Version 1.7 Inbound Email Integration (POP3 and IMAP) Installation, Configuration and User Guide Last updated October 2011
1 Introduction and Overview... 1 2 The Case for Email monitoring... 2 3 Installation Procedure... 2 Backup... 2 Uninstalling and Preparing email folder... 2 Install Files... 2 Helpdesk Compatibility and Database Updates... 3 4 EMLmonitor Configuration and Connection to Email Account... 4 5 Multiple Installations... 5 Different helpdesk on same server... 5 Connecting to different email accounts in same helpdesk... 5 6 Help Desk Configuration Settings and Integration... 6 7 Manual Email Handling in Help desk... 7 8 Automated email checking and Call Generation... 10 Configuration... 10 Inbox... 11 Running EMLmonitor as a Service... 11 9 Troubleshooting... 12 Page:2
1 Introduction and Overview EMLmonitor is designed to create support requests from emails sent to a central support mailbox. It may be used to generate new support requests and also add Events to any existing requests when email replies are received from customers/users. This may be done automatically or using a manual interface. Incoming email integration is provided by a POP3 / IMAP component (DLL) which can access any POP3 or IMAP enabled mail system MS Exchange, Lotus Notes, Internet Email etc. There is also an option to use an SSL (encrypted) connection. Note; EMLmonitor requires a separate license. Visit http://www.sitehelpdesk.com/prices for prices or email sales@sitehelpdesk.com for a written quotation. There are two interfaces to EMLmonitor: Manual - Using the Check Email option under Call Management menu you can manually create or update calls from incoming emails. Automated - Running EMLmonitor.exe interactively or as a Windows service will automatically pick up all incoming emails with a valid email address and convert them to tickets (or add events to existing calls). EMLmonitor.exe will a. Create or update call tickets from new emails that arrive into the POP3 mail box b. Optionally sends replies back to end users or customers notifying them that a support request has been created. Both the manual and the automated options may be used at the same time but if they both try to access the email account at exactly the same time then one will get locked out. We advise using the manual interface until you are confident of the process and that the mail box is being used for the proper purpose and do not set the automated service to run too often. Note: If the from email address cannot be found against an End User or Customer Contact the email record cannot be imported automatically and will remain in the email queue. These do require intervention to assign to the appropriate person or Customer or be selected for deletion. In effect this protects you from Call tickets being created from SPAM or rogue emails. Email attachments and images in the body of the email are automatically added as attachments to the Call ticket. The installation is designed to be installed with version 7.6 or later of sitehelpdesk, sitehelpdesk- IT or sitewebdesk. If you have any questions not answered in this document then please contact support@sitehelpdesk.com. Page:1
2 The Case for Email monitoring Many companies have now evolved an email culture where the majority of communications are managed in this medium. Emails are fraught with problems when used in the support environment. Communications get lost, threads and all actions taken are not visible and most importantly there is little or no reporting of volumes or resolutions at the end of the process. Our web based help desk products overcome the need for emails to be used to log and track call because users or customers can log requests and view their call histories. However, there is still a need to communicate via email from within a call ticket, such as when entering Events or auto notifying of call closures. EMLmonitor integrates email and helpdesk by: Allowing staff to email requests that then get automatically (or manually) converted to tickets. Making the helpdesk available 24/7 with email call logging option and automated call id number responses. Bringing all email replies back into the helpdesk ticket to ensure all communication threads leading to a resolution are recorded against the ticket. Reporting of date and times of call being logged by email are based on when support requests are made rather than when support staff are available to convert email requests to tickets. 3 Installation Procedure Backup As a precaution, as some of the files will be replaced and to be able to review your existing configuration settings, it is good practice to backup your existing \sitehelpdesk folder (and sub folders) before installing EMLmonitor. Uninstalling and Preparing email folder Remove the EMLmonitor service. To do this launch \Email\EMLmonitor.exe (right click and Run As Administrator if you have that option), go into the Config button option, enter the name of this EMLmonitor service (EMLmonitor by default) and click on the Remove Service button. Note: If you have EMLmonitor running for other help desk installations on the same server then you need to enter the name of each unique EMLmonitor service and remove those as well. Uninstall any previous version of EMLmonitor via the Control Panel, Program Features/ Add/Remove programs or the start menu All Programs, EMLmonitor, Uninstall menu option. Note some early versions of EMLmonitor did not contain an uninstaller so just delete the files as per the next instruction if this applies to your upgrade. Navigate to the sitehelpdesk\email folder and remove any files that are still there. This will ensure they get installed by the EMLmonitor installer only. Install Files Download EMLmonitor from the Software Upgrade menu on the sitehelpdesk.com support site or from files supplied by sitehelpdesk.com. Page:2
Fully extract the zip into a new folder and then Run the setup.exe (right click and Run as Administrator if you have that option) You must accept the license agreement to proceed. The path defaults to sitehelpdesk\email. Browse if a different installation path is required. Note that EMLmonitor must be installed in the Email folder below your sitehelpdesk installation folder. Click Next until the successfully Installed message appears. Helpdesk Compatibility and Database Updates EMLmonitor 1.7 requires sitehelpdesk/sitehelpdesk-it/sitewebdesk version 7.8 or later. Check in help, About for your version. If you are on an earlier version than 7.8 then: Either upgrade the helpdesk from the Software Upgrade menu on sitehelpdesk.com support site Or login to the helpdesk and change the url to run the following database updates. http://{yourserver}/sitehelpdesk/email/emlupdates.asp Page:3
4 EMLmonitor Configuration and Connection to Email Account IMPORTANT NOTE: Do not simply copy back your backup of mailconst.asp but edit the new one which will have new configurable features. If any of the configuration items below are changed later you must stop and start the EMLmonitor service from the control panel or close and reopen the desktop application before they will take effect. Open up \sitehelpdesk\email\mailconst.asp with Notepad and enter your values between the quotes. Note all values are case sensitive. configuration option Description Set MailServer = "servername" e.g. Set the email configuration options to connect to the required mailbox on the mail server. www.myweb.com or IP address of Server. Set MailID = "logonid e.g. me@myco.com or network account (domain\username) Note : With MS Exchange, EMLmonitor requires an Exchange Mailbox (not distribution list). If required create a new mailbox and forward emails to this new account. Set MailPass = "password" Enter the password required to connect avoid use of special characters like SSL = "N" Set to Y if the mailbox requires an SSL connection on port 995 AuthType = "0" 0=User/Login, 1=APOP(CRAM-MD5), 2=NTLM Protocol = "0" 0=POP3, 1=IMAP4 (for IMAPS use 1 here and SSL= Y ) MailRefresh = 5 Determines how often the EMLmonitor.exe will automatically retrieve new emails in minutes. Set a time that allows you to manually intervene in between. e.g at least 5 or 10 minutes is recommended. MailUserConfirm = "Y" Determines if the user/customer will receive an automated email message. Set to Y if you wish to automatically send a reply email with the Call ticket id that has been assigned. MailUserText = "A support call This is the text that will accompany the email reply back to the user/customer. IgnoreSubject = "Auto Reply,Undelivered" Will ignore emails which contain this text in the subject line to prevent the creation of unwanted events or calls. Separate text with a comma. WebAddress Set the web site address for your sitehelpdesk application. This is used to create valid hyperlinks in the email alerts. AutoAssign = "{assign to}" You may specify an Operator ID for the email generated calls to be auto assigned to. If you are using sitewebdesk and have set a default auto assign Operator/Team against the customer then that takes precedence over what is entered here. NOTE: The name entered must exactly match an Operator ID (case sensitive). E.g. AutoAssign = "admin" IgnoreDupEmails = "Y" Set to Y to ignore emails that have originated from the same email address and with the same subject line (that doesn t include a call id) and have already been turned into a call. If you want to turn auto generated emails from a monitoring system into calls then set this to N as these usually have the same subject line. DeleteWhenProcessed = "N" Set to Y to automatically remove the email from the email account once it has been turned into a call. We recommend changing to Y to keep the mailbox clear and to speed up each cycle of EMLmonitor checking for new emails. DisplayLogo = "Y" Set to N if you do not want to display the default helpdesk company logo in reply emails. Note: outgoing emails must be configured for HTML format and the recipient must have url connectivity to the helpdesk server for logos to appear. Page:4
5 Multiple Installations Different helpdesk on same server Note: This installer can only be run once on a server. Running it again will prompt you to uninstall the existing version. If you have multiple helpdesks and require multiple installations of EMLmonitor then follow these instructions. Take a backup copy of the other installation s Email folder Copy the entire contents of the sitehelpdesk\email folder (ie where EMLmonitor was just installed) to the Email folder of the other installation(s) Configure each with it s own unique details in MailConst.asp by editing in notepad. Run each Email\EMLmonitor.exe separately and if you save as a Service use different service names. Connecting to different email accounts in same helpdesk Note: This installer can only be run once on a server. Running it again will prompt you to uninstall the existing version. You can only configure the helpdesk to use one reply email address. We advise one email account used by support and that all other emails accounts forward to the one account that EMLmonitor connects to. However, if you still want to import emails into a single helpdesk from multiple support email accounts then this requires multiple installations of EMLmonitor under the same sitehelpdesk installation folder. Follow these instructions. Create a new email folder under sitehelpdesk e.g email2 Copy the contents of Email folder to email2 Configure each with it s own unique email account login details in MailConst.asp Run each Email\EMLmonitor.exe and email2\emlmonitor.exe separately. When saving the Service make sure you enter a different name than the default (which will probably have been used in your first install) If you want to use the manual interface then you could create a new Link option e.g. http://{server}/sitehelpdesk/email2/email.asp Page:5
6 Help Desk Configuration Settings and Integration Configure the option in sitehelpdesk to allow incoming email integration - Logon to the helpdesk - Select Administration, Configuration - Select Email Integration section - Set "Have you purchased EMLmonitor?" to Yes - Apply Changes - Logoff and back into the helpdesk The last date and time that EMLmonitor was run automatically will be displayed on the home page. If you are relying on this to generate the calls automatically then check it regularly to make sure the service or application is running. Page:6
7 Manual Email Handling in Help desk Once additional software is installed on the web server and configured, an additional menu option labelled Check Email will appear under Call Management. This will display all emails from the predefined central mailbox. Note that if the EMLmonitor.exe application or the service is running and importing emails then the mailbox will be locked by the application. If you cannot gain access wait a few moments and try again. If you encounter an error then refer to the trouble shooting guide and the end of this document. Any emails already processed will have an open email icon and will have the Call number displayed. Any junk email may be deleted immediately by selecting and using the Delete option Page:7
The email can then be opened and the contents viewed. If the users email address is recognised it will pre-populate the user /contact details. If not, then you have the opportunity to add them now. There is an email button for quick replies if this email does not warrant a call being generated. Select the Call Types, Priority and assign to an operator then click on Log Call. This will then create a new support request and report the Call id. You may then opt to delete the email, go back to the Inbox or create a new call. Note: If you select the same email for import again you will be taken to the Call Update page of the call that was created. If you have active Templates then a selection may be made. This will update the call with the Template s Call type/ Sub Type, Operator, Priority and Status only. It will not add the template text or create any linked template calls. If no User email address match is found then the User name (sitehelpdesk) or Customer/Contact (sitewebdesk) is not populated. You can use the Add button to create a valid record for them. You may delete that email now (or later) Page:8
Selecting an email that is a reply to an email that has been sent out from the helpdesk will match the call id in the subject line and create an event on the original ticket. Note: You may edit the email body text to remove any signature information or disclaimers etc that may clutter the system before adding. Page:9
8 Automated email checking and Call Generation EMLmonitor.exe can be run interactively or as a Windows service and will automatically create support requests from emails sent to a specific mailbox. Reply emails will be attached to the original ticket as an Event using the call id in the subject line and the operator notified. Run the EMLmonitor.exe located in the sitehelpdesk\email folder (right click and Run as Administrator if you have that option) Configuration POP3 server: This will come from the MailConst.asp configuration page, and should be set for this particular installation. Username: This is the name from MailConst.asp used as the login id to the mailbox Password: This is the login information from MailConst.asp. Note: changing the above in the application interface will not update the configuration so edit MailConst.asp to keep the changes. Save Path: This is where a record of emails is kept, by default this will be in a folder named processed under the Email folder. The absolute path must be set to this. So enter the path where the application is installed on your server. DSN Name: This should be set to the same name used in the ODBC settings for the system DSN connection to your helpdesk database, usually sitehelpdesk but if you changed this during installation then you must use the same name here. Type: Select the required database types, currently MS Access or MS SQL Server (Use the SQL option if you are running the application on MSDE) Page:10
Refresh: This tells EMLmonitor how often to poll the email box and check for new emails. As this will require server resources and add to the activity on the database and email account, it is suggested a reasonable default. We recommend a refresh rate of above 5 minutes to ensure that previous processing is complete before it restarts. We also recommend that you set the configuration option to DeleteWhenProcessed = "Y" to speed up each cycle. Email User: If this is checked then the person sending in an email request will receive an automated notification with their call id number when a call is created by EMLmonitor. The email alerts are sent using either the local SMTP component of IIS or a remote server. Use the following instructions to install and configure a local SMTP service: - Install SMTP Service Then use the Test Email button from within EMLmonitor.exe to confirm that email alerts are delivered ok. Please check FAQs if you experience any issues Start: Click button to begin the automated email logging. If you encounter an error that you cannot connect to the mailbox then refer to the trouble shooting guide at the end of this document. Inbox Emails with valid email addresses will be highlighted with a * and have the company and contact details displayed to the right (sitewebdesk), or Site and Department (sitehelpdesk). You may also intervene and retrieve or delete individual items manually by highlighting them if you wish. Attachments will be added to the calls as well. Running EMLmonitor as a Service Once EMLmonitor has been executed and the configuration settings have been confirmed then you may run EMLmonitor as a Windows service rather than interactively. Click on the Config button to bring up the option to Add or Remove the EMLmonitor service. Running as a service allows you to define the service name. If this is a second installation then type a new service name for EMLmonitor eg EMLmonitor-FM and Install. EMLmonitor s last run time will be displayed on the welcome page when logging into sitehelpdesk. Note, if you receive the following screen when trying to save the service then close EMLmonitor and reload by right clicking and select Run as Administrator : Page:11
9 Troubleshooting A log file (\sitehelpdesk\email\emlmonitor.log) is maintained which can be viewed to check on the status. Establish EMLmonitor connection: 1. Launch emlmonitor.exe and then go to config and remove the service (if it is running) 2. Close emlmonitor.exe 3. Go into the helpdesk and then Call Management, Check email. 4. If the option is not there go to Administration, Configuration and turn on Have you purchased EMLmonitor YES, click apply changes, log out and in again 5. From Call Management, Check Email, does it list the emails in the helpdesk? 6. If not then need to firstly establish if a connection can be made on port 110 using telnet. Go to command prompt (from the helpdesk server) and type TELNET {mailserver} 110 Similarly IMAP connects on port 143 This will prove that you can connect to the Mail server using POP3. You should receive a connection message and can now confirm that the email account is correct. Enter the following in the Telnet screen USER {emailaccount} PASS {emailpassword} This will confirm that the email login and password are correct. 7. If no telnet session can be established then port 110 is not open, check the firewall or try the server name in place of the IP address. 8. Once a telnet connection can be established then you need to establish this connection by editing mailconst.asp 9. Double-check the account details provided in the MailConst.asp. If you are using web based email then the MailID will be the email address (me@myco.com). If you are using an internal mail server like Exchange Server then the MailID will be the network account (domain\username) 10. Save mailconst.asp and try the check email again until a connection is established. Once a connection is established then EMLmonitor can be run as a Executable or Service. 1. Firstly edit mailconst.asp and make sure the MailRefresh = 5 or higher save mailconst.asp 2. Launch emlmonitor.exe and start 3. It should run Ok if a connection was proven via Check Email in the helpdesk. Outgoing email notifications 1. EMLmonitor does not manage outgoing emails. This is handled by SMTP and is configured in the helpdesk, Administration, configuration page. You can use local or remote server and there is a check email option in the config page. 2. Review the configuration. Once you can successfully send a check email to your self then provided you have turned on the required notification options you should receive emails back that EMLmonitor has logged calls. 3. It should also be noted that if you are using the manual interface and assigning the call to yourself then you will not get an email notification. Try assigning to another operator to see if they get a notification instead. Further Support - If you are still experiencing issues then please check our FAQs. For further assistance please contact support@sitehelpdesk.com. Page:12