[SOLVED] Compose internal mail

[HervE]

Hello,

In ticket zoom when I forward a mail, I have the opportunity to set the article type as "email-internal" or "email-external". (It appeared that we chose to set it as "email-internal" by default.)

How can I have the same opportunity with compose menu?

It would especially be useful in the following scenario:
I forward a mail as internal when I need a colleague's help. (This colleague does not have access to OTRS.)
This colleague answers - his answer automatically comes as internal.
I reply to thank him for his help... but this time my reply can only be external, which makes no sense!

Regards,
HervE

[crythias]

split the ticket?

[HervE]

No. I like the principle of having all about a support request in one and the same ticket, including the conversation of the colleague's help.
So split isn't a solution for me.
I only want to add the "article type" property to the compose window. Possible or not?

Regards,
HervE

[jojo]

communication with collegues should be done via note functionality

[HervE]

(This colleague does not have access to OTRS.)

I said.

[jojo]

for this kind of communication you should use the forward functionality

[HervE]

Dear jojo,

Here is my scenario again:
1. I forward a mail as internal when I need a colleague's help. (This colleague does not have access to OTRS.)
2. This colleague answers - his answer automatically comes as internal.
3. I reply to thank him for his help.

I think it would be stupid to forward him his own mail (including possible attachments) just to thank him!

Why can't I just modify the article type in Compose window?

HervE

[crythias]

It's obviously not a feature in OTRS. OTRS is not a mailbox. Splitting the ticket would be the only real way to do this, as are all the other workarounds given for what OTRS already does, including using your own email interface to thank this user and cc OTRS with appropriate ticket# format in the subject.

If you want the functionality for yourself, add it. But the official answer is: it's not in, and can't be done as you requested.

[HervE]

OTRS is not a mailbox.

No, but - from what I've seen - OTRS is, fundamentally, mail-based, isn't it?
On the other hand, are mailboxes able to separate internal from external mails?

Splitting the ticket would be the only real way to do this

I think I understand what you mean. The idea is to consider the additional conversation as a new ticket, outside of the original ticket - and probably linked to it.
But I don't really like it, for several reasons:
-statistical: 1 ticket must be counted, not 2
-practical: I want to be able to read the additional conversation inside the ticket, without having to jump to another ticket
-semantic: in the additional ticket, I (as agent) would be requesting help from a guy (let's say a customer), instead of the contrary

Actually the point I raised is a small inconvenience; splitting the ticket would be a bigger inconvenience (for the way we work with OTRS).

using your own email interface to thank this user and cc OTRS with appropriate ticket# format in the subject.

Why not! Could be a solution in some cases.
(By the way, when I said "I reply to thank him for his help", it was just a typical example. In other cases, I have to go on with this additional discussion, I have to ask him other things, or I ask him to explain better, whatever...)

If you want the functionality for yourself, add it.

I'll try.

But the official answer is: it's not in, and can't be done as you requested.

OK, message understood, thank you both jojo and crythias.

Regards,
HervE

[HervE]

If you want the functionality for yourself, add it.

I'll try.

And I managed

HervE

[grgelisha]

communication with collegues should be done via note functionality

What if both agents' webmail been integrated with OTRS??

[MichaelR]

communication with collegues should be done via note functionality

What if both agents' webmail been integrated with OTRS??

What do you mean, agents webmail being integrated with OTRS?

[grgelisha]

For those Agents whose mailbox is only OTRS..

All I want to understand is, the best way to communicate internally. (Apart from Split, Notification, Move)

[crythias]

All I want to understand is, the best way to communicate internally. (Apart from Split, Notification, Move)

This depends on several different things. An Internal Note is the default method of adding comments to a ticket. If you need notification that an internal note has been added, you might send a Notification (Event).

[grgelisha]

Thanks Crythias..

But I think that notification will also get generated as a ticket since the agents has no other mailbox but OTRS

[hmmmm3]

If you want the functionality for yourself, add it.

I'll try.

And I managed

HervE

How did you add this functionality?

[DBSRAJW]

An easy and flexibel way to realize that is the following one, I will describe. But important: it is not that flexible to also choose a dedicated person. Instead it is possible to use this functionality to write the email to the selected customer, the responsible, a special set of of receiving agents depending on your groups and roles (so for example agents of the project or a department).

For my case I needed it for the customer and 2 different departments, which are not working within OTRS, but are using email to answer to questions. These two departments are defined as roles.

Example for notes:
- go to Admin >> SysConfig >> Frontend::Agent::Ticket::ViewNote
--> Ticket::Frontend::AgentTicketNote###ArticleTypes
Add key "email-external" with content "1"
Control: Ticket::Frontend::AgentTicketNote###Subject = $Text{"Note"}


If an individual translation file is used, you can choose your own translation. If not, there is already a standard set. The German one was perfect to me, but the English one is called email-external, so you might should use a better wording for your less technical agents.

Now the main prerequisites are set to send emails while a note is added.
The new article type is available in the dropdown and can be selected. When used, it is printed in the overview of the articles within the ticket as green line, followed by a yellow one for the system, which sends the email. But the yellow line will occure only after the additional changes: we need the trigger for sending the email.

To configure the email export go to Admin >> Notifications (Event) and use more or less these basic infos:
Events: "ArticelCreate"
Article Filter: "Article Type" = "email-external
Article Filter: "Article sender type" = "agent"
Search in subject: (in our case we search here for "Note", to prevent that while sending normal replies to emails this event is raised additionally. This key word is the one from Frontend::Agent::Ticket::ViewNote in the Subject field) "Note"
Receipient: "Receipient groups" = (for my first example) "Customer" (you can also choose instead in the next boxes receipient groups or roles instead)
Notification: set "Subject" and "text" as you like.
Notification: "Notification article type" = "email-notification-ext"

Ready
Is running very fine for us. The only thing less nice is, that the email send by system puts the body as "forwarded" and adds this typical line in front of the text, which occues when you forwad in email. This is, because you include via this solution the original body of your ticket to a new email -> but I configured the email text like following to cover this restriction:

Code: Select all

Subject: <OTRS_CUSTOMER_SUBJECT[50]>

Text: Concerning ticket number: "[Ticket#<OTRS_TICKET_TicketNumber>]" 
with title: "<OTRS_TICKET_Title>"
following note was added:

<OTRS_AGENT_BODY[5000]>

+ plus individual signature of the Agent. Be aware, the normal Agent tags are not running, cause here the system is writing the email, so you have to choose instead of <OTRS_Agent_UserFirstname> and <OTRS_Agent_UserLastname> for the signature the tags:
<OTRS_CURRENT_UserFirstname> <OTRS_CURRENT_UserLastname>

That's it