Mailbox

When you put your application into production, you'll want customers to communicate with you using an email address you have established for the purpose--something like support@YourCompany.com. This article shows you how to set up an Email Channel mailbox to handle those communications.

How an Email Channel Mailbox Works

An Email Channel mailbox can be hosted by any standard email provider. Here's how messages sent to that mailbox are processed:

• When an new message is sent to that mailbox, a Case is automatically constructed (if you have configured it to allow that behavior). The subject line of the message becomes the subject of the case.
• When a message is sent in reply to a Case-related email, it is added to the Case history.
• All messages read from the Mailbox are deleted after they are processed.
• When a mailbox is configured, all existing messages are processed and then deleted.

(So don't configure an email address that is used for any other purpose.)

• Messages that were automatically generated by a remote server are ignored, including:

• Messages that were bounced back to the platform (for example, because the original email address is no longer valid)
• Automatic-response messages
• Vacation-response messages

Adding an Email-to-Case Mailbox

Prerequisites:

• To set up an Email mailbox, you need an existing email address that will be dedicated to case-related communications.
• That address can be established with any Email provider.

To set up the Email-to-Case mailbox:

1. Go to > Channels > Email
2. Click [New Mailbox]
3. Fill in the Basic Information and other settings to configure the Email Channel
4. Fill in the Mailbox Configuration Settings discussed below
5. Click [Save]

If messages exist in the mailbox, you are immediately notified that, should you continue, the messages will be processed and deleted. (It's an extra check to keep you from targeting something like your personal mailbox, by mistake.)

When you continue from that point, the existing messages are processed. New cases are created with status Closed. Acknowledgement messages are not sent out for those cases. (The assumption is that the majority of messages represent a historical record, rather than the current case load. Change status to Open for any cases that are ongoing.)

Mailbox Configuration Settings

Important: Messages in the Mailbox are deleted as they are processed. Make sure to use a Mailbox that is dedicated to Case messages.

The platform uses these configuration settings to access the Mailbox:

• Email Address
  The address of the external Mailbox. For example, abc@zyz.com.
  Must be unique (not be used for any other mailbox).

• Username
  The login name for the external Mailbox account.
  (Defaults to the email address, but can be edited.)

• Password
  The password used to access the Mailbox.

• Protocol
  The access protocol provided by the email host: POP3, POP3S, IMAP, or IMAPS.

Use of IMAP or IMAPS is recommended.

• Host
  The IP address] of the email host, or the domain name. For example, imap.gmail.com

• Port
  The port number used to access the Mailbox.

Note: POP3 - Post Office Protocol, version3. (The original email protocol. Messages are always downloaded when read.) POP3S - A version with additional security. IMAP - Internet Message Access Protocol. (An advanced protocol that allows messages to remain on the server, for access from multiple locations.) IMAPS - A version with additional security.

Next Steps

Configure the email handling and filtering options.

Learn more: Configuring an Email Channel