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The Help Desk Ultimate extension for Magento 2 helps arrange a customer support center in a web store. Customers get able to create, submit and manage issues to the customer care department, and the help desk agents get able to do the following:

• Ticket automation, including sending emails to customers/agents, ticket status/priority updating, reassigning tickets to other agent/department;
• Detailed ticket processing page with the key ticket/customer info, ticket and purchase history, and message area (internal note and canned response support included);
• Sending individual tickets to CC recipients (from the ticket processing page);
• Coupon code generation right from the ticket processing page (provided by the Coupon Code Generator integration).

Extension Logic

The extension streamlines the customer ticket management process. Tickets are located at the ticket grid and can be assigned to a particular help desk agent/department. Help desk agents/departments can reply to tickets, set ticket priority, assign tickets to orders, etc. Finally, ticket control can be partially automated thanks to the automation feature that allows automatically sending notifications, changing ticket priority, etc. depending on the conditions and actions set.

What's New?

As of version 1.5.0  the Help Desk module for Magento 2 allows customer care agents design a base of responses to most generic issues that could be raised by customers, and later use these texts as quick replies when processing tickets.

As of version 1.6.0 the extensions supports OAuth, open-standard authorization protocol, to enable Gateway to access Google Suite applications. 

Known Issues

• Automation - a scheme with a set of conditions that dictates how the extension should behave on certain occasions;
• Email gateway - an email address associated with the Help Desk Ultimate extension which is used to receive customer inquiries and send emails to both customers and administrators.
• Email template - a predefined email message;
• Canned response - a prearranged generic response to an issue available for quick reply to a ticket, due alterations made.
• Help desk agent - an admin user eligible to answer help desk tickets;
• Ticket - a customer inquiry submitted via the contact form, the 'Help Desk Ultimate' section, or direct email to the extension's gateway;
• Ticket thread - a block containing all customer and help desk agent messages regarding a particular ticket.

Customer Area

To submit a ticket from the store front, go to the Customer Account area (My account > Help Desk).

The Help Desk section allows creating and browsing tickets created by the customer. The page shows a grid with the following columns:

• ID - an individual number of a ticket used for identification purposes;
• Subject - the subject of the ticket;
• Order - the ID of the order the ticket relates to;
• Status - the status of the ticket:
  • Open -  customer's reply is required;
  • Pending - administrator's reply is awaited;
  • Solved - the ticket issue was resolved.
• Last Reply - the date of the latest reply to the ticket (from either the customer or store administrator).

Ticket subject and order ID are active links. By clicking on an order ID, the customer is redirected to the 'My Orders' section showing the corresponding order info.

Clicking on the Subject, the customer is redirected to the corresponding ticket thread (see below).

The Ticket Thread lists all the customer's and store administrator's messages arranged by the date of sending (in the descending order). This is where customers reply to the admin's messages with or close the ticket if assistance is no longer required and/or the issue is resolved.

Submitting a Ticket

The Help Desk Ultimate extension for Magento 2 introduces multiple ways of submitting a ticket by a customer.

Customer Account Area

First, customers can open a ticket in the 'Help Desk' section in the customer area. Do so by clicking on the blue Create Ticket button in the top right of the Help Desk page in My Account.

The 'Create New Ticket' form is suggested to the customer requesting the following information:

• Subject - the subject of the ticket to identify the issue;
• Department - a folding list with Help Desk thematic units to choose from to specify the type of the inquiry (departments are created on the backend);
• Order - a folding list of IDs relating to orders previously created by the customer (pick out the one the ticket inquiry refers to);
• Message - the description of the issue;
• Attachments - the Add file active link to upload (optionally) a file as an attachment to the inquiry (to illustrate the issue, for example).

After the issue is described, click 'Submit Ticket'. Should all mandatory fields be filled-in, the page will be reloaded, and a notification on successful submission shown: 

Contact Us Form

Another option for a customer to submit a ticket is the native Magento 'Contact Us' form. The extension fetches all the messages customers leave in the 'Contact Us' form and inserts them into tickets.

Direct Email

In addition to the customer account section and the 'Contact Us' form, customers can submit tickets by emailing messages directly to the Help Desk Ultimate gateway(s).

If a message is sent from the address, used on registration of the account, Help Desk Ultimate will 'recognize' the customer and automatically associate the message with a ticket within the given customer account.

If automatic notifications are enabled, customers can directly reply to notification emails sent by the admin.

General Settings

Once installed, the Help Desk Ultimate extension introduces its configuration section to Stores > Configuration > AHEADWORKS EXTENSIONS > Help Desk Ultimate. There you can select help desk agents to be eligible to respond to tickets. If none agent is selected, then all admin users will become agents.

Learn more on how to create new users in a Magento 2 store - Adding Users / Official Magento 2 Manual. 

Managing Departments

The Departments section of the extension allows sorting customer tickets and managing tickets for internal purposes.

Before using the extension, you will need to create at least a single department. This department will be used to store all tickets submitted to the Help Desk until another department is created.

In addition, every help desk department can be assigned to a particular email gateway. The assigned email gateway will be used to send ticket-related notifications and convert all the incoming emails into tickets. 

Departments are created and managed under Customers > Help Desk Ultimate by Aheadworks > Departments.

The page shows a grid with the following columns:

• Name - the name of the department;
• Gateway - the email of the department;
• Is Enabled - a status of the department (yes/no);
• Is Visible on the Storefront - a status of visibility on the storefront (yes/no);
• Is Default department - the status of the department as default;
• Websites - the website the department belongs to on your store.

Admins are able to edit the status of the department individually or in bulk with the help of the Actions  dropbox below the grid.

The name of the department is an active link. You can edit the department by clicking on its name. To create a new department, click the Create New Department button in the top right of the page.

General Department Settings

The Departments Settings page comes in four blocks: General, Storefront Labels, Gateway and Permissions. Let's look into the blocks one after another.

The general section of the department configuration page defines the basic attributes of the department:

• Name - the name of the Help Desk department (for internal identification purposes);
• Websites - the website(s) the department should be available at;
• In Enabled - defines if the department is enabled and can be used by customers and admins;
• Is Visible on the StoreFront - defines if the department can be used by customers to identify the type of the request or only for the in-store management purposes;
• Is Default Department - defines if the department can be used by default.

Storefront Labels

The 'Storefront Labels' section of the department configuration page allows setting up a name of the department as it should be displayed on the storefront in the submit ticket form. Only a single department name can be assigned per store view.

Email Gateway Settings

The 'Gateway' section of the department configuration page sets up a Help Desk department email gateway. The email gateway can be used to:

1. Send email notifications and ticket updates to both customers and Help Desk agents;
2. Collect and insert all the incoming emails into the tickets. Instead of using the contact form, customers can create tickets right from the emails sent to the email gateway.

Basically, an email gateway is an email address used by the extension to receive and send messages. It can be a simple Gmail account or a company email. If you are not sure about your email gateway settings, contact your email provider.

The gateway section comes with the following configuration options:

• Protocol - allows choice of a protocol: IMAP or POP3;
• Gateway Host - the address of the host of the gateway;
• Authorization Type* - the selector of an authorization protocol: Default or Google;
• Use SSL/TLS - the choice of a security protocol to connect to the email gateway;
• Port - the port to connect to the email gateway depending on the security protocol selected;
• Delete Emails from Host - defines if the extension should delete the customer email from which the ticket was converted. Pay close attention to this setting if you have limited email gateway storage.

* Depending on the choice of the authorization protocol, the Gateway Settings section shows the following fields:

Authorization Type - Default (conventional "login-password" authorization):

• Gateway Email - the gateway email address that will be used to receive customer tickets;
• Login - the gateway email login;
• Password- the email gateway password.

If the Default type of authorization is selected, the Test Connection button at the bottom of the section (see the above image) allows checking the connection to the newly-configured gateway. The Test Connection button is not available if the Google authorization type is chosen.

Authorization Type - Google (OAuth authorization to Google Suite applications):

• Client ID - the identification number of a client as it was generated  for your gateway app in the Google Developers Console;
• Client Secret - the number of a client secret as it was generated for your gateway app in the Google Developers Console.

When the Google type of authorization is selected, you can test the connection and verify your Google Account with the Verify Google Account button below the Client Secret field. The button becomes active when the Department is saved. The Verify Google Account button is not available when the Default type of authorization is selected. 

Refer to the official Google user guide to learn more on how to create a Google Client ID and Secret.

composer require google/apiclient:"^2.0"

Click on the Save button in the top right of the New/Edit Department page to confirm and save the settings. Upon the subsequent cron launch, first emails (if there are any) will be added to tickets.

Permission Settings

The 'Permissions' section of the department settings page matches the roles of the administrator to their actions within a department:

• Admins who can view tickets in that department - defines which administrator roles can look through the tickets assigned to the department;
• Admins who can update tickets in that department - defines which administrator roles can reply to the tickets and change ticket statuses within the department;
• Admins who can assign tickets in that department - defines which administrator roles can assign tickets to the department.

In case you are using a custom CMS page as a Contact Us page, you may want to add a Help Desk Ultimate department selector to it.

To do this, follow the steps below:

Step 1

Create or open the required CMS page

Step 2

In the design tab where the contact form and department selector are added, add the following code:

<referenceContainer name="content">
            <block class="Magento\Contact\Block\ContactForm" name="contactForm" template="Magento_Contact::form.phtml">
                <container name="form.additional.info" label="Form Additional Info"/>
            </block>
</referenceContainer>
<referenceBlock name="form.additional.info">
            <block class="Aheadworks\Helpdesk\Block\Contact\Form" name="aw_helpdesk_contact_form" template="contact/form.phtml" />
</referenceBlock>

Step 3

Navigate to your Magento installation folder and open the following file: app/code/Aheadworks/Helpdesk/Model/Contact/ContactPlugin

At line 164, change:

contact/index

to:

<URL_key_to_created_CMS_page>

Managing Quick Responses

The Help Desk Ultimate for Magento 2 enables agents with canned responses, that is prearranged replies to some generic ticket issues. To reach the functionality proceed to Customers > Help Desk Ultimate by Aheadworks > Quick Responses. 

Quick Responses Grid

The Quick Responses page features a grid with the following columns:

• ID - the identification number of the response;
• Title - the name of the response (occasion for use);
• Status - the status of the response (enabled/disabled);
• Created / Modified - the dates of creation / last modification of the response;
• Action - the Select active list to allow editing or deleting the response.

Admins can edit the statuses of the responses individually or in bulk with the help of the Actions dropbox above the grid.

To edit the response click the Select link in the corresponding row, to start a new response click on the Add Quick Response button in the top right of the page.

Create/Edit Quick Response

The Create/Edit Quick Response page comes in two blocks. One of those suggests to enable (or disable) the response and come up with a meaningful name for it. The other presents a text field to enter the text of the response.

Once done, click Save in the top right or Save and Continue Edit to return to composing the response without page reload.

Managing Tickets

Tickets Grid

In the backend, the extension adds a new section under Customers > Help Desk Ultimate by Aheadworks. To manage tickets, navigate to the 'Tickets' page.

From the ticket page, you can leave replies to tickets, change their priority, assign them to another Help Desk agent/department, or change ticket statuses.

The 'Tickets' grid contains all the ticket-related information, including the link to the customer account, the link to the order associated with the ticket, the name of the responsible agent.

Replying to Tickets

When clicking on a ticket subject in the Tickets Grid, you are redirected to the Ticket Details page:

The Ticket Details page is composed of two functional sections.

The ticket information block on the left contains all the ticket -, customer -, and order-related information. From the ticket message area on the right, you can reply to customer messages, leave internal notes, and update ticket status.

<!-- HDU_REPLY_MARKER -->

Ticket Information Block

As it was mentioned earlier, the ticket information block helps see all ticket, customer, and order-related information.

The block consists of four tabs, each representing a corresponding portion of the information available for the Help Desk agent's convenience.

The 'General' section represents the information related to the currently opened ticket. Additionally, you can adjust some attributes here:

• Current ticket status - the state of the ticket: open, pending, or solved;
• Priority - ticket priority: low, normal, or high;
• Department - the department the ticket belongs to;
• CC Recipients - the CC recipients that will receive all the messages and updates related to the ticket;
• External Link - a link for sharing the ticket thread with a third party;
• Order Number/Status/Date - associated order information;
• Customer Group - the group the customer belongs to.

The customer info section contains the information on the customer, including name, email, group, and date registered.

The 'Tickets' section lists all the tickets submitted by the customer.

The 'Purchases' section contains the following:

• Total purchases amount;
• Total orders;
• Total items;
• List of the products purchased per order.

Ticket Message Area

The ticket message area is where you are suggested to reply to customer tickets. The area features the name of the ticket issue (alterable), the text field for a reply and a thread of the correspondence under the ticket issue.

There are two types of Help Desk messages you can leave: replies and internal notes.

A reply suggests that the submitted message will be sent to the customer. The reply is enabled by default and activated by the Reply button. An internal note suggests that the message submitted will be available for the Help Desk agents only and will not be visible to the customer. The Internal Note message type can be enabled by clicking on the corresponding button.

Next to the Internal Note button you may find the dropbox with canned responses. All canned responses created on the Quick Responses Page will appear on the list herein. When picking up a response, its text will appear in the text field below. 

To submit the message either as a reply or internal note, click 'Submit As Pending'. Furthermore, you can save the reply opting for the following alternatives: Save as Open / Solved, without actually sending the message.

Automations

Automations are a set of adjustable Help Desk conditions that help automate routine ticket management operations, including ticket status change, email notifications, and ticket updates.

Upon a certain event based on the conditions set, automation executes the set action on cron launch. Automation settings can be found under Customers > Help Desk Ultimate by Aheadworks > Automations.

Automations Grid

After the extension is installed, the Automations grid will list the set of eight rules. These rules are build against a ticketing event and define automatic emailing of notifications upon reaching a certain event. This helps highlight the tickets that need a reply and follow up customers once the issue has been reported.

The grid shows data within the following columns:

• ID - the identification number of the automation;
• Status - the status of the automation (Active / Inactive);
• Name - (active link) the name of the automation of reply;
• Event - the trigger event for the automatic reply;
• Priority - a numeric value setting the sequence of the automatic replies;

Automation rules work in compliance with the following pattern:

1) Cron launches an automation rule and triggers an event;

2) The extension checks if any of the tickets match the conditions of the event;

a) If the conditions of the event are met, the extension launches an automatic action;

b) If the conditions of the event are not met, the extension stops executing the automation rule until the next cron launch.

3) The extension stops executing the rule until the next cron launch

To edit the existing automation, click on the name of thereof in the grid. To create an automation rule, click the Create New Automation button.

Create New Automation

The Create New Automation pages comes in three blocks: General, Conditions and Actions.

In the first section of the page, you are suggested to select an event that will trigger the automatic reply to a ticket.

The event defines when the automation rule should be triggered. The extension provides six options:

• New ticket from customer - when a customer submits a new ticket;
• New ticket from agent - when an agent creates a ticket for a customer;
• New reply from customer - when the customer replies to the ticket;
• New reply from agent - when the agent replies to a ticket;
• Ticket was assigned to another agent - when the ticket is assigned to another agent;
• Recurring Task - a recurring task that will be executed by the extension upon every cron launch.

In the 'Conditions' section, you are suggested to specify when the event should be triggered.

Each event comes with a dedicated set of conditions. Most of the conditions are ticket-related. However, some of them are customer-oriented and target particular customer groups.

The conditions are similar to those of Magento product attributes and follow the same pattern:

If CONDITION is equals/greater/is/isn't value then...

In the 'Actions' section, you are suggested to specify which actions should be taken upon meeting the specified condition(s).

The actions include sending email notifications to both the customer and Help Desk agent, ticket status and priority change, and assigning the ticket to a particular Help Desk agent.

When done setting up the actions, click 'Save'. The automation rule is good to go.

Uninstalling M2 Help Desk Ultimate

php bin/magento module:disable Aheadworks_Helpdesk
php bin/magento setup:upgrade

app/code/Aheadworks/Helpdesk

php bin/magento module:uninstall Aheadworks_Helpdesk

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