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4. Create an Ask a Question Action

With our email inbox intake source set up and the relevant fields mapped, we can begin customizing the workflow we want to run whenever we receive an email. In this walkthrough, we add an action that auto-responds back to the email sender with several actions the user can take:

  • Link out to a related application for the user to view

  • Fill out a form to move the process forward

  • Reply back to the email thread if they don't need either of the previous options

To provide the user who sent the email with these options, we're using an Ask a Question action.

Est. time to complete: 7 minutes

Prerequisites

  • Tonkean module with an email inbox intake source

  • You have mapped the following fields from your email inbox data source to your module:

    • "Subject (Clean)"

    • "Message (Plain)"

    • "From (Name)"

    • "From (Email)"

Complete 3. Map Fields in the Input Source before starting this walkthrough.

Video Walkthrough

Follow Along

  1. In the module builder, select the add block button, add_block.png, after the Item is Added trigger. The Action Block panel displays.

  2. In the People Coordination section, select Ask a Question. The Ask a Question configuration panel displays.

  3. In the Who should Tonkean module ask? section, select Email from field. In the field that displays, select the insert field button, insert_field.png, and select the From (Email) field from the email inbox intake source.

  4. In the Email Subject field, enter "Re:", then select the insert field button, insert_field.png, and select the EMAIL - Subject (Clean) field.

  5. In the Email Body section, locate the Content of the email field. In this field, enter "Hi", then select the insert field button, insert_field.png, and select EMAIL - From (Name) to dynamically insert the sender's name. Below, that, enter a message you want to send back to the user, or copy and paste the example below:

    Thanks for your email! We are more than happy to help out. Please select from any of the following options below. If you still need help, feel free to reply to this email and we’ll get back to you!

  6. Before including buttons in the message, scroll down and select the Monitor thread messages toggle.

  7. Locate the Add action buttons to the message section and select + Add action button. A Module Button block appears in the module builder.

  8. At the top of the Module Button panel, select the edit icon, blue_edit_pencil.png, and rename the block "Open up Google".

  9. In the newly-renamed Open up Google panel, locate the Action Type field and select Open a URL for the user. An Enter URL field displays.

  10. In the Enter URL field, enter a link, "https://www.google.com" as an example of a link to an external resource.

  11. In the module builder, locate the Ask a Question block and select the add block button, add_block.png, after it, and select + Add Button. A new Module Button block displays.

  12. Select the block title of the Module Button block and rename it "Submit a Ticket". Alternatively, you can select the Module Button block and select the edit icon, blue_edit_pencil.png, to rename the block as we did in step #8.

  13. In the newly-renamed Submit a Ticket configuration panel, locate the Action Type field and select Open a form. A When Form Answered block appears in the module builder.

You've created an Ask a Question action that automatically responds to received emails with your custom content, including the beginnings of some actions the user can then take.

Next, we'll continue to customize the actions users can take when they receive our email response—one being to open a Tonkean form that allows us to gather important structured data about their question or request. So, we must create and create the form we need for this process.

Next Step

In this section: