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Hi,

How would you recommend we prevent mass creation of jobs via email manager when external vendor helpdesk systems reply to our helpdesk system without the subject line identifying our IT job?

I've added exceptions to our "catch all" job creation email manager profile for the offending email address for now.

Thanks

Good question - We've been caught by this also.  It's a problem that can occur in automation scenarios.

Creating a “Catch-all” profile to create a new job based on any email that is left after all the other profiles have run is the root cause of this behaviour.  In your scenario, the email should belong to an existing job, but because it doesn’t have a specific keyword or job number in the subject, it fails the filtering rules that were designed to add it to a specific job.

This happens when people email the helpdesk in relation to an existing job with a “free-form” email.  The preferred option is to have the clients respond to an existing email - one that already has the correct subject and job number that will pass the filtering rules.  This type of email usually originates with the helpdesk and is the classic “Your helpdesk job has been logged....” style email.  In an ideal world, a person would just respond to this email and everything would be great.

As you’ve discovered, this ideal situation isn’t always possible, feasible, and definitely not enforceable.  People will always have the freedom to email as they choose!

Possible work-arounds

Do not use a "Log everything” Email Manager profile.

If you don't have a "catch-all" profile to log everything, then the problem of creating duplicate, or illegitimate jobs won't exist.  Instead, convert the “Log everything” style profile into a “Move” so that all the email that fail to be processed will be moved to a dedicated email folder. 

Screenshot taken from the Email Manager helpfile

Process the email via drag 'n drop

Once an email has been re-located to a "Failed to process" email folder,  you can manually process the email.  You can either drag ‘n drop the email onto the job that it should belong to manually update the job.

See also http://www.helpmasterpro....-Board/aft/496.aspx.

Manually update the email to include the correct information

Another way is to double-click the email to open it, then manually update the subject to include the words and corresponding job number so that it passed processing.  After this, drag the email back into the Inbox where the Email Manager will process it in the next cycle.
 

Hope this helps.

This is an area of the product that we would like to improve, so please post any suggestions or comment here.  Would love to hear them.

Rod