Adding case discussions

Case discussions allow you to communicate effectively with your clients in a conversational manner, directly from the case that they log. When you use case discussions, you can keep much of the communication outside of the case but still connected should you need to reference the discussions. The immediacy of case discussions allows you to submit your information to the client in email format, which is easier for them to receive and makes it more conversational.

Note:   If you move a client service case with a Discussion Thread from one workspace to another workspace, the system moves the existing discussion messages, related attachments, and any open threads and recipients to the new workspace. See Moving cases.

To create a case discussion:

  1. Open a client service case.

    The Client Service case form opens.

  2. Select a Client Contact.

    This action automatically fills the Reported By and Email Address fields. A best practice is always to select a client contact when possible.

  3. In the Action Center, expand Links < More, and click Discuss or Case Discussions.

    The Discussion Thread form opens. Notice at the top is where a running history of your conversation with the client is displayed. The discussion has two tabs: Message and Recipients.

To compose the message:

  1. From the Message tab, enter a Subject.

  2. In Comments, enter your message.

    The comments field supports advanced formatting options, including font selection, size and color, as well as additional formatting, such as bold, italics, bullet points, and so on.

To add an attachment:

  1. To add an attachment to the discussion, click Choose File.

    The Open dialog box opens.

  2. Locate the file and click Open.

  3. To save the attachment, click Save.

The next step is to select the recipients.

To select the recipients:

  1. Click the Recipients tab.

    This is where you select whom to include in the discussion thread. The Recipients tab has an area for Available Recipients and Currently Selected Recipients. You can choose from Contacts, Employees, Users (your co-workers), and AdHoc Email.

  2. Complete one or more of the following to add recipients to the discussion thread:

    • Select the Contacts tab and select a recipient by clicking the check box for one or more contacts.

      Note:  You can use Search Contacts to filter the list of contacts that display.

    • Select the Employees tab and select a recipient by clicking the check box for one or more employees.

      Note:  You can use Search Employees to filter the list of employees that display.

    • Select the Users tab and select a recipient by clicking the check box for one or more users.

      Note:  You can use Search Users to filter the list of users that display.

    • Select the AdHoc Email tab and complete the following:

      • Enter a valid email address in the Email Address field

      • (optional) Enter a name in the Last Name field

      • (optional) Enter a name in the First Name field

      • Click the Add button

      Repeat as necessary for additional AdHoc Email addresses

     

    As you select a recipient, the system lists the recipients in the adjacent panel, Currently Selected Recipients.

  3. To remove recipients from the list, click (Remove).

    For Employees, you can also select their work or personal email account. By default, the system selects an employee's work email address.

To change the recipient's email (work to personal):

  1. In the Currently Selected Recipients list, locate the employee and click (this action exposes the employee's email account list).

    The selected employee's work and personal email accounts display. The work email is selected by default.

  2. To switch to the employee's personal email, select the personal email option.

    Now you are ready to send the message.

To send the message:

  1. On the Message tab, review your comments, recipients, and any attached files.

  2. Click Send Reply.

Discussion messages

As you add discussions to a case, in the Action Center, the Discussion counter increments, showing you how many discussions are attached to the case. Discussions have threads – there can be multiple messages within a thread, and multiple threads within a Discussion. The counter displays the total number of messages and an * for inactive messages should there be any.

Discussion attachments

In the Action Center, click the Discussion Attachments link to view all attachments associated with all case discussions on the selected case.

As attachments are added to new discussions and replies, attachments for all discussions associated with the current case are organized in the Discussion Attachments window by Discussion Subject. Only discussions with attachments are listed.

Click an attachment name to download an attachment to the Downloads folder of your local computer.

 

What happens next

• When you click Send Reply from the New Message To box, an email is sent to the recipients.
• When the recipients open their email, they see a link in the email message, Send a Reply. Clicking the link takes them to the discussion for the case, where the recipients can add comments and Send Reply. See Replying to case discussions. Alternatively, if Email Integration is configured (consult your ClientSpace administrator), users can click the email Reply button.
• The original sender of the message also receives a response directly in the case discussion, which they can then review. At this point, the discussion thread starts to build, showing who has been notified, the subject of the discussion, and how many messages are currently attached.
• Additionally, you can create a new discussion for new subjects.

Note:  The system uses the Send Email process to validate email addresses. If an email address is determined to be invalid, the invalid email address is stripped from the resulting email. The email message is then sent to any other email addresses that include valid formatting. The system logs an informational exception to indicate the email address was invalid.