Requests from email: Outlook and Email inbox

Most requests still arrive by email. A client sends a message, somebody forwards it to a colleague, the colleague retypes part of it into the system, and the attachment stays in an inbox. Nobody is doing it wrong, that is simply how work happens. That is why UnitLook now turns incoming mail into requests in two places: in Outlook, next to an open message, and in the Email inbox inside the application.

The Outlook add-in: a request from a message, without switching windows

The add-in opens UnitLook next to the message you are already reading in Outlook and creates a request from it. The steps are short:

1. Open the message.
2. In the bar next to the message, choose the apps icon.
3. Choose UnitLook.
4. In the side pane, sign in with your UnitLook account and save the request.

Once the request is saved, the add-in shows its number and a link to open it in UnitLook. If you change your mind, Cancel leaves no request behind.

A request created this way is handled like any other: assignment, activity, time entry and closing.

How the add-in is switched on

The add-in is loaded through a manifest, which the administrator finds on the Outlook tab in Integrations. In an organization the loading goes through the Microsoft 365 administrator: the manifest is added, assigned to users or a group, and it appears in Outlook after a while, often only after a few hours. In a personal Outlook it can be loaded where custom add-ins are allowed.

Email inbox: a shared mailbox as an entry point

The Email inbox is for those who receive requests on a shared mailbox, for example [email protected]. The administrator connects the mailbox once, and the messages appear in the application, on the Email inbox tab.

Messages are sorted into the tabs New, Converted, Skipped and All. If there are several mailboxes, you choose on the left which one to view. The work looks like this:

1. Refresh the list to pull in new messages from the server.
2. Select a message, a preview is shown.
3. Create request opens a New request form with the title and text taken from the message. If the system recognizes the sender, it can suggest the client and the reporter.
4. Complete the required fields and save. The message moves to Converted, with the request number next to it.
5. Skip leaves the message without a request. Several selected messages can be skipped at once.

Manual or automatic

The processing mode is chosen by administrators and it decides how much oversight you want:

• Manual. The message waits in the mailbox and you choose which one becomes a request. Suitable when the mailbox also receives messages that are not requests.
• Automatic. Every incoming message becomes a request on its own, without waiting.

In both modes you can set a default assignee, a default owner and a default project in advance. A new request from mail gets those values straight away, and in manual mode you can still change them before saving.

What you get

• Less retyping. The title, text and sender come from the message, not from memory.
• Nothing gets lost. A request has a number, an assignee and a history, instead of lying in somebody’s inbox.
• One flow for everyone. Whether the request arrives through the form, from Outlook or from the mailbox, it is handled the same way.

If you are interested in why a thread on the request beats a chain of messages, read client communication without email and ticketing versus email. An overview of all integrations is on the integrations page.

How to switch the integration on

The administrator, in Integrations, on the Email sync tab, goes through these steps:

1. enters the name of the inbox,
2. optionally chooses a default assignee, owner and project,
3. selects the processing mode, manual or automatic,
4. switches on Activate integration,
5. enters the IMAP details: server, port, username, password and the folder to watch,
6. clicks Test connection and, if everything is fine, Save inbox.

Sending notifications to clients goes through the outgoing mail settings, which are configured separately.

FAQ

Do I need to install anything on every computer?

No. In an organization the add-in is loaded through the Microsoft 365 administrator and assigned to users or a group, not installed on individual computers.

What if I do not see the add-in in Outlook right away?

Loading can take a while, often a few hours. Wait and then reopen Outlook.

Is manual or automatic better?

If the mailbox also receives messages that are not requests, start with manual. If the mailbox is meant only for requests, automatic mode saves the most time.

Can I connect several mailboxes?

Yes. Mailboxes are arranged in order, and in the Email inbox you choose which one to view.

If you would like to see the integration on your own mail, get in touch for a demo at unitlook.com. It takes 45 minutes and needs no preparation.