The "From" Address of a Log Email
When sending an email out from a case (Log Email), Rulemanager is responsible for delivering the email. Rulemanager uses a template (com_tmplte) to determine the format and details of the actual email. These templates can be configured to specify a from address. Unfortunately, this configuration does not always work as expected when using the Clarify Rulemanager. Lets take a closer look at the template itself, as well as the differences in how Clarify Rulemanager and Dovetail Rulemanager each use this template.
The send_email_about_obj template
When sending an email out, the send_email_about_obj com_tmplte is used.
This template looks like:
TO: <FOCUS.recipient>, <FOCUS.cc_list>
FR: <FOCUS.sender>
RE: Regarding Case Number <ADDITIONAL_INFO>
<FOCUS.message>
Notice that the com_tmplte has an "FR:" token in it, presumably so that one can set the From address.
Clarify Rulemanager
When the Clarify Rulemanager sends an email, it does not interpret the FR: token as a From token – instead, it simply includes the FR: token and value in the email body.
In order for Clarify Rulemanager to send email (on Windows), it connects to a Microsoft Outlook email client, and it connects as a particular mail account user. Whenever Clarify Rulemanager sends email, it uses that mail account user as the from address. For example, if the Outlook mail account is rulemanager@mycompany.com, then all emails (including Log Emails, Commitment Escalations, and Business Rule Actions) will have a from address of rulemanager@mycompany.com.
So, putting it all together, a Log Email sent from a case by the user Annie Agent (whose login name is annie_agent) will look something like:
TO: customer@company.com, cc_customer@company.com
FROM: rulemanager@mycompany.com
SUBJECT: Regarding Case Number 12345
BODY:
FR: annie_agent
This is the actual message body typed in by the user.
Notice that the text FR: annie_agent is included in the body, and the from address is always from the rulemanager email address.We can do better.
Dovetail Rulemanager
Dovetail RuleManager has the ability to honor the FR: token in the template.
Using the same template as above, Dovetail Rulemanager will send an email that looks like this:
TO: customer@company.com, cc_customer@company.com
FROM: Annie Agent <annie_agent@mycompany.com>
SUBJECT: Regarding Case Number 12345
BODY:
This is the actual message body typed in by the user.
Notice that the FR: token is interpreted correctly. The From address of the email is the actual user who performed the Log Email, and the Body does not contain the seemingly erroneous "FR:" text. Sweetness.
Dovetail Rulemanager – alternative config
For those implementations that do want all outgoing emails to have the same From address (such as From support@mycompany.com), simply set the Dovetail Rulemanager config like this:
<add key="EmailServiceConfig.DefaultFromEmailAddress" value="MyCompany Support Department <support@mycompany.com>" />
<add key="EmailServiceConfig.UseDefaultFromEmailAddressForAllMessages" value="true" />
Now an outgoing email will look like:
TO: customer@company.com, cc_customer@company.com
FROM: MyCompany Support Department <support@mycompany.com>
SUBJECT: Regarding Case Number 12345
BODY:
This is the actual message body typed in by the user.
This scenario is common when the support address is monitored by an inbound email processing product, such as emailclerk or Dovetail EmailAgent. This allows a customer who receives the email to simply hit reply, and the reply will be sent to the support mailbox, and automatically logged to the case.
And there you have it – probably more details about obscure Clarify/Dovetail configurations than you cared to know.
