The top bar: Add menu, search, recently viewed

Ref: A02 · Track: Agent Essentials · Time to complete: ~3 min

Why this matters

The top bar is the same on every page of Zendesk. Learn it once and you'll always know how to search, create, and find your way back to the ticket you just closed.

What's in the top bar

From left to right:

1. The "+" Add menu

Click the plus button to create something from scratch: - New ticket — for proactive outbound work (you noticed a customer has an issue and want to reach out first). - New user — add someone who isn't in Zendesk yet. - New organisation — create a company record. - New search — open a fresh search tab.

Hover over the Add button without clicking — it reveals your recently viewed tickets. This is the fastest way to jump back to the ticket you were working on five minutes ago.

2. The search bar

Type anything; Zendesk searches across: - Tickets (by subject, body, or ID) - Users and organisations - Articles in the knowledge base - Side conversations

Prefix your query to narrow down: - requester:jane@acme.com — tickets from that person - status:open assignee:me — your open queue - created:>48hours — last two days

3. Your avatar

Click your avatar to: - Change your online/offline status (for Talk and messaging — see B01) - Open your profile settings - Log out

4. The bento icon (the grid of dots)

Switches between Zendesk products: Support, Guide, Chat, Explore, Admin Center. You'll use this most often to jump to Explore (reporting) or Admin Center.

Quick check — have you got this?

• You want to create a ticket for a customer who hasn't contacted you yet. Where do you start?
• You closed a ticket two minutes ago and need to reopen it. Fastest route?
• You want to find every ticket from jane@acme.com. What do you type?

Related articles

• A01 — Logging in and the home dashboard
• A15 — Search and recently viewed tickets