Making email management as painless as possible

October 08, 2017 by Erik W in Addin, Integration

In a previous post I showed how a check-in style leads to newly cataloged emails kicking-off a workflow. The check-in style resulted in a new label in gmail that I tied to a filter. Items surfaced via the filter got attached to my gmail label, which in-turn created a record that initiated a workflow. It's a one-time setup that works well for handling my online form submission.

I get other emails though. Emails related to projects, for instance. Some projects may last for 2 days, whilst others may last for 2 months. When I'm on the road I don't want to have to stop and setup a new check-in style for a new project. In fact, I don't really want to have to setup a new check-in style at all. Why am I adding/removing check-in styles? Surely there's got to be a better way.

I want my check-in styles to be managed automatically. Specifically I want:

A check-in style to exist if there are any incomplete workflows where I'm assigned to an activity and the initiating record is a container.
A check-in style to be removed if the workflow referenced above is completed.

Time to break out visual studio and write some code!

If you're not a techie you can scroll to the very end to see the results.

First things first, I create a new class library project. I referenced the .Net SDK and imported the log4net library via the NuGet package manager. That gives me a solution that looks like this.

I specify that my Addin implements the Trim Event Processor AddIn interface, which requires that I create a method named ProcessEvent. In that method I test that the event I react to is one of the relevant events from an activity. If it is, I call the ManageCheckInStyle method I create next. Otherwise I exit out of my addin.

namespace CMRamble.EventProcessor.WorkflowCheckInStyles
{
    public class Addin : TrimEventProcessorAddIn
    {
        private static readonly ILog log = LogManager.GetLogger(typeof(Addin));
        public override void ProcessEvent(Database db, TrimEvent evt)
        {
            XmlConfigurator.Configure();
            switch (evt.EventType)
            {
                case Events.ActivityAssigned:
                case Events.ActivityReassigned:
                case Events.ActivityCompleted:
                case Events.ActivityUndone:
                case Events.ActivityCurrent:
                case Events.ActivitySkipped:
                case Events.ActivityNeedsAuthorization:
                    ManageCheckInStyle(db, evt);
                    break;
                default:
                    break;
            }
        }
 
    }
}

Now I create the skeleton of my ManageCheckInStyle method, like shown below.

private void ManageCheckInStyle(Database db, TrimEvent evt)
{
    try
    {
        Activity activity = new Activity(db, evt.ObjectUri);
        if ( activity != null && activity.AssignedTo != null )
        {
            log.Debug($"Activity Uri {evt.ObjectUri}");
            Workflow workflow = activity.Workflow;
            if ( workflow != null && (workflow.Initiator != null && workflow.Initiator.RecordType.UsualBehaviour == RecordBehaviour.Folder) )
            {
                if ( workflow.IsComplete )
                {
                    log.Debug($"Workflow Uri {workflow.Uri} Is Completed");
                }
                else
                {
                    log.Debug($"Workflow Uri {workflow.Uri} not completed");
                }
            }
        }
    }
    catch ( TrimException ex )
    {
        log.Error($"Exception: {ex.Message}", ex);
    }
    finally
    {
    }
}

Then I implemented each of the requirements I laid-out at the top of the post (something is assigned, and workflow is completed). First I code the logic for when something is assigned to me.

// ensure that there is a check-in style for this container
TrimMainObjectSearch styleSearch = new TrimMainObjectSearch(db, BaseObjectTypes.CheckinStyle)
{
    SearchString = $"owner:{activity.AssignedTo.Uri} container:{workflow.Initiator.Number}"
};
if ( styleSearch.Count == 0 )
{
    log.Debug($"Creating new check-in style");
    CheckinStyle style = new CheckinStyle(workflow.Initiator);
    style.RecordType = new RecordType(db, "Document");
    style.Name = workflow.Initiator.Title;
    style.StyleOwner = activity.AssignedTo;
    style.MoveToDeletedItems = false;
    style.Save();
} else
{
    log.Info("Check-in style already exists");
}

Last, I create the logic for when the workflow is completed.

// when no other assigned activities for this container 
TrimMainObjectSearch activitySearch = new TrimMainObjectSearch(db, BaseObjectTypes.Activity)
{
    SearchString = $"workflow:[initiator:{workflow.Initiator.Number}] assignee:{activity.AssignedTo.Uri} not done"
};
if (activitySearch.Count == 0 )
{   // there are no other assigned activities
    TrimMainObjectSearch styleSearch = new TrimMainObjectSearch(db, BaseObjectTypes.CheckinStyle)
    {
        SearchString = $"owner:{activity.AssignedTo.Uri} container:{workflow.Initiator.Number}"
    };
    foreach (CheckinStyle style in styleSearch)
    {
        style.Delete();
    }
}

That's it. I hit compile and I have a valid add-in. I go and register it in the Enterprise Studio, like shown below.

To test I go find a project folder and attach a workflow (assigning it to myself). I then flip on over to my email and see the title of that project folder is now a label in my email (or a folder if using Outlook).

If I complete the workflow the check-in style is automatically removed. Sweet! Now I can focus on my real work, and not the constant maintenance of my linkage between email & content manager.

Making the EmailLink Admin Console Easier to Use

October 03, 2017 by Erik W in Maintenance

As I manage my EmailLink instance, I can see a list of users being managed. That's all well and good, but I really want to see this location within Content Manager. This should be a link! Same thing for all the other features. I wish I could navigate directly to the objects.

By changing one line of code I can fix this up....

First I launched Notepad++ and then opened the "EmailLink\pages\users.cshtml" file. I located the line where it outputs the table and wrapped the column within an anchor tag.

I found this code on line 43:

<td>@userProfile.PrimarySmtpAddress</td>

I changed it to this:

<td><a target="_new" href="http://wg1/HPEContentManager?uri=@userProfile.Uri&t=location&lang=ln_englishus&mbd=true">@userProfile.PrimarySmtpAddress</a></td>

Then I saved the file and reloaded my EmailLInk admin console. The column turned into a link that, when clicked, launched a new window directly to the location.

So then I repeated the process for the requisite CheckIn Style template file, so that I get the exact same behavior when looking at the check-in styles themselves.

Wouldn't it be cool if I could click "Duplicate for New User" as an administrator? :)

Kicking off a workflow from an online form submission

October 03, 2017 by Erik W in Configuration

I should be drinking the kool-aid, right? Meaning, I should be using the features of the product suite to my advantage. I started to go down the route of trying to figure out how to effectively track when someone "Requests More Information" from my website. I surely don't want to use 4 different products to manage that process. Why can't I take the form submission from squarespace and have it kick-off a workflow within Content Manager?

Once my email link server was configured it took all of about 5 minutes to get this setup.

Here's the workflow I want to kick-off....

First I went into squarespace and created a submission form. It sends me an email with the contents of the form. That email looks like the image below.

Next I went into Content Manager and created myself a new check-in style. I'm doing this via the webclient, but the process is the same for the thick client.

I then gave the check-in style a name and chose my "Request for Information" record type.

Then I gave it a default workflow template for my process

I then clicked into the processing section and checked the first two check boxes: Automatically create server-side email capture folders and Keep email in the mail system. By keeping it in there I'm hoping my conversations can be automatically related and captured down the road.

Now after I click save, it shows me my new check-in style

If I go back to my gmail inbox I can now see this folder available

Next I create a new filter for my inbox, so that all incoming form submissions are automatically labeled into this folder.

I know the sender and receiver of the messages I care about, so I define those on the filter like shown below.

In the other options dialog I indicate the new label name and then click save

Now I go visit my website and complete the form...

Now if I check my workflows worklist, I can see my workflow has been kicked-off & assigned automatically!

The things we can accomplish with the newest versions are pretty cool. I can see lots of useful ways to leverage these features. Keep in mind that once the form data is within Content Manager, I can apply scripts, code, and add-ons to do anything necessary (like harvest the form data, initiate an integration, etc).

The integration with gmail is secure. It works. And it's free (if you have both G Suite and Content Manager). You just need to configure it. :)