Dynamic objects AMA: pull info from any system into Front

Thanks for the update @robby_p. Out of curiosity; why can’t dynamic objects present in a conversation be updated when the conversation is selected by a user? Is the concern the number of refresh calls?

@pstos we have some ideas for how to control the number of refresh calls. Our main concern is finding a way to keep these up to date without requiring manual user interaction. We’re looking for a way to keep objects up to date in an automated way, so that accurate objects don’t require human intervention.

Would it be possible to combine the two, so that a link in the dynamic object opens the plugin panel with a custom plugin showing more detailed info?

Absolutely. This is not possible today, but we’re definitely interested in exploring ways to more seamlessly transition between dynamic objects and the plugin panel. 

I’ve noticed that in the demo videos, the dynamic objects links are highlighted with different emojis. I haven’t seen anywhere to add this when I’ve been testing dynamic objects for my company, and the links that appear on my end just look like a normal link with 🔗. How can I add different emojis to a dynamic object link?

@kerstin great q - you can add an “app icon” in your developer application. This icon will be used in the conversation view when dynamic objects are generated.

Hi Robby, any updates on progress for this one? I’ve got dynamic objects configured but need auto refresh before I can activate for our users! :)

Hey @pstos 

While we still don’t have a completely streamlined method for refreshing application object (formerly known as dynamic object) data, we do have a few workarounds now:

• Teammates can manually type the object reference (ORDER-1234, etc.) in a comment, which will retrigger the application object data fetch.
• You can create a rule that runs on conditions of your choice (new inbound message, conversation reopened, etc.) and utilizes a dynamic variable that accesses the application/dynamic objects in a conversation to refresh all their data.
• You can use the Create link API endpoint to programmatically update app object references, so you could listen for changes to the external record and then send those updates immediately to Front.

I added some docs that discuss this in more detail. Take a look and let me know what you think.

The team is still considering whether there should be a more fully-fledged method for refreshing app object data. If you have any feedback or suggestions based on your use case, we’d love to hear them.

Thanks, that will work in this case. :)

On a related note; it would be helpful if the object was made wider. At the moment each data value field is only about 120px wide, which means that information is cut off more often than not. I see no reason why the object couldn’t have dynamic width like normal messages?

I’ll pass this feedback along to the team :)

I created an application object that looks for an 11-digit number and, in turn, connects with an API. This connector and application object is working great. I am successfully parsing out that number, getting a response, and mapping out values in the application object. At present, this connector is running in all workspaces and all inboxes. I need to have this connector run in a specific inbox, not all of them. How do I do this?

@aallmond You’ll have to edit the rule that runs your application object so that it only applies to the specific inboxes you want. Your current rule might be auto-generated and called “Create dynamic objects” (legacy name) fyi, or you might have created it yourself if you set this up more recently. Either way, you’ll want to have a rule that is at the workspace level rather than the company level and have it run only in the inboxes you desire. You can also choose to add some application objects via the rule or all of them, whatever suits your needs.