The ThinkAutomation Desktop Connector Application
The ThinkAutomation Desktop Connector is a stand-alone application that you can optionally install on multiple computers on your network. The number of ThinkAutomation Desktop Connectors that can connect to your ThinkAutomation Server at the same time depends on the Edition you have purchased (see: Editions).
Users can use the ThinkAutomation Desktop Connector to manually execute Automations by sending messages or by dragging and dropping files, attachments and Outlook Messages. For example, you may have an Automation that generates a quotation PDF, sends the quotation to the customer and records it in your CRM system. The ThinkAutomation Desktop Connector could be installed on all the sales team computers. Sales team members can then simply drag and drop quote request emails on to the relevant automation. Automations are executed immediately by the ThinkAutomation server and the results returned back to the Desktop Connector.
The Desktop Connector cannot be used to edit Automations or make any other configuration changes.
The Desktop Connector is installed as part of the main ThinkAutomation installation. A stand-alone Desktop Connector installer is also available here: Download ThinkAutomation Desktop Connector Setup (55mb).
When the Desktop Connector is started the user must login. You can create additional users using the ThinkAutomation Studio - Server Settings - Users tab. Multiple Desktop Connector users can login using the same username if required.
After login the Desktop Connector will list all Automations and Web Form message sources for the currently selected solution. You can change the selected solution from the drop-down list. You can restrict the solutions available to a user using the Server Settings.
Sending Messages To An Automation
Click an automation in the list. The right hand pane will display the Send Message form for the selected automation. Enter a message and click the Send button (or press CTRL-Enter). You can also change the Subject, From and To addresses and add Attachments.
The message will be processed by ThinkAutomation and the return value (along with any Comments) will be displayed.
Dropping Files
You can drag and drop any file on to the Send Message form. These will be sent to ThinkAutomation for immediate processing. Any text files dropped onto the Desktop Connector will be converted into plain text emails. HTML files will be converted to HTML emails. Email messages (EML files) can also be dropped. Any other file types will be added as an attachment to a plain text email before being sent to ThinkAutomation. You can drag & drop multiple files in a single drag/drop operation. Each file will be treated as a separate message.
Dropping Microsoft Outlook Messages
For users of Microsoft Outlook (desktop version) you can select one or more messages from Outlook itself and drag & drop them onto the Send Message form. You can also drop specific message attachments. These will then be copied and sent to ThinkAutomation for processing and the results displayed. The original messages in Outlook are not changed.
Web Form Message Sources
Any Web Form messages sources for the selected solution will also be displayed. Selecting one of these will display the the web form inside the Client. You can then complete the form and submit. ThinkAutomation will then process the form results.
Responding To Wait For User Response Actions
The Desktop Connector will display any Wait For User Response action forms. If the Send Request Via Studio & Client Users option is enabled on any Wait For User Response actions, the ThinkAutomation Server will send the validation request to users running the ThinkAutomation Studio or ThinkAutomation Desktop Connector. Studio and Desktop Connector users can complete the validation request from there. You can specify specific Usernames or leave this blank to send to any ThinkAutomation Studio or Desktop Connector users (connected to your ThinkAutomation Server instance).
Viewing The Message Store
The Desktop Connector can also be used to view the message store which shows a list of processed messages. Click the View tab. All automations for the selected solution will be displayed. Select an automation to view processed messages. Double-click a message or click the Open button to view the message detail and automation log.
Note
The View tab will only be available if the logged-in user has the Can View Message Store right enabled.
Info
The ThinkAutomation Desktop Connector connects to the ThinkAutomation Server using a secure websocket on port 9110. Ensure this port is open on the ThinkAutomation Server firewall. You will also need to add any network IP ranges to the Whitelist in the ThinkAutomation Server Settings.