Forwarding

Forwarding works with every provider and shares no password with opendesk. When you create a forwarding mailbox, opendesk gives it a private address, such as [email protected]. You forward your support address to it, and every message becomes a ticket.

1. The address to forward to, with a copy button. It is also on the mailbox’s page.
2. Steps for your provider: Gmail, Google Workspace or Microsoft 365. The one that fits your address is selected.

Create a forwarding mailbox

1. Add the mailbox and pick forwarding

   In Settings, open Mailboxes and click Add mailbox. Type a name and the address customers write to. Choose Forward mail to opendesk and click Continue. It is recommended for Microsoft 365 and Outlook.com when Microsoft sign-in isn’t offered, and for Proton Mail.

2. Choose how replies are sent

   • Through opendesk: replies come from opendesk’s sending address with your mailbox’s name, and the customer’s answers come back to your address.
   • Through your SMTP server: replies come from your address itself. Enter the SMTP server, port, security, username and password. opendesk signs in to it before it saves anything.

   

   Click Create mailbox (or Connect for SMTP).

3. Copy the forwarding address

   The last step shows the private address and short steps for your provider. Copy the address.

4. Turn on forwarding at your provider

   Follow the steps for your provider below. Gmail sends a confirmation email first: it arrives in opendesk as a ticket, so open it and click the link or copy the code.

5. Send a test email

   Write to your support address from another account. It shows up in Unassigned as a new ticket.

Good to know

• Sending through opendesk needs no setup, but replies don’t land in your mailbox’s Sent folder. Sending through your SMTP server keeps your domain’s own SPF and DKIM on every reply.
• Self-hosted instances use their own inbound domain (INBOUND_DOMAIN). See Email setup.

Gmail

1. In Gmail, open Settings (the gear), then See all settings, then Forwarding and POP/IMAP.
2. Click Add a forwarding address and paste your opendesk forwarding address. Click Next, then Proceed.
3. Gmail sends a confirmation email to that address. It arrives in opendesk as a ticket. Open it and either click the confirmation link or copy the code.
4. Back in Gmail, enter the code if asked, then choose Forward a copy of incoming mail to your opendesk address.
5. Choose what Gmail does with its own copy (keeping it is fine) and click Save Changes.

To forward only some mail, skip step 4 and create a filter instead: Create a filter with your criteria, then Forward it to the opendesk address.

Google Workspace

Each user can set up forwarding the same way as Gmail above. For a shared address or a Google Group, an admin can route mail at the domain level instead, without a mailbox sign-in:

1. In the Google Admin console, go to Apps, Google Workspace, Gmail, Routing.
2. Under Routing, click Configure (or Add another rule).
3. Under Email messages to affect, choose Inbound (and Internal - receiving if colleagues email support too).
4. Under For the above types of messages, do the following, choose Modify message. Under Envelope recipient, check Add more recipients, click Add, and enter the opendesk forwarding address.
5. Under Options, limit the rule to your support address with an envelope filter: Only affect specific envelope recipients, single recipient [email protected].
6. Save. Changes can take up to an hour to apply.

Admins can also restrict who may set up automatic forwarding, under Gmail, End User Access, Automatic forwarding. Allow it for the support user if you use per-user forwarding.

Microsoft 365 and Outlook

Microsoft 365 blocks automatic forwarding to outside addresses by default. An admin allows it first.

Allow forwarding to outside addresses (admin)

1. Open the Microsoft Defender portal, then Email & collaboration, Policies & rules, Threat policies, Anti-spam policies.
2. Open Anti-spam outbound policy (Default), or create an outbound policy that applies only to your support mailbox (recommended).
3. Under Forwarding rules, set Automatic forwarding rules to On - Forwarding is enabled. Save.

Forward the mailbox

Either set forwarding on the mailbox (admin):

1. In the Exchange admin center, open Recipients, Mailboxes, and select the mailbox. In the Microsoft 365 admin center, the same is under Users, Active users (or Teams & groups, Shared mailboxes).
2. Under Mail flow settings (the Mail tab in the Microsoft 365 admin center), choose Manage email forwarding.
3. Turn on forwarding, enter the opendesk forwarding address, and keep Deliver to both on if the mailbox should keep a copy. Save.

Or create a rule in Outlook on the web (user):

1. Open Settings, Mail, Rules, Add new rule.
2. Name it and add the condition Apply to all messages (or narrower conditions).
3. Add the action Forward to (or Redirect to) and enter the opendesk forwarding address. Save.

Redirect keeps the original sender. Both work, since opendesk reads the original headers, but redirect is the cleaner choice. To send replies from the mailbox itself, see Microsoft 365 and Outlook.

Any other provider

Look for “forwarding” or “redirect” in your provider’s mail settings or admin panel, and forward to your opendesk address. Most providers send a confirmation message first; it appears in opendesk as a ticket. Proton Mail can forward on its paid plans.

Troubleshooting

• Nothing arrives. Check that the forwarding rule is on and points at the exact address from the mailbox’s page. In Microsoft 365, check that the outbound spam policy allows forwarding.
• The wrong person is the sender. Use redirect rather than forward where your provider offers both.
• Duplicates. Each message is stored once, by its Message-ID, so the same message delivered twice doesn’t open a second ticket.
• Your own mail turns into tickets. Mail from the mailbox’s own address, its aliases and opendesk’s forwarding addresses is skipped, and so is automatic mail like out-of-office replies.

Related

• Connect a mailbox
• Microsoft 365 and Outlook
• Other providers