How modify instructions work with incoming email

The following figure presents a sample scenario that demonstrates how to send modify instructions in an email message.

Using incoming email to modify requests

1. The  administrator at XYZ completed the following tasks to enable the  to modify entries in the :
   • Associated the incoming and outgoing mailboxes
   • Enabled the incoming mailbox to accept modify instructions

   • Created and sent security keys to trusted users of , for example, the IT department. For more information, see Allowing-and-securing-modify-actions-through-incoming-emails.

     The incoming and outgoing mailboxes in the  can be one physical mailbox, performing both the incoming and outgoing functions.

2. Joe User has a serious problem with his PC. He needs an IT engineer to install the latest service patch and has submitted an entry on the HD Incident form (Request ID 000000000000055). Francie Frontline, who has  administrator privileges, is working on Joe's ticket. She needs Joe to verify his current PC configuration and modify his ticket with updated information. She sends an email to Joe that includes the following mandatory parameters:
   • Key
   • Action: Modify
   • Form name
   • Server name
   • Request ID
      Her email to Joe must contain at least these items for modify instructions to work properly. She also includes names of fields that Joe can modify. After she sends her email, a copy of the email is stored in the Messages form and the email is sent to Joe.
3. Joe User replies to the email. He updates the work log label/value pair in the email, for example, Worklog !536870922!: I'm running Service Patch 6.  Because he has used email to submit and query  entries, he knows how to include additional fields to update information about the new department he was transferred to, for example, !Department!: Product Marketing.
4. The  receives the reply from the mail server and verifies that Francie's original email exists in the  (in the AR System Email Messages form) and that the sender's email address is contained in the recipient field of the original email. It then parses the modify instruction in Joe's email, and modifies the ticket in the HD Incident form.
5. The  returns the results to the sender, Joe User. If the email had failed (for example, Joe modified the encryption value or he tried to use a different Request ID), the  returns an error message that indicates faulty parameters or other problems.

Limitations to sending a Modify instruction

Remember the following limitation when using email to modify entries:

• The  does not support the Modify All operation. Only one entry can be modified with one modify instruction. However, you can include multiple modify instructions in one email message if you include the full login information (server, login, and password) for each entry that you want to modify, as in the following example:

  Server: polycarp
  Login: Francie Frontline
  Password: Key:1234
  Action: Modify
  Schema: HD Incident
  Request ID: 000000000000003
  !536870913!:
  Server: polycarp
  Login: Francie Frontline
  Password: Key:1234
  Action: Modify
  Schema: HD Incident
  Request ID: 000000000000004
  !536870913!:
• You can combine the modify instruction with submit or query instructions in a single message, provided multiple instructions (modify with submit or query) have been sent from the administrator.
• Users cannot add new instructions when replying to the message containing modify instructions.