Last updated: 2021-06-18

Source: https://support.freshdesk.com/support/solutions/articles/195412-the-google-hangouts-app-part-2-for-customers

The Google Hangouts App: Part 2 - For Customers

Note: This feature is currently not available on Freshdesk Mint.

Your customers can initiate a hangout with your agents right from their ticket in the Freshdesk support portal. This way, your agents and customers can set up a time for a hangout session and troubleshoot problems easily.

Quick guide to set up a hangout widget on the end user portal

  • Login to your support portal as an administrator.
  • Go to Admin > Channels > Portals
  • Click on the Customize portal button on the top fold.
  • In the Portal customization page, click on the Layouts & Pages tab.
  • In the Portal layout tab, paste this javascript code in the footer section, above the existing code:

    • ``` {% if portal.current_page == "ticket_view" %}   {% assign email_flag = false %}   {% if ticket.agent.email == null %}     {% for ticket in portal.user.recent_tickets %}         {% if ticket.agent.email != null %}             {% assign agent_email = ticket.agent.email %}             {% break %}         {% endif %} {% if forloop.last %}           {% assign email_flag = true %}         {% endif %}     {% endfor %}   {% else %}         {% assign agent_email = ticket.agent.email %}   {% endif %}

      {% if email_flag == false %}     <style>       .google_hangout{         margin-bottom: 15px;       }       .google_hangout h3{         margin-bottom: 10px;       }     </style>

        <script type="text/javascript">

          jQuery('body').append ('<div class="google_hangout" id="google_hangout">' +  '<h3 class="heading">Google Hangout with agent</h3>' + '<div id="placeholder-div"></div>' +  '</div>');       jQuery('#ticket-sidebar-details .lead').before(jQuery('#google_hangout'));

          window.___gcfg = {         lang: 'en-US'       };       (function() {         var po = document.createElement('script'); po.type = 'text/javascript'; po.async = true; po.src = 'https://apis.google.com/js/platform.js?onload=renderButtons'; var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(po, s); })();

    function renderButtons(){ gapi.hangout.render('placeholder-div', { 'render': 'createhangout', 'invites' : "[{'id': '{{agent_email}}','invite_type': 'EMAIL'}]", 'initial_apps': "[{'app_id' : '184219133185', 'start_data' : 'dQw4w9WgXcQ', 'app_type' : 'ROOM_APP' }]",  'widget_size': 72 }); } </script>   {% endif %}

    {% endif %} ```

  • You can preview this change and then click on Save and Publish for the changes to reflect immediately.
  • Now when your customers log on to your helpdesk and check their tickets, they can see a hangout button right next to it.

  • Your customer can click on the Start button to initiate the hangout with the agent assigned to their ticket, in a pre-defined time

    • Learn how to set up a hangout widget in the tickets page for agent to initiate the hangout.

    Requirements

  • A customer can only initiate hangout with the agent who has been assigned to their ticket or the agent who was assigned to his recent ticket (last 5 tickets will be considered). If the customer's ticket is unassigned the hangout widget will not be shown.
  • The agent and the customer should be logged into Freshdesk with a Gmail account.
  • The agent and the customer should be online in the hangout time agreed upon.

    • Learn more on the features available in hangouts like screen sharing and remote assistance that your agents can use to troubleshoot.