Question 1

Can I change the sender and email address in the emails Malcolm! sends my customers?

Accepted Answer

Malcolm! can send emails to your customers/users in the following situations:

Workflow email answers where you have configured the email answer to be sent to the email address specified in the Workflow
Email this answer functionality on an FAQ
Sending the resume later Workflow link
Payment confirmation email

By default these emails come from the sender "Malcolm!" with the email address noreply@malcolm.app

To do this, goto Settings --> Instance --> Emails and toggle Custom email sending to be active. You can then supply your Mailgun or SendGrid credentials and specify your desired sender name and email address.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/HwJyEPPI3q/resources/3dFvKHsdpC/screenshot-my.malcolm.app-2022.01.02-18_57_32.png (Adding MailGun or SendGrid credentials in MyMalcolm)

You can also change the look and feel of these emails - please see this FAQ for further details.

Question 2

Can I change the branding in the emails Malcolm! sends my customers?

Accepted Answer

Malcolm! can send emails to your customers/users in the following situations:

Workflow email answers where you have configured the email answer to be sent to the email address specified in the Workflow
Email this answer functionality on an FAQ
Sending the resume later Workflow link
Payment confirmation email

You can now change the look and feel of those emails via the Brand area. Look for email themes.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/HwJyEPPI3q/resources/0D5dCKZING/screenshot-my.malcolm.app-2022.01.02-19_19_53.png (Editing Email themes in MyMalcolm 1)

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/HwJyEPPI3q/resources/yf8EflQ8bg/screenshot-my.malcolm.app-2022.01.02-19_20_16.png (Editing Email themes in MyMalcolm 2)

By default the emails will come from "Malcolm!" with the email address noreply@malcolm.app but you can change this - see this FAQ for further details.

Please note you cannot change the look and feel nor the sender of the system alert emails that Malcolm! sends to the instance owner and your instance team members.

See a video walkthrough below:

Question 3

Is there a way a user can browse all my FAQs/Articles bypassing Categories?

Accepted Answer

On your hosted hub your users can search for FAQs/Article content by keyword, browse various filtered views (eg most recent, most helpful etc) and also browse the FAQs/Articles within each category.

It can sometimes be useful to offer your users a browsable view of all your FAQ/Articles (regardless of the category/categories they are in) and this is possible via the directory view.

You can enable this Settings --> FAQs --> General where you you can also decide how you want the content on the directory page to be sorted.

When switched on the directory page can be accessed on your hosted hub URL at /faqs/directory and you can create a link to it from a feature box or promo or from text areas like your homepage preamble (all managed from within your theme).

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/HwJyEPPI3q/resources/rb5fS303OE/Screenshot-2021-11-26-at-15.10.19.png (Directory Setting in MyMalcolm)

The directory will also show all the categories towards the top of the page (clicking any of these will take you into the category view) and then FAQs/Articles beneath sorted in the order determined in MyMalcolm.

See the below video for a walk through

Question 4

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 5

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 6

Can I organise or filter my Workflow completions?

Accepted Answer

You can filter your Workflow completions, assign a status and also add notes.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/HwJyEPPI3q/resources/jPMzrSqIJg/screenshot-my.malcolm.app-2021.08.27-17_20_31%20b.png (Browse Workflow completions in MyMalcolm)

This can be really useful if you want to use the Completion screens like a mini CRM - you can categorise or mark your completions to organise them in a certain way. For example you may want to apply the status "Done" or "Processed" to certain Workflows and "Follow Up" to others.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/HwJyEPPI3q/resources/9ZHHjnH6sB/screenshot-my.malcolm.app-2021.08.27-17_21_37.png (Set a status for Workflows in MyMalcolm)

You can also add notes to a Workflow completion that your Team can see. A handy notes icon will appear in the Completions list to show notes exist.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/HwJyEPPI3q/resources/f1zeN8GXfK/screenshot-my.malcolm.app-2021.08.27-17_21_03.png (Add notes to Workflow completions in MyMalcolm)

You can have filter controls at the top right of the completions screen.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/HwJyEPPI3q/resources/CXIgS6IXpJ/screenshot-my.malcolm.app-2021.08.27-17_22_03.png (Filter completions controls in MyMalcolm)

See a video walkthrough of these features below

Question 7

Can I change the order in which FAQs are shown when a user browses a category, tag or author listing?

Accepted Answer

You can change the order your FAQs are sorted in when your users view by author, category or tag via Settings --> FAQs --> General.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/HwJyEPPI3q/resources/evapRB3yn5/screenshot-my.malcolm.app-2021.06.29-16_30_20.png (Author, category and tag sort order in MyMalcolm)

In addition to this you can also set an absolute order for FAQs within a particular category. To do this go to the category in question in FAQs --> Categories and select Reorder. You can then drag the FAQs to create the order you want.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/HwJyEPPI3q/resources/RibhVyjiBt/Screenshot%202021-10-11%20at%2010.40.21.png (Reorder the FAQs in a category in MyMalcolm)

Note that these settings only affects listings, not searches. Searches are ordered by relevance.

If you want to be able to set an absolute for FAQs within an author or tag listing the way to do this is to set the date sort option, then in the individual FAQ configure tab use the display date to determine an order. The FAQ with the most recent date will be shown first in an author, or tag listing - and also in a category listing unless overridden using the absolute method above. The FAQ with the second most recent date will be shown second and so on.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/HwJyEPPI3q/resources/44K839GO3Z/screenshot-my.malcolm.app-2021.06.30-15_14_49.png (Display date in FAQ configure tab)

Note that if you set the display date to invisible either globally in Settings or individually on an FAQ's configure tab the date won't show on the front end to your customers/users but the date you set will still be relevant in determining the order in which the FAQs displays.

See the video below for a walkthrough

Question 8

How can I use Stripe with Malcolm! to collect payment from my customers?

Accepted Answer

Malcolm! now integrates with Stripe. Stripe is a payment service provider that enables business owners to collect payment from their customers.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/HwJyEPPI3q/resources/UDbFKeLChy/stripe%402x.png (Stripe and Malcolm!)

With our Stripe integration you can create Workflows in Malcolm! that include fields for your customers to enter their card details and pay for things like products, services, memberships etc or perhaps make a donation towards something.

Here is how to set things up:

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/HwJyEPPI3q/resources/aioqQzmd4C/screenshot-connect.stripe.com-2021.05.28-17_36_24.png (Connecting Stripe to Malcolm!)

Once you have linked your Stripe account you can create Workflows via the Workflow section as usual and place payment related elements onto those Workflows. Two particular elements to pay attention to are Currency and Payments

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/HwJyEPPI3q/resources/SlnkSg4slf/screenshot-my.malcolm.app-2021.05.28-18_08_18.png (Currency and Payment elements in MyMalcolm)

Payments is the element where your customer will provider their card details. You can configure the amount your customer is charged via the Payment element settings, or you can optionally ask the customer to enter their own amount via the Currency field - this can be useful in scenarios like donations or account payments where you may wish to offer the customer the choice of the amount to pay.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/HwJyEPPI3q/resources/tJtuV3NgUY/screenshot-my.malcolm.app-2021.05.28-18_12_35.png (Settings for the Payment element in MyMalcolm)

If you also collect your customers email (and Name) in the Workflow you can optionally use that information to send them a payment confirmation email. You can configre and customise this via the Payment element settings.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/HwJyEPPI3q/resources/sZjKbFViLz/screenshot-my.malcolm.app-2021.05.28-18_11_48.png (Configuring payment confirmation emails in MyMalcolm)

You can place the Payment element on any page of your Workflow, but the actual payment transaction will not be attempted until the final submit of your Workflow. If there is a problem with the payment details your customer will be returned to the page with Payment element on it and given a chance to update their details and proceed back through the Workflow.

You can see a video walkthrough below.

And there you have it! Taking payments via Stripe is a really powerful and quick to implement feature of Malcolm! Workflows. Taking payments will also work when the Workflow is surfaced via our embeds, widgets and overlays too! If you have questions or need a hand setting things up just contact us and we'll be happy to help.

Question 9

How do I use Make (formerly Integromat) to connect Malcolm! to other applications or services I use?

Accepted Answer

Malcolm! now integrates with Make (formerly Integromat). Make is an integration platform - it connects thousands of apps to other apps.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/HwJyEPPI3q/resources/0HPOpP331Q/make.jpg (Malcolm! and Make)

In the context of Malcolm! this means that when a Workflow is completed you can use our Make integration to route some or all of the data that has been collected from that Workflow through into Make and then in turn onto thousands of other apps or services.

Here is how to set things up:

Firstly set up and publish a workflow in Malcolm! that collects the data you wish to move into other applications.
In MyMalcolm go to the Settings Section, then Workflows, then Integrations, then click on Make.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/HwJyEPPI3q/resources/9ZMkRdBXkW/screenshot-my.malcolm.app-2022.05.24-11_51_26.png (Make in MyMalcolm)

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/HwJyEPPI3q/resources/gh0ZuJlWP4/Screenshot%202021-05-01%20at%2011.26.37.png (Creating a scenario)

Once you have set things up, you can test the integration by clicking "Run Once" in the Make interface, then complete the Malcolm! Workflow in question. The actions you have configured in Make should then happen, or you may see details of errors that need correcting.
When you are happy you can then set the scenario to run immediately (ie each time a Workfow is completed) or periodically.
Back in MyMalcolm, if you find the Workflow you set up with Make in the Library, select it, then go to Configure then Integrations you should be able to see Make as been added. You can turn the integation off here if you want and/or configure it to be conditional (for example to only run when certain choices have been made on a Workflow).

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/HwJyEPPI3q/resources/hDb4itCeGp/screenshot-my.malcolm.app-2022.05.24-12_24_42.png (A set up Make integration in MyMalcolm)

You can also see a video walkthrough below:

Remember that Malcolm! always stores your data (which you can download anytime) - so if Make goes down or your integration doesn't seem to work properly no data will be lost.

We are hugely excited about the possibilities opened up via Make - we hope you are too! If you have questions or need a hand setting things up just contact us and we'll be happy to help.

Question 10

Can I open the web based version of an FAQ from a widget, overlay or inline embed?

Accepted Answer

You can turn on a link to the web based (hosted hub) version of each FAQ from within the widget, overlay or inline embed view of that FAQ via your embed theme.

Goto Brand --> Embeds --> The edit icon on the Emend Theme --> Scroll to the bottom of that screen.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/HwJyEPPI3q/resources/NcUhlNGNYG/Screenshot%202021-03-22%20at%2009.13.29.png (How to turn on the link to web based FAQ feature in MyMalcolm)

Watch the video below for more information!