Launch a Zinc Conversation from a Form
This recipe shows you how to configure options that enable front-line workers to launch Zinc conversations from a form.
Available on all tiers:
Prerequisites
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In your Zinc app, create a bot or hotline group for your Official Group.
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Take note of the email address associated with your bot or hotline as shown in the following examples:
Scenario
During a site inspection, front-line workers may need guidance from a product or service specific Hotline as defined in Zinc. You can configure Help Options Help Options are ways to add help content, such as YouTube videos, web pages, text, or images, to questions in a form. Mobile users simply tap the help icon next to a question to see the help that the form designer provided. that enable front-line workers to launch Zinc conversations from the TrueContext forms.
Zinc Hotlines are powered by bots. When someone sends a message to a hotline, they are actually sending a message to a Hotline Bot. The Hotline Bot is a participant in the conversation and when it receives a message it creates a request. Using the same configuration, you could also launch a conversation with an Official Group (by referencing a Bot token), or an individual participant.
Steps to Start Zinc Conversations from TrueContext
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Navigate to the form that you want to configure.
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Select a form question you want to add Help Options to.
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Go to the Help Options tab, and switch on Provide help to mobile users.
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Select Web Link, and then enter the Web URL.
In this example, the URL is https://zinc-app.com/cnv?participants=n03zfhzpn0vidfyv@bots.zincit.io, where
n03zfhzpn0vidfyv@bots.zincit.io
is the email address of the Zinc bot.Note: Make sure you replace the example email address with the email address of your bot or hotline.
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Select Save.
Tip:Remember to Save and Deploy the form when you’re ready to make it available to your field users.
Result: When a front-line worker selects the configured help option, a New Message opens in Zinc.
Info:The Zinc topic Using Conversation Deep Links provides query parameters for launching different types of Zinc conversations.