Configuring Outbound Actions
For Outbound Actions to be passed from vFire Core to the external system, you need to configure vFire Core by mapping, for each Outbound Action type, the fields from vFire Core to those of the external system.
In parallel, you must also configure the external system to specify what must happen when it receives an Action sent by vFire Core (for example, initiate a workflow, send a notification, and so on).
Each connector supports a number of Outbound Actions specific to the third-party system it connects to.
The mappings defined in the Outbound Actions window do not apply to outbound action tasks. They must be defined at the level of the task.
Viewing Outbound Action Type Mappings
Before you start
Each third party connector you wish to configure to receive events from the external source must have been installed.
You must have Integration Setup selected in the Admin tab of your General Access Security Role.
- Select and then Admin.
- From the submenu, select Integration.
- The Integration Platform Settings window is displayed. Select the Outbound Actions option from the explorer pane .
- Select a source from the Filter by Source list to view outbound action types configured for the selected source. This displays the outbound action types configured for the selected source in the browse table. Outbound action types depend on the source system at the connector level, and are therefore read-only.
- To access the mappings for an Outbound Action type, double-click the outbound action type in the browse table. The Outbound Action Type Mappings window appears, displaying the following information.
If selected, the Mapped checkbox indicates that details for the outbound action type have been added. It does not necessarily mean that incoming and outgoing transactions for the action type have been mapped
Source |
displays the name of the selected source from which the outbound action type is derived |
Outbound Type |
displays the name of the outbound action type |
The Mappings browse table displays the following details about a mapping:
Mapping |
the name of the mapping specified when defining the mapping details |
Screen Set |
the name of the call or task screen set defined in the mapping details |
You can view, add, or delete a data mapping for the outbound action type. You can also change the priority of the data mappings defined for this outbound action type.
Adding an Outbound Action Type Mapping
Before you start
You must have Integration Setup selected in the Admin tab of your General Access Security Role.
- Select and then Admin.
- From the submenu, select Integration.
- The Integration Platform Settings window is displayed. Select the Outbound Actions option from the explorer pane .
- Select a source from the Filter by Source list to view outbound action types configured for the selected source.
- Select the button.
- Specify the Outbound Action Type mapping details.
- Select to save the changes.
Updating an Outbound Action Type Mapping
Before you start
You must have Integration Setup selected in the Admin tab of your General Access Security Role.
- Select and then Admin.
- From the submenu, select Integration.
- The Integration Platform Settings window is displayed. Select the Outbound Actions option from the explorer pane .
- Select a source from the Filter by Source list to view outbound action types configured for the selected source.
- Select the Outbound Action you want to update and select , or double-click on the entry.
- The Outbound Action Type window is displayed. View or update the details as required.
- Select to save the changes.
Deleting an Outbound Action Type Mapping
Before you start
You must have Integration Setup selected in the Admin tab of your General Access Security Role.
- Select and then Admin.
- From the submenu, select Integration.
- The Integration Platform Settings window is displayed. Select the Outbound Actions option from the explorer pane .
- In the browse table, select the Action you want to delete and select .
- Confirm the deletion.
Changing the Priority of Mappings
vFire Core will apply the mappings in the order in which they appear in the Mappings browse table. If more than one mapping applies to an action, then the mapping that is higher in the list will be applied first, then the second one in the list, and so on.
- Select and then Admin.
- From the submenu, select Integration.
- The Integration Platform Settings window is displayed. Select the Outbound Actions option from the explorer pane .
- Select a source from the Filter by Source list to view outbound action types configured for the selected source.
- Select a mapping you want to move, and use the and buttons to reposition it.
- Repeat for any other mappings you wish to reposition.
- Select to save the changes if appropriate.
Specifying the Outbound Action Type Mapping Details
The mapping details window for an Outbound Action allows you to define the conditions that must be met for vFire Core to initiate an Outbound Action, and how data fields will be mapped between the two systems.
The following are the main steps for defining an Outbound Action mapping:
- Associate external suppliers and contracts with the Outbound Action.
- Select the actions (rules) you want vFire Core to take when it receives incoming messages associated with the Outbound Action.
- Selecting when vFire Core must send outgoing messages for the Outbound Action.
- Mapping the fields between vFire Core and the source system for both incoming and outgoing messages. This is required for an Outbound Action to be successful.
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The mappings defined here are only applied when a call or External Supplier task is forwarded externally. An Outbound Action initiated by an Outbound Action task uses the mapping defined on the task.
- Click New or select an existing mapping and click Open on the Outbound Action Type Mappings window.
- Complete the details.
- To associate an external supplier and contract with the Outbound Action mapping, select the Suppliers & Contracts tab.
- Click Add to add the supplier and/or contract to the browse table. Whenever a call or External Supplier task is forwarded to that external supplier and/or contract, this Outbound Action mapping will be applied.
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You cannot specify the same supplier and contract (per screen set) for more than one Outbound Action mapping. However, you can link an external supplier to one mapping and the same supplier plus a contract to another mapping. In this case, the most specific mapping will be applied: if the call or task is forwarded to a supplier and contract matching the supplier and contract specified on the second mapping, this mapping will be applied. If not, it will use the default mapping for that supplier.
- Select the Action tab and specify the rules for Incoming and Outgoing Transactions using this mapping.
- Select the Fields - Outgoing tab and specify how field values from the vFire Core call or External Supplier task must correlate with the field values on the external system when an outgoing message is sent by vFire Core.
- To map a field, click Add. In the Add Fields window, select the fields (from the external system) you want to map to fields on the call or task, and click OK. On the browse table, click the corresponding cell in the Internal Field column. Then click the field selector button to pick a static value or a field relating to the Call or External Supplier Task screen set you selected earlier.
- Select the Fields – Incoming tab and specify how the field values from the external system must match the field values on the call or External Supplier task in vFire Core when an incoming message is received by vFire Core.
- To map a field, click Add. In the Add Fields window, select the call or task fields from the selected Screen Set (including any custom fields created in the Designer), you want to map to fields used in the external system. If the selected screen set is an External Supplier Task screen set, then you can also select fields from the task’s parent request. On the browse table, click the corresponding cell in the Action Field column. Then click the field selector button to pick a static value or a field from the external system. These fields are defined at the level of the connector.
- In the Update column, select the conditions for populating the field on the call or task.
The Source and Outbound Type fields are pre-populated based on the source and type you selected to access this mapping.
Name | Type a name for the mapping. This name appears in the Mappings table. | ||||
Screen Set |
select a call or External Supplier task screen set from the multi-tiered list. The screen set determines the fields that will be available for this mapping under the Fields – Outgoing and Fields – Incoming tabs.
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If you change the screen set after defining outgoing or incoming field mappings, a warning is displayed indicating that some field mappings may become invalid.
External Supplier | Select a supplier |
Contract | Select a contract. If you do not specify a contract, the Outbound Action will be matched by the external supplier only. |
Depending on the field’s data type, additional options can be selected in the field selector, including: field transformations, profile maps, or resolution rules. Also, the call or task fields displayed are determined by the screen set. You can only select a field that is compatible with the field specified in the Action Field column.
Depending on the field’s data type, additional options can be selected in the field selector, including: field transformations, profile maps, or resolution rules.
Always | always matches the vFire Core field value with the value in the external system field. This means that any change to this field in the external system automatically updates the field value in the vFire Core call or task. |
The Only When Blank | only populates the vFire Core field with the value of the external system field if the field on the call or task is blank. This means that an existing value on the vFire Core call or task cannot be overridden by a field value in the external system. |
On Initial Population Only | is not relevant for Outbound Actions |
Rules for Incoming and Outgoing Transactions - Outbound Actions
Rules for the way vFire Core will apply an outbound action type mapping to Incoming Transactions for the selected outbound action type are set in the Action tab on the mapping details window for an Outbound Action. The rules are described below.
When Updated externally | Select the rules that vFire Core must apply when receiving an UPDATE message for an Outbound Action using this mapping, specifically select the action that must be taken if the call or External Supplier task that resulted in the creation of the Outbound Action is still open:
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When Updated externally and Call or Task is closed | Select the rules that vFire Core must apply when receiving an UPDATE message for an Outbound Action using this mapping, specifically select the action that must be taken if the call or External Supplier task that resulted in the creation of the Outbound Action is closed:
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When Notified externally | Select the rules that vFire Core must apply when receiving a NOTIFY message for an Outbound Action using this mapping, specifically the action that must be taken if the call or External Supplier task that resulted in the creation of this Outbound Action is still open:
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When Notified externally and Call or Task is closed | Select the rules that vFire Core must apply when receiving a NOTIFY transaction for an event using this mapping, specifically the action that must be taken if the call or External Supplier task that resulted in the creation of this Outbound Action is closed:
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When Completed externally | Select the rules that vFire Core must apply when receiving a COMPLETE message for an Outbound Action using this mapping, specifically select the action that must be taken if the call or External Supplier task that resulted in the creation of this Outbound Action is still open:
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If child calls are present | Select the action that must be taken if the call that resulted in the creation of this Outbound Action has calls linked as children:
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When Completed externally and Call or Task is closed | Select the rules that vFire Core must apply when receiving a COMPLETE message for an Outbound Action using this mapping, specifically, select the action that must be taken if the call or External Supplier task that resulted in the creation of this Outbound Action is closed:
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When Not Completed externally | Select the rules that vFire Core must apply when receiving a NOT COMPLETE message for an Outbound Action using this mapping, specifically select the action that must be taken if the call or External Supplier task that resulted in the creation of this Outbound Action is still open:
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If child calls are present | Select the action that must be taken if the call that resulted in the creation of this Outbound Action has calls linked as children:
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When Not Completed externally and Call or Task is closed | Select the rules that vFire Core must apply when receiving a NOT COMPLETE message for an Outbound Action using this mapping, specifically select the action that must be taken if the call or External Supplier task that resulted in the creation of this Outbound Action is closed:
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Send Notify for system generated history messages | Select this option to send a NOTIFY message to the external system whenever a system-generated entry (such as an agreement escalation) is added to the history of the call or External Supplier task that resulted in the creation of this Outbound Action. |
What happens if the system is configured to update, add a note, or take no action?
When the system is configured to update the call or task, add a note to it, or take no action, on receiving the COMPLETE or NOT COMPLETE message, the call is automatically forwarded back to the analyst who forwarded the call externally, and the task is automatically forwarded to the request manager.
The call or task history is updated on receiving a COMPLETE or INCOMPLETE message.