Smart Email error handling

During the Smart Email integration instance setup, the system administrator can configure the error handling settings to define the error handling behaviors:

Search for	Example	Results
A single word	`cat`	Topics that contain the word "cat". You will also find its grammatical variations, such as "cats".
A phrase. You can specify that the search results contain a specific phrase.	`"cat food"` (quotation marks)	Topics that contain the literal phrase "cat food" and all its grammatical variations. Without the quotation marks, the query is equivalent to specifying an OR operator, which finds topics with one of the individual words instead of the phrase.

Search for	Operator	Example
Two or more words in the same topic	`AND` `and` `+` (plus symbol) `&` (ampersand)	`cat AND dog` `"cat food"+milk` `"cat food"&"dog food"`
Either word in a topic	`OR` `or` `\|` (pipe)	`cat OR dog` `cat \| dog`
Topics that do not contain a specific word or phrase	`NOT` `not` `!` (exclamation point)	`NOT cat` `! dog`
Topics that contain one string and do not contain another	`^` (caret)	`cat ^ mouse`
A combination of search types	`( )` parentheses	`cat + (dog \| mouse)` `cat \| dog + (! mouse)`

Whether or not the system sends out an notification to the sender, or the predefined administrators or operators. The system uses the "SmartEmailErrorHandling" HTML template for the error handling notification.

Whether or not the system creates an incident for the email processing error.

To modify the error handling configuration, see the step for error handling in Set up inbound email.

The following table describes the default error cases in the out-of-box system.

Error Case	Cause
Failed to process the email as it comes from an unauthorized email domain.	The user's email address does not belong to an authorized email domain.
Failed to create the record due to validation error.	The creation of a record fails due to validation errors. The system requires more information to recreate the record. Note If you find a smart email task log (in the SMISTaskLog table) is in the Error status but the Internal Record ID is not empty, it is likely that Smart Analytics is enabled and returns an obsolete category or affected service. In this case, the system still creates the record by using the default category but the status of the task is set to Error. You can delete the obsolete category or service by using the following workaround: Search for this obsolete category or affected service in the cate2idol2 table and log its ID. Run the `saa` command. Type `http://<Smart Analytics Server host>:<Smart Analytics Server port>/action=CategoryDelete&Category=<id>` in the field before the Run button Click Run.
Failed to create the record due to insufficient user right.	The creation of a record fails because a user does not have correct permission to create a request. By default, the user should have the "New" right in the "Service Desk" or "Incident" area.
Failed to update the record because the record is no longer in a phase or status that allows the update.	This error occurs when a user attempts to execute an action from an email when the record is no longer in the correct phase. For example: a user adds a comment after the record has been closed. Note If this error handling does not work, you may be using a customized or localized phase name in your workflow. In this case, you need to change the following phase names in the SmartEmailSMHelper script library to the actual phase names in your workflow: if (scfile['current.phase'] == 'Closure' \|\| scfile['current.phase'] == 'Abandonment') { promise.rejectPromise(ReturnCode.ACTION_ERROR); return promise; }
The token is expired.	SM fails to process an email action because the token contained in the email has expired.
The token has already been used.	SM fails to process an email action because the token contained in the email has already been used (the user already performed the action).
The token is invalid.	SM fails to process an email action because the token is invalid or may have been altered.
The email address is not associated with any registered user in the system.	A user with the sender's email address is not recognized as a registered SM user.
The email address does not match the original address in the token.	The sender of the email and the user in the email's token do not match. This might occur if a user forwarded the email containing a token to someone else.
Failed to process the email due to email integration error.	There might be problems with the email integration.
A task to process is expired in the SMIS task queue.	A task to process is expired in the SMIS task queue.
Failed to connect to the mail server.	The connection to the mail server cannot be established.
The total email size exceeds the limit.	The total email size (including email body and all attachments) exceeds the limit configured in the SMIS instance.

Error Case

Cause

Failed to process the email as it comes from an unauthorized email domain.

The user's email address does not belong to an authorized email domain.

Failed to create the record due to validation error.

The creation of a record fails due to validation errors. The system requires more information to recreate the record.

Note If you find a smart email task log (in the SMISTaskLog table) is in the Error status but the Internal Record ID is not empty, it is likely that Smart Analytics is enabled and returns an obsolete category or affected service. In this case, the system still creates the record by using the default category but the status of the task is set to Error. You can delete the obsolete category or service by using the following workaround:

Search for this obsolete category or affected service in the cate2idol2 table and log its ID.
Run the saa command.
Type http://<Smart Analytics Server host>:<Smart Analytics Server port>/action=CategoryDelete&Category=<id> in the field before the Run button
Click Run.

Failed to create the record due to insufficient user right.

The creation of a record fails because a user does not have correct permission to create a request.

By default, the user should have the "New" right in the "Service Desk" or "Incident" area.

Failed to update the record because the record is no longer in a phase or status that allows the update.

This error occurs when a user attempts to execute an action from an email when the record is no longer in the correct phase. For example: a user adds a comment after the record has been closed.

Note If this error handling does not work, you may be using a customized or localized phase name in your workflow. In this case, you need to change the following phase names in the SmartEmailSMHelper script library to the actual phase names in your workflow:

if (scfile['current.phase'] == 'Closure' || scfile['current.phase'] == 'Abandonment') {

promise.rejectPromise(ReturnCode.ACTION_ERROR);

return promise;

The token is expired.

SM fails to process an email action because the token contained in the email has expired.

The token has already been used.

SM fails to process an email action because the token contained in the email has already been used (the user already performed the action).

The token is invalid.

SM fails to process an email action because the token is invalid or may have been altered.

The email address is not associated with any registered user in the system.

A user with the sender's email address is not recognized as a registered SM user.

The email address does not match the original address in the token.

The sender of the email and the user in the email's token do not match. This might occur if a user forwarded the email containing a token to someone else.

Failed to process the email due to email integration error.

There might be problems with the email integration.

A task to process is expired in the SMIS task queue.

Failed to connect to the mail server.

The connection to the mail server cannot be established.

The total email size exceeds the limit.

The total email size (including email body and all attachments) exceeds the limit configured in the SMIS instance.