Halo Service Desk

Halo Service Desk Guides

Documentation to assist with the setup and configuration of the Halo Service Desk platform

Guides > Microsoft TeamsBot

Microsoft TeamsBot

Installing the Bot


Installing the bot is currently a manual process, although it will be made available in the Microsoft Teams app store in the near future.


Begin by downloading the bot's manifest file from one of the below options depending on the Halo product you are using. All three downloads provide the same functionality within the bot. Each link will download a manifest.zip file. Do not unzip this file once it is downloaded. 


Now in Microsoft Teams, select Apps > Manage Your Apps > Upload an app to your org's app catalogue:



Select your manifest.zip file that has just been downloaded. The bot will now be available to all of your employees within your organisation. If you would just like to upload the app for yourself to begin with, then you should select "Upload a customised app" instead.



Halo Configuration


To allow use of the bot within Microsoft Teams, there are some configuration steps that must be completed within Halo.


Firstly, navigate to Configuration > Integrations and ensure that the Microsoft Teams module has been enabled. Next, open the module and allow access to the bot:



Once you have allowed access, a number of configuration options will be made available to you.



  1. Your Azure tenant ID. This allows agents within that tenant to login to Halo using Azure via the bot.
  2. A ticket type for any new tickets that you create using the bot. You should ensure that the ticket type has no mandatory fields on it, otherwise the bot will not be able to create tickets.
  3. The action that will be used whenever a note is added to a ticket via the bot. The defaults of your chosen action will be applied when the note is added.
  4. A default user for any tickets that are created via the bot, where the original teams message is from a user that does not match a user in Halo.
  5. A default subject for the new ticket screen within Microsoft Teams.


Using the Bot


Once the Halo configuration is complete, and the bot has been deployed for your organisation, navigate to Apps > Built for your org in Microsoft Teams and add the app to your Microsoft Teams.



Once you have added the bot, you will be immediately greeted by the bot.



To interact with the bot, type a message in the message compose box. The bot can only respond to certain commands that will automatically display to you when clicking in the message compose box. 


Help 


Type help, and the bot will provide you with a detailed list of all commands that can be handled.



Connect/Disconnect


To connect to your Halo instance, start by typing the word 'connect'. Follow the flow of the conversation with the bot and complete the login process. Once you have connected to your Halo instance, you can then disconnect the bot from the instance using the disconnect command.


Follow/Unfollow


If you would like to follow or unfollow a ticket within Microsoft Teams, use the follow/unfollow command followed by the ticket number you would like to follow or unfollow. For example, "follow 30276" would add you as a follower to ticket 30276.


Find


The find command allows you to find a ticket in your Halo Instance and return some details about the ticket in the form of a card. You can either search by ticket ID number, or by a search phrase. If your search phrase returns more than one result, a carousel of cards will be provided allowing you to scroll through any matching tickets.



The ticket card has 2 buttons on it. The first button opens the ticket in your Halo web application. The second button allows you to add a note to the ticket from within Microsoft Teams.


Sending Ticket Cards


It is also possible to send ticket cards to other colleagues within Microsoft Teams using an extension of the message box. Below the message compose box, click the three dots and select the Halo app you have installed (you can right click and pin the app to the message box if you always want the extension to be available).



If you have pinned the app, the Halo icon will appear underneath the message compose box:



Clicking this icon opens a small search screen within Teams. You can then search for tickets using this window. By selecting a search result, the ticket card will be added to the message compose box which can then be added to the chat for you and your colleagues to discuss.



Creating Tickets


To create a ticket from a chat message that you have received, select the three dots next to the message and select the Create Ticket option (sometimes this will be situated under the More actions option).



This opens a window allowing you to set the subject and extra notes for the new ticket. 




When the ticket is created, the body of the ticket contains the message that the ticket was created from, along with the extra notes you have added.


IP Addresses for whitelisting

51.132.65.185

51.132.65.187

51.132.65.220

51.132.66.233

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