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

Transcription

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

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

3 Contents 1 About this Manual Organisation of the Documentation How to Use this Documentation System Configuration Section Setup Menu Company Configuration Folder Management Service Level Management Category Details Data Dictionary and Extra Fields Contact Classifications Setup and Templates PC Auditing LDAP Connector Centennial Connector LANDesk/Microsoft SMS Connector Login Management Adding and Maintaining Logins Defining Public Holidays Writing Scripts Database Menu Archive Closed Calls Restore Closed Calls Delete Records Importing External Data Exporting SupportDesk Databases Integrity Checker Loading KnowledgeBase Publish an Call Submission Form Publish a Web Call Submission Form Resource Allocation Viewing Resource Allocation Adding and Updating Resource Allocation Records Launch Launch Setup Setup Automatic Mail Compose Mail...53 Administrator's Guide for SupportDesk C-i

4 10.3 Send Mail to a Customer, Owner, Assignee Send a CSV File of a Call Read Mail Configuring s Publish Call Submission Form Call Escalator Escalator Module Monitor and Scheduler Service Level Monitor, Real-Time Monitor Tab Service Level Monitor, Configuration Tab Service Level Monitor, Scheduler Tab PC Audit Auditor Remote Control Import Formats Import Products Import Customers Import Calls Import KnowledgeBase Import Suppliers...69 Index...lxix C-ii Administrator's Guide for SupportDesk

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

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

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

8 3 Setup Menu 3.1 Company Configuration Here you can enter identification details of your company. The company name and department fields appear at the top of reports and summaries produced by SupportDesk. More importantly, you can set options for the system and in particular the call dialogue. To activate the Company Configuration dialogue: From the Setup menu, click on Company Configuration...or select from within System Management at the Explorer panel. Details tab Company Configuration, Details C-4 Administrator's Guide for SupportDesk

9 Name and Department WebSite Automatic Reference Generation Date Format Office Hours Call Audit Trail Last Select Only Call Product List Configuration Remove <List By > On New Call Print Publish Appear at the top of any reports produced by SupportDesk. This address is used when you publish a call submission form. The location (URL address) of your company or department s home page on the web. This field is used when you publish a call submission form. Tick the boxes if references are to be generated automatically when creating the indicated records. Leave unticked if you want to enter a unique reference each time. Select a radio button to specify the required Date Format for the input and display of dates. The default depends on the Windows configuration. You can decide how SupportDesk should calculate elapsed times. Choose a 5, 6 or 7 day working week and define the number of working hours by declaring a Start and Stop Time for the working day. Elapsed times are calculated as the number of working days, hours and minutes that have elapsed since the call was opened. If you define a five-day working week, this is taken to be Monday- Friday. When six days are worked, it is assumed that Sunday is the non-working day. These general settings may be overridden by SLA Category entries, which define a calendar that may specify different day lengths. Leave ticked if notes are to be created automatically when the product, assignee or category fields are changed at the call dialogue. This entry applies when users press the keyboard up and down arrow keys to go through call dialogue lists rather than selecting by mouse click. In this case, if the Call Audit Trail is switched on, all call records that are scrolled through are marked as changed if this box is unticked. Tick the box if only the last selection in the series is to be regarded as being changed. Indicate how products are to be listed at the call dialogue. The product list presented can be made up from either the full list of products, the customer s or contact s inventory or a full inventory list. When selecting customers and products for a call, you can normally choose to view the lists by name or reference. If you tick this box, the customers and products are listed by whatever was selected before this option was removed. Use the following three fields to specify actions when a call is created. Tick if you want a report of the call details to be printed. Tick if you want a report of the call details to be published. Administrator's Guide for SupportDesk C-5

10 Auto-Allocate On Closing Call Auto-Archive Add to Knowledgebase Call Units Tax Rate Shipping Encrypt Passwords Generate new Call References after OK button pressed Attachments Folder Time Zone Server -> SMS Call Notes/Activities Internal by Default Notes & Activities in Descending Date Order On Call Cancel, delete added Notes Tick this box if you would like SupportDesk to automatically assign a new call to a login. To use this feature, you will need to create Resource Allocation records (described on page 48) in order to determine the most eligible login for the call. Use the following two fields to specify actions when a call is closed. Tick this box if you wish calls to be immediately transferred to archive when closed. If you tick this box, closed calls will be transferred irrespective of the login s level of functionality. Indicate if a call is always to be added to the knowledgebase on closure. If not, this can be selected on individual calls. Use this field if customers pre-pay for a block of calls. Enter the default number of calls in a block here. When a customer is created the support calls left will default to this value. Local sales tax rate. Used in sales opportunities and purchase orders. Enter a set charge for shipping. Used in sales opportunities and purchase orders. Tick the box if each login s password is to be recorded in encrypted format so that it is more secure. This does not affect the way it is processed within SupportDesk. Tick this box if you want call references to be generated when the call is completed rather than when started. Documents that are attached to various records are normally stored in the SupportDesk installation directory. If you want to use a different location, enter the full path here. Identify the networked PC from which the system time is to be determined. This ensures that all PCs use the same time. By default, this option is switched off. Please get in touch, using [email protected], to enable the feature. Indicates the address of the to SMS provider. This is used when sending an to a mobile phone. Tick these boxes if notes and activities recorded for a call are normally for internal use and are not to be viewed by the customer via the WebServer. You can change these settings for individual calls. If this box is ticked, the most recent notes and activities are shown first for each call. Leave unticked if they are to be listed in the order they occur. Indicates, if ticked, that all notes for a call are to be deleted if the call is cancelled. If unticked, the notes are retained. C-6 Administrator's Guide for SupportDesk

11 Restrict Configuration Summaries by Current Folder Show Company Name on Window Title Ticking the box will cause only customers, products, contacts and inventory items that relate to entries in the current folder to be listed. If unticked, all records of each type will be listed. Tick here if all windows are to have their title prefixed by the company name. List Customers as Name[Ref] List Logins as First Name Last Name Supervisor Only Archiving Time Zone Support Archive Activities Upon Completion Microsoft SMS tab Tick the box if you want to show the customer reference after the name in pull-down lists. If unticked, you can normally choose to see the name or reference when processing a list. If the box is ticked, logins are listed as first name followed by last name. If unticked, the reverse order applies. Tick the box if only users with Supervisor authority can choose to archive customers, contacts, products and inventory. Leave unticked if anyone can do this. Tick the box to enable the time zone field for logins using web access. Indicate if activities are to be automatically archived on completion. This is a licensed option and is not normally available. If you can process here, separate instructions will be provided. Administrator's Guide for SupportDesk C-7

12 Special Operations tab Company Configuration, Special Operations Clicking the Calculate & Write Current Elapsed Times button will write elapsed times for each open call, as at the specified date, to the hidden field userfield5 on the call record. The data is then available for reporting via third-party software, such as Crystal Reports. 3.2 Folder Management A <Default> folder is created when SupportDesk is installed. It is not necessary to create any more folders but they do allow calls to be compartmentalised. With each folder there is an associated archive folder to hold archived calls. The calls in a folder can be given a reference prefix and their own sequencing. All folders can be organised with an ITIL framework, so that each can have a particular purpose and its own data dictionary definitions and terminology. This allows all calls of a particular type to be correctly categorised. A default folder can be defined for a login. When the login accesses SupportDesk, the calls in the login s default folder are listed at the main window. If no folder is specified for the login, the original or <Default> folder is used. C-8 Administrator's Guide for SupportDesk

13 The login can change the current folder using the Explorer panel, unless the login s access has been restricted to their default folder. For more information on switching folders, refer to the File Menu Chapter in the Using SupportDesk guide. Products, customers or categories can be restricted for use in specified folders. The call dialogue only lists records associated with the current folder, and those records that have no set folder. Whenever a call is raised, the call is inserted into the current folder. To process Folder Management, from the Setup menu, click: New Open Delete to create a folder. to select a folder and edit it. At the list of available folders, you can tick List Folders Alphabetically in Explorer if you want the call folders listed in the Explorer panel to be in alphabetical order of their name. If unticked, they appear in the same order as listed here. to clear a selected folder, providing that it and its associated archive folder are empty. Entering Folder Details Folder Dialogue Name Independent Call Sequencing Input a unique folder name. Tick this box if the folder is to have its own independent sequencing of call references. Administrator's Guide for SupportDesk C-9

14 Analysis Date Archive Internal Do Not Escalate Any date you enter is for general analysis. Use this check box to archive the whole folder, including all its calls. Tick the box if this folder is not to be available to WebGuest users via the WebServer. If this box is ticked, calls in this folder will not be escalated, even if the workflow indicates this is due. They will remain at the same level until a further action is specified. Call Reference Prefix Specify a prefix of up to three characters for calls in this folder. You can also select a prefix from the list, including <Call:Customer> and <Call:Product>, which prefix the call reference with the number of the customer or product that is the subject of the call. (To use this call reference style, you must have the call references generated after the OK button is pressed; refer to Company Configuration on page 4). Dependencies ITIL Framework: Folder Type Dictionary Terminology Disable Separate Templates Click Show Logins to list logins who open this folder when accessing SupportDesk. Logins are associated with a folder at the Login Details dialogue (see page 35). The Show Products button lists products whose calls are entered into this folder. Products are associated with a folder at the Product Details dialogue, described in the User s Guide. When you create a folder and save it, all logins and products that are available for all folders are associated automatically. You therefore only need to add others that apply. Click Add Sub-Folder, if you have the optional ITIL package, to create a sub-folder within this folder. You can therefore set up a folder structure and record calls at any level. Click Show Sub- Folders to see any that are already attached. Entries under this heading only appear if you have the optional ITIL package. Indicate the folder s type. A fixed range of types is available. Specify the Data Dictionary configuration to be activated for this folder. By this means, different dialogue field prompts can be set for different folders. Specify the title that is to be shown in the ribbon menu when calls from this folder are listed. SupportDesk s default term is Call but you may prefer Incident, Problem, or some other term to indicate the contents of the folder. Tick the box to prevent outgoing s being generated for calls. Indicates, if ticked, that the folder is to have its own set of configurable templates rather than using a standard template. In this case, the folder is specified when the template is defined. C-10 Administrator's Guide for SupportDesk

15 POP3 Server/ Account/ Password New Call Defaults Last Call Reference These entries apply if messages are received through a POP3 application. If so, you can specify a different mailbox for each folder by entering the name of the server and the name and password for the account. Each time a mail read occurs, SupportDesk will check all folders for mail settings and then search the specified mailboxes for messages. Make selections from the various lists to set normal values for this folder. When adding calls to this folder, these settings are shown by default but you can change the selections for individual calls. This shows the reference of the last call recorded in the folder. When independent call sequencing applies, the next call will have a reference that is one greater than this. 3.3 Service Level Management The main purpose of the various settings you make here is to track and measure the performance of calls. You can set up categories and apply them to calls at the outset, then select different ones as the call progresses, possibly in accordance with a predefined workflow. This allows you to measure performance at each stage. However, you can use the various categories for a number of purposes: to create various lists in order to categorise a call. to provide a list of actions for call reminders. as a series of activities that can be associated with a call, customer or contact. to define a list of sales stages for use with Sales Opportunities. Within SupportDesk, calls are categorised in several ways: Type and Sub-type Status Priority SLA Analysis the type of incident or situation to be recorded. For example, Fault, Query, Documentation. the current stage the call has reached, usually terminating with closure. For example, Opened, Waiting more Evidence, In Progress. indicates how imperative it is for the call to be resolved. At the call dialogue, select categories from pull down lists. identifies a level of service to be attained. The term SLA will be used in a customer support environment but may be referred to as Impact when dealing with internal users through a help desk. It may be used to identify equipment that is most important. which can be used to analyse any aspect of progress but will generally be for closure analysis summary. The Urgency category only applies if you have the optional ITIL pack installed. It is generally combined with Impact (or SLA) to determine relative priority of equipment. For Administrator's Guide for SupportDesk C-11

16 example, a payroll server is vital when a payroll run is due but has a lower priority at other times. The names of the call categories (Type, Status, Priority and SLA) are not fixed; refer to Data Dictionary and Extra Fields on page 23 for details on renaming these. The system is supplied with a number of defaults for each category but you may change these at any time to suit your own requirements. Enter new categories and rename or delete existing ones. If a category is assigned to a call and the category is subsequently renamed, then the call will have the renamed category attributed to it. You can specify that calls with a category should be responded to or actioned within a certain period and that a warning is to be given before the end of this period. When a call exceeds any of these times, it is highlighted in the margin of the main window. The same dialogues are also used to create a list of actions for selection at the call dialogue. You can set up the category details to specify any activities that can be associated with a call, customer, contact or sales opportunity. The activities can be displayed as a separate list at the main window and used as reminders to perform certain tasks. The main window can be refreshed to list calls that have selected categories, by using the Select box on the View menu (described in the Using SupportDesk guide). For example you could list high priority calls that are not closed. The sales stages are only for use for sales opportunities. Like other categories, they can be changed to suit your own requirements. A select box is also available for filtering sales opportunity records. You can specify sub-types to provide further categories within types. When a type is selected for a call, its sub-types are then available. To activate the Categories dialogue: From the Setup menu click on Service Level Management. Alternatively, click the Service Level Management icon within System Management at the Explorer panel. The same dialogue is used for all the categories, activities and sales stages. Use the tabs to list the entries for different category types. C-12 Administrator's Guide for SupportDesk

17 Categories Dialogue Existing settings are shown. These apply to all entries and you can change them as required: SLA High/Low Max. No. (ITIL) Stop the Clock Calculation These settings apply if you use the Service Level Monitor, which has traffic light indicators to show the performance against Service Level Agreements. These indicators will show: red if performance is below the low indicator you set here (worse) green if performance is above the high indicator (better) amber if performance is between the two values (average). You should therefore set a high percentage to signify top quality performance and a low percentage that is the minimum acceptable level. These can then be used to measure the performance of individual staff or to see what performance level has been given to individual customers. Each form shows the current number of entries and the maximum allowed. You may be able to increase this maximum by selecting from the pull-down list. If you have the optional ITIL pack, you can allocate up to 30,000 categories. Otherwise, this is restricted to a maximum of 300. The clock may be stopped for a call if it has a category that means the job s progress is outside your control (it may be awaiting parts or have been sent to a third party). In this case, you must choose what is to happen when the clock restarts: Do Not include Stoppage time in SLA comp will disregard the fact that the clock has been stopped and use the full elapsed time for SLA calculations. Include Clock Stoppage time in SLA comp indicates that an allowance will be made for the hold-up when making SLA comparisons. After Clock Stoppage adjust Fix Date/Time forward will count the full elapsed time but will add the stoppage time to the target dates and times so that more time is allowed once Administrator's Guide for SupportDesk C-13

18 the clock is restarted. The recalculation will be in accordance with the SLA calendar and a note is added to the call to show the adjustment that has been made. No escalations or warnings will be issued while the clock is stopped but may be as soon as it restarts. Elapsed Time Format Indicate how the target and calculated time are to be shown. If you set variable day lengths for the SLA category through the Calendar tab, you should select minutes or hours rather than days on time targets, usually on Priority categories. Calculate Milestones from Open Date/Time One-Way Workflow Parenting Folder Type This applies to calls where the category that determines the target times is selected or reselected some time after the call is opened. In these cases, the allowed action time that calculates when action is due is added to the: time the call was opened if the box is ticked time the category assigned or reassigned if the box is unticked. Tick the box to ensure that a category that is the parent of the current category is not reselected in the workflow. This prevents the parent levels being displayed so that earlier categories cannot be reselected and the workflow can only go forwards. If the box is unticked, next and previous category levels are available for selection, enabling the workflow to revert to a previous step. Use the selections to design the workflow by restricting the categories that can be selected within any phase of a call. You can set the relationships between the various elements by selecting from the pull-down lists the one on which the current element depends. Setting an element as dependent on itself means it is not dependent on anything. Typically, a Sub-Type will be dependent on a Type. When supporting different customers, the Priority will generally depend on the SLA since, although most customers may need support only during normal office hours, others may require 24/7 support, as specified through their service level agreement. This affects how the priority is calculated. Urgency only applies if the optional ITIL pack is installed. In a customer support environment, where external customers are supported, typical settings are: Priority SLA SLA SLA Urgency Urgency. For IT support with internal users, settings may be: Priority Priority SLA SLA Urgency SLA. SLA may be referred to as Impact for IT support. This applies if the optional ITIL pack is installed. If so, you can choose a particular folder type to see only those categories assigned to that type. If no type is selected, all categories are C-14 Administrator's Guide for SupportDesk

19 listed. Click New... to create a new entry in the current list or Delete to clear a selected entry. 3.4 Category Details If you select the New button at the Categories dialogue or double-click an existing entry to open it, you are presented with the Category Details dialogue. Use the tabs to view or update the various pieces of information relating to the selected category. Details Tab Category Details Dialogue, Details Tab Name Folder Type Description For new categories, enter the name. This selection only applies if you have the optional ITIL pack. Leave blank if the category is available for all folders or choose a single folder for which it can be used. Optionally enter a fuller description for the category. For activities, this will be the default for the activity detail. The next three entries are used to set milestones for a call. Thus: a first response must be made within a set time a warning is issued before action is required the action itself becomes due. You should therefore set the time periods to occur in this Administrator's Guide for SupportDesk C-15

20 sequence. In each case, enter the number of time units that are required and then select the time unit from the adjacent list box. For a call, the appropriate date is calculated as the base date plus the time period set, although you can overwrite the generated dates. Target dates are usually set on Priorities. Respond within Warning after Action/Fix within Activity Duration Milestones/Metrics Dependencies: Parent Category Product Group Folder Exclusive to Folder Sort Order This determines when a response must be made for calls with this category. Failure to achieve this target will be reported as a breach by the Call Monitor (see page 62). The time period is used to calculate a warning date at the call dialogue or the reminder date for activities. A warning bell is displayed next to the call or activity when the warning date has been exceeded and is an indication that an action is imminently required. The specified time is used to calculate an action date at the call dialogue or the scheduled date for activities. It is advisable to only set action times on one band of categories, such as priority; otherwise the calculation of action dates may become confusing. Enter the number of time units that are required and then select the time unit from the adjacent list box. Duration is only available on activities as a means of recording how long the activity should take. These options are selectable on Call Status only. Tick any or all boxes to determine if the selection of this status on a call indicates the call has been responded to, resolved or closed. This section identifies other records to which the category is linked. The entry is used to establish a workflow so that, when creating a call, the correct sequence must be specified. Select another activity, status, etc. to which this one is linked. For example, when specifying call status categories, calls will follow a pre-defined path of Open Assigned Fixed Closed. If the category refers to a specific type of product, select it from those listed. If you select this product when processing a call, only the categories with a matching or blank Group/Type set will appear in the pull-down list, ensuring that only relevant categories are available. The available folders are listed. Select one to lock the categories into a particular folder so that they are only selectable within that folder. This check box only applies if the <Default> folder is selected. In this case, tick the box if the category should only be listed in this folder. Categories are always exclusive to the other folders. If no selection is made here, categories are listed in alphabetical order of their name. To set a different order, enter or select the sequence number for this category. C-16 Administrator's Guide for SupportDesk

21 Internal Archive New Call Enabled Auto-Add on New Call/Inventory Cost Contract Supplier Rate per Hour/Day Tick the box if the category is not to be available via the WebServer and on the Web call submission form. Tick this box if you wish to archive the category. Archived categories do not appear in the category lists. Leave this box ticked if the category can be selected when a new call is created. These boxes are only available on activities and should be ticked if the activity is to be created by default when a new call or inventory item is added. Enter a cost for the category. This field is part of the customer charging feature. Typically you would enter charges against category types or activities. If the customer is marked for charging, then when a call is raised for the customer, a cost for the job is displayed on the call. The figure is the smallest amount entered against any of the selected categories. For activities, the field is renamed Budget, for comparison of actual and budget figures. And on Sales Opportunities it is called Confidence as a percentage indicator of the likelihood of realising a sale if this stage is reached. For SLAs only, choose the contract through which support is provided. This field only applies to activities to record whether the job has been sent out to a third party. These entries only apply for activities and indicate the cost rates to be used in job costing. Click the Choose Colour button to select a colour to use for the category in the Summary window or click No Colour to remove any chosen colour. You should use colours selectively so that only particular categories are highlighted. For example, you may choose a colour for high and urgent priorities so that they are easily identified. Workflow & Actions Tab Use this tab to specify the actions that should take place when a record is given a particular category setting. Administrator's Guide for SupportDesk C-17

22 Category Details Dialogue, Actions Tab Assign To Raise Child Activities Default Priority Default Status Change Authorisation Required By Copy/Move Call to Folder Choose whom the job should be assigned to when a call is given this category. Use the entry <Login> to assign to the person affecting the change or choose a particular login from the list. Select one or more activities that should be created when a call or sales opportunity is given this category. These will provide a list of things to do. This entry only appears for the Type and Urgency categories. You can choose the priority that is to apply to calls with this type or urgency. This will be one that is set up as a priority category. For Type and Urgency categories, choose the status to apply for new calls, indicating their initial status. If you have the optional ITIL pack, management approval may be needed for a change of status. If so, you can choose a person who is authorised to change from this category if it is selected for a call. If a call is to be copied or moved to a different folder once it has this category, choose the required folder from those listed. The call will be retained within the original folder if copied and so can be accessed from either folder. However, if moved, it is only then processed from the new folder. If you have the option, tick any of the three boxes to send an to the assignee, owner or customer when a call is given this category. The On Change of Category to template is used unless a new template is defined using the C-18 Administrator's Guide for SupportDesk

23 cc Authoriser Template SMS Only Stop the Clock template button below. Use this field to supply the address of anyone else that should be ed at the same time as the selected options. This entry is used in conjunction with Change Authorisation Required By. Tick the box if you want the person to be notified by if a category they are authorised to change is selected for a call. Click the Template button to define a new template or choose one created previously. Tick the box if any messages are to be sent only as SMS rather than . You may have a category with status such as Third Party to identify when support has been transferred elsewhere. In this instance, you could opt to stop the clock so that elapsed times do not include the duration when the call was out of your hands. Calls where the clock has been stopped are marked in the margin at the main window with a hand icon. Clear Action/Fix Date Use this check box to clear the action or fix date and time on a call when the call is given this category. Clear Warning Date Clear Resolved Date Skip Workflow Add a Note Close/Force Linked Records Use to clear the warning date and time on a call when the call is given this category. Tick the box if any resolved date set for a call is to be cleared if this category is assigned. Tick this box if the category is always to appear, even if a workflow is in operation and it is not included within it. Indicates, if ticked, that a note must be entered when changing to this category. In this case, an Enter Comment input window appears. These entries only apply if the optional ITIL pack is installed. If so, there may be linked records that all relate to the same problem. The Close option is only available if you have ticked the Closed Status box at the Details tab. In this case, indicate if all linked records are to be closed. The Force box will, if ticked, prevent moving on from this category unless the call is linked to another one. Administrator's Guide for SupportDesk C-19

24 Attachments Tab Category Details Dialogue, Attachments Tab You can attach one or more documents to a category, which are then copied to calls and other related records. For example, you may send an introductory pack to new customers or a questionnaire on completion of a call. Refer to Common Processing, within the SupportDesk Features chapter of the Using SupportDesk guide, for information about this form. C-20 Administrator's Guide for SupportDesk

25 Calendar Tab Category Details Dialogue, Calendar Tab These fields are only available when updating an SLA category. You can decide how SupportDesk should calculate action dates and elapsed times for calls with this SLA. Select the SLA from the category list at the call dialogue or default it from the service level associated with a customer or product. The service level calendar is used instead of the calendar defined at the Company Configuration dialogue for calls with this SLA. (For example, the usual calendar could be a 5-day working week, 9am to 5pm, but you may have a 24-hour service level for certain customers or products.) Days Start & Stop Times Monday-Sunday Public Holidays You can choose a 5, 6 or 7 day working week. A five-day week is taken to be Monday-Friday while, for a six-day week, Sunday is assumed to be the day that is closed. Define the number of working hours by selecting a start and stop time for the working day. Elapsed times are calculated as the number of working days, hours and minutes that have elapsed since the call was opened. Having set the normal working week, you can then specify the exceptions for particular days and holiday dates. Thus, for example, support may normally be available between 8 o clock in the morning and 8:30 at night. However, this time may be reduced on Sundays and public holidays. These settings allow the SLA calendar to be defined precisely so that elapsed times can be calculated accurately. Administrator's Guide for SupportDesk C-21

26 For example, if a call is received at 17:00 on Sunday and the stop time is at 18:00 for that day, the elapsed time is calculated as one hour. Time will only continue to accrue from the start time of the next working day until the stop time is reached. It may be spread over several days before the warning or action limit is reached. Note: If the hours available each day are variable, the elapsed time format should be set as minutes or hours rather than days, hours and minutes. This ensures the elapsed times are shown accurately. Escalation Tab Category Details Dialogue, Escalation Tab The Escalation tab is only available to those systems that have the Automatic Call Escalation module, described on page 58. You can also use the Workflow & Actions tab for the Escalated Category, to specify any other actions that should take place when the call is given this category, such as assign to an alternative login. Escalate to Notify After Warning/Action Date breach Assign Do not adjust target Define the next category the call should be moved to when the action time on the call has been exceeded. Select the login you wish to of the escalation change. This field is only available with the add-on. If the call is to be reassigned when either the warning or action time is exceeded, choose the appropriate assignee from the pull-down list. If a call is escalated to a different category due to an action C-22 Administrator's Guide for SupportDesk

27 dates Escalate After date breach (through the Escalator module), the new category may have a different priority and target times. Tick the box if the SLA date and time for the call are not to be updated for the new priority. If the box is unticked, the new action time may be added to the time the call was opened or the new category assigned, depending on the way milestones are to be calculated. This field applies to Status categories only, to specify a period after which the call is to be escalated to the new status. Typically, this may apply when a call is to be closed but the customer is to be given the opportunity to report that the problem is not resolved. 3.5 Data Dictionary and Extra Fields Use the Data Dictionary to configure many of the fields in SupportDesk. You can tailor how a field appears on dialogues, HTML output or reports (except for those produced by Crystal Reports). SupportDesk has many standard fields against which data is stored for each type of record (call, activity, customer and so on). Each is listed in the data dictionary with a name and full definition of the field. In addition to the standard data dictionary fields, you can define extra fields to record information that is not available as standard. You can determine the characteristics of each field and how and where it is to be used. To activate the Data Dictionary dialogue: From the Setup menu, click on Data Dictionary & Extra Fields or choose from within System Management at the Explorer panel. Select the Standard Fields tab to access the normal data dictionary fields. Administrator's Guide for SupportDesk C-23

28 Data Dictionary Dialogue, Standard Fields Tab The system is initially provided with a Default dictionary that has standard settings for all fields within each type of record. However, you can: create further dictionaries by entering required names in the Dictionary field and then clicking the Save button. These additional dictionaries initially have the same settings as the default one but you can customise them and make them available to particular logins or in specific folders. amend the contents of a selected dictionary, either the default one or another you have created. The various fields are listed for the dictionary, showing the type of record to which it relates, the name of the field, and the current settings. Click on the field you wish to amend and then change the settings using the tabbed forms to the right of the screen. delete a dictionary by selecting it from the pull-down list and then clicking the Delete button. Choose the Extra Fields tab to access the fields that have been set up specifically to record non-standard data. C-24 Administrator's Guide for SupportDesk

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

30 Data Dictionary Dialogue,Terminology Tab Entering Changes For all tabs, you can: click Restore All Defaults to set field prompts and values back to their installed settings, removing all changes tick Audit All Field Changes if all changes to any standard field are to be recorded, showing when changed, by whom and the old and new values. Settings for individual fields only apply if this box is unticked. For Standard and Extra Fields, you can enter data at the Properties tab. C-26 Administrator's Guide for SupportDesk

31 Data Dictionary Dialogue, Properties Tab Customise Table Prompt X and Y Folder Dictionary Width First Tab Field Next Tab Field Default Value For standard fields only, tick this box to instruct SupportDesk to use your specification for this field on the corresponding dialogue. The other fields will then become available as well as the HTML tab. This only applies to extra fields so that you can choose the type of record to which the field applies. This is pre-set for standard fields. Enter the text you wish to see on the corresponding dialogue as a prompt for this field. For standard fields, the text of the prompt is displayed at the specified X and Y co-ordinates. You can therefore specify the position of each field within the screen. Extra fields can be set for specific folders (calls only) and dictionaries if you have the optional ITIL pack installed, so that the details only appear there. The fields are available generally if no folder or dictionary is selected. Specify the field width; this must be less than the SupportDesk default. For standard fields within the Call table, you can specify the sequence of accessing the fields when the login presses the Tab key. Tick the box to identify the first field and then set up a chain of fields by selecting from the pull-down list the next field in sequence. If no sequence is set up, the fields are accessed in the application default order. Enter a default value for the standard field. Administrator's Guide for SupportDesk C-27

32 Mandatory Hide/Archive Mandatory on Closure Audit Field Changes Tick to force the login to make an entry in this field. Tick to remove this field from the corresponding dialogue and associated reports. It remains on the data dictionary but no longer appears on screens and reports. The next series of entries only apply for standard fields. Tick to force the login to make an entry in this field when a call or activity is closed. Tick the box if any changes made to the contents of the selected field are to be audited. The Field Changes tab of the appropriate record (customers, products, etc.) will list the changes made to all audited fields, showing when and by whom plus old and new values. You will therefore choose to audit any fields where the content is particularly important. If Audit All Field Changes is ticked, this individual setting has no effect since all changes are recorded. Field Changes Tick the box if any changes made to the contents of the selected field are to be notified by to the address shown on the company configuration record. Read Only Select Only Selection Help WebServer Width Wrap Internal QuickReports Width Accumulate Values Tick the box if no change to the field is permitted. If this box is ticked, entries can only be selected from the pull-down list, with the available entries defined at Selection. If unticked, they can also be typed in if a suitable entry is not listed. For each extra field, a list box can be built. Place the entries on separate lines by pressing Enter between each one. Select nonrequired entries and press Delete to clear. For standard fields, enter any hints to help your login complete the field. The text is displayed when clicking F1 while positioned in the field. For extra fields, the help text is displayed when positioned on the field. Enter the width of the field in the WebServer. If a width is entered, the text will automatically wrap to fit. Tick if you wish the HTML field to wrap within the available width. If not, it extends beyond the right-hand boundary and users will need to scroll right to see all the text. Fields that are marked as Internal are not visible to Web Guests. Specify the field width; this must be less than the SupportDesk default. If the field width is reduced to zero, it is not printed. Tick the box if the contents of the field are to be accumulated for report totals. C-28 Administrator's Guide for SupportDesk

33 3.6 Contact Classifications The contact classifications are used to categorise and define the roles of the contacts. The classification Primary Contact is always available as a setting for the first contact entered on a customer. The dialogue lists the current classifications available and allows you to add, update or remove entries. To activate the Contact Classifications dialogue: From the Setup menu, click on Contact Classifications... Contact Classifications Dialogue The current classifications are listed. Click Add to create a record or Open to open the selected classification and update it. In each case the Classifications dialogue appears. Use Delete to delete the highlighted entry. Classification Details To activate the Classification Details dialogue: Click Add or Open at the Classifications dialogue. Administrator's Guide for SupportDesk C-29

34 Classifications Details Dialogue Details Tab Classification Contacts Tab Provide a name for the classification. The contacts with this classification are listed along with the name of their customer 3.7 Setup and Templates This option is available from both the Setup and Mail menus. It is described in the Setup chapter on page PC Auditing The PC Audit menu item is available for those who have purchased the Audit option to monitor the hardware and software on logins PCs. This option is described in the PC Audit chapter on page LDAP Connector LDAP (Lightweight Directory Access Protocol) is a standard Internet directory service. This is an optional feature that synchronises SupportDesk with Active Directory or Novell NDS. The purpose of this feature is to load customers and contacts from an existing database. You will do this initially when SupportDesk is installed and then periodically to keep details up-to-date. It is then not necessary to create this information manually through Customer and Contact maintenance routines (both described in the User s Guide), although you can update data there. C-30 Administrator's Guide for SupportDesk

35 LDAP Connector Screen You must first enter details to control processing: Base DN Scope Filter Server User Name Password Domain LDAP Authenticated Security Loading Mode Load OUs from Highest Level Add Users as WebGuests These are LDAP terms that identify the data that is to be loaded. Enter the name of the server where the source database is located. Identify the user who accesses the server. If no domain is entered, SupportDesk connects to LDAP Server using simple binding. Otherwise, connection is via NTLM authentication. Logging into WebServer usually requires input of the same login and password as for the Windows version of SupportDesk. Tick this box if you want to avoid setting up separate SupportDesk logins for WebServer users. If so, login details are checked to the LDAP database to validate the normal network login and password. Indicate if selected data is to be loaded as customers or contacts. These must be processed separately. There are multiple levels of organisation units in Microsoft Active Directory but SupportDesk can only load two into the customer record. Tick the box to load the top two or leave unticked for the bottom two. LDAP users are loaded into SupportDesk as customers. If the box is ticked, they are also loaded as WebGuests. Administrator's Guide for SupportDesk C-31

36 Sync Load OUs as Call Folders On completion, click: If ticked, this LDAP script will be run and synchronised with SupportDesk as part of the Call Escalation module Tick the box if LDAP organisational units are to be loaded into SupportDesk as call folders so that details are stored separately. Query LDAP Server to access the server and list the results. You should then check the records are the correct ones to be loaded. If not, change the parameters and requery. Delete Customers & Contacts from SupportDesk to clear from SupportDesk all customers and their previously loaded from LDAP. Details are unaffected on LDAP itself and so can be reloaded. Load above LDAP data into SupportDesk to load the listed records to SupportDesk as customers or contacts. Any matching records (manually entered or previously loaded) are updated Centennial Connector Centennial Asset is an auditing application that can be used instead of SupportDesk s own PC Auditor. If you use this application, select Centennial Connector to synchronise and load Centennial Asset information into SupportDesk s customer and inventory databases LANDesk/Microsoft SMS Connector Both these selections are processed in the same way and are used to synchronise and load assets from the respective applications into SupportDesk customer and inventory databases. C-32 Administrator's Guide for SupportDesk

37 SMS Connector Screen Specify connection details to identify where data is stored. Then click: Query Asset Database to list the records that are stored there. Load above Assets into SupportDesk to load the listed details into SupportDesk. Delete Computers from SupportDesk to clear from SupportDesk all assets previously loaded from LANDesk and SMS. Administrator's Guide for SupportDesk C-33

38 4 Login Management The Supervisor is responsible for the set up and maintenance of login details. The privilege you assign to a login determines the functions that the login may perform within SupportDesk. Several logins can have Supervisor status, allowing each one the full range of functions and responsibilities. You can list login records at the main window by clicking on Logins from within System Management at the Explorer panel. Double-click any record to view the login details. The following options are available after selecting Login Management from the Setup menu: New Open Delete to create a login. to display a list of logins and select one to edit. Any active logins are identified, as are those that are Engineers, Groups or WebGuests. You can also open a login record by double-clicking one that is listed at the main window or selecting from the rightclick menu. to display a list of logins (as for Open ) and choose one to delete. You are warned if the login has outstanding calls assigned. If you still delete the login, the assignee then becomes unknown and you must assign another login. Clear Login Print Publish Note: Instead of deleting a login, tick the Archive box instead. This retains the login record but it is no longer a live entry. is processed if a hardware or software problem has left users recorded as logged in even though they are no longer accessing SupportDesk. You must clear these entries so that they can log in again. Selected a listed login and click Clear or click Clear All to mark all listed users as not logged in. prints or publishes a summary report of all logins. The fields that are printed are those listed at the main window. You can change these fields through the Fields dialogue from the Options menu (described in the Using SupportDesk guide). 4.1 Adding and Maintaining Logins You can create any number of logins with a privilege of Engineer. These logins cannot access SupportDesk but calls may be assigned to them. The software licence determines the number of logins that are able to enter the system at one time. Input is over three tabbed forms. C-34 Administrator's Guide for SupportDesk

39 Click the Copy to New Login button to create a user with the same details as the current one. You will need to enter a name, security information and other individual details. Details Tab Login Dialogue, Details tab Name Tag Login Password Privilege Supervisor Support Analyst This is a mandatory field for the input of a unique name for the login. The login name is displayed in the Explorer panel at the main window when the login is accessing SupportDesk. This is a mandatory field for the input of a unique login reference. When calls are displayed at the main window, assignees (the logins assigned to resolve calls) are referenced by their tag. If the login tag is modified, the tag against existing records is also changed. Specify the details that the login must enter at the SupportDesk Login window when accessing the system (the login and password are disabled for Engineer logins). Select one of the radio buttons to specify the areas of the system the login may access. Supervisors have access to all parts of the system. Support logins may update customers, products, calls, contracts and suppliers. This is the default privilege for new logins and allows them to input and update calls and notes. Administrator's Guide for SupportDesk C-35

40 Engineer WebGuest Group Configuration Windows Enabled Delete Records View All Calls/Activities Modify All Calls Modify Call Notes Modify Dates Access Reports This privilege puts the login into the list of assignees that can be selected at the call dialogue. An engineer has no login and no password. Any number of engineers may be entered. Their creation is not restricted by the licence agreement. For those systems with the WebServer option to access SupportDesk. WebGuests do not have Windows access. Their ability to view data can be restricted by specifying a View. You can access the Login Details dialogue via the Contact Details dialogue to make customer contacts into WebGuest logins. If the WebGuest radio button is selected, the Windows Enabled configuration box is disabled and WebServer Enabled is ticked automatically. A group has no login and password. Groups are used in conjunction with resource allocation records so that other logins can be made members of the group. Assigning a call to the group includes the call in lists for the group members until the call is allocated to a particular group member. The following configuration check boxes can be used to fine-tune the login s level of functionality. The ones that are available depend on the login s privilege setting. Tick this box if the login is to access SupportDesk via Windows. If the login is a WebGuest, (see Privilege above) only using the WebServer to access SupportDesk, then this check box is disabled. Records can only be deleted if this box is ticked. The login must also have the appropriate level of privilege. For example, a login can only delete a customer record if the login has access to the Customer menu (a privilege of Supervisor or Support) and this box is checked. Tick this box if the login is allowed to see all calls and activities listed at the main SupportDesk window. Only calls entered by and assigned to the login may be modified, unless the following check box is also selected. Normally, a login may modify a call that has been input by or assigned to the login. (A Supervisor can modify all calls.) If this box is checked, the login is allowed to alter the detail of any call. Note, for all the calls to be listed at the main SupportDesk window, the previous check box must also be selected. The notes text cannot be normally altered once the OK button has been clicked at the call dialogue. After this time, the notes text can only be viewed. If you check this box, the login is allowed to amend or delete notes at any time. Tick this box to allow amendment of call dates. Indicate if the user can add and maintain reports through the Report Designer. C-36 Administrator's Guide for SupportDesk

41 Group Assignment Create Calls Close Calls Assign Calls Create/Amend Customers/ Products Tick the box if the user can assign calls to any login group. If it is unticked, the user can only assign calls to logins within their own group. Leave this box ticked if the login is allowed to create new calls. Preventing this activity is useful for restricting the functionality of WebServer logins. Leave this box checked if the login is allowed to close calls. Leave this box checked if the login is allowed to assign calls. Indicate if the login can create or amend customer or product records. Add to Kbase Advanced Permission (ITIL) Tick the box if the user is allowed to add call details to the knowledgebase so that they are available to others. This entry is only available if the optional ITIL pack is installed. Tick the box to set specific access permissions for the login. All database and folder types are listed, showing the permissions for each one. Double-click an entry to change access permissions: The login can undertake every action where the box is ticked. Default View Exclusive Default Folder Selection Login Management The Default View pull-down lists the views created. (Views are used to filter and order records at the main window.) Select the view to be in effect when the login first enters SupportDesk. (WebGuest logins are automatically locked into the WebView view, but this can be altered.) Tick this box if the selected view is the only view the login is allowed to have. This is especially useful for restricting the access of WebGuest logins. From the pull-down list, choose the start folder for the login (the folder that is automatically opened when the login accesses SupportDesk). Calls raised by the login are entered into the current folder. To create folders, refer to Folder Management on page 8. All the available folders are listed. Click to select every one that the login can access. Tick the areas the login is allowed to access. To see the help desk calls, the login must have at least the Support box ticked. Administrator's Guide for SupportDesk C-37

42 First/Second/ Third Line Support Dictionary Comms Channel News AutoSpell Check Archived Rec. Notifications Info Tab Use the radio buttons to indicate the login s support level. These can be used when reporting to analyse the support level a call required. Specify the Data Dictionary to be activated for this login. By this means, different dialogue field prompts can be set for different logins. Indicate the normal method of communication for this login. If you choose SMS or Night, any messages are automatically re-routed to an SMS third party. Enter any message that is to be displayed to the user at login. Indicate if text entries by this login to the call, notes and knowledgebase dialogues are to be spell-checked automatically. If not, spelling can be checked on request. Use this check box to archive logins that no longer access SupportDesk. Their login is released and their name removed from current lists. Tick the box if notifications of expiry breaches or when warning and action times have been exceeded are to be displayed as popups. If unticked, these details are still available from the noticeboard (described in the User s Guide). Login Dialogue, Info tab Most of the fields on this form are purely for narrative purposes. If the UK Post Code Integrator is installed, entering the post code and clicking the button will list matching addresses. C-38 Administrator's Guide for SupportDesk

43 Rate per Hour/Day Options Tab Enter the cost rates that apply for this login. These are used in job costing in preference to the rates set for the activity category and product, but not for the customer. Login Dialogue, Options tab Enabled Documents Self Acknowledgement WebServer Enabled Access to Call Notes Customer Lock-In Only available with the option. Tick the box if the login is allowed to send and receive messages. In addition, the following options may also be set. If ticked, the login can attach documents to the and receive attachments on incoming mail. Leave ticked if the login wants to receive s that have been automatically generated to him or her. Enter the login s address. Tick the box if the login is to have WebServer access. Logins can have both Windows and WebServer access. Tick if the WebGuest is allowed to read call notes via SupportDesk WebServer. For use with SupportDesk WebServer, to restrict the access of the WebGuest to a specified customer s calls. Leave blank if there is no restriction. Administrator's Guide for SupportDesk C-39

44 Lock onto Contact Department/Group Lock-in Telephony Enabled Applies if a customer lock-in is specified. Tick the box if the login can only see their own calls for the customer or leave unticked to see all calls for that customer. Make a selection from the pull-down list if a WebGuest with this login can only access calls with a matching department or group entered. Leave blank if access to all departments or groups is allowed. Only available with the Telephony option. Tick the box if the login is allowed to use automatic dial out. C-40 Administrator's Guide for SupportDesk

45 5 Defining Public Holidays When calculating the elapsed time for a call, SupportDesk takes into account the office hours defined through Company Configuration. It will also disregard any public holidays you define here. At the View menu, choose Database and then Public Holidays. You can also select from within System Management at the Explorer panel to list existing entries. You can add, edit and delete public holiday details. Public Holidays input Enter or select the date of the holiday and input its description. Tick Archive for a holiday that is in the past and no longer required. If you operate in different countries, select the one in which the holiday applies. Administrator's Guide for SupportDesk C-41

46 6 Writing Scripts This option applies for LDAP so that you build multiple LDAP scripts and connect to different Microsoft Active Directory and edirectory servers. Select Scripts from the System Management section of the Explorer panel to list existing scripts. You can then amend a script or add others. C-42 Administrator's Guide for SupportDesk

47 7 Database Menu 7.1 Archive Closed Calls While viewing live calls at the main window, a Supervisor can: transfer closed calls to archive list the archived closed calls by clicking the Live/Archive toggle if necessary, restore the archived calls to the live folder view or report closed calls in the archive folder using views and reports already created. The highlighted closed call or all the closed calls currently listed can be transferred, depending on the option selected. If you opt to archive all closed calls, then only those closed calls listed in the current view are transferred. You can use the options on the View menu to filter the calls. For example, using Date Range, you could archive last month s closed calls. If you are using folders to compartmentalise your calls, then an archive is maintained for each call folder. Calls are archived from the current live folder to its associated archive folder. Only closed calls in the current folder are archived. To archive closed calls: From the Database menu, click on Archive Closed Call Or Archive All Closed Calls in View Before commencing the procedure, SupportDesk asks whether a security copy of the databases has been taken. During the operation, you are notified of the call currently being transferred. On completion, you are told the number of calls transferred. 7.2 Restore Closed Calls You can transfer closed calls back from archive to the live database. Either the highlighted closed call or all the calls can be restored, subject to any current view parameters. The options are only available to a Supervisor while viewing archive. To restore closed calls: From the Database menu, click on Restore Closed Call Or Restore All Closed Calls in View Before proceeding, SupportDesk asks you to verify your request. On completion of the task you are returned to the main SupportDesk window. The closed calls will be removed from the list of archived calls. Administrator's Guide for SupportDesk C-43

48 7.3 Delete Records You can delete blocks of archived records from the archive. Only the records listed in the current view are deleted. This option is available to a Supervisor while viewing archive. To delete archived records: From the Database menu, click on Delete All Records in View 7.4 Importing External Data SupportDesk has the ability to load external data files directly into the databases. You can therefore download data from any existing databases and populate the SupportDesk databases. The files to be imported must be flat files of comma-separated values. Each line in the text file represents a SupportDesk record of a particular type. The first characters in each line indicate the type of record to be loaded. Note: Calls and notes are loaded into the current call folder. Any products, customers and categories referenced in the calls should belong to the current folder. Similarly, if you are importing calls to an archive folder, the calls should have status closed. SupportDesk does not make these checks. To activate the Import dialogue: From the Database menu, click on Import CSV File... Select the file containing the import records. An information box then appears, summarising the results of the import. If you have any errors, you can view the offending records. The error log is listed to the file suppdesk.err. For more details on the format of the import records and validation, please refer to the Import Formats chapter on page Exporting SupportDesk Databases You can export the current databases into a named file. The output records have same layout as the corresponding import records. (See Import Formats, on page 69, for layouts.) This option exports the complete contents of specified databases. If you only want to export certain records, select the database to appear at the main window and then use the View menu to determine the records to be displayed. You can then use the Export option from the File menu (described in the Using SupportDesk guide) to export the records listed. To activate the Export databases dialogue: From the Database menu, click on Export CSV File... C-44 Administrator's Guide for SupportDesk

49 Export Databases Dialogue Databases Use these check boxes to mark which of the SupportDesk databases you wish to export. By default, all the database boxes are ticked. You can use the All or None buttons to select all or none of the databases and then fine-tune your request by clicking on individual entries. Click the OK button and then choose a location and file name for the export file. The default is export.txt on the SupportDesk directory. If this file already exists, you must confirm to replace the existing file. On completion, you can view the export file before being returned to the main window. 7.6 Integrity Checker This option checks the integrity of the database and reports any errors. You may run it periodically or if you think there are database problems. Select Integrity Checker from the Database menu and then confirm you want to continue. The routine then processes without further input. 7.7 Loading KnowledgeBase Supervisor logins can load closed calls from the current View to KnowledgeBase. Only those records with a subject and solution are loaded. The call subject is copied to both the KnowledgeBase problem and keywords. The call solution is copied to the KnowledgeBase solution. To load closed calls to KnowledgeBase: From the Database menu, click Load KnowledgeBase Use the right-click menu to delete KnowledgeBase records that have been loaded in error. 7.8 Publish an Call Submission Form This processing is described in the Setup chapter on page 58. Administrator's Guide for SupportDesk C-45

50 7.9 Publish a Web Call Submission Form For users who can access the WebServer as WebGuests, you can provide a form on which they can enter details of problems. Once completed, the form is logged directly onto the call database via the WebServer. Select this action to customise the form and then save it so it can be published on the website. By default, the form is suppweb.htm and is saved in the C:\suppdesk\publish directory. To publish a call form: From the Database menu, click on Publish Web Call Submission Form and change or confirm the name of the saved file. Then enter details: Web Call Form C-46 Administrator's Guide for SupportDesk

51 Customer Contact Phone No. Type Priority Product Assignee Subject Description Your customer can select a name from the pull down list. The list is built up from the Web Enabled customer names within SupportDesk. Your customer (or enquirer) can enter their name here. Details can be entered here so that the enquirer can be contacted. Your customer can select the indicated details from the pull down lists. These lists are built up from the Web Enabled product names, category types and category priorities within SupportDesk. Indicates the person who placed the call. Your customer can enter a brief note on the subject of the enquiry plus a full description. This description is entered as the first note when read into SupportDesk. Your customer can click on the Submit Call button to submit the request. Administrator's Guide for SupportDesk C-47

52 8 Resource Allocation Resource Allocation is a means of recording where your company s expertise lies. You can record the topics in which different users are particularly knowledgeable. Resource allocation records are used as an aid to assigning calls. When entering a call, you can use the Allocate button to display a list of users with their resource allocation knowledge rating. Note: The Allocate button only appears at the Call dialogue when resource allocation records have been created and auto-allocation has not been selected at the Company Configuration dialogue. Enter or update records when resource allocation records are displayed at the main window, using the right mouse button. For each record, you must at least select a login. Pick a product where the login is an expert and give a knowledge rating. Similarly, you can identify a customer whose calls the login can handle. You can create any number of resource allocation records for a login to identify all the areas of expertise. In addition, you can enter a period that the login is available as a resource. At the Call dialogue, if a customer (and/or product) is selected and the Allocate button clicked, a list of resource allocation logins who have been identified for this customer or product with their knowledge rating, are presented. At the Company Configuration dialogue you can tick the Auto-Allocation box and SupportDesk will automatically allocate the call to the user with the highest rating. Resource allocation records can be used to provide login group details. A group is created as a login record at the Login details dialogue. When entering resource allocation information, you can identify the group to which a login belongs. If a call is assigned to a group, it is included in the list for all members of the group until it is assigned to a particular member. 8.1 Viewing Resource Allocation You can list resource allocation records at the main window, providing you have Supervisor authority, by selecting View Database Resource Allocations or by choosing Resource Allocations from the Explorer panel. C-48 Administrator's Guide for SupportDesk

53 8.2 Adding and Updating Resource Allocation Records To activate the Resource Allocation dialogue: At the main window, while viewing resource allocation records, use the right mouse button to create new or open existing records. Resource Allocation Dialogue Login Group Product Customer Defaults to the name of the login entering the resource allocation record. Select an alternative login from the list. Use to enter the login into a group. Only group logins are listed here. Calls subsequently assigned to the group are listed at the main window for each group member, until it is allocated to a particular member of the group. Select the product on which the login is an expert. If the login has knowledge of other products, enter more resource allocation records. Select from the list a customer for which the login is suitable. Enter a resource allocation record for each customer this login is appropriate to handle. Administrator's Guide for SupportDesk C-49

54 Unavailable / not applicable Start Date Stop Date Costing Units Costing Rate Knowledge Role Description Tick to remove this particular resource allocation record from the allocate search results at the Call dialogue. You could use this check box when a login is temporarily unavailable but you wish to re-instate the login at a later date. If the login is no longer available you can delete the record using the right mouse button when displaying resource allocations at the main window. Enter dates to cover the period for which the login (resource) is available. Use this field to record the number of units. It is provided for your records only. Use these fields to record a rate, selecting the appropriate time period (such as per week) from the pull down list. Data is recorded for your information only. Select from 0-10 a rating for the login s knowledge or appropriateness for dealing with calls for this product or customer. The rating is displayed when you click the Allocate button at the Call dialogue and this resource is included in the search results. Outline the login s role and describe their areas of expertise. C-50 Administrator's Guide for SupportDesk

55 9 Launch You can launch the SupportDesk options, such as Call Escalation or Call Monitor, from the Launch menu. If you are licensed to use these options, they are automatically added to the menu. If you have the PC Audit option as part of your internal IT help desk, you can also use the Launch menu to take control of another user s PC. Use the Ping entry to test the network connection to the highlighted PC. You can add other applications to the Launch menu so that you can start them from within SupportDesk. Use the Launch Setup dialogue to detail the applications you wish to launch. When you next login to SupportDesk, the entries previously set up are listed in the Launch menu and you can start them from there. 9.1 Launch Setup Use the Application Launcher to configure up to ten menu items to appear on the Launch Menu. The entries are used to launch other applications from within SupportDesk. Create Launch Menu entries at the numbered tabs. To activate the Application Launcher dialogue: From the Launch menu, click on Setup Application Launcher Dialogue Menu Name Help Application The name of the entry in the Launch menu. The help text that appears in the status line when you highlight the entry. Enter the name of the program or click the Application button to browse and select the application, showing the full path and file name. Administrator's Guide for SupportDesk C-51

56 Directory Launch Menu If you have specified the full path at Application, leave this entry blank. Otherwise, input the start directory for the selected application. Tick to show the Launch Menu on the ribbon menu at the main window. C-52 Administrator's Guide for SupportDesk

57 10 Setup Use the option with MAPI or SMTP/POP3 compliant systems. For those with the option, there is an extra menu (Mail) at the main window. SupportDesk offers a number of means of sending messages. To send and receive SupportDesk messages, you must be configured with Enabled at your Login Options dialogue (refer to the Login Menu chapter on page 34) and have mail client software on your workstation. If you want s to be automatically sent when a login closes a call, tick the Mail on Closure box on the login's details. The message templates determine the recipients of these automatic mails (customer, owner, assignee). Message templates are available on the Mail and Setup menus. You can alter them to provide the message style you want for various situations where mail is sent (refer to the Setup Menu chapter on page 4 for information on the message templates). With the option, you can a call template to a customer so that they can log a fault or issue and return it to you by . The call form message templates can be found on the Templates menu item. And the return s are collected using the Read options on the menu. Alternatively, you can Publish an Call Submission Form (from the Database menu) to an area on your website. This enables your customers to submit their queries in a more structured way. The resulting is still collected using Read Automatic Mail Use the Setup & Templates menu item (see page 55) to determine the templates to be used in the various automatic mail situations Compose Mail To compose a new mail message, from the Mail menu click on Compose New... Mail client software is activated for you to send your own message Send Mail to a Customer, Owner, Assignee To send the details of a call to an appropriate party, highlight the call at the main window and select customer, owner or assignee from the Mail menu. The appropriate template is used and the mail will be sent to the relevant address. If no address can be found, one must be supplied. If a record other than a call is highlighted, complete the message with your own text. Administrator's Guide for SupportDesk C-53

58 An relating to a call can contain a URL that will allow access to the call details; include variable <Call:URL>. If the recipient clicks the URL, they will access the WebServer and see details of the call. However, they will only be able to view the call details Send a CSV File of a Call To send a CSV file of a call, at the Mail menu click on Send (CSV)... The currently highlighted call is mailed. Use your mouse to mark calls in the margin. In this case, these calls are mailed rather than the highlighted call. Mail client software is activated for you to send the full call details as a file of comma separated values, in the same format as required by Import. You need to identify the recipient of the mail Read Mail With the option, you can receive forms returned by your customer and convert them to SupportDesk calls. To read s sent to SupportDesk: From the Mail menu, click on Read... Your mail inbox is read for SupportDesk mail (returned forms). The profile on the e- mail setup templates dialogue determines the inbox used. For each mail found where the subject matches the subject on an form message template, the call dialogue appears with the ed fields extracted and substituted into the appropriate call fields. Any files attached to the message become attachments to the generated call (only logins with the Attachments box checked on the Login Details dialogue can receive mail with attached files). A copy of the can be saved as the first note. If you press OK to add the call, SupportDesk then prompts for the source mail to be deleted from your inbox. If an form has no subject then all mail in the inbox is treated as incoming mail. For incoming mail sent by a published call form, SupportDesk recognises the subject Form posted by Microsoft Internet Explorer and the details are sent as an attachment (postdata.att). s generated by SupportDesk that are replied to, will be added as a note to the original call. The subject must correspond with the mail sent out. SupportDesk will attempt to match the incoming address with an existing customer or contact to log the issue for the right person. If it is unsuccessful, the incoming address is substituted into the call contact field. If you opt to read mail using Read Background, the above action occurs as a background task and the source mail is automatically deleted from the inbox. C-54 Administrator's Guide for SupportDesk

59 10.6 Configuring s Access this dialogue to configure templates for various circumstances. You can also access it from the Mail menu. If you are not a Supervisor you can alter your personal settings and see the set-up for templates but cannot alter the detail. The lower half of the dialogue lists under the various tabs, the situations where an can be sent. Double-click on an entry to alter it. The Message Templates are simply Notepad files that can be changed as required. To activate the Configuration dialogue: From the Setup menu, click on Setup & Templates Configuration Dialogue Enabled Receive/Send File Attachments Self Acknowledgement Address Tick if the login is allowed to send and receive messages. Tick if the login is allowed to send and receive file attachments with the . Leave ticked if the login wants to receive s that have been generated to him. (For example, when a new call is created and the login is the owner.) The login s address. If this is omitted, the login s name is Administrator's Guide for SupportDesk C-55

60 MAPI Settings: Outlook Profile Name Password POP3 Settings: Account Name Password POP3/SMTP Server Enable MAPI on Windows Clients Signature Allow External s Managers Match on Customer s Domain Tabs Template used. These settings apply if Microsoft Exchange or any other MAPIcompliant mail system is used as the application. Microsoft profile name for your Outlook Exchange account. Password for the profile name. Input is required here if messages are received from a POP3 server. Enter the name and password that identify your account. Depending on the protocol that is used by your application, enter the name and location of the server. If this box is ticked, mail from all the Windows clients must use the MAPI settings rather than SMTP/POP3 settings for sending and receiving s. Since this setting applies at system level, it only has effect after closing and restarting SupportDesk. s with html format are only possible if this box is unticked. Enter text to be appended to each message. This may provide telephone numbers and other contact details. If unticked, the login can only send and receive s within the company. Otherwise, no restrictions are placed on the source or destination of messages. For each login, you can indicate who the person s manager is. Tick the box if, when an is sent to the login, a copy is also to be sent to the login s manager. Tick the box if received s that have no matching contact are to be assigned to a customer with a matching domain name. This ensures that s from multiple or undefined contacts are not left as unassigned. The various tabs list the situations where an may be sent, showing the current settings. Double click on an entry to show the Template. The Template dialogue is presented when you double click a specific situation listed in the tabs of the Configuration dialogue. You can set the template to be used for the selected situation, identified at the top of the screen. Use the pulldown list to select the template identifier to be used in this circumstance. You can make any alterations to the layout of the selected template. The changes made will be saved with the template and will come into effect whenever this template is used. You can also set instructions, such as pause before sending to be used in this instance. C-56 Administrator's Guide for SupportDesk

61 The Message Templates are simple text files. Individual entries may have particular significance: text prefixed with an exclamation mark is a note and is not used in the message fields held within angled brackets are variable fields and can be removed or altered to another variable field. These variable fields take their names from the data dictionary so that, for example, <Call:Subject> will include the subject in the message. There are some exceptions: <Note:Details> includes the text for the selected call note <Call:NotesText> includes the textual part of all the notes <Call:Notes> includes all the detail for all the call notes. fields that are prefixed by the word Prompt indicate that the prompt specified in the data dictionary for this field will be substituted in the form (See Data Dictionary earlier in this chapter.) other text is hard coded and can be changed as desired. Template Dialogue Template Number Pause before sending Web Disabled Select from the list the template number you wish to use. If you wish to disable s being sent for this particular situation, select the <Disabled> entry. To create a template, select <New> and enter the Subject and text as required; a number will be generated for the new template. Tick to pause the mail before sending. Tick the box if the template is not to be used for , messages Administrator's Guide for SupportDesk C-57

62 Receipt (MAPI) Add as Activity/Note Send Notice (SMTP) From Cc Bcc Subject Message HTML that are sent from the WebServer. Tick if you require a receipt that the recipient has opened the mail. Indicate if an activity or note is to be created and added to the parent record when an is generated. Tick if you also wish to send a SupportDesk notice to the recipient. This check box only applies to s to SupportDesk logins. For SMTP mail, enter the address of the mail sender. Enter the address of the person you want the mail copied to. A blind copy of the will be sent to this address. Enter the subject or title of your . The body of the message is displayed here and can be altered to suit. Variable fields are held within angled brackets as entered in the Data Dictionary. Static text can simply be changed as desired. Tick the box if html format rather than plain text is to be used for the s from this template. This is only possible if SupportDesk is configured to use SMTP rather than MAPI (the Enable MAPI on Windows Clients box must be unticked when configuring s). If so, an additional row of buttons is available so that you can apply attributes to selected text. Click Delete to clear s that have been defined after selecting the <New> entry from the Template Number list. The Test button tests the results of the template. No is actually sent; the results are brought to the screen Publish Call Submission Form A SupportDesk web publishing facility is provided so that you can generate a call form in HTML format for uploading to your company's web site. By default, the form suppform.htm is put into c:\suppdesk\publish directory. Your customers can enter details of problems or messages on the call form and report them via the Internet. The form is submitted to SupportDesk by using the Read Mail feature on the menu. The is sent to the address identified on the Company Configuration dialogue (see page 4). To publish a call form: From the Database menu, click on Publish Call Submission Form and change or confirm the name of the saved file. Then enter details: C-58 Administrator's Guide for SupportDesk

63 HTML Call Form Contact Customer Phone No. Type Priority Product Assignee Subject Description Your customer (or enquirer) can enter their name here. Your customer can select a name from the pull down list. The list is built up from the Web Enabled customer names within SupportDesk. Details can be entered here so that the enquirer can be contacted. Your customer can select the indicated details from the pull down lists. These lists are built up from the Web Enabled product names, category types and category priorities within SupportDesk. Indicate the person to be assigned to the call. Your customer can enter a brief note on the subject of the enquiry plus a full description. This description is entered as the first note when read into SupportDesk. Your customer can click on the Submit Call button to submit the . Administrator's Guide for SupportDesk C-59

64 11 Call Escalator The Call Escalator is an optional stand-alone program, which can automatically escalate calls and notify parties. Calls where the action date has been exceeded are escalated and marked in the right hand margin of the main window with a red exclamation mark. The category of the call is escalated to the next level as defined on the Category Details Escalation tab (described on page 22). Closing the call removes the exclamation mark. On the Escalator dialogue, if the Notify boxes are ticked, a notice is written to the private noticeboard (described in the User s Guide) of the owner and assignee of the call when response, action or warning times have been breached. The notice will be displayed at the main window as a visual alert. No scanning of calls for escalation is performed until the Start button is pressed. Press the Stop button to terminate the scanning process. The calls are scanned at the set frequency. There are also check box options to automatically start scanning the calls when the program is started and to start the program in a minimised state Escalator Module The Escalator is a separate optional module, supesccs.exe. The Escalator has its own icon in the SupportDesk program folder. You can also load it from the Launch menu. SupportDesk Call Escalator Scan every Enter the frequency in minutes between scans. C-60 Administrator's Guide for SupportDesk

65 Run on Startup Send s Run Minimised Escalation Log File Notify Call Response/ Warning/ Action Time Breaches Monitor & Notify Customer/ Contact/ Inventory/ Contract Expiry Breaches Sync Centennial Sync LDAP Sync SMS Sync LANDesk Tick if the scan is to be run when the Escalator is first started. If you also have the SupportDesk option and a login has been selected from the Notify list on the Category Details Escalation Tab, this login is ed details of the call escalation. Use the Escalation tab on the Setup & Templates dialogue to determine who should be ed in the event of a breach and the template style to use. Untick the box to prevent s being sent. Tick to minimise the Escalator dialogue. Indicate if a log file is to be created of all calls that have been escalated and breaches of times that have been detected. This is output as database file supescal. Tick to be notified of calls where either the response, warning or action time has been breached. A note is written to the private noticeboard of the owner and assignee of the call. The note will be displayed at the main window as a visual alert. Tick boxes where logins are to be notified if the expiry date on the indicated record is exceeded. Such notifications are posted to the noticeboard. A first warning notice is posted one month before the expiry date. These settings are only available if you have the associated applications installed. If so, ticking the boxes will cause data to be routinely loaded from the relevant application so that details are kept in line. Click the Start button to start the Escalator, Stop to stop it, or Report to produce a predefined report detailing escalated calls. The data is obtained from the supescal table. You can also click: Add as a Service to add the Call Escalator as a Windows service so that it starts automatically each time Windows loads. This causes scans to run at the defined frequency and reports to be produced as requested. You can access the list of Windows services through the Administration Tools from the Windows Control Panel. Remove Service to remove the Call Escalator from the Windows services. You will then need to log on to SupportDesk, after starting Windows, in order to start the Call Escalator. Administrator's Guide for SupportDesk C-61

66 12 Monitor and Scheduler The Service Level Monitor and Scheduler is an optional stand-alone program, supdbmcs.exe. It has its own icon in the SupportDesk program folder and can also be initiated from the Launch menu. The Monitor is processed over three tabs: Real-Time Monitor shows selected results Configuration determines the frequency of scanning the calls Scheduler specifies the frequency of running reports from the library and schedules Quick Calls. For each tab, the current date and time are displayed at the foot of the dialogue along with the licensee s name Service Level Monitor, Real-Time Monitor Tab The calls in the selected folder are tabulated for each customer in the selected period. Counts are provided for calls with specific statuses plus the total number of calls for each customer and a grand total of calls. Counts and percentages are provided for calls responded to and resolved within SLA, plus the number of calls escalated. Again, this information is provided for each customer. The information is sorted so that the customers with the most open calls appear first. C-62 Administrator's Guide for SupportDesk

67 Service Level Monitor, Real-Time Monitor Tab Listed results use a system of traffic light indicators to show the level of performance that has been achieved. The relative levels are determined from SLA high and low percentages that are set through Service Level Management so that if recorded performance is: below the low percentage, a red indicator shows the performance is less than acceptable levels above the high percentage, good performance is shown by a green indicator between the two percentages, an amber indicator denotes average performance. Depending on what you choose to monitor here, you can look at the performance of individual staff members or measure the level of service being provided for particular customers. Double-click any entry to list the individual calls that it covers. Use the selections at the top of the form to determine what is to be monitored. The first pull-down list indicates the type of data while the second can be used to focus on a particular record (such as a customer) of that type. The third pull-down allows analysis of the data type by another category. Below the list, you can choose range settings that indicate how the data is to be monitored: Call Status Period Identifies the stage that calls have reached. Select a required period. Calls for the selected period are monitored Administrator's Guide for SupportDesk C-63

68 Top Recs Table Folder Click the buttons as follows: Print Preview Print Refresh Start Stop If you have many records to display you can enter here the number of records you wish to see. Those records with the most open calls are presented. The Total line reflects the records displayed. Select from Live Calls, Archived Calls or Live & Archive. Select a folder from those listed to monitor the calls in that folder. to view the Call Monitor report on your screen. to print the Call Monitor report. to refresh the list. It will be automatically refreshed depending on the Scan frequency set on the Configuration tab. to start monitoring calls. to stop monitoring calls Service Level Monitor, Configuration Tab You can only update the fields on the Configuration tab when the monitor is stopped. The most important field is the Scan frequency, which determines how often calls are monitored. Click Start to resume monitoring. Scan every Monitor on Startup Run Minimised You can also click: Enter the frequency in minutes between scans. Tick if the scan is to be run when the monitor is first started. Tick to minimise the monitor dialogue. Add as a Service to add the Service Level Monitor as a Windows service so that it starts automatically each time Windows loads. This causes monitoring at the defined frequency and reports to be produced as requested. You can access the list of Windows services through the Administration Tools from the Windows Control Panel. Remove Service to remove the Service Level Monitor from the Windows services. You will then need to log on to SupportDesk, after starting Windows, in order to start the Service Level Monitor Service Level Monitor, Scheduler Tab This tab lists the reports from the Report library and selected Quick Calls (both described in the User s Guide). For each report you can specify the frequency and time you wish it to run. The report will automatically execute and print at the scheduled time. To schedule a report, highlight it and select the required frequency tab. Times default to the current time (HH:MM) and dates default to the current date. The file name of the report is displayed at the bottom of the frequency tab. C-64 Administrator's Guide for SupportDesk

69 In addition, you can schedule Quick Calls for regular creation. This is useful if you use Quick Calls as routine reminders. Simply select the required Quick Call from those listed and click the Add Quick Call to Scheduler button. You can then select the required timings for the Quick Call generation. Call Monitor, Scheduler Tab Report Day Frequency Tabs Never Once Hourly Daily Weekly Monthly Reports from the Crystal Library are listed, along with the frequency, time and date each report is to be run. Click on a report title and select the required frequency tab to alter its schedule. If you have scheduled a report for daily or weekly, tick one or more days for output. Never run the report via the scheduler. Enter the time at which you want the report to run and on which date. Enter the number of minutes (00 to 59) past the hour you want the report to run. Enter the time and tick the days you want the report to run. Enter the time and select the day you want the report to run. Enter the time and the day (01 to 31) of the month you want the report to run. Invalid dates will be ignored. Click the Save button to save schedule setting for the report. Use Add Quick Call to Scheduler to select a Quick Call from the adjacent pull down and add it to the list of items to schedule. You can then select a time and frequency for the regular creation of this Quick Call. Administrator's Guide for SupportDesk C-65

70 13 PC Audit You will generally use this option if you operate an internal IT help desk. There are two parts to this optional add-on. 1. Auditor to audit PCs for hardware and installed software. 2. Remote Control to take control of a PC from within SupportDesk Auditor The Audit program (supaudit.exe) is, by default, installed to the Audit sub-directory under the SupportDesk installation directory. Add the supaudit.exe program to each user s NT login profile script (for stand alone PCs, the program can be run from a floppy disk). You can set various parameters for the supaudit program. These are listed in the Word document Getting Started. Each time a user logs onto their PC, the Audit program will create a text file listing the hardware and software on the workstation. The software audited is determined by the entries in the shipped file supaudit.csv. You can alter the entries in this master document. Load this information into SupportDesk using the PC Auditing menu option on the Setup menu. Information is displayed at the Details tab and the listed content can be changed by settings at the Configuration tab. Audited Computer Details tab This lists the PCs audited with address information and the date and time the information was loaded. C-66 Administrator's Guide for SupportDesk

71 Configure and Manage PC Auditing dialogue The following information is listed: Computer Domain User Name IP Audit Date & Time Status New Agent Audit The host name of the PC. This shows the name of the domain on which the audited PC resides. The name registered against the PC as the user of the machine. The IP address of the PC. The date and time the information was loaded. This column shows Processed if an audit file has been found for the PC after clicking Load Audit File or is blank if there is no file. New is shown against a PC that has been audited for the first time. This becomes blank for the second and subsequent audits. Indicate if the PC Auditor is loaded as agent software on the PC. Double click on a customer s PC to open the corresponding customer dialogue. Use the Inventory tab on the Customer dialogue to see the inventory items audited and loaded. Use the Type field on the Inventory tab to filter the records in the list. A suite of audit reports is provided in the Report library, described in the User s Guide. Processing is by the available buttons: Discover Computers in My Domain populates the list with PCs that are on the network. Refresh List updates the list to show current details. Audit PC runs a remote audit program against a highlighted PC on the list. Remove PC clears details of the selected PC from the list and deletes the associated customer record and inventory items. Administrator's Guide for SupportDesk C-67

72 Take Control to access a specified PC and operate it remotely so you can check for problems. Ping PC tests the connection to a specified PC. Event Viewer displays the event log for a specified PC so you can look at what has occurred in case of problems. System Info shows html output created when a specified PC was last audited so you can see what applications are on the machine. Install/Uninstall Agent loads the PC Auditor as an agent or unloads it. Load PC Audit Files is run after auditing a PC to load the files produced by the audit program (supaudit.exe). The records loaded are product, customer and inventory that relate to the PCs on the network. The results of the load are displayed on the list. Before undertaking the load, ensure you have selected the correct audit folder and that the Loading Mode is set correctly. Audit My PC to check the PC and the software installed, creating a file containing the result of the audit. This option audits the PC from which it is processed but is generally run as part of the network login script. Audit Files Location <address> shows the location of the audit files that are to be loaded. Click the button before loading if you want to choose another location. Audit Configuration tab Audit Configuration dialogue These settings determine how the Auditor will run on a PC and how the information will be loaded into SupportDesk. C-68 Administrator's Guide for SupportDesk

73 Audit PC Hardware/Software Indicate if both hardware and software are to be audited on the PC. Skip Audit of Recycled Software Skip Scanning of $...$-{ } Directories QuickScan (Registry only) Manage Software List These entries only apply if you choose to audit software. If so, you can choose not to audit any directories that have: RECYCLER or $Recycle in their name or Uninstall in their name and files that have $ or { as their first character. You can also choose to scan only the installed software registry settings. This button can be used to change the contents of the supaudit.csv file, which determines the software that is to be audited. A standard file is supplied with SupportDesk but you can modify the list of software that is specified there. The file will be opened in the application associated with this file type. This will be a text editor, such as WordPad or Notepad. You can add, delete or modify lines to change the list of software to be audited. Filter Load Call Product List (Unarchived) When auditing software, this entry determines what the routine scans for. The default setting of *.exe looks for all executable files but you can audit particular software. If unticked, all software and hardware products are loaded into SupportDesk in an archived state and so are used purely for inventory purposes. Tick the box to make them available for selection for new calls. Administrator's Guide for SupportDesk C-69

74 Take Control/Ping using PC Name (DHCP) Link Computers to Users Load Product.exe name as Reference Multiple Domain Support UNC Path to Auditor Directory for Remote PCs User Name to Connect to Remote PCs Run Using User s Rights Run process in System Account Interact with Remote PC s Desktop 13.2 Remote Control Tick to take control or ping the highlighted PC using the PC s host name and not IP Address. To be used when the network uses DHCP addressing. If the PC is used by one person, tick to identify the user. Software products discovered on a PC are loaded as SupportDesk products. Tick the box if the.exe name for the product is to be added as the product reference. If the box is unticked, the output file created by the audit will have the form AUDIT_PC0001.*. Tick the box if the domain name is to be incorporated in the file name (such as AUDIT_HHS_PC0001.*). Enter the server path to where audit output files are stored. This should be the same physical path for each PC (typically \\Server\Suppdesk\Auditor). Enter the network user account under which the remote PC audit will run on a PC. Indicate if the remote audit is to be run under the PC s own user account. Indicate if the remote audit is to be run under the PC s system account. If ticked, the auditing process will also be shown on the remote PC s desktop. As part of the PC Audit option, various actions are available to interact with another user s PC. You will use either the IP address or the host address, depending on the setting checked at the Load Audit Files dialogue on the Setup menu. This is useful when operating an internal IT help desk to investigate or assist with a problem on a particular PC. Please refer to the relevant instructions in the Word document Getting Started for information on configuring the remote control on audited machines. You can choose from the Launch menu or the right mouse pop-up menu when listing customer or call records at the main window: Take Remote Control of a PC to access a specified PC and operate it remotely so you can check for problems. Ping a PC to test the network connection to the highlighted PC. In an internal IT help desk, the PCs will be listed as customer records and you can use the Auditor program to load the hardware and software associated with each PC as inventory records. On the PC s customer record, the PC name and IP address are both supplied. PC Event Viewer displays the event log for a specified PC so you can look at what has occurred in case of problems. Reboot PC to close down a remote PC and all its current applications, then reboot. C-70 Administrator's Guide for SupportDesk

75 Chat to PC, which only applies for LANDesk, to conduct a dialogue with a remote PC s user. Transfer File to PC, which is a LANDesk-only option and transfers a file to a remote PC. PC System Info shows html output created when a specified PC was last audited so you can see what applications are on the machine. Console runs an application so you can examine problems. The application will depend on the asset tool you use it may be the LANDesk Console application, Microsoft Management Console for SMS or Discovery Homepage in the case of Centennial. Administrator's Guide for SupportDesk C-71

76 14 Import Formats You can load most SupportDesk databases directly from comma separated value (CSV) text files. See demoload.txt in the SupportDesk directory for a sample import CSV file. To import data: From the Database menu, click on Import CSV File... Refer to the topic Importing External Data, described on page 44, for information on running the Import. The SupportDesk database Export routine outputs the databases using the same formats. You can export data from one SupportDesk system and then import to another if you are changing your RDBMS. Please note that dates should be entered as DD/MM/YYYY for UK format and MM/DD/YYYY if US format is in use. You can import all record types but the following are detailed here for your reference. Excel column headings are supplied to assist. You will need to use these in the event of importing data from an alternative data source for initial SupportDesk load. For other record types, you can create a dummy record, populating the required fields with discernable text, such as REF in a reference field. The exported data can then be used as a template for the import layout (open the txt file using Excel and convert the text to columns). Products & Product Versions Customers, Contacts & Inventory Calls KnowledgeBase Suppliers 14.1 Import Products Product Record - Type P A Code "P" B Reference Up to 16 characters, mandatory and unique. (The Product must not currently exist.) C Name Up to 40 characters, mandatory and unique D Description Up to 250 characters C-72 Administrator's Guide for SupportDesk

77 E Creation Date 10 characters. Default, today s date F Status Up to 16 characters G Analysis Date 10 characters H Price 10 numeric characters, 2 decimal places I Supplier Up to 40 characters J Manufacturer Up to 40 characters K Maintenance Contract Up to 40 characters L Folders A series of numbers delimited by to note the folders in which the product can be used. The number is displayed on the folder details dialogue (for example, 3 5 ). M Archive & Web Flag Numeric N Service Level Up to 32 characters O Type Up to 16 characters P-T Extra Fields (pre 2002) 5 fields of up to 25 characters each U Licences Numeric V Rate per Hour 10 numeric characters, 2 decimal places W Rate per Day 10 numeric characters, 2 decimal places X No. in Stock Numeric Y No. Sold Numeric Z Reorder Limit Numeric AA Reorder Amount Numeric AB System ID Numeric leave blank for new records AC Leave blank AD Up to 50 characters AE Assignee ID Numeric AF Archive 0 for live, 1 for archive AG File Name Up to 120 characters AH Currency Up to 16 characters Product Version Record - Type PV A Code "PV" B Product Ref Up to 16 characters (Product must exist.) Administrator's Guide for SupportDesk C-73

78 C Version Ref Up to 16 characters, mandatory and unique for this Product D Environment Up to 16 characters E Creation Date 10 characters If omitted, today s date is used F Description Up to 250 characters G Status Up to 16 characters H Analysis Date 10 characters I Price 10 numeric characters, 2 decimal places J Modification Up to 250 characters K Archive Flag Numeric L Web Flag Numeric 14.2 Import Customers Customer Record - Type C A Code "C" B Reference Up to 16 characters, mandatory and unique (The Customer must not currently exist). C Name Up to 40 characters, mandatory D Address Line 1 Up to 40 characters E Address Line 2 Up to 40 characters F Address Line 3 Up to 40 characters G Address Line 4 Up to 40 characters H Address Line 5 Up to 40 characters I Post Code Up to 16 characters J Phone No 1 Up to 20 characters K Creation Date 10 characters If omitted, today s date is used. L Account Manager Up to 40 characters M Narrative Up to 250 characters N Fax No Up to 20 characters O Phone No 2 Up to 20 characters C-74 Administrator's Guide for SupportDesk

79 P Up to 50 characters Q Modem Up to 20 characters R Maintenance Expiry Date 10 characters S Service Level Up to 32 characters T Market 20 characters U Department Up to 40 characters V Web Flag Numeric W Archive Flag Numeric X Charging Flag Numeric Y News Up to 80 characters Z Fee 10 numeric characters, 2 decimal places AA Folders A series of numbers delimited by to note the folders in which the customer can be used. AB-AF Extra Fields (pre 2002) 5 fields of up to 25 characters each AG Internal 1=Yes, 0=No AH Type Up to 16 charcters AI Calls Left Numeric AJ Rate per Hour 10 numeric characters, 2 decimal places AJ Rate per Day 10 numeric characters, 2 decimal places AL Contract No Up to 25 characters AM Website Up to 120 characters AN System ID Numeric - leave blank for new records AO-AP Leave blank AQ TITLE Up to 60 characters AR Location Up to 40 characters AS Serial No Up to 40 characters AT Currency Up to16 characters AU Assignee ID Numeric Administrator's Guide for SupportDesk C-75

80 Inventory Record - Type CP A Code "CP" B Customer Ref Up to 16 characters, mandatory (Customer must exist.) C Product Ref Up to 16 characters, mandatory (Product must exist.) D Version Ref Up to 16 characters, mandatory (Product Version must exist.) E Date 10 characters (Default today s date) F Narrative Up to 250 characters G Serial No Up to 40 characters H Asset No Up to 25 characters I Status Up to 25 characters J Analysis Up to 25 characters K Cust Contract Start 10 characters (date) L Cust Contract End 10 characters (date) M Cust Contract Period Up to 25 characters N Cust Contract Fee 10 numeric characters, 2 decimal places O Cust Contract Code Up to 25 characters P Purchase Date 10 characters Q Purchase Price 10 numeric characters, 2 decimal places R Pur. Order No Up to 25 character. S Pur. Invoice No Up to 25 characters T Pur. Contract No Up to 25 characters U Installation Start Date 10 characters V Installation End Date 10 characters W Location Up to 40 characters X Room Up to 25 characters Y Floor Up to 25 characters Z Building Up to 25 characters AA Contact Up to 40 characters AB Extra 1 (pre 2002) Up to 25 characters AC Extra 2 (pre 2002) Up to 25 characters C-76 Administrator's Guide for SupportDesk

81 AD Extra 3 (pre 2002) Up to 25 characters AE Service Level Up to 32 characters AF Extra 4 (pre 2002) Up to 25 characters each AG Extra 5 (pre 2002) Up to 25 characters each AH Flags Numeric (set to zero) AI Cust Contract No Up to 25 characters AJ Supplier Up to 40 characters AK Supplier SLA Up to 32 characters AL Supp Contract Expiry 10 characters (date) AM System ID Leave blank for new records AN Type Up to 16 characters AO-AQ Leave blank AR ID Up to 120 characters AS Numeric Flag Set to 0 AT Department Up to 120 characters AU Currency Up to 16 characters AV-BB Leave blank BC Folders A series of numbers delimited by to note the folders in which the inventory can be used. BD Op. Status Up to 16 characters Contact Record - Type CC A Code "CC" B Reference Up to 16 characters, mandatory (The Customer must exist). C Date 10 characters If omitted, today s date is used. D Name Up to 40 characters E Department Up to 40 characters F Location Up to 40 characters G Address Line 1 Up to 40 characters H Address Line 2 Up to 40 characters I Address Line 3 Up to 40 characters J Address Line 4 Up to 40 characters Administrator's Guide for SupportDesk C-77

82 K Address Line 5 Up to 40 characters L Post Code Up to 16 characters M Phone No 1 Up to 20 characters N Phone No 2 Up to 20 characters O Up to 50 characters P Fax No Up to 20 characters Q Narrative Up to 250 characters R Title Up to 40 characters S-W Extra Fields (pre 2002) 5 fields of up to 25 characters each X System Id Numeric leave blank for new records Y Salutation Up to 25 characters Z Service Level Up to 32 characters. AA Mobile Up to 20 characters AB Classifications Up to 10,000 characters AC Response Up to 25 characters AD Assistant Up to 40 characters AE Time Zone Up to 16 characters AF Channel Numeric AG Flags Numeric AH Job Role Up to 40 characters AI Template Numeric AJ IP Phone Up to 20 characters AK Archive 0 for live, 1 for archive AL Primary Contact 0 for no, 1 for yes AM Expiry Date 10 characters (date) 14.3 Import Calls Call Record - Type E A Code "E" B Call Ref Up to 8 characters, mandatory and unique. C-78 Administrator's Guide for SupportDesk

83 C Customer Ref Up to 16 characters. (Customer must exist.) D Product Ref Up to 16 characters. (Product must exist.) E Version Ref Up to 16 characters. (Product Version must exist.) F Category Type Up to 32 characters. Category must exist. G Category Status Up to 32 characters. Category must exist. H Category Priority Up to 32 characters. Category must exist. I Category Level Up to 32 characters. Category must exist. J Owner s Ref User Tag. Up to 8 characters, mandatory. (User must exist.) K Open Date 10 characters. (Default today's date) L Open Time 5 characters HH:MM, 24-hour clock. (Default current time) M Close Date 10 characters. (If omitted, Call is open.) N Close Time 5 characters HH:MM, 24-hour clock. O Subject Up to 250 characters P Customer Contact Up to 40 characters Q Assignee User Tag. Up to 8 characters, default to Owner s Ref. (User must exist.) R Customer s Own Ref Up to 16 characters. S Medium Numeric T-X Extra Fields (pre 2002) 5 fields of up to 16 characters each Y Serial No Up to 40 characters Z Action Up to 32 characters AA Action Date 10 characters AB Action Time 5 characters HH:MM, 24-hour clock. AC Cost 10 numeric characters, 2 decimal places. AD Web Flag Numeric AE Warning Date 10 characters AF Warning Time 5 characters HH:MM, 24-hour clock. AG 120 characters AH Phone 20 characters AI-AL Leave blank Administrator's Guide for SupportDesk C-79

84 AM Contact ID Numeric AN Inventory ID Numeric AO Support Level Eg First Line AP-AQ AR-AS AT - AU Actual Action Date & Time Target Response Date & Time Actual Response Date & Time AV Department Up to 120 characters AW Location Up to 40 characters Call Note Record - Type ER A Code "ER" B Call Ref Up to 8 characters. (Call must exist.) C Author User Tag. Up to 8 characters, mandatory (User must exist.) D Creation Date 10 characters. If omitted, today s date is used. E Creation Time 5 characters HH:MM, 24-hour clock. If omitted, current time is used. F Category Type Up to 32 characters. Category must exist. G Category Status Up to 32 characters. Category must exist. H Category Priority Up to 32 characters. Category must exist. I Category Level Up to 32 characters. Category must exist. J Job Time 5 characters HH:MM, 24-hour clock. K Note Text Up to 10,000 characters Import KnowledgeBase KnowledgeBase Record Type KB A Code "KB" B Keywords Up to 250 characters, mandatory C Problem Up to 250 Characters D Topic Up to 32 Characters E Sub-Topic Up to 32 characters F Web Link Up to 80 characters C-80 Administrator's Guide for SupportDesk

85 G User Up to 8 characters. The User's Tag, User must exist. H Flag Numeric (set to 0) I Creation Date 10 characters. Default today s date. J Source Call Ref Up to 8 characters. The Reference of the originating Call. K Solution Up to 10,000 characters L-O Flags Leave blank P Prod Ref 16 Characters must exist Q Cust Ref 16 Characters must exist 14.5 Import Suppliers Supplier Record Type SU A Code "SU" B Identifier Numeric. Mandatory and sequential C Name Up to 40 Characters D Archived 1=Yes, 0=No E Flags Numeric (set to 0) F Up to 50 characters G Phone Up to 20 characters H Fax Up to 20 characters I Terms Up to 40 characters J Courier Up to 40 characters K Notes Up to 250 characters L Contact Up to 40 characters M WebSite Up to 200 characters N Address Line 1 Up to 40 characters O Address Line 2 Up to 40 characters P Address Line 3 Up to 40 characters Q Address Line 4 Up to 40 characters Administrator's Guide for SupportDesk C-81

86 R Address Line 5 Up to 40 characters S Postcode Up to 16 characters T Date 10 characters C-82 Administrator's Guide for SupportDesk

87 Index A About this Manual 1 Action 12 Action date 16 Active directory 30 Adding and Maintaining Logins 34 Adding and Updating Resource Allocation Records 49 Application Launcher Archive calls Automatically 6 closed calls 43 Login 38 Archive Closed Calls 43 Archiving 7 Attachments folder 6 Attachments Tab 20 Audit Configuration tab 68 Audit field changes 28 Audit option remote control 70 Audit Option 30 Audited Computer Details tab 66 Auditing 32 Auditor 66 Authoriser 19 Automatic Mail 53 Automatic reference generation 5 C Calendar 21 Calendar Tab 21 Call Action 12 action date 16 archive closed 43 Archive Closed 6 Categories See Category defaults 11 escalator See Escalator Options for Closed 6 Options for New 5 product List 5 publish submission form 45, 58 restore closed 43 Call Escalator 60 Categories 2, 7 23 Category Details 15 Category Details 15 Centennial Connector 32 Change authorisation 18 Choose colour 17 Classifications 29 Clear date 19 Closed calls archive 43 restore 43 Closed Calls Options 6 Company Configuration 4 7, 4 Compose Mail 53 Configuring s 55 Contact load 30 Contact Classifications 29 Copy call 18 Customer Charging 17 folder 64 load 30 reference 64 D Data Dictionary Data Dictionary and Extra Fields 23 Database integrity 45 Database Menu 43 Databases export Import 44 Default dictionary 24 Defining Public Holidays 41 Delete records 44 Delete Records 36 Details Tab 4, 15, 35 Display logins 34 resource allocations 48 E Elapsed times mail a customer 53 mail assignee 53 mail call as a CSV file 54 mail the owner 53 Message Templates 55, 57 read mail 54 field changes 28 Setup 53 Administrator's Guide for SupportDesk C-i

88 Setup and Templates 30 Template 56 Encrypt Passwords 6 Entering Changes 26 Entering Folder Details 9 Escalate 10 Escalation Tab 22 Escalator 22, Escalator Module 60 Exchange, Microsoft 56 Export databases 44 Exporting SupportDesk Databases 44 External s 56 Extra Fields 23 F Field changes 28 Folder 8 11 Category 16 customer 64 Details 8 Folder Management 8 H Holidays 41 How to Use this Documentation 1 HTML See Publish I Import 44 Formats Import Calls 78 Import Customers 74 Import Formats 72 Import KnowledgeBase 80 Import Products 72 Import Suppliers 81 Importing External Data 44 Info Tab 38 Integrity Checker 45 Integrity of database 45 Internal 6, 10 Inventory auditor 66 ITIL framework 8, 10 K KnowledgeBase Load from Closed Calls 45 L LANDesk/Microsoft SMS Connector 32 Launch 51 Launch Setup 51 LDAP connector 30 LDAP Connector 30 Live/Archive toggle 43 Load customers and contacts 30 Loading KnowledgeBase 45 Log file, call Escalation 61 Login 34 Archive 38 Configuration 36 details 34 listing records 34 privilege 35 privileges 34 types 2 Login and Password 35 Login Management 34 M Main window viewing logins 34 viewing resource allocations 48 Metrics 16 Microsoft Exchange 56 Milestone 15 Milestones 16 Monitor and Scheduler 62 N New call defaults 11 New user 1 Note Automatic Generation 5 Novell NDS 30 O Office hours 5 Options Tab 39 Organisation of the Documentation 1 P Parent category 16 Password Encrypt 6 PC Audit 66 PC auditing 30 PC Auditing 30 C-ii Administrator's Guide for SupportDesk

89 Ping 51, 70 POP3 56 Priority 18 Public holidays 41 Publish call submission form 45, 58 Publish a Web Call Submission Form 46 Publish an Call Submission Form 45 Publish Call Submission Form 58 Q Quick calls scheduling 65 R Read Mail 54 Record delete 44 Reference generation 5 Remote control 70 Remote Control 70 Reports Amend Fields 23 Resource allocation adding and updating 49 listing records 48 Resource Allocation Restore closed calls 43 T Take control 51 Telephony option 40 Template 19 Terminology 10 Time zone 6 V View All Calls 36 Viewing Resource Allocation 48 W Warning date 16 Windows service 61, 64 Workflow 16 Workflow & Actions Tab 17 Wrap html data 28 Writing Scripts 42 S Send a CSV File of a Call 54 Send Mail to a Customer, Owner, Assignee 53 Separate template 10 Service 61, 64 Service Level 11 Calendar 21 Service Level Management 11 Service Level Monitor & Scheduler Service Level Monitor, Configuration Tab 64 Service Level Monitor, Real-Time Monitor Tab 62 Service Level Monitor, Scheduler Tab 64 Setup Menu 4 SMS 6, 7 SMS only 19 SMTP 56 Special operations 8 Status 18 Stop clock 19 Sub-type 12 System Configuration Section 2 Administrator's Guide for SupportDesk C-iii

90 C-iv Administrator's Guide for SupportDesk