External Providers
Administrators with programming knowledge can extend the functionality of SmarterTrack
through the use of external providers. By integrating external providers into SmarterTrack,
companies can do the following and more:
- Integrate their login system to LDAP.
- Copy the user's ID that the billing system uses into a custom field in SmarterTrack
for easy reporting.
- Show and hide custom fields based on the department a user has chosen.
- Redirect any tickets that have certain custom field values or keywords to an escalation
department.
To access this section, log into the management interface with an administrator account. Then click on the Settings icon. In the Tools area of the navigation pane, click on External Providers. The settings will load in the content pane and the following tabs will be available.
NOTE: For techincal details, refer to the examples found in the SmarterTrack External Provider Technical Documentation.
Options
Use this tab to enable external providers. For each external provider enabled, the corresponding tab will become active:
- Enable login provider - Checking this box will enable the login provider
and allow the administrator to configure the settings on the corresponding external
provider tab.
- Enable registration provider - Checking this box will enable the registration provider and allow the administrator to configure settings on the corresponding external provider tab.
the settings on the corresponding external provider tab.
- Enable custom field provider - Checking this box will enable the custom field
provider and allow the administrator to configure the settings on the corresponding
external provider tab.
- Enable ticket provider - Checking this box will enable the ticket provider
and allow the administrator to configure the settings on the corresponding external
provider tab.
- Enable live chat provider - Checking this box will enable the live chat provider
and allow the administrator to configure the settings on the corresponding external
provider tab.
- Enable user information provider - Checking this box will enable the user
information provider and allow the administrator to configure the settings on the
corresponding external provider tab.
- Enable events provider - Checking this box will enable the events provider
and allow the administrator to configure the settings on the corresponding external
provider tab.
Login
A login provider can be implemented that allows SmarterTrack to query existing systems
for user login, authentication, and creation. Every time a user logs in or returns
to the site with a login already stored in their cookies, this provider is called.
Administrators can use the built-in provider or an external Web service. If an external
Web service is chosen, the following fields are available:
- Web Service URL - The URL to the Web service.
- Web Service Password - The password used to authenticate the Web service.
- Forgot Password URL - The URL used to recover password information for SmarterTrack
users.
- Custom Login URL - The URL to which all users will be redirected in order to login. When a URL is entered here, users will be redirected to the specified site instead of seeing the standard login modal.
- Default Role for Users - To specify whether users are considered registered
or anonymous after logging in, select the appropriate option from the list. Note:
If users are considered anonymous, the administrator will have to manually grant
the user role to new users. For this reason, it is recommended to select registered
users as the default role.
- Mark email addresses as verified - Checking this box will automatically verify
that email addresses for users are valid.
- Enable single sign-on cookies from other sites - Checking this box will allow
the Web service to accept session cookies from another site.
Registration
A registration provider can be implemented that allows SmarterTrack to work with existing systems for user registration. When a user registers in the existing system, this provider can be called.
Administrators can use the built-in provider or an external Web service. If an external
Web service is chosen, the following fields are available:
- Web Service URL - The URL to the Web service.
- Web Service Password - The password used to authenticate the Web service.
Custom Fields
A custom field provider can be implemented to allow a custom set of fields to be
displayed when creating tickets and live chats. The custom field provider is called
when a ticket or live chat is first created and allows the administrator to add
or pre-fill fields based on the user's login credentials or other information. Administrators
can use the built-in provider or an external Web service. If an external Web service
is chosen, the following fields are available:
- Web Service URL - The URL to the Web service.
- Web Service Password - The password used to authenticate the Web service.
Ticket
The ticket provider is called right before a ticket is started. It can be implemented to allow the system to redirect the ticket to another department, set other customer fields (like a customer ID in an external billing system), or reject the creation of the item. Administrators can use the built-in provider or an external Web service. If an external
Web service is chosen, the following fields are available:
- Web Service URL - The URL to the Web service.
- Web Service Password - The password used to authenticate the Web service.
Live Chat
The live chat provider is called right before a live chat is started. It can be implemented to allow the system to redirect the live chat to another department, set other customer fields (like a customer ID in an external billing system), or reject the creation of the item. Administrators can use the built-in provider or an external Web service. If an external
Web service is chosen, the following fields are available:
- Web Service URL - The URL to the Web service.
- Web Service Password - The password used to authenticate the Web service.
User Information
The user information provider can be implemented to automatically pull information
from an external database and display the information in the Communication tab of
tickets. A business can use this provider to display important customer information
(recent purchases, licensing information, number of past tickets, etc.) so that
agents have all available details when viewing tickets. If an external Web service
is chosen, the following fields are available:
- Web Service URL - The URL to the Web service.
- Web Service Password - The password used to authenticate the Web service.
Events
An events provider can be implemented to automatically update third-party software
and databases when agents perform specific actions. Administrators can use the built-in
provider or an external Web service. If an external Web service is chosen, the following
fields are available:
- Web Service URL - The URL to the Web service.
- Web Service Password - The password used to authenticate the Web service.
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