# Incoming email and ticket replies

Turn incoming email into ticket messages and attach replies to an existing ticket or support conversation when a matching reference is available.

*Release 3.3 · developer, operator, visitor*

**Settings › Email › General Settings** · **Settings › Email › Email Accounts**

## What it is

INSIDE turns incoming mailbox messages into email conversations and tickets. Replies can join an existing customer ticket or a linked **Support Conversation**. Ticket references and optional open-ticket reuse help keep related work together.

## Who uses it and why

- Visitors reply to the emails they receive to continue their enquiry.
- Operators read incoming replies with the ticket history and attachments.
- Developers integrating email workflows need to preserve reply information and coordinate mailbox behaviour with Powerfront.

## Where to find it

Read incoming mail in the email ticket's conversation history. Support replies appear in the linked **Support Conversation**.

Powerfront manages **Settings › Email › Email Accounts** and **Settings › Email › General Settings**. Ask Powerfront to change **Enable Email References** or **Keep only one open ticket per visitor**.

## How it works

1. A connected mailbox supplies the sender, recipients, subject, message and any imported attachments.
2. With **Enable Email References** on, INSIDE first checks the message being replied to. A support-conversation match takes precedence over a customer-ticket match.
3. If there is no direct reply match, INSIDE checks the other email references, again checking support conversations before customer tickets.
4. The message is added to the identified conversation or processed as new email. A new ticket can receive the configured acknowledgement.

With **Keep only one open ticket per visitor** on, eligible incoming email can reuse an open ticket for the customer and receiving mailbox. It does not simply combine every email from the same address across all subsites. An explicit instruction to create a new ticket bypasses this reuse.

A support reply whose parent ticket is closed can create a new ticket related to the earlier work and carry the support conversation forward. Customer replies can also reopen or requeue tickets according to the ticket lifecycle settings.

## Configure it

Ask Powerfront to confirm the receiving mailbox, subsite, ticket handling and reply-reference settings. Keep original reply information when forwarding mail through an integration. Preserve an example original email when reporting a threading problem so Powerfront can investigate its reply references and recipients.

### Settings

| Setting | Where | Applies to | Default | Who can change it | What it does |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Enable Email References | Settings › Email › General Settings | website | Off | Powerfront, on request | Matches incoming reply headers against stored ticket and support conversation references. |
| Keep only one open ticket per visitor | Settings › Email › General Settings | website | Off | Powerfront, on request | Allows eligible incoming messages to reuse an open ticket for that customer and mailbox rather than create another ticket. |

## Limits and good to know

- Header reference matching is off unless enabled for the website.
- Open-ticket reuse is off unless enabled. Separate messages from one customer can therefore create separate tickets.
- A reply from another address is not automatically an internal comment. Check the actual conversation and recipients before relying on its visibility.
- Closed-ticket reopening has a configured time window. Old replies may require follow-up work in another ticket.
- Mail clients and forwarding systems can alter reply information. The subject alone is not a reliable explanation for how an email was threaded.

## Depends on and works with

### This feature uses

- **Requires** [Email account and mailbox setup](CHN-024.md): An email account receives the incoming mail and supplies its mailbox and subsite context.
- **Requires** [Contact matching](CRM-003.md): Incoming senders are matched to customer contacts by their email identity.
- **Configured in** [Email ticket handling and statuses](CHN-026.md): Ticket state, reply requeueing and the closed-ticket reopening window affect incoming replies.
- **Configured in** [Email templates and ticket notifications](CHN-028.md): New-ticket acknowledgements use the matching email template.
- **Works better with** [Attachments in conversations](CHAT-018.md): Imported email attachments are available with the message.
- **Works better with** [Merging tickets and related conversations](CHAT-026.md): Late support replies can create a new ticket related to the earlier work.
- **Works better with** [Email replies and support conversations](CHN-027.md): Replies to support requests can return to their separate linked support conversation.

### Used by

- **Required by** [Email Autopilot for tickets](AI-012.md): Incoming email must form an email ticket.
- **Enhances** [Email event rules and actions](ENG-022.md): Incoming emails can trigger rules after INSIDE identifies their ticket.
- **Enhances** [Email ticket handling and statuses](CHN-026.md): Incoming customer replies can reopen or requeue tickets.
- **Enhances** [Email replies and support conversations](CHN-027.md): Reply references attach incoming support and customer replies to their conversations.
- **Enhances** [Ticket reports](REP-011.md): Incoming email adds customer-created tickets and replies to the activity available for reporting.
- **Enhances** [Audit search for retained customer records](REP-021.md): The Tickets tab searches retained email conversations.
- **Enhances** [Permanent deletion of retained customer data](SEC-020.md): Retained raw email resources can be included where the deletion copy identifies them.

## FAQ and troubleshooting

### Why did a reply create another ticket?

There may be no usable conversation reference, the reopening window may have passed, or open-ticket reuse may be off. A different receiving mailbox or subsite can also prevent reuse.

### Why did two separate enquiries join one ticket?

Ask Powerfront whether **Keep only one open ticket per visitor** is enabled and whether the email carried an existing conversation reference.

### Why is a supplier reply outside the customer history?

It may belong to the linked **Support Conversation**, which keeps that exchange separate from customer messages.

### What evidence helps investigate a threading error?

Provide Powerfront with the affected ticket numbers, receiving mailbox, message times and the original email through your agreed support process.