This guide explains how to configure Thulo Cloud's email piping functionality to automatically convert incoming emails into support tickets. This streamlines your workflow and improves response times.
Understanding Email Piping:
Thulo Cloud's email piping establishes a bridge between your email server and your Thulo Cloud instance. Incoming emails designated for support are automatically processed, creating new tickets or adding replies to existing ones.
Choosing the Right Import Method:
- cPanel Forwarders: This method utilizes email forwarding rules on your cPanel server. You can direct emails to unique addresses created for each Thulo Cloud support department.
- IMAP Method: Thulo Cloud directly connects to your email server using IMAP to retrieve emails from designated support department inboxes.
Configuration Essentials:
- Dedicated Email Accounts: Set up a unique email address for each Thulo Cloud support department within your email server. Alias emails are not supported.
- Thulo Cloud Configuration: Within Thulo Cloud, navigate to Setup > Support > Departments and configure the following for each department:
- Email Address: Enter the corresponding email address you created on your server.
- IMAP Settings (For IMAP Method Only): Provide your IMAP credentials for Thulo Cloud to access your email server.
cPanel forwarders (Method 1)
- Login to your cPanel account
- Go to the Forwarders section and set up forwarder using the following command based on your department “php -q /home/username/public_html/crm/pipe.php”. For example, If your department is Info and you set up info@yourdomain.com as an email in the department, you should forward this email. Repeat this step for each department.
IMAP (Method 2)
This method auto-imports tickets directly by reading your email.
NOTE: The script will check only unread emails to prevent checking all the emails again and again and avoid slowing down the system. After checking your email if you don’t have checked delete after import the script will auto mark the email as READ.
- On your mail server create a unique email account for each support department. This must be a full inbox, alias email is not supported.
- Navigate to Setup > Support > Departments, for each department add your IMAP credentials, click test IMAP connection to test if the connection is successful and your credentials are correct.
- Follow the test steps mentioned below.
Gmail IMAP Auto Import Notes
- If you are using google apps account make sure you verified your domain name.
- If you are using google apps account make sure you enable IMAP.
- If you get connection refused while testing IMAP connection check that your server’s firewall isn’t blocking traffic to Google.
- Make sure you have enabled less secure apps
- For IMAP server try imap.gmail.com
- Check encryption SSL
To control/block any spam emails you should visit Setup > Support > Spam Filters.
Testing the Email Piping
After you set up, try sending some test email. If everything is good a new ticket will be opened inside the Thulo Cloud. While testing you should not use your or any staff address to send a message.
Staff email addresses are only for ticket replies only and you cant create a new ticket with staff email.
Should a ticket not be created when sending in an email, then check in Utilities > Ticket Pipe Log. If the message was received by Thulo Cloud it will be listed here with the reason why it failed to create a ticket. If the message you sent is not listed here, then the forwarder you set up previously is not working correctly and Thulo Cloud didn’t receive the message.
If you get the error message “Ticket ID Not Found” this means you are trying to open a support ticket from your staff email address.
Staff can only reply to tickets, not open new ones so submit a ticket from any other email address and it should be accepted.
Known problems you can encounter
If an email has not been piped into the ticket system the first reference point is Utilities > Ticket Pipe Log. This shows all the emails processed by the Thulo Cloud email piping process and any errors that may have occurred, explanations of the three most common errors are below:
Ticket ID Not Found
This means you are using an email address assigned to staff to send your email. Staff can only reply to tickets and cant open new tickets sending an email to the support emails.
If you want to test, you must send an email from an email address that is not assigned to staff into Thulo Cloud.
Only Replies Allowed by Email
The log means that an email was received to the department email address, but the subject did not contain a ticket ID. If you have set to Yes Only Replies Allowed by Email option located in Setup -> Settings -> Support->Email Piping config the email is rejected from the system.
Inline attachment not included in ticket body (cPanel forwarder method)
Sometimes it’s not possible for us to fetch the inline attachments from the email body and include in the ticket. Only regular attachments will be imported.
New Tickets/Replies are Imported Twice
Staff members not receiving an email when a new ticket is created or reply is posted
Click here to read more about the reason why this is happening.