Overview
This article will go over how ServiceNow processes emails sent to the system and best practices for sending emails for ServiceNow.
New Emails, Replies, Forwards
- ServiceNow takes any emails sent to servicedesk@ucsd.edu and processes them through email filters and inbound actions. There are hundreds of aliases and forwards that help funnel emails to the system. We do not keep a list of them all.
- Proofpoint and ServiceNow filters reject any suspicious or spam emails and remove any unapproved attachment types.
- ServiceNow then parses the email based on predefined rules and configurations, and identifies the inbound action to be taken with the email content. This action could include creating or updating a case, triggering a workflow, or sending notifications. If there are multiple rules that match, ServiceNow will use the first rule that matches based on a predefined order.
- If the email content corresponds to creating a new record, the system will ingest any relevant email content into respective fields. For example, the sender will be added as the customer or to the watchlist, the subject will be added to the short description, and the email body will be added to the description. Any cc'ed email addresses will be added to the incoming email address field for cases. If an alias is setup to create records from the cc field, then cc'ing the alias will create the record.
- If the email content matches or references an existing one in ServiceNow, the system automatically finds and updates the record accordingly. The Replying to any ServiceNow record that generated an email will update that record. The system finds existing cases by a) reading an invisible text code in each email body that the system sends out. If you ever see a "ref:msg####" in a ServiceNow email, that is the invisible text code b) reading the subject of an email. If the subject starts with re: and contains a CS##### it will try to find the matching case in the system.
Best Practices for Emails to ServiceDesk
- ServiceNow is not setup to see or read 'bcc' fields in email and tickets will not be created if you bcc the system in your emails.
- If you know multiple aliases for ServiceDesk, make sure you only use one in your 'To' field. This will ensure your ticket goes to your intended group.
- Regarding attachments, ServiceNow allows all the most common attachment types to be attached to their records. Please use best practices for attachments in emails, such as don't attach ZIP files.
- Screenshots and images that are in the email body will be parsed out and attached to the record as attachments.
- If you would like to setup an email alias to interact with the ServiceNow System, please submit the Request New Inbound Action form.