Question 1

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 -

Question 2

How do I create a Frequently Asked Question (FAQ)?

Accepted Answer

Within MyMalcolm go the FAQ Section and click "Create a FAQ" towards to the top right of the screen.

This will bring up the "compose your question and answer" dialogue. Here you can input the question, an optional brief summary answer (used in search and browse results) and your full answer. For tips on how to write a good FAQ click here.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/HwJyEPPI3q/resources/FrnZFuskaf/screenshot-my.malcolm.app-2019.07.29-21_44_58.png (Compose FAQ in MyMalcolm)

When composing your FAQ you can use the formating controls in the "full answer" box or directly enter Markdown. Markdown is a great way of quickly adding formatting to textual content. If you've not used it before it can take a minute or two to get used to it but it's very fast to work with once you have got the hang of it. You can click the "Need help with Markdown?" button bottom left anytime for a quick reference Markdown guide.

You can see what your FAQ will look like to your users by pressing the "Preview" button top right. When you have written your content press "Next: Configure" to move onto the configuration options for your FAQ.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/HwJyEPPI3q/resources/vDpsP666Gj/screenshot-my.malcolm.app-2019.07.29-22_20_03.png (Configure FAQ in MyMalcolm)

In this area you can control various things about your FAQ such as whether an author is shown, what the URL is, your choice of tags, whether the feedback form is enabled and the category or categories the FAQ lives in. You also have various options around whether the FAQ can be seen by search engines, is password protected or not and can be found or not via the Malcolm! search/browse capability. You can even set the FAQ (or versions of it) to publish and un-publish automatically at certain dates and time in the future.

Watch a video guide to creating an FAQ below.

Question 3

What are featured boxes and how can I use them?

Accepted Answer

Featured boxes are part of your hosted hub theme and are very flexible multi purpose content areas that appear on 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 written an FAQ about your holiday opening hours and want to draw attention to it use a featured box!

On our own Malcolm! Help & Support Hub the "Using Malcolm! and need help?" and "What do you think of Malcolm?" are featured boxes.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/HwJyEPPI3q/resources/Y5JjW8JNLu/screenshot-support.malcolm.support-2022.08.03-06_26_45.png (Featured boxes on Malcolm!)

Featured boxes on Malcolm!

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

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/HwJyEPPI3q/resources/btIcIfywWZ/screenshot-my.malcolm.app-2022.08.03-06_29_33.png (Featured boxes management in MyMalcolm)

Featured boxes management in MyMalcolm

You can place featured boxes in the header area and/or body area of the page and choose a display type by row or columns.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/HwJyEPPI3q/resources/YYqGBI2Bcx/screenshot-my.malcolm.app-2022.08.03-06_42_25.png (Arrange featured boxes by row or column)

Arrange featured boxes by row or column

When creating a featured box you have various options such as uploading your own icons or choosing one of ours, plus configuring links

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/HwJyEPPI3q/resources/aYsKuoqfAg/screenshot-my.malcolm.app-2022.08.03-06_41_53.png (Adding a featured box in MyMalcolm)

Adding a featured box in MyMalcolm

Also see promos for similar functionality that enables you to create and manage content at the bottom of your hosted hub home page.

Question 4

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 5

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:

To pull in external GIFs use the following Markdown syntax: ![Image Description](https://media.giphy.com/media/QpWDP1YMziaQw/source.gif)

The above Markdown results in this:

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

Have fun!

Question 6

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)

Sign up for an account at Make if you don't already have one - it is free - or login if you do have an account.
In Make click "Create a new scenario".
Search or browse to the third party app/s or service/s you wish to link to your Workflow, select them, then click continue.
You will then find yourself in new scenario dialogue of Make. This is where you connect Make to Malcolm! and also your third party apps or services (ie by providing your credentials). Note that Make calls the connection to Malcolm! a webhook.
You then set up the sort of interactions you want to happen when a Malcolm! Workflow is completed. For example you may wish to connect to Google Sheets and have a new row containing the data submitted each time a Workflow is completed. There are also many other powerful options and settings that can be configured from this area. For more detals see Make's guides.

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 7

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 You can now change this by connecting Malcolm! to your Mailgun or SendGrid account.

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 8

How do I use Zapier to connect Malcolm! to other applications or services I use?

Accepted Answer

Malcolm! now plugs into Zapier. Zapier 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/Zx8IUcIpAF/zapier-fb-2022%402x.png (Malcolm! plugs into Zapier)

In the context of Malcolm! this means that when a Workflow is completed you can use our Zapier integration to route some or all of the data that has been collected from that Workflow through into Zapier 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 Zapier.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/HwJyEPPI3q/resources/0kJ1vTGUV4/screenshot-my.malcolm.app-2022.08.11-12_17_47.png (Zapier in Malcolm! Integrations)

In the overlay you'll have an option to choose some featured popular Zapier / Malcolm! integrations or to proceed to Zapier.com to create from scratch.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/HwJyEPPI3q/resources/GcKFNwccoc/screenshot-my.malcolm.app-2022.08.11-12_18_11.png (Make a Zap in MyMalcolm)

Sign up for an account at Zapier if you don't already have one - it is free - or login if you do have an account.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/HwJyEPPI3q/resources/WZcsX7PoBM/screenshot-zapier.com-2021.02.08-12_32_31.png (Malcolm! on Zapier)

Your trigger app should be Malcolm! and you want it to trigger on a new Workflow completion so hit "Save + Continue" once you have selected this option.
You now need to connect your Malcolm! instance to your Zapier account - click "Connect an Account" and follow the instructions. Once connected click "Save and Continue".
Choose a workflow then "Continue".
Wait for a sample to load and then click "Continue".
Choose an action App of your choice and configure as required - the exact process will vary from action App to action App but you are likely to need to agree some permissions and choose some options. Once done click "Save + Continue" or "Finish".
You will then be able to name your Zap and choose whether it is on or not.
Back in MyMalcolm, if you find the Workflow you used in your Zap in the Library, select it, then go to Configure then Integrations you should be able to see Zapier has 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).

Remember that Malcolm! always stores your data (which you can download anytime) - so if Zapier 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 Zapier - 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 9

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. You can configure the exact wording that is used on the password request screen in MyMalcolm! The user will then remain logged in for the remainder of their session. Sessions typically end when the user closes their web browser or after a long period of inactivity.

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 10

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:

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/HwJyEPPI3q/resources/zuZIYB7cmN/02%20-%20screenshot-my.malcolm.app-2019.10.16-13_56_58.png (Assigning tags to an FAQ in MyMalcolm)