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 [email protected] 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

39 Chapter 3 Issues Requests A request is a preliminary Issue that is submitted by a customer, either through the FootPrints interface (by logging in with a Customer license), or via . There are three options for the handling of new Requests: 1. The Requests go into the Request bin. From there, an Agent or Administrator user may assign new Requests to one or more Agent users to work on them. They would then appear in the user s Assignments list on their homepage. 2. Agent users can take requests from the Request bin and assign themselves to work on them. 3. New Requests can automatically be converted into Open Issues and assigned to internal users based on a custom choice field. This feature must be configured by the Project Administrator (refer to the section on Auto Assignment in the Chapter on Project Administration for more information). Please check with your FootPrints Administrator for more information on how your organization handles Requests in FootPrints. Customers can follow progress on requests that they have submitted as work progresses on them. In addition, FootPrints automatically sends the user when changes to that request are made. Viewing Requests There are a few ways to find out if there are new Requests in the project: 1. In the top of the main frame of the homepage, there is a count of Requests. Click the link for Requests to display the list. Figure 19 - Project Count Totals 2. Alternatively, choose Requests from the Display drop-down box on the homepage, and click GO. 33

40 FootPrints Reference Manual Figure 20 - Request bin 3. In addition, the Administrator may have configured FootPrints notification to send to one or more people each time a customer submits a new Request. Taking Requests If you have been assigned to a request, it appears on your Assignment list. However, if you want to take a new request, here is the procedure: 1. On the Requests page, click the Title of the Request to view the details. 2. To take the Request, click the Edit button. 3. The status defaults to Open, which turns the request into a full-fledged Issue. To choose a different status, select from the list of statuses. 4. Edit the Priority, project fields, append a new Description, etc. as necessary. 5. Your name is automatically added as the Assignee for this Issue. To change this, move your name back to the Project Members box, and choose a different Assignee. 6. To send an update to the customer, ensure that the Contact checkbox is checked in the section (it may be checked by default based on the rules set by the Project Administrator). 7. When you are finished, click GO to submit the changes. 34

41 Chapter 3 Issues Figure 21 - Taking a Request The Request now becomes an Issue (or Ticket, Entry, etc., depending on the name chosen for your system), and appears on your list of Assignments. Submission of Issues and Requests FootPrints incoming feature allows users to submit and receive information to and from the database without logging into FootPrints. Check with the System Administrator to find out the account designated for incoming submissions to FootPrints. For information on configuring and using the incoming feature, please refer the chapter on Configuring and Using . 35

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43 Chapter 4 User Types Chapter 4 User Types FootPrints supports a number of different user types. Each user type is intended for users with different needs. As described in the introduction to this manual, FootPrints users are broken down into two broad categories: Individual users This type of account is intended for internal users, such as helpdesk agents, customer service representatives, engineers, and administrators. Depending on the permission level, these users can create, update and close Issues, run reports and queries on the database, configure projects, etc. Customer users - This type of account is intended for employee customers and external customers. These users can submit Requests to the system, track the status of their Requests, search the Knowledge Base, and may have limited Update privileges to their own Requests, depending on the type of license purchased. The Customer user license is very cost-effective. Permission Levels Within the categories of Individual and Customer, there are further sub-categories of users. These sub-categories help to define and limit the permission level of users. The sub categories are: 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). 37

44 FootPrints Reference Manual Differences between Individual and Customer User Types Below is a table outlining some of the differences between Individual users and Customer users. This should help to determine what kinds of licenses are needed for your organization. USER TYPE LOGIN READ ISSUES INDIVIDUAL System Admin Project Admin Agent CUSTOMER Read KB Read KB/ Requests Read/Submit Read/Submit/ Edit Unique ID/ pass Unique ID/ pass Unique ID/ pass Shared ID/pass Unique & Shared ID/pass options Unique & Shared ID/pass options Unique & Shared ID/pass options Yes (all projects) Yes (per project) Yes (per project) CREATE ISSUES ASSIGN/ ASSIGNED TO ISSUES EDIT ISSUES CLOSE ISSUES QUERIES AND REPORTS KNOWLEDGE BASE Yes (All) Yes Yes (All) Yes (All) Yes (All) Read, Add, Administer FAQs Yes (per project) Yes (per project) Yes Yes Yes (per project) Yes (must be assigned) Yes (per project) Yes (must be assigned) Yes (per project) Yes (per project) Read, Add, Administer FAQs Read, Add PROJECT MEMBER- SHIP WEB- BASED PROJECT ADMIN WEB- BASED SYSTEM ADMIN All projects Yes Yes 1 or more specified projects 1 or more specified projects No No No No No No Read 1 or more specified projects Own issues ONLY 2 Own issues ONLY 2 Own issues ONLY 2 Submit Requests Submit Requests Submit Requests No No No Only on own Issues 2 No No No Only on own Issues 2 No Yes (limited) Yes (limited) Only on own Issues 2 Read Read Read 1 or more specified projects 1 or more specified projects 1 or more specified projects Yes No No No No No No No No No No No Figure 22 - Differences between Individual and Customer Users 2 If the "Customer Read Permissions for Organizational Unit" options is enabled, Customers can additionally view, search and report on Issues for their organizational unit as defined in the Address Book (Company, Department, etc.). This option only gives Read access to those Issues; no write access is available as a Customer for other users' Issues. Agent licenses should be purchased for any users who need read AND write access to a range of Issues. 38

45 Chapter 5 Customizing Your Preferences Chapter 5 Customizing Your Preferences The My Preferences option allows Agents and Administrators to customize their homepages, and set other personal preferences. Users can change their address, password, security options, and list preferences for the FootPrints homepage. To change your preferences, click the link for My Preferences on the FootPrints Toolbar. The options available are: General Preferences System-wide preferences, for , name and more. List Preferences Homepage list preferences. Security Preferences enable password protection for working with Issues. Instant Talk Preferences allow/disallow customers to chat to you via Instant Talk. NOTE: General Preferences apply to FootPrints system-wide, while List Preferences and other user preferences are chosen on a per-project basis. So, if a user is a member of multiple projects, it is possible to display different list preferences for each project. General Preferences These options apply to all projects to which you belong. Name change your name (does not affect user ID). Simply replace the current name in the text box. Primary address change your address for FootPrints notification. To change your address, replace the current address in the text box. Option must be checked to receive . Pager Address (optional): optionally enter separate address for pager. Can be used for escalation notification. Check this option to receive regular notification at this address. Wireless Address (optional): optionally enter separate address for wireless device. Can be used for escalation notification. Check this option to receive regular notification at this address. Change Password change your FootPrints password. Password must be entered in twice. Default Project if you are a member of more than one project, change the default project that is displayed when logging in to FootPrints. To change the default project, choose from the drop-down box. Your Local Time Zone By default, FootPrints displays all dates and times in the time zone where the FootPrints server resides. If you select a time zone from the drop-down list, all dates and times are displayed adjusted to be accurate for that time zone (does not affect how data is stored). Preferred Language If the current FootPrints installation supports multiple languages, choose a language for display. Screen Size Settings Depending on whether 800x600 or 1024x768 is selected, the fonts and screen layouts in FootPrints will be optimized for that screen size. NOTE: If you just changed your password, you still need to enter your old password to apply the changes. After successfully changing your preferences, your new password becomes active. 39

46 FootPrints Reference Manual Figure 23 - My Preferences page 40

47 Chapter 5 Customizing Your Preferences List Preferences This section defines the list of Issues displayed on the FootPrints homepage. By default, My Assignments is chosen. This lists your most recent open assignments, and is the recommended choice for most users. It is the fastest to display, and allows you to be continuously updated on your assignments. However, the user can choose instead to display any built-in or custom list. NOTE: The options chosen below are in effect on a per-project basis. To change your preferences in another project, change to that project and re-configure the List Preferences. The options are: Homepage Auto-Refresh Interval - Normally, the default homepage list refreshes each time you click "Project Home", or perform any action that brings you back to the homepage. Optionally, you can set your preferences to automatically refresh the homepage list automatically at intervals of 15, 30 or 60 minutes. So, if you configure FootPrints to refresh every 30 minutes, and go to lunch, when you come back the list will be refreshed, with no user intervention required. Maximum number the maximum number of Issues that display at one time on the homepage. Sort List by sort list by a designated field (including project and Address Book fields). Choose descending (from lowest to highest) or ascending (highest to lowest). Default Display Criteria the default list seen on the FootPrints homepage is chosen here. The options are: Assignments Your active assignments. Assignments and Requests Your open assignments AND new unassigned customer Requests. All Issues All Issues in the project Deleted Issues All Deleted Issues in the project (Administrators only). Solutions All Solutions in the Knowledge Base for this project. Requests New unassigned customer Requests. Saved Search any saved search can be chosen as the default list. Saved searches are defined on the Advanced Search page. NOTE: Whatever list you choose as the default, you can always easily view a different list by choosing another option from the Display drop-down box on the homepage. Fields Displayed and Ordering choose which columns to display, and in what order. For example, to display Status : For Type of Field, choose FootPrints fields. Highlight Status under Available Fields. Click the Add Fields button. Title now appears in the Displayed Fields box. To change the order of fields to be displayed, highlight a field in the Displayed Fields box and click the up or down arrow to move it. To delete a field, highlight the field in the Displayed Fields box and click Delete. NOTE: Certain columns are automatically displayed on the homepage, including Issue number, and the Report/Close checkboxes. Title is also mandatory, but the placement can be selected in the Fields Displayed dialog box. 41

48 FootPrints Reference Manual Security Preferences The security option allows you to restrict others from updating your assigned Issues (for example, if you are away from your desk) by requiring a password. To turn this option on: 1. Under Security Preferences, click the radio button for Require password to edit a Issue. 2. Enter you password and click GO to apply the change. Editing your Issues in this project now requires a password. This does not affect other projects to which you belong. To change your Security preference for another project, change to that project and change your preferences there. NOTE: If "Cookies" are enabled for the system for automated login, and you have a cookie set, another option appears in the Security section to delete the cookie. To delete your FootPrints cookie (disabling automated login), check this box, enter your password and click "GO". The cookie can be re-enabled at any time from the login screen. Instant Talk Preferences Use this option to specify whether or not you wish to allow Customers to initiate an Instant Talk session with you. If you choose to not allow them to initiate Talk sessions with you, you'll still be able to initiate Talk sessions with them. When you are finished making your changes on the User Preferences page, enter your password and click GO to apply the changes. NOTE: If you just changed your password, you still need to enter your old password to apply the changes. After successfully changing your preferences, you can use your new password. If you forget your FootPrints password, see your FootPrints System Administrator, who can set a new password for you. 42

49 Part 2 Configuration and Administration Part 2 Configuration and Administration What you will find in this section Chapter 6 Project Administration Project Options, users, project fields, escalation, auto assignment. Chapter 7 Address Book Administration Address Book fields, options, importing and exporting contact data, LDAP. Chapter 8 System Administration Project management, appearance, user management, licensing, other system options. 43

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51 Chapter 6 Project Administration Chapter 6 Project Administration In order to use FootPrints to track your specific data and to take full advantage its power, FootPrints projects can be customized. To customize the current project, click the "Project Admin" button under the Options heading on the FootPrints Toolbar (you must be a Project or System Administrator). This brings you to the Project Options page, where you can customize users, project fields, and other global options and preferences for the project. Project Administrators can set options on a per project basis. The options are: Options Project Options set project-wide options. Mail Preferences Setup notification rules. Delete Attachments Clean out file attachment directory. Asset Management Enable Asset Management. Report Templates Create Report templates for single-issue reports. Work Calendar Configure the working hours and holiday calendar for the project. Users Add Agents Add a new Agent or Administrator to this project. Edit Agents Remove an Agent or Administrator from the project, or change user s permission level. Add Customers - Add a new Customer to this project. Edit Customers - Remove an Customer user from the project, or change user s permission level. Customer Options Configure Customer options. Fields Add Fields Create custom fields for your project. Edit/Delete Fields Change or delete custom project fields. Add Status Create statuses in addition to the default statuses Open and Closed. Edit Status Change or delete a custom status. Priorities Define priorities. Dependencies Configure project field dependencies based on a custom drop-down field. Automated Task Management Escalation Configure FootPrints to automatically escalate Issues and send notification based on custom criteria. Auto Assign - Configure Auto-assignment of new Issues based on your custom field(s). Auto Run Reports - Set up automated report scheduling. Customer Survey Create an survey for Customers. Help Get Help on Project Administration. 45

52 FootPrints Reference Manual Figure 24 - Project Admin screen This chapter explains each of these options is detail. 46

53 Chapter 6 Project Administration Options This group of functions cover various options that can be set on a project-wide bases. They include: Project Options set project-wide options. Mail Preferences Setup notification rules. Delete Attachments Clean out file attachment directory. Asset Management Enable Asset Management. Report Templates Create Report templates for single-issue reports. Work Calendar Configure the working hours and holiday calendar for the project. Project Options FootPrints gives you control over a number of options on a project wide level. These options are set under the "Project Options" menu. The options are: Project name Agent Edit Permissions Agent Read Permissions Editing of most recent description of existing Issues Time Tracking Priority definitions Assignment Options Disable Address Book Advanced Live esupport setup Instant Talk Remote Control Default Language Validation of address fields Reorder Create/Edit Issue page Number of Columns on Create and Edit Page Splash Screen All global options can be changed at any time without affecting any existing data. They are explained in more detail below. To set an option, follow the instructions for that option below and then click the GO button at the bottom of the Global Options page. 47

54 FootPrints Reference Manual Project Name This feature allows you to change the current project s name, which was given when the project was first created. Simply erase the current name and replace it with the new name. This does not affect the project s data or database directory. Agent Edit Permissions By default, Agents can only edit their own Issues. This option can be configured to allow Agents to "Take" other Agents' Issues (which assigns the Agent to the Issue), or to allow them to edit other Agents' Issues without assigning themselves. The options available are: Agents can only edit their own Issues. Agents can "Take" other Agents' Issues, assigning them to the Issues automatically and granting them edit privileges. A Take button will appear on the Details screen for all Issues for Agents in this project. Agents can edit other agents' Issues without being assigned. All Agents will have the Edit button for all Issues in the Project on the homepage and on the Details screen for Issues. NOTE: This option does not apply to new (unassigned) Requests from Customers. Agents can take new Requests regardless of the option above, UNLESS the option below is configured to restrict Agents from having any access to Issues or Requests that are not assigned to them. Project and System Administrators can always edit any Issue in the project. This option does not apply to Customers. Customers usually have no edit privileges. 3 Agent Read Permissions By default, Agents can view, search and report on all Issues in a given project. In addition, Agents can view and take new Customer Requests. Optionally Agents may be restricted to only view their own Issues. This prevents them from viewing, searching, and reporting on any other Agents' Issues, and from taking new Requests. The 2 options for this permission value are: Agents can view All Issues and Requests in the project. Agents can only view their own assigned Issues. Editing of Most Recent Description An Issue s descriptions are stored as separate, dated and time-stamped instances. So, if an Issue s description has been added to a number of times, each description is saved separately and appended to the Issue, and each is displayed with their time and date stamp. If editing of most recent description is allowed, assigned users can also edit the most recent description of an Issue. Once a user edits a past description, the prior information is lost. Time Tracking 3 Customer Read/Submit/Edit users do have limited edit capabilities of their own Issues. Taking does NOT apply to these users. 48

55 Chapter 6 Project Administration FootPrints can track the time spent by internal FootPrints users working on Issues. This data can be used to create time tracking reports, which can be used for billing, or to track any time-related information, such as how long one or more users spend on certain kinds of Issues. Only data from Issues that contain time-tracking data is included in these reports. For more information on creating time-tracking reports, please refer to Chapter on Searching and Reporting. The options are: Automatic FootPrints automatically tracks the time spent working on an Issue. Manual time tracking Agents must fill in the time spent on an Issue manually. This has 2 sub-options: Optional Agents have the option to fill in time spent when creating or editing Issues. Mandatory Agents must fill in time spent when creating or editing Issues. Disable time tracking The Time Spent section will not appear in the Create and Edit Issue screens, and time tracking data will not be calculated for this project. Start Date/Time By default, time tracking data entered manually by an Agent is marked as occurring when the Agent fills in the time on the Create or Edit Issue screen (or on the Time Tracking Details screen). If Manually Enter Start Date and Time is selected, Agents can enter the time the work was started on the Create/Edit Issue screen. This becomes the time recorded as the start time in time tracking reports. Manual Time Tracking (optional or mandatory) must be selected if this option is used. When enabled, a Start Time/Date field will appear in the Time Spent section of the Create/Edit Issue screen. Multiple Billing rates Time tracking data is used to generate billing reports. Agents can have multiple, configurable hourly billing rates (Regular, Overtime, etc.). If an Agent has more than one rate, a drop-down field with the rates appears on the Create/Edit Issue screen for that Agent in the Time Spent section. Multiple rates can be configured under the Project Administration Edit Agent option. When Time Tracking is set to manual, Agents manually fill in their time when creating or editing an Issue. This option is useful if helpdesk engineers spend time in the field, or usually spend more time working on an Issue than the actual time spent with the Issue form on the screen. If Time-tracking is set to automatic, FootPrints automatically tracks from the time that the Issue is opened until the user clicks GO. This option is useful for Call Centers and other organizations where helpdesk engineers spend most of their time working on Issues at their desk with the Issue form on the screen. The Agent (or an Administrator) can also manually edit or add time later if necessary. Figure 25 - Configure time tracking 49

56 FootPrints Reference Manual Defining Priorities By default, a project s priorities range from 1 to 10. A different maximum priority can be chosen in this option, ranging from 1 to 100. To change the priority range, choose from the Maximum Priority drop-down list. When defining escalation (see section on escalation in this chapter) and reporting on priorities, you can choose which priorities are highest and lowest. For example, 1 could be the highest priority, and 10 the lowest, or 10 could be the highest, with 1 as the lowest. A default priority for new Issues and requests can also be chosen. A number should be chosen from within the range defined under Maximum Priority. Priority numbers can also be mapped to words that describe that level of priority. To map priorities to words: 1. Choose the priority range from the Maximum Priority drop-down list. 2. Click the link to map priorities to words. A small window is displayed. 3. In the new window, there are input boxes for each priority level. 4. Enter for words for each of the priority level. 5. After filling in a word for each priority, click GO. For example, if the priorities range from 1 to 3, 1 could be mapped to high, 2 to medium and three to low. Assignment Options The Project Administrator can determine which method FootPrints uses to assign new Issues opened by Agent users. There are three different options for assignment of new Issues opened by Agent users. Note that Agent/Admin users can override these options and choose their own assignees when an Issue is created; these are just the defaults highlighted in the Assignee list. The three options are: 1. The ID of the Agent user opening the Issue is highlighted in the Assignee list on a new Issue. This is the default setting. 2. No names are highlighted in the assignee list of a new Issue. After the Issue is registered, only the Project Administrator will be able to edit the Issue and assign it to one or more Agent users. 3. All users names of the current project are highlighted when an Agent user opens a new Issue. NOTE: These options only apply to manual determination of assignees. To configure automatic assignment for Requests submitted by Customers and for other new Issues based on your custom choice fields, please refer to the section on Auto Assignment. Disable Address Book If this project does not require it, the Address Book feature can be disabled, simplifying many of FootPrints' forms for the members of this project. If the Address Book is disabled, the Address Book link will no longer appear in the FootPrints Toolbar, and Address Book fields will no longer appear in any FootPrints forms, including the Create Issue page, Edit Issue page, Search page, etc. Disabling the Address Book will also affect Customers. FootPrints will no longer link their requests to their Address Book contact information. If there is at least one Customer account for this project, and you want Customers requests linked to their Address Book contact information, the Address Book MUST be enabled. 50

57 Chapter 6 Project Administration Advanced Live esupport Setup FootPrints Advanced Live esupport, powered by Control F-1 technology, gives you an extensive set of remote control, remote diagnostic, chat, system management and desktop sharing tools, which provide live technical support through a web browser. Please refer to the chapter on Advanced Live esupport for complete configuration documentation. NOTE: This is an optional add-on to FootPrints, and must be purchased and licensed before it can be configured. Instant Talk Enable/disabled Instant Talk for the current project with this option. If disabled, the option will not appear in the FootPrints Toolbar (normally found under the Communication heading). For instructions on using the Instant Talk feature, please refer to the chapter on Real-time Resolution Tools. NOTE: If FootPrints Advanced Live esupport (powered by Control-F1) is enabled for the current project, Instant Talk will automatically be disabled. Users will instead get a link for Advanced Live esupport. Remote Control Enable/disabled Remote Control for the current project with this option. If disabled, the option will not appear in the FootPrints Toolbar (normally found under the Communication heading). For instructions on using the Remote Control feature, please refer to the chapter on Real-time Resolution Tools. NOTE: If FootPrints Advanced Live esupport (powered by Control-F1) is enabled for the current project, Remote Control will automatically be disabled. Default Language FootPrints supports multiple languages for display. If multiple languages are available in the current installation, this option allows you to choose a default language for the current project. If 'Use System Default', is selected, then the default as set by the System Administrator will apply for this project. Note that this option can be over-ridden by Individual user preferences. For information on multiple language support, please refer to the chapter on System Administration. Address Validation If enabled, the values given to all project fields of type will be required to contain the '.' and '@' characters. 51

58 FootPrints Reference Manual Create Issue Form Ordering This option allows the Project Administrator to change the display order of the sections of the Create and Edit Issue pages. The defaults are: Title/Priority Status Address Book Fields Project Fields Description Assignees/ Notification Time Spent Go Button To change the display order of the sections, highlight a section name, and use the up and down to reorder them. When you are finished, click GO at the bottom of the page. NOTE: Disabled fields, such as Time Spent and Address Book, will appear in this list. However, they will no appear on the Create/Edit Issue screens if disabled. Figure 26 Order Create Issue page 52

59 Chapter 6 Project Administration An optional splash screen can be displayed when users first log into FootPrints. This page can be customized by you (in HTML) to contain project information, updates, important messages, etc. Different pages can be created and displayed for internal and Customers. To add a splash page: 1. Go to Project Admin Edit Options Splash Screen/Project Info. 2. Type plain text or HTML into the box provided. For example, you could create an HTML page in an HTML editor, highlight the source code, and then paste it into this box. 3. Choose Agent User to display the page to internal users, or Customer to display the page to Customers. 4. Check Splash Screen to have the page displayed in a separate window when users log into FootPrints. 5. Check Linked on Homepage to have a link on the Project Homepage to the page (the Project name in the upper right corner of the homepage will become a link). 6. If Linked on Homepage is checked, optionally choose an icon to display next to the Project name on the homepage (this icon will link to the splash page). 7. Enter your password and click GO. 53

60 FootPrints Reference Manual Mail Preferences FootPrints supports notification for internal (Agent and Administrator) and external (Customer) users. Notification s are routed directly to your SMTP mail server (defined during FootPrints installation). Incoming submissions are also supported. Please refer to the chapter on Management for complete instructions on setting up and using all options. File Attachments Internal and Customers can optionally attach files to a request or Issue. These attachments are kept in a separate directory in the /FootPrints/html/tmp/Attachments directory. A link to the file attachment is placed in the Details screen of the Issue. The Project Administrator can delete file attachments on a periodic basis. This permanently deletes the files, freeing up server space. To delete file attachments: 1. Click the Delete Attachments button on the Project Admin page. 2. Highlight the files to be deleted. Hold down the Ctrl key to highlight multiple files. 3. Enter your password and click GO. The files is now be permanently deleted. Limiting the Size of File Attachments The System Administrator can control the size of file attachments and the attachment directory itself. Please refer to the section on System Administration System Options for instructions. Asset Management FootPrints Asset Management Module can be enabled for the current project here. This option is only available if you have purchased the Asset Management module (powered by Centennial). Please refer to the chapter on Asset Management for complete instructions. 54

61 Chapter 6 Project Administration Report Templates Custom report templates can be created and used for single-issue reports generated from the homepage using the Report checkboxes, as well as from the Details page of an Issue. For example, templates can be made for Work Orders, RMA s, and Purchase Orders. To create templates, go to Administration Project Options Reports Templates. To create a template: 1. Go to Administration Project Options Reports Templates on the FootPrints Toolbar. 2. An HTML page must be created for the template. Use your favorite HTML editor to create the file. You can include your own headings, text, logo, etc. 3. A list of keywords for FootPrints fields can be inserted into the HTML page. A list of keywords for your project can be viewed by clicking the link for instructions under Create and Load templates. You can print this for easy reference when creating templates. 4. Once the file is completed, click the link to upload the file to the FootPrints server. 5. Each time you generate a single-ticket report, FootPrints will scan the file for data keywords and substitute Issue data for the keywords. The report format is now available when doing a single ticket report. Work Calendar A work calendar can be defined for a project. Regular working hours, days off, and holidays can be defined by the Project Administrator. Escalation rules can be configured to follow the calendar. To configure the calendar for a project: 1. Select Administration Project Work Calendar from the FootPrints toolbar. 2. Under Normal Work Week, check the boxes for days that your organization, department or group works (defaults to Monday- Friday). 3. For each of those days, define the work hours (defaults to 9 AM to 5 PM). The hours should refer to the time zone set for the FootPrints server. 4. There is a checkbox to apply the Work Calendar to the Age and Time To Close statistical calculations 5. Under Holidays/Exceptions, optionally select one or more days to designate as exceptions to the above rule. 6. For New Date, click the calendar icon to display a calendar. 7. Select a date by clicking the day. Use the forward and back arrows to browse through months and years. 8. To designate that date as a day off, click the checkbox. 9. To designate special working hours for that date, fill in start and stop times. 10. Optionally enter a name for the holiday or exception. 11. Click Add. Notice the exception is now listed in the box to the right. 12. Use the Delete and Edit buttons to remove or change a holiday or exception. 13. Continue to add additional dates as far into the future as desired. 14. When you are finished, click GO. 55

62 FootPrints Reference Manual Figure 27- Configure Project Work Calendar Using the Work Calendar with Escalation On the Escalation screen, under Escalation Time, there is an option to define the time an Issue must go unedited to be escalated for Work Time. If this is selected for an escalation rule, the time designated is subject to the work calendar. For example, if the rule is set to escalate if an Issue is unedited after 3 hours based on the work calendar, and an Issue is submitted on 4 PM on Friday, and the work hours are Monday through Friday 9 AM to 5 PM, the Issue will not be escalated until 11 AM on Monday. NOTE: For escalation rules that use the Work Calendar, only one unit of time can be selected. 56

63 Chapter 6 Project Administration Users This set of functions is intended for user management on a project basis. There are also some system-wide User Management options; these are detailed in the chapter on System Administration. The Project-wide User Options include: Add Agents Add a new Agent or Administrator to this project. Edit Agents Remove an Agent or Administrator from the project, or change user s permission level. Add Customers - Add a new Customer to this project. Edit Customers - Remove an Customer user from the project, or change user s permission level. Customer Options Configure Customer options. Add Agents To add a new user to a FootPrints project, click Add Agents on the FootPrints Toolbar under Administration Project Users. From this page you can create new FootPrints Agent and Administrator users, as well as add existing FootPrints users to the current project. To add a new user to the current project: NOTE: If the user is already a member of another FootPrints project, refer to the next section. 1. Enter User's Name. This is the full name, i.e. Jill Smith. 2. Enter FootPrints User ID. This is the ID that user uses to log into FootPrints i.e. jsmith. It must be a single word with no spaces. 3. Enter User's address. 4. Choose User Type (explained below). 5. Choose Password for the new user (this is requested twice for accuracy). 6. Enter a value for "Billing Rate" if you want to calculate a fee based on time spent by the user working on Issues. This is the hourly rate in dollar amount. 7. Enter your password and click GO. 57

64 FootPrints Reference Manual Figure 28 - Add User screen User Type refers to the level of access to the FootPrints system that is allowed to the new user. The choices are listed in a dropdown menu: User 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. NOTE: Each time you add a new user of type Agent, Project or System Administrator, one FootPrints license is used up. To add an existing FootPrints user to this project: 1. In the top section of the page, choose the users you want to add from the "Other FootPrints Agents" list (hold down the Ctrl key to highlight multiple users) 58

65 Chapter 6 Project Administration 2. Enter your FootPrints password. 3. Click the GO button. The users now appear in the Users who belong to this project list. NOTE: Adding an existing Agent, Project or System Administrator User to a project DOES NOT use up an additional license. These users belong to an unlimited number of projects, while still taking up only one license. Adding users to multiple FootPrints projects An Agent or Project Administrator can belong to multiple projects. Simply add the user to a new project from the Add Agent User screen for that project. System Administrators are automatically members of all FootPrints projects. Adding an Agent user to multiple projects does not affect the number of licenses available. That is, an Agent user who is a member of multiple projects still only uses up one individual license. 59

66 FootPrints Reference Manual Edit Agents The "Edit Agents screen includes options to edit a user s permission level, billing rate and to remove a user from the current project. In addition, all Individual users can edit much of their own personal information on the "My Preferences screen. To edit a user: 1. Click Edit Agents under Administration Project Users on the FootPrints Toolbar. 2. Select the user from the "Users" drop-down list, which displays a list of all users in the project. 3. Click GO. 4. Change the user s User Type. 5. Optionally assign the user multiple hourly billing rates, or edit existing rates (see below). 6. Enter your password and click GO. To delete a user: 1. Click Edit Agents under Administration Project Users on the FootPrints Toolbar. 2. Select the user from the "Users" drop-down list. 3. Click the checkbox to delete the user from the current project. To delete the user from all projects, you must go to the System Administration User Management screen. 4. Enter your password and click GO. To assign a user multiple billing rates: Multiple billing rates can be defined for each Agent in FootPrints to be used in conjunction with the time tracking feature. 1. Under Administration Project Edit Agent, select an Agent and click GO. 2. The existing hourly billing rate (if any) is displayed. 3. Enter a new hourly billing rate (in dollar amount) in the box provided. 4. Enter a description in the box provided if desired, i.e. Overtime, Holiday, On-Site, etc. 5. Use the up and down arrows to re-order the billing rates for this user. 6. Use the Edit and Delete options to change or remove a billing rate. 7. When you are finished, enter your password and click GO. Now when the Agent creates or edits an Issue, a drop-down box with the available billing rates is displayed. It will default to the first billing rate in the list. The user can select correct the billing rate for the work done. The time tracking and billing amounts are calculated based on the rate selected. 60

67 Chapter 6 Project Administration Figure 29- Configure Billing Rates To change a user s password: This must be done from the System Administration screen (see next chapter). 61

68 FootPrints Reference Manual Add Customers This option is only available if one of the unlimited Customer licenses has been purchased and enabled. To add a new Customer to a FootPrints project, click Add Customers on the FootPrints Toolbar under Administration Project Users. From this screen you can create new FootPrints Customer users, as well as add existing FootPrints users to the current project. NOTE: Customers can also be auto-added to the system from an outside password or LDAP source. This feature is detailed in the chapter on System Administration. To add a new Customer to the current project: NOTE: If the user is already a member of another FootPrints project, refer to the next section. 1. Choose the account type. A Shared account can be used by many people (who identify themselves with a unique key, such as address). A unique account is intended for one user only. 2. Enter FootPrints User ID. This is the ID that the user will enter to log into FootPrints. The format of the ID will depend on the account type: a. Shared account The ID can be any string with no spaces, such as customer, guest or accounting. b. Unique account The ID must be in the format of the unique key for the Address Book associated with the current project. This is set under Customer Options. For example, if address is the unique key, the ID should be in the form of the user s address i.e. [email protected]. If the Address Book field Customer ID is the unique key, then the ID might be something like 2341JSM. 3. Choose User Type (explained below). 4. Choose Password for the new user (this is requested twice for accuracy). 5. Enter your password and click GO. 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 (only available if the Customer Edit license is purchased). Contact Information Customers normally have additional information associated with them, such as Company, Department, Phone Number, etc. This information is kept in the Address Book. How the ID is linked to the user s contact information is different depending on whether it is a unique or shared account. Unique Account To link a unique user ID to the user s information in the Address Book, the ID entered here must match the unique key for that user in the Address Book for the current project. If the user does not have an entry in the Address Book, the following will occur the first time they log in: If using the FootPrints Address Book, the user will have the opportunity to fill in their contact information the first time they submit a Request. 62

69 Chapter 6 Project Administration If using the LDAP Address Book option, the user will have no opportunity to enter contact information. Please ensure that the user exists in your Contact Database (MS Exchange, etc.) before adding them to FootPrints. If NT or UNIX authentication is enabled, and the user ID is not found in the NT domain or the UNIX password file, the user will not be able to log in. Please ensure that the user exists in the domain before adding them to FootPrints. Shared Account Shared Customer accounts do not require a particular ID associated with Address Book contact information. The Shared account will be used my multiple users, and is intended for casual users of the system. Common IDs associated with a Shared account include guest, customer, employee, etc. After logging in with a Shared Customer ID and password, the Customer is prompted for his or her unique key, such as address. The Contact information associated with that unique key will be displayed when the user submits a new Request. If this is the first time the user has entered the system, they will have an opportunity to create a new Address Book contact record. One exception to this rule: The Customer Read KB user type. As these users can t submit Requests (they only have permission to search the Knowledge Base), there is no need for them to enter contact information. This user type is normally created as Shared account. The Shared account is NOT recommended in a project where an LDAP Address Book is being used. In addition, if NT, LDAP or UNIX password authentication is enabled, the shared ID MUST exist in the domain password file. To add an existing Customer user to current project: 1. In the top section of the page, choose the users you want to add from the "Other FootPrints Customers" list (hold down the Ctrl key to highlight multiple users). Both Unique and Shared accounts from other projects will be displayed here. 2. Enter your FootPrints password. 3. Click the GO button. The users now appear in the Users who belong to this project list. NOTE: Only Customer user IDs that belong to a project, which shares the Address Book AND the same unique key with the current project, will be displayed in the "Other FootPrints Customers" list. To give access to the current project to a Customer who currently belongs to a project that DOESN T share the current Address Book, you must create a new ID for that user. This does not take up another license, as the number of Customer ID s you can create is unlimited. But the user will NOT be able to use the Change Project link in the Toolbar to switch between projects; the user will have to log out and log back in again with the new ID and password. If you need to associate an already created project with an existing Address Book (and you mistakenly created a new Address Book when creating the project), please contact UniPress Software support for instructions on linking the new project to another Address Book. Adding users to multiple FootPrints projects Customers can belong to multiple projects. The projects must share the same Address Book AND the same unique key. Adding a unique Customer account that had been created through auto-add into a project or removing them from a project will sever that user from the class of Customers who were auto-added, including any defaults set for the auto-added Customers. Please refer to the chapter on System Administration for more information on this option. 63

70 FootPrints Reference Manual Edit Customers The "Edit Customers screen includes options to edit a user s permission level, and to remove a user from the current project. To edit a user: 1. Click Edit Customer under Administration Project Users on the FootPrints Toolbar. 2. Select the account type, Shared or Unique. A list of accounts for the current project with that account type will appear in the drop-down list. 3. Select the account from the drop-down list. 4. Select Change, then select the new permission level for this account. 5. Enter your password and Click GO. To remove a user: 1. Click Edit Customer under Administration Project Users on the FootPrints Toolbar. 2. Select the account type, Shared or Unique. A list of accounts for the current project with that account type will appear in the drop-down list. 3. Select the account from the drop-down list. 4. Select Remove. 5. Enter your password and click GO. To change a user s password: This must be done from the System Administration screen (see next chapter). 64

71 Chapter 6 Project Administration Customer Options Project-wide options for Customers are configured in the Customer Options page. These options affect all Customers in the current project. For more information on Customers, please refer to the section on User Types. The options include: Homepage fields Displayed and Ordering Select Primary Key Entering Priority of Requests Customer Address Format Customer Welcome Message (Read/Submit users) Customer Welcome Message (Read KB users) Screen Size Settings Key Required Instant Talk Homepage fields Displayed and Ordering This dialog is used to choose the columns to display for Customers in the current project, as well as the order or the columns. These columns apply to all Solution and Request lists available to the Customer user. To use this dialog: 1. Choose the Type of Field to choose from; the three categories are FootPrints Fields (status, title, priority, etc.), Project Fields (public only), and Address Book fields (public only). 2. Under Available Fields, select a field. 3. Click the Add Field button. The field now appears in the Displayed Fields box. 4. To change the order of fields to be displayed, highlight a field in the Displayed Fields box and click the up or down arrow to move it. 5. To delete a field, highlight the field in the Displayed Fields box and click Delete. NOTE: Issue number is not available in the dialog, but it is automatically displayed as the first field in ALL lists. Title is also mandatory, but the placement can be selected in the Displayed Fields dialog box. While the columns chosen here apply to both Solution and Request lists for Customers, there are some exceptions. If Status is chosen, that column will appear in Request lists, but will NOT appear in any Solution lists. This is because all Solutions have the special status of Solved. If Popularity is chosen, that column will appear in Solution lists, but will not appear in the View Mine Request list, as that field does not apply to Requests. Select Primary Key A primary key other than address can be chosen for Customers. This is selected on the new Project Admin Customer Options screen. Please choose an Address Book field that is unique. In addition, you can set FootPrints to NOT allow users into FootPrints who do not enter a valid primary key (i.e. that is found in the Address Book). This option is described below under Key Required. 65

72 FootPrints Reference Manual Entering Priority By default, Customers do not choose the priority when submitting a Request. New Requests will get the default priority for the project, unless escalation rules are set to change the priority based on SLA level, Company name, etc. In addition, the Administrator or Agent user who takes the Request, or is assigned to the Request, can change the priority manually. If this option is set to Allowed, Customers can choose the initial priority of their own Requests. The Administrator or Agent user who works on the Request can still change the priority, and escalation rules, if they apply, will override the priority chosen by the customer. Customer Address Format If address is the primary key for the Address Book associated with the current project, the Administrator can determine whether a complete address and domain name) is required. There are 3 options: Require full address Only addresses which include sign and domain address will be accepted, i.e. [email protected] Require user name only Only addresses WITHOUT sign and domain address will be accepted i.e. jsmith. In this case, the default domain (defined by the System Administrator) will be appended to the user s ID name for notification. Allow either format Both formats are allowed. Customer Welcome Message (Read/Submit users) The Read/Submit Customer homepage contains a default welcome message. Optionally create a new custom message in this section. In addition to text, the message can contain the following variables: Variable _FROMNAME USERNAME ADMIN PROJNAME_ Description from name (if different from FootPrints ) User's name Project Administrator's address Project Name Figure 30- Customer Welcome message variables Customer Welcome Message (Read KB users) The Read KB Customer homepage contains a default welcome message. Optionally create a new custom message in this section. In addition to text, the message can contain the variables above (except for _USERNAME_, which is not tracked for Customer Read Only users). Screen Size Setting Depending on whether 800x600 or 1024x768 is selected, the fonts and screen layouts in FootPrints will be optimized for that screen size for Customers in the current project. Agent and Administrator users have their own My Preferences setting for this option. 66

73 Chapter 6 Project Administration Key Required If this option is required, Customers will only be allowed to login if their unique key is found in the Address Book. This option only applies to Shared Customer accounts. Unique Customer accounts are allowed into the system based on whether they are in the password file, i.e. if they have been added to the system with a unique ID and password by the Administrator, OR if they have been auto-added via the Auto-Add feature. Instant Talk Enable/disabled Instant Talk for Customers in the current project with this option. If disabled, the option will not appear in the FootPrints Toolbar for Customers. The option will still be available for Agents and Administrators if the Project Option for Instant Talk is enabled. For instructions on using the Instant Talk feature, please refer to the chapter on Real-time Resolution Tools. NOTE: If FootPrints Advanced Live esupport (powered by Control-F1) is enabled for the current project, Instant Talk will automatically be disabled. Customers will instead get a link for Advanced Live esupport. 67

74 FootPrints Reference Manual Fields The fields found in FootPrints forms are highly customizable by project. Custom Project and Address Book fields are defined by the Project Administrator. Other built-in FootPrints fields, such as Title, Status and Description, can be further defined as well. All fields will dynamically appear in all FootPrints forms, including Create Issue, Edit Issue, Advanced Search and Advanced Reports. Before any custom Project or Address Book fields are created, you should decide which information you want associated with the Customer record in the Address Book, and which will be entered on a per-issue basis. Information that would remain fairly constant for the Customer, such as Last Name, First Name, address, and Phone number, should become Address Book fields. Information that pertains to an individual Issue, such as Problem type, Call type, etc. should become Project fields. The field options available are: Add Fields Create custom fields for your project. Edit/Delete Fields Change or delete custom project fields. Add Status Create statuses in addition to the default statuses Open and Closed. Edit Status Change or delete a custom status. Priorities Define priorities. Dependencies Configure project field dependencies based on a custom drop-down field. Add Fields To add Project fields, choose Administration Project Fields Add Fields from the FootPrints Toolbar. A maximum of 100 project fields is allowed per project (FootPrints database). The SQL database version supports an unlimited number of fields. Up to 10 new project fields can be added per screen. Lists of existing Project and Address Book fields are displayed as a reference at the top of the screen, as well as a count of the current fields. The following information must be entered for each new Project Field: Field Name Field Type Permissions Field Length (optional) Once you have filled out this information for each new field, scroll down to the bottom of the screen, enter your password, and click GO. The details of creating project fields are discussed below. 68

75 Chapter 6 Project Administration Figure 31 - Add Project Fields Field Name This is the name the field as it appears in all FootPrints forms, such as Product or Problem type. Field Type This defines the type of data the field accepts. FootPrints supports a number of field types. The field types are: Character (single or multiple line)- this type of field can contain any type of data, such as alpha, numeric or special character. Single-line character fields accept one line of data, while Multiple-line character fields accept an unlimited number of lines of data. There is no effective limit on the amount of text in a field (exception: in the ODBC versions, the operating system imposes a limit of about 20,000 bytes per field). Integer Accepts integers. Real Number Accepts integers or decimal numbers. Date fields Accepts valid dates (MM DD YYYY format). Drop-Down Choice List Offers a drop-down list of choices for the user to pick from. Web site Accepts URL addresses (of format Appears as a hypertext link on details page of Issue. FTP Accepts FTP addresses. Appears as a hypertext link on details page of Issue. Address Accepts addresses. Appear as a hypertext link on details page of Issue. NOTE: Creating a Drop-Down list field requires an additional step in which the choices are defined (up to 1000). See below for instructions. 69

76 FootPrints Reference Manual Permissions The permission level chosen here determines whether users are required to fill in the field. In addition, it determines which levels of users have read and write access to that field. A Mandatory field is a required field. If a user tries to submit an Issue without any field data, they receive an error message and instructions to go back and enter the information. These fields appear in red on the Create Issue and Edit Issue screens. An Optional field is not required. The user has the option whether or not to enter data for the field. Along with whether the field is required, there are five different permission levels. They are: Internal Only Internal Agent and Administrator users can view and edit field. Public Read Only Same as Internal, plus Customers can view field. Public Write Once Read/Submit and Read/Submit/Edit Customers can fill out field when submitting a Request, but will not be able to read the data on subsequent viewings. Internal users can read and write this field type. Public Read/Write Internal users, Read/Submit and Read/Submit/Edit Customers, can write to and read this field type. Only Internal users who have permission to edit an Issue are allowed to Edit the field. Public Read/Write/Edit - If the Read/Submit/Edit Customer type is available, up to 3 fields can be designated Public Read/Writ/Edit per project. Read/Submit/Edit Customer users will be able to edit these fields (when their Request is available for Edit). Read/Submit Customers will not be able to edit the field (only to fill it out when submitting a Request). Internal users can read, write and edit the field. Field Length Optionally, a specific field length can be defined for the field (does not apply to drop-down or date fields). If defined here, users will be forced to enter data of the specified number of characters when creating or editing an Issue or request. The options are: Unrestricted No field length restriction (the default). Exactly Enter a number in the first box for the exact number of characters users must enter in the field. Leave the second input box blank. At least Enter a number in the first box that will be a minimum number of characters field data must contain. Leave the second input box blank. At most Enter a number in the first box that will be the maximum number of characters field data can contain. Leave the second input box blank. Between enter 2 numbers defining a range of the number of characters accepted for field data. After filling in the desired field names, types, permission levels, and field lengths (if desired) enter your password and click GO. The fields are now added to the current project. NOTE: 10 project fields can be added at one time from this screen. To add more fields, simply click the Add Fields button to add additional fields. Up to 100 project fields can be added in total to one project (no limit for ODBC versions). Please refer to the sections below on editing and deleting fields, and on adding Address Book fields. 70

77 Chapter 6 Project Administration Drop-Down Choice Fields A choice field offers the user a drop-down list of choices to pick from. Up to 1000 choices can be defined per drop-down choice field. After creating a field of type drop-down choice list and clicking the GO button, a new screen appears where the choices for the field are defined. To define choices: 1. Enter a name for field type. This name is for the set of choices, and must be different from the actual field name given on the previous screen. This allows the same set of choices to be used for more than one field. So, if the name given for the field on the previous screen was problem, then the name for the field type on this screen could be problem type. 2. Add choices. Enter the first choice to appear in the drop-down box under Actions, and click the add button. The choice now appears in the box on the left. Continue to add as many choices (up to 1000) as desired. 3. Re-order choices (optional). To reorder the choices, highlight one choice and click the up or down arrow to move it through the list. 4. Delete choice (optional). To delete a choice from the list, highlight it and click the link for Delete. 5. Reset (optional). To delete all choices and start over, click the link for Reset. 6. Re-order alphabetically (optional). Choose to automatically re-order values in list alphabetically, either Ascending (A- Z) or Descending (Z-A). Values with an integer as the first character will be sorted before those beginning with a letter in the order 0-9 (or 9-0 for descending). 7. After all choices are added, Click GO. If more than one drop-down choice field was created on the Add Fields screen, a new choice field editor will appear for each field. Figure 32 - Choice Field Editor 71

78 FootPrints Reference Manual Edit/Delete Fields Project fields can be edited or deleted by the Project or System Administrator. To edit or delete an existing project field, click the Edit Fields button on the Project Administrator page. The options on this screen are: Edit/Delete Project Field edit field name, field permissions, or delete field Define Project fields Ordering change order of existing project fields. Edit Previously Defined Choice Field Type edit the choices in an existing drop-down field type. Dropdown List of Titles define acceptable choices for the Title field. Below are instructions for each of these tasks. Edit Field 1. Select the field to be edited from the drop-down list on the Edit/Delete Project Fields screen and click GO. 2. To change the field type, choose the new type from the Field Type list. 3. To change permissions, choose from the Permissions list. 4. Enter your password and click GO. NOTE: Editing a field does affect the data in existing Issues. NOTE #2: Some field types in the SQL version of FootPrints cannot be altered, due to a limitation in the SQL database. In this case, if you want to change the field type, you must delete the field and create a new one. Delete Field 1. Select the field to be deleted from the drop-down list on the Edit/Delete Project Fields screen. 2. Check the checkbox for delete and click GO. NOTE: Deleted data fields are no longer viewable, and all FootPrints forms no longer contain that field. To undelete a field, please contact UniPress for instructions. Reorder Project Fields 1. On the Edit/Delete Project Fields screen, under Define Project Field Ordering, there is a list of all project fields in the current order. 2. To change the position of a field, highlight the field and use the up and down arrows to move it in relation to the other fields. 3. When you are finished, click GO. NOTE: Changing the order of the Project Fields on this page does not affect the database; it only affects the display of fields in the FootPrints forms. 72

79 Chapter 6 Project Administration Edit Previously Defined Drop-down Field Type 1. On the Edit/Delete Project Fields page, under Edit Previously Defined Drop-Down Choice Field Type, choose the field type to edit and click GO. This displays a choice field editor with the existing choices listed. 2. To add a choice, enter the choice and click Add. 3. To change the position of a choice in the list, highlight it, and use the up and down arrows to move it. 4. To delete a choice, highlight it and click Delete. NOTE: Editing the choices here does not affect the data in your exiting Issues. Dropdown List of Titles By default, titles are entered by the user in free form when Issues are created. Optionally, the Project Administrator can define a list of acceptable titles in advance, and users must then select titles from that list when Issues are entered. When this feature is enabled, users will only be able to pick from the list of defined subjects. To restrict titles to a list, enter them (1 per line) into the box provided. Public titles will be available to internal and customer users. Internal titles will only be available to internal users. Titles can be added, edited or removed at any time. To disable the feature, simply remove all fields from both boxes. 73

80 FootPrints Reference Manual Add Status Status refers to the state of a FootPrints Issue. By default, FootPrints projects come with two statuses, Open and Closed. The Project Administrator can define additional statuses for the project, and determine the order of the statuses between Open and Closed. All new statuses fall between Open and Closed. Numerical ordering is used to represent the order of the statuses. By default, Open=1 and Closed=2. If a new status called Pending is added, then the order is Open=1, Pending=2, and Closed=3. The new status appears in all FootPrints forms, including Create Issue, Edit Issue, Advanced Search, Advanced Report, etc. To add a new status for all FootPrints Issues in this project, select Administration Project Fields Add Status from the FootPrints Toolbar. The current statuses are listed in numerical order on this page for reference. To create a new status: 1. Enter the name of the new Status in the field provided. 2. Select the numerical position for the new status. 3. Enter your password and click GO. Figure 33 - Add Status The new status appears in all FootPrints forms, including Create Issue, Edit Issue, Advanced Search, Advanced Report, etc. NOTE: Custom statuses can contain a maximum of 14 characters, including spaces. 74

81 Chapter 6 Project Administration Edit/Delete Status Custom statuses can be changed or deleted at any time by the Project Administrator. To delete a status, choose Administration Project Fields Edit/Delete Status from the FootPrints Toolbar. To edit a status: 1. Choose the status to be deleted from the drop-down box. 2. Click GO. 3. Enter a new name for the Status. 4. Enter your password and click GO. The new Status name will be displayed throughout FootPrints. To delete a status: 1. Choose the status to be deleted from the drop-down box. 2. Click the delete checkbox. 3. Click GO. The deleted status is removed from all FootPrints forms. NOTE: Deleting a status does not affect the data in your existing FootPrints Issues. To convert the status of an Issue whose status has been deleted to another status, you must edit the Issue. If there are many Issues with this status, first do a search that returns all Issues with the status to be deleted. Change the status of these Issues, and then delete the unwanted status as described above. Priorities By default, a project s priorities range from 1 to 10. A different maximum priority can be chosen in this option, ranging from 1 to 100. Priorities can be defined under Administration Project Options Project Options Priorities. To change the priority range, choose from the Maximum Priority drop-down list. For example, if 5 is chosen, the project will include priorities 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5. NOTE: You can determine which priorities are highest and which ones are lowest. For example, 1 could be the highest priority, and 10 the lowest, or 10 could be the highest, with 1 as the lowest. A default priority for new entries and requests can also be chosen. A number should be chosen from within the range defined under Maximum Priority. Priority numbers can also be mapped to words that describe that level of priority. To map priorities to words: 1. Choose the priority range from the Maximum Priority drop-down list. 2. Click the link to map priorities to words. A small window is displayed. 3. In the new window, there are input boxes for each priority level. 4. Enter a word or phrase for each priority level. 75

82 FootPrints Reference Manual 5. After filling in a word for each priority, click GO. Figure 34 - Define priority levels For example, if the priorities range from 1 to 3, 1 could be mapped to high, 2 to medium and 3 to low. After completing the priority definitions, enter your password and click GO at the bottom of the Edit Options screen to activate them. Field Dependencies Footprints optionally supports a 2-level field dependency. A single project field of type choice can be designated as the key (decision) field. Based on that field, a new set of custom fields will be available to the user. To designate the decision field: 1. All fields for ALL dependencies must first be made on the Project Admin Add Fields page. In addition, a single choice field should be created to be the key decision field. For example, the decision field could be a field called problem type, with 3 values: Hardware, Software, and Network. Depending on which value a user chooses when creating an Issue, a different subset of fields can appear. ALL possible fields must be created on the Add Fields screen prior to setting up dependencies. 2. If one of the subset fields will appear for all dependencies, but with different values for each, create one choice field containing ALL values for ALL dependencies. For example, a field called Version number can be made containing all of the possible version numbers for Hardware, Software and Network problems. Later on (in step 6), the different values for Version number can be assigned to the different key decision values of Hardware, Software and Network. 3. Click the Dependencies button from the Project Admin page. 4. Select the project choice field that you wish to be the key field and click GO. The choice field must already exist. 5. The top half of the next screen allows you to define the dependent fields. If your key field has three possible values, you will see a choice box for each value, each containing a list of all project fields. Simply highlight the fields to include for each key value (hold the Ctrl key to highlight multiple fields). 76

83 Chapter 6 Project Administration Figure 35 - Configure field dependencies, part 1 6. For additional choice fields found in the project (not including the main key field), a series of choice boxes for each of your possible values will be displayed in the bottom half of the screen. So, continuing with the above example, for each of your three key values in the decision field, there will be a choice box for each choice field in the project. If there are four choice fields defined (other than the key field) in the project, there will be twelve choice boxes (four for each of the three key values). By default, all values will be selected. You can optionally use one or more the fields displayed here to pick different values of the same choice field for the different values of the key decision field (as described in step 2). Only de-select the values for a particular set of fields that you want to limit (hold the Ctrl key to highlight multiple fields). Otherwise, do no de-select any values. 7. Select/de-select the values for those fields that you want to appear in the four choice boxes, depending on the value the user will choose for the key field. For example, if the key decision field is Problem type, and the sub-field Version number will appear for all 3 of the decision field values, different values of Version number can be associated with Hardware, Software and Network. So, if version number contains 6 values, 97, 2000, 2.5, 8.7, 4.x and 5.x, the following associations can be made: Choice: Hardware, Field: Version number select 2.5 and 8.7 Choice: Software, Field: Version number - select 97 and 2000 Choice: Network, Field: Version number - select 4.x and 5.x All other values for Version number for each of the 3 choices above should be de-selected. All other values for any other fields should remain selected. 8. After selecting the values that will appear for each of the choice fields, click GO. 9. To turn off field Dependencies, choose NONE for the Decision field and click GO. Now when you create an Issue, the Project Fields section of the Create Issue screen will only contain the key decision field. By selecting one of the values from the decision field, a pop-up box will appear, containing the additional dependent fields for that value. So, if Software is chosen, Version number will appear, only with the possible values of 97 and In addition, any other fields associated with Software (chosen in the top section of the Dependencies screen) will appear. Users can also select a personal default value for the key decision field on the My Preferences screen. 77

84 FootPrints Reference Manual Figure 36 - Configure Field Dependencies, part2 78

85 Chapter 6 Project Administration Automated Task Management This section covers tasks and rules that can be configured by the Project Administrator to occur automatically based on time and other criteria. The options include: Escalation Configure FootPrints to automatically escalate Issues and send notification based on custom criteria. Auto Assign - Configure Auto-assignment of new Issues based on your custom field(s). Auto Run Reports - Set up automated report scheduling. Customer Survey Create a customer satisfaction survey to be sent to customers when their Issues are closed. Escalation FootPrints escalation feature automatically escalates Issues based on your criteria on a project-wide basis. Rules can be defined for which Issues should be automatically escalated, and for defining what should occur when Issues meet those criteria. For example, your organization may have a rule that states that all priority 1 Issues must be closed within 24 hours. FootPrints automatic escalation feature can be configured to send an automatically to alert the Administrator when a priority 1 Issue is still open after 24 hours. To enable this feature, select Administration Project Automated Tasks Escalation from the FootPrints Toolbar. A list of existing escalations (if any) is displayed. To create a new escalation, click ADD. There are five steps to enabling an escalation: Name Escalation Name escalation rule. Turn on Escalation Activate escalation rule. Escalation Time Choose when an Issue should be checked to see if it meets the Escalation criteria. Escalation Action(s) Select one or more actions to occur when an Issue meets the Escalation criteria. Select Additional criteria Select criteria that FootPrints uses to escalate Issues. 79

86 FootPrints Reference Manual Name Escalation Give a name to the Escalation rule. For example, High Priority Issues. Turn on Escalation To activate this Escalation rule, the On radio button must be selected (this is selected by default). If an Escalation rule is turned off, the settings are saved until the rule is re-activated or deleted. Escalation Time This option determines when an Issue will be checked to see if it meets the additional escalation criteria. There are 3 options: Time unedited Select the amount of time an Issue must go untouched by an Agent or Administrator before it is escalated. Minute, Hour, Day and Week increments are available. Multiple options can be selected. The time is based on a 24/7 schedule. Time unedited based on Work Time This option also counts the time an Issue goes unedited before escalation occurs, but uses the project Work Calendar rather than the standard 24/7 schedule. Regular working days and hours, as well as holidays can be configured for the organization by clicking the link for Work time, or by selecting Work Calendar from the Project Administration screen. Complete instructions for the Work Calendar can be found earlier in this chapter. Example: The support hours are Monday-Friday from 8am to 6pm (as configured in the project Work Calendar). An escalation rule states that an Issue must be unedited for 6 hours before it is escalated. A new Issue comes in at 4pm on Friday. In the above case, the Issue will be escalated at 12pm on Monday (6 working hours later). NOTE: When using the Work Calendar, only one unit of time can be chosen (minutes, hours or days). Instant Escalation This escalation will occur immediately. There are 2 options: Upon Creation - If this option is selected, the escalation will occur immediately upon creation of the Issue. This overrides any time specified above. Upon Edit - If this option is selected, the escalation will be applied when the Issue is edited. This overrides any time specified above. Escalation Actions This defines what actions occur automatically when an Issue meets the escalation criteria. The choices are: Send a summary mail - An will be sent the addresses entered containing a summary of escalated Issues for the project each time the escalation routine is run and matches are found. Enter multiple addresses separated by a space. Send mail to Assignees An is sent to all Assignees of each Issue that is escalated. Also, you must choose the address type to use for this escalation: Agent the internal user s agent address. Pager the internal user s pager address. Wireless the internal user s wireless address. NOTE: The different address types are defined for each user on the My Preferences screen. 80

87 Chapter 6 Project Administration Change the priority Automatically raises or lowers the Issue s priority as specified. You can also choose to change the priority of all escalated Issues to a specific priority. Change status Automatically change the status of the escalated Issue. Assign/Re-assign Users highlighted will be assigned to the escalated Issue. If Add Selected Users is chosen, the original assignees of the Issue will also remain assigned. If Re-Assign is chosen, the original assignees will be unassigned. Multiple actions can be chosen on this page. Just check the checkbox for each action to be performed. Also, all escalated Issues will appear in RED on the FootPrints homepage until the Issue is edited. Additional Criteria The criteria chosen here determine which Issues are automatically escalated. Criteria available include virtually all options that appears on the Advanced Search page, including Status, Priority, Assignee, Project fields, Address Book fields, etc. (see the section on Search and Reporting for more information). Example The screen below configures escalation to escalate Issues that match the following criteria: Open or Request status Service Level=Gold Immediately upon creation The actions that will occur when an Issue matches those criteria are: Project Administrator receives Priority is raised to 2 (High) 81

88 FootPrints Reference Manual Figure 37 - Escalation, part 1 82

89 Chapter 6 Project Administration Figure 38 - Escalation, part 2 After criteria and actions are chosen, fill in your password and click GO. The escalation rule is now enabled. When an Issue matches the criteria of the rule, the actions specified will occur. If an escalation rule fails for any reason, the Project Administrator receives an notification. 83

90 FootPrints Reference Manual Escalations are run by the FootPrints Scheduler service. On Windows, FPSchedule.exe is automatically set as a service on the FootPrints server. On UNIX, a cron job is automatically created which runs the file "MRrunScheduledScripts.pl". This service handles incoming , outgoing notification, escalations, mass s, and scheduled reports. It replaces the manual scheduling necessary in previous versions. NOTE: Escalated Issues lose their urgent status once they are edited. If an Issue is reported as escalated, it will not be escalated again until it has lost its urgency (by being edited), and then becomes urgent again. Customize Escalation The information that is included in escalation can be configured to include certain fields. To configure escalation for this project, click the link on the main Escalation setup screen. 1. In the dialog box displayed, choose the fields to be included, and the order. For more information on using this dialog box, please refer to the Fields Displayed section in the chapter on Searching and Reporting. 2. After the desired fields are selected and ordered, click GO. All escalation now includes the fields chosen for all escalations in this project. Escalation notifications contain the Urgent flag (!) in Microsoft Outlook and Lotus Notes. 84

91 Chapter 6 Project Administration Defining Service Level Agreement (SLA) Levels The escalation feature can be used to escalate Issues based on your organization s Service Level Agreements. For example, requests from users who have gold service can get automatically escalated immediately; requests from users with silver service can get automatically escalated after 4 hours, etc. To define Service Levels: 1. Create an internal optional Address Book field of type choice called Service Level. 2. For the values in the choice field, enter the names of your organization s Service Levels. For example, Gold, Silver, and Bronze. 3. Each contact in the Address Book who qualifies for a service level should have that service level chosen in the Address Book. 4. Make one or more escalations for each service level. For example, if requests from Gold level users should be escalated to priority 1 immediately, and assigned to the Project Administrator, the following escalation could be created: Name: Gold Level Escalation On/Off: Choose On. Actions: sent to Project Administrator, Priority changed to 1, status changed to Open (assuming Issues may be submitted by Customers as Requests OR may be entered by an internal user), Re-assign to Project Administrator. Escalation Time: Check Instant Escalation. Criteria: Status= Request or Open (highlight both), SLA=Gold. 5. Now all new Requests and Issues submitted where the SLA level is Gold in the Address Book will immediately receive a priority of 1 and will be assigned to the Project Administrator. The Administrator will also receive an (or page), and the Issue will appear in red on the FootPrints homepage. 6. One or more escalations can be made for each service level. 85

92 FootPrints Reference Manual Using Escalation for Per-Issue Reminders The escalation feature can be used to create reminders on a per-issue basis. This will allow an Agent, for example, to set a followup date for an Issue, and receive an reminder on that date. To set up per-issue reminders: 1. Create an internal optional Project field called Follow Up Date of type date field. 2. Create an escalation with the following criteria (may be slightly different depending on your system): Name: Per-Issue Reminders Escalation On/Off: Choose On. Actions: Send mail to the Assignees checked, select one or more types. Time Unedited: 5 minutes. Criteria: Status=Highlight Request, Open, and any custom statuses to get reminders on active Issues, or Closed to get reminders on Closed Issues (OR highlight all statuses except for Solution to get reminders on any Status Issue). For Follow Up Date, choose equal to and check the box for Current Date (do not fill in any dates). 3. Enter your password and click GO. To set a reminder, simply edit an Issue and fill in a follow-up date. On the day of the follow-up date, the agent will receive an reminder, and the Issue will be highlighted in RED in FootPrints. 86

93 Chapter 6 Project Administration Auto Assign FootPrints auto assignment feature allows you to define users to be automatically assigned to Issues based on your custom dropdown choice Project fields. This assignment is done in addition to any assignees chosen manually on the Create or Edit Issue pages. For example, if this project contains a project field called Problem type, with three choices - hardware software and network, you could configure this project to automatically assign all new Issues and requests to different FootPrints users depending on what choice is selected for that Issue or Request. In this way, the hardware group would get automatically assigned to hardware problems, the software group would get automatically assigned to software problems, etc. To configure the auto assignment feature: 1. Select Administration Project Automated Tasks Auto Assign from the FootPrints Toolbar. 2. There are 2 Auto Assign Options: a. Add to or replace existing assignees i. Add new assignees - if this is chosen, any users assigned manually will remain assigned in addition to any users auto-assigned. ii. Unassign existing assignee When users are auto-assigned, any users added manually, or auto-assigned by a previous edit will be removed. This is useful if Auto Assignment is being used to assign an Issue from one group to another, for example from Support, then to Development, then to QA, etc. b. Auto assign on create/edit i. Create only Auto assignment will only occur when the Issue is first created. Any subsequent changes to the Auto Assign field(s) will have no effect on assignment. ii. Create and Edit Each time an auto-assignment field is edited, Auto Assignment rules will be re-applied. This is useful if Auto Assignment is being used to assign an Issue from one group to another, for example from Support, then to Development, then to QA, etc. 3. Drop-Down Fields - This section contains one section for each drop-down choice field in the current project. Each section is broken down into each value for field, with a list of Project Members for each. 87

94 FootPrints Reference Manual Figure 39 - Auto Assign 4. For each value field, you can choose to Auto-assign Issues to one or more users. Simply highlight a user s ID in the list for that value. Hold down the Ctrl key to highlight more than one. 5. You do not have to configure auto-assign for each value in a single field, or for all drop-down fields. It is completely optional. 6. When you are finished, click GO. Now all Issues for which a value is selected (which were configured for Auto-assignment) will now get automatically assigned to the users specified on the Auto-Assign screen. The users receive notification , and the Issue appears in their Assignments list. NOTE: If the Auto-Assignment feature is enabled for a public field, Customers Requests will also get automatically assigned and given a status of Open. They will skip the Request bin. 88

95 Chapter 6 Project Administration Auto Run Reports FootPrints can now automatically run any saved report at regularly scheduled times. The reports can either be saved to a file on the server, or ed to a list of addresses. This is configured under Administration Project Automated Tasks Auto Run reports. To schedule a report: 1. Create a Saved Report. 2. On the Auto Run Reports screen, choose the report from the Report to run drop-down box. 3. To save the report to the server, enter a path i.e. C:\Reports\myReport.html. Optionally check the box to include the time and date in the name of the report. 4. To the report, enter a space-separated list of addresses. 5. Choose the time and day(s) to run the report (based on the server time). 6. Click the GO button. 7. The file MRrun_reports.bat must be set to run on the scheduler (NT/2000), or the script MRreport.pl must be set to run with a cron job (UNIX/Linux). Please refer to the Auto Run Reports screen for complete instructions for your system. 8. To take a report off of the scheduler, choose the report under Deselect. Customer Survey When this feature is enabled, a customer satisfaction survey is automatically sent to customers when their Requests get closed. The containing the survey will be sent to the customer in addition to the regular notification sent (based on the rules specified under Administration Project Options Mail Preferences). NOTE: For the survey option to work correctly, outgoing notification must be enabled for the system (under Administration System ). To enabled this feature: Reply Address Enter the address the surveys should be mailed to. If you would like to save the surveys in FootPrints, you can make another project to track the surveys, and specify a separate incoming account for that project (please refer to the chapter on Management). Subject Enter a subject for the . Custom Message Enter text. This text will be in the body of the . Attach File Attach the survey. You must create the survey outside of FootPrints, and then attach it here. Only.txt and.html files are supported. Enter your password and click GO. Now each time a customer Issue is closed, the customer will receive an with the subject and message you specified, and with the survey attached to the . In addition, the will contain the Project name, Issue Title, and Issue number for reference. 89

96 FootPrints Reference Manual Figure 40 - Create a Customer Survey 90

97 Chapter 7 Address Book Administration Chapter 7 Address Book Administration The Project Administrator can customize the Address Book for the current project. Adding, editing and deleting Address Book fields works similarly to Project Fields (as described in the chapter on Project Administration). Address Book fields can be administered by the Project Administrator under Administration Address Book on the FootPrints Toolbar. These options are also available by clicking Options on the Address Book Toolbar. The options are: Add Fields Create Address Book fields Edit Fields Edit/Delete Address Book fields. Edit Options Edit Address Book options. Export Data Export Address Book contact data. Schema Show Address Book schema. Load Data Import Address Book data. Mass Schedule an to be sent to multiple Address Book contacts. Dynamic Address Book - Configure the Address Book to work with an LDAP-compliant contact database (including Microsoft Exchange). Add Fields All FootPrints Address Books start with three default fields: Last Name, First Name and address. NOTE: While the default fields can be deleted, you MUST have a field of type , preferably entitled address, for Customers to be linked to their Address Book Issues when submitting Requests via the FootPrints interface and via . To add additional Address Book fields, select Add Fields under Administration Address Book from the FootPrints Toolbar. The Address Book can contain up to 100 fields (no limit in the SQL database). The method of adding fields is similar to that for adding Project Fields, with a few restrictions. Lists of existing Project and Address Book fields are displayed as a reference at the top of the screen, as well as a count of the current fields. The following information must be entered for each new Project Field: Field Name Field Type Permissions Once you have filled out this information for each new field, scroll down to the bottom of the screen, enter your password, and click GO. The details of creating project fields are discussed below. 91

98 FootPrints Reference Manual Figure 41 - Add Address Book Fields Field Name This is the name the field as it appears in all FootPrints forms, such as Company or Customer ID. Field Type This defines the type of data the field accepts. FootPrints supports a number of field types. The field types are: Character (single or multiple line)- this type of field can contain any type of data, such as alpha, numeric or special character. Single-line character fields accept one line of data, while Multiple-line character fields accept an unlimited number of lines of data. There is no effective limit on the amount of text in a field (exception: in the ODBC versions, the operating system imposes a limit of about 20,000 bytes per field). Integer Accepts integers. Real Number Accepts integers or decimal numbers. Date fields Accepts valid dates (MM DD YYYY format). Drop-Down Choice List Offers a drop-down list of choices for the user to pick from. Web site Accepts URL addresses (of format Appears as a hypertext link on details page of Issue. FTP Accepts FTP addresses. Appears as a hypertext link on details page of Issue or Contact. Address Accepts addresses. Appear as a hypertext link on details page of Issue or Contact NOTE: Creating a Drop-Down list field requires an additional step in which the choices are defined (up to 1000). See below for instructions. 92

99 Chapter 7 Address Book Administration Permissions The permission level chosen here determines whether users are required to fill in the field. In addition, it determines which levels of users have read and write access to that field. A Mandatory field is a required field. If a user tries to submit an Issue without any field data, they receive an error message and instructions to go back and enter the information. These fields appear in red on the Create Issue and Edit Issue screens, and the Create Contact screen. An Optional field is not required. The user has the option whether or not to enter data for the field. Along with whether the field is required, there are two different permission levels. They are: Internal Only Internal Agent and Administrator users can view and edit field. Public Read/Write Internal users, Read/Submit Customers and Read/Submit/Edit Customers, can write to and read this field type. After filling in the desired field names, types, and permission levels, enter your password and click GO. The fields are now added to the current Address Book, and will also appear in the Create/Edit Issue screens. NOTE: 10 fields can be added at one time from this screen. To add more fields, simply click the Add Fields link again to add additional fields. Up to 100 Address Book fields can be added in total to one project (no limit for ODBC versions). 93

100 FootPrints Reference Manual Drop-Down Choice Fields A choice field offers the user a drop-down list of choices to pick from. Up to 1000 choices can be defined per drop-down choice field. After creating a field of type drop-down choice list and clicking the GO button, a new screen appears where the choices for the field are defined. To define choices: 1. Enter a name for field type. This name is for the set of choices, and must be different from the actual field name given on the previous screen. This allows the same set of choices to be used for more than one field. So, if the name given for the field on the previous screen was problem, then the name for the field type on this screen could be problem type. 2. Add choices. Enter the first choice to appear in the drop-down box under Actions, and click the add button. The choice now appears in the box on the left. Continue to add as many choices (up to 1000) as desired. 3. Re-order choices (optional). To reorder the choices, highlight one choice and click the up or down arrow to move it through the list. 4. Delete choice (optional). To delete a choice from the list, highlight it and click the link for Delete. 5. Reset (optional). To delete all choices and start over, click the link for Reset. 6. Re-order alphabetically (optional). Choose to automatically re-order values in list alphabetically, either Ascending (A- Z) or Descending (Z-A). Values with an integer as the first character will be sorted before those beginning with a letter in the order 0-9 (or 9-0 for descending). 7. After all choices are added, Click GO. If more than one drop-down choice field was created on the Add Fields screen, a new choice field editor will appear for each field. Figure 42 - Choice Field Editor 94

101 Chapter 7 Address Book Administration Edit Fields The Address Book fields can be changed, edited or deleted by the Project Administrator. The following options are available: Edit or Delete Fields change a field name, field type, or delete a field. Options are the same as those for Project fields. Please refer to the section on editing/deleting Project Fields in the chapter on Project Administration for more information on this option. Define Address Book Field Ordering Reorder the Address Book fields for display purposes. Please refer to the section on reordering Project Fields in the chapter on Project Administration for more information on this option. Edit Options Address Book Name - the display name for the current Address Book can be changed. Address Book Contact Taking - By default, agent users do not have access to edit a Contact unless they created it. If this option is enabled, agent users will be allowed to edit any Contact in this address book. Organization Field optionally define an Organizational field for Address Book contacts for display and for Customer read permissions. Details on this option are below. Fields Define primary field (only appears when more than one address field exists in the Address Book. Details on this option are below. Change to LDAP/Exchange/Active Directory Address Book This option allows you to link to an outside contact database, such as Microsoft Exchange. It must be enabled for the option to appear (please contact your UniPress salesperson or reseller if you would like to purchase this option). If this option is selected, a setup screen will display. Complete details on configuring this option are in the section below entitled LDAP/Exchange/Active Directories Link. 95

102 FootPrints Reference Manual Organizational Field The Organizational field represents a number of individual contact records, organized by a field such as Department or Company Name. Any Address Book field can be selected as the Organizational field. Other examples include Business Unit, Location and Client. If enabled, the contacts in the Address Book will be organized by that field. If the Organizational field is also the first field in the Address Book, the contacts are sorted by that field as well. When the Organizational field option is enabled, the Address Book homepage displays 2 hyperlinks for each contact. The 96

103 Chapter 7 Address Book Administration To enable this feature: 1. Select Administration Address Book Edit Options Organizational Field from the FootPrints toolbar. 2. Select an Organizational Field from the drop-down list of Address Book fields. We recommend using a field such as Department or Company, which reflects the organizational grouping of your contacts. 3. Check the box under Customer Read Permissions. 4. Optionally enter 1 or more addresses (space-separated) to receive notification each time a Customer adds him- or herself to the Address Book. This allows the Administrator to monitor when new Customers are added to the Organizational Unit (and who will be able to view all of the Requests for that group). 5. Scroll down to the bottom of the screen, enter your password and click GO. Once enabled, Customers, in addition to the View Mine option to view their own Requests, have a second View Organization link that allows them to view all of the Requests for their organization. So, if Department is the Organizational field, and the user bsmith is part of the HR department, he can view all of the Requests for the HR department. Figure 44 - Customer viewing Organizational Unit's Requests NOTE: This feature only gives read access to the Organizational Unit s Requests. The Customer will have no write or edit permissions to those Requests, even if they are of user type Customer Edit. Users who need write access to other users Requests or Issues should be given an Agent license. 97

104 FootPrints Reference Manual Fields Multiple addresses can be handled in the Address Book for incoming and outgoing . For example, if there are 2 fields in the Address Book of type address, called address and Secondary address, one can be set as the primary under Administration Address Book Edit Options Fields (this option will only appear when there are multiple address fields defined in the Address Book). Here is how it works: 6. Outgoing notification Notification on an Issue can now be sent to any address for a contact. It will default to the primary address, unless the Issue was submitted from a secondary account. In that case, the secondary account will receive the notifications automatically for that Issue. The agent, when creating/updating the Issue, also has the option to select the address to receive the notification in the section of the Create/Edit Issue screen. 7. Incoming submissions Incoming submissions by customers are now accepted from any account found in the Address Book, including secondary addresses. So, if a customer s primary account is [email protected], but he sends an to FootPrints from [email protected], and the Yahoo account is part of his contact record (as a secondary address), his contact information will be included as part of the Issue record, and he will be set as the submitter of the Issue. Export Data Address Book contact data can be exported to a.csv file. This allows you to export all or some contacts to an external spreadsheet, database, etc. To export Address Book data: 1. Choose Export Data from the Address Book Administration menu. 2. Simply click GO to export the entire Address Book, or indicate logical selection criteria for a portion of the Address Book. 3. Enter a file name, and browse for the directory to save the export file, then click Save. 4. The file will be in comma-separated-variable (CSV) format, suitable for editing or loading into another database in CSV format. 98

105 Chapter 7 Address Book Administration Load External Data NOTE: This option is not available for any LDAP-enabled Address Book. Customer contact data can be imported into the FootPrints Address Book from a flat text file. This will allow you start using FootPrints with your existing contact data from another database. Internal users will be able to look customer up in the FootPrints Address Book when logging an Issue. And Customers need only enter an address or other primary key, and FootPrints will fill in the rest of the contact data. The data must be exported from the existing contact database and formatted as described below. The import can be done by the Project or System Administrator either on the Project Admin page under Address Book Administration Load External Data, or under Options in the Address Book itself. NOTE: FootPrints also supports the importing of Issue data. This Issue data must be loaded separately from Address Book data. It is recommended that Address Book data be imported first. Instructions on importing Issue data, and how to link those Issues to imported Address Book contacts, can be found in the chapter on System Administration. To import data into the Address Book: 1. Address Book fields must first be created to match the fields in the data to be imported. They must be in the order of the data in the import file. 2. The contact data must be placed into a single, flat text file. Details on creating this text file can be found below. 3. On the "Load External Data" section of the Address Book Management page, choose the Address Book into which the data should be loaded from the drop-down box. 4. Enter the path and name of the text file in the field provided. The file must reside locally on the server. 5. Choose the data format for the data import file. Instructions on making a Field Delimited file are below. If CSV is chosen, an agent comma delimited file can be used. All fields must be accounted for, however (please refer the rules below). 6. There are two different methods for indicating the submitter of the contact: a. If no submitter is indicated, the user ID of the Administrator performing the data import will become the submitter for ALL Issues being imported. b. Enter a valid one-word FootPrints ID in the field provided. This user will become the submitter for ALL of the Issues being imported. 7. Click GO. 8. The system checks that the file exists. The Schema of the Address Book is displayed. The choices made on the previous page for the "submitted by" field is also displayed. After confirming that everything is correct, click GO at the bottom of this page to load the data. 9. The data is now validated. If the data is good, the import will proceed. It will take some time if the import file is large, so be patient. If bad data is present, an error message is displayed with the line numbers of contacts containing errors. 99

106 FootPrints Reference Manual Creating the Data File To import data into a FootPrints Address Book, the data must be contained in a flat text file, containing one Issue per line. The instructions below refer to the field delimited file. If CSV is chosen, data can wrap on multiple lines, with double-quotes, and with commas as the separator. However, the fields must still be in the correct order, and data (or a placeholder for optional fields) must be present for each field as outlined below. To create the text file: 1. Each contact must be on a separate line. The system new line separator (i.e. the result of pressing Enter, Return, ^M, etc.) should appear at the end of each Issue. 2. The fields for each Issue must be separated by the field delimiter, which is = by default. 3. The actual field names are not specified in the file (i.e. Last Name, First Name, etc.) Instead, the data must be in the order specified in the Address Book Schema. The Schema can be viewed by choosing that Address Book from the dropdown box, leaving the other fields blank, and clicking GO. The page that loads shows you the order of the fields that you should use for your file. 4. As an example, suppose the Address Book contains the 3 built-in Address Book fields, Last Name, First Name, and address, and 3 additional fields, Company, Phone and Fax. The Schema would look like this: Figure 45- Sample Address Book schema Therefore, one Issue in the text file might look like this: [email protected]=Widget= = where "Smith" is the Last Name, Bob is the First Name, [email protected] is the address, the Company name is Widget, the phone number is , and the fax number is

107 Chapter 7 Address Book Administration Optional Features Empty fields - All fields in the Schema must be delimited for each Issue. However, optional fields need not contain data. An empty field should be indicated by placing nothing between the field delimiters, or at the end of the line. Suppose the previous example has no value for the "Phone" field: [email protected]=Widget== *Notice the two equals signs, "==", where the previous example has "= ". NOTE: Mandatory fields must contain data, or the import will fail. Mandatory fields are indicated in red in the Schema. To import data with missing information, temporarily make the fields Optional on the Edit Address book Fields screen. After the import is complete, change the fields back to Mandatory. Changing the delimiter - Another delimiter than the default ('=') may be used. Simply include as the first line in the file: FIELD_DELIMITER=x where 'x' represents the character string you choose to replace the default value (which is = ). The field delimiter can contain more than one character, i.e. ::. We do recommend using the default delimiter, as certain characters [such as () $+*?^] confuse our Perl programs. If you do change the delimiter, our programs will let you know as gracefully as possible if they are unhappy. Wrapped text (embedded new lines) - As the text file containing the data to be loaded represents each record in a single line, the records cannot include new line characters. A second delimiter can be specified to represent the new line in long fields (such as Description, Multi-line text fields, etc.). Simply include at the top of the file: SUB_FIELD_DELIMITER=x where 'x' represents the character string you choose to replace the default value. Special characters, including [() $+*?^], should not be used, as they are reserved characters in Perl. Number fields For Integer or Real Number fields, all values must be numeric. Date fields Data for Date fields must be in the format MM/DD/YYYY, i.e. 07/04/1999. Choice Fields - Choice field data is not verified. It is your responsibility to ensure that data for such fields matches the list of values you established when you created the Choice field. Comments - You may make your data file easier to read by using blank lines and comment lines beginning with a '#' sign. Deleted fields An Address Book may have had certain fields deleted over time. These Deleted fields are not displayed in the Schema; they must be ignored in the text file. 101

108 FootPrints Reference Manual Mass The Mass feature allows you to send an to all or some of the contacts in the Address Book. First, you must design an in HTML or text format. Next, a set of contacts is selected (using a saved Address Book report), and the mailing is scheduled. The FootPrints scheduler service sends the to all contacts in the report in small batches (using your server), ensuring the process runs smoothly. When all of the s are sent, a confirmation is sent to the initiator of the mailing. To use this feature: 1. Create the desired text in any text or HTML editor, and save the file with either a.txt or.html editor. 2. Optionally create an Address Book report to retrieve the contacts desired for the mailing under Report on the Address Book toolbar. You must save and name the report. For example, to send the to a certain department, or company, simply select that department or company in the appropriate search field. To retrieve all contacts, no report is necessary. 3. Select Administration Mass from the Address Book toolbar. The following options can be selected: 4. Select the time for the mailing. Options include send immediately and specify date and time. For large mailing, we recommend scheduling the process after hours. 5. Optionally force breaks between batches of mail. Select a length of time here for batches of mail to be sent between the breaks. For example, to send mail continually for 1 minute, then take a break, then continue sending mails for another minute, 1 minute should be selected here. A Break length between 15 seconds and 1 hour can be selected. This feature is recommended if FootPrints escalations and incoming s are also being handled by the FootPrints service for Windows NT/2000, and to minimize the FootPrints server load (Windows and UNIX). For each break, the mailing process will end, and then restart for the next period. 6. Select Recipients The can be sent to all contacts in the current Address Book, or to a subset of the contacts based on an Address Book report. 7. Select message format Options include text, HTML, and Mixed text and HTML. If Mixed text and HTML is selected, both text and HTML files can be included in the mass Select From name for outgoing This is the name that will be displayed in the recipients inbox on the Select Reply address This is the reply address used for the mailing. 10. Subject This is the subject of the mail. 11. Upload Text File If text or Mixed text and HTML was selected above, upload the text file from your local machine using the Browse button. 12. Upload HTML File If HTML or Mixed text and HTML was selected above, upload the HTML file using the Browse button. 13. Upload Attachments (optional) optionally include one or more attachments (up to 5) to be included with the s. 14. To schedule the mailing, click the GO button. If the preview checkbox is checked, you will receive a preview of the To see a list of mailings scheduled, or to delete a mailing from the queue, click the link in the Select Time for Mass Mailing section of the administration screen. Additional configuration options that apply to all mass mailings from all Address Books can be found under Administration System Configure Mail on the FootPrints toolbar. The following 2 options are available: 1. Batch size Defaults to 100. Select the batch size of s to be sent at once (between 10 and 1000). 2. Length of Delay in seconds Select 1-10 seconds. This delay is in addition the breaks configured above for each mass ing. This delay will occur between batches, and is useful in giving the server a rest between batches. This delay will NOT stop the FootPrints process itself on the FootPrints server, it will only pause the s actually being sent to the server. To stop the process at intervals (to give the FootPrints server a rest, and to allow other FootPrints process like escalation to run), configure breaks on the Mass Administration screen as described above. After a mass ing is completed, a confirmation is sent to the initiator. If a problem occurs with a scheduled mailing, it will go to the bottom of the queue, which can be viewed from the link mentioned in step 12 above. We have tested mailings with up to 10,000 messages. Please use the delay and break options provided to ensure that regular processing is not interrupted on the FootPrints and servers. 102

109 Chapter 7 Address Book Administration Figure 46- Sample Mass 103

110 FootPrints Reference Manual Dynamic Address Book Link The FootPrints Dynamic Address Book link feature retrieves contact data dynamically from any LDAP-compliant contact database for the Address Book. The Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) is the standard Internet directory protocol. Examples of an LDAP-compliant database include Microsoft Exchange 5.x/2000, Netscape iplanet, and Novell Directory Services. If this option is utilized, FootPrints will dynamically access the outside database for contact information in the Address Book. This feature is an optional add-on module, and must be activated on your FootPrints server for the option to appear. Please contact your UniPress salesperson or reseller if you would like to purchase this option. This section contains the following topics: Selecting an LDAP Directory for the Address Book Creating a New Project Convert an Existing Address Book LDAP Address Book Configuration Name for LDAP Address Book LDAP Server Name LDAP Server Port LDAP Search Base for Directory Entries Anonymous Binding or Using Distinguished Name and Password LDAP Address Book Field Mapping Available LDAP/Exchange Attributes FootPrints Field Names to Map to LDAP/Exchange LDAP Field Setup LDAP Attributes Displayed Name and Field Type FootPrints Fields Customer Primary Key Select Organizational Field Using an LDAP Address Book Limitations NOTE: Throughout this section, the names LDAP Address Book and LDAP Directory are used to refer to any LDAP-compliant contact database, including Microsoft Exchange. 104

111 Chapter 7 Address Book Administration Selecting an LDAP Directory for the Address Book There are 2 ways to select an LDAP Directory for an Address Book: Create a new Project Convert an existing Address Book These 2 options are discussed below. Create a New Project New projects are created by selecting to the Administration System Projects link on the FootPrints Toolbar. Only the System Administrator has access to this option. The instructions below refer specifically to linking to an LDAP Address Book when creating a new project. For complete instructions on Creating Projects, please refer to the section on Projects in the chapter on System Administration. There are three options for creating a new project: 1. Use the Wizard to create my project - The System Administrator has the option to create a new FootPrints Address Book, Link to an existing Address Book, or link to an LDAP Address Book. 2. Create the project on my own - The System Administrator has the option to create a new FootPrints Address Book, Link to an existing Address Book, or link to an LDAP Address Book. 3. Use an existing project configuration - Only the only existing Address Book for the originating the project, or a new FootPrints Address Book is allowed. If the Address Book for the originating project is an LDAP one, the new project will link to the same LDAP database, using the same fields. In options 1 and 2, select the link to an LDAP Address Book, and the next screen displayed (after the other project options are selected) will be the LDAP Configuration Page. In option 3, if you would like to link to an LDAP Address Book, the options are: a. select FootPrints Address Book, and then convert the Address Book later (see below), or b. convert the Address Book associated with the originating project to an LDAP Address Book (also see below). Convert an Existing Address Book An existing FootPrints Address Book can be converted to an LDAP Address Book at any time. This is done from the Address Book Administration Edit Options screen under Change to LDAP/Exchange/Active Directory Address Book. Click the radio button for Change to LDAP, enter your password, and click GO. The LDAP Configuration Page is now displayed. When converting from a FootPrints Address Book to an LDAP Address Book, the references between Issues and Address Contacts may be affected. Contacts are linked to Issues based on the primary key in the Address Book. In order to ease the transition, you will be given the opportunity to map existing Address Book fields to LDAP field attributes. Although not all fields will map directly to the LDAP attributes, for those that do map directly, you may still search the Address Book for a particular Contact, and any existing Issues with Contact data that matches the primary key in the new LDAP Address Book will be associated with that Contact. 105

112 FootPrints Reference Manual Dynamic Address Book Link (LDAP) Address Book Configuration For FootPrints to access an outside contact database (i.e. Microsoft Exchange, Lotus Notes, etc.) for user contact information, the following information must be entered. Please consult with your System Administrator for more information. If the LDAP Address Book has been converted from a FootPrints Address Book, it may be converted back by checking a checkbox that will appear at the top of the screen. Name for Address Book This is an arbitrary name used to identify the Address Book in FootPrints, i.e. "Widget Company Users". The field in the wizard will be pre-filled with the name entered during installation, but it can be changed here. The name of the Address Book is visible to users in the Address Book. LDAP Server Name Enter the full domain name of the machine hosting the contact database server. Note for Microsoft Users: If Exchange and Active Directory are on 2 different servers, the Active Directory Server name should be entered. The Exchange/Active Directory administrator should be able to provide this information. It will usually be of the form: LDAP Server Port machinedomain.internetdomain.com This is the port that FootPrints will use to communicate with the LDAP contact database to retrieve user contact information. In most cases, the default value of 389 should be used. However, when a machine has more than one directory, a different port number may be used. Often when port 389 has already been used, administrators will set port 390 as the LDAP port. LDAP Search Base for Directory Entries LDAP (including MS Exchange/Active Directory) stores its data in a tree structure. To enable FootPrints to retrieve user information, a search base specifying where in the tree to search, and in what order, must be specified here. The search base is formed by adding names of the root and each subsequent branch of the tree until reaching the point where a search should commence. The search base should be the branch of the tree closest to the data being searched. In most instances, all data being sought will be in one branch of the LDAP tree. For instance, if the root of the LDAP Directory tree was "o=server.com" and the next branch to be taken was "ou=people," which contained all the directory information, the search base would be: ou=people,o=server.com The form of the search base is different for Microsoft Exchange 5.5, Exchange 2000 and other LDAP servers. Specific instructions are given below for help in finding the correct search base for 2 of the most popular LDAP-compliant contact databases: Microsoft Exchange 5.5 and Microsoft Active Directory (2000). For other databases, such as Netscape iplanet, Lotus Notes, and Novell Directory Services, please refer to the product documentation for that server, or contact UniPress Software support for help. 106

113 Chapter 7 Address Book Administration Microsoft Exchange 5.5 Exchange 5.5 will usually have a search base beginning with "cn=recipients." The search base can be determined by reading the registry. To find the full search base: 1. On the server where Exchange is installed, select Start Run from the Start Menu. 2. Enter regedit or regedt32, then click Open. 3. Browse to the following key: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/System/CurrentControlSet/Services/MSExchangeCCMC/Parameters/SiteDN 4. Take the value in the above key and create your search base by starting with cn=recipients and continuing by adding each key starting with the last (keys are separated by slashes ( / )) and adding the last remaining key, separating each new key added with a comma. 5. For example, if you see the following /o=company/ou=organization you would try as your search base: cn=recipients,ou=organization,o=company Note that the parameters for the search base are listed in reverse order from what is displayed in Exchange, and that commas separate the records rather than forward slashes. See your Exchange administrator if there is any difficulty. 107

114 FootPrints Reference Manual Last Name of Any Person Known to be in the Directory Enter the last name (surname) of a contact in the Exchange directory. This is the name that FootPrints will use to test the connection to your LDAP server. Distinguished Name (optional) Some LDAP servers allow an anonymous login. In these cases, no distinguished name and password are needed; however, if your server requires an authenticated bind of a user to access the directory, you should enter distinguished name and password of the Administrator user here. Specifying the distinguished name and password can also improve performance in searching and retrieving data from the LDAP server. The distinguished name of the binding user can be discovered from the LDAP Administrator or it can be found using the techniques discussed above for the LDAP Search Base. The distinguished name to use for binding will generally be cn=userid (where userid is the ID for the account used for binding) followed by a comma and then the search base. For example, if the User ID is Administrator : For Exchange 5.5 If the search base is: cn=recipients,ou=organization,o=company Then the distinguished name will be: cn=administrator,cn=recipients,ou=organization,o=company For Exchange 2000 If the search base is: cn=users, DC=NTdomain,DC=internetName,DC=com Then the distinguished name will be: cn=administrator,cn=users, DC=NTdomain,DC=internetName,DC=com Be sure to leave all information of the user in the distinguished name. Do not omit such information as a CN or UID as you would with a search base. Leave blank if binding anonymously. NOTE: We have found that Exchange 5.5 usually allows anonymous binding, while Exchange 2000 normally DOES NOT support it. So, if you have Exchange 2000, you will most likely need to fill in the Distinguished Name and Password. 108

115 Chapter 7 Address Book Administration Password (optional) Place the password of the binding user here. This is the password of the Administrator specified in the distinguished name above. Leave blank if binding anonymously. After all of the information is entered for Step 2, click "GO". FootPrints will now attempt to connect to your Exchange/LDAP/Active Directory server and search for the contact specified above using the search base and other information entered. If the connection is successful, the Address Book Field Mapping screen appears. If FootPrints is not able to connect to your LDAP server, an error will appear, or the browser will time out. Please contact your LDAP administrator, or UniPress support ([email protected]), for assistance. Figure 47 - Configure LDAP 109

116 FootPrints Reference Manual LDAP/Exchange Address Book Field Mapping The LDAP Address Book Field Mapping screen will appear after LDAP Address Book Configuration is complete ONLY if an existing Address Book is being converted. New Address Books do not require this step. This screen will also be displayed if the LDAP configuration for an Address Book is altered. When an LDAP/Exchange Address Book configuration has been changed, the administrator will be given the opportunity to minimize the disruption to the database caused by the change. When creating new Issues, contact information is stored based upon the Address Book fields selected. Were these fields to change, part of the contact information would be lost. By mapping the new LDAP Address Book fields to previously existing Address Book fields, this minimizes the disruption. Available LDAP/Exchange Attributes A list of available LDAP/Exchange Attributes is in the left column at the bottom of the page. These are attributes found on the LDAP server in based upon the search base provided in your LDAP configuration. Each of these attributes will be available to match to the current schema, as described below. FootPrints Field Names to Map to LDAP/Exchange The second column at the bottom of the page contains a table, which itself contains two columns. The first column is a list of all fields in the current schema. The second column contains a dropdown select box for each of those fields. This select box allows the administrator to delete the field or to map the field to any of the LDAP/Exchange attributes, which were listed as available for use. Although some LDAP attributes are obvious in how they relate to the FootPrints fields, others are not. The LDAP administrator should assist in mapping LDAP/Exchange attributes to FootPrints fields. It is important that a proper mapping is made so that the contact information previously entered in the ticket entries matches the address book and you are required to delete or map every field. Once all selections have been made and the GO button is pressed, the Administrator will enter the LDAP Field Setup page. Figure 48- Map Address Book fields 110

117 Chapter 7 Address Book Administration LDAP Field Setup System or Project Administrators can get to the LDAP Field Setup page in one of two ways: Following the Field Mapping page after a change in LDAP configuration. Selecting Administration Address Book Add/Edit Fields from the FootPrints Toolbar. The sections on the LDAP Field Setup page should be filled in as described below. LDAP Attributes A list of available LDAP Attributes is in the left column at the bottom of the page. These are attributes found on the LDAP server in based upon the search base provided in your LDAP configuration. Displayed Name and Field Type When one of the LDAP attributes is highlighted, the Displayed Name box will be filled either with a recommended name or with the name of the LDAP attribute. Regardless of what appears in the box, the Administrator may change the name of the field. In addition, the Field Type will contain a recommended FootPrints field type. The Administrator may also change this. Once the Administrator has completed any changes in name or field type, the Add Field button may be pressed to send the field to the FootPrints Fields box. The administrator will not be permitted to add two fields with the same name. FootPrints Fields The FootPrints Fields box will contain all fields currently selected. By highlighting a field name and using the up or down arrows on the left of the box, the order of the fields may be changed. Additionally, the Administrator may delete a field by highlighting it and selecting the Delete link to the left of the box. Customer Primary Key Select A primary key, which is used as a unique identifier for Customers in the Address Book, must be selected. The field selected should be one for which all users will have unique information in the field. The Administrator may simply type the field name in the box, making sure that it matches one of the field names selected; or the administrator may highlight the fieldname in the FootPrints Fields box and press the down arrow below the box to store the fieldname as the primary key. Organizational Field You may want the ability to list Contacts by a Department or Company, and to list all Issues by a Department or Company. By checking the box at the bottom of the page, the first field selected (this will be the top field in the FootPrints Fields list) will become an Organizational field. The field will then have a hyperlink on the Address Book homepage, which will go to an Organization Details screen. The usual hyperlink available for a specific Contact will move from the first field to the second field. 111

118 FootPrints Reference Manual Figure 49 - Setup LDAP Address Book fields 112

119 Chapter 7 Address Book Administration Using an LDAP Address Book Once the LDAP Address Book is fully configured, the contact data in the Address Book will automatically be pulled from the LDAP directory. The LDAP Address Book will look virtually the same as a FootPrints Address Book. LDAP Address Book data will not be stored in a FootPrints Address Book table; it will always be taken directly from the LDAP directory. However, the contact data for a particular Customer, when chosen using the Select Contact button on the Create/Edit Issue screens, WILL be saved along with the history of the Issue. The Contact data saved in an Issue is a snapshot of the data taken from the LDAP database at the time the Select Contact was performed. If the Customer s data changes at a later date, for instance, her phone number changes, it will not be reflected in the history of the Issue. It WILL be reflected the next time her Contact data is accessed from the LDAP directory. Limitations in FootPrints Using an LDAP directory, once properly configured, is no different than using a FootPrints Address Book with the following exceptions: 1. FootPrints permits only read access to an LDAP directory. Write access is not available in the current release. 2. If a server limit is set on the number of contacts to be returned for an LDAP query, if attempting to look at any query that would return a number of results greater than the server limit, some of the results will be missing and the missing results may be randomly dispersed throughout. This will most commonly appear when browsing through the entire Address Book. Any more specific search for a contact will work correctly even if such contact does not appear when browsing the Address Book. To correct this problem, the number of results returned for an LDAP query can be raised on the LDAP server (Exchange, Netscape iplanet, etc.). 3. The Address Book homepage and Select Contact windows do not allow browsing using A-Z links. In addition, the Address Book homepage does not list the first 50 contacts in the Address Book; instead, it displayed the Address Book search. As LDAP does not support browsing of contacts, and many users have large LDAP Address Books with various response times, the browsing options were removed from the interface to prevent timeouts. To find a contact, simply fill in 1 or more fields and click GO. The non-ldap FootPrints Address Book is not affected. 113

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121 Chapter 8 System Administration Chapter 8 System Administration This chapter introduces FootPrints System Administration. The focus of the chapter is on routine administration; see the chapter on Project Administration, as well as the appendices for additional important information on installing and administering Footprints. To access the System Administration options, click "System Admin under Options on the FootPrints Toolbar. Only the System Administrator can set system-wide options. The options are: Projects Create, Delete and Manage Projects. Appearance System Preferences Configure system-wide settings. Languages - Configure multiple language support Colors Change the display colors for FootPrints. Date Format Choose American or European format. Features Configure Setup FootPrints to handle incoming requests. Asset Management - Set up asset management tool Instant Talk Configure settings for Instant Talk one-on-one chat feature. Users User Management Change user s password, add or delete user to/from FootPrints Auto Add Customers - Allow Customers to be automatically added and assign these users to be assigned to particular projects Configure Authentication Select password authentication type: FootPrints, Windows NT, UNIX or LDAP. License Management - Get and install a new license, show the details of your current license. Logs View and manage system logs. FootPrints User Group Link to the FootPrints Bulletin Board to share ideas, modification and questions with other FootPrints users. Help NOTE: System Administrators are automatically given Project Administration privileges in all projects. 115

122 FootPrints Reference Manual Figure 50 - System Administration options What follows are more details on these options. 116

123 Chapter 8 System Administration Project Management The Project Management screen contains System Administration options for FootPrints projects. To customize an existing FootPrints project, please refer to the chapter on Project Administration. The options on this page are: List Projects View a list of all current projects and their corresponding project ID numbers. Create a New Project Create new project database in FootPrints Scan, Update and Rebuild Project Scan the database for errors Delete a Project Delete Project database Export data Export project data to a.csv file Load External Data Import data into FootPrints from a flat text file Create a New Project FootPrints provides three options for creating a new project: Project Wizard Create Project on your own Copy configuration from existing project Whichever option is chosen, the project options can always be changed later. There is no limit to the number of projects that can be created in FootPrints. To create a new project, choose Administration System 1 Tf4.10 T 117

124 FootPrints Reference Manual Figure 51 - New Project Wizard The Project Wizard contains the following project types: Internal Help Desk For the corporate Help Desk. External Support Center/CRM For customer support tracking. Development/Bug Tracking - For Development and Quality Assurance teams. Task Tracking - For general project or Issue tracking. Footprints/All Change Integration Special project type for integration with All Change Software Change Control Management. After you choose a project type, click the View Details button to see the fields that will be included in the New Issue form (these can be changed or added to later). When you are ready to proceed with the New Project Wizard, click the GO button. 118

125 Chapter 8 System Administration The steps of the New Project Wizard are: Step 1 Name Project Fill in the name of the new project. Address Book choose to create a new Address Book, link to an existing Address Book, or link to an LDAP Address Book. The last option is only available is the LDAP Address Book link option is licensed. Please refer to the chapter on Address Book Administration (section on LDAP Address Book link ) for more information. Step 2 Configuration Maximum Priority - By default, the priority for new Issues ranges from 1 to 4. You can choose a different maximum priority ranging from 1 to 100. Default Assignment of New Issues - Choose the default assignment when new Issues are created in this project. Internal users can still change the assignment. The available defaults are: Assign to creator The internal user who creates the Issue is automatically assigned. Assign to all All users in the project are automatically assigned. Assign to none No one is automatically assigned. Step 3 Field Configuration Some of the project types include a Product field. You can choose to leave this as a text input field (where the user must enter the product name), or you can make Product a choice field, with a pre-defined list of choices. To make Product a choice field: 1. For Type of Field, choose Choice. 2. Type the first choice in the box provided and click Add. The choice appears in the list to the right. 3. Continue to add more choices as desired. 4. To change the order of the choices after they have been added, highlight a choice and use the up and down arrows to move it in the list. 5. To delete a choice, highlight the choice and click Delete. 6. To erase all choices, click Reset. Step 4 Final Step After configuring the Product field, click the GO button. This brings you to a review of the new project settings. Click GO to complete the configuration. This brings you to the Project Options page for the new project. Create a New Project on Your Own If this option is chosen GO, the following information must be entered: Name of Project This is the name that FootPrints displays for the project. Address Book Choose to create a new Address Book for the project and give it a name, optionally link to an existing Address Book, or link to an LDAP Address Book. The last option is only available is the LDAP Address Book link option is 119

126 FootPrints Reference Manual Use an Existing Project Configuration This option allows you to copy the project fields, address book, saved searches and reports and other custom options from another project into a new project. NOTE: Copying a project s configuration does NOT copy the project s data. It only copies the project s custom fields and other settings. To use this feature: 1. Check the radio button for Use an existing project schema. 2. Choose a project from which to copy the configuration. NOTE: Clicking the View Details button will display the configuration information for that project. 3. Click GO. 4. Enter a name for the new project. 5. Address Book Choose from one of the two Address Book options: a. Create a new address book with the same fields. This will link the new project to its own Address Book, which contains the same fields as the existing project s Address Book (will not copy data, only fields). b. Link to existing address book. New project will share the existing project s Address Book. 6. Click GO. 1. Figure 52 - Configure Address Book for the new project The new project is now created. Click the View Details button to review the project configuration, or click GO to go directly to the Project Administration page for the new project. From there, you can add users to the new project, and make any other changes necessary. 120

127 Chapter 8 System Administration Scan, Rebuild and Purge a Database These options are not available through the FootPrints interface. They can only be run from the command line directly on the server. NOTE: The Scan and Purge facilities are only available for the FootPrints database version. SQL and Access are not supported. Scan To do a scan of the database for corrupted Issues: 1. Open an MS-DOS prompt (on NT) or a shell prompt (UNIX). 2. Change to the FootPrints bin directory. For example, if FootPrints is installed to path C:\FootPrints, the command would be cd C:\FootPrints\bin 3. To run any database command, t 3 environment variables must be set specifying where FootPrints is installed, which project to work in, and the Address Book. The method is different for UNIX and Win NT/ For NT Users (this example assumes FootPrints is installed to C:\FootPrints): C:\> set CMI=C:\FootPrints C:\> set CMMASTER= C:\FootPrints \db\master1 C:\> set ABMASTER= C:\FootPrints \db\abmaster1 For Unix Users (this example assumes FootPrints is installed to /usr/local/footprints): % setenv CMI /usr/local/footprints % setenv CMMASTER /usr/local/footprints/db/master1 % setenv ABMASTER /usr/local/footprints/db/abmaster1 % set path=($cmi/bin $path) NOTE: In both examples, the first Project and Address Book were specified (MASTER1 and ABMASTER1). A list of projects and Address Books and their corresponding IDs can be found in the MRprojects and ABlist files found in the C:\FootPrints\etc directory. 5. Enter the command: mrscan 6. The scan results are returned. For example: Database: /usr/local/footprints/db/master1/mr/mr.db Number of bad/incomplete records: 0 Number of Open: 79 Number of Closed: 6 Number of Deleted: 2 Number of Solved: 0 Number of Request: 7 Number of Issues in this database: If you see the number of bad/incomplete records equals zero (0), do nothing more! If you experience problems with a FootPrints project, and the scan indicates that there are no bad/incomplete records, then the problems are most likely due to network or system problems. Please contact your network administrator and/or UniPress for more information. 8. If the scan utility does find one or more bad or incomplete records, you may need to rebuild the project database. The rebuild can only be done from the command line. Please call in the US or Canada or internationally, or UniPress at [email protected] for help. 121

128 FootPrints Reference Manual Purge The Purge utility allows you to permanently remove DELETED Issues. This will free up some space and will also make database operations faster, but these DELETED items will no longer be accessible in any way, and their space in the database will be reused. The Issue numbers will NOT be reused. This option is currently only available for the FootPrints database version; it is not supported for the SQL version. To run the purge utility: 1. Open an MS-DOS prompt (on NT) or a shell prompt (UNIX). 2. Change to the FootPrints cgi directory. For example, if FootPrints is installed to path C:\FootPrints, the command would be: cd C:\FootPrints\cgi 3. If NT, enter the command: For UNIX, enter: C:\perl\bin\perl.exe MRrebuild.pl perl MRrebuild.pl 4. This will display a list of FootPrints projects, with their corresponding Project ID s. Example: Projects: 1: Help Desk ( C:\FootPrints\db\MASTER1 ) 2: Bug Tracking ( C:\FootPrints\db\MASTER2 ) 5. Choose the project to be purged, and re-run the command from Step 3, adding the project ID to the end of the command. Example: To purge the Help Desk project in the above example, the command would be: C:\perl\bin\perl.exe MRpurge.pl 1 Rebuild PLEASE CONTACT UNIPRESS BEFORE TRYING TO REBUILD A PROJECT DATABASE. Call in the US or Canada or internationally, or [email protected]. If all else fails, the FootPrints rebuild utility can be used to rebuild the project database from its journal files. However, it is very rare for a project database to become corrupted; most problems encountered are due to server or network Issues outside of FootPrints. Rebuild can also be used when moving FootPrints from one platform to another i.e. from NT to Solaris. Please contact UniPress BEFORE attempting to rebuild. To rebuild a project from the command line: 1. Open an MS-DOS prompt (on NT) or a shell prompt (UNIX). 2. Change to the FootPrints cgi directory. For example, if FootPrints is installed to path C:\FootPrints, the command would be: 122

129 Chapter 8 System Administration 3. If NT, enter the command: For UNIX, enter: cd C:\FootPrints\cgi C:\perl\bin\perl.exe MRrebuild.pl perl MRrebuild.pl 4. This will display a list of FootPrints projects, with their corresponding Project ID s. Example: Projects: 1: Help Desk ( C:\FootPrints\db\MASTER1 ) 2: Bug Tracking ( C:\FootPrints\db\MASTER2 ) 5. Choose the project to be rebuilt, and re-run the command from Step 3, adding the project ID to the end of the command. Example: To rebuild the Help Desk project in the above example, the command would be: C:\perl\bin\perl.exe MRrebuild.pl 1 FootPrints will now rebuild the project from the log files. It will also rebuild the corresponding Address Book. Progress information is displayed during the process. When it is finished, the message Rebuild completed successfully appears. NOTE: The rebuild command will make a backup of the project database before rebuilding it. We do recommend backing up the C:\FootPrints\db directory manually in addition. Also, no one should access FootPrints while the rebuild is in progress. Delete a Project Deletion of a FootPrints project can consists of up to three steps: Deleting the project from the FootPrints system Deleting the database for that project Deleting users who are members of only that project Deleting a project from FootPrints removes the project from within FootPrints, but it does not delete the data. To delete the actual database, it must be removed on the host computer, outside of FootPrints. When a project is deleted, FootPrints displays where the data for that project is stored and how to delete it. You may also delete users when you delete a project. In addition, if there are any FootPrints users who are members of only the deleted project, FootPrints allows you delete them at the same time as the project. To delete a FootPrints Project: 123

130 FootPrints Reference Manual 1. Select the project name from the drop-down list "Delete Project". 2. Click GO. A page is displayed detailing where the database is located, and which users may be deleted. 3. Choose which, if any, users to delete and click GO on this page to delete the project from FootPrints. Export FootPrints Data to a File Use this option to export project data from the current project to another Footprints project, database or application. To export project data: 1. Select Administration System Projects Export FootPrints data from the FootPrints Toolbar and click GO. 2. Use the Fields to be exported dialog to choose the columns (and column order) for the export file. 3. Choose the criteria for the Issues to be exported. To export the entire project, highlight all statuses (and don t make any other restrictions). 4. Click GO. 5. Enter a file name, and browse for the directory to save the export file, then click Save. 6. The file will be in comma-separated-variable (CSV) format, suitable for editing or loading into a Project in CSV format. NOTE: If Assignees is selected, the User ID s of the assignees are output to the report (i.e. bsmith ). This is suitable for importing the report output into another project. To create a file that includes assignees full names (i.e. Bob Smith ), use the Report Text File option. 124

131 Chapter 8 System Administration Load External Data Data can be imported into a Footprints Project Database from a flat text file. This feature is useful, for example, when migrating from an existing helpdesk system to FootPrints, or when combining a knowledge base with an existing FootPrints project. To import data into a FootPrints project: 1. The data must first be placed into a single, flat text file. Details on creating this text file can be found below. 2. On the "Load External Data" section of the Project Management page, choose the project into which the data should be loaded from the drop-down box. 3. Enter the path and name of the text file in the field provided. The file must reside locally on the server. 4. Choose the data format for the data import file. Instructions on making a Field Delimited file are below. If CSV is chosen, a standard comma delimited file can be used. All fields must be accounted for, however (please refer the rules below). 5. There are three different methods for indicating the submitter : a. Enter a valid FootPrints ID in the field provided. This user will become the submitter for ALL of the Issues being imported. b. Different submitters names can be entered for each individual Issue (described below) in the data file. c. If no submitter is indicated, the user ID of the Administrator performing the data import will become the submitter for ALL Issues being imported. 6. Optionally enter one or more assignees, listed by address or FootPrints ID, separated by spaces (optional). The user(s) entered here become the default assignee(s) for all Issues imported. Alternatively, the data file itself can contain assignment information (see below). 7. Click GO. 8. FootPrints now checks that it can read the data file. It displays the Schema of the project. The page also displays the choices made on the previous page for the "submitted by" and "assignees" fields. After confirming that everything is correct, click GO at the bottom of this page to load the data. 9. The data is now validated. If the data is good, the import will proceed. It will take some time if the import file is large, so be patient. If bad data is present, an error message is displayed with the line numbers of contacts containing errors. 125

132 FootPrints Reference Manual Creating the Data File To import data into a FootPrints project, the data must be contained in a flat text file, containing one Issue per line, in one of two formats: Field-Delimited (one Issue per line) Comma-separated-Variable (CSV) format Field Delimited File 1. Each record/issue must be on a separate line. The system new line separator (i.e. the result of pressing Enter, Return, ^M, etc.) should appear at the end of each Issue. 2. The fields for each Issue must be separated by the field delimiter, which is = by default (for CSV files the delimiter is a comma, ). 3. The actual field names are not specified in the file (i.e. Title, Description, Status, etc.) Instead, the data must be in the order specified in the project Schema. The Schema for a project can be viewed by choosing that project from the dropdown box, leaving the other fields blank, and clicking GO. The page that loads shows you the order of the fields that you should use for your file. 4. As an example, suppose the project has 2 custom project fields, called "Platform and Problem type. The Schema would look like this: Figure 53 - Project Schema 5. Therefore, one Issue in a field-delimited text file might look like this for a field-delimited file: System down= Please reboot machine.=1=open=jsmith=win NT=network where "System down" is the Title, "Please reboot machine" is the Description, the Priority is 1, the Status is Open, the assignee is jsmith, the Platform is Win NT, and the Problem type is network. Comma Delimited File 1. The fields in each record must be separated by a comma (',').? 2. Each record must end with the system new line separator (i.e. the result of pressing "Enter", "Return", "^M", etc.) 3. Fields with included new line characters or commas must be enclosed inside a pair of double-quote ('"') characters. (Any field can optionally be inside a pair of commas.) example: "This field, the third, includes two commas." 4. Some examples of CSV formats: this is the title,this is the description,1,open,fhp,printer this is the title,"this includes, a comma",1,open,fhp,printer "more title","this description is on multiple lines",1,open,fhp,printer 126

133 Chapter 8 System Administration Optional Features Empty fields - All fields in the Schema must be delimited for each Issue. However, optional fields need not contain data. An empty field should be indicated by placing nothing between the field delimiters, or at the end of the line. Suppose the previous example has no value for the "Platform" field: System down=please reboot machine.=1=open=jsmith==network *Notice the two equals signs, "==", where the previous example has "=WinNT". Mandatory fields must contain data. Mandatory fields are indicated in red in the Schema. Different Submitters for each Ticket - if you want the individual tickets in the Load file to have different submitters, you can do this by starting each line with the submitter s user ID in braces, as in '[jsmith]'. Example: [jsmith]system down=please reboot machine.=1=open=jsmith= [jjones]printer broken=printer #5 is broken=1=open=joe= Changing the delimiter - Another delimiter than the default ('=') may be used. Simply include as the first line in the file: FIELD_DELIMITER=x where 'x' represents the character string you choose to replace the default value. However, we recommend using the default delimiter, as certain characters [such as () $+*?^] confuse our Perl programs. If you do change the delimiter, our programs will let you know as gracefully as possible if they are unhappy. Wrapped text (embedded new lines) - As the text file containing the data to be loaded represents each record in a single line, the records cannot include new line characters. A second delimiter can be specified to wrap text in long fields (such as Description, Multi-line text fields, etc.) Simply include at the top of the file: SUB_FIELD_DELIMITER=x where 'x' represents the character string you choose to replace the default value. Special characters, including [() $+*?^], should not be used, as they are reserved characters in Perl. Statuses - Values used for the 'Status' field must be valid for the project. Otherwise, they are set to 'Open'. (NOTE: FootPrints requires that the status word be capitalized. To eliminate a source of problems, the Load process capitalizes the status values found in the Load file.) The Statuses "Deleted" and "Solved" are included in all projects, but are treated differently than the others. They must be indicated in the Load File as _DELETED_ and _SOLVED_. 127

134 FootPrints Reference Manual Assignees - To assign individual Issues to different people, use the 'Assignee' field on each line of the text file. The 'Assignee' field holds the users to which the Issue is assigned. NOTE: To assign all the Issues in the text file to the same user(s), the ID s can be entered in a single place on the Project Management page. There are 2 appropriate types of names to use as assignees (whether on the Project Management page or on individual Issues in the data file): valid FootPrints user ID s addresses If one or more Assignee names is provided on the System Administration screen, any names found in the Load File is be ignored. A few more notes regarding Assignees: If no Assignees are indicated (in the file or on the SysAdmin Page), the Submitter is made the Assignee. Closed Issues are not permitted to have Assignees. Any Assignees provided are ignored. If more than one name is supplied as the Assignee, these names must be separated by spaces. Number fields For Integer or Real Number fields, all values must be numeric. Date fields Data for Date fields must be in the format MM/DD/YYYY, i.e. 07/04/1999. Choice Fields - Choice field data is not verified. It is your responsibility to ensure that data for such fields matches the list of values you established when you created the Choice field. Comments - You may make your data file easier to read by using blank lines and comment lines beginning with a '#' sign. Deleted fields - A project may have had certain fields deleted over time. These Deleted fields are not displayed in the Schema; they must be ignored the text file. 128

135 Chapter 8 System Administration Loading Address Book Data The importing of Address Book data is also supported. This data must be loaded separately from Issue data. Address Book data can be imported by the Project Administrator either on the Project Admin page under Address Book Administration Load External Data, or under Options in the Address Book itself. Complete instructions can be found in the section on Address Book. Linking Load Data to the Address Book The data import facility also permits the Issues being imported to be associated with the corresponding Address Book contacts. For example, if Bob Jones is in the Address Book, his imported Issues can be linked to his contact information. NOTE: The linking facility requires that the Address Book be populated prior to the Issue data being loaded. 1. The linking is done via a link or shadow field in the project s Address Book, whose name is specified on the initial Load External Data into a FootPrints Project screen. For example, the Address Book might contain an address field, which could be specified as the link field. 2. The link field data must be included in the import file for each Issue. Thus, if the link field is address, and the contact associated with an Issue is Bob Jones (whose address in the Address Book is [email protected]), an extra link field would be appended to the end of an Issue record in the import file, containing [email protected]. 3. Here is an example of one line of an import file with a Address Book link field address included. This example assumes the Schema includes only Title, Description, Priority, Status, and Assignee. The address is represented by [email protected]: in the Link field: System Down,Must reboot the server on Monday,3,Open,jsmith,[email protected] 4. An import file with link field MUST have the delimiter separating the last data field from the link field on ALL records, even those that don t contain link field data. 5. Examples of import File records using the link field: GOOD example (with link field data): is broken,reset mail options,3,open,jsmith, [email protected] GOOD example (no link field data, but field is accounted for): is broken,reset mail options,3,open,jsmith, BAD example (link field is not accounted for as it does not end with a delimiter): is broken,reset mail options,3,open,jsmith 6. The reason the last record is BAD is that it ends without a delimiter. 7. The linked field must be unique. We recommend using the unique key for that Address Book. There may not be any duplicate contacts for the same unique key. So address and Social Security number would be good choices, while Last Name would not be a good choice. If the Address Book contains any duplicate contacts based on the link field, an error message is presented and the Load step does not proceed. 8. The data in the link field must correspond to a contact in the Address Book or else an error message is presented and the Load step does not proceed. (This means that if a link field contains [email protected], there must be a contact in the Address Book whose address is [email protected] ). 9. After the import is complete, the Issues will be in the project. The contact information for each Issue should be completely filled in (based on the data in the Address Book). 129

136 FootPrints Reference Manual Appearance The appearance of FootPrints can be altered to match your company s website. The following tools are available on a systemwide basis System Preferences Configure general system-wide settings, including logos. Languages - Configure multiple language support. Colors Change the display colors for FootPrints. Date Format Choose American or European format. System Preferences This screen lets you edit some general System Preferences. To access this feature, go to System Admin System Options. The System Editor will show you what version of FootPrints you are running and where FootPrints is located on your system. It will also allow you to: Define the SMTP server (originally defined during installation). This is the server to which notifications are sent. Choose the name for FootPrints records, i.e. Issue, Entry, Ticket, etc. Choose the name for Address Book records. We recommend keeping this as the default Contact. Select the default font for FootPrints. Set maximum sizes for attachments and incoming s (all in bytes). See the section on Configuring Incoming for more information. Change the FootPrints logos to your company logos. The smaller logo (displayed in the top frame on every screen in FootPrints) should be no larger than 180x68 pixels. The larger logo (displayed on the login screen) can be larger. Simply fill in or change an option and click GO to make the changes. Language A default language can be set for the entire system. The language chosen here will be used for projects and users that have not chosen a preferred language. This applies to all of the text that appears in FootPrints screens. By default, FootPrints is shipped with American English as the default language. Other languages will be available later in 2001; please contact UniPress or your local distributor for more information. You can create your own language directory and translate FootPrints into your language of choice. No programming is required; only plain text files nee to be translated. In addition, you can use this feature to change only some of the embedded text in the FootPrints screens, without translating the whole program. For example, it can be used to change the title of the built-in field Description to Notes in every screen where that field appears. To change text embedded in the program: 1. On the server where FootPrints is installed, find the C:\FootPrints\cgi\LANGUAGE directory. By default, there is a subdirectory named ENGLISH. This is where the default language files are kept. 2. Make a new sub-folder in the LANGUAGE directory and give it your name of choice, i.e. Francais or WidgetCo. NOTE: We recommend using all ASCII characters in the name of the folder i.e. Francais rather than Français. We also recommend having no spaces or special characters in the folder name i.e. WidgetCo rather than Widget s Version. 130

137 Chapter 8 System Administration 3. Copy all the files from the ENGLISH directory to the new sub-folder. NOTE: DO NOT edit the original files in the ENGLISH directory. Only edit the files in the copied folder. 4. There will be over 200 files in the new language sub-folder. There is a file for each FootPrints program or screen. Some contain only a few lines of text, while some contain many lines. 5. To translate FootPrints into another language, you must edit the files in the new sub-folder. You can translate all of the text in all files into another language, or just the change specific text that you want to replace in the FootPrints interface. Tips on translated are found below. 6. Images containing text, as well as the Help files, can also be translated. Please see instructions below. 7. After the translation is complete, the new language directory will be available as a language choice. 8. To make the language the System default, choose that name from the drop-down on the Administration System Appearance Language screen and click GO. Translation Tips Each language sub-folder created will appear as a new language option for the System, for each project, as for individual users on the My Preferences screen (Agents and Administrators only). To help understand the context of the strings in the text files as you translate, we recommend the following: Log into FootPrints as yourself, leaving English as your default language. Open a second window, and log into FootPrints as a different user. Select the new language or sub-folder from the My Preferences screen for this user. As you translate or change the text in a text file (saving the file as you go along), you can refer to each user s window to see the effect for a particular screen. You may have to refresh the window to see the changes. The names of the files give an indication of which screen they refer to. For example, the file MRABAdmin_Page.txt contains the text for the program file MRABAdmin_Page.pl. This program in turn generates the Address Book Administration screen. Please contact UniPress or your local distributor if you have trouble finding the corresponding file for a particular FootPrints screen. To make it easier to find the corresponding text in a screen, you can add the following line to the C:\FootPrints\cgi\MRlocalDefs file (edit it with WordPad) for a particular user: $SHOW_LANGUAGE_LABELS{'username'} = 1; Where username is the name of the one of the users you are logging in with as you translate to check your work. This will cause all text displayed to include tags with the name of the corresponding string in the interface. Remember to remove the line from the MRlocalDefs file when you are finished. Each text file contains one line for each text string. For example, here are the contents of the file MRABAdmin_Page.txt: $STR_MRABAdmin_Page_PageHeader_0="Address Book Options"; $STR_MRABAdmin_Page_1 ='Add Fields'; $STR_MRABAdmin_Page_2 ='Edit/Delete Fields'; $STR_MRABAdmin_Page_3 ='Edit Options'; $STR_MRABAdmin_Page_4 ='Load External Data'; $STR_MRABAdmin_Page_5 ='Edit Fields'; # 2/26/01 - Language frozen # Don't add or edit anything above this comment # Put all changes below. $STR_MRABAdmin_Page_6 ='Export Data'; 1; ## Always keep this as the last line!!! 131

138 FootPrints Reference Manual Each line that begins with a string name ($STR_) contains a text string that can be translated. The actual text to be translated is contained within the quotes, after the = sign. Some text strings are contained in single quotes; others in double quotes. Both can be edited. For example, in the line: $STR_MRABAdmin_Page_PageHeader_0="Address Book Options"; The words: Address Book Options Can be edited. In the line: $STR_MRABAdmin_Page_1 ='Add Fields'; The words: Add Fields Can be edited. Do NOT change or remove the string name (i.e. $STR_MRABAdmin_Page_1), the equal sign (=), the quotes, or the semicolon (;) at the end of each line! All of these are necessary for the screens to display properly. Sometimes a variable name used by FootPrints will be found within the quotes. For example, in the file MRhomepage.txt, there is a line: $STR_MRhomepage_24="Search $fp_names by:"; The variable $fp_names should not be edited, but the words surrounding it can be. Variables are used to stand in for a word that is already configurable by the Administration. In this case, $fp_names stands for the plural of the name chosen for the FootPrints records, i.e. Tickets or Issues. So an acceptable edit of this string would be: $STR_MRhomepage_24="Find $fp_names by:"; Any lines preceded by a # are comments, and should not be edited. They are there for the reference of the development team, and sometimes for the Administrator. When a new upgrade of FootPrints is available, some new text strings may be added to one or more of the text files in the Language directory. These new lines, which are always commented, can be copied from the latest English directory and translated as well. Old strings are never altered, so you do not have to worry about doing the same work over again. Translate Images and Help Files In addition to the FootPrints screens, the images and help files can also be translated. This feature can be used to translate the images and help files into another language, or to customize your help files and button images. To translate images and help files: 1. You must first add a new language for the program text as described above. 2. In the C:\FootPrints\html\help directory, there are two sub-directories named Help and MRimg. This is where the image and help files are kept. 132

139 Chapter 8 System Administration 3. In each of these directories, make a new sub-folder with the same name as your new C:\FootPrints\cgi\LANGUAGE directory. 4. Copy everything else in each directory into your new directory. 5. Now you can edit the files and change images in your new directory to change what is displayed for that language. Language Updates The FootPrints language translation feature allows the Administrator to translate all of the text in the FootPrints screens to another language, or to make small changes to that text, with no programming. Additional messages are added to each subsequent release of FootPrints that must be translated. These are added to the bottom of the language text files. The file C:\FootPrints\CGI\Language\LanguageChanges.txt contains a list of all of the text files that contain new messages. The new messages will be at the bottom of each language text file. Use the same technique described above to translate the new messages. 133

140 FootPrints Reference Manual Colors You can change the background colors, table colors, and some text colors in FootPrints from this screen. The Color Editor lets you select the colors for 8 different areas within FootPrints, including: Highlighted Text Any highlighted text throughout FootPrints (defaults to red). Pager Header Text All header and title text (defaults to dark blue). Homepage List Color 1 One of 2 alternating colors for the homepage list of Issues (defaults to light blue). Homepage List Color 2 - One of 2 alternating colors for the homepage list of Issues (defaults to light green). Table Color All tables throughout FootPrints (defaults to light green). Body Background Background color of main frame (defaults to white). Search Frame Background - Background color of top frame (defaults to white). Navigational Background - Background color of Toolbar frame (defaults to white). Homepage Text Color 1 One of 2text colors use throughout FootPrints screens, including the toolbar text (defaults to dark blue). Homepage Text Color 1 The other of 2text colors use throughout FootPrints screens, including the toolbar text (defaults to dark green). NOTE: To make the most use of your Color Editor, make sure your screen can display all the colors at your disposal. To change your color palette, go to Start Settings Control Panel, choose Display and go to Settings to make sure your screen can display more than 256 colors (Windows only). To change colors: 1. Select one of the 10 choices listed above. 2. Select a color in the Color Palette that appears by clicking in the box. 3. The new color will be displayed in the bottom right-hand corner of the screen. To choose the color, click GO. 4. T0 enter a specific color code (in hex code format i.e FFFFFF), enter the code in the Hex Color Value box and click GO. 5. Continue to change colors on this screen as desired. 6. When you are satisfied, click APPLY to apply the changes. 7. To restore all colors back to the default, click the RESTORE button. 8. To insure proper functionality, you may have to clear out your browser s cache, refresh the screen, and/or close and reopen the browser to see all of the new colors correctly. 134

141 Chapter 8 System Administration Figure 54- Customize the system colors Date Format Dates in FootPrints can be displayed in American (MM/DD/YYYY) or European (DD/MM/YYYY) format. The default is American format; this can be configured on the Configure Dates screen. This affects all projects, and can be changed at any time. It does not affect the internal format FootPrints uses to store dates, only how dates are displayed. 135

142 FootPrints Reference Manual Features This section includes miscellaneous System Administration options: Setup FootPrints to handle incoming requests. Asset Management - Set up asset management tool. Instant Talk Configure settings for Instant Talk one-on-one chat feature. FootPrints can be configured to accept , which generates new Issues (when submitted by an internal FootPrints user) or new Requests (when submitted by a Customer). It can also append the description of an existing Issue or request. In addition, there are many queries that are supported. One ore more accounts must be created on your server for the exclusive use of FootPrints, and a batch file (NT) or.forward file (UNIX) must be set to take the mail sent to that account for FootPrints to process. Please refer to the chapter on Management for detailed instructions on setting up and using the incoming feature for UNIX and NT. Asset Management FootPrints Asset Management Module can be enabled for the system here. This option is only available if you have purchased the Asset Management module (powered by Centennial). Please refer to the chapter on Asset Management for complete instructions. Instant Talk FootPrints Instant Talk enables a Customer to chat online one-on-one to an agent in a real-time setting. Internal users can also chat to other internal users. No special client software is required; users only need their web browser. To use Instant Talk, simply click the link for Instant Talk on the FootPrints Toolbar. On the Administration System Features Instant Talk setup screen, the following options can be set: Enable/Disable Talk Use this option to disable Instant Talk system-wide. Refresh Times - Specify the refresh times in seconds. Specify a higher refresh time to increase the response speed of Talk. Specify a lower time to reduce the processing load on your web server. Active Talk - This is the refresh time for the Talk window during an ongoing Talk. This should be a small value. We recommend setting it between 3 and 10 seconds. Talk Check - When a user is logged into FootPrints, the homepage periodically checks to see if another user has opened a Talk with them. This value should be much higher than the active Talk time. We recommend setting it to 30 to 90 seconds. Exclude Users Restrict Customers from opening a Talk session with certain Agent and Administrative users on a system-wide basis. Users can also be excluded on individually on the My Preferences screen. Restrict by Project If this option is enabled, Customers will only be able to start a Talk session with Agents and Administrators who are members of the Customer s current project. Full instructions on the Instant Talk feature can be found in the chapter on Real-Time Resolution Tools. NOTE: If Advanced Live esupport (powered by Control-F1) is enabled in a project, Instant Talk is automatically disabled in that project for all users. 136

143 Chapter 8 System Administration Users While most user options are determined on a project-by-project basis, some options are configured on a System-wide basis. The System options include: User Management Change users passwords, add or delete user to/from all projects, or import large number of users from a file. Auto Add Customers - Allow Customers to be automatically added to the system, and assign these users to particular projects. Configure Authentication Select password authentication type, including FootPrints authentication, Windows NT/2000, UNIX or LDAP. User Management Most individual user preferences can be changed by the user on the My Preferences screen. Customer preferences can be set on the Customer Options screen per project. The Project Administrator can also edit certain information, such as billing rate and user type, from the Edit Users Project Admin option. On a system-wide basis, the System Administrator can perform the following tasks: Change a user s password Add or Delete a user to/from all FootPrints projects Import large number of users from a file Enable Cookies Change a User's Password If a user forgets his or her password, the System Administrator can create a new one from the User Management screen in the Change a User's Password section. For security reasons, FootPrints does not allow anyone, even the System Admin, to know anyone else s password. If an internal user wishes to change her password (and she knows the original), direct her to the My Preferences screen, where she may change it herself by following the instructions in the General Preferences section. Customers do have a password retrieval option only if the Auto-Add Customers option is enabled (see the section on Auto-Add Customers ). Change User's Project Membership Most user administration tasks are performed from the Project Administration Screen. The Change User s Project Membership section of the User Management section is a convenient place to do two system-wide user administration tasks: add a user to all FootPrints projects, or completely delete a user from the system. To use this feature: 137

144 FootPrints Reference Manual 1. Choose the correct radio button for the desired user type: Agents (includes Administrators as well), Shared Customer Accounts, and Unique Customer Accounts. The drop-down list will then contain all users in the system for that type. 2. Select whether to delete the user from the entire system, or to Add the user to all projects. 3. Enter your password and click GO. Load Users into FootPrints from an External File If large numbers of internal users must be added to the FootPrints system, it is possible to load an entire batch of users into FootPrints from a text file. This is done from the Administration System Users User Management screen under Load Users into FootPrints. On this screen, you must specify: The name and full path of the file containing the data User type. This defaults to Standard User. Only Agents can be imported with this feature. NOTE: Project and System Administrators cannot be imported using this method. They must be added to the system manually. Customers cannot be imported with this feature; we recommend the Auto Add Customers option please refer to the section on Auto Add Customers for more information. Whether or not addresses must contain suffix. The default project for users imported. Additional projects for these users (optional). The above information applies to each user specified in the file. To import users of different types, you should do separate imports. Creating the Data File The file containing the data must be in the correct format, which is a comma-separated-variable format. There should be one line for each user, with the data separated by commas. The fields and their order are: ID The FootPrints User ID Password The user s password Name The user s full name The user s address Misc Optional fields to be defined below All fields are mandatory except the optional Miscellaneous fields. Optional Fields While project membership for the whole group to be imported is defined on the setup screen, individual project membership can also be defined for individual users in the import file. Default project in the form of DEF=n Project membership in the form of PROJ=n (for one project) or PROJ=n:m:q (for multiple projects i.e. PROJ=3:9:42 ) Billing rate in the form of BILLRATE=n Default project and project membership data in the file overrides information provided on the setup screen. Thus if Project #2 is set as the default project on the setup screen, but the line for a particular user in the import file contains the field DEF=4, that user s default project will be #4, while users for whom no DEF variable is defined will have the default project of

145 Chapter 8 System Administration Examples of valid lines in the file jsmith,orange23,jill Smith,[email protected] bjones,abc123,bob Jones,[email protected],DEF=4,PROJ=3:4:27 fdarcy,lizzie543,"fitzwilliam Darcy, Esq.", [email protected] bbudd,123abc,billy Budd,[email protected],BILLRATE=25.50 NOTE: Note that if the user s full name contains a comma, the entire name must be surrounded by double quotes (as in example 3). Cookies By default, users must log into FootPrints with their ID and password each time they want to access the system. If cookies are enabled, users have the option to let the system automatically log them into FootPrints when they access the login screen. The login is based on a cookie, a file created on the user s local machine with their ID and an encrypted unique cookie password. If cookies are enabled, a checkbox appears on the login screen for all users. If it is checked at login, the next time the user accesses the log screen, the login screen is bypassed and the user is placed directly into FootPrints. This affects ALL users who use the regular FootPrints login screen to access the system, including Agents, Administrators, and Customers (unless they access FootPrints through a special login screen i.e. group.html). The cookie, if left untouched, will expire in 3 years. To log into FootPrints with a different ID and password on the same machine where a cookie has been set, click Logout on the FootPrints toolbar this will bring you to the login screen. To permanently remove a cookie, use the Delete Cookie option under My Preferences in the "Security" section. NOTE: Enabling cookies is a potential security issue. If a cookie is enabled on someone s system, anyone who has access to that workstation can gain access to FootPrints without an ID and password. Cookies are not appropriate if workstations are shared by multiple users, or are located in a public space. Please also note that accessing FootPrints when a cookie exists will end the current session for a user. For example, if a user has cookie, and they click the link in a FootPrints notification to view an Issue, their current FootPrints session is ended, and a new session is started. 139

146 FootPrints Reference Manual Auto-Add Customers The Auto-Add Customer feature allows Customers to create their own IDs and passwords (if FootPrints authentication is used), or to use their network ID and password to access FootPrints automatically (if NT/2000, LDAP or UNIX password authentication is used). Default project(s) and user type can also be specified for new users coming into the system. This feature is useful if you have a large employee customer or external customer user base that needs access to FootPrints, but for whom you would like to have individual IDs and passwords. If a shared ID and password are preferred, one shared account can be created for the entire customer base. Those users simply enter a unique key when they log in (such as address), which identifies the individual customer and links them to their Address Book contact information. If this method is preferred, then the Auto Add Customer feature should not be enabled. There are 2 different cases for the Auto-Add Customers feature, based on the authentication method for the system: FootPrints authentication - Customers can create their own IDs and passwords. NT/2000, LDAP or UNIX password authentication Customers user their network IDs and passwords to access FootPrints. FootPrints Authentication If FootPrints password authentication is being used, the Auto-Add feature, if enabled, adds a New User Signup link to the FootPrints login screen. Users will create their own IDs and passwords. In addition, the users can fill in their contact information. The fields presented on the signup screen will be based on the fields in the Address Book. If the password retrieval option is enabled, the users will also be able to define a hint question to be used if they forget their password later (see section below). There are 5 steps to enabling this feature: Choose Yes to enable This enabled the Auto-Add feature. A New Users: Sign Up Here link will be added to the FootPrints login screen. Select the user type - This is the user permission level auto-added customers will receive. Options include: Customer Read KB/Requests, Customer Read/Submit, and Customer Edit (only if the Customer Edit license is enabled). All autoadded users will have unique customer accounts of the type chosen here. Please refer to the chapter on User Types for more information on these permission levels. Select the Default project This is the project that auto-added customers will be brought into when they log into FootPrints. This project MUST have the Address Book enabled. Select additional projects (optional) You can optionally add these users to other projects. Only projects that share the Address Book and the same primary key with the default project selected are available. Highlight the projects with your mouse. Password Retrieval (optional) Create hint questions for auto-added Customers (see below). 140

147 Chapter 8 System Administration Figure 55 - Auto Add Customers 141

148 FootPrints Reference Manual NT/2000, LDAP or UNIX Authentication If an external authentication is enabled for the system, the Auto-Add Customer feature allows employee and/or external Customers to use their network User IDs and passwords to access FootPrints. There is no need for these users to sign up, although New Users link will still appear on the login screen to explain to those users how to log in. By entering their network ID and password in the FootPrints login screen, a Customer account will automatically be created for them in FootPrints with the properties selected on the Auto-Add Customer setup screen. Most of the setup options are the same as those enumerated above for FootPrints authentication, with a few important exceptions: The Password Retrieval option is not available if an external authentication method is used. If LDAP authentication is used, custom profiles can be created for groups of customers based on an LDAP attribute (such as Organizational Unit). More information on this feature can be found below. Auto Add Customer based on LDAP Profiles (LDAP authentication only) Auto-Added customers are normally added to the same set of projects, and have the same default project and Customer user type. If LDAP password authentication is used, you can optionally create custom profiles for Auto-added customers based on an LDAP attribute. For example, if the LDAP server has an attribute ou (Organizational Unit), and each user is assigned to an ou such as Finance, Sales, Marketing, etc., a profile can be made for each of these units in FootPrints. The profile includes such information as Customer user type, default project, and additional project membership. In this way, users from the Sales group can be automatically placed in one project, while users from the Marketing group are placed in a different project. Multiple profiles can be created. To create custom profiles based on an LDAP attribute: 1. You must enable LDAP password authentication for the FootPrints system (NOT the same as an LDAP Address Book). Each Auto-Added Customer who will access FootPrints must have an ID and password in the LDAP database. 2. In the Auto-Add Customer screen, click the link entitled Switch to Multiple Profile Mode. 3. The Auto-Add Customer screen is redrawn with the Custom profile options. These include 2 additional fields, Criteria and Profile Name, and a Profiles box to manage custom profiles. 4. For each profile, enter the LDAP attribute and criteria that should be met for a Customer to become part of the profile ("ou=accounting" for example). 5. Give the profile a name (i.e. Accounting ). Naming the profile allows all of the Customers in that group to be manipulated as a single entity through the Edit Customer page. The name must follow the naming rules for FootPrints IDs (i.e. no spaces, no special characters as the first character). 6. Choose a default project for the profile. This is the project Customers matching the criteria will log into by default. 7. Other compatible projects may appear in the box on the right; highlight any projects that should be accessible by Customers in the group you are defining. 8. Select a Customer user type for the profile. 9. Click ADD. Note that the profile appears in the Profiles box on the right. 10. To create additional profiles, repeat the above steps and click ADD as many times as needed. 11. Use the EDIT and DELETE buttons to manage existing profiles. 12. To create a default profile that will be used for any Auto-Added Customers that do not fit into a custom profile, leave the Criteria and Profile Name fields blank, and click ADD. This profile will be given the name Default. 13. When you are finished creating profiles, scroll down to the bottom of the screen and click GO. NOTE: As LDAP password authentication is enabled, the Password Retrieval option cannot be used. Now when Customers log into FootPrints for the first time, they are added to the system automatically. If multiple profiles were created, they will receive the profile assigned to them based on their ou or other LDAP attribute. If only one default profile was created, all Customers will receive that profile. 142

149 Chapter 8 System Administration Figure 56- Create Custom Profiles for Auto-Added Customers Important Notes Regarding Auto-Add Customer Feature (PLEASE READ!!) The User ID that Auto-added Customers will create will be of the format of the primary key for the Address Book associated with the project(s) selected above. This is what allows the users to link to their contact information. For example, if address is the primary key, Customers will be prompted to enter their address as the ID on the signup page. If you would prefer Customers to create traditional User ID IDs, you must make a field in the Address Book called User ID or Customer ID, of type character single-line. In addition, that field must be selected as the primary key (on the Customer Options screen) for each project selected on the Auto-Add Customer setup screen. If an external authentication method is used, the Auto-added Customer IDs must also conform to the format of the primary key field for the projects/address Book the users are added to. If address (the default primary key) is not acceptable as the User ID, you must make a field in the Address Book called User ID, and set this as the primary key for each project Customers will be added to. Auto-added Customers will be linked to their contact information in the Address Book by their User ID, which is the same as the primary key. Details of how this works for different Address Book and authentication method options are in the section below entitled Sign Up Form. Once a project is designated to allow access to auto-added Customers, the primary key cannot be changed. In fact, the "Select Primary Key" section will no longer be displayed on the "Customer Options" screen. If it is necessary to change the primary key for a project, that project must be de-selected from the Auto Add Customers setup screen first. If a specific customer account is edited on the Edit Customers Project Admin screen (and the customer was originally auto-added), the customer will no longer be part of the classification "Auto-added Customers". Any changed made the Auto Add Customers setup screen (default project, user type, etc.) will no longer apply to this user. 143

150 FootPrints Reference Manual Address Book Contact Information In addition to User ID and password, Customers typically have contact information that must be populated in the Address Book. Contact information can be entered into FootPrints for Auto-Added users in a variety of ways: Users will fill in their own contact information the first time they sign up (Auto Add with FootPrints Authentication). The Address Book data can be imported using the Address Book import function. This is described in the chapter on Address Book Administration. The user IDs must match the unique key data for the contacts in the Address Book. For example, if address in the unique key, the user ID must also be the user s address. This method is available for the Auto Add Customers feature with FootPrints Authentication or External Authentication, if the FootPrints Address Book is used. Contact data can be obtained dynamically from an outside contact database, such as MS Exchange. This only applies is the LDAP Address Book link feature is enabled (using any authentication method). In this case, the unique key in the Address Book must also match the user IDs. 144

151 Chapter 8 System Administration Password Retrieval If FootPrints authentication is being used, Auto Added Customers can also take advantage of the "Password Retrieval" feature. This allows Customers to obtain their password if they forget it. A hint question can be defined for added security. To enable this feature: 1. Choose Yes to enable. This will display a Forgot password? link to users when they enter an incorrect password. 2. Optionally enable 1 or more hint questions for customers who forget their password, i.e. mother s maiden name. When the user first signs up, she will be define a hint. When she forgets her password, and answers the hint question correctly, a new password will be sent to her via . She will then be able to change the new password when she logs in correctly. 3. If no questions are defined, the customer will simply receive their password via . NOTE: If an external authentication method is being used such as Windows, LDAP or UNIX, this feature cannot be enabled. Sign Up Form When customers first log into FootPrints, and Auto-Add Customers is enabled, they will be presented with a sign up form. This will be different depending on the authentication method and the Address Book type. FootPrints Authentication and FootPrints Address Book A link entitled New Users: Sign Up Here will appear on the FootPrints login screen. The sign up form will prompt the user to provide the following information: User ID This will be in the form of the primary key in the Address Book, i.e. address, Customer ID, Social Security #, etc. Password Must be entered twice. Hint Question - If Password Retrieval is enabled, the Customer can choose a hint question (if more than 1 are available). Hint Answer Define an answer to the hint question selected above (or selected by the Administrator). This option is only available if Password Retrieval is enabled. Contact Information The Customer will fill in her contact information, based on the public fields in the Address Book. The only field that won t be asked for is the primary key field, as this was defined in the first step. After completing the form, the account is created, and a Contact record is also created for the Customer in the Address Book. If a duplicate user account is found, the new account will not be created, and the user associated with the account will receive an with the password to log in. If there is no duplicate user account, but there IS a duplicate Contact found in the Address Book (based on the primary key), the account will be created, and will be associated with the existing Contact record. 145

152 FootPrints Reference Manual Figure 57 - Signup form FootPrints Authentication and LDAP Address Book (MS Exchange, etc.) A link entitled New Users: Sign Up Here will appear on the FootPrints login screen. The sign up form will prompt the user to provide the following information: User ID This will be in the form of the primary key in the Address Book, i.e. address, Customer ID, Social Security #, etc. Password Must be entered twice. Hint Question - If Password Retrieval is enabled, the Customer can choose a hint question (if more than 1 are available). Hint Answer Define an answer to the hint question selected above (or selected by the Administrator). This option is only available if Password Retrieval is enabled. No Contact Information needs to be entered, as the Contact records are taken directly from the outside Contact Database (i.e. MS Exchange). The Contact record will be found based on the User ID entered (i.e. the primary key). If a duplicate user account is found, the new account will not be created, and the user will be prompted to enter another ID. If there is no duplicate user account, but there IS a duplicate Contact found in the Address Book (based on the primary key), the account will be created, it will be associated with the existing Contact record, and an with a random password will be sent to the customer. This ensures that only the real Contact can claim an account with that primary key. 146

153 Chapter 8 System Administration External Authentication & FootPrints Address Book There will also be a signup link for Customers on the login screen. When the link is clicked, the user is prompted to enter their network ID and password. When the Customers logs into FootPrints the first time with their network ID and password, the system will first search the network password file for the User ID. If the User ID is not found, or the password entered is incorrect, the user will receive an error message. If the ID and password are found, FootPrints will next search the Address Book associated with Auto-added Customers for the user s ID (it will search for it in the primary key field). If the ID/primary key is found in the Address Book, the user will go right to the homepage, and his or her contact information will be filled in on the Request form. If a contact record is not found, the user will be prompted to enter their contact information. After completing this form, the account will be created, and the Contact record will be added to the Address Book. External Authentication & LDAP Address Book (MS Exchange, etc.) There will also be a signup link for Customers on the login screen. When the link is clicked, the user is prompted to enter their network ID and password. The Customer will enter their network ID and password, and will be brought to the homepage. In this case, the customer does not have to fill in any forms the first time he or she logs into FootPrints. The contact information will be automatically filled in the Request form. If either the ID isn t found in the network password file, or a contact record isn t found in the LDAP Address Book (based on the primary key), the user will receive an error message. NOTE: Remember, the primary key for all Address Books and projects selected for Auto-Added customers must match the network User ID. If the primary key is currently address, and that field does not match the network User ID, an additional field should be created in the Address Book called User ID, and this should be set as the primary key. 147

154 FootPrints Reference Manual Authentication FootPrints supports the following methods of password verification for FootPrints users: FootPrints authentication (default) LDAP authentication Windows NT/2000 authentication (Windows NT/2000 only) UNIX authentication (UNIX only) The authentication method is selected under Administration System Users Authentication on the FootPrints Toolbar. This option is for password authentication only; user accounts must still be created for all users. This is a system-wide option, so the same authentication method must be used for ALL users, including Customers. There are a variety of ways to add users to the system: Administrators: Manually from the Administration Project Users Add Agents option. Agent Users: Manually from the Administration Project Users Add Agents option. Agents can be imported from a text file; see Administration System User Management. Customers: Manually from the Administration Project Users Add Customers option. Auto Added to FootPrints from the network password file (if NT/2000, LDAP or UNIX authentication is enabled). See the Auto Add Customers option under System Administration. Customers can create their own unique accounts and passwords (if FootPrints authentication is enabled). This option is available on the Auto Add Customers screen only if FootPrints authentication is enabled. If unique IDs and passwords are not required for customers, a single shared ID and password can be created for all Customers. Customers then identify themselves by a single unique key (the primary key), such as address. If an external authentication method is selected, the shared ID must exist in the network password file. Authentication Methods FootPrints Authentication (default) When FootPrints authentication is selected, the FootPrints password file is checked when a user logs in. Windows NT/2000 Authentication When NT/2000 Authentication is selected, the NT/2000 domain password file is used authenticate a user s password. To configure NT/2000 Authentication: 1. Select Windows NT from the Change Authentication Technique drop-down list. 2. Fill in the NT domain name in the box provided. Multiple domains can be added; each must be entered on a separate line. 3. Enter your Windows network password and click GO. 148

155 Chapter 8 System Administration 4. Your ID and password will be checked against the domain password file. If either the ID or password isn t found, you will receive an error message, and the change to NT authentication will not be made. Remember, the network ID and FootPrints ID for every user in FootPrints must be identical. For example, if the user s NT/2000 domain ID is jsmith, her FootPrints ID must also be jsmith. This must be the case for all Agent and Administrator users. If you do not require unique IDs and passwords for your employee customers or external customers, you can create a shared ID for all Customer users. That shared ID must still be present in the network password file. Please see the section above for more information about how Customer accounts can be created in FootPrints. LDAP Authentication When LDAP authentication is selected, the LDAP server password file is used to authenticate a user s password. To configure LDAP Authentication: 1. Select LDAP from the Change Authentication Technique drop-down list. 2. Enter the LDAP Server Name. 3. Enter the LDAP Server Port (389 is the standard port). 4. Enter the LDAP Base DN. This is the search base for user IDs. (uid). An example is: ou=people,o=server.com 5. If multiple DNs exist, enter each on a separate line. They will be searched in order for authentication from top to bottom. 6. Optionally enter login information to allow Authentication, including Distinguished Name and Password. This can be left blank if the LDAP server allows anonymous binding. 7. Enter your FootPrints password and click GO. 8. Your ID and password will be checked against the LDAP password file. If either the ID or password isn t found, you will receive an error message, and the change to LDAP authentication will not be made. Remember, the LDAP ID and FootPrints ID for every user in FootPrints must be identical. For example, if the user s LDAP ID is bjones, his FootPrints ID must also be bjones. This must be the case for all Agent and Administrator users. If you do not require unique IDs and passwords for your employee customers or external customers, you can create a shared ID for all Customer users. That shared ID must still be present in the LDAP password file. Please see the section above for more information about how Customer accounts can be created in FootPrints. 149

156 FootPrints Reference Manual UNIX Authentication When UNIX authentication is selected, the UNIX password file to used to authenticate a user s password. This option is only available if FootPrints is installed on a UNIX or Linux server. To configure UNIX password authentication: 1. Select UNIX Authentication from the Change Authentication Technique drop-down list. 2. Enter your FootPrints password and click GO. 3. Your ID and password will be checked against the UNIX password file. If either the ID or password isn t found, you will receive an error message, and the change to UNIX authentication will not be made. No other information needs to be defined; FootPrints will automatically find the UNIX password file for the system. Remember, the UNIX ID and FootPrints ID for every user in FootPrints must be identical. For example, if the user s UNIX ID is ebennet, her FootPrints ID must also be ebennet. This must be the case for all Agent and Administrator users. If you do not require unique IDs and passwords for your employee customers or external customers, you can create a shared ID for all Customer users. That shared ID must still be present in the UNIX password file. Please see the section above for more information about how Customer accounts can be created in FootPrints. NOTE FOR ALL AUTHENTICATION METHODS: If Windows NT/2000, LDAP or UNIX authentication is chosen, new users are created in FootPrints, and then the authentication method is switched back to FootPrints, the users passwords will default to their user IDs. Users who were already added to FootPrints before switching to an alternative authentication method retain their original FootPrints passwords. 150

157 Chapter 8 System Administration License Management Get and Install a New License FootPrints requires a license to run. When the FootPrints evaluation is first installed, a 30-day temporary license, which allows five Individual users and unlimited Customer access, is generated. After (or before) that license expires, you can contact UniPress to get a permanent license if you have purchased FootPrints. FootPrints must also be re-licensed if it is moved, re-installed, or installed to a new server. Please contact your sales representative for more information about acquiring a new license. To generate a new license, click the link for License on the System Administration screen. In the section Get and Install a New License, a nine-character license code is displayed. this code to [email protected], or call in the US and Canada ( internationally). Please provide the support representative with the type of license you need, the ninecharacter license code and your company information. Our support department will then provide you with the appropriate evaluation or permanent license string to be installed. Figure 58 - License page Enter the license string you receive from UniPress into the field in the Get and Install a New License section, and click GO to install the new license. NOTE: You can only generate one 30-day evaluation license from the automatic license generator accessed during installation of FootPrints. To acquire an extension, to add more users, or to purchase FootPrints, please contact UniPress or your local distributor. Current License Use In this section, your current license information is displayed. It includes a summary of the licenses available, and lists each user s ID, name, and user type of all users in FootPrints. The current login status for each user is also displayed. This feature is useful for assessing your situation when you run out of licenses and may need to buy more. It is also the best place to find a comprehensive list of all FootPrints users. 151

158 FootPrints Reference Manual Concurrent License Manager FootPrints supports both fixed and concurrent (floating) licenses for Agents. A fixed license allows one named user to log into FootPrints with a specific ID and password. A concurrent license can be used by an unlimited number of people, but only one can be logged in at a time. Each user sharing a concurrent license has their own unique ID and password, but they can only log in if a concurrent license is free. So, if 5 concurrent licenses are purchased, and 30 people are sharing those licenses, only 5 can be logged in at one time. When the 6th person tries to log in, she will receive a message that states that there are no available licenses. When one of the 5 users logged in logs out of FootPrints, a license is freed. This license is useful for casual users of FootPrints, or users working opposing shifts. This license is NOT appropriate for users who need to have access to FootPrints at all times. As the concurrent license costs approximately 2 1/2 times that of a fixed license, at least 3 users must share a concurrent license to make it cost-effective. Other aspects of the Concurrent licensing: Can be purchased by contacting your UniPress sales representative. A site can contain mixed fixed and concurrent licenses. While an unlimited number of concurrent licenses can be purchased, at least 3 fixed Agent licenses MUST also be purchased (i.e. the FootPrints Starter Pack). This allows at least 3 users (including at least 1System Administrator) to have access to FootPrints at all times. Concurrent licenses can be used by Agents and Project Administrators. They cannot be used by System Administrators (they must use fixed licenses). The Customer license is not affected by concurrent licenses. The unlimited Customer license continues to be appropriate for employee and external customers who need limited access to FootPrints (to submit and track their own issues and to search the Knowledge Base). Once you are licensed for concurrent users, the choice to make an Agent or Project Administrator a concurrent or fixed user is available on the Add Agent and Edit Agent Screens. You can only make as many fixed users as the number of fixed licenses available. An unlimited number of concurrent users can be created. Concurrent Agent and Project Administrators can be members of multiple projects, and are identical to fixed users in all other ways (with the exception of access to FootPrints based on there being an available license). Concurrent users should be encouraged to logout of FootPrints by clicking the Logout button on the toolbar. This frees the license for another user. When a concurrent user closes the browser without logging out of FootPrints, the license is freed within 15 minutes. When a concurrent user remains logged into FootPrints, but does not perform any actions, the license is freed within an hour. If all licenses are being used, and the System Administrator needs to free up licenses, the Reset License Manager function is available under Administration System License. If this feature is used, all Agents and other Administrators in the system will be logged out (fixed and concurrent). The System Administrator performing the action and Customers are not affected. This feature should only be used when necessary, as users may lose their work. For our customers who purchased concurrent licenses prior to FootPrints v5.5: You will need to re-license when upgrading to v5.5. Upon upgrade, all Agents will automatically be changed to concurrent users. Please manually update any additional Agent or Administrator users to match the correct number of fixed licenses purchased on the Edit Agent screen. NOTE: A system log is kept to record each time a concurrent user attempts to login to FootPrints and is denied because no concurrent licenses are available. This log can be viewed on the FootPrints server by reading the file C:\FootPrints\etc\debugging\loginErrors.txt. 152

159 Chapter 8 System Administration Logs Many system events are kept in logs for later viewing by the System Administrator. These are useful when troubleshooting a problem with or other functions. The following options are available: Show only messages from the last X days If this is left blank, all events will be displayed. Optionally a number to limit the events listed to those from the past X days (i.e. enter 5 to see events from the last 5 days only). Show messages of type All events can be displayed, or only certain types. The options are: All Show all events. Error Any system error, including errors in escalation, incoming , and notification processing. Info General system info. Warning Warnings received from other systems, such as warning regarding bad addresses. After selecting options, click GO. A list of system events is displayed with details. 153

160 FootPrints Reference Manual FootPrints Scheduling and Database Services FootPrints installs a Windows service to run automated processes. This service handles incoming , outgoing notification, escalations, mass s, and scheduled reports. On Windows, FPSschedule.exe is automatically set as a service on the FootPrints server. On UNIX, a cron job is automatically created which runs the file MRrunScheduledScripts.pl. This service replaces the manually creates batch files and cron jobs necessary to run automated processes in earlier versions. It may occasionally be necessary to start and stop the scheduling service manually (Windows only). Follow these instructions to do so: 1. On the FootPrints server, open a command (DOS) prompt. 2. Change to the FootPrints\bin directory, i.e. cd C:\FootPrints\bin 3. To start the scheduling service: 4. To stop the service: FPSchedule i FPSchedule u The Access and SQL Server database versions of FootPrints install a second Windows service for the database connection called FPService. This connection is used by FootPrints to communicate with the SQL or Access database. If the database service needs to be started or stopped manually, please follow these instructions: 1. On the FootPrints server, open a command (DOS) prompt. 2. Change to the FootPrints\bin directory, i.e. cd C:\FootPrints\bin 3. To start the database service: 4. To stop the service: FPService i FPService u 154

161 Part 3 Using FootPrints - More Features Part 3 Using FootPrints - More Features What you will find in this section Chapter 9 Searching and Reporting Keyword search, advanced search, saved searches, advanced reports, saved reports, time tracking reports, historical, statistical reports. Chapter 10 Address Book Working with Contacts, searching and reporting on the Address Book. Chapter 11 Knowledge Base Solutions, working with the Knowledge Base, search options, administration. Chapter 12 Customer Self-Service user types, working with requests, searching the knowledge base, other customer options. Chapter 13 Real-Time Issue Resolution Tools Instant Talk, Remote Control. 155

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163 Chapter 9 Searching and Reporting Chapter 9 Searching and Reporting This chapter covers all of the Searching and Reporting features of FootPrints. Searching FootPrints contains a number of search facilities that allow you to search and locate specific Issues in the project. Quick Search Available from anywhere in FootPrints from the top frame. Search by keyword or Issue number. Advanced Search Complex search on all fields and criteria. Saved Searches Save advanced search criteria. Can be accessed from homepage. Quick Search The Quick Search is located in the top frame. It is available from any FootPrints screen (in the Address Book, the Quick Search searches the Address Book only). To use Quick Search: 1. Search by Keyword or Number by choosing the corresponding radio button. 2. For Keyword, enter the word or phrase 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 GO. Figure 59 - Quick Search FootPrints returns a list of all Issues that match your search criteria in the main frame. 157

164 FootPrints Reference Manual Advanced Search The Advanced Search feature allows you to search the project database on any combination of fields and advanced criteria. FootPrints automatically generates the Advanced Search form for each project, with all of the custom and built-in fields for that project included. For example, if a project field is added to the database using the web Administrator tool Add Field, the field will automatically appear on the Advanced Search form. In the same way, if a field is deleted form the project, it will no longer appear on the Advanced Search page. To perform an advanced search, click Advanced in the top frame, or click Search Advanced on the FootPrints Toolbar. This page contains a combination of text fields, drop-down boxes and radio buttons, which allow you to search on any combination of criteria. Each field acts as a filter. Only fill in or choose the criteria you want to search on. Any field that you don t want to perform a search on should remain untouched. 158

165 Chapter 9 Searching and Reporting Figure 60 - Advanced Search 159

166 FootPrints Reference Manual Search Criteria 1. Description If a word or phrase is entered, only Issues containing that word/phrase in the Description will be returned. 2. Title If a word or phrase is entered, only Issues containing that word/phrase in the Title will be returned. 3. Keyword - If a word or phrase is entered, any Issues containing that word/phrase in ANY field will be returned, including Title, Description, Project fields and Address Book fields. 4. Assigned to Highlight one or more users to returns Issues assigned to the user(s) selected. If Any Selected User is chosen, and 2 or more assignees are selected, Issues will be returned that are assigned to User A OR User B OR User C, etc. If All Selected Users is chosen, and 2 or more assignees are selected, only Issues that are assigned to User A AND User B AND User C, etc. will be returned. If you do not want to limit the search to any particular assignees, do not highlight any users. 5. Priority Returns only Issues with the priority or priorities selected. Highlight the priorities to be included; hold down the Control key (Windows only) to highlight multiple priorities. To return all priorities, no priorities need to be selected (this will have the same result as selecting ALL priorities). 6. Status Returns only Issues with the status(es) selected. By default, "Open" and any custom statuses are highlighted in the status dialog. To select multiple statuses, hold down the Ctrl key. 7. Created by If a user is selected, the search will return only Issues created by that user. 8. Date If dates are specified, the search will return only Issues either created on OR last edited on, before, after or between the dates specified. For example, to return Issues created before January 1, 2001, choose created before, and fill in in the first date field, leaving the second date field blank. Click the Calendar icon to display a searchable calendar. To search on the current date, click the Current Date checkbox. This will override any dates entered. 9. Age If this section is filled in, the search will returns Issue based on time specified. Number of days and hours can be specified. Modifiers are also provided, including Greater Than, Less Than, Equal to, Greater than or Equal to, Less than or Equal to, and Not Equal to. As an example, to return Issues greater than 1 day old, choose greater than and fill in 1 for Days. 10. Include only Issue Numbers Restricts the search to a defined range of Issue numbers. 11. Project Fields The fields in this section will be different depending on the fields in current project. Fill in criteria (or select one or more values for a choice field), for one or more project fields to return Issues that contain that data. For example, to return Issues where the platform is Windows 95, select Win 95 for Platform. Drop-down fields are displayed in the Advanced Search form as multi-select boxes. This allows you to select more than 1 value to return if desired. If you do not want to restrict the search to certain values in a drop-down field, do not highlight ANY values. 12. Address Book Fields The fields in this section will be different depending on the fields in current Address Book. Address Book fields work the same as the Project fields (see above). 13. Order Search Results by Order the Issues returned by the specified field, descending (most recent or highest first) or ascending (oldest or lowest first). By default, Issues returned are ordered by Issue number descending. 14. Make title, description, etc. case sensitive (FootPrints database version only) Check this box to make search case sensitive. By default, search is case insensitive. In the SQL/Access versions of FootPrints, searches are always case-insensitive. 15. Use Regular Expressions (FootPrints database version only) Optionally use regular expression matching to search all text fields, including Title, Description, and any custom character fields. Click the link for instructions on using regular expressions. This feature is not available in the SQL/Access versions. 16. And/Or If And is chosen, Issues must match ALL criteria chosen (this is the default). If Or is chosen, only one criterion must be met. 17. Save Search Option to name search criteria, which can be reused. Choose Personal to save search for yourself. Choose Shared/Internal to share your search with other internal FootPrints users, or Shared/Public to allow all users (including Customers) to run your search. Saved searches will appear in the Display drop-down box on the homepage. 18. Perform Search Click the GO button to submit search. 160

167 Chapter 9 Searching and Reporting Sample Advanced Search The following search returns all Open Issues assigned to the user Jill Smith that have priority 1, 2 or Click Advanced under the Search heading on the FootPrints Toolbar. 2. For Assigned to, choose Jill Smith. 3. For Priority, select 1, 2 and For Status, highlight Open. 5. To save this search, enter a name for the search i.e. My High Priority Open Issues. 6. Click the GO button. FootPrints returns a list of the Issues that match the above criteria. Click on the Title of any Issue to view the details. Saved Searches The saved searches feature can be used to save and name search criteria that will be used frequently to create queues or hot lists. Each time the saved search is run, it returns the latest data from the current project. Saved searches are available from the Display drop-down box on the homepage, and from the FootPrints toolbar. More information on creating saved searches can be found in the above section on Advanced Search. From the Saved option under the Search heading on the FootPrints Toolbar, you can run, edit or delete a saved search. To run a previously saved search: 1. Click Saved under the Search heading on the FootPrints Toolbar. 2. Under Personal, choose the search you want to run. 3. Click the radio button for Run (this is the default). 4. Click GO. The results of the search display in the main frame of the browser window. 161

168 FootPrints Reference Manual Figure 61 - Saved Search To edit a previously saved search: 1. Click Saved under the Search heading on the FootPrints Toolbar. 2. Under Personal, choose the search to be edited. 3. Click the radio button for Edit. 4. Click GO. This brings you to the Advanced Search page. The form is pre-filled with the search criteria from the saved search. 5. Make any changes necessary. 6. To save the new search criteria with the same name as the original, leave the name in the Save this Search As text box as-is. To save it as a new search, fill in a different name. 7. When you are finished, click GO. The results of the edited search display in the browser window. To delete a previously saved search: 1. Click Saved under the Search heading on the FootPrints Toolbar. 2. Under Personal, choose the search to be deleted. 3. Click the radio button for Delete. 4. Click GO. The saved search is deleted. 162

169 Chapter 9 Searching and Reporting Shared Searches Saved searches can also be saved as Shared. These searches will appear in the Display drop-down box for all Agent/Admin users in the current project. This is useful for creating shared queues for different groups, departments, locations, problem types, etc. Creating, editing and deleting Shared searches work the same as personal searches. Please refer to the instructions above for details. NOTE: Shared searches can be deleted by any agent/admin who is a member of the current project. The user will get a warning that deleting the search will delete it for everyone. 163

170 FootPrints Reference Manual Reporting FootPrints contains a number of reporting options. They are: Single Issue Report Available from the Details page of an Issue. Displays a printable page. Quick Report Available on the homepage. Report multiple Issues using checkboxes. Advanced Reporting Create customs reports with custom criteria and formatting options. Saved Reports Access saved custom reports. Cross Project Reports Advanced reporting across multiple projects. Time-tracking Reports Generate time-tracking and billing reports. Historical Reports Generate reports on historical data. Statistical Reports - Generate reports on statistical data. Report Templates Create single-issue report templates for printing out Purchase Orders, Work Orders, RMA s, etc. Auto-run Reports Schedule custom reports to be generated and ed automatically on certain days/times. The following sections contain detailed instructions for each of these kinds of reports. Single Issue Report This option appears on the Details screen for an Issue. Click the Report button on the Details screen to display a printable report of the Issue. Only the fields that contain data will appear in the report. This report is useful when you need to quickly print the details of an Issue. There are no formatting options for this report. Figure 62 - Report of a single Issue 164

171 Chapter 9 Searching and Reporting Quick Report This feature allows you to quickly report on one or more Issues. It can be done from the homepage, or from the results of a search. This is useful when you want a report of one or more issues displayed on the homepage, without creating a custom report. There are no formatting options for this report. To get a quick report: 1. Click the checkbox(es) for the Issue or Issues (found to the right of each Issue on the homepage) to be included in the report. 2. Choose Report from the drop-down box above the checkboxes, and click GO. 3. A new browser window will open containing the report. It can be printed or saved directly from the browser. Figure 63 Make a Quick Report 165

172 FootPrints Reference Manual Advanced Reporting The Advanced Reporting feature includes controls for formatting and content of the report. The content of the report is determined by the Report Criteria chosen, which is selected with the same search mechanism found on the Advanced Search page. In addition to the criteria, many formatting options are available, including column selection, output type, and sorting. All of the formatting options are pre-filled with default values, so changing them is optional. Some calculations and can be performed with the report as well. To create a custom report, click New under Reports on the FootPrints toolbar. Report Options The options are: 1. Title This appears at the top of the report, and becomes the HTML title of the report. 2. Style The display style of the report. Choices are: Scaled - The font is scaled to fit on the width of a page. Good for printing, but the font is fairly small. Wrapped - Also fits the width of one page. Instead of scaling the font down, this report wraps Issues that exceed the length of a line, so that each Issue takes up multiple lines. Line breaks are controllable. This style is useful for printing reports in which you wish to include many fields. Summary - Includes only calculations, not individual Issues. Text file - Produces a text file, which contains the Issues that match the chosen report criteria. This style is useful for importing FootPrints data into another program. Choices are comma-delimited file (.csv), tab delimited (.tsv), or your custom delimited (.dat). Text file reports automatically contain a listing of the included field names as the first line of the file. This is useful for exporting data to other applications such as Excel - the first row will automatically contain column headings for each field. 3. Fields Displayed Choose which columns to display and in what order. For example, to display Title : a. For Type of Field, choose FootPrints Fields. b. Highlight Title under Fields. c. Click the Add Fields button. Title now appears in the Selected Fields box. To change the order of fields to be displayed, highlight a field in the Selected Fields box and click the up or down arrow to move it. Line Break Insert a line break (for Wrapped Reports only). Description Choose which descriptions to include in the report (only applies if Description is included in the Selected Fields box). NOTE: This section only determines which fields to display; it does not determine the selection criteria for the report. The criteria are chosen later in the report. NOTE #2: If Assignees is selected, the full names of the assignees are displayed in the report (i.e. Bob Smith ). This is not suitable for importing the report output into another project, as User ID s must be specified in a data import file. To create a file that includes assignees User IDs (i.e. Bob Smith ), use the Export Data Project Management System Administration option. 4. Sort Order Field(s) by which the Issues in the report are sorted. By default, FootPrints sorts by Issue number in ascending order (from lowest to highest). You can optionally sort on up to 3 fields. Clicking the Heading box separates groups with heading names. For example, sorting by Status with Heading checked, all Open Issues are grouped under the heading Open, and Closed Issues are grouped under the heading Closed. 166

173 Chapter 9 Searching and Reporting 5. Calculations Report can include averages and/or sums of any number fields in the project, including the built-in Age and Time to Close fields, and counts of one or more fields. Highlight the field(s) to report on using the mouse, holding down the Ctrl key to highlight multiple fields. For example, to get an average age of all Issues returned in the report, highlight Age of Issue under Averages. 6. Text File Format choose text file format. Only applies to Text File style report. 167

174 FootPrints Reference Manual Figure 64 - Advanced Report, part 1 168

175 Chapter 9 Searching and Reporting 7. Select Report Criteria Choose the criteria for report. Only fill in or choose the criteria you want to search on. The FootPrints Advanced Reporting criteria section uses the same mechanism as the Advanced Search. Refer to section above on Advanced Search for detailed explanation of criteria. 8. Make title, description, and character fields case-sensitive (FootPrints database version only) Check this box to make search case sensitive. By default, search is case insensitive. In the SQL/Access versions of FootPrints, searches are always case-insensitive. 9. User Regular Expressions (FootPrints database version only) Optionally use regular expression matching to search all text fields, including Title, Description, and any custom character fields. Click the link for instructions on using regular expressions. This feature is not available in the SQL/Access versions. 10. And/Or - If And is chosen, Issues must match ALL criteria chosen (this is the default). If Or is chosen, only one criterion must be met. 11. Save this Report As Option to name and save report to create a custom report. Choose Personal to save report for yourself. Choose Shared/Internal to share your report with other internal FootPrints users, or Shared/Public to allow all users (including Customers) to run your report. Shared/Public reports appear in the Customer Pre-Defined Reports page. Each time a saved report is run, it will return the latest matching data. NOTE: Saving the report here only saves the report formatting options and criteria chosen on this page, not the results of the report. This feature can be used to run the same report in the future, for example, once a week. Each time the report is run, it returns the latest data from the current project. More information on saving report criteria and actual report data can be found in the section on Saved Reports. 12. Generate Report Click GO to generate report. After clicking GO, the report is displayed in a separate browser window. Large reports sometimes take 1 or more minutes to run please be patient. To view the details of an Issue, click the Issue Number (or whatever field is in the first column) in the report. This will bring you to the Details screen for that Issue in the main FootPrints window. From the browser window, the report can be saved or printed. If the Text File option is chosen, a Save As dialog box will appear. Save and name the report to your local hard drive. NOTE: Depending on the browser, Windows may try to save the report as MRdirectSearch.pl (the name of the FootPrints program that generates the report). To fix this, simply change the name of the file name by hand to the desired name in the Save 169

176 FootPrints Reference Manual Figure 65 - Advanced Report, part 2 170

177 Chapter 9 Searching and Reporting Saving and Printing Report Data Report data can be saved, printed and distributed in a number of ways: 1. HTML After the report is displayed, it can be saved as an HTML file right from the browser window. a. To save Report data in Internet Explorer: i. Choose File Save As in the browser. ii. Enter a name to save file as in File name. NOTE: In some older browsers,the default name of the file may be the name of a FootPrints script (MRsearch_page.pl), not the name you gave the report. Simply type in the name for the report in the Save As dialog box to save it as the correct report name. iii. Choose the type of file to save report as (i.e. HTML) for Save as type. iv. Browse in the Save In dialog to choose where on the local machine to save the file. v. Click the Save button. b. To save Report data in Netscape: i. Choose File Save As. ii. Choose All Files for Save as type. iii. Enter a name to save file as in File name, and include the.html extension in the name. For example, to save the report as My Report, the name should be My Report.html. NOTE: In some older browsers, the default name of the file may be the name of a FootPrints script (MRsearch_page.pl), not the name you gave the report. Simply type in the name for the report (along with the.html ending) in the Save As dialog box to save it as the correct report name. iv. Use Save In to choose where to save the file. v. Click the Save button. 2. Text File If Text File is chosen for report style, report data is saved to your local machine. After clicking GO, FootPrints will display a Save As dialog box. Simply choose where on your local machine or network to save the file and click Save. NOTE: If a custom delimiter was chosen for the text file, the file extension will default to.dat. The extension can be changed to something else, such as.txt, in the Save As dialog box. 3. Printing - The report can be printed right from the browser. Just choose File Print to display the browser s Print dialog box. If the report is wider than the screen, choose Landscape orientation. NOTE: There are certain functions of the browser that FootPrints cannot override. For example, page breaks cannot be controlled when printing directly from the browser (this is a function of HTML). In addition, for very wide reports, some text on the right may be cut off by the printer, even when printing in Landscape mode. To compensate, if the Description or other multi-line text field is included in the report, use the Description Wrapping feature to force the text to wrap more narrowly. For example, instead of wrapping at 70 characters (the default), try 50 characters. If text is still being cut off, we recommend trying the Wrapped report and inserting line breaks, or using the Text File option. 171

178 FootPrints Reference Manual Saved Reports Use this option to create custom reports that can be run at any time. They can include any report criteria and formatting options. This feature can be used to easily run daily, weekly, or monthly reports without filling out the Advanced Report form each time. Each time the saved report is run, it returns the latest data from the current project. Instructions on creating saved reports can be found in the section above on Advanced Reports. To run a previously saved a report: 1. Click Saved under the Reports heading on the FootPrints Toolbar. 2. Under Personal, choose the report you want to run. 3. Click the radio button for Run (this is the default). 4. Click GO. The report results are displayed in a separate browser window. If the saved report is a text file report, the Save As Windows dialog will instead appear. Figure 66 - Saved Report screen To edit a previously saved report: 1. Click Saved under the Reports heading on the FootPrints Toolbar. 2. Under Personal, choose the report to be edited. 3. Click the radio button for Edit. 4. Click the GO button. The Advanced Reporting page is displayed, pre-filled with the report criteria. 5. Make any changes necessary. 6. To save the edited report with the same name as the original, leave the name in the Save this Report As text box as-is. To save it as a new report, fill in a different name. 172

179 Chapter 9 Searching and Reporting 7. When you are finished, click GO. The report results are displayed in a separate browser window. If the saved report is a text file report, the Save As Windows dialog will instead appear. To delete a previously saved report: 1. Click Saved under the Reports heading on the FootPrints Toolbar. 2. Under Personal, choose the report to be deleted. 3. Click the radio button for Delete. 4. Click GO. The saved report is deleted. Shared Reports Saved reports can be shared with other FootPrints users. Sharing a saved report is described above under Reporting Options in step 12, Save this Report As. These shared reports appear on the Saved Reports page for the other users in the project. Other FootPrints users can also share their reports with you. They appear on the Saved Reports page. To run a shared Report: 1. Click Saved under the Reports heading on the FootPrints Toolbar. 2. Under Shared, choose the report to be run. 3. Click the radio button for Run. 4. Click the GO button. The results of the shared report are displayed in a new browser window. Shared reports can be edited and deleted in the same way as personal reports. Simply follow the instructions for editing and deleting saved reports, but choosing a report under Shared Reports. NOTE: Shared reports can be deleted by any agent/admin who is a member of the current project. The user will get a warning that deleting the report will delete it for everyone. 173

180 FootPrints Reference Manual Cross-Project Reporting Each FootPrints project is contained in a separate sub-database. Each project has its own project fields, users, and other options. You may be a member of one project, or you could have membership in several projects. If you are a member of 2 or more projects, then it is possible to create a report that includes data from multiple projects. To run an advanced cross-project report: 1. Click Cross Project on the FootPrints Toolbar under Reports. 2. Under Select Included Projects, highlight the projects to be included in the report. In most browsers, you must hold down the Ctrl key while clicking on the names to highlight more than one. 3. Fill out the rest of the Report page as described in the above section entitled Advanced Reporting, and click the GO button. 4. The results of the report are displayed new browser window, specifying the project for each Issue. NOTE: Cross-project reports can include built-in fields like Title, Description, Status, Priority, etc. In addition, any custom Project or Address Book fields that are common to all projects included in the report are available. Project and Address Book fields that are NOT common to all projects selected for the report will not appear. 174

181 Chapter 9 Searching and Reporting Time-tracking Reports FootPrints can track the time spent by internal FootPrints users working on Issues for billing purposes. Only data from Issues that contain time-tracking data are included in the report. For more information on configuring time tracking in FootPrints, please refer to section on Adding Users in the Chapter entitled Project Administration. To create a time-tracking report: 1. Select Time Tracking under the Reports heading on the FootPrints Toolbar. 2. Output Style Choose to display the report output to a browser window, or to a text file. 3. Title This title will appear at the top of the report, and becomes the HTML title of the report. 4. Users Select users to include in the time-tracking report. Hold down the Ctrl key to highlight multiple users. 5. Date Range - Restrict report to certain date range. If this is left blank, all time-tracking data for the current project is included. 6. Select Report Criteria (optional) Restrict report to include only certain types of Issues. Please refer to the section on Advanced Search in this chapter for more information on choosing report criteria. 7. Order search results (optional) Optionally sort the Issues returned by any field. If report is ordered by a field with multiple values, such as Status, the report is broken down by those values. For example, if Status is chosen, all Open Issues will be grouped together under one heading, and all Closed Issues are grouped under a second heading. If the show totals for each subgroup box is checked, the report will also calculate totals for each subgroup. By default, Issues are sorted by Issue number. 8. And/Or If And is chosen, Issues must match ALL criteria chosen (this is the default). If Or is chosen, only one criterion must be met. 9. Create Report Click GO. The report displays in second browser window. If the text file option is chosen, a Windows Save As dialog box will appear. 175

182 FootPrints Reference Manual Figure 67 - Create Time-tracking report FootPrints Time Tracking report returns totals and averages of all time-tracking data included in the report, and individual timetracking information for each Issue report on. So, in addition to returning specific data for billing purposes, the time tracking report can be used to return averages and totals for a specific internal user, customer, status or priority type, etc. 176

183 Chapter 9 Searching and Reporting Sample Time Tracking Report This report returns time tracking data for the month of November 1999 for a specific user and company: 1. Enter title Widget Support Team - Time Spent in 2001 YTD. 2. Choose All Users from user list. 3. Report on Issues after Select all Statuses. 5. Click GO. FootPrints returns a report that includes: Project Name Total number of Issues reported Total time spent by all team members in 2001 as of today s date Average time spent by agents on Issues Total cost of work for department (based on hourly rate) Average cost per Issue A breakdown of each Issue Figure 68 - Sample Time tracking Report The time tracking report can be saved or printed right from the browser window. If the text file option is chosen, a Windows Save As dialog box will appear. 177

184 FootPrints Reference Manual Historical Reports The historical reporting option returns historical data on Issues in the current project, including past statuses, priorities, elapsed time, etc. For example, a report can return the average and total elapsed time it took a particular help desk technician to close Issues assigned to her in the month of May. The report will include a breakdown of all matching Issues, as well as total and average times for all Issues. To use the historical report tool, click "Historical" under the "Reports" option in the FootPrints Toolbar. The options available in this report are: 1. Enter a Title - This is the title that will appear at the top of the report. 2. Find Issues Assigned to - Select the user(s) to search on. Hold down the Ctrl key to highlight multiple users (Windows only). 3. Enter Additional FootPrints ID's - Additional user ID's of users that do not appear in the above list can be entered, each separated by a space. This is useful for searching on users who no longer belong to the project. 4. Find Issues for time period - Define the date range to search on. To search between two dates, choose "between" and enter 2 dates (the second date should be later than the first, i.e. "between and "). To search for Issues created before a certain date, choose "before" and enter only one date (in the first set of boxes). To search for Issues created after a certain date, choose "after" and enter only one date (in the first set of boxes). 5. Starting status in this time period - Choose the starting status that the Issue should have in the date range specified. 6. Ending status in this time period - Choose the ending status that the Issue should have in the date range specified. 7. Priority at time of ending status - Choose the priority Issues should have in the date range specified. 8. Report formatting Options Select the report output desired browser window or text file. 178

185 Chapter 9 Searching and Reporting Figure 69 - Report on Historical Data After choosing the report criteria, click GO. A second window will open to display the report results. If the text file option is chosen, a Windows Save As dialog box will appear. Matching Issues will appear, including Issue number, starting and ending dates and times, elapsed time, status and priority. At the end of the report, total number of records returned, total elapsed time and average elapsed time will be displayed. 179

186 FootPrints Reference Manual Statistical Reports Statistical reports, rather than returning specific Issue data, return statistical and metrical data about the project. The reports include: OPEN vs. CLOSED Issues by PRIORITY by DAY, WEEK or MONTH displays a table comparing Issues registered (including requests) vs. Issues closed per priority per time period specified Day Cycle Time Aging Report displays a table with a count of all Issues for the period specified, with a breakdown of the number of Issues closed in each period, including less than 30 days, days, days, etc.. 7 Day Cycle Time Aging Report displays a table with a count of all Issues for the period specified, with a breakdown of the number of Issues closed in each period, including less than 1 Day, 1-7 days, 8-14 days, etc. Open Issues by priority Number of Issues in the current project with Open status by priority, with the average time the Issues have been open. Closed Issues by priority - Number of Issues in the current project with Closed status by priority, with the average time the Issues took to close. Active Issues by priority Number of current active Issues (includes Open, Requests, and any custom statuses), by priority, with the average time the Issues have been open. Active Issues by status - Number of current active Issues (includes Open, Requests, and any custom statuses) by status, and the average time the Issues have been open. All Issues by status - Number of all Issues in the project by status, and the average time the Issues have been open. Active Issues by Assignee - Number of current active Issues (includes Open, Requests, and any middle statuses) by assignee, and the average time the Issues have been open. Closed Issues by Assignee - Number of closed Issues in the project by assignee, and the average time each assignee to close the issues. To run a statistical report, simply choose a report, enter a data range, and click GO. The report will appear in a separate window. If the text file option is chosen, a Windows Save As dialog box will appear. 180

187 Chapter 9 Searching and Reporting Figure 70 - Run a Statistical Report 181

188 FootPrints Reference Manual Report Templates The Project Administrator can create single-issue report templates for printing out Purchase Orders, Work Orders, RMA s, etc. Please refer to the chapter on Project Administration for more information. Auto-run Reports Saved customer reports can be scheduled to automatically run and ed on certain days/times. Please refer to the chapter on Project Administration for more information. 182

189 Chapter 10 Address Book Chapter 10 Address Book The Address Book can be used to keep customer contact and configuration information. For example, the project administrator may have set up the Address Book to hold a customer s name, address, phone number, etc. To view the Address Book, click the link for Address Book in the FootPrints Toolbar. The Address Book appears in a second browser window. Figure 71 - FootPrints Address Book The Address Book (AB) has its own Toolbar in the left frame, with the following buttons: Project Home brings you back to FootPrints Homepage (AB window remains active). Address Book Home This brings you to the AB homepage. Create Contact Create a new AB contact. Advanced Search Search the AB database. Report Report on AB data. Administration Configure Address Book. Help Help for the Address Book. Close Close Address Book window and brings you back to Footprints homepage. The Address Book contacts are listed in the main frame. The contacts are sorted alphabetically on the first field. By default, this is Last Name, but any field can be set as the first field, such as Company, Department, ID, etc. Clicking the hypertext link for a letter (A, B, C, etc.) brings you to the contacts for that letter. The top frame contains a quick search facility, which allows you to quickly search the Address Book for a contact name. 183

190 FootPrints Reference Manual Create a New Address Book Contact 1. Click Create Contact on the Address Book Toolbar. 2. Fill in the fields (these are different depending on how your Administrator has customized FootPrints). 3. Click GO to submit the new contact information. The new contact now appears in alphabetical order in the Address Book. NOTE: When a new Address Book contact is created, FootPrints checks for duplicate contacts by comparing on the first two fields (normally first and last name). If a duplicate is found, the user is given the option to create the new contact, or to go back and fix the data. Working with Address Book Contacts Selecting a contact in the Address Book (by clicking on the hyper-text link) displays the details of that contact. You also get a new set of buttons for that contact. They are: Edit Edit the Address Book contact (only if you have permission). Copy Create a copy of the contact. Delete Delete contact from Address Book (Administrators only). New Create a new FootPrints Issue from an existing Address Book contact, with all of the contact s information prefilled. History Lists all Issues for that contact in the main window. Report Reports all Issues (with details) for that contact in a separate browser window. 184

191 Chapter 10 Address Book Figure 72 - Address Book Contact Details 185

192 FootPrints Reference Manual Create a New Issue from the Address Book You can create an Issue directly from the Address Book, with the contact s information pre-filled, in addition to creating one from the FootPrints homepage (as described earlier). To create a new Issue from the Address Book: 1. Use the A-Z hypertext letters at the top of the Address Book screen to search for the contact s Last Name or other first field. You can also use the Quick or Advanced Search options to search on other fields. 2. Once you have found the contact, click the hypertext link for that contact display the details. 3. Click New. 4. The Create Issue screen now appears in the main FootPrints window, with the contact s information pre-filled in the Contact Information. The Address Book window remains active, but in the background. Fill out the rest of the Issue as described in the section entitled Creating New Issues and click GO. The new Issue is registered and given a number. 186

193 Chapter 10 Address Book Search The Search options for the Address Book are: A-Z links Click a link to list the contacts for that letter. The field it refers to will be the first field in the Address Book, which by default is Last Name, but could be any field, such as Company, Department, etc. Quick Search The quick search option appears in the top frame of the Address Book. Search for a word or phrase in the first or second Address Book field. This search is always anchored to the beginning of the field. For example, if the string smi is entered and Last Name is selected to search on, Smith and Smithe will be returned, but Goldsmith will not be returned. Advanced Search Available from the Address Book Toolbar. Search on any combination of Address Book fields. Please refer to the section on Advanced Search in the chapter on Searching and Reporting for more information about search options. Saved Searches - Available from the Address Book Toolbar. Create saved searches of the Address Book. Please refer to the section on Saved Searches in the chapter on Searching and Reporting for more information about search options. Reports Reports can be generated, and report templates can be created, from the Address Book. This option is available by clicking Report on the Address Book toolbar. Please refer to the section on Advanced Reports in the chapter on Searching and Reporting for more information about report options. Address Book Administration The Project Administrator can customize the Address Book for the current project. Please refer to the chapter on Address Book Administration for complete details. 187

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195 Chapter 11 Knowledge Base Chapter 11 Knowledge Base The Knowledge Base is a place to record, organize and manage important information for a FootPrints project. This can include, but is not limited to: solutions to common problems, answers to frequently asked questions, patches, and documents. By utilizing the FootPrints Knowledge Base feature, you can turn the past experiences of individual customers and agents into a database of solutions for all project members. This can assist in Agents finding quicker resolutions to recurring problems, and in empowering Customers to find the answers to their questions without submitting a request. Solutions The primary component of the Knowledge Base is a Solution. Some of the properties of a FootPrints Solution are: Project-based Solutions are records which reside in the project database, but which have special attributes (detailed below). Public Solutions are readable by all members of the project, including any Customers who have access to the project. Can be Categorized Solutions can be categorized using the Project fields for the particular project. These categories can be used to make FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) lists that group Solutions together. Generic Solutions contain no contact (Address Book) information. Status of Solved All Solutions possess the special status of Solved. File Attachments Solutions can contain file attachments, enabling the Agent or Admin to make patches or other documents available to all project members. There are 2 ways to make a Solution: 1. From Scratch Solutions can be made from scratch by any Agent or Administrator who is a member of the current project. 2. From an existing Issue When an Agent or Administrator closes an Issue, a Solution can be added to the Knowledge Base with the information from that Issue. The original Issue will remain intact; the Solution will receive a new reference number. Sample Solutions To make a Solution from scratch: 1. On the FootPrints Toolbar under the Knowledge Base heading, click Create Solution. 2. The Create Solution page is displayed. Fill in the desired information for the Solution. Use the project fields to help categorize the Solution. The Title can be used for a brief description of the Solution, or a question (e.g. How do I? ). The Description should contain the step-by-step description of the Solution. 3. Attach one or more files if desired. 4. Optionally CC one or more people. They will receive a one-time containing the Solution. 5. Click the GO button. The Solution is registered and assigned a new number. It is automatically part of the Knowledge Base for the current project. The Solution is now viewable by all users in the current project, including Agent, Administrators and Customers. 189

196 FootPrints Reference Manual To make a Solution from an existing Issue: 1. On the FootPrints homepage (or a search results page), click the Title of the Issue to be made into a Solution. 2. On the Details page of the Issue, click the Add to KB button. 3. If the Issue is already Closed, the Create Solution form is displayed. It is pre-filled with the information, including the latest description, for the Issue. Contact information from the originating Issue is NOT included. 4. If the Issue is still active (i.e. Open or another active status), you are first prompted to close the Issue. If Yes is selected, a Description box is displayed for adding any additional comments or a resolution before closing the Issue. After clicking GO, the Solution form is displayed, pre-filled with the public information from the Issue, including the latest comments added. 5. Optionally check the Link Solution to Original Issue checkbox to create a link in the Solution to the original Issue. This link is only viewable to internal FootPrints users (not Customers). 6. Optionally edit the information in the Solution to fix spelling errors, etc. This does not affect the data in the original Issue (as the Solution will receive a new reference number). The entire Description history for the Issue is available in a pop-up window for copy-and-paste purposes when creating the Solution. 7. Attachments - Click the checkbox to include the attachments from the Issue with the Solution. You can also add new attachments. 8. Optionally CC one or more people. By default, the assignees and contact for the originating Issue will be pre-filled in the CC field. They will receive a one-time containing the Solution. They can be removed, and/or other CC s can be added. 9. Click GO. The Solution is registered and assigned a new number. It automatically becomes part of the Knowledge Base for the current project. If the option to close the originating Issue was selected, that Issue is also closed. If the option to link the Solution and the Issue was selected, a link will be placed in both the Issue and the Solution. Figure 73 - Create Solution from an existing Issue 190

197 Chapter 11 Knowledge Base Working with the Knowledge Base Solutions can easily be viewed, searched and reported on in FootPrints. 1. View Solutions to see a complete list of Solutions for the current project, choose Solutions from the Display drop-down box on the FootPrints homepage, and click GO. Alternatively, click the link for Solutions under Project Totals. 2. Search Knowledge Base Under the Knowledge Base heading on the FootPrints toolbar, choose Search. Options include keyword search, advanced search, and FAQs (detailed below). 3. Report Solutions On the Advanced Report page, under Report Criteria, highlight Solution for Status, choose any other criteria and formatting options required, and click GO. 4. View Details of Solution Click the Title of the Solution to view the details. In a report, click the first field displayed of the Solution (it is a hypertext link) to see the details. Knowledge Base Search Options There are a variety of search options for the Knowledge Base. They include: Keyword Search search the Knowledge Base for the current project by keyword. Keyword Search of Online Knowledge Bases submit your keyword search to popular public Knowledge Bases. Advanced Search Search using a combination of criteria. FAQs View the FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) categories created by the Project Administrator. Cross-Project Report of Knowledge Base Get a report of Solutions from multiple projects (must be a member of those projects or System Administrator). Keyword Search The Keyword Search is available by choosing Knowledge Base Search from the FootPrints Toolbar. To perform a keyword search: 1. Enter the word or phrase to search for. 2. Choose FootPrints from the drop-down box (this is the default). 3. Click GO. FootPrints will search all fields for the keyword (including Title, Description, Project and Address Book fields). 4. A list of matching Solutions will be displayed in the main frame. 191

198 FootPrints Reference Manual Figure 74 - Search Knowledge Base 192

199 Chapter 11 Knowledge Base Keyword Search of Online Knowledge Bases In addition to searching the FootPrints Knowledge Base, the keyword search can be submitted to popular online Knowledge Bases, including Microsoft TechNet, Adobe, and Google Groups. 4 To perform a keyword search of an online Knowledge Base: 1. Enter the word or phrase to search for. 2. Choose from the online Knowledge Bases available in the drop-down box. Choices include Microsoft TechNet, HP, Adobe, and Google Groups (newsgroup search). 3. Click GO. A second browser window will open with the results of the search from the selected Knowledge Base. 4. You can copy and paste information from the online Knowledge Base if a matching solution is found. Advanced Search If the Keyword search is not sufficient, the Advanced Search feature can be used to create query with a combination of criteria. The options include: 1. Title/Description If a word or phrase is entered, only Issues containing that word/phrase in the Title OR Description will be returned. 2. Keyword - If a word or phrase is entered, any Issues containing that word/phrase in ANY field will be returned, including Title, Description, and Project fields. 3. Date If dates are specified, the search will return only Solutions either created on OR last edited on, before, after or between the dates specified. For example, to return Issues created before January 1, 2001, choose created before, and fill in in the first date field, leaving the second date field blank. Click the Calendar icon to display a searchable calendar. To search on the current date, click the Current Date checkbox. This will override any dates entered. 4. Age If this section is filled in, the search will returns Issue based on time specified. Number of days and hours can be specified. Modifiers are also provided, including Greater Than, Less Than, Equal to, Greater than or Equal to, Less than or Equal to, and Not Equal to. As an example, to return Issues greater than 1 day old, choose greater than and fill in 1 for Days. 5. Project Fields The fields in this section will be different depending on the fields in current project. Fill in criteria (or select one or more values for a choice field), for one or more project fields to return Issues that contain that data. For example, to return Issues where the platform is Windows 95, select Win 95 for Platform. Drop-down fields are 6. Order Search Results by Order the Issues returned by the specified field, descending (most recent or highest first) or ascending (oldest or lowest first). By default, Issues returned are ordered by Issue number descending. 7. Make title, description, etc. case sensitive (FootPrints database version only) Check this box to make search case sensitive. By default, search is case insensitive. In the SQL/Access versions of FootPrints, searches are always caseinsensitive. 8. And/Or If And is chosen, Issues must match ALL criteria chosen (this is the default). If Or is chosen, only one criterion must be met. 9. Perform Search Click the GO button to submit search. 4 The content of any and all public knowledge bases and websites linked to and from within FootPrints, including Microsoft TechNet, Hewlett- Packard Company website, Google Groups, and the Adobe Systems Incorporated website, is wholly owned and controlled by the respective companies. UniPress Software does not control and is not responsible for any of these sites or their content. UniPress Software is not responsible for the accuracy or reliability of any information, software or other content found there, or any results that may be obtained from using them. If you decide to access any of the third party sites linked to from within FootPrints, you do so at your own risk. 193

200 FootPrints Reference Manual FAQs The FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) categories are available to the agent user when searching the knowledge base. These categories are created and maintained by the Project Administrator for the current project. The categories are defined by advanced search criteria, and named and saved by the Administrator. Each time a category is accessed, it returns the latest Solutions that match the criteria defined for that category. Please refer to the section on FAQ Administration for instructions on creating and maintain FAQs. To view an FAQ: 1. Click Frequently Asked Questions on the Knowledge Base Advanced Search screen. 2. Click the Title of the desired FAQ category. 3. The matching solutions for that FAQ will appear in the main frame. NOTE: FAQ categories are also viewable by customers. Figure 75- Frequently Asked Question categories 194

201 Chapter 11 Knowledge Base Cross-Project Report of Knowledge Base Sometimes it may be desirable to search for Solutions across multiple projects. While it is not possible to do a cross-project Solution search from the Knowledge Base area, a cross-project report of Solutions can give the desired result. You must be a member of the projects to be included in the report, or a System Administrator. To run a cross-project report of Solutions: 1. Click Cross Project on the FootPrints Toolbar under Reports. 2. Under Select Included Projects, highlight the projects to be included in the report. In most browsers, you must hold down the Ctrl key while clicking on the names to highlight more than one. 3. Choose the desired formatting options, fields displayed, etc. as described in the section on Advanced Reporting. To get the full details of the Solution, make sure to include the Description field. 4. Under Report Criteria, for Status, highlight Solution only. This will limit the report to the Knowledge Base only. 5. Choose the other criteria for the report. For example, to return Solutions with the word password in the Solution, enter password for Keyword. Do not specify any Address Book information, as Solutions do not contain Address Book data. 6. Click GO. 7. The results of the report are displayed new browser window, specifying the project for each Solution. Using the Knowledge Base to Resolve an Issue The Knowledge Base can be used by the agent to find a Solution to an Issue while working on that Issue. This allows the agent to quickly resolve an Issue without losing any work. If a matching Solution is found, it can be imported directly in the Description of the Issue. To use this feature: 1. On the Create or Edit screen of the Issue, click "Search Knowledge Base (found next to the Description box). A second, smaller window will appear containing the Knowledge Base search. 2. Enter the keyword to search on. For example, to find Solutions regarding password problems, search for the word "password". 3. Choose FootPrints to search the current project for Solutions, or choose one of the online knowledge bases listed in the drop-down. Other Knowledge Base search features are also available from the Issue screen, including FAQ categories and the Advanced Search. Please refer to the section on Knowledge Base Search Options for more information. To place a link in the Issue back to the originating Solution, click the checkbox. 4. Click Search. 5. A list of matching Solutions is displayed. Mouse-over the Titles to view the details of each Solution. 6. Click the Title of the desired Solution. If none match the current Issue, click the link to perform another search. 7. The Solution will now appear in the "Description" box. It can be edited if necessary (will not affect originating Solution). 8. Make any other desired changes to Issue, and click GO. The Issue will be updated with the selected Solution and notification will be sent to the assignees and customer if that option is chosen. 195

202 FootPrints Reference Manual Popularity Solutions in the Knowledge Base can be ranked by popularity in virtually any search or FAQ. Popularity is determined by a survey question posed to customers each time they access a Solution. When a customer logs into FootPrints, and views a Solution, the question Was this Solution useful to you? appears, with Yes and No options. The responses are tracked, and each Solution is given a Popularity rating (the higher the better). Customers do not have read access to the ratings, but any list of Solutions displayed to them can be ordered by popularity (the Most Popular Solutions list displayed on the customer homepage is always sorted by popularity). Agents and Administrators can view the Popularity rating at any time; it is included in most search results from the Knowledge Base. Figure 76 - Popularity 196

203 Chapter 11 Knowledge Base FAQ Administration The FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) categories are available to the agent user when searching the knowledge base. They are also available to customers who have access to FootPrints. These categories are created and maintained by the Project Administrator for each project. The categories are defined by advanced search criteria, and named and saved by the Administrator. Each time a category is accessed, it returns the latest Solutions that match the criteria defined for that category. To create an FAQ: 1. Click FAQ Admin on the FootPrints toolbar under Knowledge Base. 2. Select the criteria for the FAQ. Options include Title, Description, Keyword, Date and Age, and all Project fields for the current project. For example, to return Solutions with the word password in the Solution, enter password for Keyword. 3. Solutions returned can be ordered by virtually any field, including popularity. 4. At the bottom of the form, name for the FAQ and click GO. 5. The current matching Solutions will appear in the main frame. In addition, the category will appear in the FAQ list for agents and customers in the current project. Each time someone accesses the FAQ, the latest Solutions that match the criteria selected will be returned. Figure 77- Create a customer FAQ category 197

204 FootPrints Reference Manual To edit/delete an FAQ: 1. Click FAQ Admin on the FootPrints toolbar under Knowledge Base. 2. At the top of the form, under Saved FAQs, there are options to administer the FAQs. 3. To edit a category, choose the Edit radio button. To delete a category, select the Delete radio button. 4. Select the FAQ category to be edited/deleted, and click GO. 5. If Edit was selected, the FAQ form will appear with the criteria for the selected FAQ filled in. Simply change the criteria as desired and click GO at the bottom of the form to change the FAQ. 6. If Delete was selected, the FAQ category will be removed. This does not affect any Solutions. 198

205 Chapter 12 Customer Self Service Chapter 12 Customer Self Service This chapter focuses on the various options for Customers in FootPrints. For information on creating and administration of Customers, please refer to the chapter on Project Administration. The FootPrints Customer Self Service option is intended for either employee customers or external customers (or both). Customers have access to the extensive self-help features of FootPrints. These features can include (depending on the permission level): submitting Requests to the system, tracking the status of their own Requests, notification and submission, searching the Knowledge Base for Solutions, and limited Update privileges to their own Requests (Read/Submit/Edit type only). This type of license is NOT intended for problem-solvers, such as agents, engineers, managers, customer service representatives, etc., but rather for users who need to make a request, have a question, or need to report a problem. Throughout this manual, both employee customers and external customers are referred to as customers. Permission Levels There are 4 permission levels for customers in FootPrints. Each level has certain functions that are available to the user. Levels can be assigned to different customers or groups of customers. The levels are: Read KB: View and search the Knowledge Base. Read KB/Requests: View and search Knowledge Base, and check the status of the user s own requests (entered by an internal user, or via ). Read/Submit: In addition to the functionality described above, can also submit Requests via the web interface and/or . Read/Submit/Edit: In addition to the functionality described above, these users have limited edit and close privileges of their own Requests. User Types In addition to the 4 levels, there are 2 categories of customer user types: Shared and Unique. Unique Customer IDs are used by one person only; the user will have a unique ID and password. The ID and password can be assigned by the Project Administrator, or can be taken automatically from an NT domain, LDAP directory, or UNIX password file. The shared ID and password can be used by an unlimited number people, and is intended for more casual users, or where unique passwords are not desired or required. Customers using a Shared ID and password still identify themselves by entering a unique key, such as address. 5 5 The only exception is the Shared Read Only user type; these users only enter the shared ID and password, with no unique key. 199

206 FootPrints Reference Manual This chapter is intended to describe the different features available to customer users in FootPrints. For more information on setting up Customer options, please refer to the chapter on Project Administration. NOTE: The examples below are for a unique Customer Read/Submit user. Some specific examples for different Customer types are found later in this chapter. Login Customers log into FootPrints from the same screen as internal (Agent and Administrator) users. The system identifies the user as a Customer, and from there on the user s experience is different from that of an Agent or Administrator user. To log in to FootPrints as a Unique Customer Read/Submit type: 1. Login with your unique Customer ID and password. Depending on the option chosen by the Administrator, the ID and password may have been assigned to you, you may have created them yourself, or they may be the same as your network ID and password. Please check with your Administrator for more information. Figure 78 - Login 200

207 Chapter 12 Customer Self Service 2. You are now on the FootPrints homepage. It contains three frames: Main frame contains a welcome message, links to the Knowledge Base, the Request form, and your list of current Requests, as well as a list of the most popular solutions. Toolbar includes all tasks available to Customers Top frame - includes quick search of Solutions and Requests Figure 79 - Customer homepage 201

208 FootPrints Reference Manual Customer 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 page in FootPrints. The options in the Toolbar are: Home - Go to your FootPrints homepage. Requests Submit Submit a new request to FootPrints (Customer Read/Submit and Customer Edit users only). View Mine Display all of your requests. View Organization (optional) -Display requests for your organizational unit (Company, Department, etc.). This option only appears when configured by the FootPrints Administrator. Search Search Requests Knowledge Base FAQ find Solutions to Frequently Asked Questions View All View all Solutions. Search Search Solutions. Reports Pre-Defined Access reports created by the FootPrints administrator. Advanced Create your own report. Instant Talk Chat with an available agent (if option is enabled). Advanced Live esupport Get live support from an available agent, including chat, remote control, and remote diagnostics (if option is enabled). Change Project Access another project (only available if user is a member of multiple projects). Help Get help using FootPrints. Logout End your FootPrints session. These options are discussed in more detail in the following sections. 202

209 Chapter 12 Customer Self Service Submit a Request Customer Read/Submit and Read/Submit/Edit users can submit their own Requests to FootPrints, which can then be taken and worked on by internal users ( Read Only and Read Solutions/View Request users do not have this option). To create a new Request, click the Submit Request button on the homepage. You can also click the link for Submit on the FootPrints Toolbar. NOTE: The fields may be in a different order, and may contain different options, depending on how the project was configured by the Project Administrator. 1. Enter a Subject. This is the subject or summary of the request. It should be brief, but descriptive. For example, Computer does not boot up would be a good title. Help!! would not be a good title, because it does not give any indication of the problem. Enter a New title Computer does not boot up 2. Fill in Contact information. This section holds your contact information. If this is the first time you have submitted a Request, then these fields may be blank. Simply fill out the fields with your name, etc. (your address or other unique key will be pre-filled with the data you entered at login time). If you are already in the Address Book, then all of the fields will be pre-filled. To change data for a field (i.e. if your phone number has changed), simply erase the data and type in the new data, and then check the checkbox for Update your contact information. NOTE: You must check the checkbox when updating your contact information. Some system configurations do not allow the updating of contact information (for example, if the contact information is configured to come directly from MS Exchange). In those cases, the checkbox will not be available. Fill in Contact Information. 3. Fill in Additional information fields. These fields vary depending on how the Administrator has set up the project. For example, there may be a field called Platform, which is a drop-down box. Select your platform from the list of choices. There could also be a field called Version number with a text field next to it. Type in the version number in this field. Please consult your FootPrints Administrator for more information on these fields. Fill in Additional information. NOTE ON FIELDS: All fields displayed in red are mandatory and must be filled out. 4. Description. Use this to enter the complete details of your Request. There is no limit to the amount of text that can be entered. It is designed to contain a complete description of the Request. This field is always mandatory. Fill in a full description of your Request. 5. Attachments (optional): You have the option to attach one or more files from your local machine to your request. For example, you may want to attach a screenshot of the error you are receiving, in the form of a.gif image file. 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 for the file. 203

210 FootPrints Reference Manual c. Use the Browse dialog box to find the file to be attached. When you find the file, highlight it and click Open. d. The file name and path now appears in the File Attachment window. e. To attach additional files, repeat steps a-d for each file to be attached. NOTE: The System Administrator may have set a limit to 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. f. Click GO to attach the file to your Request. This may take some time depending on the size of the file. g. When the upload is finished, the file name appears in the Create Issue form. NOTE: You can continue to work on the request while the file is uploading, but you must wait until the upload is complete to submit the request. Figure 80 - Attach File 6. Submit Request. When you are ready to submit the Request, click GO. The Request is assigned a number, and you are brought back to the FootPrints homepage. 204

211 Chapter 12 Customer Self Service Figure 81 - Submit Request form 205

212 FootPrints Reference Manual Tracking Requests Customers can track their requests in 2 ways: FootPrints Interface users can view, search and report on their requests when logged in to FootPrints. user automatically receives notification when request is submitted, worked on, and closed. 6 To view your Requests: 1. Click the View My Requests button on the homepage, or click View Mine under the Requests heading on the FootPrints Toolbar. 2. The main frame displays a list of all of your current and past Requests. 3. To view only your active Requests, click the Active link. 4. To view closed Requests, click the Closed link. 5. To view the details of a Request, click the Title. The latest information on the Request, including notes added by internal Agents, will be displayed. 6. To view the Requests for your organizational unit, select View Company or View Department on the FootPrints toolbar 206

213 Chapter 12 Customer Self Service Responding to FootPrints Customers can receive updates when their requests are registered, worked on, and closed. 6 Customers also have the option to respond to notification s to communicate with the engineer working on the problem. For example, if the agent suggests a fix to a user s problem, the user can respond to the notification informing the engineer that the fix was successful. To respond to notification from FootPrints: 1. Use the Reply button in your package (Outlook, Eudora, etc.) to respond to the The new contains the line ISSUE=n in the subject, where n is the number of your FootPrints Request. This line MUST be kept in the subject line of the reply ; it is how FootPrints identifies the Request. The reply-to address must also be maintained. 3. Type your message to the engineer in the body of the , above the line as specified. 4. Click Send to send the . Your reply will be threaded to the Request. Figure 83 - Responding to from FootPrints 207

214 FootPrints Reference Manual Editing Requests In addition to submitting Requests, Customer Read/Submit/Edit users also have limited permission to update their own Requests through the Customer Self-Service interface. These users can update the description of requests they submitted, update up to 3 fields, and close their own requests, as well as update their own contact information. NOTE: The Customer Edit license must be enabled for this user option to be available. This license is not intended to replace the Agent license type. The license is based on a dialogue concept. Customers can only edit requests that they have personally submitted, and only after an issue has first been updated by an Agent or Administrator. Customers cannot be assigned to a Request. After the Customer updates a Request, he or she won t be able to update the Request again until the Agent edits the Request again. This allows the Customer to respond to suggestions or questions from the Agent through the FootPrints interface. The only exception is if the Customer chooses to close their Request; the user can do this at any time. For example, if the Customer is able to fix her own problem, she can then close the Request, updating the Description at the same time to let the Agent working with her that the issue is resolved. If you have the Customer Edit license type, when an Agent responds to your request with comments or questions, you can respond back through the FootPrints interface. To edit a Request: 1. Click the View My Requests button on the homepage, or click View Mine under the Requests heading on the FootPrints Toolbar. The main frame displays a list of your current Requests. 2. Click the Title of the Request to see the details. 3. Read the Agent s latest comments in the Description section. 4. To respond, click the EDIT button. The EDIT button will only appear when an Agent has made an update to the Request. 5. On the Edit screen, fill in any fields available. 6. Enter your response in the Append a New Description field. 7. Click GO. 8. The Request will be updated, and updates will be sent to the technician and the customer. 9. You can continue to update the Request each time the technician responds. 10. To close the Request, click the CLOSE button on the Details page of the Request. Fill in your reasons for closing the Request in the Description area, then click GO. The Request will be closed, and updates will be sent out. NOTE: You can close the issues at any time (it does not require the Agent to update the Request first). 208

215 Chapter 12 Customer Self Service Figure 84- Customers can update their Requests with the Customer Edit license. All other functionality for the Customer Edit user is the same as that for the Customer Read/Submit user. 209

216 FootPrints Reference Manual Shared User ID Customers can also log into FootPrints with a shared ID and password. If this is the type of ID you have been given, your login process will be slightly different from that of a user with a unique ID and password. To log in to FootPrints as a Shared Customer Read/Submit type: 1. Login with the shared Customer ID and password. You will then be prompted for your address, or other unique key. This key will identify you and allow you to see a personalized view of FootPrints. Figure 85 - Enter your unique key 2. Fill in your address or other unique key and click GO. 3. You are now on the FootPrints homepage. Please refer to the other topics in this chapter for more information on using FootPrints. Read KB Users Read KB Customer users have a more restricted access in FootPrints. This user can view and search the Knowledge Base for Solutions only. In addition, users with Read KB/Requests user type can also check the status of their Requests, which were either submitted by an Agent or via . Read KB and Read KB/Requests Customer users log into FootPrints the same way as Read/Submit and Read/Submit/Edit Customers do. They can have either shared or unique IDs and passwords. After logging in, the FootPrints homepage will be slightly different. 210

217 Chapter 12 Customer Self Service Figure 86- Customer Read KB homepage Note that the FootPrints Toolbar contains a smaller set of options. The options in the Toolbar for a Customer Read Only user are: Home - Go to your FootPrints homepage. Knowledge Base FAQ find Solutions to Frequently Asked Questions View All View all Solutions. Search Search Solutions. Reports Pre-Defined Access reports created by the FootPrints administrator. Advanced Create your own report. Instant Talk Chat with an available agent (if option is enabled). Advanced Live esupport Get live support from an available agent, including chat, remote control, and remote diagnostics (if option is enabled). Change Project Access another project (only available if user is a member of multiple projects). Help Get help using FootPrints. Logout End your FootPrints session. Customer Read KB/Requests users also have an option to check the status of their Requests (View Mine). 211

218 FootPrints Reference Manual Knowledge Base All Customers, including Customer KB users, can use FootPrints to view, search and report on Solutions in the Knowledge Base. Solutions can contain to common problems, answers to frequently asked questions, patches, documents, and more. By searching the Knowledge Base before submitting a Request, the Customer has the opportunity to find the information he or she needs quickly, and without waiting for a response from the Support team. The following section details how Customers can find Solutions in FootPrints. Knowledge Base Options Customers have a variety of options for searching and viewing the Knowledge Base for Solutions: Most Popular Solutions Available on the homepage. Quick Search Available from any screen in FootPrints in the top frame. Search by Keyword or phrase. FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) - Pre-defined categories of Solutions created by the Project Administrator. View All shows complete list of Solutions. Advanced Search Complex search on all fields and criteria. Figure 87 - Solutions 212

219 Chapter 12 Customer Self Service Most Popular Solutions The most popular solutions are listed on the Customer homepage. These are ranked by their popularity with other Customers. To view the details of a Solution, simply click on the Title. The Description area of the Solution may contain step-by-step instructions, an answer to a question, or a reference to another site for more information. The Solution may also contain one or more file attachments. These files were included by an Agent or Administrator to help illustrate a Solution. They may include patches, documents or images. Simply click on the name of an attachment to view it, or right-click on the name to save it to your local machine. At the bottom of each Solution, you will see the question Was this Solution useful to you? Check the appropriate answer (Yes or No) based on whether the solution helped you with your problem or question. It is completely anonymous; only your response is recorded, not your contact information. Responses are saved and tallied by FootPrints for the Popularity ranking. Figure 88- Solutions Details 213

220 FootPrints Reference Manual Quick Search To use the Quick Search: 1. Enter the word or phrase that you want to search for in the box. 2. Click GO. 3. A list of matching Solutions is displayed. In addition, any of your own Requests that contain the keyword will also be displayed. Figure 89 - Quick Search FAQ The FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) consists of pre-defined categories of Solutions created by the FootPrints Project Administrator. To view these categories: 1. Click the Search Knowledge Base button on the homepage, or click FAQ on the FootPrints Toolbar. 2. Choose from the list of categories for the Solutions for that category, and click GO. 3. A list of all Solutions for that category is displayed. 4. Click the Title of a Solution to view the details. 214

221 Chapter 12 Customer Self Service Figure 90 - FAQ View All To View All Solutions: 1. Click View All under the Solutions heading on the FootPrints Customer Toolbar. 2. A list of all Solutions appears. Click on the title of a Solution to view the details. Advanced Search The Advanced Search feature allows you to search Knowledge Base on any combination of fields and advanced criteria. To perform an advanced search, click Search under the Knowledge Base heading on the FootPrints toolbar, or click the link for Advanced in the top frame. This page contains a combination of text fields, drop-down boxes and radio buttons, which allow you to search on any combination of criteria. Each field acts as a filter. Only fill in or choose the criteria you want to search on. Any field that you don t want to perform a search on should remain untouched. NOTE: An Advanced search option is also available under the Requests heading on the toolbar. This search, which has similar criteria options, returns the user s Requests (or optionally the Requests for the whole Organizational Unit) rather than Solutions from the Knowledge Base. Any differences are noted below. 215

222 FootPrints Reference Manual Figure 91 - Search for Solutions 216

223 Chapter 12 Customer Self Service The options include: Description If a word or phrase is entered, only Solutions containing that word/phrase in the Description will be returned. Title If a word or phrase is entered, only Solutions containing that word/phrase in the Title will be returned. Keyword - If a word or phrase is entered, any Solutions containing that word/phrase in ANY field will be returned, including Title, Description, Project fields and Address Book fields. Date If dates are specified, the search will return only Solutions either created on OR last edited on, before, after or between the dates specified. For example, to return Solutions created before January 1, 2001, choose created before, and fill in in the first date field, leaving the second date field blank. Click the Calendar icon to display a searchable calendar. To search on the current date, click the Current Date checkbox. This will override any dates entered. Age If this section is filled in, the search will returns Solutions based on time specified. Number of days and hours can be specified. Modifiers are also provided, including Greater Than, Less Than, Equal to, Greater than or Equal to, Less than or Equal to, and Not Equal to. As an example, to return Issues greater than 1 day old, choose greater than and fill in 1 for Days. Project Fields The fields in this section will be different depending on the fields in current project. Fill in criteria (or select one or more values for a choice field), for one or more project fields to return Issues that contain that data. For example, to return Issues where the platform is Windows 95, select Win 95 for Platform. Drop-down fields are displayed in the Advanced Search form as multi-select boxes. This allows you to select more than 1 value to return if desired. If you do not want to restrict the search to certain values in a drop-down field, do not highlight ANY values. Order Search Results by Order the Solutions returned by the specified field, descending (most recent or highest first) or ascending (oldest or lowest first). By default, Solutions returned are ordered by reference number descending. Make title, description, etc. case sensitive (FootPrints database version only) Check this box to make search case sensitive. By default, search is case insensitive. In the SQL/Access versions of FootPrints, searches are always case-insensitive. Use Regular Expressions (FootPrints database version only) Optionally use regular expression matching to search all text fields, including Title, Description, and any custom character fields. Click the link for instructions on using regular expressions. This feature is not available in the SQL/Access versions. Include requests made by members of your Company This option only appears in the Advanced Search option found under Requests (not in the Knowledge Base), and only if the Organization Unit Permissions option is enabled by the Project Administrator. If selected, the search will return matching Requests from all members of the Organizational Unit. And/Or If And is chosen, Issues must match ALL criteria chosen (this is the default). If Or is chosen, only one criterion must be met. Perform Search Click the GO button to submit search. A list of Solutions that match you criteria is displayed. Click the Title of a Solution to view the details. 217

224 FootPrints Reference Manual Reporting Customers can run reports on FootPrints data that they have permission to view. This includes Solutions and the user s own Requests. The reporting options are: Pre-Defined Reports Reports defined by the Project Administrator. Advanced Reports User selects report criteria and display style. Pre-Defined Reports Pre-defined reports are reports on Solutions saved and named as public reports by FootPrints internal users. The internal user simply creates a new report of Solutions, choosing report criteria and formatting options, and then saves it as a public report. The names of these reports appear in the Pre-defined Reports drop-down list available to Customers. Each time a saved public report is run by a Customer, it returns the latest matching Solutions. To run a Pre-Defined Report: 1. Click on Pre-Defined under the Reports heading on the FootPrints Customer Toolbar. 2. Choose the report you want to run from the drop-down box. 3. Click the Go button. The results of the report display in a new browser window. Advanced Reports The Advanced Reporting feature allows a Customer to control the style and content of a report. It uses the same search mechanism as the Advanced Search page, but also allows the user to choose the fields to report and the style in which they are displayed. All of the formatting options are pre-filled with default values, so changing them is optional. The options are: 1. Title This appears at the top of the report, and is the HTML title of the report. 2. Style The display style of the report. Choices are: Scaled style, where the font is scaled to fit on the width of a page. Good for printing, but the font is small if many fields are included. Wrapped also fits on the width of one page. Instead of scaling the font, it wraps Issues that exceed the length of a line, so that each Issue takes up multiple lines. This style is useful for printing reports in which you wish to include many fields. Text file produces a text file, which contains the Issues that match the chosen search criteria. This style is useful for importing FootPrints data into another program. Summary display only calculations, not individual Issues. 3. Fields Displayed choose which fields to display and in what order. For example, to display Title : a. For Type of Field, choose FootPrints fields. b. Highlight Title under Fields. 218

225 Chapter 12 Customer Self Service c. Click the Add Fields button. Title now appears in the Selected Fields box. To change the order of fields to be displayed, highlight a field in the Selected Fields box and click the up or down arrow to move it. Line Break put in a line break (for Wrapped Reports only). Description choose which descriptions to include in the report (only applies if Description is included in the Selected Fields box. NOTE: This section only determines which fields to display; it does not determine the selection criteria for the report. The criteria are chosen later in the report. 4. Sort Order Field(s) by which report is sorted. By default, FootPrints sorts by Issue number ascending (from lowest to highest). Clicking the heading box separates groups with heading names. For example, sorting by Status with heading checked, all Open Issues are grouped under the heading Open, and Closed Issues are grouped under the heading Closed. 5. Calculations Report can include averages and/or sums of any Project or Address Book number field, and counts of one or more fields. Highlight the field(s) to report using the mouse, holding down the Ctrl key to highlight more than one. 6. Text File Format choose text file format. Only applies to Text File style report. 7. Select Report Criteria set selection criteria for report. Only fill in or choose the criteria you want to search on. FootPrints Advanced Reporting criteria uses the same mechanism as the Advanced Search. Refer to the section above on Advanced Search for explanation of Report/Search criteria. NOTE: While most criteria is the same for searches and reports, an additional option is available in the Report Criteria section: a. Report On Reports can either return either user Requests, or Solutions from the Knowledge Base. If Your requests is selected, an additional option may be available to return both the user s Requests AND Requests from other members of the same Organizational Unit. Simply check this box (if it is available) to return matching Requests from all users in the same Organizational Unit (Company, Department, etc.) 8. Generate Report Click the GO button to generate report. Figure 92 - Results of FootPrints Report 219

226 FootPrints Reference Manual Saving and Printing Report Data Report data can be saved, printed and distributed in a number of ways: 1. HTML After the report is displayed, it can be saved as an HTML file right from the browser window. a. To save Report data in Internet Explorer: i. Choose File Save As in the browser. ii. Enter a name to save file as in File name. NOTE: The default name of the file may be the name of a FootPrints script (MRsearch_page.pl), not the name you gave the report. Simply type in the name for the report in the Save As dialog box to save it as the correct report name. iii. Choose the type of file to save report as (i.e. HTML) for Save as type. iv. Browse in the Save In dialog to choose where on the local machine to save the file. v. Click the Save button. b. To save Report data in Netscape: i. Choose File Save As. ii. Choose All Files for Save as type. iii. Enter a name to save file as in File name, and include the.html extension in the name. For example, to save the report as My Report, the name should be My Report.html. NOTE: The default name of the file may be the name of a FootPrints script (MRsearch_page.pl), not the name you gave the report. Simply type in the name for the report (along with the.html ending) in the Save As dialog box to save it as the correct report name. iv. Use Save In to choose where to save the file. v. Click the Save button. 2. Text File If Text File is chosen for report style, report data is saved to your local machine. After clicking GO, FootPrints will display a Save As dialog box. Simply choose where on your local machine or network to save the file and click Save. NOTE: If a custom delimiter was chosen for the text file, the file extension will default to.dat. The extension can be changed to something else, such as.txt, in the Save As dialog box. Depending on the browser and/or server, Windows may try to save the report as MRdirectSearch.pl (the name of the FootPrints program that generates the report). To fix this, simply change the name of the file name by hand to the desired name in the Save As dialog box. Be sure to include the desired file extension. For example, it you would like to save the report as Current Issues and as a CSV file, enter the name Current Issues.csv for the file name. In addition, ensure that the file type chosen is *.* (rather than.pl ). 3. Printing - The report can be printed right from the browser. Just choose File Print to display the browser s Print dialog box. If the report is wider than the screen, choose Landscape orientation. 220

227 Chapter 12 Customer Self Service NOTE: There are certain functions of the browser that FootPrints cannot override. For example, page breaks cannot be controlled when printing directly from the browser (this is a function of HTML). In addition, for very wide reports, some text on the right may be cut off by the printer, even when printing in Landscape mode. To compensate, if the Description or other multi-line text field is included in the report, use the Description Wrapping feature to force the text to wrap more narrowly. For example, instead of wrapping at 70 characters (the default), try 50 characters. If text is still being cut off, we recommend trying the Wrapped report and inserting line breaks, or using the Text File option. Projects The Administrator may make a Customer a member of multiple projects. For example, if there are 2 different areas that you can submit Requests to, such as Website Support and Enhancement Requests, FootPrints may be configured to keep Requests for the 2 areas in different projects. A project is a sub-database or area within FootPrints, which can have its own custom fields, options and users. If you are a member of multiple projects, there will be a Change Project link on the FootPrints toolbar. Simply click the link, and a list projects will be displayed. To change to a project, click the name in the list. Your screen will refresh, and you are brought to the homepage for the new projects. Figure 93 - Change Project To check the status of your Requests for a project, you must be IN that project. The View Mine list will only contain Requests for that project. To see a list of your Requests in ALL projects at once, a link to a cross-project report is available on the View Mine screen in each project. If you have Requests in multiple projects, there is a link entitled Requests from All Projects near the top of the screen. Click the link, and a second browser window will appear with a list of all of your Requests, including the Details and latest status. 221

228 FootPrints Reference Manual Other Customer Options Project Info The Project Administrator may have created a page with information specific to the project, instructions on using the project, links to other pages on the website, or alerts about current issues. If this option is enabled, a pop-up window may appear as soon as you log into FootPrints with the information. Please read this information carefully before closing the window; anything that Project Administrator has chosen to place here is important. The Project Information Screen may also be available at any time from the FootPrints homepage. If there is one, there will be a link in the top right-hand corner of the screen. It could be an icon, such as a?, a!, etc. Just click on the icon to view the Project Information. Instant Talk FootPrints Instant Talk is an optional one-on-one chat feature. This allows the Customer to have a text-based chat with an available agent for immediate assistance. If this feature is enabled, there is an Instant Talk option in the Toolbar. To use the Instant Talk feature: 1. Click Instant Talk in the FootPrints Toolbar. 2. A box will appear with a list of Agents with whom you can chat. Select an Agent and click GO. 3. A new Talk window will appear. To talk, simply type something in the Message box and click Send/Refresh. 4. Your message will appear in the top half of the window preceded by your name. 5. A Talk window also automatically appears to the other user. As each user enters messages, they will appear in the window. 6. To manually refresh the window, click the Send/Refresh button. Otherwise, the window will refresh at the default rate set by the System Administrator. 7. If an Agent does not respond within a few minutes, they may be away from their desk or on a phone call. You can close the session, and restart, this time choosing a different Agent. 8. To clear the Talk window, click the Clear button. 9. To close the Talk window, click the Close button. Figure 94- Users can communicate instantly with agents 222

229 Chapter 12 Customer Self Service Advanced Live esupport If Advanced Live esupport is enabled, the Instant Talk option on the FootPrints Toolbar is replaced with the Request Live Support option. This allows you to get live support an available agent. The Agent can text chat, remote control, and remote diagnose your PC (if you grant permission). To use the Live Support option: 1. Click Request Live Support on the FootPrints Toolbar. 2. Enter your address and your question. 3. You are now placed in the queue. 4. When an Agent is available, the Live esupport screen will appear. Simply follow the instructions from the Agent. 5. When the session is over, an Issue will automatically be created for you in FootPrints. Help Help is available online right from FootPrints. To access the online Help, click Help on the FootPrints Toolbar. A new browser window will appear containing information tailored to Customer users. Logout When you are finished with your FootPrints session, simply click the Logout button on the FootPrints Toolbar. This brings you back to the FootPrints login page. 223

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231 Chapter 13 Real-time Issue Resolution Tools Chapter 13 Real-time Issue Resolution Tools In addition to communication through the web interface and , FootPrints has the following features that allow the internal user to resolve users Issues: Instant Talk - allows customers to communicate one-on-one with agents. Remote Control Ability to remote control the customer s desktop via VNC 7. These two features can be used in conjunction to remotely control a user s desktop while having a Talk conversation at the same time. This section describes how to use these features. 7 VNC is AT&T Laboratories Cambridge 225

232 FootPrints Reference Manual Instant Talk FootPrints Instant Talk enables a Customer to chat online one-on-one to an agent in a real-time setting. Internal users can also chat to other internal users. No special client software is required; users only need their web browser. To use the FootPrints Instant Talk feature: 1. Click Instant Talk under Options on the FootPrints Toolbar. 2. A box will appear with a list of users with whom you can chat. Select a user and click GO. 3. A new Talk window will appear. To talk, simply type something in the message box and click Send/Refresh. 4. Your message will appear in the top half of the window preceded by your name. 5. A Talk window also automatically appears to the other user. As each user enters messages, they will appear in the window. 6. To manually refresh the window, click the Send/Refresh button. Otherwise, the window will refresh at the default rate set by the System Administrator. 7. To clear the Talk window, click the Clear button. 8. To close the Talk window, click the Close button. NOTE: All chats are one-on-one, but you can have multiple chat windows open at the same time. Figure 95- Users can communicate instantly with agents 226

233 Chapter 13 Real-time Issue Resolution Tools Remote Control The VNC 8 remote display system allows you to control a user s desktop remotely via TCP/IP for troubleshooting purposes. FootPrints includes the most popular distributions of the VNC software, along with a distribution feature that can be used to send an with instructions on downloading and installing the VNC tool to customers. There are two parts to VNC: Server the server resides on the customer s machine i.e. the machine you want to control Viewer the viewer is used to connect to the customer s machine and display the desktop for that user. The server and viewer can reside on different machines, even on different networks, as long as they can communicate via TCP/IP (dial-up is not supported). The server and viewer machines can also be on different platforms. The platform versions included with FootPrints are: Windows 95/98/NT/2000 Linux Solaris Additional platform versions are available at the VNC website at To download and install VNC: 1. Go to Help Contents Remote Control. 2. Click on the link for the correct version of VNC for your desktop. 3. Save the VNC installation file to your local hard drive, making a note of the directory. 4. Go to the directory where VNC was saved, and unzip (Windows) or untar (Linux/UNIX) the installation file. Follow the setup instructions to install VNC (on Windows, run setup.exe). 8 AT&T Laboratories Cambridge 227

234 FootPrints Reference Manual To invite a Customer to download VNC: 1. Go to Options Remote Control on the FootPrints Toolbar. 2. Enter the user s address in field provided. 3. Enter any additional comments or instructions for the user in the comments box if desired. 4. Click GO. An will be sent to user with instructions on downloading VNC, along with your additional comments. Figure 96- Remote Control 228

235 Chapter 13 Real-time Issue Resolution Tools NOTE: These instructions are based on the VNC documentation supplied by the developer of VNC 1999 AT&T Laboratories Cambridge. For complete documentation on VNC, please refer to To use VNC: 1. The user whose machine (the host) is to be controlled should start VNC in Application mode. In Windows, choose Start Programs VNC Run WinVNC (App mode). 2. If this is the first time you ve used VNC, you will be prompted to create a password (which the remote viewer will need to connect). Leave the other settings as the default. 3. Click OK. A VNC icon should appear in the system tray. 4. The user who will be viewing the host machine (usually the technician) should run the VNC viewer. In Windows, choose Start Programs VNC Run VNCviewer. 5. You must specify the name or IP address of host machine. This must be followed by a colon and the display number. By default, this is usually 0 on a PC. So, to connect to the machine sparky, which is a PC, you would enter: sparky:0 6. Enter the host name and display number and click OK. 7. You will be prompted for a password you must enter the password set by the host machine s user and click OK. A window will now appear with the host machine s desktop. You can control the desktop as if you were sitting at that machine. To communicate with the user, the Instant Talk feature can be used in conjunction with remote control. Instructions for the UNIX viewer 1. X Windows users can run the VNC viewer by typing at the prompt: vncviewer sparky:0 2. The host desktop will appear in a separate window. NOTE: The default TCP/IP port number for VNC is If one or more firewalls stand between the server and viewer machine, this port must be open for the VNC session to take place. 229

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237 Part 4 Advanced Features Part 4 Advanced Features What you will find in this section Chapter 14 Management - notification, incoming management, queries, working with . Chapter 15 Asset Management Working with FootPrints Asset Management (powered by Centennial). Chapter 16 Software Change Management Working with AllChange Software Code Management system. Chapter 17 Advanced Live esupport Working with Control-F1 and FootPrints. Chapter 18 Database and Internals FootPrints internal files, database commands. 231

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239 Chapter 14 Management Chapter 14 Management FootPrints Manager controls notification, incoming submissions and updates, as well as queries. The notification feature includes extensive rules for when notification mail is sent to users regarding their Issues, what the s will contain, notification to agents and administrators regarding automatic escalation, etc. Outgoing notification requires an SMTP mail server that is accessible to the FootPrints server. The incoming feature allows users to send to FootPrints, which get turned into new Issues, allows users to update their Issues via , and supports queries. This feature requires at least one POP3 or IMAP account set up for the exclusive use of FootPrints. This chapter contains 3 sections: Configuring Outgoing Notification Configuring Incoming Using the Incoming Mail feature 233

240 FootPrints Reference Manual Outgoing Management FootPrints supports notification for internal (Agent and Admin) and external (Customer) users. Notification s are sent directly to your SMTP mail server (defined during FootPrints installation). To change your SMTP server name, go to Administration System Appearance System Preferences. The Project Administrator can control the contents of notification sent by FootPrints. Different "templates" can be configured for internal users, Customers and CCs. Outgoing mail is configured on a per-project basis. To configure for a project, go to Administration Project Options Mail Preferences. Contents of Mail Clicking GO in this section displays the notification grid for this project. The grid consists of 24 different options that can be included in notification (represented by the 24 rows), and 5 columns that indicate the type of user/situation where the option is to be enabled. The columns are: Field Name /Attribute: Lists the field types and options available to be included in notification . Assignee: Options checked in this column will be included in notification sent to internal users, including Agent users, Project and System Administrators. Customer: Options checked in this column will be included in notification sent to Customers. CC: Options checked in this column will be included in s sent to anyone specified in the CC box of an Issue. Wireless/Pager: Options checked in this column will be included in mail sent to pager/wireless addresses. 234

241 Chapter 14 Management Figure 97 - Configuring notification Any field or option checked in a particular column will be included in all notification sent to that level of user/situation. Some of the options include an EDIT button; this indicates that the feature has further options. 235

242 FootPrints Reference Manual The options available on this screen are: Project name in subject: The name of the project will appear in the subject of the notification . Short list of what just changed: A summary of what was changed in the Issue that caused the to be sent. Text at top of message: Customizable message that will appear near the top of the notification . A different message can be made for each type of user class by clicking the EDIT button in that column, entering the message in the text box, and clicking GO. The checkbox must also be checked in that column. In addition, variables can be placed in the greeting to include the subject of the , the user s name, etc. Please refer to the section below entitled Mail Variables. Project Name: The name of the project will appear in the body of the notification . Title: The title of the Issue will appear in the body of the notification . Number: The Issue number will appear in the body of the notification . Link to Details Page: A hyperlink to the details page of the Issue in FootPrints (requires password authentication). NOTE: If you are using a custom login page for Customers (i.e. group.html), that URL can be specified for Customers by clicking the EDIT button in the Customer column and entering the URL. This will not automatically bring the Customers to the details page of their Issue; after entering their address, they will be brought to the main Customer screen. Please contact UniPress for details on turning the custom Customer login page into a Perl script that will bring them directly to the details of their request when using the hyperlink. Last Edit Date: The last date the Issue was edited Last Edit Time: The last time the Issue was edited Priority: The priority of the Issue Status: The current status of the Issue Creation Date: The date on which the Issue was created Creation Time: The time at which the Issue was created Creator: The submitter of the Issue Description: The Issue's description, with time/date/user stamps. Two options are available by clicking the Edit button: Most Recent Description and All Descriptions. Assignees: The list of assignees Project Fields: Project field data (NOTE: Customers will only see Public Project and Address Book fields). Address Book Fields: Address Book data. List attached files: A list of files attached to the Issue will appear in the body of the . Attach attached files: Attached files will be sent with the notification . Rules regarding attachments can be set by clicking the EDIT button in the ALL column. They are: Never send any attachment over n kilobytes: where "n" is the maximum number of KB. Send each attached file on every edit: all attached files will be included with all notification for the Issue. Send each attached file only on the first time the file is attached: attached files will only be included with notification mail the first time they are attached to the Issue. Allow the user performing the edit to override these settings: Internal users can choose whether or not to include attachments upon editing an Issue. Complete Issue History: A summary of the Issue's history will appear in the body of the notification . Text at bottom of message: Customizable message that will appear at the end of the notification . A different message can be made for each type of mail by clicking the EDIT button in that column, entering the message in the text box, and clicking GO. The checkbox must also be checked in the column. In addition, variables can be placed in the greeting to include the subject of the , the user s name, etc. Please refer to the section below entitled Mail Variables. Send mail as text: Notification mail will be sent as plain text. Send mail as html: Notification mail will be sent in HTML format. 236

243 Chapter 14 Management NOTE: If both text and html are checked, FootPrints will include both formats in the message. For most Windows-type readers (Outlook, Eudora, etc.), only the HTML will appear. Custom formatting for text message: Create a custom template for FootPrints notification layout and custom formatting in plain text (see below). Custom formatting for HTML message: Create a custom template for FootPrints notification layout and custom formatting in HTML (see below). After filling out the grid, click the GO button. All notification will now include the options indicated for the various user/mail types. 237

244 FootPrints Reference Manual Custom Templates As an alternative to using the layout options above for notification, custom templates can be created using plain text or HTML. The template can contain any combination of FootPrints fields using special keywords, and any custom text, in any layout desired. Different templates can be created for each mail notification type: Assignee, Customer, CC and Wireless/Pager. If a custom template is enabled, it will override most of the other options selected in the Contents of Mail grid (exceptions are listed below). To create a custom template: 1. Select Administration Project Preferences Contents of Mail from the FootPrints toolbar. 2. Select the column for which you want to create a template: Assignee, Customer, CC or Wireless/Pager. 3. Check the box in that column for one of the 2 following options: Custom formatting for text message, or Custom formatting for HTML message. These can be found at the bottom of the grid. 4. For the option checked, click EDIT. 5. In the pop-up window, click the first GO button to see a list of keywords for this project. 6. Each field has a corresponding keyword, including built-in fields, project fields, and Address Book fields. These can be inserted in the template. When the is sent, the value for that field will be inserted into the mail for that field. 7. Use any text or HTML editor to create the template. a. For a text template: i. Only ASCII text can be used. Bold, colors, underline, etc. are not accepted. We recommend using Notepad on Windows, or an editor like emacs or Pico on UNIX/Linux to create the template. ii. Use your own text, formatted in any way supported in ASCII. iii. Keywords must be in the exact format to work correctly. b. For an HTML template: i. An HTML editor can be used (Dreamweaver, etc.), or a text editor can be used if you are comfortable writing HTML. ii. Use your own text, formatting, bold, underline, colors, hypertext links, etc. To include a field from FootPrints in the , simply insert the correct keyword. iii. Keywords must be in the exact format to work correctly. c. Example: To insert the Issue Number into a sentence: The reference number for your Issue is %%ATTRIB NUMBER%%. So, when an notification is sent for Issue Number 3486, the sentence above will display as follows: The reference number for your Issue is When you finished creating the template, save the file. 9. Back in the custom template pop-up window (step 5), use the Browse button to upload the new template from your local machine. 10. Click the GO button. 11. On the main Contents of Mail screen, click GO. Ensure that the box is checked for the template created and uploaded. 12. Now notification for the current project will be in the new format for the user type selected. A different custom template can be created for each type by following these instructions. 238

245 Chapter 14 Management Sample Template (Text) Hi %%FIRST-NAME%%! This is an notification regarding your Issue %%ATTRIB TITLE%%. The reference number for this Issue is %%ATTRIB NUMBER%%. Notes: %%ATTRIB DESCRIPTION%% Sample generated from the template above: When replying, type your text above this line. Hi Bob! This is an notification regarding your Issue Can t get . The reference number for this Issue is Notes: Entered on 1/16/2001 at 11:48:50 by Jill Smith: Customer cannot receive . A technician is scheduled to call Monday, January 2pm PST. NOTE: The message When replying, type your text above this line is inserted even though it in not part of the template. This message will be inserted automatically by FootPrints for all notifications of type Assignee, Customer and CC. Mail templates of type Wireless/Pager will not contain this sentence. Exceptions Enabling a custom template overrides most of the other settings selected in the Contents of Mail grid for that type. There are a few exceptions: Description: If the Description variable (%%ATTRIB DESCRIPTION%%) is included in the template, the selection of which descriptions to include will apply as selected in the Description row of the grid by clicking the Edit button. The options include All Descriptions and Most Recent Only. Link to Details Page: If a custom URL is defined for this option, and the variable is included in the template (%%ATTRIB ATTACHED_FILES%%), the custom URL will be included in the link. In addition, in HTML templates, the words Click here to view Issue in Browser will be included inserted as part of the link. In text , only the URL will be included. Project Fields: While individual project fields can be specified in a template, they can also be included a group with the variable %%ATTRIB PROJFIELDS%%. If this is used, the selection of project fields chosen under Edit Attribute will be included. Address Book Fields: While individual Address Book fields can be specified in a template, they can also be included a group with the variable %%ATTRIB ABFIELDS%%. If this is used, the selection of Address Book fields chosen under Edit Attribute will be included. Attach attached files: ASK JOE!!! Send mail as 6-17(TT Tc0.0able is included 4ablF)-3 A56 239

246 FootPrints Reference Manual Mail Variables If the custom template is not used, some variables can still be inserted into the canned message placed at the top or bottom of the notification, such as the user name, subject, etc. When one of these variables in placed in the greeting message composed under Text at top of message or Text at bottom of message, s sent by FootPrints will include the dynamic data specified. The table below contains the list of valid keywords: Variable Name Description _WHONAME_ Name of user who created/edited Issue _WHOMAIL_ of user who created/edited Issue _PROJECTNAME_ Project Name _ISSUETITLE_ Title of Issue Figure variables Here is a sample greeting which includes 2 variables: Hi _WHONAME_! Thank you for registering your request _ISSUETITLE_ with us using FootPrints. Your request is very important to us, and we will respond as soon as possible. To respond to this message, simply reply and type your message at the top. If you experience any problems using FootPrints, please send directly to [email protected]. In the example above, the user s name will be substituted for _WHONAME_, and the subject of the (i.e. the title of the Issue) will be substituted for _ISSUETITLE_. These variables will only work in the canned messages; they will not work for the custom templates described in the last topic. 240

247 Chapter 14 Management Incoming Mail Options By default, only the internal assignees (and the Customer contact) of an Issue can update an Issue via the incoming feature. If Anyone can edit any Issue is checked, then any user can update an Issue via for this project. For information on incoming , please refer to the section below on incoming . When to send Mail This section allows you to choose the criteria for notification to be sent. It is split into two sections: Assignees and Customers. Different rules for notification can be defined for each group. For example, you may want notification sent to the Agent assigned to an Issue for all statuses, but you may only want notification to go to the Customer who submitted the Issue when it is opened, and when it is closed. For each of the 2 categories, the options include: Never send mail: If this option is chosen, no notification will ever be sent. Always send mail for every creation/edit: will be sent to all assignees for each change to an Issue. Send mail only for Issues matching the following criteria: Priority: Mail will only be sent to the assignees/cc's when the Issue's priority falls into the range chosen here. Status: Mail will only be sent to the assignees/cc's when the Issue's status matches one of the statuses defined here. Multiple statuses can be selected (Windows users must hold down Ctrl key to highlight multiple statuses). NOTE: The notification rules selected here can be overridden for a particular Issue by the Agent assigned to that Issue (upon manual edit). These are simply defaults. In addition to the rules specified above, two other rules can be defined: Always Send Mail to - addresses entered here will receive notification for every change to every Issue in the current project i.e. any time any Issue is created or edited in any way. This is in addition to the criteria chosen above. Multiple addresses should be separated by a space. NOTE: The format used for this feature is that chosen for "Assignees" under "Contents of Mail". Request Creation - notification can be sent to one or more project members whenever a Customer submits a new Request. To enable this notification, choose "Send mail to the user(s) selected below" and highlight the user's name in the list. Hold down the Ctrl key to highlight multiple users (Windows only). NOTE: The format used for this feature is that chosen for "Assignees" under "Contents of Mail". Auto Assign Agent If enabled, an Agent responding to a new Customer Request via will be automatically assigned to that Request. This does not apply to Issues already assigned; it only applies to new Requests submitted by Customers via or via the Customer Self- Service web interface. Auto Assign Status The status of an Issue can be changed automatically when an Agent or Customer responds to an Issue via

248 FootPrints Reference Manual There are 2 options: Agent Response Select the status that Customer Requests should be changed to if an Agent responds via . This feature only applies if the above feature Auto Assign Agent is enabled. Customer Response Select the status that Issues should be changed to automatically when the Customer responds via incoming . After you are finished updating the Mail Preferences screen, you must enter your password and click GO to activate the changes. Default Address for Internal and External Users to internal and external users are handled differently: Internal Users - By default, the address entered when the Project or System Administrator created the user on the Add User screen will be used for notification for the user. In addition, internal (Agent and Administrator) users can create 2 additional addresses for pager and other wireless services. This is done in the My Preferences screen. Users can change their default address (or choose to have mail sent to more than one address) on that screen as well. Customers Outgoing to Customers on their own Requests is based on the address field in the Address Book. This field MUST exist for Customers to receive , and must be of type . Customers will receive updates regarding their Requests automatically based on the rules defined by the Project Administrator. Escalation Notification FootPrints Advanced Escalation feature also supports notification for escalated Issues. This is handled separately from regular notification. Please refer to the section on Escalation for more information. 242

249 Chapter 14 Management Incoming Management FootPrints Incoming Management can be configured to process incoming submissions. Users can also update their Issues via , as well as submit queries to the database. At least one POP3 or IMAP account must be created on your server for the exclusive use of FootPrints, and a batch file (Windows) or a.forward file (UNIX) must be made. This section described how to set up the incoming feature for Windows and UNIX. Incoming is configured for the entire system under Administration System Features on the FootPrints Toolbar. Some system-wide outgoing notification features are also found here. The following options are on this screen: Incoming Setup Enable/Disable notification Send Introduction/Help Default Reply Address for Outgoing Mail Default From Name for Outgoing Mail Default Domain Name for Outgoing Mail Default ' Sendmail command for Outgoing Mail (UNIX only) Define Pager/Wireless services Debug Incoming Mail Choose Error Notification Address Other miscellaneous system-wide features: Blocking Accounts Spam Catcher Customer Response flag Incoming mail size NOTE: You must have a FootPrints Customer license, AND have at least one Customer ID created to enable incoming for external users. Otherwise, FootPrints will delete the mail from the pop account, but won't enter it as a request. The mail will be lost. 243

250 FootPrints Reference Manual Incoming Mail Setup Incoming must be configured before users can submit Issues via , update Issues via , reply to Issues via , or submit queries to the database. At least one POP3 or IMAP account must be set up for the exclusive use of FootPrints. In addition, a FootPrints Customer license must be purchased and licensed, AND there must be AT LEAST one Customer ID created in the system to enable incoming for external users. Otherwise, FootPrints will delete the mail from the pop account, but won't enter it as a request. The mail will be lost. To configure , go to the Administration System Features screen. In the section entitled Incoming Mail Setup Feature, click GO. On this screen, one account can be configured for whole system, or individual accounts can be associated with each project. Figure 99 - configure incoming Incoming setup is different for Windows and UNIX. Instructions for each are found below. 244

251 Chapter 14 Management Configure Incoming for Windows NT/ Create a mail account on your mail server. This must be done on your mail server (and not from within FootPrints). For example, you could make a new mail account called support on your mail server. Then all mail sent to [email protected] will be automatically processed by FootPrints. 2. Ensure that you have created at least one Customer account (incoming mail from external users will not work without this). 3. Click the ADD button on the Incoming Setup screen. 4. Select the mail retrieval protocol IMAP (Internet Message Access Protocol) or POP (Post Office Protocol). 5. Enter the POP/IMAP mail server name for your organization, i.e. mail.myserver.com or Enter the account name i.e. support. 7. Enter the password for the account (must be entered twice). 8. Enter the default reply address for this account. We recommend entering the full address of the account specified above, i.e. [email protected] 9. Enter the From name for this account. This is the name that will in the from line of notifications i.e. FootPrints or Widget Support. 10. Select a project for this account. This is the default project for incoming for the account specified above. If this is the only account defined for incoming for FootPrints, then all will go into the project selected here (unless the project is defined in the subject in the form PROJ=n). 11. Enter your password and click GO. a. Additional accounts for other projects can be specified following the instructions above (steps 1-11). NOTE: Incoming and Outgoing are processed by the FootPrints Service. On Windows, FPService.exe is automatically set as a service on the FootPrints server. On UNIX, a cron job is automatically created which runs the file MRrunScheduledScripts.pl. This service handles incoming , outgoing notification, escalations, mass s, and scheduled reports. It replaces the manual scheduling necessary in previous versions. 245

252 FootPrints Reference Manual Configure Incoming for UNIX 1. Make a new Unix user account on your mail server. (You can use an existing user, but that user would never get again!). Since this account is for FootPrints incoming , the username should be chosen carefully, for instance support. 2. Ensure that you have created at least one Customer account (incoming mail from external users will not work without this). 3. Click the ADD button on the Incoming Setup screen. 4. Select the mail retrieval protocol IMAP (Internet Message Access Protocol) or POP (Post Office Protocol). IMAP is recommended for UNIX/Linux servers, as a.forward file must be created for a POP account. 5. Enter the IMAP/POP mail server name for your organization, i.e. mail.myserver.com or Enter the account name i.e. support. 7. Enter the default reply address for this account. We recommend entering the full address of the account specified above, i.e. [email protected] 8. Enter the From name for this account. This is the name that will in the from line of notifications i.e. FootPrints or Widget Support. 9. Select a project for this account. This is the default project for incoming for the account specified above. If this is the only account defined for incoming for FootPrints, then all will go into the project selected here (unless the project is defined in the subject in the form PROJ=n). 10. Enter your password and click GO. 11. For POP Accounts Only: A.forward account must be created in the home directory of the new account on your mail server machine. a. NOTE: The.forward file MUST be owned by the support user and it must be executable. b. If both the Mail Server and Web Server (where footprints runs) are on the same computer, the.forward file should contain: (cd /usr/local/footprints/cgi; perl MRincoming.pl - ) where /usr/local/footprints is the FootPrints home directory. c. If the machine which runs FootPrints (and your Web server) is different than the machine which handles incoming (your server), the.forward file (which must reside on the MAIL SERVER machine) should contain the following: rsh webby ( cd /usr/local/footprints/cgi ; perl MRincoming.pl - ) where webby is the machine which runs FootPrints and where /usr/local/footprints is the FootPrints home directory on webby. d. Your ~footprints/etc/mrprojects file must have permissions 644 (readable by everyone) sent to [email protected] will now be processed by FootPrints, and go into the project specified above. 13. Additional accounts for other projects can be specified following the instructions above. The project defined for the first account created will still be the default project for incoming to projects that do not have their own account. 14. When creating additional.forward files for these additional accounts (POP Accounts Only), the default project for that account can be specified in the.forward file using the project ID for that project (project ID numbers can be found in the project drop-down on the setup screen): (cd /usr/local/footprints/cgi; perl MRincoming.pl - project=5) NOTE: Incoming and Outgoing are processed by the FootPrints Service. On UNIX/Linux, a cron job is automatically created which runs the file MRrunScheduledScripts.pl. This service handles incoming , outgoing notification, escalations, mass s, and scheduled reports. It replaces the manual scheduling necessary in previous versions. 246

253 Chapter 14 Management Editing and Deleting Accounts Incoming accounts can be changed and deleted from the Incoming Setup screen. To change the properties of an account, simply click the Edit button for that account and change the values as desired. To delete an account, click the Delete button for that account. The account is deleted. For UNIX, the corresponding.forward file must also be deleted. For Windows, that batch need only be deleted if NO incoming accounts are defined. If at least one account is defined, that batch file should remain. Enable/Disable Notification This feature, if enabled, prevents any notification from being sent by FootPrints. This overrides any project settings or user preferences that may be set. This option is useful if you can't connect to a mail server. In the case where there is server available, disabling notification will prevent FootPrints from hanging when an Issue is created as it tries to connect to the server. Send Introduction/Help Users will receive an introduction the first time a notification is sent to their address if this option is selected. The mail explains how to submit requests, update existing Issues, and submit queries to the system via . This should only be enabled if incoming mail is enabled. Default Reply Address This is the address that will appear in the From and Reply to fields of all outgoing notification sent by FootPrints. Any direct replies to FootPrints notification will go this address. Individual replay addresses can also be specified for individual projects. See the section above on Incoming Mail Setup. If the designated incoming address for FootPrints is entered here, all replies to FootPrints notification mail will get threaded to the Issue number found in the Subject line (please refer to the section on Submissions for more information about using incoming ). To configure this feature, enter the full account, i.e. [email protected], and click GO. Default From Name Specify a name here for mail sent by FootPrints. This is the name users will see in the From field of notification. By default, this is FootPrints. In can be changed, for example to your company name, or department name. Different From names can be defined for individual projects. See the section above on Incoming Mail Setup. Default Domain Name Specify a domain here for mail sent by FootPrints. This is the domain that will be added on to addresses where the user has no domain specified. For example, if Customers are configured to only enter their ID names (i.e. jsmith ), and your organization s domain enter widget.com here and FootPrints will append that domain when sending an to a user i.e. [email protected] 247

254 FootPrints Reference Manual Default Sendmail Command (UNIX/Linux only) Specify a sendmail command here for mail sent by FootPrints (UNIX and Linux only). This is the sendmail command Footprints will use if you do not use the Unix or Linux sendmail program to send s. Special note for FreeBSD users: Do not specify a sendmail command if you use agent /usr/lib/sendmail or /usr/sbin/sendmail Pager/Wireless Services This feature allows you to define certain domains that should receive shortened notification. Enter the domains that FootPrints should recognize for sending mail to wireless devices. Any notification that goes to these domains will follow the format defined on the Preferences page (in Project Administration) for Pager/Wireless. Simply enter a spaceseparated list of domains i.e. palm.net skytel.net motorola.com Debug Incoming Mail This option will turns on incoming debugging, allowing UniPress support to assist you in finding configuration or other incoming problems. Choose Error Notification Address When an incoming mail processing error occurs, an error message is sent to the submitter of the . In addition, an is sent to a System Administrator, and the text of the original submitted is saved to a file on the server. In this section, choose which Administrator should receive these s. If "Ignore Errors" is selected, an error message is still sent to the submitter, but no error message is sent to a System Administrator and the mail is not saved. 248

255 Chapter 14 Management Blocking Accounts The files no_accept.txt and no_send.txt can be used to prevent FootPrints from sending and receiving mail for specified accounts. For example, these files can be used to prevent FootPrints from sending mail to or receiving mail from a Mailer Daemon account. An account can also be placed in these files temporarily when a user goes on vacation. The following rules should be followed in these files: One address per line, with nothing else on that line. Lines containing a # and empty lines are ignored. Spaces are ignored. Incomplete addresses can be used, for example ".myserver.com". FootPrints will check if the address contains partial address or domain name specified. The files must be named no_accept.txt and no_send.txt, and can be placed in the <footprints_root>/footprints/etc directory and/or the specific project s directory, i.e. <footprints_root>/footprints/db/masterx/mr, where x is the project ID. The file in the etc directory will be used system-wide. The file in a project's directory applies to that project only. If no_accept.txt or no_send.txt exists in both places, all addresses from both files will be denied. 249

256 FootPrints Reference Manual 1. No_accept This file contains a list of addresses or partial addresses from which FootPrints will never accept incoming mail. Examples: Don't accept mail from any address in a domain: yourserver.com Don't accept mail from a particular address: [email protected] Don't accept from any address with mailer in it: mailer 2. no_send.txt This file contains a list of addresses or partial addresses to which FootPrints will never send mail. Examples: Don't send mail to any address in a domain: yourserver.com Don't send mail to a particular address: [email protected] Don't send to any address with 'mailer' in it: Mailer 250

257 Chapter 14 Management Spam Catcher FootPrints Incoming Manager checks for messages that may be a result of Spam mail, or an loop between FootPrints notification and an automated daemon. If an account is found to be spamming FootPrints, that account is placed in both the no_send and no_accept files for the system, preventing a barrage of unwanted Requests. The default criteria for the Spam Catcher are: Number of s to check against 20 Number of matches necessary to be considered Spam 5 Number of characters to check against 50 So, if 5 out of the last 20 incoming submissions to FootPrints are from the same account, with the same content in the first 50 characters, that account will be blocked from FootPrints. If you would like to stop blocking the account, you must remove it from the no_send and no_accept files (see above). Customer Append Flag When a high volume of FootPrints notification is being sent, it may be desirable to flag notifications that are generated by a Customer responding to an . This can be accomplished with the following change: 1. Edit the file C:\FootPrints\cgi\MRlocalDefs (using WordPad). 2. Add the following line to the file: $CUSTOMER_PREPEND_ _SUBJECT = 'Customer Response:'; 3. Save the file, making sure not to save it with any txt extension. Now all notifications received by Agents and Administrators that are the result of a Customer response will have the words Customer Response in the subject of the mail. Size limits for incoming The size of incoming , and attachments, can be limited. This limit can be kept low to handle possible loops that may occur when an assignee s vacation message is enabled. The default limit, if not set, will be 200K. To set limits for incoming 1. Go to System Admin System Options. 2. To change the size limit for s (not including attachments), enter a new value in Maximum Incoming Body Size (in bytes). 3. To change the size limit of attachments (both for incoming and via the web interface), enter a new value in Maximum Attachment Size (in bytes). 4. To change the size limit for the entire file Attachment directory (for the entire system), enter a new value in Maximum Attachment Directory Size (in bytes). 5. After changing the values, click the GO button. 251

258 FootPrints Reference Manual Using Incoming FootPrints incoming feature allows users to submit and receive information to and from the database without logging into FootPrints. Refer to the section above on Incoming Manager Configuration for information on setting up the incoming feature. FootPrints supports 6 different kinds of submissions: Project Queries New Requests from Customers New Issues from internal (Agent/Administrator) users Appending Description of existing Issue by any assigned user Update other fields of an existing Issue by internal users HTML form Check with the System or Project Administrator to find out the account designated for incoming submissions to FootPrints for your project. What follows is an explanation of the different functions supported. Project Queries To receive information from FootPrints via , several queries are available. Simply send an to the incoming account for the particular project with one of the queries below in the subject line. General queries Help Returns this general help message. Listprojects Returns a list of project names and corresponding project numbers of all the projects to which you belong. Queries to database The following queries will return data for the default project for incoming as defined by the System Administrator. If different accounts are defined for each project, a query sent to a particular project s account would return information based from that project. To return data for a different project (to which you are assigned), the line Project=n" must be in the body of the , where n is the project number. It can alternatively be included in the SUBJECT of the in the form PROJ=n. The project number can be retrieved with the listprojects query. All searches are case-insensitive. getmine Returns a list of your assignments. Getschema - Returns the project field schema of a project. This describes the project fields specific to the project. SearchFAQ keyword - Returns solutions based on a keyword found in the title or description. i.e. SearchFAQ printer getticket number Displays the entire details of an existing Issue based on the Issue number (You must be assigned to the Issue). I.e. getticket 235 getdata keyword - Returns database Issues based on a keyword found in the title or description (Internal users only. External users will receive solutions based on the keyword). i.e. getdata Exchange HTML form returns an HTML form with all fields for Issue submission for a project, i.e. HTML form, or HTML form PROJ=5 252

259 Chapter 14 Management Requests from Customers Using the incoming feature, Customers can submit Requests without logging in to FootPrints. A Customer can simply send an to a FootPrints account, and it will be processed just as if it had been submitted via the web. Information can be included in the subject and body of a regular , or a form can be requested (see below). Here is the field breakdown: Subject the subject of the becomes the Title. Body the body of the becomes the Description. Project fields Customers are only required to include project field information for fields that have the permission status of public mandatory. If someone s FootPrints without this information, he/she receives an error notification , with instructions on getting project field information. address The user s address becomes the default submitter. Customers who submit a Request via are also automatically linked to their Address Book contact information based on the submitter's address. FootPrints will make the link, and will place the Address Book data into the Issue. Auto assignment - FootPrints auto assignment feature allows you to define users to be automatically assigned to Issues based on a custom choice field. New Issue and request submissions via can be auto assigned automatically by including the choice field data in the body of the submission, in the form FieldName=data, where "FieldName" is the name of the choice field and "data" is the field data. The user(s) associated with the choice indicated will automatically be assigned to the Issue, and will receive notification . For information on configuring auto assignment, please refer to the Project Administration topic on Auto Assign. The default priority is automatically given to all new submissions. See the section on default priority under Project Administration for more information. addresses copied (CC) on an incoming submission to FootPrints are automatically added to the permanent CC list for that Issue. The Agent or Administrators who takes the Issue can remove the CC s if desired. To submit project or Address Book field information: 1. In the body of the , include a line for each project field to be submitted. 2. The project field data must be in the form: fieldname=data 3. For example, if the name of the field is problem type, and the data is software, then the line should be: problem type=software NOTE: By default, FootPrints assumes that the data is contained on one line only. For multi-line data, a single backslash \ must be added to the end of each line. 4. By default, the request is entered into the default project for incoming , or to the project defined for that particular account. To submit a request to a different project, the following line must be included in the body of the PROJECT=n Where n is the project number. You can learn the project s number by submitting the listprojects query. Incoming requests are error checked by FootPrints. Data that is incorrectly formatted is not lost, but rather it is added on to the description. For example, if the name of a project field is misspelled, that line is placed in the description of the request. FootPrints also checks for invalid data. For example, if text is submitted for an integer type field, FootPrints does not create the request, and replies to the user with an error message

260 FootPrints Reference Manual Once a Request has been submitted successfully via , it works the same as a Request submitted via the FootPrints interface. Agents can take the Request and turn it into an Issue, or the Project Administrator can assign it to one or more Agents. NOTE: When appending to an existing Issue, FootPrints incoming feature only takes the latest information from a reply (eliminating duplication in the description). The message: When replying, type your text above this line appears in every FootPrints notification . Users must enter their reply ABOVE this line. FootPrints will not append anything below the line to an Issue. Issues from Agent/Admin Users When Agent and Admin users send to the designated FootPrints account, the becomes an Issue. FootPrints detects that the user is an Agent/Admin user by his/her address, and automatically assigns that user to the Issue. Submissions by Agent/Admin users are formatted the same way as incoming from Customers. Please refer to the above section Requests from Customers for more information on the formatting of s. Alternate Submitter It may sometimes be desirable for an Agent or Administrator to submit an Issue for another user via . This can be accomplished by including an extra line in the body of the [email protected] If this line is included in an incoming submission, the address [email protected] will become the submitter of the Issue, regardless of the true sender. Appending Description Customer, Agent, and Administrator users can append a new description to any existing Issue to which they are assigned. The formatting of the is as follows: Subject the subject of the must include the phrase: ENTRY=n where n is the Issue number. Anything else in the Subject ignored. Body the body of the becomes the new description. 254

261 Chapter 14 Management If the user is not assigned to the Issue, he/she receives an error notification , and the description is not appended. Responding to FootPrints Notification To respond to a FootPrints notification, the user must simply reply and type the response at the top. FootPrints will automatically thread incoming appends to the correct Issue in the correct project. The project ID number and Issue number are included in the subject of all FootPrints notification . A user only needs to reply to the mail, leaving the subject intact (and including new information at the top of the ), and the reply is automatically threaded to the correct Issue in the correct project. In this way, an Agent and Customer can have an conversation that is seamlessly tracked by FootPrints. 255

262 FootPrints Reference Manual HTML FORM An HTML form containing the appropriate fields for a particular project and the user s permission level can be obtained by sending an to the incoming account for that project with the subject: HTML form. This allows any user with access to a project to submit an Issue without logging into FootPrints, from any package that supports HTML, including Microsoft Outlook Eudora, Netscape Mail, Yahoo Mail, etc. An HTML form is automatically generated by FootPrints with the correct fields for each project. There is no need for the Administrator to create these forms. A different form is sent to internal and Customer users (identified by their address). Figure 100- Sample HTML form 256

263 Chapter 14 Management To obtain a form for a different project (you must belong to the project), simply send the HTML form request to the account for that project i.e. [email protected], or [email protected], etc. If there is only one account for the whole system, you can include the project ID in the subject of the request i.e. HTML form PROJ=5. To use the form, simply fill out the fields and click the SUBMIT button. Only click the SUBMIT button once, or you will submit the Issue twice! NOTE: Any field dependencies enabled for the project will not appear in the form. All projects fields will be displayed. 257

264 FootPrints Reference Manual Updating Fields In addition to updating the description of an Issue, Agent and Administrator users can update field data via . The following field updates are supported: Update priority Must be in the form Priority=n (included in the body of the ), where "n" is the new priority. Update status Must be in the form Status=x (included in the body of the ), where "x" is the new status. Update projects fields Must be in the form FieldName=data (included in the body of the ), where "FieldName" is the name of the field and "data" is the field data. Address Book fields can be submitted via Address Book field data can be included in submissions in the form FieldName=data (included in the body of the ), where "FieldName" is the name of the Address Book field and "data" is the field data. 258

265 Chapter 15 Asset Management Chapter 15 Asset Management With FootPrints Asset Management powered by Centennial Discovery technology, you can track all of the hardware and software assets on your corporate network and know where they are located. FootPrints Asset Management allows Agents to dynamically identify which PC assets (including hardware and software) are on the corporate network, where they are, how they are configured and whenever changes are made to them. Routers and other network elements are also identified. And asset data is fully integrated with FootPrints Issue Management. The Agent can get an automatic snapshot of the user's PC configuration, including platform, hardware and software information, and save the information in as part of the Issue record. For complete information on Asset Management as a stand-alone product, please refer to the Centennial Discovery documentation. What follows are instructions on setting up and using Asset Management with FootPrints Issue Management. NOTE: This is an optional add-on to FootPrints, and must be licensed. A demo of Asset Management powered by Centennial Discovery is available on the FootPrints CD, or can be downloaded from the UniPress Software website at Integration Features Asset Management functions can be accessed from three places in FootPrints: FootPrints Toolbar Create and Edit Issue screens Contact Details screen in the Address Book FootPrints Toolbar Link The button on the toolbar opens up a new browser window containing the Centennial Discovery web interface. You can search for and report on corporate assets in this window. 259

266 FootPrints Reference Manual Figure Asset Management Create and Edit Issue screens On the Create and Edit screens (when Asset Management is enabled), there is an Asset data field, with a corresponding "Select Asset" button above it. Clicking on this button will open up a new browser window with your Asset Management data. This window is just like the one that opens from the Toolbar, with some extra functionality. You can search for the asset that you're interested in, and once you've found it, click the "Grab currently displayed Asset" link to import the data into the FootPrints Issue you're working on. If the Project Administrator has configured key field mapping between Asset Management and FootPrints, the Asset displayed will automatically be the one linked to the Contact for that Issue. 260

267 Chapter 15 Asset Management Address Book Contact Details When Asset Management is enabled, and the key field mapping in configured with an Address Book field, assets for a particular Contact can be displayed from the Contact Details page in the Address Book. This link opens up an Assets Management window and does a search on that Contact's key field data. System Administration Setup To use Centennial Discovery with FootPrints, it must be configured by the System Administrator. This is done under Administration System Features Asset Management. This screen contains the following settings: Enable Asset Management - This setting enables or disables Asset Management for the system. (If enabled, Asset Management can still be disabled in individual projects.) Server Location - Enter the URL of your Centennial Discovery web reports interface. For example: If FootPrints and Centennial Discovery are on two different servers, and a proxy server is required to connect from the server FootPrints is on to the Centennial Discovery web interface, enter the full URL of the proxy server. For example: Changing logo graphic - If you've changed the FootPrints logo graphic you may want the Centennial Discovery graphic to match. To change the logo graphic that appears the Asset Management window, simply replace the file centop.gif in the WWW\reports\images subdirectory of the directory where you installed Centennial Discovery. You must configure the first 2 options in order to enable Asset Management for the system (the logo is optional). After that, Asset Management must be enabled and set it up in each project. Project Administration Setup In addition to the System setup, Asset Management must be configured on a project-by-project basis. In this way, you can control which projects use Asset data (i.e. you may want it in the Help Desk project, but disabled in the Development project), and which Project or Address Book field to use as a reference to the asset database. Asset Management is configured for a project under Administration Project Options Asset Management. If Asset Management is not listed as an option, then it has not been configured correctly by the System Administrator. Please refer to the section above on System Administration setup. The options are: Enable Asset Management This setting enables or disables Asset Management for the project. It is disabled by default for new projects. Assets Field Asset data is displayed as a multi-line project field (permissions: internal optional) in the Create/Edit Issue screens. Specify the field name. You can enter the name of a new field to create or select from the list of existing multiline project fields. Excluded Asset Data (optional) Each asset description can contain a large amount of data. If you're only interested in part of it, you may wish to exclude the rest. For example, if you only want to see hardware, you can exclude all of the software data. Enter the names of the fields to exclude in the box provided. All sub-fields of an excluded field will also be excluded. This exclusion only applies to the data when it is imported by the 'Select Asset' link; all fields will still be visible in the Discovery window. For a complete list of fields, please refer to the Centennial Discovery documentation. 261

268 FootPrints Reference Manual Choose Key Field (optional) Assets can be selected from the Create and Edit Issue screens by Agent and Administrator users. If a key field is defined here, the Select Asset button, when clicked, will automatically display search results based on the data for the key field in the current Issue. For example, if the FootPrints Address Book contains a User ID field, and that field is mapped here to the Centennial Discovery sysusername field, the asset data for the customer contact in the current Issue should automatically display when the Select Asset button is clicked. Define the key field by selecting a FootPrints field from the list, and then select the corresponding Centennial Discovery field. The data in both fields must match. If you don't have matching fields that contain the same data and you would like to use this feature, you can either create a new FootPrints field or create a custom Centennial Discovery Field. For help on creating a custom Centennial Discovery field, open up the Discovery Control Center Help and search for "userinp.dat". If no key field is defined, clicking the Select Asset button will display window with all assets for the network listed. From there you can browse or search for the correct asset. To enable Asset Management for a project, you must configure the first 2 options above. The Excluded Asset Data and Choose Key Field sections are optional. Figure Configure Asset Management 262

269 Chapter 16 Software Change Management Chapter 16 Software Change Management FootPrints Software Change Management, powered by AllChange technology, is a complete Microsoft Windows NT /PC-based change management tool for the development staff that is fully integrated with FootPrints Issue Management. It manages multiple versions of source code, controls the building of executables according to the development team rules and keeps logs of all actions and changes made. The integration means that Agents can automatically route Issues (such as confirmed bugs) to the Development Team within the Source Code Management module. When the Development Team updates the code, the Agent is automatically notified from within FootPrints. All Change is an add-on module; it must be purchased to enable the integration with FootPrints. It is not necessary to purchase this add-on for Development teams to benefit from FootPrints Issue Management. A FootPrints project can be completely customized to track bugs, defects, and feature requests. FootPrints Software Change Management is rather a complete code management system that can supplement FootPrints for development teams. Installation and Setup This section explains how to install and setup AllChange to be integrated with a FootPrints project. Complete installation and usage documentation is included with AllChange. 1. Run the AllChange setup.exe. 2. Select full install. 3. Enter IUSR_MACHINENAME (all caps) as the user variable, where MACHINENAME is the name of the machine where AllChange is being installed. 4. After installation is complete, select Start Programs Intasoft AllChange 2000 SE AllChange Configuration. The AllChange Configuration Editor is displayed. 5. Select File New Project a. Fill in the desired information. b. Close the window. 6. Select File Open Project a. Select the project that you just created. 7. Select Access User Registration a. Create two users: i. IUSR_MACHINENAME, set that user to Administrator. ii. A user with the ID of the FootPrints System Administrator; also set to Administrator. b. Close the window. 8. Select Access Role Definitions a. Make sure "CRmanager" is selected. b. Click ADD and add both of the users just created. c. The small table will get populated with those users information. d. Close the window. 9. Log into FootPrints as the System Administrator and go to Administration System Projects. 10. Create a new project of type FootPrints/AllChange Integration. 11. Enter the project name, desired Address Book, assignment options, and Product field information. 12. If this is your first time creating a FootPrints/AllChange integrated project, enter the home directory of AllChange in the box provided (default is C:\ACSYS). 13. Enter the already existing AllChange project directory (created in step 5). i.e. C:\ACSYS\Default 14. Also be sure to note the newly created Project number. 15. Re-run the AllChange setup file under C:\ACSYS\SETUP on the Server machine ONLY. 16. Select the Server Only radio button. 17. Enter the home directory of AllChange (default C:\ACSYS\SETUP). 263

270 FootPrints Reference Manual 18. Hit Continue and AllChange will ask for a port number, hit Continue again (AllChange has a default port setting). 19. Enter AllChange Inetd into both text boxes. 20. AllChange then creates a service called AllChange Inetd. 21. Next you must check which NT user has "Log On As a Service" rights. To do so click on Start Programs Administrative Tools (Common) User Manager for Domains. 22. Select Policies User Rights. a. Check off the Show Advanced User Rights b. Find "Log on as a service" in the combo box and there should be a user listed (default Administrator). c. If no user is listed, add one there. d. Close the window. 23. Select Start Settings Control Panel a. Open up the services section. 24. Select the service AllChange Inetd and click on startup a. Select the "Automatic" radio button for the startup type. b. Select "This Account" for the log on as type. c. Enter the user ID of who has "Log on as a service" rights and their password into the designated text boxes. d. Click OK. e. While that service is still selected, click the Start button and wait for the prompt to disappear. f. Check the table that is displayed and the status should be "Started". g. Startup should now be labeled "Automatic." h. Close the window. 25. Re-open the AllChange Configuration Editor. 26. Select File Available Projects a. Fill in the Server Name textbox (LOCALHOST). b. Then enter the AllChange project directory in the Server DB Dir c. Close the window. 27. Select Plan Configuration Options Other tab. a. Select FPProject. b. Click Edit and change Value to MASTERXX, where XX is the project number of the Integrated AllChange/FootPrints project (DON T CHANGE ANYTHING ELSE HERE). c. Also be sure that the FPCMI is the same as where FootPrints is installed (default is C:\FootPrints) d. Close the window. 28. Select Plan Function files. a. Select footfun.ac and click the enabled check box at the bottom of the window b. Close the window 29. SelectPlan Configuration Options VC tab a. Check the VC Client Server box b. Close the window AllChange and FootPrints are completely configured to work with one another. Using FootPrints Software Change Management In order to get FootPrints to communicate with AllChange, an Issue must be created in the FootPrints/AllChange integrated project whose status is set to Require Change. When that is done, a new Issue in created in AllChange with the same project fields that were set in FootPrints. Whenever either of the Issues are edited, the change is recorded in both systems. NOTE: Status options can now only be changed in AllChange and is set in a Read-Only mode in FootPrints. 264

271 Chapter 17 Advanced Live esupport Chapter 17 Advanced Live esupport FootPrints Advanced Live esupport, powered by Control F-1 technology, gives you an extensive set of remote control, remote diagnostic, chat, system management and desktop sharing tools, which provide live technical support through a web browser. Agents and Technicians can deliver fast, immediate solutions to Customers by running remote diagnostics on the machine and quickly resolving problems. Optionally, session information can be automatically recorded in a FootPrints Issue. NOTE: This is an optional add-on to FootPrints, and must be licensed. Configuring Advanced Live esupport The option to use Control-F1 with FootPrints must first be enabled for the system. Please check the C:\FootPrints\cgi\MRlocalDefs file (using WordPad) to make sure the following line exists: $CF1=1; Advanced Live esupport can then be enabled on a project-by-project basis. To enable it for the current project: 1. From the FootPrints Toolbar, Select Administration Project Options Edit Options Advanced Live esupport. 2. The Use Control-F1 checkbox must be checked 3. Client URL, Agent URL and Division Name should be filled in with the information supplied upon purchasing Control-F1. This must be done in each project for which Control-F1 will be used. 4. Enter your password and select the GO button at the bottom of the screen. 5. This will enable Control-F1 for this project. To turn off Control-F1, go back to the same screen and uncheck the Use Control-F1 checkbox. NOTE: Enabling Advanced Live esupport for a project will replace (and disable) FootPrints Instant Talk and Remote Control features for that project. In addition to the above option, which will enable Control-F1 on the FootPrints Toolbar, the Control-F1 Session Monitor must be running to allow Control-F1 to communicate with FootPrints fully. To configure the Session Monitor: 1. Install the Session Monitor (obtained upon purchase of Control-F1). This is normally installed to the C:\Program Files\Control-F1\Session Monitor directory. 2. In that directory there should be a subdirectory named Bridges. If it does not exist, create it. 3. In the Bridges subdirectory, the cffootprints.dll must be placed (obtained upon purchase of Control-F1). 4. Once set up, Session Monitor must be run. 5. To set up the Session Monitor, fill in the Call Router Address, the Call Router Port, and the Division ID with the information supplied upon purchasing Control-F1. 6. You should have as an available bridge the CF1 Footprints Bridge. Press Setup Bridge Settings and fill in your SMTP server Host Name and the address to which you want FootPrints messages to be sent (this address should have been configured within FootPrints using Administration System Features from the toolbar and selecting Incoming Setup Features. 7. Press OK and then Connect to connect to the server. 8. You may wish to configure Session Monitor to Connect on Startup and then place Session Monitor in your Startup directory so that it restarts upon any reboot of the server. 265

272 FootPrints Reference Manual Using Control-F1 with FootPrints In projects that have Control-F1 enabled, Administrators and Agents may select Communication esupport Queue from the FootPrints Toolbar and log in to Control-F1 to receive live inquiries from Customers. Customers in FootPrints will have an option in the Toolbar to Request Live Support. Administrators and Agents also have the request option. If properly configured, after a session between an Agent and a Customer, an will be sent to FootPrints, which automatically generates a new Issue with all Control-F1 session information. Please see the Control-F1 documentation for complete information on using Control-F1. 266

273 Chapter 18 Database and Internals Chapter 18 Database and Internals This chapter covers the internal files and internal database commands used by FootPrints. Most of the chapter is devoted to using the database commands. Footprints Internal Files FootPrints uses several files to keep track of local definitions: NOTE: <FootPrints_root> refers to the place FootPrints is installed. For example, if FootPrints were installed to C:\FootPrints, the <FootPrints_root> would be C:\FootPrints. <FootPrints_root>/cgi/MRlocalDefs: This contains local definitions created during installation. If FootPrints fails after installation, please this file to <FootPrints_root>/etc/MRpasswd: This file contains the list of FootPrints users, their encoded passwords, and other user options. <FootPrints_root>/etc/MRprojects: This file contains one line per active FootPrints project. <FootPrints_root>/etc/MRusers: This directory contains one file per user, containing the user s project preferences. Footprints Database Internal Commands FootPrints uses a number of simple commands to access its database. In order to run any of the commands on a standalone basis, two environment variables, CMI and CMMASTER, must be set and the FootPrints commands must be added to your path. Before running any Address Book commands, the ABMASTER environment variable must also be set. NOTE: <footprints_root> refers to the root directory of your FootPrints system. For example, if FootPrints were installed to C:\FootPrints, the <FootPrints_root> would be C:\FootPrints. If you have many projects, there are many subdirectories in your db directory. You need to find which directory is associated with the database you wish to access from the command line. This is done by looking at the file <FootPrints_root>/etc/MRprojects. Each line in this file corresponds to one project. Find the line that has the name of the project you want. The line has a path in the second field that looks like <footprints_root>/db/masterx, where the x is the project number. This is the path that goes into the CMMASTER variable. For Unix Users: From a "csh" prompt, type the following: % setenv CMI <footprints_root> % setenv CMMASTER < footprints _root>/db/masterx % setenv ABMASTER <footprints_root>/db/abmasterx % set path = ($CMI/bin $path) 267

274 FootPrints Reference Manual For NT Users: 1. <FootPrints_root>\bin must first be added to your path. This is done through the "system" control panel in the Control Panel folder under "My Computer". Select the "environment" screen, and then select the path variable. Add <FootPrints_root>\bin to the path by adding this string to the end of the existing string in the "value" box. 2. Then type the following from a DOS prompt: C:\> set CMI=<FootPrints_root> C:\> set CMMASTER=<FootPrints_root>\db\MASTERx C:\> set ABMASTER=<footprints_root>\db\ABMASTERx You can now run FootPrints database commands from this DOS prompt. NOTE: While the capitalization in the above lines doesn t matter, spacing is important. Make sure that there are no spaces on either side of the =. Here is a list of the internal database commands of FootPrints, with short descriptions of their functions. Each is discussed in more detail below, with syntax and examples. mrabchange: Change the field of an Address Book Contact mrabimport: Import a group of new records into the Address Book mrablist: List contacts in the Address Book based on search criteria mrabregister: Create a single new contact mrappend: Append a new description to an Issue mrassign: Assign users to an Issue mrchange: Change the title, user field data or most recent description data mrdetails: View the details of an Issue mrlist: List Issues based on search criteria mrmail: send mail to a list of users about a specific Issue in the database mrnewpri: Change the priority of an Issue mrnewstate/mrnewstates: Change the status of an Issue/multiple Issues mrrebuild: Rebuild a FootPrints database mrreference: Create a link between Issues mrregister: Create a new Issue in the database mrscan: Scan the database for errors mrshow: Show various fields for a given Issue mrunassign: De-assign users from an Issue mrabchange -- Change the Field of an Address Book contact Syntax: mrabchange <Issue number> line 1 of new data. line 2 of new data. etc 268

275 Chapter 18 Database and Internals For each field in the Address Book, a line (or lines) of new data is optional, followed by a mandatory '.' on a line of its own. Any lines, which have new data, will replace the corresponding field in the Issue. The project fields in the Address Book can be found in $ABMASTER/MR/Schema. Example: mrabchange 1 new name... new phone. In this case, the first field will be replaced by the words 'new name', and the fourth field will be replaced with 'new phone'. mrabimport - import a group of new records Syntax: mrabimport <database> <importfile> <user> mrabimport will import a group of new records into <database> from a file called <importfile> and the user assigned to each new record (who can then change the records from Footprints) is <user> Each record must match the format for mrabregister (see below) but must also have a single line _EOF_ at the end of each group. Example: mrabimport /usr/local/footprints/db/abmaster2 /tmp/imp msk This will import the data, according to mrabregister format into ABMASTER2 from /tmp/imp, and make each record owned by 'msk'. Each new record must end with _EOF_. mrablist -- list contacts Syntax: mrablist <query> (see mrlist for query syntax) mrablist <Issue #> mrablist <letter> mrablist mrablist is used to list groups of Address Book data. mrablist with no arguments will list all Address Book contacts. mrablist with a query will list those items, which match the criteria mrablist with a letter will list all items whose first field starts with that letter. Example: mrablist mrablist 1 mrablist where FirstName contains Mark mrablist k mrabregister - create a single new contact Syntax: 269

276 FootPrints Reference Manual mrabregister field1. field2. etc mrabregister will create a single new contact. Each field defined in the Schema for this ABMASTER needs to have a line or set of lines, followed by a line with a single '.' on it. Fields with no input data may have a '.' only. Example: mrabregister Mark. Kaye. [email protected]. mrappend append a new description to an Issue Syntax: mrappend <Issue number> line 1 of description data line 2 of description data. Example: mrappend 32 This is new text for Issue 32.. The description must be followed by a period on a new line. See also: mrchange mrassign assign one or more users to an Issue Syntax: mrassign <Issue number> <username> [<username>... ] Example: mrassign 32 msk This assigns the user msk to Issue 32 See also: mrunassign 270

277 Chapter 18 Database and Internals mrchange replace the description, title and/or user field data for an Issue Syntax: mrchange <MR number> "<title>" line 1 of description data line 2 of description data. data for user field 1. data for user field 2. Use the mrchange command to change the description, title, and/or user field data of an Issue. The title supplied on the command line replaces the old title. The description field and user fields are read from stdin. Separate each field by a line containing only "." (But do not enter a "." between the title and description). You must know the order of the user fields: you are not prompted for each field by name. You can get the order of the fields from the file <Footprints_root>/db/MASTERx/MR/Schema, where x is the number of the project. If you enter no text into the description and user fields, the previous data remains. If you leave the title blank, however, a blank title is entered. To leave the title unchanged, simply enter the old title again. See also: mrappend, mrregister mrdetails view the details for a single Issue Syntax: mrdetails <MR number> The mrdetails command shows the complete details for an Issue, including all built-in fields plus user-defined fields. Lastdate and Lasttime are the date and time of the last edit. Example: % mrdetails 160 returns: Issue Pri Date Time By Status Lastdate Lasttime /06/96 17:27:31 temkin Closed 12/19/96 20:40:02 Summary: Bug in Date Fields Number of Issues in this report: 1 DESCRIPTION: This is fixed in CURRENT LIST OF ASSIGNEES: joec temkin 271

278 FootPrints Reference Manual Customer Due Date: 12/30 FootPrints Version: HISTORY: Date User State Remarks 12/06/96 17:27:31 temkin Open Bug in Date Fields 12/06/96 17:27:31 temkin Open New assignees: temkin msk 12/19/96 20:37:20 temkin Open Append description 12/19/96 20:40:02 temkin Closed New state entered See also: mrlist mrlist list Issues based on search criteria Syntax: For unix: mrlist '<query>' For NT: mrlist "<query>" mrlist with no query following it returns a list of every Issue in the database. A FootPrints query consists of two parts, either or both of which may be omitted. The first part is a range specification, and the second is a logical expression. Each part serves to constrain the set of Issues to be reported on. Range specification A range specification is either a single number or a pair of integers separated by "-" or "to." It is okay to specify an ending number greater than the highest Issue number. The highest existing Issue number will be used. Here are some examples: Command Action mrlist 46 to 53 returns Issues 46 to 53 mrlist 5 returns Issue 5 mrlist returns Issues 23 to 93 mrlist 47 to returns Issues 47 and up If you are also going to specify a logical expression, connect the range specification and the logical expression with the word "where." For example: For unix: mrlist '47 to 83 where priority > 5' For NT: mrlist "47 to 83 where priority > 5" Logical expressions Logical expressions describe other constraints on which Issues are to appear in mrlist. There are many types of these, so the next few pages are devoted to them. Text Fields: Description and Title 272

279 Chapter 18 Database and Internals Description fields are queried using the keywords "description contains". For example, to return a list of Issues with the word "hello" in the description, you would type: On unix: On NT: mrlist 'where description contains "hello"' mrlist "where description contains \"hello\"" Title searches are constructed using a similar grammar, but the keyword "summary" instead. For example, to return a list of Issues with the word "FootPrints" in the title, you would type: On unix: On NT: mrlist 'where summary contains "FootPrints"' mrlist "where summary contains \"FootPrints\"" Important Note: The use of single quotes, double quotes and slashes is very important. On NT, if you do not type a "\" before the double quotes surrounding the string, the search will fail. Remember that NT queries are protected by double quotes, so that quotes protecting strings within queries must be escaped. Priority You may include Issues in a report based upon their current priority. You may use any of the numeric relational operators (<, <=, =,!=, >=, or >). Examples (given here for NT only): mrlist "where priority > 3" mrlist "where priority <= 100" mrlist "where priority!= 5" Status You may include Issues in a report based upon their current status. Use any of the relational operators (<, <=, =,!=, >=, or >) to compare against other statuses. These statuses are project-specific, and are named in the Life.cycle ($CMMASTER/MR/Life.cycle) file. The earlier the status is mentioned in the Life.cycle file, the less its value. If you're getting syntax errors, make sure you check the Life.cycle file to see what FootPrints calls your status. For example, the status "upside down" might be stored as "upside bdown." Examples of queries: status > Open status = Closed You may refer to the previous status the Issue had, like this: previous status > Open In fact, you may refer to the history of any status using the word "previous" as many times as necessary: previous previous previous status > Open If you use "previous" too many times and go back through more statuses than the Issue has had, FootPrints excludes it from the report. Originator You may include Issues in a report based upon the user id that originally created the Issue. You may use any of the relational operators (<, <=, =,!=, >=, or >) to compare against user ids. Examples: originator = suzy originator!= george Assignee 273

280 FootPrints Reference Manual You may include Issues in a report based upon one of the user ids, which have been assigned to work on them. Example: assigned to dan Unassigned To include Issues in a report based upon the absence of anyone having been assigned to work on them, simply place the word "not" in front of "assigned." Example: not assigned Date of Issue You may include Issues in a report based upon the date the Issue was created. You may use any of the relational operators (<, <=, =,!=, >=, or >) and the keywords Issue date to compare against a constant date in mm/dd/yy format. Examples: Issue date = 5/10/92 Issue date < 3/5/91 Date of promotion You may include Issues in a report based upon the date the Issue last changed. Use any of the relational operators (<, <=, =,!=, >=, or >) and the keywords date of status to compare against a constant date in mm/dd/yy format. Examples: date of status = 5/10/92 date of status < 3/5/91 You may refer to the date previous to the current one like this: date of previous status < 3/5/91. In fact, you may refer to any status date previous to that one by using the word "previous" as many times as necessary: date of previous previous status < 3/5/91 If you use "previous" too many times and go back through more statuses than the Issue has had, FootPrints excludes it from the report. Age of Issue You may include Issues in a report based upon the age of the Issue (how many days ago it was entered). You may use any of the relational operators (<, <=, =,!=, >=, or >) and the words age of Issue date to compare against a constant integer. Examples: age of Issue date > 30 age of Issue date < 7 Combining logical expressions Logical expressions may be combined with "and" and "or." You may use parentheses to force evaluation. Examples: priority > 2 and age of Issue date > 30 (age of Issue date > 30 or age of previous status > 30) and priority = 3 You may also use the "not" operator to negate a condition: not priority = 3 274

281 Chapter 18 Database and Internals Ordering the report You may sort the report by any combination of these criteria: To sort by: Issue number current priority Issue date originator current status use this term: mr priority Issue date originator status You may prefix a sort name by the word "ascending" or "descending." The default sorting order is ascending, so you need not use it except for clarity. Examples: order by descending priority order by originator Examples of useful queries: All unclosed high-priority Issues that have been unresolved for over a month: mrlist "priority > 5 and status < Closed and age of Issue date > 30 order by descending priority" All Issues assigned to george, ordered by priority: mrlist "assigned to george order by descending priority" NOTE : When you run the mrlist command, you must protect the "<" and ">" signs from the shell by either escaping then with a back-quote or by quoting the entire query. SEE ALSO: mrdetails, mrreport mrmail send mail to a list of users about a certain Issue Syntax: mrmail <Issue Number> <Registration Change> <user > [<user >... ] Use the mrmail command to send mail to users. mrmail formats the details of the Issue into a text file that is sent to all the addresses given on the command line. If "Registration" is given as the input parameter, a line that says "Notification of FootPrints Registration" will be inserted into the body of the message. If "Change" is given as the input parameter, the line will read "Notification of FootPrints Change". mrnewpri change the priority of an Issue Syntax: mrnewpri <Issue Number> <Priority> Use the mrnewpri program to change the priority of an Issue. A priority is a positive decimal integer greater than zero, consisting of up to five digits. FootPrints assigns no semantics to these numbers. It is up to the members of the project 275

282 FootPrints Reference Manual to decide what range of allowable numbers to use, and whether higher numbers imply higher priorities or if it is the other way around. mrnewstate assign a new status to an Issue Syntax: mrnewstate <MR number> <Status> [ comment ] Use the mrnewstate program to change the status of an Issue. Five statuses are built into the FootPrints system: "Open," which is the initial status of all Issues, and "Closed," which is their final destination. FootPrints also comes with "_DELETED_", "_SOLVED_" and "_REQUEST_" for deleted Issues, solutions and requests respectively. Your also may have created intermediate statuses that represent the normal flow of work on a project-by-project basis. These customized state names are kept in the CMMASTER/MR/Life.cycle file. You may optionally comment the change in status. See also the next command, mrnewstates. mrnewstates assign a new status to multiple Issues Syntax: mrnewstates <Status> <MR number> [<MR number> ] Use mrnewstates to change the status of multiple Issues at once. MrNewStates does not allow you to comment the changes in status. See also mrnewstate above. mrrebuild rebuild a FootPrints database Syntax: mrrebuild If a system crash occurs during a FootPrints operation, the FootPrints database may become corrupted. The mrrebuild command re-creates the database from the MRLOG file, which logs all updates to the database. Use this only if all other options have failed. PLEASE CALL OR UNIPRESS BEFORE YOU DO THIS , (in the USA) or [email protected] mrreference create a link from one Issue to another Syntax: mrreference <Issue number> <dependent number> This command creates a reference from one Issue to another. The Issue will contain a link back to the dependent Issue. 276

283 Chapter 18 Database and Internals Example: %MrReference This creates a link in Issue number 510 referencing Issue number 3. mrregister create a new Issue in the database Syntax: mrregister <priority> "<title>" line 1 of description data line 2 of description data. data for user field 1. data for user field 2. Use mrregister to create a new Issue in the database. mrregister reads the description field and user fields from stdin. Separate each field by a "." (but do not enter a "." between the title and description). You must know the order of the user fields: you are not prompted for each field by name. You can get the order of the fields from the file <Footprints_root>/db/MASTERx/MR/Schema. mrscan scan the database for errors Syntax: mrscan mrscan scans the database of a project for errors and reports the number of corrupted records, the number of Issues of each status, and the total number of Issues in that project. mrshow display various fields for a given Issue Syntax: mrshow <Issue number> <field code> <optional description code> The field codes are as follows: Priority: 4 Assignees: 5 History: 50 Description: 3 Without the optional description code, viewing the description will show only the most recent description data. This is equivalent to using description code "1". The previous description has code "2", and the one before that "3", etc. Description code "0" displays all description data. Examples: % mrshow

284 FootPrints Reference Manual This will display all description data for Issue number 3. % mrshow 3 4 This will display the priority for Issue 3. mrunassign De-assign users Syntax: mrunassign <Issue number> <username> [<username>... ] Example: mrunassign 32 msk This de-assigns the user msk from Issue 32 See also: mrassign 278

285 Part 5 Appendices Part 5 Appendices What you will find in this section Appendix A Introduction to Web Browsers Appendix B Web Servers Appendix C ODBC for Windows NT/2000 Appendix D Glossary 279

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287 Appendix A Introduction to Web Browsers Appendix A Introduction to Web Browsers This appendix is a short introduction to the web and the use of web browsers. WWW stands for "World Wide Web," or simply "the web". The web is a vast amount of interconnected information created by millions of different authors and located around the world on different computers. Information available on the web can be simple documents, pictures, movies, or interactive programs, such as FootPrints. This information is accessed by using a "web browser". The two most popular web browsers are Microsoft Internet Explorer and Netscape Navigator. These and other browsers, for basic use, are very similar. We strongly recommend, if you've never seen a browser before, that you sit at your computer and try it as you read this. They're simple to use, but hard to understand just by reading about them. Finding Your Way Around A browser has a large window for viewing web pages and a few Toolbars and menus at the top. Part of the Toolbar at the top contains a single-line box for you to type in. The box is labeled "Location" in Netscape or "Address" in Explorer. To view a page, you must tell the browser the location of the page by typing it into this box and pressing the enter key. The browser will then find the page and display it in the large window of the browser. You can navigate through the web in other, easier ways than that. Web pages typically contain "links", which connect them to other pages. A link is something (often a highlighted word) which, when you click on it, brings you to another page. Notice when you go to a page that the address of that page is now displayed in the "Location" box in the Toolbar. The browser provides other ways to find and visit pages easily. If you have visited more than one page, you can use the "back" button to go back to the previous pages. Once you've done that, you'll be able to use the "forward" button to go forward again. If you've gone to a lot of pages, and you want to go back to one that you went to a while back, there is an easier way to do it than using the back button over and over. Click on the GO menu at the top of the browser to see a list of recently visited pages, then click on the one you want. If you have a page that you go to often (for example, your FootPrints Login page) you can add it to your "bookmarks" or "favorites" list. First, go to the page. Then click on "bookmarks" or "favorites" and "add". Now click on favorites and look at the list that appears in the bottom of that menu. Your site should be there. You will now be able to click on "Favorites" or "Bookmarks" anytime and your browser will bring you to that site. Using FootPrints Pages Now that we've learned to navigate the web, we'll take a closer look at the actual pages and how to use and view them. To print a page, simply click on the "print" button or go to the "File" menu and choose Print. Many pages are too large to fit on your screen. If this is the case, only part of the page is displayed. A "scrollbar" appears on the side of the page and/or bottom of the page. Click on the arrows on the ends of the scrollbar to move through the page. Often, a page is organized into separate parts called "frames." Each of these frames is like a small browser window. They have a page in them and probably have their own scroll bars. The FootPrints homepage, for example, is made up of three frames. Most pages simply display information to you. Some, including many in FootPrints, also allow you to enter information. There are a few common ways to do this: textboxes: allow you to enter text checkboxes: allow you to make a choice by checking (clicking) the box menus: allow you to click on a choice 281

288 FootPrints Reference Manual drop-down menus: allow you to make a choice by clicking on the menu, then clicking on the choice After filling out the information and making your choices, you need to click on a button to submit it. In FootPrints this is the GO button. This is all you need to know about web browsers to use FootPrints. 282

289 Appendix B Web Servers Appendix B Web Servers This appendix explains how to set up your web server for FootPrints. It is split into two sections: one for Windows NT/2000 and one for Unix. If these directions do not make sense to you, PLEASE either get help from your local web expert, call UniPress ( or ), or us at [email protected]. Mistakes in server setup have been the cause of the most FootPrints installation problems: They must be done absolutely correctly or FootPrints will not run correctly! Windows NT/2000 On Windows NT/2000, we only support Microsoft Internet Information Server (v4 or above). If you chose not to have the FootPrints Installation configure IIS for you, you MUST tell your Web server where the FootPrints files are located manually. Here is how to do this for the Microsoft Internet Server: For IIS v4: 1. Choose Start Programs Windows NT 4.0 Option Pack Microsoft Internet Server Microsoft Internet Service Manager. 2. Open the Internet Service Manager. 3. All of the directories listed below must be created under the 'Default Web Site.' This means that for EACH directory, you must do the following: a. Right Click on 'Default Web Site'. b. Select 'New' then click on 'Virtual Directory'. c. Enter the Alias name listed below (without a slash) and click 'OK'. d. Enter the full path to the corresponding directory. e. Select the correct permissions and click 'OK' again. 4. When you have done step 3 for each directory, click on 'Default website' again, then click on the stop service button (the square button on the toolbar) then click on the start service button to make sure that the changes were applied. 5. Make sure that your WWW server is started. Then double click your WWW server to bring up the Service Properties window. 6. Reboot your computer, and you can now log into FootPrints by opening in your web browser. For IIS v5: 1. Choose Start Programs Administrative Tools Internet Services Manager. 2. All of the directories listed below must be created under the 'Default Web Site.' This means that for EACH directory, you must do the following: a. Right Click on 'Default Web Site'. b. Select 'New' then click on 'Virtual Directory'. c. Enter the Alias name listed below (without a slash) and click NEXT. d. Enter the full path to the corresponding directory and click NEXT. e. Select the correct permissions and click FINISH. 3. When you have done step 3 for each directory, click on 'Default website' again, then click on the stop service button (the square button on the toolbar) then click on the start service button to make sure that the changes were applied. 4. Make sure that your WWW server is started. Then double click your WWW server to bring up the Service Properties window. 5. Reboot your computer, and you can now log into FootPrints by opening in your web browser. Directory Alias Permissions C:\Footprints\cgi MRcgi read and execute C:\Footprints\html footprints read 283

290 FootPrints Reference Manual C:\Footprints\html\help help read C:\Footprints\html\tmp tmp read C:\Footprints\html\MRimg MRimg read Figure IIS Virtual Directories for FootPrints NOTE: The directory path (C:\FootPrints etc.) will be different depending on where FootPrints is installed. Adding the Perl Extension to IIS If you have never used Perl on the server before, you will need to add the Perl extension to IIS manually. Otherwise, IIS will not know how to run FootPrints programs. This should be done after FootPrints installation is complete, the IIS aliasmappings have been made, the server is rebooted. To add the Perl extension to IIS: 1. Go to Start Programs Windows 4.0 Option Pack Microsoft Internet Information Server Internet Server Manager (in IIS v5, go to Start Programs Administrative Tools Internet Services Manager). 2. In the Management Console, highlight your Default Web Site. In the right pane, there should be 5 FootPrints directories aliased: footprints, help, MRcgi, tmp, and MRimg. 3. Right-click on "MRcgi", and choose "Properties". 4. On the "Virtual Directory" tab, click the "Configuration" button. If you don't have this button, click the button that says "Create". 5. In the App Mappings tab, click the "Add" button. 6. For "Executable", enter: 7. For "Extension", enter: C:\perl\bin\perl.exe %s%s.pl 8. Make sure that 'Check that file exists' is not checked. 9. Click OK. Click "Apply", then OK on the App Mappings tab. 10. Click OK on the MRcgi Properties. 11. Close IIS and save any changes. UNIX Web Server Setup You must be running a Web server on the Unix server on which you install FootPrints. Do not install FootPrints until after you install a Web server. We recommend either NCSA/Apache or Netscape servers, since both have been heavily tested with FootPrints. If you need to get one of these before installing FootPrints: NCSA/Apache Web servers can be found at Netscape Web Servers can be found at If you already use another Web server, we cannot guarantee FootPrints operation, but we encourage you to tell us your experience with this other Web server. 284

291 Appendix B Web Servers Apache/NCSA Server To install FootPrints on an Apache/NCSA Server, add the following lines to your servers httpd.conf or srm.conf file ( footprints home is the directory where you install FootPrints): Alias /footprints/ Alias /MRimg/ Alias /tmp/ Alias /help/ ScriptAlias /MRcgi "footprints home"/html/ "footprints home"/html/mrimg/ "footprints home"/html/tmp/ "footprints home"/html/help/ "footprints home"/cgi/ We used /footprints/ as the root URL of FootPrints, but you might want to use another name. If you want to install FootPrints at the top level of a new server, simply leave out the Alias /footprints/ line, and make $footprints home/html the DocumentRoot. Important Note for RS6000 Users FootPrints cannot run with any NCSA server up to and including Release 1.4, due to an NCSA server bug. We have tested FootPrints with the Apache Server, which is based on NCSA, and Apache does run correctly with FootPrints. Apache for AIX can be found at for download. Netscape Server To set up Netscape server for FootPrints, first open your Admin server for Netscape. Click on your server name, and you will get Server update choices, including an Icon for Programs and one for Content Mgmt. Click on Programs, then click on CGI Directory. Add URL prefix /MRcgi/ for CGI Directory $footprints home/cgi then click OK and the Save and apply button. Now go back to Content Mgmt and click on Additional Document Directories. Add these prefixes, clicking Save and Apply for each: Prefix: /footprints /Mrimg /tmp /help for Directory: "footprints home"/html "footprints home"/html/mrimg "footprints home"/html/tmp "footprints home"/html/help (You might also, for some non-apache servers, be required to add /help/topics for directory "footprints home"/html/help/topics.) That's all. To start FootPrints as your DocumentRoot, simply go to (or whatever name you gave it instead of footprints ). Netscape Administration servers for different Netscape web servers have slightly different menus. Please refer to the Netscape documentation for more information. 285

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293 Appendix C ODBC For Windows NT/2000 Appendix C ODBC For Windows NT/2000 This appendix contains information on installing and using the ODBC versions of FootPrints for Windows NT/2000. The first part is setup information for the MS SQL Server version, and the second part deals with using other database tools (besides FootPrints) to access the FootPrints database. If you don't want to access the database from a source outside of FootPrints, you needn't read the second part of this chapter. See the file "README.txt" for possible updates or changes to the information in this appendix. Setup The FootPrints SQL installation will automatically setup your SQL database and tables for FootPrints. The FootPrints Setup.exe for SQL will ask for the SQL Server system administrator (SA) password so that it can automatically configure SQL Server for use with FootPrints. Setup will also create an ODBC System DSN for FootPrints. Outlined below are the steps for manually configuring SQL Server and the ODBC DSN in the case that FootPrints Setup cannot login as SA and automatically make SQL Server configurations on its own. NOTE ON RE-INSTALLING: If the SQL Server that you will be using for this installation of FootPrints has already been used for a previous, now uninstalled version of FootPrints, then you will need to remove all of the tables in the FootPrints database of that SQL Server before installing FootPrints again. For help with converting the FootPrints standard database to a SQL Server database, please contact UniPress Software. 1. Create a Footprints Database in SQL Server a. Open the SQL Server Enterprise Manager program, and select the server that FootPrints will be using. b. In the tree of options underneath the server name, right click on "Databases" folder and select (left click) "New Database". c. For the name of the database, enter: Footprints 2. Create a login for "FP" a. Expand the folder that says "Security" by left-clicking on it. b. Right click on "Logins" and select "New Logon". c. Under the 'General' tab, do the following: i. The name of the login should be set to: FP ii. iii. Choose "SQL Server Authentication". The password should be set to: FP iv. Specify "Footprints" as the default database for this login. d. Under the 'Server Roles' tab, fill in the checkboxes for all server roles. e. Under the 'Database Access' tab, check the "Permit" checkbox for the Footprints database. 287

294 FootPrints Reference Manual NOTE: FootPrints cannot access SQL without the "Permit" checkbox checked. 3. Add the "FP" user to the Footprints database a. In the left pane, expand the Servername\Databases\Footprints\Users. b. In the right pane, highlight the user name "FP", right-click, and choose "Properties". c. On the "General" tab, fill in the checkboxes for all of the "Permit in Database role" options, EXCEPT "db_denydatareader" and "db_denydatawriter". d. If the user "FP" does not appear in the right pane, right click on the Servername\Databases\Footprints\Users folder, and select "New Database User". Set the Logon Name and User Name to "FP" and then fill in the checkboxes for all of the "Permit in Database role" options. 4. Grant the "FP" user permission to create tables a. In the left pane, expand the Servername\Databases\Footprints. b. Highlight "FootPrints", right-click, and choose "Properties". c. Select the "Permissions" tab, and be sure that "FP" has permission to create tables. 5. Create an ODBC system DSN named "Footprints" a. Open the ODBC Data Source Administrator program. This is usually located in the Windows NT Control Panel. b. Select the tab that says 'System DSN'. Click the 'Add' button, and you will be prompted to select the driver that the data source will be using. Choose the 'SQL Server' driver. c. The SQL Server driver will begin asking setup questions. The following input must be given. Questions will vary depending on the version of the driver that is being used. d. When asked for the Name of the data source, it must be: Footprints e. Select the server that SQL Server will be running on. Choose "(local)" if it is the machine that you've installed Footprints on. f. If asked how SQL Server should verify the authenticity of a login ID, choose the option which says: "With SQL Server authentication using a login ID and a password entered by the user." g. If asked for a Login ID and Password, it should be: Login ID: FP Password: FP h. If given the option to define a default database, it should be: Footprints That is the end of the manual setup. Please refer to the README for additional information about installation and setup. 288

295 Appendix C ODBC For Windows NT/2000 Database Design The following information is relevant only to those interested in accessing the FootPrints ODBC database from a source outside of FootPrints, and provides a general understanding of the FootPrints database structure. If all data manipulation and management is left solely to FootPrints, you will not have to read any further. A word on editing table elements outside of FootPrints: Changing the values of certain table elements from a source outside of FootPrints may cause errors while using FootPrints. Because FootPrints uses many of the values within its tables to manage data internally, we've indicated the fields, which, if edited improperly, will cause errors within FootPrints. The FootPrints Daemon The FootPrints daemon is implemented as a Windows NT service. It has a persistent connection to an ODBC data source. Client programs communicate with the daemon through the use of a named pipe, which has read and write access. Client programs send a structure containing an SQL statement to the daemon, and a structure containing a result code, possible data, and the number of rows returned (in the case of a query) is returned back. This persistent-connection approach has optimized performance over directly connecting and disconnecting to the ODBC data source in each client because we benefit from the caching mechanisms built into most database management systems. The daemon must be started before any of the clients can run, but if a client finds the service to not be running, it will try to start it. FPService.exe can be called in three ways: FPService -i Starts the FootPrints daemon FPService -u Removes the FootPrints daemon FPService -v Shows version information The FootPrints Tables A single project will be maintained through the use of five tables, and will be associated with an address book, which is maintained with a single table. We will let the letter 'x' denote the projectid of the project we are dealing with. The letter 'y' denotes an address book number. We have these five tables for a project: MASTERx - This holds the core information about a ticket - all built-in fields, and custom user fields. Column Name Datatype Comments mrid int Unique ticket # mrref_to_ab varchar Either an ABMASTERy.abID that created this ticket, OR an LDAP dn mrref_to_mr varchar A MASTERx.mrID that this ticket is possibly "linked" to mrtitle varchar Ticket summary / title mrpriority int Ticket Priority, mrstatus char Status of Ticket mrdescription longvarchar The text of the most current description, starts with a date/time/user stamp mrassignees varchar Assignees (FootPrints usernames) of ticket, seperated by spaces mrattachments varchar File attachment filenames sperared by newlines mrupdatedate timestamp Last edit date mrsubmitter char Original creator of ticket mrsubmitdate timestamp Original creation date of ticket 289

296 FootPrints Reference Manual mrpopularity int For solutions only - number of votes that it was helpful mrurgent int 0 or 1 denoting if this ticket is urgent custom project fields n/a Named after actual field name, with correct data type. Note: All varchars will be created 256 characters wide, chars as 32. We use char for submitter and status because they will always have data of approximately the same size, and chars can make for a faster lookup over varchar. MASTERx_HISTORY - This contains a history log of actions performed on each ticket. Column Name Datatype Comments mrid int The MASTERx.mrID that this pertains to mrgeneration int Generation of this mrhistory mrhistory varchar timestamp user comment MASTERx_DESCRIPTIONS - This contains descriptions additional to the most current one. Column Name Datatype Comments mrid int The MASTERx.mrID that this pertains to mrgeneration int Generation of this description: Range (1..max) where max is the most current of this set. MASTERx.mrDESCRIPTION is always the most current description. mrdescription longvarchar The text of the description, starts with a date/time/user stamp MASTERx_ABDATA - This contains the address book information that is contained in the ticket itself. Column Name Datatype Comments mrid int The MASTERx.mrID that this pertains to Last bname varchar Last name of a contact First bname varchar First name of a contact baddress varchar address of a contact custom address book fields n/a The above first three custom fields are auto-created on table creation. The rest of the address book fields will follow, named after the actual field name, with the correct data type. MASTERx_TIMETRACKING - Time tracking data for various tickets. Column Name Datatype Comments mrid int The MASTERx.mrID that this pertains to mrgeneration int The time-tracking record number, ie; mrid 5 might have 23 time tracking records each with a unique RECNO for mrid 5. mrtimespent varchar Time spent in minutes, stored as 120m for 2 hrs. mrrate decimal The money per hour for this time tracking record mrtimedate datetime Time and Date stamp mrtimeuser varchar User stamp There is only one table for the address book: 290

297 Appendix C ODBC For Windows NT/2000 ABMASTERy - Contains contacts for a given address book. Column Name Datatype Comments abid int Unique ID for this contact absubmitter char Person who created contact abassignee char Users assigned to this contact absubmitdate timestamp When contact was created abupdatedate timestamp When contact was last modified abstatus char Deleted or not (status) of contact Last bname varchar Last name of a contact First bname varchar First name of a contact baddress varchar address of a contact custom address book fields n/a The above first three custom fields are auto-created on table creation. The rest of the address book fields will follow, named after the actual field name, with the correct data type. Note: Any projects which use this address book must keep the column names of custom address book fields in their MASTERx_ABDATA in sync with this. The FootPrints Query Sequence How tables obtain their structure: When a new project is created in FootPrints, a database client program (mrstartup.exe) is run. It creates MASTERx, MASTERx_DESCRIPTIONS MASTERx_ABDATA, MASTERx_TIMETRACKING, and if need be, ABMASTERy. All fields except for the custom address book/project fields are created. As new fields are added, modified, and deleted from the FootPrints web interface, the tables are altered through a client database program that performs the required ALTER TABLE SQL statements. When specific data is needed by FootPrints, the FootPrints perl script forms the proper SQL statement. The perl script then executes the database client program, which is written in C, and passes it that SQL statement. The client program communicates with the daemon and runs the SQL statement, receives the results, formats it as needed, and prints the data to standard out. The perl script then receives necessary data and can create HTML output. 291

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299 Appendix D Glossary Appendix D Glossary Address Book - Used to keep customer contact and configuration information. For example, the Project Administrator may have set up the Address Book to hold a customer s name, address, phone number, location, etc. 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. assignees - Users assigned to work on an Issue. Can also refer to the Customer who submitted the Issue. Customers cannot edit an Issue. choice field - A type of project field. A choice field offers the user a drop-down list of choices to pick from. Up to 1000 values can be defined per choice field. contact - the default name given to an Issue in the Address Book. Normally contains a customer's name, address, phone number, etc. Customer This type of account is intended for customers and groups of people who require only partial access to the data. Customer accounts are very cost-effective, and allow customers to submit their own Requests and to view the knowledge base. The word Customer is used throughout this manual to refer to both employee customers and external customers who access FootPrints. Customer Edit User who can view and search Solutions, submit, track and edit his/her own Requests. Customer Read KB - User who can only view and search the Knowledge Base. Customer Read KB/Requests - User who can view and search the Knowledge Base, and track the status of his/her Requests. Customer Read/Submit User who can view and search Solutions, and also submit and track his/her own Requests. decision field The single drop-down field that, when a value is selected, determines the other project fields available when creating or editing an Issue. This only applies when the Field Dependencies option is enabled in a project. description - The built-in Footprints field that contains the notes entered regarding an Issue. It is a multi-line text field. The description is displayed when an Issue is viewed, and it can be searched on. Each addition to the description includes a time/date/user stamp. details - The Details Page displays all the information about a Footprints Issue. The details are displayed by clicking on the title of an Issue from the Homepage. Data can include Title, Status, Priority, Creator, Date and Time submitted, Description, Project field data, Contact data, and file attachments. Individual user - Each individual user is assigned an individual account and is the only person using that account. This type of account is intended for internal users, such as Help Desk personnel, Customer Service Representatives, Engineers, and Administrators. Issue - 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. 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 users and Administrator, and FootPrints can automatically send notification whenever it is worked on. 293

300 FootPrints Reference Manual login - The first page that Footprints displays when the URL for your Footprints system is requested by a user's web browser. Also, the act of starting a Footprints session. LDAP Address Book Any LDAP-compliant contact database linked to using the FootPrints Dynamic Address Book link feature. Possible databases include Microsoft Exchange 5.x/2000, Netscape iplanet, and Novell Directory Services. primary key The key field in the Address Book that is used by FootPrints as a reference to identify the customer contact. Project - 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. project field - Custom field created by the Project administrator to store information about a particular Issue. Up to 100 project fields can be defined per project (no limit in SQL version). Project Administrator - In addition to Agent User privileges, the Project Admin can administer a project, including adding custom fields, setting options, and adding users. 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. The Administrator can tell you how Requests are to be handled in your organization. Solution - Solution to a common problem, frequently asked question, or patch. Solutions are what make up the FootPrints Knowledge Base. 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). status - The state of a Footprints Issue. Each Issue has a status field, which tracks a problem from "Open", the default of a new Issue, to "Closed". The Project Administrator may easily add new states to a project. 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. Taking - The option of allowing users to assign themselves to a given Footprints Issue. This is a project option set by the project administrator. User ID - The Footprints user name which, when entered with the proper password during login, permits access to the Footprints system. 294

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