in OptiSigns. Instead, you sign in once on the device itself.

The first time the app plays on a device, the Zendesk sign-in page will display. Connect a keyboard and mouse to the device, then enter the username and password of the Zendesk account the screen should use. After that, the device stays signed in.

TIP

On an Amazon Fire TV Stick, you can type with the Fire TV app on your phone or a Bluetooth keyboard instead.

For more on displaying pages that require a login, see How to display content inside websites that require login.

Deploying a Zendesk App

To push your Zendesk app to a screen, go to the Screens tab, then click Edit next to the screen you want to display it on.

Screens page with an arrow on a screen's Edit button

The Edit Screen pop-up will appear. Select Asset under Content Type, then hit Change next to Selected Asset.

Edit Screen dialog with Content Type set to Asset and an arrow on Change

The Select Asset window will open. Search for your Zendesk app, click it, then hit Select.

Select Asset dialog with the Zendesk app asset selected

Back in Edit Screen, hit Save. Your Zendesk dashboard will now display on your screen.

Your Zendesk app can also be displayed in a Playlist or Schedule, or as one zone of a Split Screen.

That’s all!

OptiSigns is the leader in digital signage software. If you have any additional questions, concerns or any feedback about OptiSigns, feel free to reach out to our support team at support@optisigns.com.