Webdogs 3.0 » gmail

Integrating Gmail and Google Groups with the Pika CMS

Brian Lawlor — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 22:15:19 +0000

A few weeks back the project team uploaded a complete version 4 code set to the LSNC Google API Project. This latest version is inclusive of four Google Apps core app integrations — Google Calendar, Google Docs, Gmail and Google Groups with the Pika CMS. This is the same project I described during my recent presentation at the 2012 TIG Conference in Albuquerque. As I noted there, we are spending the next few weeks doing expanded beta testing with users across varied positions and office locations within Legal Services of Northern California (LSNC). We expect to deploy all four integrations throughout the organization by the end of February.

In earlier posts I have described how the Google Calendar integration and Google Docs integration work. The short version is that, by exploiting the Google Apps APIs for Google Calendar and Google Docs, we have been able to implement a seamless synchronization between the Pika CMS calendar and document posting functions with Google Calendar and Google Docs. Pika CMS users need do nothing differently than what they are already doing to have tickler calendar events show up in their Google Calendars, or have case-related files uploaded to Pika show up in a case-specific shared collection in Google Docs.

The new Gmail integration in version 4 is arguably the most important of the four integrations. The basic user problem has been this: Everyone within LSNC — like most everyone else on professional planet Earth — day-in and day-out relies on email to accomplish their work. In our case, advocates regularly communicate with clients, co-counsel, opposing counsel, public and private individuals and entities and, of course, other LSNC staffers. But how are they to get those Gmail messages into case-related case notes in Pika? At the moment, what they do is cut-n-paste, again and again and again without end. The Gmail integration is designed to simplify that process so that users, from within a Gmail message or the entire conversation, can seamlessly post the content of Gmail messages to a client-specific case record automatically, without the need to open Pika.

To accomplish this, we have embedded a new Gmail widget that displays at the bottom of every Gmail message. Below is a screenshot of a developer version of the integration, with the gadget labeled as “TKLAPP Staging Pika – Attach to Case Notes.”

The default behavior of this gadget is to automatically copy the currently viewed Gmail message to the case notes in the selected client case record. To trigger that functionality, users toggle the gadget to display a dialog with a search option to locate any currently open client case record in Pika. Two tabs are available, one to search the user’s assigned active (open) cases and the other to search more broadly all cases active (open) throughout the organization. Once users select a case record, they have two check-box options: one to save any files attached to the Gmail message, which are automatically uploaded to the Pika case record and simultaneously synchronized to the user’s Google Docs account; the other to copy the entire Gmail conversation (Google’s name for an email message thread). Users can then simply click the “Attach to Case” button to seamlessly copy the Gmail message to the case record.

But wait… there’s more!

The gadget also offers an alternate input button allowing the user to “Edit and Attach to Case.” Clicking that button invokes a pop-up window with the Gmail message copied over to Google Docs for editing before the content is posted to Pika. The user can edit the single Gmail message or conversation as is their wont and then click on “Attach to Case” in the editing window to post the edited content to Pika. Done. Without ever having opened Pika.

The Google Groups integration works on the same premise as the Gmail integration, with the approach being to enable users to automatically copy a Groups discussion automatically to a Pika case record. The Groups solution is less elegant, however. Going into this project we made the mistaken assumption that, like the other Google Apps core applications, there was a Google API for Groups, but there is not. Google Groups has no exposed web API. So we did a workaround. The Google Groups integration with Pika requires the user add a custom bookmarklet to the browser bookmarks toolbar. Once that is set up, the user can go to a Business Groups discussion within our domain, click on the bookmarklet and trigger a set of dialogs directly analogous to how the Gmail integration works, with the ability to search for a specific client case record and then “attach” or “edit and attach” the content of the discussion message. (Google Groups no longer allows file attachments to discussion group messages, so there is no option to attach files.)

For those interested in this code set, you can anticipate there will be some minor updates to the code set over the next month or two as we fix quirks that emerge from our further beta testing. There is also an updated guide to installation coming soon.

Thanks again to everyone who attended the TIG presentation. It was encouraging to see how much interest there was within the larger legal services community in this project. My prediction is that within a few years we will all look back at this coding project as somewhat quaint, only a first step in many to come as we all increasingly rely on the Google Apps platform and work more with the Google API to take full advantage of it.

Create an SPF record for your Google Apps domain

Brian Lawlor — Thu, 18 Nov 2010 00:41:21 +0000

Recently, we moved all our organization’s discussion groups over from the consumer version of Google Groups to the Google Apps version. One of the features we particularly like about the Google Groups integration into Google Apps is the option for nesting one group within another. This nesting option has made maintaining membership lists among multiple substantive discussion groups way, way easier. For example, we keep a master list of all LSNC advocates in one group, and then we nest that group within other groups, to deliver messages to our housing discussion group, and our health discussion group, and so on. This eliminates the need to maintain duplicate membership lists across multiple substantive groups that have, essentially, the same members.

But when we first set this all up, we encountered a technical problem that we did not even notice for several weeks until a pattern revealed itself: Some (but not all) group messages to some (but not all) groups were not being delivered to some (but not all) members. Yipes!

To its considerable credit, Google Enterprise responded swiftly to our request for technical support on this issue. As it turns out, the solution to the problem was quite simple: We needed to create a Sender Policy Framework (SPF) record for our domain, something that Google Enterprise specifically recommends but which we had not implemented. Doing so involved a simple update to our domain’s DNS records.

Within a day of those changes, the delivery problems disappeared. Problem solved. Lesson learned.

Gmail offline comes to Google Apps

Brian Lawlor — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 18:53:45 +0000

We wanted you to be the 878,444th person to know, so we’re going to post it here:

Google Enterprise today announced the arrival of offline Gmail, the latest feature in the Labs settings of Google Apps Gmail. It ain’t perfect, but basically works.

Gmail workaday: The sequel

Brian Lawlor — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 15:26:06 +0000

As suggested last week, Gmail seems to be emerging as the prevailing point of engagement for many of us using Google Apps. As if on cue, today Lifehacker highlighted the Integrated Gmail Firefox extension that loads any Google App inside Gmail. Not that I am recommending that particular extension. But it goes in the same Google Apps direction so many of us are going, namely, relying on the Gmail UI as the point of first entry to Google Apps.

Gmail as your workaday gateway

Brian Lawlor — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 08:08:32 +0000

It has been fascinating to watch the evolution of the user interface changes as the various Google Apps and other Google tools evolve, and none more so than Gmail. Email, uh, Gmail is the core web application for Google Apps users. They may or may not regularly use Google Docs or Google Chat or Google Sites or Google Reader, whatever… but you can pretty much count on your organization’s users relying on the Gmail interface to get basic work done. And with steady additions to the Gmail Labs features and now direct gadget integration into the Gmail interface — for example, the recent additions of Calendar and Docs gadgets that display directly within Gmail – the Gmail UI is evolving as a primary workaday dashboard for integrating and accessing an array of Google applications and tools.

Here’s a particularly interesting description of how one person does it: Making Gmail Your Gateway to the Web. You could make the case that what he really needs to do is get a life, but regardless he has come up with several very smart and creative ways to exploit Gmail to help organize, access and communicate.

Google Chrome = My browser for reading Gmail

Brian Lawlor — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 12:52:01 +0000

Whatever else Google Chrome is, one very gratifying experience today is how much faster it handles my AJAX-heavy Gmail app, which can so often and so annoyingly load pages so slowly. I have never, ever seen Gmail pages load this fast. One probable explanation is that, apparently, Google Chrome is insanely fast.

Webdogs 3.0 » gmail

Integrating Gmail and Google Groups with the Pika CMS

Other posts of possible interest...

Create an SPF record for your Google Apps domain

Other posts of possible interest...

Gmail offline comes to Google Apps

Other posts of possible interest...

Gmail workaday: The sequel

Other posts of possible interest...

Gmail as your workaday gateway

Other posts of possible interest...

Google Chrome = My browser for reading Gmail

Other posts of possible interest...