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      Configure email server settings 
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 * IT Help desk admin guide | ServiceDesk Plus administration guide
 * Configure email server settings | Help desk admin guide



 * Home ››
 * Admin Configurations (Old UI)››
 * Organization Details››
 * Mail Server Settings
 * ››Configure email server settings | Help desk admin guide


MAIL SERVER SETTINGS

Configure incoming and outgoing email settings so that your requesters and
technicians can send and receive emails. 

 

Beginning with the year 2023, basic authentication will not be supported to
connect to Microsoft 365 (formerly Office 365) mailboxes. Click here to know
more.

 

Go to Admin >> Organization Details >> Mail Server Settings.

 

On this page, we'll discuss how to configure the following:

 

Incoming Mail Settings

Outgoing Mail Settings

Spam Filter

Email Command

Delimiter

Other Configurations


INCOMING MAIL SETTINGS

Select whether to use the Exchange Web Service (EWS) or external mail servers
(POP, IMAP, POPS, or IMAPs).

Choose the Authentication Type. You can choose Basic authentication or OAuth
authentication.

Then, proceed with the configuration as shown below:

When you choose POP, IMAP, POPS, or IMAPS as the connection protocol:




 

Fill out the displayed fields using the pointers given below:

 

Field

Explanation

Server Name/IP Address

Provide the server address from which the mails should be fetched

User Name and Password

Specify the server credentials.

E-mail Address

Email address/es from which service requests must be fetched.

Protocol

Select the protocol from the drop-down 

POP/POPs - Post Office Protocol/Post Office Protocol secure downloads email to
your computer and then deletes them from the server. 

IMAP/IMAPs - Internet Message Access Protocol/Internet Message Access Protocol
secure syncs the computer with the server, giving you the opportunity to access
the server from several devices.

Port

Specify the port number according to the protocol selected.

Fetch mails every

Provide the time interval within which mails have to be fetched.

Enable Proxy

For a secure connection, enable and configure the proxy settings. Click here to
learn more

Enable Email Debug

Obtain a recent log of debugged emails.

Disable new request creation by email

Select to restrict request creation from emails. You can specify the allowed
email IDs and domains from which request can be created by email, if needed.

 

When you choose EWS as the connection protocol:

 



 

Fill out the displayed fields using the pointers given below:

Field

Explanation

Connect URL

Provide the URL to connect to the server (For example,
https://<host_name>/EWS/Exchange.asmx).

Username and Password

Specify the server credentials.

Fetch mails every

Provide the time interval within which mails have to be fetched.

Enable Proxy

For a secure connection, enable and configure the proxy settings. Click here to
learn more.

Enable Email Debug

Obtain a recent log of debugged emails.

Disable new request creation by email

Select to restrict request creation from emails. You can specify the allowed
email IDs and domains from which request can be created by email, if needed.


MOVING ERROR EMAILS TO A DIFFERENT FOLDER

In some cases, emails with processing errors can cause mail fetching to stop.
ServiceDesk Plus enables you to move these error emails to a different folder,
thereby ensuring seamless workflow.

 

You can create a separate folder in the application mailbox and direct the error
emails to be moved to this folder.

 

To configure this operation,

 * Enable the Move Messages to error folder checkbox and configure the options
   using the pointers given below.
   
   * Name: Provide the name of the folder you have created.
   
   * Stop mail fetching after <> mails: Enable this checkbox to stop mail
     fetching when the number of error emails moved to the folder reaches the
     specified count.
   
   * Total number of mails in error folder: This displays the number of emails
     moved to the configured error folder.
   
   * Move mails to inbox: Click this option to move the emails back to the inbox
     after resolving the errors.
   
   * Notify by email when a mail is moved from inbox to error folder: Enable
     this checkbox if you wish to notify technicians each time an error email is
     received.
     Note that you must enable the option Send e-mail when an application error
     occurs under notification rules.

 



 

 


RESOLVING ERROR EMAILS 

When moving emails to the error folder, the details of the each mail and the
exception will be saved as text files(.txt). These files will be encrypted as
they might contain Personally Identifiable Information(PII) of the customer.
Follow the steps given below to resolve the error emails.

 1. Click Download. The support files along with the error logs will be
    decrypted and downloaded in a zip file.

 2. Send the files to support@servicedeskplus.com for analysis.

 3. Once all emails in the error folder are resolved, click Move mails to inbox.
    The resolved emails will be further processed in the application based on
    the workflow of your helpdesk.
    Note: The Total number of mails in error folder will be reset when all
    emails from the error folder are moved to inbox.

 


LIMITATIONS 

 * This feature is not applicable for mail servers configured with the POP(S)
   protocol.

 * In case of connectivity issues when processing emails, the mail fetching
   process will stop and emails will not be moved to the error folder.

To edit the settings, stop the mail fetching process.
The EWS connection protocol is supported only for Windows machines.


OUTGOING MAIL SETTINGS

Select whether to use the Exchange Web Services (EWS) or SMTP or SMTPS to
connect to the external server.

Choose the Authentication Type. You can choose basic authentication or OAuth
authentication.

Then, proceed with the configuration as shown below.

When you choose SMTP or SMTPS as the connection protocol:

 



 

Fill out the displayed fields using the pointers given below:

 

Field

Explanation

Server Name/IP Address

Specify the server through which all mails must be sent.

Alternate Server Name/IP Address

Provide the backup server details, if available.

Sender's Name

Specify the sender name (appears in the sender email)

Reply-to Address

Address for all replies; same as the value in the Email Address field of the
incoming server.

TLS Enabled

Select whether TLS must be enabled.

Port

Specify the port number.

Requires Authentication

If you select authentication for security purposes, provide the necessary login
credentials.
 

Enable Proxy

For a secure connection, enable and configure the proxy settings. Click here to
know more.

 

When you choose EWS as the connection protocol:

 



 

Field

Explanation

Connect URL

Specify the server through which all mails must be sent (For example,
https://<host_name>/EWS/Exchange.asmx).

Username and Password

Specify the server's credentials.

Sender's Name

Specify the sender name (appears in the sender email)

Reply-to 

Address for all replies.

Enable Proxy

For a secure connection, enable and configure the proxy settings. Click here to
know more.

 

The EWS connection protocol is supported only for Windows machines.

 


SPAM FILTER

Define filter criteria to block any unnecessary or spam messages from entering
the application. Mails that fulfill the criteria you have defined are dropped,
and no requests are created from them. 

Configure the Spam Filter as shown below:

 



 

To mark out all spam messages, ensure that you define the rule clearly with
choose if the rule must match ALL conditions or any one of the specified
conditions. 

Under Define rule, select the criteria from the drop-down and select the
condition. 

Click the Choose button to add comma separted entries to the filter conditions.
Say, the Subject field can contain Out of office or Not in today.

Click Add to Rules and Save.


EMAIL COMMAND

The Email Command in ServiceDesk Plus parses through all incoming emails,
extracts the required data, and automates request-related actions such as
adding/creating, editing, updating, and picking up requests.

Define request delimiters under Email Command to parse all incoming emails,
update the required request fields or perform various operations automatically.
Note that only emails from authorized users (with login permissions) will be
parsed.

Configure Email Command using the following pointers:

 



 

Field

Explanation

Enable Email Command

Select this option to activate email parsing.

Email Subject Contains

Enter the exact parsing identifier; emails that do not have this string under
their subject will NOT be parsed.  

Command Delimiter

Specify a special character, say $, that will enclose the field/operation and
the parser action required.

 

For example, if the request must be assigned request high priority, the email
content will be as follows:

 

$Priority=High$

 

To add a new request, the email content will contain:

 

$Operation=AddRequest$

 

 


FIELD PARSING RULES

Fields specified in the email, but absent in the application will not be
parsed. If the email specifies more than one value for any field, only the last
value will be considered. Other values will be discarded.

If the requester name is not specified in the email, the email sender will be
considered as the requester.


OPERATIONAL STRINGS

For various request-related operations, use the following strings, enclosed
within the specified command delimiter, in the email content: 

 

Action

Operational String

Create a new request

Operation=AddRequest

Edit or update a request*

Operation=EditRequest

Close a request*

Operation=CloseRequest

Pick up/assign a request*

Operation=PickupRequest

*The email must contain the Request ID for the operation to be performed.

Emails with Request ID in the subject line, but with no operational strings in
the email body will not create new requests. Also, Request ID in the email
description takes precedence over the Request ID in the subject line.


REQUEST OPERATIONS: ROLES AND PERMISSIONS

All update information, including images and attachments, will be added only
under the history tab, and not under conversations.

Emails from users with only requester/technician permissions will be parsed only
for fields that were available to the user while creating the request. Actions
such as picking up, updating, or closure of requests will be based on the
permissions available to the requester.

The following fields, depending on user permissions, can be parsed:

Level

Mode

Priority

Urgency

Impact

ImpactDetails

Category

SubCategory

Item

Group

Technician

TechnicianEmail

Requester

RequesterEmail

RequestID

RequestTemplate

RequestType

Status

Site

Asset

Resolution

Additional Field Label

Editor* EditorEmail*

Apart from these fields, you can also add or edit resources in requests based on
the service templates. 

The format for resources is as afollows.

@@resource_api_key.question_api_key=answer@@ 

Example : @@res_301.qstn_select_302=compaq@@ 

 

Resource answer should be "name" of the available options.
For select, string, and radio fields, only one possible answer is valid. If more
than one answer is given, those will be considered inactive and the
corresponding question will be removed from that resource.
For the check field, multiple answers are supported. If any of the answers given
is invalid, that particular answer alone will be removed and the remaining valid
answers will be retained.
If all answers given for the check field are invalid, the corresponding question
will be removed. This case will be valid for edit operation, considering that a
particular question already has a valid answer.
If any of the keys repeats more than once with the same or different value, the
last key alone will be considered.
The admin can change the fields that are available to the technician or
requester in the default template.

 

 Delimiter

To distinguish and filter notifications by module, you can configure delimiters.
For example, RE can refer to the request module or PO can refer to the Purchase
module. In ServiceDesk Plus, the module-based limiters are as follows:

 

RE-Request

TA-Task

SO-Solution

PO-Purchase Order

PR-Purchase Request

CO-Contract

CH-Change

PB-Problem

PJ-Project

 

Requests from emails are either added as new requests or conversations. For an
email to be added as a conversation, the Request ID and the Parent ID of the
delimiter must be the same in the subject line of the notification.

The default base delimiter is ##, which can be modified per user requirement.
Note that the allowed special characters for the base delimiter are !, @, #, $,
%, ^, &. And, the maximum character limit is 10. 

 



 

If the mail server runs in a secured protocol, generate and install a
self-signed certificate to establish a connection between ServiceDesk Plus and
the mail servers. Learn more here.

 


OTHER CONFIGURATIONS


CONFIGURE NOTIFICATIONS FOR CONNECTIVITY ISSUES

This configuration applies only to versions 11206 and above

When an issue occurs while processing emails, notifications will be triggered to
the technicians configured for error notifications in Admin > Notification
Rules. However, if the application fails to connect to the mailbox, the current
mail fetching schedule will be skipped and the application will try to reconnect
to the mailbox during the next schedule. With every schedule, this process will
recur in a loop and no emails will be fetched until the application connects to
the mailbox.

ServiceDesk Plus provides a default threshold value to track down the number of
consecutive failures attempts to connect to the mailbox. When this threshold
value is reached, SDAdmins and associated technicians can be notified via bell
notifications and emails respectively.

The count of consecutive failure attempts will be reset after each notification.

 

To configure the threshold value,

 * Connect to the ServiceDesk Plus Database

 * Execute the following query to know the configuration

  select * from mailconfig where category like 'FETCHING_MAILBOX_CONNECTIVITY'



 

The configuration is instance based and hence 2 rows for each instance.

 * The paramvalue of CONSECUTIVE_RETRY_THRESHOLD denotes the threshold value
   configured in the application.

 * The paramvalue of NOTIFICATION_ENABLED denotes whether the notifications are
   enabled/disabled.

The given screenshot displays the default configuration, where 5 is the default
threshold value and the notifications enabled by default.

 * Use the following query to update the threshold value:

update mailconfig set paramvalue='X' where parameter like
'CONSECUTIVE_RETRY_THRESHOLD' and category like 'FETCHING_MAILBOX_CONNECTIVITY'
and helpdeskid='<corresponding_helpdesk_id>' 

Provide the required value in place of X.

 * Use the following query to disable the notification:

update mailconfig set paramvalue='false' where parameter like
'NOTIFICATION_ENABLED' and category like 'FETCHING_MAILBOX_CONNECTIVITY' and
helpdeskid='<corresponding_helpdesk_id>'

 * Use the following query to enable the notification:

update mailconfig set paramvalue='true' where parameter like
'NOTIFICATION_ENABLED' and category like 'FETCHING_MAILBOX_CONNECTIVITY' and
helpdeskid='<corresponding_helpdesk_id>' 

 * Restart the service to implement the changes.


NOTIFICATIONS FOR STRIPPED ATTACHMENTS  (VERSION 13009 AND LATER) 

ServiceDesk Plus validates the following entities in incoming email attachments:

 * File Name

 * Extensions

 * Content Type

 * Empty File

 * File Size

 

If there are any errors in these entities, the attachment will be dropped. The
sender and the technicians configured for error notifications will be informed
by email.

 



 

The notification configuration is portal-specific, and it can be disabled by
using the following query:

 

update GlobalConfig set paramvalue='false' where category like
'EMAIL_PROCESSING' and parameter like 'sendAttachmentStrippedNotification' and
HELPDESKID=<corresponding_helpdesk_id>; 

 

Errors and Solutions

The following section explains various errors and corresponding solutions.

1. Error: Attachment file name is invalid

Reason: File name of the attachment contains invalid characters.

Solution: Rename the attachment file. Use letters, numbers, dots, hyphens, and
underscores in file names.

2. Error: Attachment files contain invalid content type

Reason: Content type in the attachment does not match the file extension. For
example, an image file with the file name 'Alter.txt' will be dropped.

Solution: Ensure that the attached files have matching file content and
extension.

3. Error: Attachment files contain invalid extensions

Reason: ServiceDesk Plus enables you to allow/restrict certain file types in the
application. If the email attachments include files of the restricted type, the
attachments will be dropped.

Solution: Ensure that the file type is allowed under Admin > General Settings >
Attachments Settings. In ESM setups, go to ESM Directory > General Settings >
Attachment Settings.

4. Error: Attachment contains empty files

Reason: ServiceDesk Plus does not allow empty files as attachments.

Solution: Ensure that the attachment file is not empty. If the file is not
empty, it could have been dropped due to Antivirus/Firewall configurations.
Please check with your IT administrator to check on antivirus/firewall settings.

5. Error: Attachment size exceeds the configured limit

Reason: Files that exceed the configured size will be dropped.

Solution: Check and modify the Maximum attachment size (MB) under Admin >
General Settings > Attachment Settings. In ESM setups, go to ESM Directory >
General Settings > Attachment Settings.

 


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