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Readers tab

Service Desk > Configure > Incoming Email and Alarm Settings > Readers tab

Inbound Email Configuration

You must perform all five steps below to enable inbound emails to create new tickets in Service Desk.

  1. Add/edit an email reader as described below.
  2. Ensure POP or IMAP, as specified in the email reader, is enabled in the email server being polled.
  3. Specify the desk definition used to create the ticket, in any one of the following three ways:
    1. Optionally set the Default desk definition in Service Desk > Desk Definition.
    2. Optionally associate an email reader with a service desk using the Desk Definition > Service Desk > Desk Definition > New or Edit > Standard Field Defaults tab. Has precedence over the Default desk definition.
    3. Optionally specify a service desk by associating an email reader with a unique Ticket Request De-Dup or Ticket Request Mapping procedure. Has precedence over the Default desk definition and the Desk Definition > Email setting.
  4. Enable Incoming Email and Alarm Settings using the Service Desk > Common Configuration > Incoming Email and Alarm Settings > General tab.
  5. Ensure Ignore emails with these subjects in the Incoming Email and Alarm Settings > General tab is not filtering the email you are attempting to convert into tickets.

Note: See Activation to create tickets based on system events, such as alarms.

Note: If a service procedure linked to your service desk sends emails, ensure that outbound emails are enabled using System > Outbound Email.

Adding/Editing an Email Reader

Click New to display the Add Email Account window, or click an existing email reader, then click Edit to display the Change Email Account window. Enter the following attributes:

  • ID - The name of the email reader.
  • Host Name - The host name of a POP3 or IMAP email server. For example, pop.youremailserver.com for a POP3 email server or imap.youremailserver.com for an IMAP email server. The email server may require a host name in the Host Name field instead of an IP address if Use SSL is also checked.
  • Port Number - The port number used by the email service. This is normally 110 or 995.
  • Logon ID - The email account name. Do not include the @ suffix. For example if the entire email address is acme@yourmail.com, enter acme in this field.
  • Password - The email account password.
  • Reply Email Address - Specifies the From address for outbound emails. The From address of an outbound email is specified using the following order of precedence:
    1. If there is a From address in the sendEmail() step of a procedure, then that address is used.
    2. Else the sendEmail() step uses the From address provided by a linked Service Desk > Message Template, if the link exists and a From address is specified.
    3. Else the sendEmail() step uses the Reply Email Address of the Service Desk > Incoming Email and Alarm Settings > email reader linked to the service desk. This link between the email reader and the service desk is set using the Service Desk > Desk Definition > Properties > General > Standard Field Defaults > Email field.
    4. Else the Default Sender Email address set in System > Outbound Email is used.
  • Disable Reader - If checked, email is no longer retrieved from the email server.
  • Use SSL - If checked, communication with the email server is encrypted using SSL. Your email server must support SSL to use this feature. Some systems require a SSL connection, and the corresponding port number is 995. The email server may require a host name in the Host Name field instead of an IP address if Use SSL is also checked.
  • Process HTML content in reply emails - Checked by default. If blank, ignores HTML formatting in reply email and only examines the plain text reply message. Reply messages may be poorly formatted, confusing the processing of inbound email reply messages. Uncheck this checkbox if reply emails generate errors while attempting to update the original ticket.
  • Receipt Dup - A Ticket Request De-Dup procedure compares a ticket request with existing tickets to determine if the ticket request is a duplicate. If a ticket request is a duplicate of existing tickets, the ticket request is canceled.
  • Receipt Map - A Ticket Request Mapping procedure sets the attributes of a ticket request, just before the ticket is created, including the desk definition used to create the ticket. Receipt Property Variables lists the property variables that are available to test for in a Ticket Request Mapping procedure.
  • Transport - POP3 or IMAP.

Log

The log lists email reader tasks successfully completed and any errors that may have occurred.

Ticket Associations

A ticket request from an inbound email can be associated with an organization, machine or contact (staff member) in one of three ways, using the following order of precedence:

  1. The ticket contains tilda (~) tagged content.
  2. A ticket request mapping procedure tests the content of the ticket to determine the associations.
  3. The "from" address of the inbound email matches the email of a staff record in the VSA. On the basis of this match, the staff member and the staff member's organization is associated with the ticket.

Contents of Email

A reader can receive plain or HTML formatted email, with or without attachments, and add the contents to the ticketing system. RTF formatted emails are not supported. The following tags can be included in either the subject or the body of the email. Tags are case-insensitive.

Existing Tickets Only

  • ~ticid='xxx' - Appends the body of the email to an existing ticket. Optional. When a reply email is received, KSD attempts to use the ticket ID included in the previously sent outbound email to identify the existing ticket to append to.

New and Existing Tickets

  • ~hide - Makes the note a hidden note. The ~hide tag itself is removed.

New Tickets Only

  • ~username=’xxx’ - Automatically inserts the value given as xxx into the Submitter Name field.

    Note: If ~username=’xxx’ is not included in the either the subject or the body of the email, then the email sender's From address is used to populate the Submitter Name field.

  • ~useremail=’xxx’ - Automatically inserts the value given as xxx into the Submitter Email field.
  • ~assignee=’xxx’ - Assigns the ticket created to a specific user. The user must exist.
  • ~machineid=’xxx.xxx’ - Assigns the ticket created to a machine ID. The machine ID must exist.
  • ~machinegroup=’xxx.xxx’ - Assigns the ticket created to a machine ID. The machine ID must exist.
  • ~organization='xxx' - Assigns the ticket created to an organization by orgID. The orgID must exist.

    Note: The following fields are defined by desk definition.

  • ~category=’xxx’ - Assigns the ticket created to a specific category. The category must exist.
  • ~priority=’xxx’ - Assigns the ticket created to a specific priority. The priority must exist.
  • ~status=’xxx’ - Assigns the ticket created to a specific status. The status must exist.
  • ~severity='xxx' - Assigns the ticket created to a specific severity. The severity must exist.
  • ~solutiontype ='xxx' - Assigns the ticket created to a specific resolution. The resolution must exist.
  • ~customfield=’xxx’ - Assigns the ticket created to the specified value of a custom field ID. The custom field ID must exist.