Reference Manual. FootPrints version 5.5. UniPress Software Inc.

Transcription

1 Reference Manual FootPrints version 5.5 UniPress Software Inc.

2 FootPrints Reference Manual

3 FootPrints Reference Manual FootPrints version 5.5 from UniPress Software FootPrints Reference Manual: Rev 5.5 UniPress Software unipress.com (US and Canada) (International) 2001 UniPress Software, Inc. FootPrints is a trademark of UniPress Software, Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

4 FootPrints Reference Manual Footprints Reference Manual Table Of Contents CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION 1 WHAT IS FOOTPRINTS? 1 PROJECTS 1 ISSUES 1 FOOTPRINTS' USER TYPES 2 ABOUT THIS MANUAL 3 OTHER SOURCES OF INFORMATION 3 PART 1 FOOTPRINTS BASICS 5 CHAPTER 2 GETTING STARTED 7 INSTALLATION 7 LOGIN 7 GETTING ACQUAINTED WITH THE HOME PAGE 10 THE FOOTPRINTS TOOLBAR 11 THE MAIN FRAME 13 THE TOP FRAME 15 ISSUES 16 CHAPTER 3 ISSUES 19 TYPES OF ISSUES 19 CREATING ISSUES 20 CREATE A TEST ISSUE 21 EDITING ISSUES 27 EDIT TEST ISSUE 27 DELETING AN ISSUE 29 COPYING ISSUES 30 REQUESTS 33 SUBMISSION OF ISSUES AND REQUESTS 35 CHAPTER 4 USER TYPES 37 PERMISSION LEVELS 37 DIFFERENCES BETWEEN INDIVIDUAL AND CUSTOMER USER TYPES 38 CHAPTER 5 CUSTOMIZING YOUR PREFERENCES 39 GENERAL PREFERENCES 39 LIST PREFERENCES 41 SECURITY PREFERENCES 42 INSTANT TALK PREFERENCES 42 PART 2 CONFIGURATION AND ADMINISTRATION 43 CHAPTER 6 PROJECT ADMINISTRATION 45 OPTIONS 47 USERS 57 FIELDS 68 AUTOMATED TASK MANAGEMENT 79 CHAPTER 7 ADDRESS BOOK ADMINISTRATION 91 ADD FIELDS 91 EDIT FIELDS 95 EDIT OPTIONS 95 EXPORT DATA 98

5 LOAD EXTERNAL DATA 99 MASS 102 DYNAMIC ADDRESS BOOK LINK 104 CHAPTER 8 SYSTEM ADMINISTRATION 115 PROJECT MANAGEMENT 117 APPEARANCE 130 FEATURES 136 USERS 137 LICENSE MANAGEMENT 151 LOGS 153 FOOTPRINTS SCHEDULING AND DATABASE SERVICES 154 PART 3 USING FOOTPRINTS - MORE FEATURES 155 CHAPTER 9 SEARCHING AND REPORTING 157 SEARCHING 157 REPORTING 164 CHAPTER 10 ADDRESS BOOK 183 CREATE A NEW ADDRESS BOOK CONTACT 184 WORKING WITH ADDRESS BOOK CONTACTS 184 CREATE A NEW ISSUE FROM THE ADDRESS BOOK 186 SEARCH 187 REPORTS 187 ADDRESS BOOK ADMINISTRATION 187 CHAPTER 11 KNOWLEDGE BASE 189 SOLUTIONS 189 WORKING WITH THE KNOWLEDGE BASE 191 KNOWLEDGE BASE SEARCH OPTIONS 191 USING THE KNOWLEDGE BASE TO RESOLVE AN ISSUE 195 POPULARITY 196 FAQ ADMINISTRATION 197 CHAPTER 12 CUSTOMER SELF SERVICE 199 PERMISSION LEVELS 199 USER TYPES 199 LOGIN 200 CUSTOMER TOOLBAR 202 SUBMIT A REQUEST 203 TRACKING REQUESTS 206 RESPONDING TO FOOTPRINTS 207 EDITING REQUESTS 208 SHARED USER ID 210 READ KB USERS 210 KNOWLEDGE BASE 212 REPORTING 218 PROJECTS 221 OTHER CUSTOMER OPTIONS 222 HELP 223 LOGOUT 223 CHAPTER 13 REAL-TIME ISSUE RESOLUTION TOOLS 225 INSTANT TALK 226 REMOTE CONTROL 227

6 FootPrints Reference Manual PART 4 ADVANCED FEATURES 231 CHAPTER 14 MANAGEMENT 233 OUTGOING MANAGEMENT 234 INCOMING MANAGEMENT 243 USING INCOMING 252 CHAPTER 15 ASSET MANAGEMENT 259 INTEGRATION FEATURES 259 SYSTEM ADMINISTRATION SETUP 261 PROJECT ADMINISTRATION SETUP 261 CHAPTER 16 SOFTWARE CHANGE MANAGEMENT 263 INSTALLATION AND SETUP 263 USING FOOTPRINTS SOFTWARE CHANGE MANAGEMENT 264 CHAPTER 17 ADVANCED LIVE ESUPPORT 265 CONFIGURING ADVANCED LIVE ESUPPORT 265 USING CONTROL-F1 WITH FOOTPRINTS 266 CHAPTER 18 DATABASE AND INTERNALS 267 FOOTPRINTS INTERNAL FILES 267 FOOTPRINTS DATABASE INTERNAL COMMANDS 267 PART 5 APPENDICES 279 APPENDIX A INTRODUCTION TO WEB BROWSERS 281 FINDING YOUR WAY AROUND 281 USING FOOTPRINTS PAGES 281 APPENDIX B WEB SERVERS 283 WINDOWS NT/ UNIX WEB SERVER SETUP 284 APPENDIX C ODBC FOR WINDOWS NT/ SETUP 287 DATABASE DESIGN 289 APPENDIX D GLOSSARY 293

7 Chapter 1 Introduction This chapter gives an overview of FootPrints and its intended uses. It also gives a general explanation of some of the terms and concepts of FootPrints. These terms and concepts are explained in more detail throughout this manual. This introduction also gives an overview of the manual and who should read which chapters. What is FootPrints? FootPrints is a web-based helpdesk and problem-tracking software system. It allows multiple users to enter, manage, and access information. Because it runs on a web server, it can be accessed from any browser (such as Netscape or Internet Explorer) on any computer, located anywhere 1. Help desk personnel, customer service reps, engineers, or field techs can open and track problems, bugs or cases for external customers or for an internal user base. FootPrints can hold customers contact and configuration information. Employee and external Customers can log into FootPrints to submit and track their problems, as well as view solutions to common problems. Optionally, FootPrints can also accept input via . The primary function of the FootPrints system is to keep track of information for many users. Users enter information into FootPrints, and FootPrints presents that information to fellow users in an organized way. For example, a large company with several people in different locations working on one project can use FootPrints to keep track of progress on their project. Each user can enter problems, questions, progress information, etc. into FootPrints. Other users then use FootPrints to easily follow each other's progress, search for specific problems, and communicate with each other. FootPrints offers users many options for sorting and viewing the information and makes it easy to enter and edit information as well as find the information when it is needed. Projects FootPrints stores and tracks information in projects. A project is a single database, which can have its own custom fields, options and users. There is no limit to the number of projects that you can create in FootPrints. You may choose to keep all of your data in a single project, or you can create multiple projects. For example, one project can be used for helpdesk, while a second one is used for internal bug tracking. Issues A FootPrints project is comprised of a set of related Issues. Issue is the default name given to a FootPrints record. Each Issue is a numbered record in the FootPrints project database around which all helpdesk and problem tracking activity centers. NOTE: During installation, the Administrator is given the chance to change the default term "Issue" to another name, such as Issue, Call, or Ticket. For clarity, this manual always refers to FootPrints records as Issues. As a concrete example of projects and Issues, consider a hypothetical company that uses FootPrints to track the development of its products. Each product has a project devoted to it. A project contains Issues pertaining to that product. Now, what do the Issues look like? One Issue might contain an announcement that a new glitch has been found in the product. This same Issue also contains the name of the person who found the glitch, their address, the date it was found, and a complete description of the problem. Another Issue might contain an announcement about an upcoming meeting. This Issue also contains the address of the person who made the announcement, the date, and an agenda for the meeting. The type of information Issues contain depends on how that project and the fields associated with it are set up by the administrator. 1 Intranets and firewalls can be used to restrict access to FootPrints as desired. FootPrints itself includes password authentication for access. 1

8 FootPrints Reference Manual FootPrints' User Types FootPrints supports different levels of user privileges for users with different needs. An Individual user account is intended for named internal users, such as helpdesk personnel, customer service representatives or engineers. Customer accounts are shared by more than one person. This type of account is intended for customers and groups of people who require only partial access to your data. Customer accounts are very cost-effective, and allow customers and other groups to submit their own requests and to view the knowledge base. Here is a breakdown of the different user account types: Individual License Types: Agent - A standard, full-strength user. Common uses for this user type include: Help Desk Agent, Call Center Agent, Developer, Engineer, Manager and Project Member. Agent users have the ability to use all of the basic functions of FootPrints, including creating, viewing, editing Issues, and running queries. Project Administrator - In addition to Agent User privileges, the Project Admin can administer a project, including adding custom fields, setting options, and adding users. System Administrator - In addition to Agent User and Project Admin privileges, the System Admin has control over the whole FootPrints system, including administration of any project, adding new projects, and administering licenses. Customer License Types: Read KB - View and search the Knowledge Base. Read KB/Requests - View and search Knowledge Base, and check the status on their requests (entered by an internal user, or via ). Read/Submit - In addition to the functionality described above, can submit Requests via the web interface. Read/Submit/Edit - In addition to the functionality described above, these users have limited edit privileges of their own Requests. NOTE: Each time you add a new user of type Individual Agent, Project or System Admin, you use up a FootPrints license. A Customer license, if purchased, is unlimited. That is, a single Customer ID and password can be shared by an unlimited number of people (each person is uniquely identified by their address or other unique key). Alternatively, each Customer can have his or her own ID and password. In either case, an unlimited number of customers are covered by one license (please contact UniPress for pricing information). An example of the different types of users in action: Let's expand upon the above example of a product development team using FootPrints. Suppose the product being worked on is already on the market. The development team uses FootPrints to work on an updated version, to fix problems with the current version, and to provide customer support for the current version. These tasks are all easily integrated into one FootPrints project. Issues can be used to keep track of developments and problems in the project, as in the above example. In addition, a special type of Issue, a "Solution," can be used to make some of that information available to customers. Customers would be given a user account of type "Customer", which would allow them to view only the "solutions" in the project. With a Customer Read-Only account, that is all that the customer could do. The other type of Customer License provides Read-Submit access, allowing users to view the "Solutions" and also to submit and track "Requests" to the project. Customers use Requests to ask questions and report problems. The Project or System Administrator decides which level of Customer access to provide to the customers. 2

9 About This Manual All licensed users should read section 1 of this manual. It gives an introduction to the layout and basic functions of FootPrints. Section 2 will help project and system administrators set up and configure FootPrints. Section 3 covers many of the features of FootPrints, including Address Book, Knowledge Base, and Reporting. Section 4 covers the advanced features not covered in Section 2, including and Asset Management. Section 5 includes the appendices. Appendix A contains a web browser tutorial. If you don't know how to use your web browser, Appendix A should be read before chapter 2. Appendices B through D are for System Administrators; they deal with installation and configuration of FootPrints. Appendix E contains a Glossary of terms used in FootPrints. NOTE: System Administrators- please read the appendices, as well as the README included with your installation of FootPrints, before installation! This manual is not directed toward Customers, but Chapter 12 does cover the features of the Customer Interface. Other Sources of Information Besides this manual, there are a few other sources of information about FootPrints: online help, User and Administrator Guides, and UniPress support. There is an extensive online help section in FootPrints. Click "Help" in the Toolbar from anywhere within FootPrints to access it. Click on "Contents" or "Find" to find help on a specific topic. Also found in the Help is a glossary of terms used in FootPrints, and an About page, which displays version information. 3

10 FootPrints Reference Manual Figure 1- FootPrints Help Also included with FootPrints are two Getting Started guides, one for Agent users and one for Project Administrators. These guides quickly introduce you to the basic uses of FootPrints and acquaint you with the look and feel of the system, without going into as much detail as this manual does. Additionally, UniPress tech support can be reached by phone in the US and Canada at , and at internationally, by at and on the web at Choose "Tech Support" on this screen to see a list of answers to frequently asked questions about FootPrints, or to submit a question to UniPress. 4

11 Part 1 FootPrints Basics Part 1 FootPrints Basics What you will find in this section Chapter 2 Getting Started - Installation, Logging in, the homepage, basic concepts. Chapter 3 Issues Types of Issues, creating, editing, deleting and copying Issues. Chapter 4 User Types Permission levels, differences between user types. Chapter 5 Customizing Your Preferences Setting up your default homepage list, changing your password. 5

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13 Chapter 2 Getting Started Chapter 2 Getting Started This chapter introduces you to some basic features of FootPrints and acquaints you with the look and feel of the system. This section of the manual presumes a basic understanding of how to use a web browser and a familiarity with the terms defined in Chapter 1. If you're not sure of how to use a web browser, please refer to Appendix A before reading further. The examples provided in this section may differ from the display on your computer for several reasons. FootPrints is customizable and your project may include fields with different names. Also, FootPrints supports all web browsers, but because each browser is slightly different, your system may not look exactly like the examples included here. As mentioned in Chapter 1, FootPrints supports different types of users who are provided with different levels of access to information stored in the system. The examples provided here are for Agent Users. For an explanation of the different types of users, see chapter 4. If you are not an Agent User, different options may be available to you than those displayed in the pictures in this manual. Installation Full installation instructions are included in the README that comes with each version of FootPrints. For more information, please refer to the README for the platform and database version you are installing for more information. Login NOTE: Please refer to the README included with your FootPrints installation package for full installation instructions. The instructions below assume that FootPrints has already been installed and licensed. Use your web browser to go to the URL assigned to your FootPrints system. For example, if the name of your web server machine is myserver, then the URL might be This brings you to the FootPrints Login page. 7

14 FootPrints Reference Manual Figure 2 - Login page To log in: Login to FootPrints with the user ID and password assigned to you (or the user ID and password creating during installation if you just installed FootPrints), and click LOGIN. If FootPrints has already been licensed, please skip to the next section Getting Acquainted with the Homepage. If you just installed FootPrints, please follow the instructions below: 1. To start using FootPrints, you must obtain a license. The first time you login, a 9-character license code will be displayed on the screen (see below). Click the link for licensing page. This will open up a new browser window that brings you to the UniPress Software automatic licensing page. Figure 3 - Get License 2. Fill in the short form on licensing page, and click GO. You will immediately receive a 36-character license string via . 8

15 Chapter 2 Getting Started 3. Enter the 36-character license string in the License String field on the FootPrints screen and click GO. Pasting the license string directly from the (rather than typing it) ensures accuracy. This provides you with a 30-day evaluation license for 5 internal users and Unlimited Customer access. NOTE: If you have purchased FootPrints, you should obtain a permanent license and input it on this screen, instead of following the evaluation license process above. the 9-character code to support@unipress.com for your permanent license. 4. You are now on the FootPrints Home Page. You are currently logged into the project created during installation. So, if you named the first project Help Desk, this will be listed as the current project in the top frame of the screen. If you enter your ID or password incorrectly, you will receive an error message. If after another attempt, you are still unable to login, please contact your Project or System Administrator. 9

16 FootPrints Reference Manual Getting acquainted with the Home Page After successful login, the FootPrints "homepage" displays. The FootPrints homepage is the starting point of your FootPrints project. You can return to the homepage at any time by clicking "Project Home" on the FootPrints Toolbar. Figure 4 - FootPrints Homepage The FootPrints Home Page is split into three frames. The left frame contains the FootPrints Toolbar. It contains links for all tasks in FootPrints. The top frame contains a quick search facility, and displays your user ID and current project. The main frame contains a summary list of your assigned entries. The Display drop-down box lists different types of entries that you can view (this can be customized). Totals for the different kinds of entries in the database are also displayed. 10

17 Chapter 2 Getting Started The FootPrints Toolbar The FootPrints Toolbar in the left frame of your homepage has links to all of your tasks in FootPrints. It remains on the left of every screen in FootPrints. Many of the topics in the toolbar can be expanded; simply click on an option to see all of the choices. To collapse the toolbar, click the option for Project Home. Figure 5 - FootPrints Toolbar 11

18 FootPrints Reference Manual The options in the Toolbar are: Project Home Go to your FootPrints homepage. Create Issue Create a new Issue in FootPrints. Address Book Display this project s Address Book (opens in separate window). Search Advanced Perform detailed search of Project database. Saved Access your saved searches. Reports New Create detailed report of Project database. Saved - Save, edit and reuse report criteria. Cross Project Report on data from multiple FootPrints projects. Time Tracking Create Time tracking report. Historical Report on historical data. Statistical Report on statistical data. Knowledge Base Search includes options to Search the FootPrints Knowledge Base, popular public knowledge bases, and FAQ s. Create Solution - Create a new Solution to a common problem for the Knowledge Base. FAQ Admin Create and edit Frequently Asked Question lists (Admins only). Communication Instant Talk Chat online one-on-one with another user. Remote Control Send instructions on downloading the remote control host software to a user. Live esupport Queue (optional) if this option is enabled, access the Advanced Live esupport queue. Asset Management (optional) if this option is enabled, access the Asset Management database. Change Project Change to another project (you must be a member of that project or a System Admin). My Preferences Change your user preferences. Administration (Administrators only) A complete list of options can be found in the chapters on Administration. Project Admin Perform project administration on the current project. Address Book Perform administration on the current Address Book. System Admin Perform system administration (System Administrators only). Help Online Help complete online help for FootPrints. Getting Started Help on getting started using FootPrints. Logout Logout of FootPrints. The options on the Toolbar will be slightly different depending on your user level. This Manual will take you through all of the Toolbar options. 12

19 Chapter 2 Getting Started The Main Frame The main frame displays a list of the Issues contained in your project. The listing includes some descriptive information about each Issue, such as the title, the date on which it was submitted, and the assignees. The assignees are displayed in a drop-down menu. In addition to displaying information about each Issue, you can view, edit, or perform tasks on each of the Issues listed. To edit an Issue, click the Edit button next to that Issue's number (you must be assigned to that Issue, or an Administrator, to edit an Issue). To view an Issue, click on its title. You can create a report listing the details of multiple Issues by checking the checkboxes to the right of each Issue, choosing Report from the drop-down and clicking GO. You can also close multiple Issues by checking the checkboxes to the right of each Issue, choosing Close from the drop-down and clicking GO. For each Issue, you will see reading from left to right: 1. Issue # - This is the number that FootPrints has assigned this Issue. 2. Priority This is the priority this Issue was given. 3. Assigned to The assignees for this Issue are listed in a drop-down box. 4. Last Edited The date when this Issue was last worked on. 5. Status The status of this Issue. 6. Title The title of the Issue, usually used as a Subject or Summary. Click the hypertext link to view the details of the Issue, or click the green Edit button to edit the Issue (only appears if you have permission to edit this Issue). 7. Report/Close/Delete checkbox Perform a task on multiple Issues at one time. Delete is only available to Administrators. NOTE: The fields displayed on the homepage can be customized on the My Preferences screen. For example, if you create custom fields like Company or Problem type, these fields can be displayed as columns on the homepage. Please refer to the topic on My Preferences for more information. Resorting the Homepage The list displayed on the homepage can be resorted by column. Note that most column headings on the homepage, or any search results page, are hypertext links. The current column being sorted on is designated by a down arrow. To re-sort the list, simply click the column heading. This will sort the list descending by that column (highest to lowest). Click the column heading again, and the list resorts ascending by that column (lowest to highest). Note that the down arrow is replaced by an up arrow. NOTE: The homepage cannot be sorted by the assignee field or any time fields (Last Edit Time, Time Submitted). All other fields, including custom fields, are supported. To sort data by assignee or time, please use the report function. Figure 6 - Resort the Homepage list 13

20 FootPrints Reference Manual Display Drop-Down Above the homepage list is the display drop-down box. This list contains built-in and custom queues and searches. By selecting an option and clicking GO, the homepage list changes to the queue or custom search selected. The display choices are: My Assignments The most recent active Issues assigned to the current user. Shown by default. My Assignments and Requests Active Issues assigned to the current user AND unassigned requests from Customers. All Issues All Issues in the project database. Deleted Deleted Issues (Administrators only). Solutions Solutions to common problems (see below). Requests Requests submitted by Customers (see below). Saved Searches (optional) FootPrints will place any saved (personal or shared) searches in this list. Figure 7 - Display Drop-down list For example, if you choose Solutions and click GO, FootPrints displays a list of all Solutions. To return to the original view, click "Project Home" on the FootPrints Toolbar, or choose "My Assignments" as your view. Both of these have the same effect: They return you to your original Homepage. If the current list has many Issues, Next and Previous buttons appear in the top right hand corner of the frame. Use these to page through the complete list. This frame also contains information about the types of Issues in your project. The Project Totals display how many Issues your project contains in different categories. The numbers of Active, Closed, Solution, and Request Issues are listed, along with links to these Issues. An Active Issue is simply an Issue that has any status other than Closed, including Open Issues, and any custom statuses, such as Pending. Requests are Issues submitted by Customers that are not yet assigned to someone to work on. Solutions are solutions to common problems, and make up the Knowledge Base for the current project. 14

21 Chapter 2 Getting Started The Top Frame The top frame contains the name of the current project, and the name of the user currently logged in. It also contains a quick search facility. To use Quick Search: 1. Search on Keyword or Number by choosing the corresponding radio button. 2. For Keyword, enter the word or phrase that you want to search for in the box. 3. If Number is chosen, enter the Issue number in the box. To search for multiple Issue numbers, enter each number separated by a comma i.e. 5,22, Click the GO button. FootPrints displays a list of all Issues that match your search criteria in the main frame. More complex searches are covered in Chapter 8. Figure 8 - Quick Search 15

22 FootPrints Reference Manual Issues FootPrints stores and tracks information in what are called Issues (the FootPrints Administrator may have chosen a different name, such as Tickets, Entries, etc.). Each Issue consists of a number of fields. A field contains a single piece of information, such as a number, a word, or a date. A field represents a single column in the database. In a given FootPrints project, all the Issues have the same format - the same number and type of fields. Some essential fields come agent with FootPrints, such as Title, Description, and Issue Number. Additional fields can be added by the Project Administrator. Custom fields added by an Administrator are called Project fields, since they are added only to a given project. There is also a second set of fields called Address Book fields. The Address Book is normally used to keep the contact information for your Customers, and can also be customized by the Administrator. The main frame of the FootPrints homepage lists the Issues in the project. It displays some fields of each Issue in the list, such as the title and the date the Issue was created. The complete Issue contains more information. For example, the Title might be a short description of the problem reported, while the complete Issue could contain a detailed description, the name and phone number of the person who reported the problem, and a product version number. Viewing Issues To view the details of an Issue, click the Title of the Issue in the main frame. The full details of the Issue then appear on the "Details" page. Here is an example of a Details page: Figure 9 - Details page 16

23 Chapter 2 Getting Started The Details page gives you all of the information on an Issue, including Submit Date, Priority, Status, Description, etc. If custom Project and Address Book fields have been created, such as Product or address, they are displayed here as well. If you don't see all the fields, use the scroll bar to display the full Issue. NOTE: Issues can have more than one generation in the Description field. If an Issue has multiple Descriptions, these are displayed with time and date stamps for each generation. There are also buttons that allow you to work with this Issue. They are: Details Display details of Issue (default). Edit Edit or append to the Issue (only available if you have permissions to this Issue). Copy Copy this Issue and make it into a new Issue, which can then be edited. Delete Delete the Issue from this project (only available to Administrators, or if you are assigned to the Issue). History Display the entire history of this Issue, with time/date/user stamps. Report Display a report of this Issue (opens in separate window for printing). Add to KB Create a public Solution for the Knowledge Base with the details from this Issue (won t affect original Issue). Time Track Display time tracking and billing information (optional). These options are discussed in more detail in the chapter on Issues. 17

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25 Chapter 3 Issues Chapter 3 Issues Types of Issues There are three types of Issues in FootPrints: 1. Issue This is what you normally use to log an incident. The name for this may be different (Ticket, Entry, etc.) depending on how your system is configured. An Issue can be opened, assigned, worked on, and closed by Agent Internal users and Administrators FootPrints can automatically send notification whenever it is worked on. 2. Request This is a preliminary Issue that is submitted by a Customer. Agent FootPrints users can then take the Request and turn it into a regular Issue to work on it, or they can be automatically assigned to one or more Internal users (Administrators - please read the section on Auto Assign for more information). Your Administrator can tell you how Requests are to be handled in your organization. 3. Solution This is a solution to a common problem. One can be created from scratch, or from an existing closed Issue. Solutions are public, and can be viewed/searched by Customers (as well as internal users). Solutions are what make up the FootPrints Knowledge Base. In this chapter you will find detailed information on working with Issues and Requests. Solutions are covered in the chapter on Knowledge Base. NOTE: Issues and Requests can also be submitted and updated via . Please refer to the section on Submission via for more information. 19

26 FootPrints Reference Manual Creating Issues To create a new Issue in FootPrints, click Create Issue on the FootPrints Toolbar (or Create Entry, Create Ticket, etc.). The fields in the "Create a new Issue" page include: Title The Title or Subject of the Issue. Priority The priority or importance of the Issue (a project s priorities can be customized by the Admin). Status The Status of the Issue (a project s statuses can be customized by the Admin). Contact Information - Contact information for the Customer. The fields are different depending on how your Admin has set up FootPrints. Project Fields Additional information about the issue. The fields are different depending on how your Admin has set up FootPrints. Description Description of the Issue. Can include a virtually unlimited amount of text. File Attachment Attach one or more files to the Issue. Search Knowledge Base Search the Knowledge Base for a Solution to the Issue, and then import that Solution into the Description. Assignees Assign helpdesk users to work on this Issue. Choose if notification should be sent on this Issue. Time Spent Optional time tracking feature. Can be used for billing one or more hourly billing rates can be set for each Agent and Administrator. Figure 10 - Create Issue form 20

27 Chapter 3 Issues Create a Test Issue NOTE: These fields may be in a different order depending on how the project is configured. 1. Enter a Title. Used as the summary or subject line. Note: Although the Title is intended to be brief, it is important to enter meaningful words since FootPrints looks at this field when it searches the Issues for topics. For example, a good Title would be "MS Word crashes when underlining", but "READ THIS--IMPORTANT!!" would not be as effective. This field can optionally be a drop-down box with a defined set of subjects. Enter a New title server down 2. Select a Priority. The priority of the Issue is a number or word that indicates the importance of the Issue. To set the priority, click the down arrow and select from the list provided. NOTE: Please check with your FootPrints Administrator to find out how you are using the priorities (i.e. 1=high and 3=low or 1=low and 3=high) Select priority Select a Status. The Status is the indication of the current state of the Issue. There are two statuses by default: Open and Closed. Your FootPrints Administrator may have added more Statuses, such as "Pending" or "Testing. Choose the desired Status from the drop-down box. Since you are creating a new Issue, set the Status to "Open." Select "Open" status. Figure 11- Enter title, status and priority 4. Fill in Contact Information. This section contains the contact information for the Customer associated with this Issue. The Select Contact feature searches the Address Book for the user. To search the Address Book: a. Fill in one or more fields in the Contact Information section of the Create Issue screen, and click the Select Contact button. If a single match is found, the contact information will be filled in on the Issue screen with no further windows appearing. If multiple matches are found, the matches will be displayed in a separate pop-up window. If no matches are found, the Search window will appear. b. If the Select Contact button is selected without any information being filled in, an Address Book search page is opened in a new window. c. To see a list of contacts sorted alphabetically by the first field in the Address Book, click one of the A-Z links. 21

28 FootPrints Reference Manual d. To search by any field, or a combination of fields, fill in the desired search criteria and click GO. You can choose to anchor the search to the beginning of each text field, or not. If anchored, the string smi entered in the Last Name field will find Smith and Smithe, but not Goldsmith. If the search isn t anchored, the string smi will find Smith, Smithe, AND Goldsmith. Figure 12 - Search Address Book e. Matching contacts are displayed. To choose a contact, click the link for that contact. The user s information will appear in the Contact Information section of the Create Issue page. f. To view the details of a Contact before selecting it, click the icon to the left of the contact s name. The full Details of that contact will appear in a separate window. To see a history of Issues associated with the contact, click the List button. Another window will appear with a list of past Issues for that user (Read-Only). Simply close the additional windows when you are finished. g. To search the Address Book again, click the Search button. h. After selecting a contact, the user s Issue history can also be viewed by clicking the History button. i. If the user isn t found, you can add the user to the Address Book. Click the X in the top right corner of the Search window to close it. Fill in the user s information in the Create Issue page, and click the Create New Contact checkbox to add the contact to the Address Book. NOTE: If the LDAP/Exchange/Directory Services option is enabled for this Address Book, contacts cannot be added to the Address Book. The Create New Contact checkbox will not appear. NOTE: The Address Book fields that appear may be different than those shown here, as they can be customized. Check checkbox and fill in Address Book Fields. 5. Fill in Project fields. These vary according to project and are defined by the FootPrints Project Administrator. For example, you may have a field called Platform, which is a drop-down box. Select the user s platform from the list of choices. You may 22

29 Chapter 3 Issues also have a field called Version number with a text field next to it. You would type in the version number in this field. Please consult your FootPrints Project Administrator for more information on the Project fields in the current project. NOTE: The Project fields that appear may be different than those shown here, as they can be customized. Fill in the Project Fields. Figure 13 - Fill in Project Fields NOTE ON FIELDS: All fields displayed in red are mandatory and must be filled out. 6. Description. This is where the full description of the issue is entered. You can type a virtually unlimited amount of text in this box. It is designed to contain a complete description of the Issue. This field is always mandatory. Fill in a full description of your Issue. FootPrints automatically records the date, time and your name as the originator of the Issue. Figure 14 Description NOTE: Spell check is available on this and all other multi-line text fields, as well as the Title field. Simply click the spell check button to check the text for spelling errors. 7. Search Knowledge Base (optional): Search the Knowledge Base for a Solution to the current issue, and then import that Solution into the Description. To search the Knowledge Base: 23

30 FootPrints Reference Manual a. Click the link for Search Knowledge Base. b. Enter a word or phrase on which to search. c. To search the FootPrints Knowledge Base, choose FootPrints from the drop-down box and click Search. d. A list of matching Solutions will appear. As you roll your mouse pointer over a Titles, a preview of the full Solution will display. e. To choose a Solution, simply click the Title. The Solution will automatically appear in the Description box. f. To choose a different solution, or to search again, simply repeat steps a-e. g. To search an online knowledge base, enter the keyword or phrase, then choose one of the available sites from the drop-down and click GO. The search results will appear in a separate browser window. h. To do an advanced search of the Knowledge base, choose the link for Advanced Search. Full instructions on using the advanced search can be found in the chapter on Knowledge Base. i. To pick from an FAQ category, click the link for Frequently Asked Questions. A list of categories will appear. 8. Attach File (optional): You can attach one or more files to this Issue from your local or network drive(s). To attach a file: a. Click the Attach File button. This brings up a small window entitled Upload a File Attachment b. Click the Browse button to browse your local machine and/or network drives for the file. c. When you find the file, highlight it and click Open. The file name and path now appears in the File Attachment window. NOTE: The System Administrator may have set a limit for the size of file attachments this information appears in the file Attachment window. If the file is too large, you will receive an error message. Please attach a smaller file. d. Click GO to upload the file. When the upload is finished, the file name will appear in the Create Issue form. e. To attach additional files, repeat steps a-d for each file to be attached. NOTE: You can continue to work on the Issue while the file is uploading, but you must wait until the upload is complete to submit the Issue. 9. Assignees. The list on the left contains a list of all FootPrints users in this project. To assign someone to this Issue, highlight the user s name on the left and click the >> button. The name will now appear in the box on the right. Multiple users can be assigned. NOTE: If the Auto Assign feature is enabled, assignees may appear in the assignee box automatically based on a choice in one of the drop-down fields. Please ask your Project Administrator if this feature is enabled. Highlight your name in the assignee list Figure 15 - Assign users 24

31 Chapter 3 Issues 10. Notification. FootPrints Notification feature can send notification to users when an Issue is created, updated, and closed. There are 3 parts to the section: Assignees If this is checked, the Assignees of the Issue will receive notification for this submission. Contact If this is checked, the Contact for this Issue will receive notification for this submission. This is based on the Customer address listed in the Contact information for this Issue. If there are multiple addresses defined for the contact, a link will appear entitled choose contact address. This allows you to select which address the notification goes to. By default, it will go the primary address (as defined by the Project Administrator), unless the Issue was submitted by the Customer from a secondary address (in which case the default will send the notification to the secondary address). CC To copy someone on this Issue, click the link for CC. A pop-up window will appear. Enter the address(es) to copy in the box provided (separated by spaces), select from the list of Agents, or click the Select Contact button to select an address from the Address Book (does not affect the Contact for this Issue). When you are finished, click GO. There are 2 options for CC's entered here: All Changes - These users will receive an notification for each change to the Issue (unless they are removed during a later update). Issue Creation Only/One-Time - These users will only receive an update for this update or submission. NOTE: The Project Administrator can define rules for when mail should be sent, what the s contain, and which user types will receive updates (i.e. Agent and Customer). The checkboxes for Assignees and Contact will be checked or unchecked based on these rules. They may change status based on the Status or Priority chosen on the Create Issue screen. To override the default, simply click the checkbox to check/uncheck. 11. Time Spent. This section allows you to enter the amount of time you have spent on this Issue. This can include the entire time spent on this Issue, not necessarily just the time spent filling out the Issue in FootPrints. Fill in the hours and minutes. Additional fields may appear in this section depending on the Project configuration, including Start Time/Date and Billing Rate. Please check with the Project Administrator for more information. Type 15 in min field. Figure 16 - Add Time NOTE: The Project Administrator may have configured FootPrints to automatically track the time you spend working on an Issue. If this feature is enabled, the auto time clock is displayed instead of the fill-in fields. 12. Submit Issue. When you are ready to submit the Issue, click the GO button. If FootPrints detects that you have left a mandatory field blank or entered something incorrectly (i.e. entered text in a number field), a message is displayed instructing you to go back and fix the Issue. Click Go button 25

32 FootPrints Reference Manual Once you have successfully submitted the Issue, FootPrints assigns it an Issue number and bring you back to your homepage. From there, you can click the Title of the new Issue to view the Details, click the Edit button to edit the Issue, or perform any other FootPrints task. 26

33 Chapter 3 Issues Editing Issues To edit an Issue, click the green Edit button next to the Issue number on the homepage. You can also click on the Edit button on the Details page for that Issue. Normally, an agent only has Edit buttons for Issues to which that agent is assigned. Administrators can edit any Issue. NOTE: If you have a button on the Details page of an Issue entitled Take (rather than Edit ), the Project Administrator has enabled a feature called Taking. This allows an unassigned agent user to take any Issue in the database and edit it. Check with your Administrator for more information on this feature. After clicking the Edit button, the Edit page now appears containing the current data for the Issue. From here, you can make changes in the same way that you enter information when you first create an Issue. Edit Test Issue You can edit one or more fields on the Edit page. Just skip over the fields that don t require editing. 1. Title. If you need to edit the title, simply replace the old text with new text. 2. Priority. To change the priority, choose the new priority from the drop-down box. 3. Status. To change the status, choose the new status from the drop-down box. 4. Contact Information. To choose a new contact for this Issue, click Select Contact. To update the information for the current contact, change the desired data and click the Update Contact Information checkbox. This will update the information in the current Issue AND in the Address Book (this feature is not available if the LDAP feature is enabled). NOTE: The user s Issue history can be viewed by clicking the History button. 5. Project Fields. Simply replace the old text with new text (or select a new choice from the drop-down box) for each field that you want to edit. 6. Description. Add new notes for the Issue. The original Description is kept intact you will be adding a new Description with a Time/Date/User stamp. To view the current Description in Read-Only format, click the link for View Current Description. NOTE: If the Project Administrator has enabled the Edit most recent description option, an additional text box will be displayed that that contains the most recent description, which can be optionally edited. Check with your Administrator for more information. 7. Search Knowledge Base (optional): Search the Knowledge Base for a Solution to the current issue, and then import that Solution into the Description. Please refer to the section on Creating Issues for complete instructions. 8. File Attachment. You can attach one or more additional files to the Issue each time you edit it. 9. Edit Assignees. To remove an assignee, highlight the name in the box on the right, and click the << button. The name will be removed the assignee box, and will reappear in the box on the left. To assign a new user, highlight the user s name in the list on the left and click the >> button. 27

34 FootPrints Reference Manual 10. Notification. Select the users to receive notification for this update. The checkboxes for Agent/Contact will default to the settings chosen by the Project Administrator for the status and priority chosen. 11. Time Spent. Enter the additional time you have spent on this Issue. If auto time tracking is enabled, FootPrints will automatically track the time. There is also a link here to edit existing time-tracking data. 12. Submit Changes. When you are ready to submit your changes, click GO. The Issue is updated, and you will be taken back to the homepage. 28

35 Chapter 3 Issues Deleting an Issue To delete an Issue, click the Delete button Issue on the Details page of the Issue. Agents can only delete Issues that they create. Project and System Administrators can delete any Issue. Project and System Administrators can also undelete an Issue. To undelete an Issue: 1. On the FootPrints homepage, choose Deleted" from the Display drop-down box and click the GO button. All Deleted Issues are displayed. 2. Click the Edit button for the Issue to be undeleted. 3. Under Status, change the Status to something other than "Deleted". 4. Edit the Issue (if necessary) and click GO. The Issue s status is now updated, and the Issue no longer appears in the Deleted bin. 29

36 FootPrints Reference Manual Copying Issues Copying allows you to copy the information from an existing Issue into a new Issue, which can be linked to the original Issue. This feature is useful in a number of situations, for example: A Closed Issue needs to be reopened, but for administrative purposes a new Issue must be created. A new Issue needs to be created that is very similar to an existing Issue. An Issue must be moved or copied to another project. One Issue needs to be linked to an existing Issue. You want to create templates for frequently used data. To copy or move an Issue, click the title of that Issue to access the Details page, and click the Copy button. To copy an Issue within the same project: 1. On the Details page of the Issue, click the Copy button. 2. Choose Copy Issue in this project, and click GO. 3. A Create Issue page displays with the information from the matching Issue pre-filled. 4. Click the checkbox to link the new Issue to the matching Issue if desired. 5. Edit the new Issue as needed (does not affect the original Issue). 6. Click the GO button to register the new Issue. Figure 17 Link the new Issue to the Original Issue 30

37 Chapter 3 Issues If the link checkbox was checked, the link to the original Issue appears in the new Issue. This link is only viewable by internal users, so Customers cannot follow the link to an Issue that they don't have permission to view. 31

38 FootPrints Reference Manual Cross-project move/copy Issues can also be copied or moved between projects. In a multi-project environment, this enables you to escalate Issues between projects. For example, you could have two projects: Help Desk and Development. If an Issue in the Help Desk project needs to be passed to the Development team, the help desk agent can simply copy the Issue to the Development project, assigning it to one or more developers. To copy or move an Issue between projects: 1. On the FootPrints homepage, click the title of the Issue to access the Details page of that Issue. 2. On the Details page, click the Copy button. 3. To copy or move the Issue to another project, choose Copy/Move Issue to a different project, and click GO. 4. Choose a destination project from the list. The list contains all active projects in FootPrints. 5. To place a copy of the Issue in the destination project, while keeping the Issue in the current project, choose Copy and click GO. 6. To move the Issue to the destination project and delete the Issue from the current project, choose Move and click GO. 7. A list of projects members for the destination project is displayed. Choose one or more assignees by highlighting the names and pressing the Ctrl key, then click GO. The users selected will get assigned to the Issue in the new project. The assignees of the Issue in the originating project are not affected. 8. The results of the copy/move are now displayed. Any project field data that does not match the fields in the destination project will be displayed. To append the data to the description, choose Append. To ignore the data, choose Discard. Field data in the original Issue is not affected. Figure 18 - Copying/Moving Issue to another project 32