Setting recipients at the e-mail template level

[NickH]

Morning all,

We have a requirement to e-mail an external hardware supplier when we require their field engineering support. The call from our POV exists in HB, all the data the external supplier requires is gathered from the progressive capture stage. 

To streamline activities for our service desk as much as possible, we're thinking of using an e-mail template to collate the information, but we're struggling to find a way of setting the 'To' and 'CC' fields to all the address (external and internal) that the e-mail needs to go to (these always stay the same). I'm hoping this is possible, would seem like an obvious requirement to us?

Thanks

Nick 

[Victor]

@NickH would the email be sent manually or automatically by the/a workflow?

[NickH]

@Victor - Manually is our expectation, we can't know at exactly which point in the Incident's lifecycle the e-mail will need to be sent (in some cases it might not be required at all). As such we've assumed the workflow wouldn't be a suitable route?

[Victor]

@NickH how about custom buttons that can invoke an auto task (that will send the email)? Custom buttons can be used at any time, independent of the workflow...

[NickH]

We started investigating that route but hit some issues; am I right in thinking if we use this approach the e-mail will just send when the button is pressed, i.e. the analyst wont be given the option to add any finer details or information that might not be present from the earlier progressive capture stage or is in the details pane? The idea of the e-mail not having a form of error checking before it's fired off, could lead to issues. But perhaps we've not appreciated how this'll work?

 

Thanks for your help so far

[Victor]

@NickH you can have the template entirely made of variables that pull information from the request... this way the user can customise the content from the request and then use the auto-task/custom button to send the email...

[NickH]

Thanks Victor, we're moving ahead with that approach.

Something we've noticed, and maybe we've not quite understood the functionality, is when the e-mail is replied to, the reply isn't being automatically added to the time. Which I thought was standard if the e-mail had the request number in the subject line? We can see the e-mail response in the Hornbill mail box, so it's making it that far at least.

[Guest Paul Alexander]

@NickH

When this has happened to us the first thing we check is whether the SENDER of the returned email is set up as a contact in Hornbill.  If not, click the drop down next to the 'From:' address, and click 'Create new contact':

 

 

 

That might NOT be the problem, but you never know!

[NickH]

Thanks @Paul Alexander - I don't *think* that's the issue, as at the moment we're still testing functionality and the e-mail is actually going to me, and I've not had the issue previously. But will put my HB hat on shortly and have a play. Appreciate the response.

[Victor]

@NickH

1 hour ago, NickH said:

when the e-mail is replied to, the reply isn't being automatically added to the time.

It would not be. The only way an email is automatically applied to a request is to have it processed by routing rules (the autoresponder) based on certain criteria (such as request reference in email subject). And this would only apply to incoming emails. Replying to an email in Hornbill would be an outgoing email so it does not apply.

 

[Guest Paul Alexander]

Maybe this is the same 'thing' as was reported here? 

 

[LouiseT]

26 minutes ago, Victor said:

@NickH

It would not be. The only way an email is automatically applied to a request is to have it processed by routing rules (the autoresponder) based on certain criteria (such as request reference in email subject). And this would only apply to incoming emails. Replying to an email in Hornbill would be an outgoing email so it does not apply.

 

@Victor

 

I think @NickH is talking about when someone replies to an email they've been sent via Hornbill (using either the email functionality in a request, or a template created via autotask).   As I understand it, this should update the request timeline?   As far as I can tell that's not happening.  

 

Hope that makes sense!  

[Victor]

3 minutes ago, LouiseT said:

someone replies to an email they've been sent via Hornbill (using either the email functionality in a request, or a template created via autotask)

@LouiseT @NickH email functionality on requests does not actually send a reply (as one would send a reply from an email client). It is actually an "independent" email even if the content is in regards to a previously received email (in other words it has no email trail). The email sent from an auto task and/or an associated workflow does not create a timeline entry on a request with the content of the email. They do create a timeline entry with the content specified in the node configuration (can be a manual timeline update or a system timeline update). It is simply a timeline record that an email has been sent.

[LouiseT]

Hi @Victor

I don't think explained myself very clearly, sorry.  

 

15 hours ago, Victor said:

@LouiseT @NickH  The email sent from an auto task and/or an associated workflow does not create a timeline entry on a request with the content of the email. They do create a timeline entry with the content specified in the node configuration (can be a manual timeline update or a system timeline update). It is simply a timeline record that an email has been sent.

I'm aware of this, and it's how I expect it to work.   The situation we're struggling with is the following:

I raise a request and send an email via an auto task to a colleague or third party

Colleague/third party receives that email in Outlook and sends a reply.

 

Should this reply (from colleague to Hornbill, with request ID in the title) then update the timeline of the request?   

 

Thanks

 

[Guest Paul Alexander]

Hi @LouiseT

Do OTHER emails automatically update a request? 

If NOT then you do need an email inbound routing rule to be set up. Ours is set up like this (I'm sure there's probably a better way - we have a separate one set up for Service Requests too) but this might help:

 

 

[NickH]

It turned out the issue was 2 users having the same e-mail address set against them, which understandably confused matters. Once unique e-mail address set, request updating from e-mail working correctly. Many thanks.