SCUtils Knowledge Base Installation Guide Solution for Microsoft System Center 2012 Service Manager

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1 SCUtils Knowledge Base Installation Guide Solution for Microsoft System Center 2012 Service Manager Published: 3 d November 2014 Version: 3.4 Authors: Marat Kuanyshev Feedback: support@scutils.com

2 Contents 1. Getting started Compatibility What is new Try before buy Feedback Requirements Service Manager console Installation Installation to the Service Manager Web Content Server Installation to the Service Manager SharePoint website Replacing the default web part Configuring the web part SCUtils KnowledgeBase Webpart Localizing the web part Upgrade from previous versions Delete the solution Working with the web part Opening knowledge articles from Request or Service Offering web parts in HTML format Troubleshooting Issue a user cannot scroll the article s page Symptoms: Cause: Resolution: Issue the knowledge article s page opens in the new window Symptoms: Cause: Resolution: Issue the knowledge article s page does not present the content of the article Symptoms: Cause 1: Resolution 1: Cause 2: Resolution 2: Issue SCUtils web part has disappeared from the page Symptoms:... 31

3 Cause 1: Resolution 1:... 31

4 1. Getting started SCUtils Knowledge Base is an extension for Microsoft System Center 2012 Service Manager that allows to open knowledge articles in HTML format as well as rate and comment them on the Service Manager self-service portal. The solution also provides users with ability to make a full-text search with wildcards, search by knowledge articles ID, and many other benefits. The whole list of features you can find on the product s web page. 1.1 Compatibility SCUtils Knowledge Base has been designed and tested for the following versions of Microsoft System Center 2012 Service Manager: 1. Microsoft System Center 2012 Service Manager; 2. Microsoft System Center 2012 SP1 Service Manager; 3. Microsoft System Center 2012 R2 Service Manager. 1.2 What is new Starting from version 3.0 the solution allows: Open knowledge articles not only on the separate page like Help Articles one but also on Request Offering web parts; Show external content URL; Open the knowledge article s page in the same window. 1.3 Try before buy SCUtils Knowledge Base Demo could be obtained on on the Download page. We highly recommend to evaluate the software in a testing lab before the implementing in the production environment. The free demo version is fully functional and offers every feature of the product. The only limit is a length of the article s text. Please become familiar with this guide before starting using SCUtils Knowledge Base and do not hesitate to contact us at support@scutils.com. You are also more than welcome to our YouTube channel where you will find video tutorials for SCUtils Knowledge Base and other our products. 1.4 Feedback Our team is always on the way of the improvement of our solutions. We highly appreciate every feedback from our customers. Please send us your thoughts, complains, and feature requests at support@scutils.com. 4

5 2 Requirements 2.1 Service Manager console The Service Manager self-service portal consists of two main parts: a Web Content Server and SharePoint website. On all servers that host the SharePoint website the Service Manager console must be installed. 5

3 Installation Download the SCUtils KnowledgeBase.msi from Download page on www.scutils.com.

6 3 Installation Download the SCUtils KnowledgeBase.msi from Download page on If the demo version of the solution is installed, please uninstall it following the guide for the demo version. There are two main scenarios: 1. The SharePoint website and a web content server are hosted on the same server (Scenario #1); 2. The SharePoint website and a web content server are hosted on the different servers (Scenario #2). In Scenario #1 you have to go the p.3.2. In Scenario #2 you have to go the p Installation to the Service Manager Web Content Server Copy the installer package file SCUtils KnowledgeBase.msi on the server that serves as the Service Manager Web Content Server. If you doubt what server is the Service Manager Web Content Server, check in Internet Information Services (IIS) Manager for the web site named SCSMWebContentServer. Fig. 1 SCSMWebContentServer in IIS manager Run SCUtils KnowledgeBase.msi. By default, the package is installed into C:\Program Files\SCUtils\SCUtils KnowledgeBase\ folder. You can change the path during the installation. 6

7 Fig. 2 Installation path After completing the setup process, close the setup window. 3.2 Installation to the Service Manager SharePoint website If the self-service portal has been deployed on two servers (Scenario #2), please first install the solution on the Service Manager Web Content Server (p.3.1). Copy the installer package file SCUtils KnowledgeBase.msi on the server that serves as the Service Manager SharePoint website. Run SCUtils KnowledgeBase.msi. By default, the package is installed into C:\Program Files\SCUtils\SCUtils KnowledgeBase\ folder. You can change the path during the installation. After completing the setup process, close the setup window. After the successful installation, the installation folder will be opened automatically. 7

exe The application will deploy a web part on the SharePoint

8 Fig. 3 The installation folder Run DeployWSP.exe using administrative account. Fig. 4 Run DeployWSP.exe The application will deploy a web part on the SharePoint web site. After the successful deployment, you will see the following picture (Fig. 5). 8

9 Fig. 5 The installation is completed Press any key to close the window. 3.3 Replacing the default web part Go to the Help Articles on the self-service portal (Fig. 6). Fig. 6 Default self-service portal Click on Edit icon. 9

10 Fig. 7 Selecting Edit mode Delete the default web part of the Help Articles. Fig. 8 Removing the default web part from the page Click on the tab Insert. Fig. 9 Inserting a new web part Click on Web Part. 10

11 Fig. 10 Inserting a new web part In the section Categories select SCUtils, then in the section Web Parts select SCUtils KnowledgeBase Webpart. Fig. 11 Inserting a new web part Click the Add button. Fig. 12 Inserting a new web part 11

Save the changes using Save & Close icon and then the following message has to appear (Fig. 13). Fig. 13 Inserting a new web part That means that the installation was successful.

14 Customize the web part on the page Expand Service Manager Connection Settings toolpart.

12 Save the changes using Save & Close icon and then the following message has to appear (Fig. 13). Fig. 13 Inserting a new web part That means that the installation was successful. Next step is the configuring of the web part. 3.4 Configuring the web part SCUtils KnowledgeBase Webpart Start editing the web part on the page by clicking on the Edit Web Part button (Fig. 14). Fig. 14 Customize the web part on the page Expand Service Manager Connection Settings toolpart. Then fill out the fields with the proper values, where: Service Manager Server Name - the name of Service Manager Management Server; Domain the domain name for the account that has administrative rights in Service Manager; User Name the user name of the account that has administrative rights in Service Manager; Password the password for the account that has administrative rights in Service Manager. Save the change by clicking on OK (Fig. 15). Save the web page. 12

Fig. 15 Save the change You can also change the web part s appearance and behavior using Knowledge Base Common Properties toolpane: Web Content Server Url specify URL for the web content server if it

13 Fig. 15 Save the change You can also change the web part s appearance and behavior using Knowledge Base Common Properties toolpane: Web Content Server Url specify URL for the web content server if it has not properly defined automatically. Is this an Article Display Page? set the current page as a default one for displaying knowledge articles in HTML format. The web part can be used in many pages but it is required that one page is set to be a default one. Number Of Last Modified set the maximum number of the articles in the column Last Modified. The default value is 5. Number Of Top Rated - set the maximum number of the articles in the column Top Rated. The default value is 5. Number Of Search Result set he maximum number of the found articles on the page. The default value is 5. Open a Knowledge Article in new tab/window? if it is checked, knowledge articles are opened in a new tab or window depending on the browser s setting. By default, it is unchecked. Show External Content URL - if it is checked, External Content URL is shown on the bottom of the page. By default, it is unchecked. 13

14 Fig. 16 Customize the web part on the page 14

15 4 Localizing the web part To localize the text strings (the corresponding Language Pack for SharePoint must be already installed and set up) edit files located at the following path: C:\Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\Web Server Extensions\14\Resources\SmPortal File SmPortal.resx consists the localized phrases for default language English. File SmPortal.ru-RU.resx consists the localized phrases for second language Russian. To add the support for additional languages create a copy of any out of two resx files and rename it using the following pattern SmPortal.ZZ-ZZ.resx, where ZZ-ZZ is the culture code in.net. Table 1 consists the list of Culture Codes supported by Service Manager Table 1 Culture Codes Locale LCID Culture Code Chinese_PRC 0x804 zh-cn Chinese Taiwan 0x404 zh-tw Czech (Czech Republic) 0x405 cs-cz Danish (Denmark) 0x406 da-dk Dutch (Netherlands) 0x413 nl-nl Finnish (Finland) 0x40B fi-fi French 0x40C fr-fr German Standard 0x407 de-de Greek (Greece) 0x408 el-gr Italian Standard 0x410 it-it Japanese 0x411 jp-jp Korean 0x412 ko-ko Norwegian (Bokmål, Norway) 0x414 nb-no Polish (Poland) 0x415 pl-pl Portuguese (Brazil) 0x816 pt-pt Portuguese (Brazil) 0x416 pt-br Russian 0x419 ru-ru Spanish_Modern_Sort 0xC0A es-es Swedish (Sweden) 0x41D sv-se Turkish (Turkey) 0x41F tr-tr For instance, for German language the file name is SmPortal.de-DE.resx. Make a copy of SmPortal.resx and rename it to SmPortal.de-DE.resx. Then open the created file in any text editor, e.g. in Notepad, using an account with administrative rights (Fig. 17). 15

Fig. 17 Opening the resource file In the opened XML

names (Fig. 18). Fig. 18 Localizing the resource file.

To restart the IIS run Command Prompt as administrator

16 Fig. 17 Opening the resource file In the opened XML document edit the text in the tag <value> for required names (Fig. 18). Fig. 18 Localizing the resource file. Save the changes. To restart the IIS run Command Prompt as administrator (Fig. 19). Fig. 19 Running Command Prompt In the opened console type iisreset (Fig. 20) and click Enter. 16

17 Fig. 20 Restarting IIS 17

18 5 Upgrade from previous versions To update from a previous version you have to follow the installation procedure described in p.3. When you execute DeployWSP.exe all previous versions of the web part are being removed so that you have to add a new version of the web part in all required web pages again. Please do not forget to setup the web part s settings making sure that all required fields for the connection are populated. If you have added a custom localization file made for a pre-3.0 version, then you have to rebuild it using a new SmPortal.resx as a template. 18

$6 Delete the solution Log in the Service Manager SharePoint website server, then go to the solution installation folder (the default path C:\Program Files\SCUtils\SCUtils KnowledgeBase).$

19 6 Delete the solution Log in the Service Manager SharePoint website server, then go to the solution installation folder (the default path C:\Program Files\SCUtils\SCUtils KnowledgeBase). Find the batch file undeploywsp.bat, right-click on it and run as administrator (Fig. 21). This script will remove the web part from the SharePoint farm. Fig. 21 Run undeploywsp.bat After removing the web part from SharePoint server delete the product running Uninstall from Add/Remove Programs console on every server where it has been installed. Then edit the Help Articles page on the self-service portal to bring back the default web part. It is located in Custom category and named Knowledge Article WebPart. 19

22 The page with the web part The web part on the page consists of two default lists: Last

Top Rated the best rated articles in descending order.

20 7 Working with the web part In Fig. 22 the page with the web part is presented. Fig. 22 The page with the web part The web part on the page consists of two default lists: Last Modified the articles that have recently changed in descending order. Top Rated the best rated articles in descending order. It is possible to search for articles by the ID (e.g. KA54), title, keywords, and text fragment. Fig. 23 Search by text Fig. 24 Search by Article ID With the search feature you can use the wildcards: symbols * (asterisk) and (vertical bar). 20

); serv* log* (possible results server s log, service logging, etc.). Fig. 25 Search with asterisk - logical OR.

21 * - this symbol matches zero or more characters. It is used the prefix of a word or phrase when you search by the word fragment. Examples: serv* (possible results serv, serve, service, servant, server, etc.); log* (possible results log, logged, logic, logarithm, etc.); serv* log* (possible results server s log, service logging, etc.). Fig. 25 Search with asterisk - logical OR. It is used when you search a single word out of two or more words in the article. Example: failed crashed (possible results failed service, crashed application, etc.) Fig. 26 Search with vertical bar It is also possible to use a combination of wildcards. Example: fail* serv* (possible results failed application, restart the server) 21

Knowledge Article in a new tab/window?): Fig.

22 Fig. 27 Search with asterisk and vertical bar All the elements in the lists of articles are clickable and show the article content on the new or the same page depending on the setting (Open a Knowledge Article in a new tab/window?): Fig. 28 Article content To vote for an article and leave a comment click on the control of ranking in the top right corner of the article (Fig. 29) on the article page: 22

23 Fig. 29 Voting and leaving a comment A modal window for voting and commenting will be opened. Fig. 30 Voting and leaving a comment Put a rating of choice and leave a comment on this article. 23

Fig. 31 Voting and leaving a comment Click on

24 Fig. 31 Voting and leaving a comment Click on Rate this article button then click on Close. Fig. 32 Voting and leaving a comment Refresh the page to see the updated rate of the article. Fig. 33 Updated rate The rate and the comment are available in Service Manager 2012 console. 24

25 Fig. 34 Rate and comment in the console Each article has its unique URL so that it could be added to Favorites in a browser for the reference and future use. Fig. 35 Unique article URL 25

26 8 Opening knowledge articles from Request or Service Offering web parts in HTML format Starting from version 3.0, SCUtils Knowledge Base allows opening knowledge articles from Request (Service) Offering web parts in HTML format. When a user browses the Service Manager self-service portal through Request or Service Offerings he/she can click on a knowledge article s link. Then browser goes to the page marked as Article Display Page to display the knowledge article s content in HTML format. To return to the previous page within Request or Service Offerings, click Back button in the browser. 26

27 9 Troubleshooting Issue a user cannot scroll the article s page Symptoms: When a user opens a large article, he/she cannot scroll the page. Cause: It is a well-known bug of the Service Manager self-service portal. Resolution: Please apply a fix described on the Service Manager Team Blog Issue the knowledge article s page opens in the new window Symptoms: When a user clicks on the knowledge article s link, the article web page opens in the new window instead of a new tab. It applies only when the setting Open a Knowledge Article in new tab/window is unchecked. Cause: The web part does not specifies how a new page is opened in an internet browser. This behavior depends on the browser s settings and, in the case of IE, could be defined in Active directory Group policy. In the most recent version of MS IE or Chrome the link is opened in the new tab. Please evaluate the screenshots below that illustrate IE s tab settings. Fig. 1 IE tab settings 27

28 Resolution: To resolve this issue change the browser s settings on the machines. In the case of Internet Explorer, you can adjust a Group Policy object in Active Directory. To allow users open a knowledge article in the same window please check Open a Knowledge Article in new tab/window in the settings of the web part. Issue the knowledge article s page does not present the content of the article Symptoms: When the user opens the knowledge article s page, the knowledge page presents a blank space instead of the context of the knowledge article. Cause 1: You have a dedicated server for the Service Manager Web Content Server and SCUtils KnowledgeBase.msi has not been installed on this server. Resolution 1: Install SCUtils KnowledgeBase.msi on the Service Manager Web Content Server. Cause 2: To have a local cache of knowledge articles SCUtils Knowledge Part web part requires rights to read and write in file systems of the server. Resolution 2: Grant the required rights for the account. Follow this procedure: 1. On the SharePoint server find the folder C:\Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\Web Server Extensions\14\TEMPLATE\LAYOUTS. Then right-click on SCUtilsKnowledgeBase folder. Select Property. Select Security tab. Click 28

29 on Edit button. Fig. 36 Edit Security 2. Click on Add. Then click on Location. 3. Select your server name. Then click OK. Fig. 37 Select server name 29

30 4. Type in the field IIS_IUSRS. Fig. 38 Type IIS_IUSRS 5. Click on Check Names. Click OK then. Fig. 39 Confirm the selection 30

6. Select Modify. Then click on OK. Click OK again. Fig. 40 Grand the rights 7. Restart IIS (or do IIS reset). 8. Try to open knowledge articles again on the portal. 9. Check the result.

31 6. Select Modify. Then click on OK. Click OK again. Fig. 40 Grand the rights 7. Restart IIS (or do IIS reset). 8. Try to open knowledge articles again on the portal. 9. Check the result. If the issue persists, contact Issue SCUtils web part has disappeared from the page Symptoms: When the user opens the knowledge article s page, the web part is not shown. Cause 1: There is a known bug (or feature) of SharePoint 2010 that randomly makes a custom web part disappear after the first installation and server s reboot (IISRESET). Resolution 1: Add the web part again on the page. Save the page before editing the web part s property. Open any knowledge article and check the page. Sometimes the missing web part appears again as a second one (in this case remote it from the page). Run IISRESET and make sure that the web part persists. 31

SCUtils Survey Lite Trial Installation Guide Solution for Microsoft System Center 2012 Service Manager

SCUtils Survey Lite Trial Installation Guide Solution for Microsoft System Center 2012 Service Manager Published: 14 th September 2015 Version: 1.9 Authors: Marat Kuanyshev Feedback: support@scutils.com