Administrator s Guide for. SupportDesk. House-on-the-Hill Software Ltd. SupportDesk Blue

Transcription

1 Administrator s Guide for SupportDesk House-on-the-Hill Software Ltd SupportDesk Blue

2 Software Copyright House-On-The-Hill Software Ltd. All Rights Reserved. Manual Copyright House-On-The-Hill Software Ltd. All Rights Reserved. House-On-The-Hill Software Ltd. disclaims any liability for any damage including but not limited to corruption of data whether arising directly or indirectly from the use of software originated by House-On-Hill Software. All House-On-The-Hill Software programs are supplied 'as is' and House-On-The- Hill Software Ltd. does not warrant that the operation of the program will be uninterrupted or error free or that program defects will be corrected. Windows and MS-DOS are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. House-On-The-Hill Software Ltd. acknowledges the use of other trademarks in this manual and respects the rights of the holders.

3 Contents 1 About this Manual Organisation of the Documentation How to Use this Documentation System Configuration Section Setup Menu Company Configuration Folder Management Categories and SLAs Category Details Data Dictionary and Extra Fields Contact Classifications Setup and Templates PC Auditor LDAP Integrator Centennial Connector Login Menu Adding and Maintaining Logins Defining Public Holidays Database Menu Archive Closed Calls Restore Closed Calls Delete Records Importing External Data Exporting SupportDesk Databases Integrity Checker Loading KnowledgeBase Publish an Call Submission Form Resource Allocation Viewing Resource Allocation Adding and Updating Resource Allocation Records Launch Launch Setup Setup Automatic Mail Compose Mail Administrator's Guide for SupportDesk C-i

4 9.3 Send Mail to a Customer, Owner, Assignee Send a CSV File of a Call Read Mail Configuring s Publish Call Submission Form Call Escalator Escalator Module Monitor and Scheduler Service Level Monitor, Real-Time Monitor Tab Service Level Monitor, Configuration Tab Service Level Monitor, Scheduler Tab PC Audit Auditor Remote Control Import Formats Import Products Import Customers Import Calls Import KnowledgeBase Import Suppliers Index...i Administrator's Guide for SupportDesk C-ii

5 1 About this Manual 1.1 Organisation of the Documentation The SupportDesk documentation is supplied in both printed and online form, although these have differences in terms of presentation and appearance. It aims to give you an overview of the product and detailed operating instructions for its various operations. The complete documentation is provided in four parts. For the help text, these will appear as separate modules. In the case of the printed manuals, each will have an identifying letter that will prefix the page numbers for easy identification of the part. The different parts and their intended use are: A. Getting Started is provided for the Administrator and has an overview of SupportDesk. It also gives a brief introduction to setting up SupportDesk. Anyone who has just installed SupportDesk should familiarise themselves with its content before attempting to create any data. B. Using SupportDesk is intended for all SupportDesk users. It covers standard features of SupportDesk and describes standard processing that is generally available. C. Administrator s Guide (this document) is aimed specifically at those with Supervisor privilege and therefore have unrestricted access to SupportDesk and all its records. It describes how to set up maintain data and how to undertake other processing to monitor and control SupportDesk. D. User s Guide is provided for general users of SupportDesk who undertake specific tasks each day. It tells you how to update various records, log and progress calls and produce certain reports. A separate document is also supplied for the intranet-based WebServer application. 1.2 How to Use this Documentation If you are a new user you may read through the supplied documentation either in its printed or online format to establish SupportDesk s structure and features. Subsequently, you may need information in order to undertake a specific task or to achieve a particular aim. In these cases you will refer to a relevant topic to find required details. You should also look at the document entitled Using SupportDesk, which covers the standard processing features that are common to the application. The Help Menu chapter tells you how to use the online help. Both the printed and online versions of the documentation have a table of contents so that you can locate the topic you require. They additionally have an index so that you can look for particular words and phrases. Administrator's Guide for SupportDesk C-1

6 2 System Configuration Section The purpose of this section is to provide personnel who supervise SupportDesk with a guide to the functions that they need to perform. Within SupportDesk, there are various types of login with the following features: an Analyst may only perform everyday operations regarding the update and reporting of calls Support personnel may, in addition, maintain the customer, supplier, contract and product details held within SupportDesk the Supervisor can access all of these records. Additionally, the Supervisor alone has the responsibility of setting up SupportDesk, overseeing the other logins of the system and maintaining the integrity of the databases. There can be more than one Supervisor. the Engineers are not really logins, but the names of people who may be assigned a piece of work recorded as a call. Web Guests are only able to login through the WebServer (if installed). This login is designed for your end users. the creation of Groups allows other logins to be grouped for initial call assignment. In addition, when creating logins, you can specify the area the login has responsibility for customer support, sales opportunities, marketing campaigns or purchase orders. The number of logins using SupportDesk at any time is dependent on the licence agreement. The Supervisor: can create folders. These can be used to compartmentalise like calls. This may be useful if certain logins only need to view calls relating to specific items. is responsible for determining the categories of calls that are to be used within SupportDesk. Calls can be categorised by type, sub-type, status, priority and level. A list of actions can also be created. Against these categories, action and warning dates can be set. Calls exceeding any action or warning date are highlighted at the main window. When a category is selected for a call you can specify activities to take place, such as to whom the call is to be assigned. A number of default categories are provided as examples, which should be tailored to suit your own working practices. The category dialogues are re-utilised for the creation of activity lists and sales stages. Activities can be attached to calls, contacts and customers as reminders of tasks to do. The Sales Opportunity feature uses sales stages. should consider the system settings available from the Company Configuration dialogue. You can dictate the operations required when a call is started or closed, such as the mandatory input of a reason for call closure. The Supervisor should also consider whether the product list at the call dialogue should be made up from a customer's inventory or the full product list. Administrator's Guide for SupportDesk C-2

7 The Configuration dialogue can also be used to set the working hours for the week. This is useful if you want to record call elapsed times as working hours elapsed. For the Level Category, you can set alternative times, if calls for a particular Service Level need to be handled differently. can create resource allocation records as an aid for help desk logins when assigning calls to technicians. The resource allocation records are statements of the technicians' expertise. has some flexibility in customising the dialogues using the Data Dictionary. You can specify which fields are mandatory and provide default values as well as altering the field prompts. Alternative dictionaries can be defined for use in different folders or by certain logins. The Supervisor can also define any Extra Fields that may be required on various dialogues. is responsible for the maintenance of the SupportDesk databases. The Supervisor is allowed to import data, such as customer records, from another system. The data must be converted to a file of comma-separated values in the required format. You should check that this data has been accepted cleanly before releasing the system for general use. should also ensure that network backups of the databases are taken on a daily basis. Calls that have been closed should be transferred to the archive folder regularly to ensure that the live file is not clogged with old data. Administrator's Guide for SupportDesk C-3

8 3 Setup Menu 3.1 Company Configuration Here you can enter identification details of your company. The company name and department fields appear at the top of reports and summaries produced by SupportDesk. More importantly, you can set options for the system and in particular the call dialogue. To activate the Company Configuration dialogue: From the Setup menu, click on Company Configuration... Details tab Com pany Configuration, Details Name and Department Appear at the top of any reports produced by SupportDesk. This address is used when you publish a call submission form. Administrator's Guide for SupportDesk C-4

9 WebSite Automatic Reference Generation Date Format Office Hours Call Audit Trail Call Product List Configuration On New Call Print Publish Auto-Allocate On Closing Call Force Call Resolution Auto-Archive Add to Knowledgebase The location (URL address) of your company or department s home page on the web. This field is used when you publish a call submission form. Tick the boxes if references are to be generated automatically when creating the indicated records. Leave unticked if you want to enter a unique reference each time. Select a radio button to specify the required Date Format for the input and display of dates. The default depends on the Windows configuration. You can decide how SupportDesk should calculate elapsed times. Choose a 5, 6 or 7 day working week and define the number of working hours by declaring a Start and Stop Time for the working day. Elapsed times are calculated as the number of working days, hours and minutes that have elapsed since the call was opened. Leave ticked if notes are to be created automatically when the product, assignee or category fields are changed at the call dialogue. Indicate how products are to be listed at the call dialogue. The product list presented can be made up from either the full list of products, the customer s inventory or a full inventory list. Use the following three fields to specify actions when a call is created. Tick if you want a report of the call details to be printed. Tick if you want a report of the call details to be published. Tick this box if you would like SupportDesk to automatically assign a new call to a login. To use this feature, you will need to create Resource Allocation records (described on page 40) in order to determine the most eligible login for the call. Use the following three fields to specify actions when a call is closed. Tick this box to initiate a note when a call is closed in order to enter a reason for closure. Alternatively, you can set the Solution field to be mandatory on call closure in the Data Dictionary. Tick this box if you wish calls to be immediately transferred to archive when closed. If you tick this box, closed calls will be transferred irrespective of the login s level of functionality. Indicate if a call is always to be added to the knowledgebase on closure. If not, this can be selected on individual calls. Administrator's Guide for SupportDesk C-5

10 Call Units Tax Rate Shipping Encrypt Passwords Generate new Call References after OK button pressed Include Stop the Clock times in SLA comparison Attachments Folder Time Zone Server -> SMS Call Notes/Activities Internal by Default Notes & Activities in Descending Date Order Company Name on Window Title Keep Contacts Independent of Customers Action -> Type -> Product Parenting Use this field if customers pre-pay for a block of calls. Enter the default number of calls in a block here. When a customer is created the support calls left will default to this value. Local sales tax rate. Used in sales opportunities and purchase orders. Enter a set charge for shipping. Used in sales opportunities and purchase orders. Tick the box if each login s password is to be recorded in encrypted format so that it is more secure. This does not affect the way it is processed within SupportDesk. Tick this box if you want call references to be generated when the call is completed rather than when started. The clock may be stopped if an activity indicates that support has been transferred to a third party so that this period is not included in elapsed times. Indicate if the SLA report is to be adjusted to allow for periods a call was on hold. Documents that are attached to various records are normally stored in the SupportDesk installation directory. If you want to use a different location, enter the full path here. Identify the networked PC from which the system time is to be determined. This ensures that all PCs use the same time. Indicates the address of the to SMS provider. This is used when sending an to a mobile phone. Tick these boxes if notes and activities recorded for a call are normally for internal use and are not to be viewed by the customer via the WebServer. You can change these settings for individual calls. If this box is ticked, the most recent notes and activities are shown first for each call. Leave unticked if they are to be listed in the order they occur. Tick here if all windows are to have their title prefixed by the company name. If the box is ticked, any of the recorded contacts can be selected when processing a customer. Leave unticked if only those that have been specified for the customer are to be available. Each product can be assigned a group category that determines its type (for example, to distinguish between hardware and software products). If you use this feature, ticking the box will allow products to be filtered by type so that only the required ones appear. Administrator's Guide for SupportDesk C-6

11 Elapsed Time in Minutes Supervisor Only Archiving Microsoft SMS tab The elapsed time that is recorded for a call, from its creation to completion, is normally shown in terms of days, hours and minutes. Tick the box if only minutes are to be shown. Tick the box if only users with Supervisor authority can choose to archive customers, contacts, products and inventory. Leave unticked if anyone can do this. This is a licensed option and is not normally available. If you can process here, separate instructions will be provided. Special Operations tab Company Configuration, Special Operations Clicking the Calculate & Write Month End Elapsed Times button will write elapsed times for each open call, as at the specified date, to the elapsed time field on the call record (defined as a standard field; see page 19). The data is then available for reporting via third-party software, such as Crystal Reports. Administrator's Guide for SupportDesk C-7

12 3.2 Folder Management A <Default> folder is created when SupportDesk is installed. It is not necessary to create any more folders but they do allow calls to be compartmentalised. With each folder there is an associated archive folder to hold archived calls. The calls in a folder can be given a reference prefix and their own sequencing. All folders can be organised with an ITIL framework, so that each can have a particular purpose and its own data dictionary definitions and terminology. This allows all calls of a particular type to be correctly categorised. A default folder can be defined for a login. When the login accesses SupportDesk, the calls in the login s default folder are listed at the main window. If no folder is specified for the login, the original or <Default> folder is used. The login can change the current folder using the Explorer panel, unless the login s access has been restricted to their default folder. For more information on switching folders, refer to the File Menu Chapter in the Using SupportDesk guide. Products, customers or categories can be restricted for use in specified folders. The call dialogue only lists records associated with the current folder, and those records that have no set folder. Whenever a call is raised, the call is inserted into the current folder. To process Folder Management, from the Setup menu, click: New Open Delete to create a folder. to select a folder and edit it. to clear a selected folder, providing that it and its associated archive folder are empty. Administrator's Guide for SupportDesk C-8

13 Entering Folder Details Folder Dialogue Name Archive Independent Call Sequencing Internal Call Preference Prefix Do Not Escalate Input a unique folder name. Use this check box to archive the whole folder, including all its calls. Tick this box if the folder is to have its own independent sequencing of call references. Tick the box if this folder is not to be available to WebGuest users via the WebServer. Specify a prefix of up to three characters for calls in this folder. You can also select a prefix from the list, including <Call:Customer> and <Call:Product>, which prefix the call reference with the number of the customer or product that is the subject of the call. (To use this call reference style, you must have the call references generated after the OK button is pressed; refer to Company Configuration on page 4). If this box is ticked, calls in this folder will not be escalated, even if the workflow indicates this is due. They will remain at the same level until a further action is specified. Administrator's Guide for SupportDesk C-9

14 Dependencies ITIL Framework: Folder Type Dictionary Terminology Keep Contacts Independent of Customers Disable Separate Template New Call Defaults Click Show Logins to list logins who open this folder when accessing SupportDesk. Logins are associated with a folder at the Login Details dialogue (see page 30). The Show Products button lists products whose calls are entered into this folder. Products are associated with a folder at the Product Details dialogue, described in the User s Guide. When you create a folder and save it, all logins and products that are available for all folders are associated automatically. You therefore only need to add others that apply. Click Add Sub-Folder to create a sub-folder within this folder. You can therefore set up a folder structure and record calls at any level. Click Show Sub-Folders to see any that are already attached. Indicate the folder s type. A fixed range of types is available. Specify the Data Dictionary configuration to be activated for this folder. By this means, different dialogue field prompts can be set for different folders. Specify the title that is to be shown in the ribbon menu when calls from this folder are listed. SupportDesk s default term is Call but you may prefer Incident, Problem, or some other term to indicate the contents of the folder. The default setting is as for the company. If the box is ticked at company level, it cannot be altered here and any contacts can be selected for any customer when processing calls at this folder. If unticked, only a customer s own contacts are available. However, you can tick to see others. Tick the box to prevent outgoing s being generated for calls. Indicates, if ticked, that the folder is to have its own set of configurable templates rather than using a standard template. In this case, the folder is specified when the template is defined. Make selections from the various lists to set normal values for this folder. When adding calls to this folder, these settings are shown by default but you can change the selections for individual calls. Administrator's Guide for SupportDesk C-10

15 3.3 Categories and SLAs You can use Categories and Service Level Agreements for a number of purposes: to create various lists in order to categorise a call. to provide a list of actions for call reminders. as a series of activities that can be associated with a call, customer or contact. to define a list of sales stages for use with Sales Opportunities. Within SupportDesk, calls are categorised in four ways: Type and Sub-type Status Priority Service Level Agreement the type of incident or situation to be recorded. For example, Fault, Query, Documentation. the current stage the call has reached, usually terminating with closure. For example, Opened, Waiting more Evidence, In Progress. indicates how imperative it is for the call to be resolved. identifies a level of service to be attained. At the call dialogue, select categories from pull down lists. The names of the call categories (Type, Status, Priority and SLA) are not fixed; refer to Data Dictionary and Extra Fields on page 19 for details on renaming these. The system is supplied with a number of defaults for each category but you may change these at any time to suit your own requirements. Enter new categories and rename or delete existing ones. If a category is assigned to a call and the category is subsequently renamed, then the call will have the renamed category attributed to it. You can specify that calls with a category should be responded to or actioned within a certain period and that a warning is to be given before the end of this period. When a call exceeds any of these times, it is highlighted in the margin of the main window. The same dialogues are also used to create a list of actions for selection at the call dialogue. You can set up the category details to specify any activities that can be associated with a call, customer, contact or sales opportunity. The activities can be displayed as a separate list at the main window and used as reminders to perform certain tasks. The main window can be refreshed to list calls that have selected categories (including actions), by using the Select box on the View menu (described in the Using SupportDesk guide). For example you could list high priority calls that are not closed. Administrator's Guide for SupportDesk C-11

16 The sales stages are only for use for sales opportunities. Like other categories, they can be changed to suit your own requirements. A select box is also available for filtering sales opportunity records. You can specify sub-types to provide further categories within types. When a type is selected for a call, its sub-types are then available. To activate the Categories dialogue: From the Setup menu click on Categories. Alternatively, click the Category icon in the Explorer panel. The same dialogue is used for all the categories, actions, activities, sales stages and subtypes. Use the tabs to list the entries for different category types. Categories Dialogue Each form shows the current number of entries and the maximum allowed. You may be able to increase this maximum by selecting from the pull-down list. Click New... to create a new entry in the current list or Delete to clear a selected entry. 3.4 Category Details If you select the New button at the Categories dialogue or double-click an existing entry to open it, you are presented with the Category Details dialogue. Use the tabs to view or update the various pieces of information relating to the selected category. Administrator's Guide for SupportDesk C-12

17 Details Tab Category Details Dialogue, Details Tab Name Folder Type Description For new categories, enter the name. Leave blank if the category is available for all folders or choose a single folder for which it can be used. Optionally enter a fuller description for the category. For activities, this will be the default for the activity detail. The next three entries are used to set milestones for a call. Thus: a first response must be made within a set time a warning is issued before action is required the action itself becomes due. You should therefore set the time periods to occur in this sequence. In each case, enter the number of time units that are required and then select the time unit from the adjacent list box. For a call, the appropriate date is calculated as the current date plus the time period set, although you can overwrite the generated dates. Administrator's Guide for SupportDesk C-13

18 Respond within Warning after Action/Fix within Activity Duration Milestones/Metrics Dependencies: Parent Activity Product Group Folder Exclusive to Folder Internal Archive New Call Enabled This determines when a response must be made for calls with this category. Failure to achieve this target will be reported as a breach by the Call Monitor (see page 54). The time period is used to calculate a warning date at the call dialogue or the reminder date for activities. A warning bell is displayed next to the call or activity when the warning date has been exceeded and is an indication that an action is imminently required. The specified time is used to calculate an action date at the call dialogue or the scheduled date for activities. It is advisable to only set action times on one band of categories, such as priority; otherwise the calculation of action dates may become confusing. Enter the number of time units that are required and then select the time unit from the adjacent list box. Duration is only available on activities as a means of recording how long the activity should take. These options are selectable on Call Status only. Tick any or all boxes to determine if the selection of this status on a call indicates the call has been responded to, resolved or closed. This section identifies other records to which the category is linked. The entry is used to establish a workflow so that, when creating a call, the correct sequence must be specified. Select another activity, status, etc. to which this one is linked. For example, when specifying call status categories, calls will follow a pre-defined path of Open? Assigned? Fixed? Closed. If the category refers to a specific type of product, select it from those listed. If you select this product when processing a call, only the relevant categories will appear in the pull-down list. The available folders are listed. Select one to lock the categories into a particular folder so that they are only selectable within that folder. This check box only applies if the <Default> folder is selected. In this case, tick the box if the category should only be listed in this folder. Categories are always exclusive to the other folders. Tick the box if the category is not to be available via the WebServer and on the Web call submission form. Tick this box if you wish to archive the category. Archived categories do not appear in the category lists. Leave this box ticked if the category can be selected when a new call is created. Administrator's Guide for SupportDesk C-14

19 Auto-Add on New Call Cost Supplier Rate per Hour/Day This box is only available on activities and should be ticked if the activity is to be created by default when a new call is added. Enter a cost for the category. This field is part of the customer charging feature. Typically you would enter charges against category types or actions. If the customer is marked for charging, then when a call is raised for the customer, a cost for the job is displayed on the call. The figure is the smallest amount entered against any of the selected categories. For activities, the field is renamed Budget, for comparison of actual and budget figures. And on Sales Opportunities it is called Confidence as a percentage indicator of the likelihood of realising a sale if this stage is reached. This field only applies to activities and SLAs to record whether the job has been sent out to a third party. These entries only apply for activities and indicate the cost rates to be used in job costing. Click the Choose Colour button to select a colour to use for the category in the Summary window or click No Colour to remove any chosen colour. You should use colours selectively so that only particular categories are highlighted. For example, you may choose a colour for high and urgent priorities so that they are easily identified. Administrator's Guide for SupportDesk C-15

20 Workflow & Actions Tab Use this tab to specify the actions that should take place when a record is given a particular category setting. Category Details Dialogue, Actions Tab Assign To Raise Activity Default Priority Default Status Change Authorisation Requested By Choose whom the job should be assigned to when a call is given this category. Use the entry <Login> to assign to the person affecting the change or choose a particular login from the list. Select an activity that should be created when a call or sales opportunity is given this category. This entry only appears for the Type category. In this case, you can choose the priority that is to apply to calls with this type. This will be one that is set up as a priority category. For a Type category, choose the status to apply for new calls, indicating their initial status. You can choose a person who is authorised to change from this category if it is selected for a call. Leave blank if no one can do this or choose <Login> if the person accessing the call can change the category. Administrator's Guide for SupportDesk C-16

21 Copy Call to Folder cc Authoriser Template SMS Only Stop the Clock If a call is to be copied to a different folder once it has this category, choose the required folder from those listed. It will then be created and linked to the original. If you have the option, tick any of the three boxes, to send an to the assignee, owner or customer when a record, such as a call, is given this category. Use this field to supply the address of anyone else that should be ed at the same time as the selected options. This entry is used in conjunction with Change Authorisation Requested By. Tick the box if you want the person to be notified by if a category they are authorised to change is selected for a call. Here you can indicate if the messages are to be based on a standard template. Either choose one from the pull-down list or click the Template button to define one to use here. Tick the box if any messages are to be sent only as SMS rather than . You may have a category with status such as Third Party to identify when support has been transferred elsewhere. In this instance, you could opt to stop the clock so that elapsed times do not include the duration when the call was out of your hands. Calls where the clock has been stopped are marked in the margin at the main window with a hand icon. Clear Action/Fix Date Use this check box to clear the action or fix date and time on a call when the call is given this category. Clear Warning Date Clear Resolved Date Use to clear the warning date and time on a call when the call is given this category. Tick the box if any resolved date set for a call is to be cleared if this category is assigned. Administrator's Guide for SupportDesk C-17

22 Calendar Tab Category Details Dialogue, Calendar Tab These fields are only available when updating an SLA category. You can decide how SupportDesk should calculate action dates and elapsed times for calls with this SLA. Select the SLA from the category list at the call dialogue or default it from the service level associated with a customer or product. The service level calendar is used instead of the calendar defined at the Company Configuration dialogue for calls with this SLA. (For example, the usual calendar could be a 5-day working week, 9am to 5pm, but you may have a 24-hour service level for certain customers or products.) Days Start & Stop Times You can choose a 5, 6 or 7 day working week. Define the number of working hours by selecting a start and stop time for the working day. Elapsed times are calculated as the number of working days, hours and minutes that have elapsed since the call was opened. Administrator's Guide for SupportDesk C-18

23 Escalation Tab Category Details Dialogue, Escalation Tab The Escalation tab is only available to those systems that have the Automatic Call Escalation module, described on page 50. You can also use the Workflow & Actions tab for the Escalated Category, to specify any other actions that should take place when the call is given this category, such as assign to an alternative login. Escalate to Notify After Warning/Action Date breach Assign to Define the next category the call should be moved to when the action time on the call has been exceeded. Select the login you wish to of the escalation change. This field is only available with the add-on. If the call is to be reassigned when either the warning or action time is exceeded, choose the appropriate assignee from the pull-down list. 3.5 Data Dictionary and Extra Fields Use the Data Dictionary to configure many of the fields in SupportDesk. Using the tabs, you can tailor how a field appears on dialogues, HTML output or reports (except for those produced by Crystal Reports). Administrator's Guide for SupportDesk C-19

24 SupportDesk has many standard fields against which data is stored for each type of record (call, activity, customer and so on). Each is listed in the data dictionary with a name and full definition of the field. In addition to the standard data dictionary fields, you can define extra fields to record information that is not available as standard. You can determine the characteristics of each field and how and where it is to be used. To activate the Data Dictionary dialogue: From the Setup menu, click on Data Dictionary & Extra Fields Select the Standard Fields tab to access the normal data dictionary fields. Data Dictionary Dialogue, Standard Fields Tab The system is initially provided with a Default dictionary that has standard settings for all fields within each type of record. However, you can: create further dictionaries by entering required names in the Dictionary field and then clicking the Save button. These additional dictionaries initially have the same settings as the default one but you can customise them and make them available to particular logins or in specific folders. amend the contents of a selected dictionary, either the default one or another you have created. The various fields are listed for the dictionary, showing the type of record to which it relates, the name of the field, and the current settings. Click on the field you wish to amend and then change the settings using the tabbed forms to the right of the screen. delete a dictionary by selecting it from the pull-down list and then clicking the Delete button. Choose the Extra Fields tab to access the fields that have been set up specifically to record non-standard data. Administrator's Guide for SupportDesk C-20

25 Data Dictionary Dialogue, Extra Fields Tab Select a field from the list and then enter revised details to the tabbed forms on the right, or click New Extra Field to create a further entry. Input and processing for both standard and extra fields is similar. In each case, you must click the Save Field button at the Dialogue tab to save your input. Click Restore All Defaults to reset the standard fields to their original field prompts and widths. This will not change or remove any extra field entries. Choose the Terminology tab to substitute your own terms for the default ones that are used throughout Supportdesk. Data Dictionary Dialogue,Terminology Tab Administrator's Guide for SupportDesk C-21

26 Report Tab Data Dictionary, Report tab Here you can determine how a field is to appear in reports (except for those provided using Crystal Reports). Width Specify the field width; this must be less than the SupportDesk default. If the field width is reduced to zero, it is not printed. Details Print Position This is the position of the field in any details type report. It can be altered. Alignment Accumulate Select Left, Centre or Right. This effects the alignment of the field on reports and at the main window. Tick the box if the contents of the field are to be accumulated for report totals. Administrator's Guide for SupportDesk C-22

27 Dialogue Tab Data Dictionary, Dialogue tab These entries determine how the fields appear on screens. Customise Table Prompt Width Hide Field Mandatory Mandatory on Closure Audit/ Field Changes For standard fields only, tick this box to instruct SupportDesk to use your specification for this field on the corresponding dialogue. The other fields will then become available as well as the HTML tab. This only applies to extra fields so that you can choose the type of record to which the field applies. This is pre-set for standard fields. Enter the text you wish to see on the corresponding dialogue as a prompt for this field. Specify the field width; this must be less than the SupportDesk default. Tick to remove this field from the corresponding dialogue and associated reports. It remains on the data dictionary but no longer appears on screens and reports. The next series of entries only apply for standard fields. Tick to force the login to make an entry in this field. Tick to force the login to make an entry in this field when a call or activity is closed. Tick the boxes if any changes made to the contents of the selected field are to be audited or notified by to the address shown on the company configuration record. In the former case, the Field Changes tab of the appropriate record (customers, Administrator's Guide for SupportDesk C-23

28 Read Only Default Value Help X and Y Selection HTML Tab products, etc.) will list the changes made to all audited fields, showing when and by whom plus old and new values. You will therefore choose to audit any fields where the content is particularly important. Tick the box if no change to the field is permitted. Enter a default value for the field. Enter any hints to help your login complete the field. The text is displayed, at the specified X and Y co-ordinates, when clicking the? button and then the field. For each extra and terminology field, a list box can be built. Place the entries on separate lines by pressing Enter between each one. Select non-required entries and press Delete to clear. Data Dictionary, HTML tab Here you can define the appearance of fields in html output. HTML Width Wrap Internal Width of the field in published reports and in WebServer. If a width is entered, the text will automatically wrap to fit. Tick if you wish the HTML field to wrap within the available width. If not, it extends beyond the right-hand boundary and users will need to scroll right to see all the text. Fields that are marked as Internal are not visible to Web Guests. Administrator's Guide for SupportDesk C-24

29 3.6 Contact Classifications The contact classifications are used to categorise and define the roles of the contacts. The classification Primary Contact is always available as a setting for the first contact entered on a customer. The dialogue lists the current classifications available and allows you to add, update or remove entries. To activate the Contact Classifications dialogue: From the Setup menu, click on Contact Classifications... Contact Classifications Dialogue The current classifications are listed. Click Add to create a record or Open to open the selected classification and update it. In each case the Classifications dialogue appears. Use Delete to delete the highlighted entry. Administrator's Guide for SupportDesk C-25

30 Classification DetailsTo activate the Classification Details dialogue: Click Add or Open at the Classifications dialogue. Classifications Details Dialogue Details Tab Classification Contacts Tab Provide a name for the classification. The contacts with this classification are listed along with the name of their customer 3.7 Setup and Templates This option is available from both the Setup and Mail menus. It is described in the Setup chapter on page PC Auditor The PC Audit menu item is available for those who have purchased the Audit option to monitor the hardware and software on logins PCs. This option is described in the PC Audit chapter on page LDAP Integrator LDAP (Lightweight Directory Access Protocol) is a standard Internet directory service. This is an optional feature that synchronises SupportDesk with Active Directory or Novell NDS. The purpose of this feature is to load customers and contacts from an existing database. You will do this initially when SupportDesk is installed and then periodically to keep details up-todate. It is then not necessary to create this information manually through Customer and Administrator's Guide for SupportDesk C-26

31 Contact maintenance routines (both described in the User s Guide), although you can update data there. LDAP Integrator Screen You must first enter details to control processing: Base Scope Filter Server User Name Password LDAP Authenticated Web Access Loading Mode On completion, click: These are LDAP terms that identify the data that is to be loaded. Enter the name of the server where the source database is located. Identify the user who accesses the server. Logging into WebServer usually requires input of the same login and password as for the Windows version of SupportDesk. Tick this box if you want to avoid setting up separate SupportDesk logins for WebServer users. If so, login details are checked to the LDAP database to validate the normal network login and password. Indicate if selected data is to be loaded as customers or contacts. These must be processed separately. Administrator's Guide for SupportDesk C-27

32 Query LDAP Server to access the server and list the results. You should then check the records are the correct ones to be loaded. If not, change the parameters and re-query. Synchronise LDAP Information with SupportDesk to load the listed records to SupportDesk as customers or contacts. Any matching records (manually entered or previously loaded) are updated Centennial Connector Centennial Asset is an auditing application that can be used instead of SupportDesk s own PC Auditor. If you use this application, select Centennial Connector to synchronise and load Centennial Asset information into SupportDesk s customer and inventory databases. Administrator's Guide for SupportDesk C-28

33 4 Login Menu The Supervisor is responsible for the set up and maintenance of login details. The privilege you assign to a login determines the functions that the login may perform within SupportDesk. Several logins can have Supervisor status, allowing each one the full range of functions and responsibilities. You can list login records at the main window by clicking on Logins in the Explorer panel. Double-click any record to view the login details. The following options are available after selecting Logins from the Setup menu: New Open Delete to create a login. to display a list of logins and select one to edit. Any active logins are identified, as are those that are Engineers, Groups or WebGuests. You can also open a login record by double-clicking one that is listed at the main window or selecting from the rightclick menu. to display a list of logins (as for Open ) and choose one to delete. You are warned if the login has outstanding calls assigned. If you still delete the login, the assignee then becomes unknown and you must assign another login. Note: Instead of deleting a login, tick the Archive box instead. This retains the login record but it is no longer a live entry. Clear User Print Publish is processed if a hardware or software problem has left users recorded as logged in even though they are no longer accessing SupportDesk. You must clear these entries so that they can log in again. Selected a listed login and click Clear or click Clear All to mark all listed users as not logged in. prints or publishes a summary report of all logins. The fields that are printed are those listed at the main window. You can change these fields through the Fields dialogue from the Options menu (described in the Using SupportDesk guide). 4.1 Adding and Maintaining Logins You can create any number of logins with a privilege of Engineer. These logins cannot access SupportDesk but calls may be assigned to them. The software licence determines the number of logins that are able to enter the system at one time. Input is over three tabbed forms. Administrator's Guide for SupportDesk C-29

34 Click the Copy to New Login button to create a user with the same details as the current one. You will need to enter a name, security information and other individual details. Details Tab Login Dialogue, Details tab Name Tag Login Password Privilege Supervisor Support Analyst Engineer This is a mandatory field for the input of a unique name for the login. The login name is displayed in the Explorer panel at the main window when the login is accessing SupportDesk. This is a mandatory field for the input of a unique login reference. When calls are displayed at the main window, assignees (the logins assigned to resolve calls) are referenced by their tag. If the login tag is modified, the tag against existing records is also changed. Specify the details that the login must enter at the SupportDesk Login window when accessing the system (the login and password are disabled for Engineer logins). Select one of the radio buttons to specify the areas of the system the login may access. Supervisors have access to all parts of the system. Support logins may update customers, products, calls, contracts and suppliers. This is the default privilege for new logins and allows them to input and update calls and notes. This privilege puts the login into the list of assignees that can be selected at the call dialogue. An engineer has no login and no password. Any number of engineers may be entered. Their creation is not restricted by the licence agreement. Administrator's Guide for SupportDesk C-30

35 WebGuest Group Configuration Windows Enabled Delete Records View All Calls/Activities Modify Calls Modify Call Notes Modify Dates Access Reports For those systems with the WebServer option to access SupportDesk. WebGuests do not have Windows access. Their ability to view data can be restricted by specifying a View. You can access the Login Details dialogue via the Contact Details dialogue to make customer contacts into WebGuest logins. If the WebGuest radio button is selected, the Windows Enabled configuration box is disabled and WebServer Enabled is ticked automatically. A group has no login and password. Groups are used in conjunction with resource allocation records so that other logins can be made members of the group. Assigning a call to the group includes the call in lists for the group members until the call is allocated to a particular group member. The following configuration check boxes can be used to fine-tune the login s level of functionality. The ones that are available depend on the login s privilege setting. Tick this box if the login is to access SupportDesk via Windows. If the login is a WebGuest, (see Privilege above) only using the WebServer to access SupportDesk, then this check box is disabled. Records can only be deleted if this box is ticked. The login must also have the appropriate level of privilege. For example, a login can only delete a customer record if the login has access to the Customer menu (a privilege of Supervisor or Support) and this box is checked. Tick this box if the login is allowed to see all calls and activities listed at the main SupportDesk window. Only calls entered by and assigned to the login may be modified, unless the following check box is also selected. Normally, a login may modify a call that has been input by or assigned to the login. (A Supervisor can modify all calls.) If this box is checked, the login is allowed to alter the detail of any call. Note, for all the calls to be listed at the main SupportDesk window, the previous check box must also be selected. The notes text cannot be normally altered once the OK button has been clicked at the call dialogue. After this time, the notes text can only be viewed. If you check this box, the login is allowed to amend or delete notes at any time. Tick this box to allow amendment of call dates. Indicate if the user can add and maintain reports through the Report Designer. Administrator's Guide for SupportDesk C-31

36 Group Assignment Create Calls Close Calls Assign Calls Create/Amend Customers/ Products Tick the box if the user can assign calls to any login group. If it is unticked, the user can only assign calls to logins within their own group. Leave this box ticked if the login is allowed to create new calls. Preventing this activity is useful for restricting the functionality of WebServer logins. Leave this box checked if the login is allowed to close calls. Leave this box checked if the login is allowed to assign calls. Indicate if the login can create or amend customer or product records. Add to Kbase Default View Exclusive Default Folder Selection Login Management First/Second/ Third Line Support Dictionary Comms Channel Tick the box if the user is allowed to add call details to the knowledgebase so that they are available to others. The Default View pull-down lists the views created. (Views are used to filter and order records at the main window.) Select the view to be in effect when the login first enters SupportDesk. (WebGuest logins are automatically locked into the WebView view, but this can be altered.) Tick this box if the selected view is the only view the login is allowed to have. This is especially useful for restricting the access of WebGuest logins. From the pull-down list, choose the start folder for the login (the folder that is automatically opened when the login accesses SupportDesk). Calls raised by the login are entered into the current folder. To create folders, refer to Folder Management on page 8. All the available folders are listed. Click to select every one that the login can access. Tick the areas the login is allowed to access. To see the help desk calls, the login must have at least the Support box ticked. Use the radio buttons to indicate the login s support level. These can be used when reporting to analyse the support level a call required. Specify the Data Dictionary to be activated for this login. By this means, different dialogue field prompts can be set for different logins. Indicate the normal method of communication for this login. If you choose SMS or Night, any messages are automatically re-routed to an SMS third party. Administrator's Guide for SupportDesk C-32

37 AutoSpell Check Archived News Info Tab Indicate if text entries by this login to the call, notes and knowledgebase dialogues are to be spell-checked automatically. If not, spelling can be checked on request. Use this check box to archive logins that no longer access SupportDesk. Their login is released and their name removed from current lists. Enter any message that is to be displayed to the user at login. Login Dialogue, Info tab Most of the fields on this form are purely for narrative purposes. If the UK Post Code Integrator is installed, entering the post code and clicking the button will list matching addresses. Rate per Hour/Day Enter the cost rates that apply for this login. These are used in job costing in preference to the rates set for the activity category and product, but not for the customer. Administrator's Guide for SupportDesk C-33

38 Options Tab Login Dialogue, Options tab Enabled Documents Self Acknowledgement WebServer Enabled Only available with the option. Tick the box if the login is allowed to send and receive messages. In addition, the following options may also be set. If ticked, the login can attach documents to the and receive attachments on incoming mail. Leave ticked if the login wants to receive s that have been automatically generated to him or her. Enter the login s address. Tick the box if the login is to have WebServer access. Logins can have both Windows and WebServer access. Access to Call Notes Tick if the WebGuest is allowed to read call notes via SupportDesk WebServer. KnowledgeBase Access Customer Lock-In Lock onto Contact Indicate if the login can access the knowledgebase via the WebServer. For use with SupportDesk WebServer, to restrict the access of the WebGuest to a specified customer s calls. Leave blank if there is no restriction. Applies if a customer lock-in is specified. Tick the box if the login can only see their own calls for the customer or leave unticked to see all calls for that customer. Administrator's Guide for SupportDesk C-34

39 Department/Group Lock-in Telephony Enabled Make a selection from the pull-down list if a WebGuest with this login can only access calls with a matching department or group entered. Leave blank if access to all departments or groups is allowed. Only available with the Telephony option. Tick the box if the login is allowed to use automatic dial out. Administrator's Guide for SupportDesk C-35

40 5 Defining Public Holidays When calculating the elapsed time for a call, SupportDesk takes into account the office hours defined through Company Configuration. It will also disregard any public holidays you define here. At the View menu, choose Database and then Public Holidays. You can also click existing entries. You can add, edit and delete public holiday details. to list Public Holidays input Enter or select the date of the holiday and input its description. Tick Archive for a holiday that is in the past and no longer required. Administrator's Guide for SupportDesk C-36

41 6 Database Menu 6.1 Archive Closed Calls While viewing live calls at the main window, a Supervisor can: transfer closed calls to archive list the archived closed calls by clicking the Live/Archive toggle if necessary, restore the archived calls to the live folder view or report closed calls in the archive folder using views and reports already created. The highlighted closed call or all the closed calls currently listed can be transferred, depending on the option selected. If you opt to archive all closed calls, then only those closed calls listed in the current view are transferred. You can use the options on the View menu to filter the calls. For example, using Date Range, you could archive last month s closed calls. If you are using folders to compartmentalise your calls, then an archive is maintained for each call folder. Calls are archived from the current live folder to its associated archive folder. Only closed calls in the current folder are archived. To archive closed calls: From the Database menu, click on Archive Closed Call Or Archive All Closed Calls in View Before commencing the procedure, SupportDesk asks whether a security copy of the databases has been taken. During the operation, you are notified of the call currently being transferred. On completion, you are told the number of calls transferred. 6.2 Restore Closed Calls You can transfer closed calls back from archive to the live database. Either the highlighted closed call or all the calls can be restored, subject to any current view parameters. The options are only available to a Supervisor while viewing archive. To restore closed calls: From the Database menu, click on Restore Closed Call Or Restore All Closed Calls in View Before proceeding, SupportDesk asks you to verify your request. Administrator's Guide for SupportDesk C-37

42 On completion of the task you are returned to the main SupportDesk window. The closed calls will be removed from the list of archived calls. 6.3 Delete Records You can delete blocks of archived records from the archive. Only the records listed in the current view are deleted. This option is available to a Supervisor while viewing archive. To delete archived records: From the Database menu, click on Delete All Records in View 6.4 Importing External Data SupportDesk has the ability to load external data files directly into the databases. You can therefore download data from any existing databases and populate the SupportDesk databases. The files to be imported must be flat files of comma-separated values. Each line in the text file represents a SupportDesk record of a particular type. The first characters in each line indicate the type of record to be loaded. Note: Calls and notes are loaded into the current call folder. Any products, customers and categories referenced in the calls should belong to the current folder. Similarly, if you are importing calls to an archive folder, the calls should have status closed. SupportDesk does not make these checks. To activate the Import dialogue: From the Database menu, click on Import CSV File... Select the file containing the import records. An information box then appears, summarising the results of the import. If you have any errors, you can view the offending records. The error log is listed to the file suppdesk.err. For more details on the format of the import records and validation, please refer to the Import Formats chapter on page Exporting SupportDesk Databases You can export the current databases into a named file. The output records have same layout as the corresponding import records. (See Import Formats, on page 62, for layouts.) This option exports the complete contents of specified databases. If you only want to export certain records, select the database to appear at the main window and then use the View menu to determine the records to be displayed. You can then use the Export option from the File menu (described in the Using SupportDesk guide) to export the records listed. Administrator's Guide for SupportDesk C-38

43 To activate the Export databases dialogue: From the Database menu, click on Export CSV File... Export Databases Dialogue Databases Use these check boxes to mark which of the SupportDesk databases you wish to export. By default, all the database boxes are ticked. You can use the All or None buttons to select all or none of the databases and then fine-tune your request by clicking on individual entries. Click the OK button and then choose a location and file name for the export file. The default is export.txt on the SupportDesk directory. If this file already exists, you must confirm to replace the existing file. On completion, you can view the export file before being returned to the main window. 6.6 Integrity Checker This option checks the integrity of the database and reports any errors. You may run it periodically or if you think there are database problems. Select Integrity Checker from the Database menu and then confirm you want to continue. The routine then processes without further input. 6.7 Loading KnowledgeBase Supervisor logins can load closed calls from the current View to KnowledgeBase. Only those records with a subject and solution are loaded. The call subject is copied to both the KnowledgeBase problem and keywords. The call solution is copied to the KnowledgeBase solution. To load closed calls to KnowledgeBase: From the Database menu, click Load KnowledgeBase Use the right-click menu to delete KnowledgeBase records that have been loaded in error. 6.8 Publish an Call Submission Form This processing is described in the Setup chapter on page 50. Administrator's Guide for SupportDesk C-39

44 7 Resource Allocation Resource Allocation is a means of recording where your company s expertise lies. You can record the topics in which different users are particularly knowledgeable. Resource allocation records are used as an aid to assigning calls. When entering a call, you can use the Allocate button to display a list of users with their resource allocation knowledge rating. Note: The Allocate button only appears at the Call dialogue when resource allocation records have been created and auto-allocation has not been selected at the Company Configuration dialogue. Enter or update records when resource allocation records are displayed at the main window, using the right mouse button. For each record, you must at least select a login. Pick a product where the login is an expert and give a knowledge rating. Similarly, you can identify a customer whose calls the login can handle. You can create any number of resource allocation records for a login to identify all the areas of expertise. In addition, you can enter a period that the login is available as a resource. At the Call dialogue, if a customer (and/or product) is selected and the Allocate button clicked, a list of resource allocation logins who have been identified for this customer or product with their knowledge rating, are presented. At the Company Configuration dialogue you can tick the Auto-Allocation box and SupportDesk will automatically allocate the call to the user with the highest rating. Resource allocation records can be used to provide login group details. A group is created as a login record at the Login details dialogue. When entering resource allocation information, you can identify the group to which a login belongs. If a call is assigned to a group, it is included in the list for all members of the group until it is assigned to a particular member. 7.1 Viewing Resource Allocation You can list resource allocation records at the main window, providing you have Supervisor authority, by selecting View Database Resource Allocations or by choosing Resource Allocations from the Explorer panel. Administrator's Guide for SupportDesk C-40

45 7.2 Adding and Updating Resource Allocation Records To activate the Resource Allocation dialogue: At the main window, while viewing resource allocation records, use the right mouse button to create new or open existing records. Resource Allocation Dialogue Login Group Defaults to the name of the login entering the resource allocation record. Select an alternative login from the list. Use to enter the login into a group. Only group logins are listed here. Calls subsequently assigned to the group are listed at the main window for each group member, until it is allocated to a particular member of the group. Product Customer Select the product on which the login is an expert. If the login has knowledge of other products, enter more resource allocation records. Select from the list a customer for which the login is suitable. Enter a resource allocation record for each customer this login is appropriate to handle. Administrator's Guide for SupportDesk C-41

46 Unavailable / not applicable Start Date Expire Date Costing Units Costing Rate Knowledge Role Description Tick to remove this particular resource allocation record from the allocate search results at the Call dialogue. You could use this check box when a login is temporarily unavailable but you wish to re-instate the login at a later date. If the login is no longer available you can delete the record using the right mouse button when displaying resource allocations at the main window. Enter dates to cover the period for which the login (resource) is available. Click Now! to substitute today s date. Use this field to record the number of units. It is provided for your records only. Use these fields to record a rate, selecting the appropriate time period (such as per week) from the pull down list. Data is recorded for your information only. Select from 0-10 a rating for the login s knowledge or appropriateness for dealing with calls for this product or customer. The rating is displayed when you click the Allocate button at the Call dialogue and this resource is included in the search results. Outline the login s role and describe their areas of expertise. Administrator's Guide for SupportDesk C-42

47 8 Launch You can launch the SupportDesk options, such as Call Escalation or Call Monitor, from the Launch menu. If you are licensed to use these options, they are automatically added to the menu. If you have the PC Audit option as part of your internal IT help desk, you can also use the Launch menu to take control of another user s PC. Use the Ping entry to test the network connection to the highlighted PC. You can add other applications to the Launch menu so that you can start them from within SupportDesk. Use the Launch Setup dialogue to detail the applications you wish to launch. When you next login to SupportDesk, the entries previously set up are listed in the Launch menu and you can start them from there. 8.1 Launch Setup Use the Application Launcher to configure up to ten menu items to appear on the Launch Menu. The entries are used to launch other applications from within SupportDesk. Create Launch Menu entries at the numbered tabs. To activate the Application Launcher dialogue: From the Launch menu, click on Setup Application Launcher Dialogue Menu Name Help The name of the entry in the Launch menu. The help text that appears in the status line when you highlight the entry. Administrator's Guide for SupportDesk C-43

48 Application Directory Launch Menu Enter the name of the program or click the Application button to browse and select the application, showing the full path and file name. If you have specified the full path at Application, leave this entry blank. Otherwise, input the start directory for the selected application. Tick to show the Launch Menu on the ribbon menu at the main window. Administrator's Guide for SupportDesk C-44

49 9 Setup Use the option with MAPI or SMTP/POP3 compliant systems. For those with the option, there is an extra menu (Mail) at the main window. SupportDesk offers a number of means of sending messages. To send and receive SupportDesk messages, you must be configured with Enabled at your Login Options dialogue (refer to the Login Menu chapter on page 29) and have mail client software on your workstation. If you want s to be automatically sent when a login closes a call, tick the Mail on Closure box on the login's details. The message templates determine the recipients of these automatic mails (customer, owner, assignee). Message templates are available on the Mail and Setup menus. You can alter them to provide the message style you want for various situations where mail is sent (refer to the Setup Menu chapter on page 4 for information on the message templates). With the option, you can a call template to a customer so that they can log a fault or issue and return it to you by . The call form message templates can be found on the Templates menu item. And the return s are collected using the Read options on the menu. Alternatively, you can Publish an Call Submission Form (from the Database menu) to an area on your website. This enables your customers to submit their queries in a more structured way. The resulting is still collected using Read. 9.1 Automatic Mail Use the Setup & Templates menu item (see page 47) to determine the templates to be used in the various automatic mail situations. 9.2 Compose Mail To compose a new mail message, from the Mail menu click on Compose New... Mail client software is activated for you to send your own message. 9.3 Send Mail to a Customer, Owner, Assignee To send the details of a call to an appropriate party, highlight the call at the main window and select customer, owner or assignee from the Mail menu. The appropriate template is used and the mail will be sent to the relevant address. If no address can be found, one must be supplied. If a record other than a call is highlighted, complete the message with your own text. Administrator's Guide for SupportDesk C-45

50 9.4 Send a CSV File of a Call To send a CSV file of a call, at the Mail menu click on Send (CSV)... The currently highlighted call is mailed. Use your mouse to mark calls in the margin. In this case, these calls are mailed rather than the highlighted call. Mail client software is activated for you to send the full call details as a file of comma separated values, in the same format as required by Import. You need to identify the recipient of the mail. 9.5 Read Mail With the option, you can receive forms returned by your customer and convert them to SupportDesk calls. To read s sent to SupportDesk: From the Mail menu, click on Read... Your mail inbox is read for SupportDesk mail (returned forms). The profile on the setup templates dialogue determines the inbox used. For each mail found where the subject matches the subject on an form message template, the call dialogue appears with the ed fields extracted and substituted into the appropriate call fields. Any files attached to the message become attachments to the generated call (only logins with the Attachments box checked on the Login Details dialogue can receive mail with attached files). A copy of the can be saved as the first note. If you press OK to add the call, SupportDesk then prompts for the source mail to be deleted from your inbox. If an form has no subject then all mail in the inbox is treated as incoming mail. For incoming mail sent by a published call form, SupportDesk recognises the subject Form posted by Microsoft Internet Explorer and the details are sent as an attachment (postdata.att). s generated by SupportDesk that are replied to, will be added as a note to the original call. The subject must correspond with the mail sent out. SupportDesk will attempt to match the incoming address with an existing customer or contact to log the issue for the right person. If it is unsuccessful, the incoming address is substituted into the call contact field. If you opt to read mail using Read Background, the above action occurs as a background task and the source mail is automatically deleted from the inbox. Administrator's Guide for SupportDesk C-46

51 9.6 Configuring s Access this dialogue to configure templates for various circumstances. You can also access it from the Mail menu. If you are not a Supervisor you can alter your personal settings and see the set-up for templates but cannot alter the detail. The lower half of the dialogue lists under the various tabs, the situations where an can be sent. Double-click on an entry to alter it. The Message Templates are simply Notepad files that can be changed as required. To activate the Configuration dialogue: From the Setup menu, click on Setup & Templates Configuration Dialogue Enabled Receive/Send Attachments Tick if the login is allowed to send and receive messages. Tick if the login is allowed to send and receive file attachments with the . Administrator's Guide for SupportDesk C-47

52 Self Acknowledgement Address Exchange Settings: Profile Name Password POP3 Settings: Account Name Password POP3/SMTP Server Signature Allow External s Managers Tabs Template Leave ticked if the login wants to receive s that have been generated to him. (For example, when a new call is created and the login is the owner.) The login s address. If this is omitted, the login s name is used. These settings apply if Microsoft Exchange is used as the application. Microsoft profile name for your Exchange account. Password for the profile name. Input is required here if messages are sent and received through some other POP3 application. Enter the name and password that identify your account. Depending on the protocol that is used by your application, enter the name and location of the server. Enter text to be appended to each message. This may provide telephone numbers and other contact details. If unticked, the login can only send and receive s within the company. Otherwise, no restrictions are placed on the source or destination of messages. For each login, you can indicate who the person s manager is. Tick the box if, when an is sent to the login, a copy is also to be sent to the login s manager. The various tabs list the situations where an may be sent, showing the current settings. Double click on an entry to show the Template. The Template dialogue is presented when you double click a specific situation listed in the tabs of the Configuration dialogue. You can set the template to be used for the selected situation, identified at the top of the screen. Use the pulldown list to select the template identifier to be used in this circumstance. You can make any alterations to the layout of the selected template. The changes made will be saved with the template and will come into effect whenever this template is used. You can also set instructions, such as pause before sending to be used in this instance. The Message Templates are simple text files. Individual entries may have particular significance: text prefixed with an exclamation mark is a note and is not used in the message Administrator's Guide for SupportDesk C-48

53 fields held within angled brackets are variable fields and can be removed or altered to another variable field. These variable fields take their names from the data dictionary so that, for example, <Call:Subject> will include the subject in the message. There are some exceptions: <Notes:Details> includes the text for the selected call note <Call:NotesText> includes the textual part of all the notes <Call:Notes> includes all the detail for all the call notes. fields that are prefixed by the word Prompt indicate that the prompt specified in the data dictionary for this field will be substituted in the form (See Data Dictionary earlier in this chapter.) other text is hard coded and can be changed as desired. Template Dialogue Template Number Pause before Select from the list the template number you wish to use. If you wish to disable s being sent for this particular situation, select the <Disabled> entry. To create a template, select <New> and enter the Subject and text as required; a number will be generated for the new template. Tick to pause the mail before sending. Administrator's Guide for SupportDesk C-49

54 sending Web Disabled Receipt (MAPI) Add as Activity/Note Send Note From Cc Bcc Subject Message Tick the box if the template is not to be used for , messages that are sent from the WebServer. Tick if you require a receipt that the recipient has opened the mail. Indicate if an activity or note is to be created and added to the parent record when an is generated. Tick if you also wish to send a SupportDesk notice to the recipient. This check box only applies to s to SupportDesk logins. Leave this blank to allow the system to pick up the sender s profile details. Enter the address of the person you want the mail copied to. A blind copy of the will be sent to this address. Enter the subject or title of your . The body of the message is displayed here and can be altered to suit. Variable fields are held within angled brackets as entered in the Data Dictionary. Static text can simply be changed as desired. Click Delete to clear s that have been defined after selecting the <New> entry from the Template Number list. The Test button tests the results of the template. No is actually sent; the results are brought to the screen. 9.7 Publish Call Submission Form A SupportDesk web publishing facility is provided so that you can generate a call form in HTML format for uploading to your company's web site. By default, the form suppform.htm is put into c:\suppdesk\publish directory. Your customers can enter details of problems or messages on the call form and report them via the Internet. The form is submitted to SupportDesk by using the Read Mail feature on the menu. The is sent to the address identified on the Company Configuration dialogue (see page 4). To publish a call form: From the Database menu, click on Publish Call Submission Form Administrator's Guide for SupportDesk C-50

55 HTML Call Form Contact Customer Phone No. Product Type Priority Assignee Subject Description Your customer (or enquirer) can enter their name here. Your customer can select a name from the pull down list. The list is built up from the Web Enabled customer names within SupportDesk. Details can be entered here so that the enquirer can be contacted. Your customer can select the indicated details from the pull down lists. These lists are built up from the Web Enabled product names, category types and category priorities within SupportDesk. Indicate the person to be assigned to the call. Your customer can enter a brief note on the subject of the enquiry plus a full description. This description is entered as the first note when read into SupportDesk. Your customer can click on the Submit Call button to submit the . The Reset button cancels the selections made and clears the fields. Administrator's Guide for SupportDesk C-51

56 10 Call Escalator The Call Escalator is an optional stand-alone program, which can automatically escalate calls and notify parties. Calls where the action date has been exceeded are escalated and marked in the right hand margin of the main window with a red exclamation mark. The category of the call is escalated to the next level as defined on the Category Details Escalation tab (described on page 19). Closing the call removes the exclamation mark. On the Escalator dialogue, if the Notify boxes are ticked, a notice is written to the private noticeboard (described in the User s Guide) of the owner and assignee of the call when response, action or warning times have been breached. The notice will be displayed at the main window as a visual alert. No scanning of calls for escalation is performed until the Start button is pressed. Press the Stop button to terminate the scanning process. The calls are scanned at the set frequency. There are also check box options to automatically start scanning the calls when the program is started and to start the program in a minimised state Escalator Module The Escalator is a separate optional module, supesccs.exe. The Escalator has its own icon in the SupportDesk program folder. You can also load it from the Launch menu. SupportDesk Call Escalator Administrator's Guide for SupportDesk C-52

57 Scan every Run on Startup Send s Run Minimised Escalation Log File Notify Call Response/ Warning/ Action Time Breaches Activity Reminder/ Schedule Breaches Enter the frequency in minutes between scans. Tick if the scan is to be run when the Escalator is first started. If you also have the SupportDesk option and a login has been selected from the Notify list on the Category Details Escalation Tab, this login is ed details of the call escalation. Use the Escalation tab on the Setup & Templates dialogue to determine who should be ed in the event of a breach and the template style to use. Untick the box to prevent s being sent. Tick to minimise the Escalator dialogue. Indicate if a log file is to be created of all calls that have been escalated and breaches of times that have been detected. This is output as database file supescal. Tick to be notified of calls where either the response, warning or action time has been breached. A note is written to the private noticeboard of the owner and assignee of the call. The note will be displayed at the main window as a visual alert. Indicate if the login who is scheduled for an activity is to be sent an message if the activity is not: marked as complete by the scheduled date and time or Monitor & Notify Customer/ Contact/ Inventory/ Contract Expiry Breaches if the reminder date and time has been exceeded (and the Don t Remind me again box has not been ticked). Tick boxes where logins are to be notified if the expiry date on the indicated record is exceeded. Such notifications are posted to the noticeboard. A first warning notice is posted one month before the expiry date. Click the Start button to start the Escalator, Stop to stop it, or Report to produce a predefined report detailing escalated calls. The data is obtained from the supescal table. You can also click: Add as a Service to add the Call Escalator as a Windows service so that it starts automatically each time Windows loads. This causes scans to run at the defined frequency and reports to be produced as requested. You can access the list of Windows services through the Administration Tools from the Windows Control Panel. Remove Service to remove the Call Escalator from the Windows services. You will then need to log on to SupportDesk, after starting Windows, in order to start the Call Escalator. Administrator's Guide for SupportDesk C-53

58 11 Monitor and Scheduler The Service Level Monitor and Scheduler is an optional stand-alone program, supdbmcs.exe. It has its own icon in the SupportDesk program folder and can also be initiated from the Launch menu. The Monitor is processed over three tabs: Real-Time Monitor shows selected results Configuration determines the frequency of scanning the calls Scheduler specifies the frequency of running reports from the library and schedules Quick Calls. For each tab, the current date and time are displayed at the foot of the dialogue along with the licensee s name Service Level Monitor, Real-Time Monitor Tab The calls in the selected folder are tabulated for each customer in the selected period. Counts are provided for calls with specific statuses plus the total number of calls for each customer and a grand total of calls. Counts and percentages are provided for calls responded to and resolved within SLA, plus the number of calls escalated. Again, this information is provided for each customer. The information is sorted so that the customers with the most open calls appear first. Service Level Monitor, Real-Time Monitor Tab Administrator's Guide for SupportDesk C-54

59 Double-click any entry to list the individual calls that it covers. Use the selections at the top of the form to determine what is to be monitored. The first pulldown list indicates the type of data while the second can be sued to focus on a particular record (such as a customer) of that type. The third pull-down allows analysis of the data type by category (such as actions for customers). Below the list, you can choose range settings that indicate how the data is to be monitored: Call Status Period Top Recs Table Folder Identifies the stage that calls have reached. Select a required period. Calls for the selected period are monitored If you have many records to display you can enter here the number of records you wish to see. Those records with the most open calls are presented. The Total line reflects the records displayed. Select from Live Calls, Archived Calls or Live & Archive. Select a folder from those listed to monitor the calls in that folder. Click the buttons as follows: Print Preview Print Refresh Start Stop to view the Call Monitor report on your screen. to print the Call Monitor report. to refresh the list. It will be automatically refreshed depending on the Scan frequency set on the Configuration tab. to start monitoring calls. to stop monitoring calls Service Level Monitor, Configuration Tab You can only update the fields on the Configuration tab when the monitor is stopped. The most important field is the Scan frequency, which determines how often calls are monitored. Click Start to resume monitoring. Scan every Monitor on Startup Run Minimised Enter the frequency in minutes between scans. Tick if the scan is to be run when the monitor is first started. Tick to minimise the monitor dialogue Service Level Monitor, Scheduler Tab This tab lists the reports from the Report library and selected Quick Calls (both described in the User s Guide). For each report you can specify the frequency and time you wish it to run. The report will automatically execute and print at the scheduled time. Administrator's Guide for SupportDesk C-55

60 To schedule a report, highlight it and select the required frequency tab. Times default to the current time (HH:MM) and dates default to the current date. The file name of the report is displayed at the bottom of the frequency tab. In addition, you can schedule Quick Calls for regular creation. This is useful if you use Quick Calls as routine reminders. Simply select the required Quick Call from those listed and click the Add Quick Call to Scheduler button. You can then select the required timings for the Quick Call generation. Call Monitor, Scheduler Tab Report Day Frequency Tabs Never Once Hourly Daily Weekly Monthly Reports from the Crystal Library are listed, along with the frequency, time and date each report is to be run. Click on a report title and select the required frequency tab to alter its schedule. If you have scheduled a report for daily or weekly, tick one or more days for output. Never run the report via the scheduler. Enter the time at which you want the report to run and on which date. Enter the number of minutes (00 to 59) past the hour you want the report to run. Enter the time and tick the days you want the report to run. Enter the time and select the day you want the report to run. Enter the time and the day (01 to 31) of the month you want the report to run. Invalid dates will be ignored. Administrator's Guide for SupportDesk C-56

61 Click the Save button to save schedule setting for the report. Use Add Quick Call to Scheduler to select a Quick Call from the adjacent pull down and add it to the list of items to schedule. You can then select a time and frequency for the regular creation of this Quick Call. Administrator's Guide for SupportDesk C-57

62 12 PC Audit You will generally use this option if you operate an internal IT help desk. There are two parts to this optional add-on. 1. Auditor to audit PCs for hardware and installed software. 2. Remote Control to take control of a PC from within SupportDesk Auditor The Audit program (supaudit.exe) is, by default, installed to the Audit sub-directory under the SupportDesk installation directory. Add the supaudit.exe program to each user s NT login profile script (for stand alone PCs, the program can be run from a floppy disk). You can set various parameters for the supaudit program. These are listed in the Word document Getting Started. Each time a user logs onto their PC, the Audit program will create a text file listing the hardware and software on the workstation. The software audited is determined by the entries in the shipped file supaudit.csv. You can alter the entries in this master document. Load this information into SupportDesk using the PC Auditor menu option on the Setup menu. This lists the PCs audited with address information and the date and time the information was loaded. Administrator's Guide for SupportDesk C-58

63 Load & Merge PC Audit Files dialogue The following information is listed: PC User Name IP Audited Date & Time Status New The host name of the PC. The name registered against the PC as the user of the machine. The IP address of the PC. The date and time the information was loaded. This column shows Processed if an audit file has been found for the PC after clicking Load Audit File or is blank if there is no file. New is shown against a PC that has been audited for the first time. This becomes blank for the second and subsequent audits. Double click on a customer s PC to open the corresponding customer dialogue. Use the Inventory tab on the Customer dialogue to see the inventory items audited and loaded. Use the Type field on the Inventory tab to filter the records in the list. A suite of audit reports is provided in the Report library, described in the User s Guide. Make the following settings: Loading Mode Here you will determine how audit files are to be loaded after auditing a PC. This may be: User as PC Name if the PC is always used by the same person. In this case, the login is stored as the reference for the PC. User as PC Contact indicates that the files are loaded under the PC s host name but the login is also stored as the contact. Calls are then logged by this contact name. User Independent of PC if the PC has no regular user and no login is to be stored for it. Overwrite User Name This applies when another user logs on to a PC and it is audited. In this case, the PC name (customer reference) is the same but the user name (customer name) is different. Tick the box if the audit is to be recorded under the new user name or leave unticked to use the original one. Take Control/Ping using PC Name Tick to take control or ping the highlighted PC using the PC s host name and not IP Address. To be used when the network uses DHCP addressing. Processing is by the available buttons: Load PC Audit Files is run after auditing a PC to load the files produced by the audit program (supaudit.exe). The records loaded are product, customer and inventory that relate to the PCs on the network. The results of the load are displayed on the list. Administrator's Guide for SupportDesk C-59

64 Before undertaking the load, ensure you have selected the correct audit folder and that the Loading Mode is set correctly. Audit PC to check the PC and the software installed, creating a file containing the result of the audit. This option audits the PC from which it is processed but is generally run as part of the network login script. Remove PC clears details of the selected PC from the list and deletes the associated customer record and inventory items. Audit Folder <address> shows the location of the audit files that are to be loaded. Click the button before loading if you want to choose another location. Edit Software Tracker File changes the contents of the supaudit.csv file, which determines the software that is to be audited. A standard file is supplied with SupportDesk but you can modify the list of software that is specified there: Software Tracker File The file will be opened in the application associated with this file type. This will be a text editor, such as WordPad or Notepad. You can add, delete or modify lines to change the list of software to be audited. Administrator's Guide for SupportDesk C-60