Using SupportDesk House-on-the-Hill Software Ltd SupportDesk Green
Software Copyright 1993-2007 House-On-The-Hill Software Ltd. All Rights Reserved. Manual Copyright 1993-2007 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.
Contents 1 About this Document...1 1.1 Organisation of the Documentation...1 1.2 How to Use this Documentation...1 2 SupportDesk Features...2 2.1 Starting SupportDesk...2 2.2 Leaving SupportDesk...3 2.3 Features of the Main SupportDesk Window...4 2.4 Changing the Appearance of the SupportDesk Window...9 2.5 Entering Data...11 2.6 Standard Button Usage...14 2.7 Common Processing...15 2.8 Use of the Right Mouse Button...17 3 Options Menu...19 3.1 Fields Option...19 3.2 Default Settings...19 3.3 Fonts Option...20 3.4 Colours Option...20 3.5 Tool Bar Option...20 3.6 Popup...21 3.7 Margin...21 3.8 Grid Lines...21 3.9 Explorer Option...21 3.10 Preview Pane...21 3.11 Status Line Option...21 3.12 Autofill Call...21 3.13 Progress Indicator...22 3.14 SQL Option...22 3.15 Application Launcher...23 4 View Menu...24 4.1 Options...24 4.2 Database Select...24 4.3 Select Records...25 4.4 Find By Text...27 4.5 Search on Date Range...30 4.6 View Archived Records...33 4.7 Sort Descending/Ascending...33 4.8 Refresh...34 5 File Menu...35 5.1 New Record...35 5.2 Go To Record...35 Using SupportDesk B-i
5.3 Defining and Maintaining Views...35 5.4 Switching Folders...37 5.5 Password Amendment...37 5.6 Automatic Login...38 5.7 Print...38 5.8 Printer Setup...38 5.9 Preview...38 5.10 Publish...39 5.11 Export Records...39 5.12 Outlook Sync...39 5.13 Dial...41 5.14 Exit...41 6 Edit Menu...42 6.1 Select All and Deselect All...42 6.2 Find...42 6.3 Change...42 7 Help Menu...43 7.1 Starting the Help System...43 7.2 How to Use Help...43 7.3 About SupportDesk...46 7.4 SupportDesk HomePage and Customer Support Page...47 8 Shortcut Keys...48 Index...i B-ii Using SupportDesk
1 About this Document 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 (this document) is intended for all SupportDesk users. It covers standard features of SupportDesk and describes standard processing that is generally available. C. Administrator s Guide 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. 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. Using SupportDesk B-1
2 SupportDesk Features The aim of this section of the documentation is to provide you with the necessary basic knowledge to run the system. It should enable you to operate and understand the facilities provided and to find your way around in an orderly and efficient manner. We are not concerned here with the operation of particular features and screens; this is covered elsewhere. Instead, a more general view of the system s features is taken. Topics covered here include: how to start and close SupportDesk features of the main SupportDesk window how to change the appearance of the SupportDesk window the principles of data entry use of buttons common processing use of the right mouse button processing hints. 2.1 Starting SupportDesk To activate SupportDesk, double-click on the House-on-the-Hill icon. If this icon is not on display, check that SupportDesk has been installed correctly. Refer to the Word document Getting Started with SupportDesk. Note: If Automatic Login is ticked at the File menu, you will not see the login window. Your Username and Password are stored and used to log you in. The SupportDesk Login window appears. B-2 Using SupportDesk
SupportDesk Login Dialogue The Login and Password are both eight characters and mandatory. Click OK and your login and password are validated. If either is incorrect, an error message appears, otherwise the main SupportDesk window is presented. SQL Settings Use the SQL Settings tab at the SupportDesk Login to specify the SQL password. Server Password Owner Prefix Save Settings Your SQL Server password. 2.2 Leaving SupportDesk If SupportDesk tables are owned by another login, enter their prefix; for example, jsmith. SupportDesk then prefixes all SQL table accesses with this name; for example, JSMITH.SUPUSER Tick if you wish to save the above entries. To leave SupportDesk: From the File menu, click on Exit Or, click the Exit icon displayed at the main window. Using SupportDesk B-3
2.3 Features of the Main SupportDesk Window The Main SupportDesk Window This screen appears automatically when you log in to SupportDesk. Its content varies depending on: what you are authorised to see and do the type of data that is selected settings that determine what is displayed. The example screen is typical and has several distinct areas. These are described next. The Ribbon Menu Once you have logged into SupportDesk, a ribbon menu appears at the top of the screen. This lists the main menu topics that are available: These topics have a drop-down menu that lists available processing options. The system is supplied with a standard menu structure and the documentation describes this structure. However, depending on your login profile, you may not be able to access all the options those that are unavailable are greyed. Note: The Call menu item may have a different label depending on the type of folder that is currently selected. This term is determined by the terminology specified for the folder through Folder Management (described in the Administrator s Guide). B-4 Using SupportDesk
Access a main menu item by either: clicking on the item using the mouse or holding down the Alt key while pressing the key of the letter that is underlined in the menu name or pressing Alt or F10 to highlight the first menu entry and then using the or keys to move to the required item. Press Enter or to select it. The associated drop-down menu is then displayed. You can repeat the procedure to select an item from the list and can use and to move up and down the list. If you have selected the wrong menu, you can: select a different one or click on a blank area of the screen to clear the menu or press Esc to clear the menu. The Toolbar Beneath the menu is a row of buttons. These provide a quick method of selecting the most common functions and some of them correspond to menu selections. Not all buttons are available to all logins. This depends on the type of login you are and the level of authority you have. Button Menu Available to Processing File, Exit All Exits SupportDesk. Refer to Leaving SupportDesk on page 3. File, New Record Authorised Logins Create record in selected database. This depends on the database currently displayed. File, Print All Print summary of selected records. View, View Archived Records All View, Options, Open All Switch between live and archive for the folder that is currently displayed. Lists records of a selected type (described under View Menu on page 24). Call, New All New call ( Adding and Maintaining Calls in the User s Guide). Using SupportDesk B-5
Button Menu Available to Processing View, Find by Text All View, Database, KnowledgeBase All Search for specific data (page 27). Display KnowledgeBase ( KnowledgeBase in the User s Guide). Mail, Customer Optional addition E-mail copy of a call ( Send Mail to a Customer in the Administrator s Guide). View, Refresh from Database Statistics, Call Information View, Database, Noticeboard The Explorer Panel All All All Manual refresh of main window ( View Menu ; page 34). Call Information ( Processing the Call Information Box ; page 10). Display Noticeboard ( Noticeboard in the User s Guide). The panel to the left of the main window lists various databases and types of data that you can choose to view. Many of these selections are the equivalent of toolbar buttons or menu options, so that you have an alternative method of indicating what you want to see. The icons that you see will depend on your level of authority. Clicking any icon either displays the appropriate records (such as calls or products) or may display a form (for selection of reports, for example). Certain of the icons have a + symbol. This indicates that the data is divided into categories (such as live and archive for calls, or different types of products). Clicking the + symbol shows the different categories so that you can select a particular one. The symbol then becomes a -. Click this to hide the categories. Quick Views While calls, logins, resource allocations and activities are listed, a pull-down selection is available, in the main window summary bar, which changes the contents of the list. You can choose to see all calls or those with a particular status, those where something is due or has occurred today, your own calls or those in breach, the results of views you have saved as Quick Views and various calendar views covering the indicated period: B-6 Using SupportDesk
Calendar View Any activities that are due for calls are shown against the specified action date. Current ones have a white background while those that are late are yellow. Today is marked in red. You can also choose Calendar from within a call folder to see this information. When a calendar view is displayed, a calendar is shown below the Explorer panel. You can select a different month and choose another date to view. If all information is not shown, press and to scroll right and left. You can select an entry by clicking and can double-click to access the call record, in the same way as for the normal view. Choose Leave Calendar to revert to the normal list view. The Data Area Using SupportDesk B-7
The main area of the SupportDesk window lists selected records. These may be live or archived calls from a particular folder, knowledgebase entries, available products, or whatever you have selected to see. The data that is currently displayed influences other processing. For example: if you choose to create a record, this will be of the type that is selected when a particular folder is open, any call that you create is added to that folder. Double-click any listed record to view and, if permitted, update its details. If certain types of record are displayed, particularly calls, the left-hand margin of the data area lists various indicators: Calls marked with a tick have been closed. The call can be transferred to the Archive folder by the Supervisor. An envelope adjacent to a call indicates that the call has just been posted or another login item has added a note. The new call may have been added via the WebServer option or from an e-mailed call submission form. Records marked with a paperclip have attached files. Calls and activities marked with a warning bell have exceeded the Warning Date set. Calls and activities highlighted with a yellow exclamation mark have exceeded the set Action Date. Calls highlighted with a red exclamation mark have been escalated. Calls marked with a hand have had their elapsed time stopped by the selection of a category flagged as stop the clock on the Category Actions tab. Activities marked with these symbols indicate that they involve, respectively, meetings and telephone calls. The Status Bar The line at the bottom of the main window provides current information: 1. SupportDesk working directory or quick help for menu items. 2. Total number of records in the current view. 3. Search string or date range selection parameters. 4. Current case, live or archive. 5. The current date and time. B-8 Using SupportDesk
2.4 Changing the Appearance of the SupportDesk Window The main window has a standard appearance in accordance with default settings. It will also list all records you select and show specific information for these records. You can change the overall appearance of the window and can alter the format and content of the data that appears. If many records are listed, choose Go To from the File menu to start the list at a specific record. Resizing Columns Each column has an initial width that may be too narrow or too wide for the data that it holds. You can change the width of any column by: moving the mouse cursor to the boundary between two columns in the column heading until it changes to a double-headed arrow symbol clicking and holding down the left mouse button dragging the cursor to the left or right so that the column is decreased or increased in size releasing the mouse button when the column is the required size. Note: By reducing the column widths to the minimum size necessary, you may be able to see more columns. Re-sequencing the List Most lists will be sequenced on the first column, generally a code or name. In most cases, you can re-sequence using a different column. To change the sequence of the list (for example, by date rather than code), click the heading of the required column. The list is sorted to ascending order of that column. Select Sort Descending/Ascending from the View menu, or click on the heading again, to reverse the sequence. Using SupportDesk B-9
Processing the Call Information Box Whenever calls are displayed (including quick calls), you can click the Call Information icon or choose Call Information from the Statistics menu to see a summary. This form shows the number of calls that are displayed with the statuses indicated. Click any of the labels to change the contents of main window to list only that type of call. For example, click Open Calls to remove those that are closed and then Total to show both open and closed calls. If you change to a different folder or alter the calls displayed, click the Refresh button to update the numbers shown. Making Changes Using the Options Menu Various selections on the Options menu affect what is shown at the main window. These are as follows: Fields to determine the fields that are to be displayed, and which are identified by the headings at the top of the data area. The Fields dialogue lists the fields available from the selected database and highlights the ones that are included at present: Click a highlighted field to deselect it and any other to select it. You can also click the All button to select every field and then deselect any you do not need, or the None button to deselect all fields so that you can choose individual ones. B-10 Using SupportDesk
On completion, click: Cancel to ignore any changes Apply to change the display but retain the list of fields OK to change the display and clear the dialogue box. Note: You can save these selections for later use through the Save View As option from the File menu ( Defining and Maintaining Views on page 35). Fonts Colours Margin can be used to show text in different fonts, both at the main window and for reports. Refer to Fonts Option on page 20. allows you to change the colours used within SupportDesk. This is described under Colours Option on page 20. clears or displays the margin to the left of the data area. Making Changes Using the View Menu At the View menu, you can select the Database to display and so alter the content of the data area. Various other selections are available from the View menu to change what is shown for the database: Options Select Records Find By Text Search on Date Range View Archived Records Sort Descending /Ascending Refresh View from Database to select or modify the list of views. can be used to show only records for particular customers or that involve certain activities. will list records that contain specified text. displays only records with selected dates. switches from a list of live records to those that are archived. reverses the sequence of the listed records. changes the data displayed to include alterations to the database. All these selections are described fully at the View Menu chapter on page 24. Any settings you make there can be saved for future use through Save View As from the File menu. 2.5 Entering Data Many selections cause an input form to be displayed so that you can enter or change information: Using SupportDesk B-11
SupportDesk Input Form An input form will have a number of items and you will normally process these in series, entering data to each one as required. You can select an item by: clicking on it using the mouse or pressing Tab to move through the items in a downward direction (or left to right), or Shift and Tab to move upwards and backwards. Input items may be of different types: text boxes, where you can type in text or numbers in a required format: pull-down lists, where available entries are displayed for selection. Such a list is signified by a down arrow to the right of the box: Some lists, such as Call Types, have been specifically configured. Others are built up from entries that are already present on similar records. B-12 Using SupportDesk
You can view the list by clicking on the arrow and can then select from the list, or by moving to the box and pressing Alt and. Then press and to move through the list and Enter to select. dates, which can be either input or selected: Clicking the underlined label displays a calendar so you can choose a date. If there is an associated time, this is set to now. Some date fields have an associated arrow button that displays a list of date settings (end of month or year, next day or today) so that you can set a date relevant to now. Note: Input dates as DD/MM/YYYY or MM/DD/YYYY if US format is required. (Set UK/US date format at the Company Configuration dialogue, described in the Administrator s Guide.) Enter years as two digits; 00-70 is converted to 20nn, 71-99 is converted to 19nn. Dates that have been input incorrectly are ignored. check boxes that can only have an on or off setting. This type of input is normally used to provide a yes or no response, with a tick symbol shown in the box to indicate a yes or on setting: Click the box to turn it on or off, or press the spacebar to change the setting. option boxes which provide two or more alternative options and where only one selection is permitted: Click on a required option to select it this deselects any existing option. Data Entry If you input data to text boxes, it may be validated on input or on completion of the screen. Data may not be accepted because: the entry is not compatible with the field definition (for example, you are entering alphabetic characters to a numeric field). the field capacity is exceeded. no input has been made to a mandatory field. If this occurs, check your data carefully and then correct it. Using SupportDesk B-13
2.6 Standard Button Usage All screens include buttons that have particular uses. Many of these are standard throughout SupportDesk and are described here. Any that are specific to a particular form are covered within the description of that form. are provided when several records are available so that you can process them in series. They are disabled when entering a new record. Click the appropriate button to display the previous or next record. prints a summary of the data you are processing. outputs the current record in html format. This will generally be to a particular directory and with a default file name, although you can change these. Your normal web browser will be loaded and the resulting data displayed. Links are provided at the end of the form so that you can create an e-mail and access the company s website. These addresses are defined through Company Configuration from the Setup menu (see the Administrator s Guide). saves the data you have input and closes the form. closes the form without saving your input. A new record is therefore not created and an existing record remains unchanged. provides information about the form you are processing. Refer to How to Use Help, on page 43, for a description. applies when a telephone number is input or displayed and is only active if you have the Telephony option installed. If so, it dials the indicated number, which may be that of a contact, customer or supplier. relates to e-mail addresses and is active if you use the Email module. Pressing the button creates an e-mail for the address so that you can input a required message. is available if you have the UK Post Code Integrator application installed. Entering the post code and clicking the button will obtain matching addresses. Selecting one then completes the appropriate input fields automatically. is a drill-down button, with the button label varying depending on the type of data you are processing (such as product, customer or contact). Click the button to access the record so that you can view and possibly update its contents. Note: Certain buttons that apply to field entries may instead be represented by hyperlinks (indicated by the field label being underlined). Clicking the label has the same effect. B-14 Using SupportDesk
2.7 Common Processing Certain types of data are processed and stored in the same way. These are all selected as tabbed forms when entering or changing data and are described here rather than throughout the document. Attachments Attachments Form The attachments form is provided so that you can attach documents to a record. These will provide additional information for the record, such as a specification or instruction sheet for a product. Any records that have documents attached will be identified by a paperclip symbol in the margin when viewed at the main SupportDesk window. The form lists any documents that are already attached. Buttons are available to process documents: New Open Delete Copy adds a document to the list. This may be any type of file and the standard Windows File Open dialogue is activated so that you can select the file. By default the file is copied to a sub-directory named attach**, where ** varies depending on the type of record (p for products, cc for customer contacts, etc.). activates the Windows program associated with a selected document (such as Microsoft Word) so that you can view and update it. clears the selected document from the list. activates the standard Windows Save As dialogue so that you can save the attached document to a different directory, possibly with another name. Using SupportDesk B-15
Print Link Mail Merge Extra Fields loads the associated program and prints the file. is an alternative to New. Rather than saving a copy of the attached document in the selected directory, it saves a link to the document in its original location. This not only saves space by storing only a single version of the file, but also means that only that version needs to be updated. applies to documents for customers, contacts and calls, so that you can open a Word Mail Merge document from the Templates sub-directory and populate the selected document with details for the customer or contact. This feature is useful for producing oneoff letters, labels and e-mails. Extra Fields Form Extra fields can be defined by a Supervisor through Setup Data Dictionary and Extra Fields. These are created for specific types of record and the values for each are input. The available extra fields are listed under the Name column while the Value column shows the selections for the field. To make or change a selection, click on the appropriate entry and then choose a value from the drop-down list to the right. Click Save when you have completed the selections. B-16 Using SupportDesk
Search Related Calls Search Related Calls Form This is a view-only form that lists the calls in the current folder for the selected product, customer or whatever you are processing. These appear in reference number order but you can click a heading to re-order the list and can alter column widths (as described at Changing the Appearance of the SupportDesk Window on page 9). Double-click a call to see it in more detail. 2.8 Use of the Right Mouse Button Click the right mouse button when positioned on display lines at the main window and a menu pops up. To activate the menu options, click on the required entry with your mouse. Open New Delete Copy New Call Open the selected record Create a new record Delete record (depends on permissions) Creates a record based on the current one but with changed identifier. Start a new call with current record (such as a customer or product) selected as default. Using SupportDesk B-17
# Parents/Children Show the number of related inventory items. Click to see the items. Show All Open Customer Open Contact... Open Product... Open Assignee... Open Owner... For inventory items filtered as above, click to revert to the full list. Open the customer relating to the selected record. Open the customer contact relating to the record. Open the product relating to the selected record. Open the login (assignee) relating to the record. Open the login (owner) relating to the selected record. For the options above, the record depends on the database currently on display. Select the database from the View menu. You can only open records appropriate to the current database. Dial... Mail... To telephone the customer relating to the current record To mail a copy of the selected call Dial and Mail are disabled unless the option is in operation. Choose Field Hide Field Move Field Align Field Move... Take Control Ping Event Viewer Reboot Chat File Transfer System Info Console Exit Determines the fields that are displayed (described at Making Changes Using the Options Menu ) Remove the field column from the main window Move the selected column to the left or right Align the entries under the column heading For a Supervisor to move selected calls to another folder (select calls by clicking in the margin) or to move inventory to another customer. This option is only available when viewing the call and inventory databases. PC Audit option to take control of a selected PC s desktop. PC Audit option to check network connection to a selected PC. PC Audit option displays the event log of a specified PC. PC Audit option closes down and reboots a specified PC. PC Audit option to carry on a dialogue with a user of a specified PC. PC Audit option transfers a data file to a particular PC. PC Audit option shows html output created when a specified PC was last audited. PC Audit option runs a console application, such as the Microsoft Management Console, at a specified PC. To exit SupportDesk. B-18 Using SupportDesk
3 Options Menu This menu contains options that you can use to alter the appearance of the main SupportDesk window and the report output. Click on an option to select a feature or to turn something on or off. An option has a tick against it in the menu if it is activated. 3.1 Fields Option Use the Fields Option to tailor the field information displayed at the main SupportDesk window. Refer to Making Changes Using the Options Menu, on page 10, for a description of this processing. 3.2 Default Settings You can set local defaults for the pull down lists at the Call, Activity and Sales Opportunities dialogues. When a new record is started, the fields with default settings are already entered. Default Settings dialogue Each entry provides a list of the available values so that you can select the one to use as default. When you have completed your selections, click OK. Using SupportDesk B-19
3.3 Fonts Option Use this option to select the fonts used at the main window and in printed output. In the reports you can specify different fonts for the headings and detail lines. You can alter the font styles at any time and can re-establish the standard defaults. Four choices are available: Window... Preview Reports Restore Defaults to change the main window font style. to alter the preview window font. see below. to reset the standard font styles. For Reports, one of four choices can be made: Page No/Date... Co. Name/Dept... Title... Detail Lines... first heading line. second heading line. third heading line. body of the report. The standard Windows Font dialogue is activated. Identify the style required and it is used when printing the appropriate line. You can also specify fonts for reports and summaries from the Report Menu (described in the User s Guide). 3.4 Colours Option Here you can define the colours used within SupportDesk on this PC. You can choose the area that you wish to colour. There are various options to choose from. The standard Windows Colour dialogue is activated. Identify the colour required and it will be used for the selected area. Change colours until you achieve an acceptable scheme. 3.5 Tool Bar Option The Tool Bar, across the top of the main window, provides quick access to various dialogues. These are listed and described at The Toolbar on page 5. You can switch the Tool Bar on or off B-20 Using SupportDesk
3.6 Popup Set this feature on if you want the subject of a call to be displayed whenever the mouse cursor is moved over a call record. 3.7 Margin Use the Margin entry on the Options menu to clear or display the margin of the main window. Refer to The Data Area on page 7 for more information. 3.8 Grid Lines Indicate if you want grid lines at the summary window. These appear horizontally between records and vertically to separate fields. 3.9 Explorer Option The Explorer panel, when active, appears down the left-hand side of the main window. It is shown and described in The Explorer Panel on page 6. 3.10 Preview Pane This applies to the Call window and, if set on, adds a box that shows information for the currently selected call. However, it does reduce the number of calls that can be listed at any time. 3.11 Status Line Option The Status Line is displayed at the main window and is featured in The Status Bar on page 8. Use this option to switch the status line on and off. 3.12 Autofill Call By default, Autofill Call on the Options menu is switched on. This will automatically fill such fields as the customer name at the Call dialogue when you start typing the name of an existing customer. Using SupportDesk B-21
3.13 Progress Indicator Tick the Progress Indicator entry on the Options menu if you wish to be kept informed of progress during lengthy operations such as Archive or Find. If you tick the indicator, the record that is being processed currently is displayed. 3.14 SQL Option Use the SQL entry on the Options menu when filtering records at the main window, to optimise performance and to tailor the view. The buttons are only available to supervisor users. To activate the Customise SQL Server View dialogue: From the Options menu, click on SQL SQL Execute Dialogue Select Maximum number of records to return SQL> Click the buttons as appropriate: The statements for the current filter are displayed here. Change these to suit your needs, although a knowledge of SQL statements is required. Enter the maximum number of records you wish to be collected from the database. If left at zero, all matching records are retrieved with only the first page displayed. Enter an SQL statement here and click the Execute button to action it on the server. B-22 Using SupportDesk
Regenerate, if you have altered the Select statements, but now wish to return to the SupportDesk generated statements Execute, to execute the SQL statement entered in the SQL> field Run SQL Script, to run a particular SQL script. You must locate the script from a specific directory. 3.15 Application Launcher On the Options menu, click Application Launcher to access the Application Launcher set up dialogue. This dialogue is described in the Launch Menu chapter of the Administrator s Guide. Using SupportDesk B-23
4 View Menu Various options are available so that you can change the information shown at the main window. Use the Database menu item or the tool bar icons to determine which set of records is displayed at the main window. The various selections that affect the appearance of the main window are outlined at Making Changes Using the View Menu on page 11. They are generally processed in the same way but there are differences depending on the data that is displayed. When View options do not apply for the data on display, the items are disabled. The view commands for calls act against the current folder only. If you open another folder, the view then takes effect against this new set of calls. The views do not operate across folders concurrently. You can set up views and save them for later recall and use. This is described in the File Menu chapter on page 35, as the commands are part of the File menu. 4.1 Options These provide an alternative means of updating views, as described at Defining and Maintaining Views on page 35. Other selections are available so that you can maintain various views. These are the same as when selecting View from the File menu and are described on page 35. Note: Any search filters applied to calls remain active until cleared. If you set filters, switch to another database and then return to calls, the filters are still active. 4.2 Database Select To choose the data to be displayed at the main window use the Database menu item or a tool bar icon. If you start a new call while viewing a different database, the data from the highlighted record is substituted into the appropriate fields in the call. This is particularly useful when displaying inventory highlighting an inventory record and then starting a new call substitutes the customer, product and serial number. To choose a Database for display: From the View menu, click on Database You can then choose your records to view. B-24 Using SupportDesk
4.3 Select Records Use the Select box to filter the records listed at the main window. You can minimise Select or leave it active on your desktop and alter selection criteria as desired. If you cancel the Select dialogue, the display at the main window reverts to a full list. Note: If you exit SupportDesk with the Select dialogue active, it will automatically be activated when the system is next loaded. When you first activate the Select dialogue, all the fields are selected (this reflects the full display of records at the main window). All the selection criteria operate in the same way. The selection lists presented depend on the record type being filtered. Click the corresponding All button to select all the entries; clicking on an individual entry then deselects it. Similarly, click on the corresponding None button to deselect all the entries. Use the <Blank> entries to select records that have no value for this particular field. For example, if you select Action <Blank>, calls with no selected action are included in the display. Records meeting the highlighted selection criteria are displayed at the main SupportDesk window when you click the Search button. You may use the Select box to filter activities so that you only see a list of the telephone activities. In conjunction with the date range (page 30), you can list the activities you should action today. This filter can be included in a view and saved for later recall and use. You can find the Save View As command on the File menu (page 35). To activate the Select dialogue: From the View menu, click on Select... Select Box for Calls Select Box for Inventory Using SupportDesk B-25
Select Box for Contacts Select Box for Resource Allocation Select Box for KnowledgeBase Select Box for Activities Select Box for Sales Opportunities Categories (Type or Sales Stage) The category group name (level, priority, status or type) prefixes each code. Actions, activities and sales stages are also included. B-26 Using SupportDesk
Customers Products Logins Raised Assignee Topic & Sub-Topic Use the buttons as follows: Customers are listed by reference and you will mark the required entries. If you identify customers by their name in the call dialogue, customers will be listed here by their name followed by their reference in braces. Products are listed with their versions. The <Login> entry displays calls for the current login. SupportDesk has a supplied My Calls view that has only the <Login> entry selected. You can therefore set this as the initial view for users when they log in, so that the first list they see is their own calls. (Initial views are declared at the Login Details dialogue, described in the Administrator s Guide). The list of logins includes Engineers, who can be assigned calls but are not actually able to log in to SupportDesk. Use either of these check boxes if you wish to differentiate between calls raised by or assigned to a login. Filter KnowledgeBase records using these fields. All, for each of the selection criteria, to select all the entries. You can then deselect particular entries by clicking on them. None, to deselect all of the entries in a selection list. Clicking on an individual entry then reselects it. Search, to refresh the record list at the main SupportDesk window, according to the selections you have made. You may alter the selections and refresh the list at any time while the Select dialogue is active. OK operates as for Search, but minimises the dialogue. 4.4 Find By Text Search records within the current folder by entering a defined string of characters, only displaying those records that contain the search string. You can include searches in a view and save for later recall and use. The Save View As command is on the File menu. The Find dialogue presented depends on the records on display. All the text fields held on the record are searched. Finding Records To activate the Find dialogue: From the View menu, click on Find By Text... Or you can click on the Find icon Using SupportDesk B-27
General Processing Find Records dialogue The following input is common to all searches: For Op In Fields Enter the string of characters you wish to search for or select one from those listed. The text fields held on the record are searched. The search is not case sensitive and so you can enter any mixture of upper and lower case characters. The search string appears in the status line at the bottom of the main window. Specify the operator that determines how the search string is to be matched to a text field. This may be: <> are different = are equal like not like field contains the string field does not contain the string. If left blank, all text fields in the records are searched. Choose an entry from the pull-down list to search only that field for the specified characters. Click the Clear button to remove all entries and selections so that you can re-enter. When the details are as required, click: OK Search to start the search and minimise the Find form. to start the search but retain the Find dialogue so that you can alter your search options. The main window now shows records that meet the search criteria. B-28 Using SupportDesk
Search Calls Search Calls dialogue You can specify additional search criteria when calls are displayed by selecting particular customers, products and so on, so that only calls with matching entries will appear. You can also tick boxes to determine what is to be searched: Search All Calls Search Notes Search Solutions The listed records conform to other view criteria that are set. Tick the box if you want to search calls that are not currently listed because they are excluded by other view settings such as Select Records ; see page 25. Tick if you want to include notes in the search. Tick if you want to include solutions in the search (the solution text is not held on the call record, and hence is not included in the search unless this box is ticked). Clicking Apply will start the search and show the results but will not minimise the form so that you can change your selections. Click Save as View to save the settings as a view so they can be selected for later use. Refer to Defining and Maintaining Views on page 35. Using SupportDesk B-29
Search KnowledgeBase Search KnowledgeBase dialogue Here you can tick the indicated boxes that are associated with the fields that you wish to search. The search for KnowledgeBase uses an Internet style: When you use lower case text, the search finds both upper and lower case. When you use upper case, the search finds only upper case. + before the word requires that the text is always in the search results. For example, print + colour finds text that contains the words print and colour. before the word requires that the word is always excluded from the search results. For example, disk hard finds text that contains the word disk but does not contain the word hard. " Use double quotes if you want to search for an exact phrase. For example, "File Error" finds the exact phrase File Error. 4.5 Search on Date Range You can filter records at the main window based on dates held on the record. There are a variety of ways of defining the date parameters. The date range that is in effect appears in the status line. Save date ranges as a view along with other view options for later recall and use. You can find the Save View As command on the File menu. To view records by Date: From the View menu, click on Search on Date Range... B-30 Using SupportDesk
Date Range Dialogue Records Raised Closed To Action Note Added First Note Added Still Open Make a selection to determine the date (and time) field that is to be considered. All these selections do not apply for all records and may have different meanings depending on the type of record being searched: Creation or open date of the record. For a purchase order, this will be the date it was raised. Closed date of the record or the received date for a purchase order. Action date of the record. This will be the expiry date for a customer, contract or customer warranty for inventory and will be the required date for a purchase order. Date on any notes entered to a call, to record replies or resolutions. Date of the first note recorded for a call. Open date of calls that are still open. Then determine how the date range of the selected type is defined: All Dates End of Last To include all records with the selected date, regardless of the date value. Select Dates to input a date range. Records with dates on and within this range are included in the display. Enter both date fields. The From date must be earlier than the To date and both must be valid dates. As an example, using call closed date, you could enter 01/01/03 as the From date and 31/03/03 for To, in order to list calls closed in the first quarter of the year. You can choose to include records with a date up to the end of a selected period, such as a week or next year. Indicate if the date is to be in a previous period, such as last week or year. Using SupportDesk B-31
More than Next Now This Today Within Yesterday Number of Time Units Choose More than and the adjacent number and unit fields and the For number of unit fields become active. Records more than the number of time units old are listed at the main window. For example, using open date on calls, if today s date is 28/03/03 and the date parameter is more than 2 months old, calls created before 28/01/03 are considered for display. In addition, you can specify an end range. For example, More than 30 mins For 90 mins would result in calls that are 30 minutes up to 2 hours old being considered for display. (As before, calls that are closed, but were opened in this time period are included in the display). Determine if the date is to be within a future period, such as next week or next year. This selection filters records that have the current date and time. You may want to identify something that is about to happen. Records where the selected date falls within a current period, such this week, month or year. Records where the selected date is the same as today are displayed. This is useful, when used in conjunction with Action Date, to display a list of records due for action. This selection causes the adjacent number and unit fields to become active. Records with a date less than the number of time units old are included in the list. For example, using open date on calls, if today s date is 28/03/03 and the date parameter is Within 7 days, calls created since 21/03/03 are considered for the display. This is useful if you wish to list calls with a recent date. (Note, calls that are closed, but were opened in this period are included in the display). If you have selected To Action, calls to be actioned within the time period are shown plus calls that have not yet been actioned. Using the example above, calls with action date 28/03/03 to 3/4/03 are listed, plus any calls with an action date earlier than 28/03/03 (that is, those calls to be actioned in the coming week plus those that have not yet been actioned). For calculations based on days, the calendar set at the Company Configuration dialogue is taken into consideration. For calls, if there is a service level category with its own calendar, then this overriding calendar is used. Indicate that you want to see records where the selected date is yesterday. These fields are unlabelled but become available when you click on Within or More than. Enter the number of minutes, hours, days, months or years that are required for the Within/More than request and then select the time unit from the adjacent list box. B-32 Using SupportDesk
For Number of Time Units When the search details are as required, click: OK Search These fields are unlabelled but become available when you click on More than. Once you have entered a number of time units, you may also select an end limit for the More than request. The time unit already selected (described for previous field) is repeated for clarity. For example, More than 2 days For 5 days. to start the search and minimise the search form. to start the search but retain the search dialogue so that you can alter your search options. The main window now shows records that meet the search criteria. 4.6 View Archived Records Use this option to list records that have been archived. Records other than calls can be archived by ticking the Archive box. Closed calls can be archived by a Supervisor login using the Archive Closed Calls entry on the Database menu. Archived calls can only be viewed and not updated. Supervisors can transfer closed calls back to the live call database; see Restore Closed Calls in the Administrator s Guide. Unticking the Archive box can restore other record types. To view Archived Records: From the View menu, click on View Archived Records You can also use the Live/Archive switch to toggle between the live and archive databases. The main window is refreshed listing the archived records. The list can also be subject to any Select, Find and Date Range settings. The status line indicates whether the live or archive database is being displayed. Supervisors can delete archived records using the entry on the Database menu. 4.7 Sort Descending/Ascending Database entries, such as calls, customers and products are usually listed in ascending order of the first column s contents (generally a reference or a name). You can choose to change this order by: clicking a column heading to resequence the list on that column s contents in the case of alphabetical lists, keying a particular letter to start the list at entries beginning with that letter. Choose Sort Descending/Ascending from the View menu to reverse the listed order. Refer to Changing the Appearance of the SupportDesk Window, on page 9, for more information. Using SupportDesk B-33
4.8 Refresh When you select a particular database, the items listed reflect its content at the time. However, other users may be working on the database and so it will be changing constantly. Consequently, the displayed data may become out-of-date. Use the Refresh View for Database entry on the View menu to update the display at the main window. You can also use the Refresh icon. B-34 Using SupportDesk
5 File Menu Use the items within the File menu to save and maintain views of the main window so that they can be recalled. You can also use the File menu to create a record of the type currently on display or can export the records. The bottom of the File menu lists the last five calls accessed. Click an entry to open the call. 5.1 New Record Select this menu item to create a new record of the type currently listed at the main window. 5.2 Go To Record You can start the main window list at a record with a known reference. This is particularly useful if there are many records to display. The dialogue is also available from the Call Menu, to go to particular call. Refer to the Calls chapter in the User s Guide for information on the dialogue. To activate the Go To Record dialogue: From the File menu, click on Go To... 5.3 Defining and Maintaining Views You can define various views using the options Database, Select, Find, Date Range,and Archive all are available from the View menu and are described on page 24. You can recall the saved views, to refresh the record list at the main window, without having to process the individual steps to produce the view. You can also update, copy and delete established views. To create a View From the File menu, click on View New The main window is refreshed to show a full list of the current, live records. Set up your view using the options from the View menu. Use Options Fields to specify the fields to be displayed. To Save the View From the File menu, click on View Save As... Using SupportDesk B-35
Save View As Dialogue Name Folder Table Private Update Restricted Hidden Settings QuickView Favourite Enter the name of the view criteria. To Open an established View From the File menu, click on View Open... or use the entries in the Explorer panel. Identify the call folder that provides data for the view. This may be <Current Folder> and so uses the one that is currently selected, or be one that you specify. You may want to base the view on live or archived calls only, or choose <Current> to use whichever type is selected. The view is public and available to all logins unless you tick this box. Other logins can alter the view unless you tick this box. Tick the box if fields that are defined as hidden, through the Data Dictionary, are to be shown by this view. Tick the box if the view is to appear in the Call Summary Quick View pull-down list so that it can be selected easily. To select a view, double click on the required entry. The main window is refreshed according to the parameters for the view. The name of the current view appears in the main window summary bar. Views that are available to you are listed. To Update an established View: To update an established view, you must first open it. You can then alter and save it. From the File menu, click on View Save B-36 Using SupportDesk
To Delete an established View: From the File menu, click on View Delete Click the view you wish to remove from the list and then click Delete. Alternatively, doubleclick on the view to be deleted. You are then returned to the main SupportDesk window. To Rename an established View From the File menu, click on View Rename... Click the listed view you wish to rename and then click Rename. The Rename View As dialogue appears so that you can enter the new name for the view. 5.4 Switching Folders To see the calls in a different folder, open a new folder from the list of those available in the Explorer panel or the Open Folder dialogue. The initial folder, automatically created when SupportDesk is installed, is listed as <Default>. A Supervisor determines the folders you can access. For information on configuring logins, refer to the Login Menu chapter in the Administrator s Guide. To switch folders: From the File menu, click on Open Folder... Then double click on the required folder from the list. 5.5 Password Amendment You can only change the password associated with your login after logging in with your current password. If you have forgotten your password, consult your Supervisor who is able to set a password for you. The password field is eight characters long and mandatory. To activate the Password dialogue: From the File menu, click on Change Password... Password Dialogue Using SupportDesk B-37
Input your new password, firstly to the Password field and then to the Confirm New Password field. The two entries must be the same or they will not be accepted. Press OK to activate the new password. This is then required the next time you log in. 5.6 Automatic Login Selecting this option will allow you to access SupportDesk without logging in. If the entry is ticked, your current user name and password are saved to log you in automatically and the login screen will not appear next time you access SupportDesk. 5.7 Print You can use the Print item on the File menu to print summaries. Short produces a summary of the database records currently listed at the main window. The fields included in the report are the fields on display. Long produces a Call Report for the call records currently listed at the main window. (If the call database is not displayed, this menu item is disabled and appears grey.) 5.8 Printer Setup SupportDesk allows access to the standard Windows Printer Setup dialogue so that you can redirect print output. To activate the Printer Setup dialogue: From the File menu, click on Printer Setup... 5.9 Preview Select this option to provide an on-screen view of the currently listed data. B-38 Using SupportDesk
Preview screen This is similar to a print preview but the only option is to close the display and return to the list. 5.10 Publish This command produces a summary report, in HTML format, of the database records currently listed. To activate the Publish dialogue: From the File menu, click on Publish... 5.11 Export Records You can export to a file the records currently listed at the main window (use the View menu to filter the records you want to display). The output is in the form of comma-separated values, the records having the same layout as the corresponding import records. To Export records: From the File menu, click on Export... 5.12 Outlook Sync This is an optional module. Select it to synchronise SupportDesk data with Microsoft Outlook. You can merge tasks and contacts separately. Using SupportDesk B-39
Outlook Tasks Outlook Tasks Synchronisation Indicate if you want to synchronise activities, calls or both. If All Users is unticked, only your own calls and activities are processed. Tick the box to process for other users also. Click OK to end without processing or Sync to download the selected records to Outlook as scheduled tasks. These can then, if required, be transferred to and from a Pocket PC. Activities and calls can be processed and marked as complete within Outlook. On the next synchronisation, the amended calls and activities are transferred back to SupportDesk and update the records there. B-40 Using SupportDesk
Outlook Contacts Outlook Contacts Synchronisation Here you can merge into the SupportDesk Contacts database any contacts that are recorded in Outlook. Tick Refresh All to replace all recorded contacts or leave blank for only those that have changed. Click Import to load the contacts. 5.13 Dial This option only applies if you have Telephony installed. If so, it will dial out using the telephone number of the record that is currently highlighted. 5.14 Exit Select this option to leave the SupportDesk. Using SupportDesk B-41
6 Edit Menu 6.1 Select All and Deselect All Use your mouse in conjunction with the Ctrl key to highlight calls. Remove these highlights by picking Deselect All from the Edit menu. Use Select All to highlight all the calls. You can use the Move option on the right-click menu to move marked calls to another folder. (The right mouse button is described on page 17.) 6.2 Find Select this option to display records that contain a defined character string. This processing is the same as for the Find by Text selection from the View menu (see page 27). 6.3 Change Process this option to change the contents of a particular field in all records on display. You may do this, for example, if a login has left the company and is to be replaced by another login as the owner of affected calls. Select Change from the Edit menu. Change dialogue Field From To Select the field for which the content is to be changed. Leave blank if you want to insert a new value irrespective of what the field currently contains. Otherwise, select a specific value that is to be replaced. Choose the new value that is to be inserted or make no selection if the field is to be set to blank. B-42 Using SupportDesk
7 Help Menu 7.1 Starting the Help System To activate the SupportDesk Help System: From the Help menu, click on Contents or Index... To find out what is new in SupportDesk: From the Help menu, click on What s New. You are given a summary of new features and direct links to more detailed help text. 7.2 How to Use Help This documentation is available both in printed form and as online help text. Besides accessing the help text as described previously, you can also press the Help button to obtain context-sensitive help. This provides data about the screen you are processing by displaying the relevant help topic. From there you can access other topics. The help content is displayed in the form of a three-tabbed screen. You can select any of the tabs to see the information you need. The Contents Tab This tab is selected initially and lists the various documents, topics and sub-topics in the order that they appear. When you first access the help, it will list all the available main topics. Using SupportDesk B-43
Help Contents Tab Click the + at the side of a main topic to open the book and list its sub-topics. Each of these topics may have further sub-topics which you can open in the same way. An open book has a different icon and has a besides it. Click this symbol to close the book. Click a topic s icon or title to display that topic in the Help text area. The current topic has a highlight bar so that you can always see where you are within the documentation structure. The Index Tab Help Index Tab Select this tab to list all index entries in alphabetical order. You can scroll through this list or enter a keyword to go directly to the nearest match. View the help text for a topic by clicking on it and selecting the Display button, or by double-clicking. B-44 Using SupportDesk
If a selected topic appears in different parts of the documentation, each incidence is listed within its parent topic and document so that you can choose the correct one. The Search Tab This tab provides a keyword search so that you can key in one or more required words and click List Topics to see where they appear anywhere within the documentation: Help Search Tab Then select an entry from the list and press Display to see the help text. Note: If you enter several words, make a selection from the list at the right of the input box to specify how they are related. Keywords are not case-sensitive and so will match to both upper and lower-case letters. Using SupportDesk B-45
Viewing the Help Screens Help Details screen When you access any topic, the help screen appears. This will show the topic title and descriptive text. Immediately below the topic title are Previous and Next links that you can use to scroll sequentially through the topics in the indicated direction. If there is more text than will fit on a single screen, use the scroll bar to see the rest. Any text that is shown in blue and underlined represents a hypertext link to an associated topic or screen example. Clicking the link takes you directly to that topic or displays a popup. Select the Back button to return to the previous topic or click anywhere on the screen to clear the pop-up. 7.3 About SupportDesk To know which version of SupportDesk you are currently running, refer to the About box. To activate the About SupportDesk window: From the Help menu, click on About House-on-the-Hill... B-46 Using SupportDesk