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osTicket is a widely-used open source support ticket system. It seamlessly integrates inquiries created via email, phone and web-based forms into a simple easy-to-use multi-user web interface. Manage, organize and archive all your support requests and responses in one place while providing your customers with accountability and responsiveness they deserve.

osTicket is configured by default like the following: the client (user) fills in a form with information related to the issue he is having and then submits it. osTicket processes that info and shows it to the staff team so that the support can be given.

In our institution people are used to tell about their tech issues using email (suppose this email is support@yourinstitution.com) and we did not want to change this. So we thought there might be a trick to forward all the support@yourinstitution.com mails to osticket. And there is indeed!

There are two ways of achieving this:

1. Use pipes to forward the mails to osTicket system (original post talking about this and another post talking about this).

2. Configure osTicket to use POP/IMAP (check this post)

I have tried both options. The steps you should follow are:

OSTicket with pipes

Enable Email Piping:
Admin Panel -> Preferences -> Email Settings -> Enable Email Piping

chmod the file pipe.php in the api folder:

# cd /var/www/html/osticket/buz/api/
# chmod 764 pipe.php

Edit your aliases file

# vi /etc/aliases

and add the pipe line (supportusername is the name of the user to which the email will be forwarded):

supportusername: "|/usr/bin/php -q /var/www/html/osticket/buz/api/pipe.php"

Regenerate aliases file

# newaliases

Find php:

# whereis php
php: /usr/bin/php

Configure your email program (mine is sendmail). Spanish readers can refer to this sendmail guide

Enable your supportusername to run php:

#chmod 764 /usr/bin/php

Send an email to check it works:

# mail -s "Checking osticket piping" supportusername
This is a test
.
CC:

If something does not work as expected check the logs (tail -f -n 100 /var/log/maillog)

When everything is working as expected…
Forward your support@yourinstitution.com email to the server hosting osticket.

** Edit: I have noticed several problems with this configuration. When the emails are piped to osticket the headers are rewriten so the support staff does not know the client’s email!!

So I decided to try the IMAP configuration.

The IMAP/POP configuration

First of all, configure php-imap.

Then go to Settings -> Email Settings and:
For Incoming Emails:
* disable Enable email piping (You pipe we accept policy)
* enable Enable POP/IMAP email fetch (Global setting which can be disabled at email level)
For Outgoing Emails my config is like:
* Use PHP mail function

Now go to Email tab.
Create a new email account. Mine is configured as shown in the image:

Related posts:

1. OTRS: another support / ticketing software – step by step configuration process
2. Configure php-imap redhat [solved]
3. OJS (Open Journal System) OAI export MARCXML: Removing empty lines

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