Question 1

What are Integrations?

Accepted Answer

Integrations are a way of passing data you collect in a Malcolm! Workflow into other third party software or systems.

We currently offer integrations with:

Plus over 1,500 over apps via Zapier (more info here) and Make (formerly Integromat) (more info here).

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/HwJyEPPI3q/resources/v5lAa3NjkY/zapier-fb%402x.png (Malcolm! Integrations)

Configuring Integrations

Once you have created your Workflow, go to the Configure section and select Integrations. There you can link your third party accounts at our integration partners to your Malcolm! Instance by providing your credentials. Once your accounts are linked you can configure integrations with that partner and choose the data from your Workflow that is passed across. You can configure whether data is passed on every Workflow completion or only when certain conditions are met. It is possible to have multiple integrations so, for example, you could create a form which collected details from a new customer including a copy of their ID. You could then subscribe that new customer to a Mailchimp mailing list and store their uploaded ID documents in your Dropbox account by creating two integrations.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/HwJyEPPI3q/resources/5KmZGb3Q9Q/screenshot-my.malcolm.app-2019.08.06-19_50_53.png (Integrations in MyMalcolm)

Customer Consent

A reminder that it is good practice - and in certain territories a legal requirement - to ensure that your customers actively consent to their data being passed to third party companies who, like Malcolm!, act as data processors on your behalf. You act as the data controller. Most companies handle this consent via provisions in their Privacy Policy which their customers agree to. It is good practice therefore to include a check box in your Workflows that reminds customers of your Privacy Policy and their continuing agreement of it.

Integration Failures

Sometimes integrations may fail. This could be for a variety of reasons, for example the integration partner's API's may be down and/or there may be a problem with your account at the third party provider (for example your Dropbox account may be over quota).

Firstly don't worry re losing customer data - Malcolm! will always store any user submitted data so if there is a problem with an integration

When a problem occurs we'll create a notification to let you know and periodically retry the integration. You can review the Integration logs and retry a failed integration event manually via MyMalcolm (navigate to the Workflow via Library then select Integration logs).

More Integrations coming soon!

We will be adding more and more integrations to Malcolm! in the coming months. If there is a particular integration you'd like us to add please let us know.

Question 2

What are invisible tags and how do I use them?

Accepted Answer

Invisible tags are a useful way you can influence search results. Like normal tags they will contribute to search ranking of an FAQ, but they won't be shown on the front-end to your users. If you therefore want a particular phrase to return a particular FAQ but your content doesn't feature that phrase or is being out ranked by another FAQ invisible tags can help.

You can make current tags invisible or set up new invisible tags in MyMalcolm via FAQs / Tags:

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/HwJyEPPI3q/resources/xOq4M1EP9q/01%20-%20screenshot-my.malcolm.app-2019.10.16-13_56_00.png (Creating an invisible tag)

You then apply tags as usual via the configure area of the individual FAQ:

Question 3

Can I turn the spell checker in MyMalcolm off?

Accepted Answer

As you type content in the MyMalcolm FAQ markdown editor your text is automatically spell checked - words that are not recognised by the spell check are highlighted in red. To turn this feature off click the "x" symbol in the "Full answer" area of "Compose your question and answer"

Question 4

Can I pass secure values into Malcolm! Workflows via the URL?

Accepted Answer

Passing data into a Workflow via the URL is a feature we've had for a while - read more - but what if the data you want to pass is confidential?

Understandably, you wouldn't want to pass that straight in. Luckily Malcolm! understands how important protecting your data is so we've come up with a solution that allows values to travel safe and secure with minimal effort!

A beginners guide to encryption

Suppose you have a value, such as an account number, that you don't want anyone else to read. Encryption provides a way to scramble this value so only you and the people you share the password or secret key with can read it.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/HwJyEPPI3q/resources/FR8yDloV2d/encryption-diagram.png (encryption-diagram.png)

The sender uses the secret key to scramble the original value and the encrypted value is sent to the receiver. On receipt of the encrypted value the receiver uses the same secret key to unscramble the value back to the original.

And that's encryption in a nutshell!

Step 1: Generate a secret key

The secret key can be any string you like, but Malcolm! recommends using a random string of at least 36 characters. A simple ruby command can quickly generate one for you.

Keep your secret key safe - you'll need it later!

Step 2: Share your secret key with Malcolm!

We do this via the Workflow Builder. Any question field that supports URL query values can now be secured with your secret key - e.g. text fields, hidden fields, number fields, email address fields, etc.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/HwJyEPPI3q/resources/g6hGpX1dvl/Screenshot%202021-11-10%20at%2013.43.37.png (Screenshot 2021-11-10 at 13.43.37.png)

Here's a simple example which starts with a text field renamed to "Account number".

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/HwJyEPPI3q/resources/b4uJV41azB/Screenshot%202021-11-10%20at%2013.51.53.png (Screenshot 2021-11-10 at 13.51.53.png)

To enable URL values open up the edit window, scroll to the bottom and turn on "Allow a value to be set in URL query". Malcolm! will automatically generate a query name for you but you can change it to something different if you prefer.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/HwJyEPPI3q/resources/7OhxX21Mdq/Screenshot%202021-11-10%20at%2013.52.01.png (Screenshot 2021-11-10 at 13.52.01.png)

Next turn on the "Secure the query value" and paste in your secret key.

Hit save and that completes the configuration!

Step 3: Encrypting values

Malcolm! uses OpenSSL and the "aes-128-gcm" cipher to decrypt values.

Passed values need to be encoded and made up of three parts -

The Initialisation Vector used during the encryption
The Authentication Tag resulting from AEAD ciphers
The encrypted string

Initialisation Vectors are generated using the OpenSSL rand function. For our chosen cipher these need to be exactly 12 bytes long. If using PHP you can use the openssl_random_pseudo_bytes function.

Why 12 bytes? This just happens to be the required length for our chosen cipher. In PHP you can verify this by using the openssl_cipher_iv_length function.

This will output -

Next use the OpenSSL enc function to create the encrypted string. Here's an example using the PHP openssl_encrypt function.

This will assign an Authentication Tag to the $tag variable (passed by reference) and an encrypted string to the $ciphertext variable.

Note - in PHP we pass OPENSSL_RAW_DATA to generate binary data.

Complete the process by concatenating $iv, $tag and $cipertext into a single string - Malcolm! needs all three for the decryption process!

As we're passing this value via the URL we need to first encode it. Use a Base 64 encoder followed by a URL encoder to ensure all the characters are sent correctly. In PHP this is the base64_encode function and urlencode functions respectively.

This is the final encoded string!

For simplicity all the steps from above can be put in a single function.

And that's all there is to it ;)

Question 5

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.

Question 6

What are promos and how can I use them?

Accepted Answer

Promos are part of your hosted hub theme and are very flexible multi purpose content areas that appear towards the bottom of your hosted hub homepage (and also your FAQs only and Workflows only home if you are using those).

You can use them to link to content within your Malcolm! instance, for example a particular category, tag, FAQ or Workflow and you can also use them to link out to content or functionality you may have elsewhere. They can be a great tactical tool as well, for example if you've a YouTube channel and want to draw attention to it use a promo!

On our own Malcolm! Help & Support Hub the "Upgrade your content" and "Hey there!" areas are promos.

Promos on Malcolm!

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/HwJyEPPI3q/resources/j0yBsWZi2d/screenshot-support.malcolm.support-2022.08.03-06_58_32.png (Promos on Malcolm!)

Promos on Malcolm!

Promos are created and managed via your theme (Brand --> Themes).

Promo management in MyMalcolm

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/HwJyEPPI3q/resources/6O1572FsqO/screenshot-my.malcolm.app-2022.08.03-07_03_19.png (Promo management in MyMalcolm)

Promo management in MyMalcolm

When creating a promo you have various options such as uploading your own background image, plus configuring links

Adding a promo in MyMalcolm

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/HwJyEPPI3q/resources/QnCg1Rjnpm/screenshot-my.malcolm.app-2022.08.03-07_03_59.png (Adding a promo in MyMalcolm)

Adding a promo in MyMalcolm

Also see featured boxes for similar functionality that enables you to create and manage content towards the top of your hosted hub home page.

Question 7

How to integrate with Mews using Workflow integrations

Accepted Answer

At Malcolm! HQ we continue to roll-out our built-in Workflow integrations, our most recent being the Mews Property Managamenet System.

Use a Malcolm! Workflow to capture information or record choices from your guest then have that data added to the guest notes in Mews. All you need from your guest is their Surname and Confirmation Number or a Reservation ID.

Connect to Mews

Get started in MyMalcolm by connecting to your Mews account via Settings > Workflows > Integrations using your Mews Client token and Access token.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/HwJyEPPI3q/resources/nV6HefCjKn/Screenshot%202022-03-28%20at%2009.59.27.png (Screenshot 2022-03-28 at 09.59.27.png)

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/HwJyEPPI3q/resources/31zLOc5PSh/Screenshot%202022-03-28%20at%2009.59.46.png (Screenshot 2022-03-28 at 09.59.46.png)

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/HwJyEPPI3q/resources/W5MGLxYUvx/Screenshot%202022-03-28%20at%2010.00.51.png (Screenshot 2022-03-28 at 10.00.51.png)

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/HwJyEPPI3q/resources/igxpR5jiUq/Screenshot%202022-03-28%20at%2010.01.04.png (Screenshot 2022-03-28 at 10.01.04.png)

Build the Workflow

Start a new Malcolm! Workflow and capture the guest Surname and Confirmation Number.

If you prefer a hidden Reservation ID could be passed in via the URL, for example using a link in a direct email to the guest. URL values can also be tokenised to hide their true value. Read more on Setting Workflow values in a URL and Securing Workflow values.

Finish by adding the fields you'd like to capture in guest profile notes.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/HwJyEPPI3q/resources/EzbeRogC4Y/Screenshot%202022-03-28%20at%2010.05.53.png (Screenshot 2022-03-28 at 10.05.53.png)

Configure the integration

From the builder head to Configure > Integrations and choose the Mews integration.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/HwJyEPPI3q/resources/itYnbSd00O/Screenshot%202022-03-28%20at%2010.06.31.png (Screenshot 2022-03-28 at 10.06.31.png)

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/HwJyEPPI3q/resources/l8M5UTXKsH/Screenshot%202022-03-28%20at%2010.06.45.png (Screenshot 2022-03-28 at 10.06.45.png)

Choose the "Add notes to a guest profile" action and your Mews booking service.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/HwJyEPPI3q/resources/fy8HASkjMf/Screenshot%202022-03-28%20at%2010.07.03.png (Screenshot 2022-03-28 at 10.07.03.png)

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/HwJyEPPI3q/resources/QD16dElxZr/Screenshot%202022-03-28%20at%2010.07.09.png (Screenshot 2022-03-28 at 10.07.09.png)

Connect up your Malcolm! Workflow fields.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/HwJyEPPI3q/resources/QPrIZSUn6F/Screenshot%202022-03-28%20at%2010.07.39.png (Screenshot 2022-03-28 at 10.07.39.png)

Finish by enabling the integration and saving.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/HwJyEPPI3q/resources/zfnYbaPohW/Screenshot%202022-03-28%20at%2010.56.56.png (Screenshot 2022-03-28 at 10.56.56.png)

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/HwJyEPPI3q/resources/vISxJiGvRj/Screenshot%202022-03-28%20at%2010.07.53.png (Screenshot 2022-03-28 at 10.07.53.png)

We hope you enjoy using this new integration. If you have any feedback or questions please get in touch below or via support@malcolm.app.

Question 8

Can I enable reCAPTCHA on my Workflows or FAQs?

Accepted Answer

We now support using Google reCAPTCHA on your Workflows and FAQs/Articles.

When enabled, this will offer protection against spam completions of your Workflows and (if you are using them) the submit feedback and send FAQ/Article by email functionality within Malcolm!

You can find out more about Google reCAPTCHA here.

We support:

reCAPTCHA v3
reCAPTCHA v2 - Invisible
reCAPTCHA v2 - Tickbox

You can enable and configure reCAPTCHA for Workflows and/or FAQs independently. So, for example, you could enable reCAPTCHA protection for Workflows but not FAQs. You could also use a different version of reCAPTCHA for Workflows and FAQs.

You can turn reCAPTCHA on via:

Settings --> FAQs --> reCAPTCHA
Settings --> Workflows --> re CAPTCHA

Start by registering your instance with Google which you can do here.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/HwJyEPPI3q/resources/xynNm0rZqV/screenshot-my.malcolm.app-2023.04.16-22_02_50.png (Setting up reCAPTCHA in MyMalcolm)

Our dialog will show you the information you need to add to Google's interface. You can then paste the credentials you receive back from Google into MyMalcolm.

When enabled, ReCAPTCHA will work across all formats (ie content on your hosted hub, widgets, overlays and embeds).

Question 9

How do I pay for Malcolm?

Accepted Answer

Malcolm! billing is based on Instances. You can read more about Instances here.

You can see our pricing here.

You can read more about VAT and how we apply it here.

We currently bill in UK Pound Sterling and US Dollars.

At the time of writing we accept Visa and Mastercard. We also accept Paypal through which you can use American Express. We don't currently accept Bitcoin :-)

Plans are paid monthly in advance. When you trial ends (or if you end your trial early and remove the restrictions) we'll ask for your card details and every month we will automatically take payment unless you cancel. If your card expires or the payment fails we will send you a number of automated emails to ask you to update your details. If no action is taken after a grace period we will stop serving your content (ie your FAQ's and Workflows) and after a further grace period we will delete your Instance.

Enterprise plans are more bespoke in nature and are negotiated on a per client basis. These can also be paid by credit or debit card but it's more typical for clients to pay quarterly or annually via invoice and bank transfers.

Question 10

Can I put Malcolm! Widget code into another site via Google Tag Manager?

Accepted Answer

If you are using Google Tag Manager on a site or application it is very easy to deploy the Malcolm! widget into that property via GTM.

Here is a step by step guide:

Set up your widget in the Share section of MyMalcolm (there is a guide here) and copy the embed code to your clipboard
In GTM click "Add a new Tag"
In Tag Configuration select a "custom HTML" tag type
Paste in the embed code from your clipboard
You don't need to support document.write
For your trigger use page view on all pages (assuming you want the widget to appear on all pages)