With release 1702 of SAP Hybris Cloud for Service, it is now possible to properly manage email tickets from the new Responsive UI. Handling emails in RUI brings some key advantages compared to similar features available in HTML5, and a few limitations that will be removed over time. In this blog post, we will provide an overview of the new capabilities, highlighting such advantages and limitations.
To learn more about Email Response Management in C4C, please see this blog series:
Email Response Management in C4C - Part 1
Email Response Management in C4C - Part 2
Email Response Management in C4C - Part 3
User Experience
Release 1702 introduces a new facet within the Ticket UI, "E-Mails". This facet will be available but hidden after the upgrade, so you need to unhide it via adaptation (see the Appendix at the bottom of this post if you need help adapting the RUI screen). The new facet replaces the "Email Reply" action previously available in RUI.
The layout has been optimised to render all the typical components of an email. An arrow next to the sender indicates whether the email is inbound or outbound. At the top right of the email, next to the timestamp, the system shows the sentiment detected by HANA Text Analysis, and a menu with the same actions available in HTML5 (discussed here).
The way email attachments are displayed has also been redesigned to show the total count of the attachments, direct links to the first five attachments, and an overflow icon that opens a pop up where the full list of attachments can be reviewed.
Users can create new emails via the "Reply" and "New" buttons, available above the email list at the top right. "New" creates a new email (equivalent to "Compose New Email" in HTML5), while "Reply" triggers a reply to the latest inbound interaction (equivalent to "Reply" in HTML5).
The response editor also allows to easily add, see, and remove email attachments. The "Attachments" link below the subject to the left shows the number of current attachments and provides access to a pop up where such attachments can be seen and removed. The icon to the right opens a drop-down menu with various options to add attachments to the email, e.g. from a local file or from the ticket.
Over time this response editor will be enhanced to support multiple channels, for example SMS and Portal responses, so that the user will have a unique and consistent entry point to compose any kind of reply.
RUI vs. HTML5
Compared to the similar capabilities available in HTML5, email response management in RUI has some advantages but also, as of release 1702, a few limitations.
The main advantages of RUI compared to HTML5 are:
- The ability to render richer HTML content (e.g. tables or lists)
- Better handling of incoming attachments, specially when there are more than 5 items
- Better experience when sending attachments, with a more intuitive way to add/remove items
This list will expand with each future release, for example with the ability to reply to and forward any previous interaction, and the ability to handle inline images (both highly demanded features which will not be added to HTML5).
The major limitations of RUI compared to HTML5, as of release 1702, are:
- No access to Response Templates
- No way to Forward an email
- No support for Reply with Outlook (described here)
- No ability to add attachments from previous interactions (new in HTML5 with 1702)
This list will get shorter with each future release, as RUI reaches and surpasses the capabilities and user experience provided by HTML5.
Conclusion
The new email response management capabilities in RUI are a key enhancement delivered with release 1702. Since this is the first release in which the feature is productively available, it still carries several limitations which need to be evaluated within each customer's scenario.
Administrators should consider pros and cons of switching from HTML5, and gauge whether the advantages justify switching immediately, or whether the required compromises make it safer to wait for one or two additional releases. In any case, we recommend road testing the feature, and look forward to receiving your feedback.
All the best,
Gab
Appendix: How to adapt the Ticket screen in RUI
In order to make changes to the Ticket screen in RUI you need to: login to HTML5; open a ticket; enter adaptation mode via Adapt -> Edit Master Layout; and click on the button "Open Tablet UI" (usually available at the top center of the screen), which will open the RUI version of the screen.
You can now proceed to adapt it, for example by making sure that the new "E-Mails" facet is shown. Note that the new facet is only visible in RUI, so you will not be able to see it in HTML5.
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