WhatsApp Integration with ServiceDesk Plus  - What's Available?

This article will guide through the features available with the WhatsApp plugin and how to make use of them.

1. Create a request :

This option allows a requester or a technician to create a request in ServiceDesk Plus right from their WhatsApp. When the 'Create a request' option is chosen, the user will be thrown with a redirect link to a form which will have the input fields for the request details (subject and description). Once the details are entered and the Submit button is clicked, the content will be populated in the WhatsApp chat window which the user will send it to the bot, upon which the request will get created in ServiceDesk Plus.

The form-based inputs are to make sure that the request details are devoid of human errors. Alternatively, to create a request, the subject and description can be inputted directly in the WhatsApp chat window in the format below :

Subject : <subject_content>

Description : <description_content>

Sending messages to the bot in the format above will also create a request in ServiceDesk Plus.

2. Pending Approvals : 

As the name suggests, this option will list the pending approvals of the user. The user will have an option to approve/reject the approvals in the details card.

This also follows the form-based input where we get the comments from the user and the approve/reject accordingly. Alternatively, the approval action can be executed by sending the message in the format below :

Entity ID: <ID>

Action : approve/reject

Comment : <comment>

3. My Open Requests :

This will return the list of open requests for the user. In the details card, the user will have an option to view more details of the request.

4. Chat With Technician : 

(Available to requesters alone)

This button will initiate a chat in ServiceDesk Plus with technicians. Once an available technician accepts your chat, further messages from your WhatsApp will be considered as chat messages, until the chat session ends. Use the command '/end chat' to end the chat session.

5. Change Instance :

Choose Instance will allow users to set their instance/portal to perform their actions on. In the details card, Clicking on Select this portal button will set the instance, whereas Next portal will show the next available instance to choose.

6. Adding a note to a request :

When viewing the details of a request, there will be a Add Note button to add notes to the request. Clicking on that will redirect to the form to get the input. 

Alternatively, the message can be sent in the below template to add a note :

Request ID: <request_id>

Note: <note_content>

where <request_id> is the ID of the request and <note_content> is the note to be added.

7. Notifications when a request is assigned/when an approval request is raised :

Technicians will get notified when a request is assigned to them, provided that their WhatsApp number is mapped to the ServiceDesk Plus user. Similarly when an approval request is raised, the user will get notified in their WhatsApp. These can be configured in the AppIntegrations_Handler_Custom.xml file.

To revoke the authorisation mapped between the WhatsApp user and the ServiceDesk Plus user, '/revoke' command will do the job. The next time the revoked user sends a message to the bot, the initial authorisation process will happen.