Enabling users to add comments via email

BMC Helix Digital Workplaceprovides the notification engine on BMC Helix Innovation Suite to send email notifications to end users. As an administrator, you can enable end users to post comments to Catalog-native requests and their fulfillment tickets directly from email notifications sent by BMC Helix Digital Workplace. When end users receive email notifications, they can click the Post a comment button in the notification, type their comment in a new compose window, and send it. The comment is instantly added to the request and its fulfillment tickets.

Important

This capability is available only with the notification engine on BMC Helix Innovation Suite. If you use the traditional notification engine, end users can't post comments from email notifications.
Comments are added only to Catalog-native requests and their fulfillment tickets. Comments for service requests from BMC Service Request Management or other external catalog sources are unsupported.

This capability benefits users by saving time and effort since they don't need to log in to BMC Helix Digital Workplace to add comments. It also enhances collaboration and engagement, allowing users to contribute easily and efficiently from anywhere. For more information about how end users can add comments via email, see Adding-comments-to-service-requests-via-email-notification.

Scenario: Enabling users to add comments via email

Scenario

Apex Global has started using the notification engine on BMC Helix Innovation Suite to send email notifications to the end users. Allen, the administrator, takes the following steps to set up the notification engine on BMC Helix Innovation Suite so that users can post comments to Catalog-native requests directly from the email notifications:

Makes sure that the notification engine on BMC Helix Innovation Suite is activated and configured.
Reviews the default settings for the Email Rule Engine (RBE) provided by BMC.
These RBE settings allow the Email Rule Engine to perform actions based on specific rules.

Sets up the incoming mailbox in the AR System Email Mailbox Configuration form to capture the details of incoming emails.
This setup allows the Email Engine to process emails with comments from users.

After Allen completes the configuration, Britney, an end user, receives an email notification stating that a comment has been added to her laptop request, asking further details. Britney is on the go. So, instead of logging into BMC Helix Digital Workplace to reply to the comment directly, she clicks the Post a comment button in the email notification, which opens a new compose window. In this window, she enters her comment along with all the required details. After adding her comment to the email, she sends it, and the comment is instantly added to the request.

Before you begin

Product	Task	Reference
BMC Helix Digital Workplace Administration console	Make sure that the notification engine on BMC Helix Innovation Suite is configured and enabled. The Reply-to email address, which is defined while enabling the notification engine on BMC Helix Innovation Suite, is used to receive emails with comments from end users. Important: If the Reply-to email address is not configured, the emails with comments from end users will be rejected.	For more information about configuring the Reply-to email setting, see Task-5-Enabling-the-notification-engine.
BMC Helix Digital Workplace Administration console	Remove zip files from the Blocked list in the Attachments settings.	For more information, see Updating-the-attachment-settings-and-URI-schemes.
BMC Helix Digital Workplace Administration console BMC Helix Innovation Suite BMC Helix ITSM	Set the same attachment size in BMC Helix Digital Workplace and BMC Helix Innovation Suite to prevent attachment rejection due to its excessive size. In BMC Helix Innovation Suite, define the attachment size by using the AR-Max-Attach-Size setting in the Centralized configuration. You can also define the attachment size in the REMEDY.ARF.ZIPATTACHMENTS plugin. This plugin is provided by BMC Helix ITSM with Rule Based Engine (RBE) to zip the attachments coming with email messages. By default, the attachment size is zero, allowing any attachment size.	For information about how to set the attachment size in BMC Helix Innovation Suite, see Configuration settings A-B. For more information about the REMEDY.ARF.ZIPATTACHMENTS plugin, see Enabling plug-ins.

Workflow for enabling comments via email

The following table shows the process of configuring the Email Engine and Email Rule Engine settings so that end users can add comments to Catalog-native requests by clicking the Post a comment button in an email notification:

Task	Action	Role	Reference
1	BMC provides the required Email Rule Engine (RBE) configurations as a D2P package by default. This package contains the RBE:Configuration, RBE:Rule, and RBE:Action records as well as filters and filter guides.	NA	NA
2	In the AR System Email Mailbox Configuration form, configure the incoming mailbox to store information for incoming email messages.	AR administrator	Configuring incoming mailboxes
3	(Optional) Adjust the default Email Rule Engine (RBE) settings provided by BMC or create your own rules if needed.	AR administrator with Email Rule Config permissions	For information about how to access and modify the default RBE configurations, see (Optional) To access and modify the default RBE configurations Learn how to define use cases and rules for processing emails in Defining Email Rule Engine use cases

(Optional) To access and modify the default RBE configurations

As an AR administrator, log in to Mid Tier.
From the Applications menu, select Administrator console > Application Administration Console,
From the Application Administration Console, select Custom Configuration > Foundation > Email Engine Rules > Configure Rules, and then click Open to open the Inbound Email Rule Configuration form.
Make sure that the Company field is set to Global to see the default configurations. If you select a specific company in the Company field, the defined settings are not available.

Click the Base Configuration tab.
From the Category list, select Use Case. Verify that the ServiceRequestStub - Add worklog use case is present.

Default use case configuration
Click the Rule Configuration tab.
From the Form name list, select ServiceRequestStub.
From the Use case list, select Add worklog.

Default rule configuration
On the Rule Qualification panel, verify the default qualifications or modify them if necessary.

Default rule qualification
To view the Actions panel, click inside the Actions bar.
You can verify or modify the settings on this panel if necessary. For example, you can disable notifications On Success, On Failure, or On Rejection.

Default actions
Click Save.

These default settings are defined for the Global company, and you can duplicate them for a specific company if needed. To replicate the default settings for a specific company, select the required company from the list in Step 4, recreate the use case from Step 6, and then define use case rule configurations. Also, you can change the Qualifications to specify which notification types or statuses must be supported for adding comments (you can disable comments for the required notification types, even though they are enabled by default).

Result

After you complete the configuration, end users can post comments to Catalog-native requests and their fulfillment tickets directly from email notifications sent by BMC Helix Digital Workplace. The mailbox setup enables the Email Engine to process emails with comments from end users, while the RBE configurations enable the Email Rule Engine to execute actions based on predefined use case rules.

The following image shows how comments are processed and added to the requests with the help of these configurations:

A user clicks the Post a comment button in the email notification, which opens a new compose window. In this window, the user types a comment and sends the email.
This email with a comment is added as an entry in the AR System Email Messages form. For more information about this form, see AR System Email Messages form.
The Email Rule Engine processes this entry from the AR System Email Messages form and creates the record in the SB:ServiceRequestStub form.
The record from the SB:ServiceRequestStub form is synchronized to BMC Helix Digital Workplace and is added as a comment to a Catalog-native request and its fulfillment tickets.

Troubleshooting

The following table provides information that can help troubleshoot the issues with processing comments and adding them to the requests:

Issue	Solution
Issues with receiving an email with a comment and storing it as an entry in the AR System Email Messages form.	Define logging for the Email Engine. For more information, see Configuring Email Engine logging. Verify the configuration of the incoming mailbox that you defined in the AR System Email Mailbox Configuration form.
Comments are not added to the requests	Verify that the email with a comment is recorded on the Inbound Email Rule Configuration form, under the AR Email Messages tab. Example record
Comments are not added to the requests	Look for error messages on the following forms that indicate the reason why the comment wasn't added: Open the specific message from the Messages tab to look for error messages on the BMC Remedy Inbound Emails: Message form. Example message Look for error messages on the BMC Remedy Inbound Emails: Transaction form. Enter the Email Unique Identifier of a specific message to see its transaction details. The Email Unique Identifier is a common identifier of a message that can be found under the AR Email Messages tab, on the BMC Remedy Inbound Emails: Message form, on the BMC Remedy Inbound Emails: Transaction form, and in the SB:ServiceRequestStub record. Example transaction details