Question 1

How does Password Protection of Content (FAQs or Workflows) work?

Accepted Answer

Malcolm! let's you password protect individual items of content (e.g. a particular FAQ or Workflow) and/or your Hosted Hub.

The best option for you will depend on how exactly you use and implement Malcolm!

Password Protection on Hosted Hub

You can add a "start of session" password to your Hosted Hub via the Visibility tab in the Settings section in MyMalcolm.

In this area you can add one or more passwords. For example you could add one password that all your users share, or you could give each user an individual password. You can supply a label/description next to the password in MyMalcolm to remind yourself who that password was created for. From the same area you can suspend or delete previously created passwords, as well as see when passwords were last used.

When a user visits any page on your Hosted Hub they create a web session. The first time they do this they will be asked for their password.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/HwJyEPPI3q/resources/f2uGLquUY3/Screenshot%202019-04-23%2010.55.25.png (Screenshot 2019-04-23 10.55.25 (2).png)

Password Protection on Individual Content Items

You can also add configure password protection on individual items of content like an FAQ or a Workflow. You do this via the Visibility tab in the Configure section of the individual FAQ or Workflow (which you access via the library in the respective FAQ or Workflow section of MyMalcolm).

The default setting for items of content is that they inherit the settings from the Hub. So if no password is set at a Hub level no password is required to view the content. If a password is set at a Hub level then a password will be required at the start of the user session. If you want to ensure that a password is always required before a particular FAQ or Workflow is accessed you should set it at this content level. Bear in mind however that if you also have a Hub password set and a user starts their session with a direct link to individual content that is password protected they will need to enter two passwords: one to get them into the Hub session and a further password to view the content.

You can also set an individual item of content to never require a password, even if the Hub has a password set. This can be useful if, for example, you want to put all your content behind a Hub password but want to create a Workflow that lets people request access. In this scenario you would create a Workflow for the purpose of requesting access, set it to never require a password then link to it from the text you can configure on the Hub password request screen. When requests come in you can review them and if you approve you can manually set up the user's password.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/HwJyEPPI3q/resources/I3VJyQJ4IZ/Screenshot%202019-04-23%2010.57.05.png (Screenshot 2019-04-23 10.57.05.png)

Also worth noting

If a user makes three failed password attempts they will not be able to attempt a further password within that session for 30 minutes.

Auth0

We also support managing user passwords via Auth0- see more details here and via Memberstack - see more details here.

Question 2

How can I password-protect my hub with Auth0?

Accepted Answer

Malcolm supports using Auth0 to password-protect your content.

This guide will help you set up Auth0.

First go to MyMalcolm > Settings > Instance > Visibility and enable Hosted Hub password protection. This automatically enables the built-in password protection.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/HwJyEPPI3q/resources/ea8meZWJKM/Screenshot%202021-11-25%20at%2016.37.03.png (Screenshot 2021-11-25 at 16.37.03.png)

Next, inside your Auth0 tennant, create a new Auth0 Application. Give it a name and choose Regular Web Applications from the four options.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/HwJyEPPI3q/resources/VDfX0QpiZh/Screenshot%202021-11-25%20at%2016.31.49.png (Screenshot 2021-11-25 at 16.31.49.png)

Click on the Settings tab and scroll down to the Basic Information section.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/HwJyEPPI3q/resources/JReEIPSyji/Screenshot%202021-11-25%20at%2016.46.53.png (Screenshot 2021-11-25 at 16.46.53.png)

In MyMalcolm click through to Manage password protection and toward the bottom enable Auth0 for password protection. Copy/paste the Domain, Client ID and Client Secret from Auth0 into MyMalcolm.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/HwJyEPPI3q/resources/mwX1ffzhIZ/Screenshot%202021-11-25%20at%2016.40.03.png (Screenshot 2021-11-25 at 16.40.03.png)

Next copy/paste the Application Login URI, Allowed Callback URL and Allowed Logout URL from Malcolm! into your Auth0 Application URIs settings.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/HwJyEPPI3q/resources/ST4LVVMZ3x/Screenshot%202021-11-25%20at%2016.45.36.png (Screenshot 2021-11-25 at 16.45.36.png)

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/HwJyEPPI3q/resources/kpvEhZpVtp/Screenshot%202021-11-25%20at%2016.40.39.png (Screenshot 2021-11-25 at 16.40.39.png)

Save the settings on both sides and you should see your Auth0 login page in your Hub.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/HwJyEPPI3q/resources/oijJOqmb9t/Screenshot%202021-11-25%20at%2016.42.11.png (Screenshot 2021-11-25 at 16.42.11.png)

But that's not all!

Attributes from your Auth0 users can be pre-populated in Malcolm! Workflows. To enable this feature choose a suitable field on a Workflow, edit the field settings and enable Allow a value to be set in the URL query. Enter one of the four attribute names email, name, nickname or picture to pre-populate those values directly into your Workflow.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/HwJyEPPI3q/resources/5zfBKHJgrE/Screenshot%202021-11-25%20at%2017.23.01.png (Screenshot 2021-11-25 at 17.23.01.png)

You can read more about passing values in the URL query here.

Question 3

Can I put tracking (or other) tags in my FAQs / Workflows / Hosted Hub?

Accepted Answer

You can add Javascript tracking tags via the Settings Section of MyMalcolm. Select Tracking tags within that section.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/HwJyEPPI3q/resources/dcbZzXmJdp/screenshot-my.malcolm.app-2019.07.30-19_55_21.png (Tag management in MyMalcolm)

For Google Analytics you can just add your GA ID.

For users of Google Tag Manager you can add your GTM ID then manage all tags via their interface.

For any other tags add these in the "Any other Javascript snippets" area.

If you wish to use another tag manager you could add that tag managers code in the "Any other Javascript snippets" area and then manage your tags via their interface.

Question 4

How do I add a Gallery, How-to or Step by Step to my FAQ or other content?

Accepted Answer

You can now add clickthrough or swipe through galleries to your content.

Hit the insert images icon in the markdown editor to begin, and then select the images you want to include from your media gallery.

Insert images in MyMalcolm

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/HwJyEPPI3q/resources/Gp51whKPhC/screenshot-my.malcolm.app-2022.06.09-13_41_40.png (Insert images in MyMalcolm)

You'll then see a dialogue where you can edit the order of the images plus add descriptive text, titles and caption.

Gallery / How-to dialogue in MyMalcolm

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/HwJyEPPI3q/resources/VmGuJfIuRb/screenshot-my.malcolm.app-2022.06.09-13_41_15.png (Gallery / How-to dialogue in MyMalcolm)

You can choose between a traditional image Gallery or a numbered How-to (sometimes called a Step by Step). These are subtly different and will also be marked up differently using Schema which means Google will see them slightly differently.

Choosing a Gallery or How-to in MyMalcolm

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/HwJyEPPI3q/resources/yWFMXqJm9Y/screenshot-my.malcolm.app-2022.06.09-13_42_13.png (Choosing a Gallery or How-to in MyMalcolm)

Once you've set things up as you want the markdown will be generated for your Gallery or How-to. If you want to change things just highlight that block of markdown and hit the insert media icon and you'll be taken back into the edit Gallery or How-to dialogue.

A How-to on a hosted hub page

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/HwJyEPPI3q/resources/bn4yI4KwR7/screenshot-tom-test-15.malcolm.app-2022.06.09-14_05_27.png (A How-to on a hosted hub page)

Remember, as with all content you put into Malcolm! you can surface your Gallery or How-to's in multiple ways - as well as your hosted hub pages they will work in pop up widgets, drawers, overlays and inline page embeds.

See the below video for a walkthrough:

Question 5

How do I embed content from Malcolm! into my own website or app?

Accepted Answer

You can easily embed content from Malcolm! into your existing website, app, product or online service with just a few lines of code.

Begin by going to the Share section of MyMalcolm and then select Embed.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/HwJyEPPI3q/resources/N17DhjfW2Z/Screenshot%202021-12-30%20at%2013.57.57.png (Choose your embed type in MyMalcolm)

We offer the following type of embeds:

Floating Widget (with button and draw options) - this option floats a button or drawer “pre-expand” over your site, application, product or service - when clicked a content panel opens up
Overlay / Pop Up - this opens an overlay / popup over whatever the user is currently seeing - it’s triggered by a link you can place wherever you want in your site, application, product or service
Inline - pull content directly into the same pages/screens your users are seeing with this option - use blend mode for a truly seamless experience!

We also offer a fourth option which can be useful in some circumstances:

Redirect - this option creates an automatic redirect which will replace the page the embed is fired from with a Malcolm! hosted page. This is achieved by auto forwarding the user. This option can be useful in certain scenarios, for example if you constrained by only being able to publish via a CMS and want some navigation or pages within your CMS structure to link out to Malcolm! hosted content. Note you will likely want to use URL rules in conjunction with the redirect embed (otherwise the redirect will happen on all pages the embed is present on!).

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/HwJyEPPI3q/resources/jbX8ylorUd/screenshot-my.malcolm.app-2019.11.05-13_16_07.png (Choose your embed content in MyMalcolm)

In terms of the type of content you can embed options include:

Hosted Hub results - paginated results showing the default filtered FAQs and Workflows as seen on your Hosted Hub homepage
A single FAQ - your choice of FAQ
A single Workflow - your choice of Workflow
Author listing - paginated results showing FAQs from a particular author
Category listing paginated results showing FAQs within a partiuclar category
Filtered results paginated results showing FAQs and Workflows filtered by your choice of filter (eg most popular, most recent, most helpful etc)
Search results (contextual) - paginated results showing FAQs and Workflows according to a search query provided via a meta tag on your page
Search results (specified search query) - paginated results showing FAQs and Workflows according to a given search query
Tag listing - paginated results showing FAQs referenced by particular tag

Note that if you just want to embed a single FAQ or Workflow you can also access a quick embed interface via the Library in both the FAQ and Workflow sections of MyMalcolm. Simply select "Embed" from the menu accessible on the right hand side of the respective published FAQ or Workflow.

You can configure various options around the visual stlye of your embed. The exact options available depend on the type of embed you have chosen.

When you have finished configuring the content and visual appearence of your embed, Malcolm! will give you the code that can be used to pull your content into your website, app, product or online service.

Watch a video guide to embeding Malcolm! content into your website below.

Question 6

How do I embed a Workflow into my website?

Accepted Answer

It's quick and easy to embed a Workflow into your website or app. In the Library screen of the Workflow section of MyMalcolm click the three dots on the right hand side of the screen and select "Embed"

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/HwJyEPPI3q/resources/bk1dEegpoU/screenshot-my.malcolm.app-2019.08.18-17_01_27.png (Quick link to Embed from the Workflow Library in MyMalcolm)

This will take you into the Share section of MyMalcolm! Here you can choose the type of embed you want to create.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/HwJyEPPI3q/resources/N17DhjfW2Z/Screenshot%202021-12-30%20at%2013.57.57.png (Create your embed in MyMalcolm)

If you want to float your Workflow over your webpage in a widget launched from a button or drawer that hugs the side or top/bottom of the screen select Widget.
If you want to launch an overlay that contains your Workflow from your webpage choose the Overlay option.
If you want your Workflow to appear within a part of an existing webpage select the inline option.
Finally if you the page to redirect to the Malcolm! web hosted version of your Workflow when the embed tag is fired select Redirect. You may wish to use URL rules with this option otherwise the redirect will fire on all pages the Malcolm! master tag is present on.

Follow the create embed process through - the Workflow you came from will be preselected as the content you want to embed. You will be offered various styling and display options based on the type of embed you choose.

At the end of the process you will be supplied with the embed code that you can add to he site or app where you want the Workflow to appear.

Question 7

What are Tags in FAQs?

Accepted Answer

Tags are a way of describing your content and allow an alternate way for your customers to browse FAQ's aside from search and categories.

You can add and manage the tags that are attached to each of your FAQs via the "configure" area.

You may also be interested in invisible tags.

Question 8

Do you support animated GIFs?

Accepted Answer

Yes you can use animated GIFs in Malcolm! placing them in your FAQs or in Workflows (via the Content element).

You can upload the animated GIF into the media section of MyMalcolm or you can pull in externally hosted GIFs.

This cat has been uploaded to MyMalcolm:

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/HwJyEPPI3q/resources/WsOiR3iaEG/Cat.gif (Animated Cat.gif)

To pull in external GIFs use the following Markdown syntax:

The above Markdown results in this:

https://media.giphy.com/media/QpWDP1YMziaQw/source.gif (Image Description)

Have fun!

Question 9

What are Webhooks and how do I use them to receive notifications when Workflows are completed?

Accepted Answer

Webhooks allow you to set up your own integrations to Malcolm! Workflow.

Webhooks are endpoints on web servers you own. Whenever a Workflow is completed the configured Webhooks will be notified. The Payload will contain the completed Workflow Session, related Workflow and (optionally) the submitted Workflow Values.

Configuration

Webhooks are are configured in "Workflows > Edit > Configure > Webhooks" section of MyMalcolm.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/HwJyEPPI3q/resources/IWqLLH7kgn/Screenshot%202021-01-26%20at%2016.17.46.png (Screenshot 2021-01-26 at 16.17.46.png)

Webhook URL

The only requirement is to provide the URL of your Webhook. This is the URL Malcolm! will send the Payload to.

The URL should be a secure endpoint which means it should start with https://, although we do support http:// too. The endpoint should also be accessible which means hosted on a remote machine, not behind a firewall and not requiring Authentication.

Include the Workflow Values

There is an additional option to include the submitted Workflow Values in the Payload. This option is disabled by default for security reasons but available to use should you wish to enable it. By enabling the option you agree to the following terms -

(a) I would like the Workflow Values included in the Webhook Payload (b) the recieving web server is private and properly secured (c) I am aware the use of Webhooks can facilitate the transfer of end-user personal data to third party Data Processors and my use of Webhooks adheres to my responsibilities as Data Controller under applicable Data Protection Laws.

Secure your Webhook with a secret token

Webhook URLs can be called by anyone and are therefore insecure.

To ensure a request to your Webhook URL comes from Malcolm! a secret token known only by yourself and Malcolm! can be used to generate a Signature.

Malcolm! will take the Payload and the secret and create a Signature. This will be passed to your App as the request header X-Signature. Your App will use the same secret and the received Payload to generate a second Signature. If the Signatures match you know the request came from Malcolm! and not another source.

The secret token can be any string you like, but Malcolm! recommends using a random string of at least 36 characters. For example in a Terminal window run -

To validate the Payload from Malcolm! use the HMAC SHA-256 algorithm to create a hash using the Payload as the data and your secret as the key.

For example in PHP use the hash_hmac function to generate a binary hash.

Next encode the binary hash using a Base 64 encoder, in PHP this is the base64_encode function.

Finally prefix the encoded hash with "sha256=" and compare with the value of X-Signature. In PHP you can use the $_SERVER variable to access the headers.

Conditional settings

There are conditional controls available too. If you have a condition configured the Webhook will only be notified if the conditions at the end of the Workflow are satisfied.

Headers

The HTTP POST will contain the following Headers.

Payload

The Payload will be a JSON Body containing the Workflow Session.

Workflows are defined as -

Workflow Values are defined as -

Workflow Fields are defined as -

Example

Question 10

Can I embed YouTube or Vimeo videos in my FAQs and Workflows?

Accepted Answer

You can easily embed YouTube or Vimeo videos into your FAQs and/or Workflows. Within the FAQ compose interface press the video icon. This will bring up an area where you can paste the URL of the video you wish to embed.

Insert video dialog in MyMalcolm

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/HwJyEPPI3q/resources/oFZ9QoY435/screenshot-my.malcolm.app-2023.04.02-17_56_57.png (Insert video dialog in MyMalcolm)

If you want to use some of the embed customisation options that YouTube and Vimeo offer you should use the full embed code from those platforms (rather than just pasting the URL). Paste their embed code into the lower part of the MyMalcolm insert video dialog.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/HwJyEPPI3q/resources/m6StT5M3j9/Screenshot%202018-11-08%2020.01.41.png (Screenshot 2018-11-08 20.01.41.png)

For Workflows add a content element to your Workflow, then in the Workflow builder click to edit the content element and hit the video icon. This will bring up the same dialog as above.