Passing an email to your support address

If your customers occasionally send support requests to your email address instead of your support address, you can pass the email to the support address. By passing the email, a ticket is created with the original sender set as the requester. It also creates a new account if the user isn't registered.

You have two options for passing the email:

• Forwarding the email
• Redirecting the email

Redirecting email is not the same as forwarding it. Redirecting preserves the header information so that the email appears to be from the original sender, not from you. A ticket is created with the original sender set as the requester.

If you forward the email, the sender becomes you, not the original sender. Normally, the process creates a ticket listing you as the requester. However, two options are available to set the correct requester on the ticket.

Use this article if you want to handle the occasional email yourself. If you want to redirect all emails sent to an email address (not just the occasional one), see Using an external email domain in the Administrator Guide.

Forwarding an email

If you forward the email, the sender becomes you, not the original sender. Normally, the process creates a ticket listing you as the requester. However, you can use one of the following solutions to set the correct requester on the ticket:

• Enabling the forwarding option for agents in Zendesk Support
• Specifying the requester in the forwarded email
• Configuring Microsoft Outlook 2007 and 2010

Enabling the forwarding option for agents in Zendesk Support

Your administrator can enable an option that lets you forward an email in your inbox to your support address to create a ticket on behalf of the original sender.

When a non-restricted agent creates a ticket using agent forwarding, the ticket is unassigned. When a restricted agent creates a ticket using agent forwarding, the ticket will initially be assigned to their default group.

Note: Your email address must be registered in your user profile. This feature is supported for email clients in western European languages, Hebrew, and Chinese.

To enable the forwarding option

1. Log in as an administrator.
2. Click the Admin icon () in the sidebar, then select Agents from the Settings category.
3. Select the Enable email forwarding option from the Email Forwarding category.
4. Click Save.

Agents can add public comments to the ticket by replying to the email. To add private comments, agents can type the comment above the Forwarded message line. 

Specifying the requester in the forwarded email

This solution works for all email clients. It involves inserting a simple instruction in the email body that specifies the requester. When creating the ticket, Zendesk Support reads the instruction and sets the requester you specified.

The solution works only if you're an agent and your email address is registered in your account. The command is ignored if the email is forwarded by an end-user. For more information, see Updating ticket properties from your inbox in the Administrator Guide.

1. Select the email in your inbox and click Forward.
2. Enter the following instruction at the top of the email body:

   #requester {requester_email}

   where {requester_email} is the requester's email address. Example:

   #requester [e-mail]

   Tip: You can copy the requester's address from the Forwarded Message section in the body.

3. Clean up the email. For example, remove the FWD prefix in the subject line and the Forwarded Message header in the body.

   The requester instruction will be stripped from the ticket automatically.

4. Enter your support address in the To field and click Send.

Configuring Microsoft Outlook 2007 and 2010

The Microsoft Exchange email server doesn't currently allow users to redirect individual messages. However, you can use the following workaround. It works for any normal user and doesn't require granting special permissions on the Exchange server.

Note: These instructions may not work for Office 365.

1. Select the message in your inbox and click Forward.
2. Enter your support address in the To field.
3. Click Options tab and click the Direct Replies To button.
4. In the Properties window, change the value in the "Have replies sent to" field to the name of the user submitting the request.

   Tip: Click Select Names to search your Address Book.

5. Close the window and click Send.

Tip: If you use this command frequently, select File > Options > Quick Access Toolbar, and add the Direct Replies To button to your toolbar.

Redirecting an email

Some email clients can redirect an email as if you never opened it, preserving the header information so that the email appears to be from the original sender, not you.

Note: If your email account is on a Microsoft Exchange server, redirecting a message is not possible currently in any email client. However, you can still forward an email and set the correct requester on the ticket. See Forwarding an email for details.

The following are some email clients that support redirection:

• Microsoft Outlook 2007 and 2010
• Mail (Mac OS)
• Mozilla Thunderbird
• Eudora
• Evolution

Gmail does not currently support redirecting indvidual emails. You can forward an email instead. See Forwarding an email.

If you know how redirect works in other clients, please share the information in a comment at the end of this article.

Note: Zendesk can't provide support for third-party email clients. This information is provided as a convenience. Please contact your client provider for support.

Microsoft Outlook 2007 and 2010

1. Double-click the email in your inbox to open it in a new window.
2. Select Actions > Resend This Message.

   A warning appears about you not being the original sender of the message.

3. Click Yes.

   A message window appears.

4. Enter your support address in the To field and click Send.

Mail (Mac OS)

1. Control-click the email in your inbox and select Redirect.
2. Enter your support address in the To field and click Send.

Tip: If you use this command frequently, select View > Customize Toolbar, and add the Redirect button to your toolbar.

Mozilla Thunderbird

1. Install and use the mailredirect plugin at http://mailredirect.mozdev.org/installation.html.

   Only Thunderbird 3 or later is supported.

2. Select the message you want to redirect and choose Redirect from the Tools menu.
3. Enter your support address in the To field and click Send.

Eudora

1. Select the message in your inbox and choose Redirect from the Message menu.
2. Enter your support address in the To field and click Send.

Evolution

1. Select the message in the inbox and choose Forward > Redirect from the Actions menu.
2. Enter your support address in the To field and click Send.