MESSAGE PROCESSING

Messages to be processed are available in the main menu under Message processing->Message processing. If this item is not present in the menu, a user with administrator permissions must enable the Message processing module in Global settings->Message processing, or check whether the user has been granted permissions to use this module in Permissions and access->Users.

List of messages to be processed

The message processing window is split into two parts. The left part contains a list of public email addresses; by selecting one of them you can display only the messages received at a specific email. Email addresses intended for receiving private messages are distinguished by a flag. The list of addresses used for receiving messages to be processed can be edited in Global settings->Message processing. The number in brackets indicates the count of messages waiting to be processed.

It is also possible to display all messages, or messages received via the web form.

The list of messages is sorted from the newest to the oldest, with basic information visible directly from the list:

Subject – the subject taken from the header of the received email. A flag before the message subject indicates a private message

Customer name – CDESK automatically assigns a customer if the sender’s email address is known to it – whether it is recorded in the customer account, in the contacts, or is assigned to a PC user recorded by the CM IT monitoring tool

Sender – the email sender taken from the header of the received message

Received into CDESK – the date and time the message was received, together with the internal address to which the message was sent. For messages sent via the web form, “Web” is displayed

Status – shows the status of the message, as well as how, when and by whom it was processed. A message can be in one of the following statuses:

• Unprocessed
• Request created – open the request by clicking the stated number
• Internal request – open the internal request by clicking the stated number
• Discussion post – display the request to which the post was assigned by clicking the stated request number
• Note for assignees – display the request to which the note was assigned by clicking the stated request number
• Task created – display the task by clicking its number
• Notice on the noticeboard – display the post on the noticeboard by clicking the stated number
• Ignore – the message remains in the list, its colour changes to a non-contrasting grey

Message processing

A message can be processed:

• automatically
• processing by the automaton – the message is processed as a post in the discussion of a request, or a new request is created (the CM functionality must be enabled)
• processing by a rule – the message is processed according to the rules set in Message processing->Processing rules
• manually – the message is processed manually by the responsible assignee

Automatic processing

Processing by the automaton

Every received message is initially evaluated by an automaton which:

• if it is a private message, assigns the message to the relevant assignee. You can read more about how private messages work at the end of the article
• if it is a message that is a reply to a notification of a request, it is processed as a discussion post to the request. The evaluation is based on the identifier in the message subject (e.g. CD-32-JX8QY2)
• for a message sent from an email address assigned to a computer in Customer Monitor, a request is automatically created, assigned to the relevant customer. This requires the Customer Monitor functionality to be enabled and the C-Monitor client installed on the registered computers

If the message does not meet the conditions for processing by the automaton, processing by a rule* comes into play.

Processing by a rule

Messages that meet the conditions of the rules set for message processing are processed automatically according to the chosen action. Rules are set in Message processing->Processing rules. If a message meets several rules at once, the rule with the lowest order number is applied. You can find more information about rules and their settings in the article Processing rules.

*The order of processing by the automaton and by a rule can be swapped – i.e. the message is processed according to a rule even if it is sent from an address registered in CM to a client computer, and a request is not created automatically. The setting is made in Message processing->Processing rules, in the item Place of use: Apply BEFORE automatic processing into requests (when the Customer Monitor functionality is disabled, this option has no effect).

Messages that were not processed by the automaton or by a rule are displayed in the message list as unprocessed and need to be processed manually.

Manual processing

By double-clicking an unprocessed message in the message list, or by selecting Edit from the context menu the message opens with the fields filled in:

Subject – the subject taken from the header of the received email

Sender – the email sender taken from the header of the received message

Received via – the internal address at which the email was received. For messages sent via the web form, “Web” is displayed.

Status – the date and time the message was received into CDESK. For an already processed message, it also displays the date, time, assignee and how the message was processed

Message text – the wording of the email

Note – the option to write a note on the message for processing

By clicking the Actions button, a list of message processing options expands:

• Create request – opens a window for entering a request with pre-filled fields Name (message subject), Customer (if identified from the message), Description (the wording of the message), Attachments (if the email contains any). The form fields can be edited; their meaning is described in the article Creating a new request
• Add a post to the discussion – opens a window with a list of requests. You add the post to a request by double-clicking it, or by clicking next to it
• Add a note for the assignee – opens a window with a list of requests. You add the note to a request by double-clicking it, or by clicking next to it
• Create task – opens a window for creating a task with pre-filled fields Name (message subject), Customer (if identified from the message), Description (the wording of the message)
• Create a post on the noticeboard – opens a window for adding a post to the noticeboard. The meaning of the individual fields as well as working with the noticeboard are described in more detail in the article Noticeboard
• Ignore – the message is marked as processed, but no record will be created from it
• Delete – removes the message
• Create rule – opens a window for creating a rule with fields pre-filled according to the header of the message being processed. More about creating rules is described in the article Processing rules. The rule is applied to this and all subsequent messages – they are processed automatically according to the chosen conditions

You create a new rule by clicking Save.

Private messages

Private messages are understood as messages that an operator forwards to CDESK as messages for processing. These messages are then seen only by the operator from whose email the message was forwarded.

To use private messages, the selected email address must have its processing method set to private in Global settings->Message processing. Subsequently, if a message is sent to this address (whether public or internal) from an email address that is also recorded as an operator’s email address, CDESK recognises this address and assigns the message to be handled directly by the specific operator. If an email is sent to an address with private message processing from a sender other than the operator, the email is neither processed nor placed into the messages to be processed.

Private messages are displayed only to the relevant operator who forwarded the message from their own email. In the message list, a private message is distinguished by a flag. The way of working with private messages does not differ from the message processing described above – they can be processed manually or automatically using rules.