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Gainsight Inc.

Gainsight Assist Outlook Add-in User Guide

Overview

The Gainsight Assist Outlook add-in helps users manage their day-to-day customer communications and saves their time and effort. Users can access their Gainsight email templates directly from Outlook, thereby saving time when composing customer emails and helping to drive consistency in communications. Also, the ability to log emails to Timeline from their inbox saves time and ensures that every important conversation is captured.  

Business Use Cases: 

  • As a user, while composing an email from Outlook, I want to access the email templates my admin has created in Gainsight to save time and effort.
  • As a CSM, I want to log all of my customer communications/emails from Outlook to Timeline using the logged-in user credentials.

Compatibility Support for Outlook Add-in

Gainsight Assist is a Web Add-in available for consumers to install from the Office store. Add-in works best with the API set version 1.8. For older versions of Outlook, we do not support some features.

Email Templates

The following table describes Email Templates feature support in Outlook:

Feature

Supported API Set Version

Comments

Setting the subject from the Email template

Greater than or equal to 1.1

Supported for all versions

Setting the subject from the Email template

Greater than or equal to 1.3

The template must not exceed 1,000,000 characters.

Setting the attachments from the Email template

macOS: Greater than or equal to 1.1

 

Windows: Greater than or equal to 1.8

Online Web: Greater than or equal to 1.1

Copying the primary recipient from the Email template resolved the context

Greater than or equal to 1.1

 

Log to Timeline - Outbound

All the features of Log to Timeline from composing mode are available for all versions of Outlook greater than 1.1.

The following table describes Log to Timeline - Outbound feature support in Outlook:

Feature

Supported API Set Version

Comments

Logging email content

Greater than or equal to 1.1

The usual restriction on email content length is still applicable.

The usual restriction on email content length will still apply here

Greater than or equal to 1.1

 

Logging attachments in the mail content

Greater than or equal to 1.1

Attachment size and content type restrictions are still applicable.

Log to Timeline - Inbound

The following table describes Log to Timeline - Inbound feature support in Outlook:

Feature

Supported API Set Version

Comments

Logging email content

Greater than or equal to 1.1

The usual restriction on email content length is still applicable.

Usual restriction on email content length will still apply here

Greater than or equal to 1.1

 

Logging attachments in the mail content

Greater than or equal to 1.8

For older versions, attachments are ignored safely. Attachment size and content type restrictions are still applicable.

Exchange Server Support

The following servers support Outlook add-ins:

Product

Major Exchange Version

Supported API Requirements Sets

Exchange Online

Latest Build

1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.4, 1.5, 1.6, 1.7, 1.8

Exchange on-premises

2019

1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.4, 1.5

2016

1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.4, 1.5

2013

1.1

IMPORTANT: Users must be on a Microsoft 365 account to use the Gainsight Assist Outlook Add-in. The Gainsight Assist Outlook Add-in is not supported for On-Premise accounts.

Outlook Client Support

Add-ins are supported in Outlook on the following platforms:

Product

Major Office/Outlook version

Supported API Requirements Sets

Windows

Microsoft 365 subscription

1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.4, 1.5, 1.6, 1.7, 1.8

2019 one-time purchase (retail)

1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.4, 1.5, 1.6, 1.7, 1.8

2019 one-time purchase (volume-licensed)

1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.4, 1.5, 1.6, 1.7

2013 one-time purchase

1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.4

Mac

current UI

(connected to Microsoft 365 subscription)

1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.4, 1.5, 1.6, 1.7, 1.8

new UI (preview)

(connected to Microsoft 365 subscription)

1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.4, 1.5, 1.6

2019 one-time purchase

1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.4, 1.5, 1.6

2016 one-time purchase

1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.4, 1.5, 1.6

iOS

Microsoft 365 subscription

1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.4, 1.5

Android

Microsoft 365 subscription

1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.4, 1.5

Web Browser

Modern Outlook UI when connected to

Exchange Online: Microsoft 365 subscription, Outlook.com

1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.4, 1.5, 1.6, 1.7, 1.8

Classic Outlook UI when connected to

Exchange on-premises

1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.4, 1.5, 1.6

For more information on the product version vs API set support in Microsoft Outlook, refer to the Outlook JavaScript API Requirement Sets article.

Prerequisites

The following are the prerequisites for using Gainsight Assist Outlook Add-in:

  • Users must have licensed Outlook.
  • Users must install the Gainsight Assist Outlook Add-in from the Microsoft Store.
  • The bcc to timeline feature must be enabled in Gainsight for using the log to Timeline feature in Add-in.

IMPORTANT: You must uninstall and install the Add-in again from the Microsoft store if it was already installed as part of the BETA program. This does not cause any data loss. 

Contact your IT admin if you are not able to view the Get Add-ins option in Outlook.

Enable BCC to Timeline

To enable the BCC to timeline feature in Gainsight:

  1. Navigate to Administration > Communication > Email Configuration. The Email Configuration page appears.
  2. Click the Inbound Emails tab.
  3. In the Email Inbound Emails section, enable the Timeline checkbox.

Add Gainsight Assist Add-in in Web Application

To add the Gainsight Assist Add-in in the Outlook web application:

  1. In the Outlook Web Application, click on any email and click the ellipsis
  2. Select the Get Add-ins option from the list. The Add-ins for Outlook window appears.
  3. In the Search bar, search for Gainsight Assist.
  4. Click Add. The Gainsight Assist add-in will be successfully added to your Outlook web application.

Add Gainsight Assist Add-in in Desktop Application

To add the Gainsight Assist Add-in in the Outlook desktop application:

  1. In the Outlook Desktop Application, click Get Add-ins on the Home tab. The Add-ins window appears.
  2. Click the My Add-ins tab.
  3. In the Search bar, search for Gainsight Assist.
  4. Click Add. The Gainsight Assist add-in will be successfully added to your Outlook desktop application.

Note: Users must either add Gainsight Assist Add-in in either the Web or in the Desktop version. If you add it in the web version, it will automatically reflect in the desktop version and vice-versa. 

Uninstall Add-in

To uninstall Gainsight Assist Add-in in the Outlook Web application:

  1. In the Outlook Web Application, click on any email and click the ellipsis
  2. Select the Get Add-ins option from the list. The Add-ins for Outlook window appears.
  3. Click My add-ins.
  4. Click the three-horizontal menu in the Gainsight Assist Add-in.
  5. Click Remove.

Uninstall Add-in Web.png

To uninstall Gainsight Assist Add-in in the Outlook Desktop application:

  1. In the Outlook Desktop Application, click Get Add-ins on the Home tab. The Add-ins window appears.
  2. Click the My Add-ins tab.
  3. Click the three-horizontal menu in the Gainsight Assist Add-in.
  4. Click Remove.

Uninstall Add-in Dekstop.png

Gainsight Assist Add-in Login  

Users can log in to the add-in using the following methods:

  • Gainsight Account (For NXT customers): Use your Gainsight NXT account, if you want to access Gainsight directly outside of your platform. If this option is selected, provide Domain details and then the credentials for Direct Gainsight Login. For more information, refer to the User Login Methods to Gainsight NXT article.

  • Salesforce Account: Use the Salesforce account, if you are using Gainsight from the Salesforce platform. If this option is selected, it directly asks for the Salesforce user credentials.

To log in to the add-in:

  1. Click the Gainsight Assist option. The Login page appears.
  2. Click either Gainsight or Salesforce.
  3. (OPTIONAL) If the Gainsight login method is selected, enter the Gainsight domain details and click NEXT. The Login screen appears in a new window.
  4. Enter the Username and Password of your Gainsight account. 
  5. Click LOG IN. The Gainsight Assist Home page appears.

Template Selection for Composing Emails 

When the email composer is opened, all the Gainsight email templates (except for the templates having report and survey tokens) which can be accessed by the user are displayed in the side panel, sorted on the basis of the last modified date. All the attachments, images, and tokens (except report and survey) are supported by this feature.

Note: Only the templates with the Available to Users toggle switch ON in the Email Templates page are displayed. 

The email templates displayed in the side panel cannot be edited from the add-in. However, the content in the template can be edited once they are copied to the composer.

To use an email Template:

  1. Click Compose. The Gainsight Assist Outlook Add-in slide-out panel appears.
  2. Expand the list of folders from which the template is to be added.
  3. Select the required email template. Email template preview appears.
  4. (Optional) From the version dropdown, select the required template version.
  5. Click Apply.
  6. Click Done.

Users can pin the Gainsight Assist Outlook side panel to automatically open the add-in panel when a new mail composer window is opened.

Desktop Outlook2.png

Limitations:

The following are some of the limitations of viewing Gainsight email templates in the add-in:

  • Users can view both the Operational and Non-Operational templates. For Non-Operational templates, the unsubscribe option is not available.
  • Templates with Survey and Report tokens are not displayed.
  • Customerinfo object is not supported for token resolution in the Outlook Add-in. Account, Contact, and GS Relationship are the only objects supported.
  • Users can find some formatting issues for the email template that contains bullet text with font-size 16px.  This is due to the limitation of Microsoft.

Note: To resolve tokens dynamically that are mapped to default mapping in email templates while editing a token, enable the Edit default token mapping in cockpit toggle button in the Administration > Email Configuration > Compliance tab.

Composing Emails in Outlook Desktop Application

To compose emails using the Gainsight Assist add-in through the Outlook desktop application:

  1. In the Outlook desktop application, click the New Email option. A new mail composer window appears.
  2. From the Message tab, click the Gainsight Assist option. The Gainsight Assist Outlook side panel appears.
  1. From the Gainsight Assist side panel, click the Email Templates option to view the list of available templates from Gainsight. 
  2. Click the template you want to use. 
    Note: Users can also search through the list of templates by complete name and select a particular template.
  3. In the Primary Recipient field, enter the email address of the recipient to automatically resolve the tokens.
    Note: The search in the Primary Recipient field occurs on the Company, Relationship, Company Person, Relationship Person objects and also the Permission Bundles are honored in the primary recipient and also in Log Email to Timeline search. However, when companies are displayed by considering recipients, Permission bundles are not honored.

  4. Click Apply Template. The template from the side panel is copied to the email composer and a successful message appears.
  5. Click Done.

Limitation:  While using the Outlook desktop app, users can find some formatting issues for the email template that contains bulleted points of any font size. This is due to the limitation of Microsoft.

Limitations:

The following are some of the limitations if the email template contains a Button:

  • Recipients can open the button link only if they click the button text.
  • The button link text is underlined, which is the default behavior of the browser or any mail client.

Composing Emails in Outlook Web Application

To compose emails using Gainsight Assist add-in through Outlook web application:

  1. In the Outlook web application, click the New message option. A new mail composer window appears.
  2. Click ellipsis and select the Gainsight Assist option from the list. The Gainsight Assist Outlook side panel appears.
  1. From the Gainsight Assist side panel, click the Email Templates option to view the list of available templates from Gainsight. 
  2. Click the template you want to use. 
    Note: Users can also search through the list of templates by complete name and select a particular template.
  3. In the Primary Recipient field, enter the email address of the recipient to automatically resolve the tokens.
    Note: The search in the Primary Recipient field occurs on the Company, Relationship, Company Person, Relationship Person objects and also the Permission Bundles are honored in the primary recipient and also in Log Email to Timeline search. However, when companies are displayed by considering recipients, Permission bundles are not honored.

  4. Click Apply Template. The template from the side panel is copied to the email composer and a successful message appears.
  5. Click Done.

Important Functionalities

The following are some of the important points when composing an email using templates from the add-in, either by using Web or Desktop application:

  • Users can directly click the Apply Template option without providing primary recipient details, to edit the tokenization values manually.

  • Users can also add multiple email templates to a single email by placing the cursor in the composer, at the point you want to add content in the email. 

  • If a user adds the primary recipient in the email composer and then clicks the template, the email address provided in the composer is automatically copied to the Primary Recipient field in the add-in sidebar.

  • If the recipient, from the compose window, added to the Primary Recipient field is modified by the user in the add-in. The new modified recipient is copied to the To field (as the last recipient) in the composer when the template is applied.

  • The email ID added as primary recipient from the add-in is copied to the To field in the email composer even though the recipient is not found while searching in the Primary Recipient field.

  • You can also apply Gainsight email templates while replying to the existing emails.

Log to Timeline 

Users can sync emails to Timeline directly from Outlook when they send emails. Also, the Log to Timeline feature from the add-in is applicable to older emails as well. These logs are added as an activity to the user's company Timeline.

Notes:

  • The Log Email to Timeline functionality even works if the emails are scheduled to send at a later time. The status of the logged email is updated in the add-in after the email is sent.
  • The Email is logged to Timeline only if:
    • The Subject line is within 256 character limit
    • The Body of the email does not exceed 32k characters.

If the user selects the Log Email to Timeline option, a Bcc ID is automatically generated based on the user who logged in to the add-in, and it is added to the Bcc field in an email. This Bcc id is generated to capture the email content. 

If the email content recorded in the timeline becomes unreadable, adjust the encoding option to UTF-8 in the corresponding email client.

IMPORTANT: The following are some of the important points regarding the Bcc ID which is generated automatically:

  • The Bcc address added here is different from the Bcc address generated for the Bcc to timeline feature. 
  • Bcc added here is generated on the fly and cannot be saved and reused for other emails.
  • The emails captured using the Bcc address are encrypted and safe.

Limitations:

  • Microsoft does not support Add-ins for shared Mailboxes in Outlook. Hence the Gainsight Assist Add-in will not be available while logging emails to Timeline from a shared Mailbox in Outlook.
  • Mac Outlook does not provide option to set encoding for the email content to UTF-8, as a result the email content logged to timeline with other languages like Japanese will get converted to unrecognizable content.

LTT.png

If the user adds a recipient in the To field in a composer or replies to the older email then the list of Companies/Relationships associated with that recipient is listed in the add-in sidebar. However, the radio buttons are not visible unless users select the Log Email to Timeline check box.

If the contact belongs to both Company and Relationship:

  • In the Profile > My Settings page, if the Log Email to Relationship option is selected and if a person exists in Company and Relationship. In this case, only Relationship records that are associated with the Person are displayed. If any recipient which is provided in To list is only present in a company but not in a relationship then only Company records are displayed. 
  • In the Profile > My Settings page, if the Log Email to Company option is selected and the same Person exists on the Company and Relationship records. In this case, only the Company records which are associated with the Person are displayed.

Note: If the email exceeds more than 34K characters, it is not logged to Timeline. An email notification is sent to the user to inform them.

Pre.png

Notes:

  • ID used to log into Gainsight org will be logged to Timeline as internal attendee.
  • Email IDs not recognized as Internal, or Company / Relationship Person will be logged as External Ids.
  • When emails in the Inbox are logged to Timeline, following Ids are resolved:
    • From email ID
    • To recipients
    • CC recipients
    • BCC recipients
  • When an email is composed, the following Ids are resolved:
    • To recipients
    • CC recipients
    • BCC recipients
  • For sent emails, the following IDs are resolved:
    • To recipients
    • CC recipients
    • BCC recipients

Log while Composing Emails

If you want to log emails to Timeline, you can select the Log Email to Timeline checkbox before sending out the email.

Limitations:

  • By default, the Log Email to Timeline check box is not selected.
  • For any email, content size should not exceed 20MB
  • Each attachment size should not exceed 15MB.

LTT1.png

The following scenarios arise when emails are sent by selecting the Log Email to Timeline checkbox while composing:

  • If only one Company/Relationship is associated with the user, then that option is selected by default.

    1. After the Company/Relationship is selected, from the Activity dropdown, select Activity type. By default, Email is selected as the Activity Type.

    2. Enter the Duration in minutes.

Note:​​​​​​

  • Duration is associated with Calls and Meetings activity type. However, Admins can configure the Duration to be associated with all other activities.
  • Activity Type and Duration can also be changed for emails that are Received and while replying.
  • Automated Program, Milestones and Inactive activity types from the dropdown is not available.  

GS Outlook Addin – Figma 2024-01-23 at 3.27.43 PM.jpg

  • Based on the recipient selected in the To field, the list of Companies/Relationships associated with that user is listed in the add-in. Users must select one Company/Relationship appropriate options to which the email must be logged.

  • If no Companies/Relationships are associated with the recipient or if required Companies/Relationships not found in the list generated, then the user can search for Company/Relationship, from the Search field, to log the email.

  • If a user does not select any Company/Relationship, then that email is saved as a Draft in Timeline. Users have to log that email manually by logging into the Gainsight application. 

Log Received Emails

Users also have a provision to log the received emails to the Timeline while reading by selecting the Company/Relationship to log the email to Timeline. If no Companies/Relationships are matched, users can search and add them using the Search field.

To log the received emails to Timeline while reading:

  1. Click on the received email.
  2. Click the Gainsight Assist Add-in option in the Home tab. The Add-in sidebar appears.
  3. Select or search for the Companies/Relationships for which you want to log the received email to Timeline.
  4. Click the Log Email to Timeline option. The details of the email logged to which Company/Relationship are displayed in the add-in sidebar.

Log Emails while Replying

Users can also log older emails to Timeline while replying to those emails. 

Note: Users can only select/search the Companies/Relationships options if they select the Log Email To Timeline checkbox.

To log older emails to Timeline:

  1. Open an older email you want to log to Timeline.
  2. Click Gainsight Assist Add-in. The Add-in home screen appears.
  3. Select or search for the Companies/Relationships for which you want to log an email to Timeline.
  4. Click Send. The email is logged to the selected Companies/Relationships Timeline activity.

Log Emails with Attachments 

The attachments in the email are also logged to the Timeline. The following are the attachment file types that are supported: jpg, jpeg, gif, png, bmp, pdf, doc, docx, txt, ppt, pptx, xls, xlsx, and csv.

Limitations:

  • All of the attachments are not copied to the compose window from the email template if the template contains more than four attachments.
  • For any email, content size should not exceed 20MB
  • Each attachment size should not exceed 15MB.

Troubleshooting

Error while opening Outlook Add-in

You can close the application and re-open the Gainsight Assist Add-in when you see an internal error when trying to open the add-in as shown in the below image.

This is mainly caused due to a limitation from Microsoft Outlook. For more information, refer to stackoverflow, github, and stackoverflow links.

Screenshot 2020-10-20 at 9.49.49 PM.png

 

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