# Slack Connect & External Connections

### Overview

External Connections (sometimes known as Slack Connect) allows workspaces in Slack to work together via shared channels.

This can empower organizations to provide support to customers and clients via shared External Connections channels. 

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### Watch Demo 

{% embed url="<https://youtu.be/SEFHp4twEyo?si=OOT8A4syCLHr2Stn>" %}

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### Best Practices&#x20;

External Connections is often used to support customers and other organizations via shared channels.&#x20;

Here follows a set of best practices to use Suptask with External Connections:&#x20;

* [ ] Prefix your channels if you are managing multiple customers: \
  \&#xNAN;*#ext-company-a*\
  *#ext-company-b*\
  *#ext-company-c*
* [ ] Always invite the Suptask App to any new customer channel.&#x20;
* [ ] Always add any new Customer Slack channel to the Forms in your Inbox(s) in order to make them visible for new customers. &#x20;
* [ ] Use different Forms to categorize the different requests you are receiving from customers.
* [ ] Use one Inbox per team that is managing tickets if they require

{% hint style="warning" %}
Your customer's users will only have access to the tickets submitted in the channels they are invited to.&#x20;
{% endhint %}

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### How to use Suptask with External Connections

You can set up Suptask to support your users in External Connections channels, when you add them as External Connections in Slack.

Any requests from users in these channels can be submitted as a ticket using Suptask, making it easy for both users and Agents to overview and track all requests.&#x20;

{% hint style="success" %}
Suptask only need to be installed and configured on the Workspace which is managing the channels and inviting all the members. Invited workspaces do not need to install Suptask.
{% endhint %}

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### Setup Inboxes and Forms&#x20;

You can use any Inbox for External Connections channels and configure your Form to receive tickets from channel(s).&#x20;

1. Open your **Inbox** and create a new Form
2. Set up your **Form** with any type that empowers External Ticketing, such as **Collaborative ticketing**.
3. When configuring the Form, select the **channels** where the Form should be enabled.&#x20;
   1. This should be your customer channels e.g #ext-customer-a, #ext-customer-b
4. **Invite Suptask App** to the channels where you want to enable ticketing.&#x20;
5. Optionally customize [Suptask settings](https://app.suptask.com/account/settings) to improve the experience for your end-users
   1. Such as controlling if agent control buttons should be visible in the channel.
6. **External ticketing is now ready** in the selected channels for your customers.

Your customers can now submit tickets with Suptask in these channels.

**Learn more how to configure Forms:**

{% content-ref url="forms-and-fields/what-are-ticket-forms-and-fields" %}
[what-are-ticket-forms-and-fields](https://support.suptask.com/setup-and-configure/forms-and-fields/what-are-ticket-forms-and-fields)
{% endcontent-ref %}

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### How your customers can use Suptask

Slack workspaces that are invited as an External Connection to a channel will be the users submitting tickets, such as your customers & clients.

Suptask have built a unique solution for your users in External Connections channels, that allow them to get **access to the Suptask app** **without having to install it.**&#x20;

This enables them to track and overview their tickets using the Suptask App.

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### Overview and track tickets

Tickets are submitted and available in the shared channel with the customer.&#x20;

Customers can easily track and overview all their ticket requests in the Suptask app that will be visible in the left-side menu in Slack automatically. &#x20;

#### Suptask App is displayed in the left navigation menu

[Learn how to find the Suptask App in Slack](https://support.suptask.com/working-with-tickets/overview-and-analytics/how-to-overview-and-find-your-tickets#cant-find-the-suptask-app-in-slack)

<figure><img src="https://621243658-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FO5JbdwXcuzsmDvD73Ccf%2Fuploads%2FVxlINC2Kl8qeI40RHd58%2Fimage.png?alt=media&#x26;token=e4ec1407-5951-49f7-8090-048198da456c" alt="" width="348"><figcaption><p>The Suptask App will automatically be available for all <br>external organizations without having to install it.</p></figcaption></figure>

#### Overviewing tickets in the Suptask App

Your customers can overview all their tickets in one single place without having to scroll through the channel to track tickets.&#x20;

With the Suptask App, they see **all tickets that are active and submitted** in their channel(s).

<figure><img src="https://621243658-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FO5JbdwXcuzsmDvD73Ccf%2Fuploads%2FpHdj9iDeeGqpKF2sQ135%2Fimage.png?alt=media&#x26;token=237206ce-2d26-4296-a563-23b44cb5d7a1" alt="" width="563"><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

{% hint style="info" %}
Due to the limitations of External Connections, there are limited actions available for external workspaces in the Suptask app in Slack.&#x20;
{% endhint %}

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#### Automatic summary notifications of tickets to your customers&#x20;

Your customers and clients will never miss out on their tickets, as Suptask will automatically send summary notifications to them with their current active tickets.&#x20;

<figure><img src="https://621243658-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FO5JbdwXcuzsmDvD73Ccf%2Fuploads%2FbaDeBgyfZZEWppbwl1JQ%2Fimage.png?alt=media&#x26;token=f288ac9c-332f-4574-ae8c-d2f17b124c3f" alt="" width="563"><figcaption><p>Notifications are sent from Suptask to users who have active tickets </p></figcaption></figure>

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### How to submit tickets&#x20;

Customers and Agents can submit tickets in External Connections channels from any message sent in the channel.&#x20;

They can use any of the following ticket submission methods:

* [Ticket emoji on messages](https://support.suptask.com/working-with-tickets/for-users-who-submit-tickets/how-to-create-a-ticket#how-to-submit-a-ticket-with-the-ticket-reaction-emoji)
* [Automatic ticket creation](https://support.suptask.com/working-with-tickets/for-users-who-submit-tickets/how-to-create-a-ticket#create-a-ticket-automatically-from-a-new-message)

#### Example on how to submit a ticket using the ticket emoji

{% embed url="<https://www.loom.com/share/fe9262a7a0d04119af4f59a133e9e570?sid=ffe2b76d-79e4-4d00-be57-f3bfd60e795d>" %}

{% hint style="info" %}
Other [ticket submissions methods](https://support.suptask.com/getting-started/ticket-submission#ticket-submission-methods) are not available in External Connections due to the limitations that Slack have implemented.&#x20;
{% endhint %}

### Who have access to the tickets?&#x20;

All tickets submitted in the channel are available to the users that are invited in the channel.&#x20;

User A and User B is in the same channel #ext-channel-X where User A submits a ticket.&#x20;

User B will also be able to track and follow this ticket.

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### Automatic onboarding & training&#x20;

The users you are inviting will automatically recveive automatic onboarding & training content from Suptask, making it easy to onboard users at scale.

<figure><img src="https://621243658-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FO5JbdwXcuzsmDvD73Ccf%2Fuploads%2F1fwj2DEURLYNs6JFjMH5%2Fimage.png?alt=media&#x26;token=364e823a-f604-4779-9033-8b98e7c46bbb" alt="" width="563"><figcaption><p>This is an example of a welcome onboarding message when a new user is joined into the channel.</p></figcaption></figure>

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### External Connections vs Multiple Workspaces

External Connections is suited for sharing single channels, while Suptask's Multiple Workspace support is suited for connect several Slack Workspaces together for ticketing.&#x20;

[Learn more](https://support.suptask.com/multiple-slack-workspaces/how-to-set-up-suptask-with-multiple-workspaces#multiple-workspaces-vs-slack-connect)

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### Agents from other Slack Workspaces

If you require users from other Slack Workspaces to act as Agents, we recommend you to invite any user who are an Agent to become a Guest user in your Slack Workspace in order to get the full & proper access to the Suptask App.&#x20;

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{% hint style="info" %}
Having questions about External Connections? Reach out to [Suptask Support](https://support.suptask.com/getting-started/contact-support).
{% endhint %}