Altiris Helpdesk Solution 6.0 SP5 Product Guide

Transcription

1 Altiris Helpdesk Solution 6.0 SP5 Product Guide

2 Notice Helpdesk Solution 6.0 SP Altiris, Inc. All rights reserved. Document Date: August 29, 2007 Information in this document: (i) is provided for informational purposes only with respect to products of Altiris or its subsidiaries ( Products ), (ii) represents Altiris' views as of the date of publication of this document, (iii) is subject to change without notice (for the latest documentation, visit our Web site at and (iv) should not be construed as any commitment by Altiris. Except as provided in Altiris' license agreement governing its Products, ALTIRIS ASSUMES NO LIABILITY WHATSOEVER AND DISCLAIMS ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES RELATING TO THE USE OF ANY PRODUCTS, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION, WARRANTIES OF FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, MERCHANTABILITY, OR INFRINGEMENT OF ANY THIRD-PARTY INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS. Altiris assumes no responsibility for any errors or omissions contained in this document, and Altiris specifically disclaims any and all liabilities and/or obligations for any claims, suits or damages arising in connection with the use of, reliance upon, or dissemination of this document, and/or the information contained herein. Altiris may have patents or pending patent applications, trademarks, copyrights, or other intellectual property rights that relate to the Products referenced herein. The furnishing of this document and other materials and information does not provide any license, express or implied, by estoppel or otherwise, to any foregoing intellectual property rights. No part of this document may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means without the express written consent of Altiris, Inc. Customers are solely responsible for assessing the suitability of the Products for use in particular applications or environments. Products are not intended for use in medical, life saving, life sustaining, critical control or safety systems, or in nuclear facility applications. *All other names or marks may be claimed as trademarks of their respective companies. Helpdesk Solution Product Guide 2

3 Contents Chapter 1: Introduction to Altiris Helpdesk Solution Helpdesk Features Accessing Helpdesk Alert Manager For Non-English Users Chapter 2: Installing and Configuring Helpdesk Setup and Installation System Requirements Altiris Notification Server Installing Helpdesk Solution from the Altiris Console Upgrading from Previous Versions of Helpdesk Solution Upgrading New Releases of Helpdesk Solution Licensing Installing Licenses Create a Worker Account Incident Settings Importing Assets and Contacts from Notification Server Localization Uninstalling Helpdesk Chapter 3: Security Role Management Roles and Privileges Helpdesk Privileges Incident Privileges Altiris Console Privileges Chapter 4: Helpdesk Business Rules Using Rules and Automated Actions Scenario 1 - Using Routing Rules to Enforce Service Escalations Scenario 2 - Using Incident Rules to Enforce Service Escalation Scenario 3 - Using Notify Rules to Notify Customers When an Incident is Resolved Scenario 4 - Using Categorization to Process a New Employee Scenario 5 - Using Automated Actions to Escalate the Priority Complex Conditions for Helpdesk Business Rules Advanced Conditions Advanced Assignments Chapter 5: The Incidents Menu Worker Report Make an Incident into a Bulletin New Incident View Incident Edit Incident Publish Incident to Knowledge Base Incident Search Knowledge Base View Contact Properties Find a Contact Helpdesk Solution Product Guide 3

4 Select a Contact View Asset Properties Find an Asset Select an Asset Messages Link Incidents File Attachments Incident to Bulletin Find Incidents Simple Advanced Expert Search in Comment or Title Field Service Catalog Queries List Queries Run Query View Query Edit Query Delete a Single Query Clone Query New Query Delete Queries Bulletins List Bulletins View Bulletin Edit Bulletin Delete a Single Bulletin Clone Bulletin New Bulletin Delete Bulletins Last Query Results Edit Multiple Incidents Simple Advanced Expert Retrieve a Queued Incident Delete Incidents Simple Advanced Expert Chapter 6: The Quick Incidents Menu List Quick Incidents View Quick Incident Edit Quick Incident Delete a Single Quick Incident Run a Quick Incident Clone a Quick Incident New Quick Incident Delete Quick Incidents Chapter 7: The Admin Menu Admin Report Helpdesk Solution Product Guide 4

5 Categories List Categories Edit Categories New Category Modify Category Move Category Copy Category Delete Category Validation Rules List Validation Rules View Validation Rule Edit Validation Rule Change the Order of Validation Rules Delete a Single Validation Rule Clone Validation Rule New Validation Rule Delete Validation Rules Incident Rules List Incident Rules View Incident Rule Edit Incident Rule Change the Order of Incident Rules Delete a Single Incident Rule Clone Incident Rule New Incident Rule Delete Incident Rules Routing Rules List Routing Rules View Routing Rule Edit Routing Rule Change the Order of Routing Rules Delete a Single Routing Rule Clone Routing Rule New Routing Rule Delete Routing Rules Notify Rules List Notify Rules View Notify Rule Edit Notify Rule Delete a Single Notify Rule Clone Notify Rule New Notify Rule Delete Notify Rules Automation Rules List Automation Rules View Automation Rule Edit Automation Rule Delete a Single Automation Rule Clone Automation Rule New Automation Rule Delete Automation Rules About Tasks About Task Types About Task URLs Helpdesk Solution Product Guide 5

6 How Tasks Appear in Incidents Creating a Task Deleting a Single Task Deleting Multiple Tasks Changing the Service Category of a Task Field Desciptions for the New Task and Edit Task Pages Options for Most Task Types Options for Invoke a URL Task Type Options for Create or Edit an Incident Task Type Options for Start a Notification Server Task Task Type Templates List Message Templates View Template Edit Template Clone Template New Template Inboxes List Inboxes View Inboxes Edit Inboxes Clone Inboxes New Inbox Delete Inboxes Inbox Filters List Inbox Filters View Inbox Filter Edit Inbox Filters Change the Order of Inbox Filters Delete a Single Inbox Filter Clone Inbox Filter New Inbox Filter Delete Inbox Filters Resource Types Lookups Edit Lookups View Lookups Import Admin Data Export Admin Data About Service Categories Changing the Service Category Display Order Creating a Service Category Changing a Service Category Graphic About the Service Catalog Finding a Service About the Customer Satisfaction Survey Enabling the Customer Satisfaction Survey Modifying the Customer Satisfaction Survey Contents Chapter 8: The Contacts Menu Contact Home Find Contacts View Contact Edit Contact Delete a Single Contact Helpdesk Solution Product Guide 6

7 New Contact Delete Contacts Chapter 9: The Assets Menu Assets Home Find Assets View Asset Edit Asset Delete a Single Asset New Asset Delete Assets Chapter 10: The Worker Menu List Workers View Worker Edit Worker New Worker List Queues View Queue Edit Queue New Queue Chapter 11: The Recents Menu Chapter 12: The Knowledge Base Menu Configure the Knowledge Base Search Articles Simple Advanced Publish Article Publish Existing Document Review Article Publish Article Delete Article View Article Edit Article Search Article Properties Libraries New Library View Library Edit Scope Refresh Scope New Scope View Scope Delete Scope Edit Library Delete Library Refresh Library Library and Article Security Archive Articles Delete Articles Helpdesk Solution Product Guide 7

8 Chapter 13: Format for Print Chapter 14: Helpdesk Knowledge Base Using Libraries Using the File System Publish an Article from an Incident Reviewing an Article by Viewing it in the Review Article Area Publish a Single Document Individually Publish Multiple Documents Moving a Helpdesk/Knowledge Base System to a New Server Prepare for the Move Prepare your Destination Server Copy the Data Files Copy the database Modify the destination database Refresh the Libraries Chapter 15: Customization Customizing Using AppWeaver Customization Integration Best Practices Specification of a custom.config File <custom.configuration> <consoles> <console> <command> <commandparam> <presentations> <presentation> <modules> <module> <files> <file> <imgfiles> <imgfile> <resourcelibs> <resourcelib> Customizing the Helpdesk Consoles Customization Use Cases Should I Override a Command or the File Alias of the Template that Implements the Command? Overriding a command Overriding a File Alias How to Override a Command Prerequisites Solution How to Leverage Existing Functionality by Overriding a Template File Alias Prerequisites Solution How to Create Your Own Custom Console Prerequisites Solution Debug and Test Your Customizations How to Add a Scalar Field Helpdesk Solution Product Guide 8

9 Prerequisites Solution Debug and Test Your Customizations How to Add a Lookup Field Prerequisites Solution Debug and Test Your Customizations How to Centralize all of Your Custom Strings for Ease of Management and Localization Prerequisites Solution Database Tables Views Stored Procedures Support for Pocket PC (PPC) Chapter 16: Advanced Query Settings Query Parameter Replacement Query Data Types Data Field Description Chapter 17: Advanced Template Macros HTML Link Macros View Incident HTML Link Macros Output Lists Chapter 18: Incident View Fields Contact view fields Asset view fields Chapter 19: Data Macros Simple Macros Map Macros Complex Macros Date Macros Parsing Macros Index Helpdesk Solution Product Guide 9

10 Chapter 1 Introduction to Altiris Helpdesk Solution 6.0 Altiris Helpdesk Solution provides incident management tools to enhance, expand, and enforce the workflow and resolution of IT helpdesk issues. Helpdesk provides easyto-use, integrated business rules to route incidents based on features, such as providing an essential foundation of ITIL components to help your organization move from reactive fire-fighting to managing the complexity and demands of IT infrastructure. It lets you ensure infrastructure availability and raise service levels while reducing costs. Designed for quick implementation, it lets you realize immediate benefits. Helpdesk Solution is built on the Altiris Notification Server architecture and is fully integrated with other Altiris components, such as asset management, remote control, and Webbased administration tools. With the release of Altiris Notification Server 6.0, the Helpdesk file structure is different than previous versions. While these changes were made to improve Notification Server, it also affected the way Alert Manager and Helpdesk Solution are added to the server. Because this release of Helpdesk Solution is complementary to the new Notification Server product, we detail some of the new features in this section. When you install Altiris Notification Server 6.0 or later, the installation process activates Alert Manager. However, if you install a license for Helpdesk Solution, its features are also enabled. Throughout this document, all feature references are made to those available in the Helpdesk Solution. The user interface displays Helpdesk, even if you have not installed a Helpdesk Solution license; however, the features displayed on the menu depend on which product you are using. See Alert Manager on page 13 for a comparison between the two products. The menu features are also contingent on the security set by administrators and managers, so regardless of the product you are using, all features may not be displayed. This Incident Management system is a powerful tool to manage any organization and can track any IT resource, create contacts, report and manage incidents that have been submitted to a Helpdesk department. Note Notification Server installation creates a Helpdesk database (named as the name of the Notification Server appended with _Incidents) that is used by Alert Manager. Helpdesk Solution can be configured to use the existing database or create another. If Alert Manager has been used, you will want to use the Helpdesk database to maintain existing data. If you are upgrading from a previous version of Helpdesk Solution, then Helpdesk Solution 6.0 can upgrade your existing database. Quick Links Helpdesk Features on page 11 Accessing Helpdesk on page 12 Alert Manager on page 13 For Non-English Users on page 13 Helpdesk Solution Help 10

11 Helpdesk Features Service Catalog Using Helpdesk tasks, you can define a Service Catalog for your organization. Service Catalog tasks appear in the Worker Console, and can also appear in the My Helpdesk Console. For information on tasks, see About Tasks on page 106. For information on the Service Catalog, see About the Service Catalog on page 128. Knowledge Base The Knowledge Base is a convenient, fully integrated way to capture and preserve information for future reference. Helpdesk workers can search the Knowledge Base to quickly find known errors and other documented processes, which significantly reduces the time required to resolve incidents. See The Knowledge Base Menu on page 146. Features: Create an article directly from an incident Publish existing documents in HTML, Word, and Acrobat file formats Organize content into hierarchical libraries and scopes for more targeted searching Search the Knowledge Base from the My Helpdesk console Set expiration dates for each article so that outdated articles can be easily archived Review each article submitted before publishing it to a library or scope Set security to restrict the searching and displaying of articles by group Let users rate the usefulness of articles after they have been retrieved Track articles by the number of times they are retrieved Search articles by keyword or natural language Registration of Tasks This feature enables Helpdesk users to leverage functionality from Altiris Real Time System Manager and other Altiris solutions. The feature allows other solutions (consumers) to register contextual URLs associated with incidents. When an incident is being viewed, Helpdesk provides links that invoke the registered URLs and helps workers run processes that can resolve incidents that meet the tasks defined criteria. See About Tasks on page 106. Inbound Support This feature lets you monitor a IMAP4 or POP3 mailbox for new messages and map the content of the messages to the fields of new and existing incidents. To help monitor incoming , you can set inbox filters to help control spam and auto-reply messages. You can also receive messages that correspond to existing incidents. See Inboxes on page 117 and Inbox Filters on page 122. Enhanced Bulletin Board Administrators, managers, and workers can now create a bulletin from an incident, and then link all incidents reporting the same problem to the bulletin. This lets you track all calls reporting the same problem, managing it as one incident, while keeping all other workers and users informed. When the problem is resolved, and the incident turned Helpdesk Solution Help 11

12 bulletin is closed, all incidents linked to the bulletin are closed as well. See Bulletins on page 58. Quick Incidents This feature lets administrators define templates for incidents that are most frequently reported, saving workers from having to manually enter each field of an incident repeatedly. Example: workers that field calls from users that request password resets enter the same property values in the fields of an incident, every time. This feature reduces the amount of time a worker spends on a call because quick templates have most of the information already entered. See The Quick Incidents Menu on page 67. Incident Rules Routing rules affect the Assigned field of an incident, whereas Incident rules affect many more fields of new or modified incidents. Administrators and managers can create Incident rules, which are evaluated by the Helpdesk system and change the field values of incidents if they match the Incident rule s criteria. The rules are easy to configure and do not require any scripting. See Incident Rules on page 81. Satisfaction Survey This feature lets you send a satisfaction survey to any person whose incident has been resolved. After the user submits the completed survey, it can be tracked by a report that provides the overall survey responses. This is a reliable tool for managers to gauge the effectiveness of any support organization, which can ultimately lead to establishing new processes to improve user support. Improved Summary Pages The Admin and Worker Report pages now display a more complete summary of incidents entered into the system. Incidents are displayed by item count and time periods and are more easily understood. On the Worker Report page, you can access both shared and personal incident queries, so workers can browse through incident data based on any criteria. On the Admin Report page, a rollup of important incident status values for all active workers is available. See Admin Report on page 73 and Worker Report on page 38. Edit Multiple Incidents Capability This feature lets you change selected field values for multiple incidents all at the same time. Example: if a worker is out on vacation or is no longer with the organization, managers and administrators can now reassign their incidents to another worker. This ensures that all incidents are assigned and routed to an appropriate worker or queue. See Edit Multiple Incidents on page 62. Accessing Helpdesk Helpdesk can be accessed through Notification Server s Altiris Console or by using name>/aexhd/. If the URL address is used, Helpdesk uses your Windows NT account and associated roles to route you to an appropriate console. You may also open a specific console (according to your privileges) by providing the URL address for one of the following consoles. Helpdesk Worker Console name>/aexhd/worker Helpdesk Solution Help 12

13 Used by workers assigned to the Helpdesk department. The user interface features are enabled according to worker s user authorization and Helpdesk privileges. The Worker Console displays Service Catalog tasks. My Helpdesk Console name>/aexhd/winuser Used by users with a Windows NT account in an intranet environment who are not Helpdesk workers. This console lets you set up contact information, create incidents, and view bulletins. The My Helpdesk Console displays Service Catalog tasks that you have specified should appear there. Incident Request - NT User Used by users with a Windows NT account in an intranet environment that are not Helpdesk workers. This console has fewer features available than My Helpdesk Console. Incident Request - User name>/aexhd/user For users who want to make requests or report problems but do not have a Windows NT account. The users and their incidents are tracked by . Incident Request - Guest name>/aexhd/guest For anonymous access to the Helpdesk system from the public Internet. Users can report incidents and read bulletins, but only if the bulletins are set for Guest users to view. Alert Manager Alert Manager is a version of Helpdesk that is included with the Notification System and that has limited Helpdesk capabilities. Alert Manager is useful for capturing incidents generated by the Notification System. You can then pass the incidents or incidents information on to other systems, such as Monitor Solution, SecurityExpress, as well as Notification Server. Helpdesk capabilities and features that are not available in Alert Manager are: Create new tickets Create and use Quick Incidents, contacts, or assets Integrate Create and use Helpdesk Knowledge Base Service Catalog For Non-English Users Non-English users of Helpdesk may see pull-down menus in English. These are queries that are populated only in English. Much of Helpdesk functionality is administrator managed. Helpdesk provides a query/ rule/object infrastructure and the specific behavior is provided by administrators creating instances of these to model their process. All of these data instances are stored in the Helpdesk database and created and managed by the administrator. With one exception, we do not currently have a mechanism that allows localized variants of these names to be stored in the Helpdesk database alongside the English name. Furthermore, Helpdesk creates an initial set of these names at install time as a Helpdesk Solution Help 13

14 convenience to the user providing a minimum set of initial behaviors. This initial set is created with English names. Currently the only recourse for those desiring to see localized names is to use the Helpdesk user interface to rename them in their native language. Helpdesk Solution Help 14

15 Chapter 2 Installing and Configuring Helpdesk Altiris Helpdesk Solution is a plug-in component of the Altiris Notification Server, an infrastructure that provides security, reporting, policy definition, and other services for Altiris solutions. The Notification Server infrastructure also includes the Altiris Console, a user interface with features to manage all resources remotely from a remote Web browser. As a plug-in Web solution, Helpdesk Solution joins with other Altiris IT management solutions, such as Inventory, Deployment, Application Metering, and Software Delivery solutions. These combined solutions and systems provide comprehensive remote, automated administration of desktops, notebooks, servers, handhelds, network computer devices, and provides integrated incident management from the Helpdesk Solution. Install Helpdesk Information To install Helpdesk, you first install the Notification Server and enable Helpdesk Solution. It is a simple process that can be automated in many ways depending on your environment and individual requirements. This document details the basic tasks required to set up Notification Server and the Helpdesk Solution. Note The Notification Server install creates a Helpdesk database (named as the name of the Notification Server appended with _Incidents) that is used by Alert Manager. Helpdesk Solution can be configured to use the existing database or create another. If Alert Manager has been used, you will want to use the Helpdesk database to maintain existing data. If you are upgrading from a previous version of Helpdesk Solution, then Helpdesk 6.0 will upgrade your existing database if you prefer. For general set up information of Altiris products, see the Altiris 6.0 Getting Started Guide. For in-depth planning concepts and rollout instructions for large or distributed environments, see the Installation section in the Altiris Notification Server Help. Quick Links Setup and Installation on page 15 Licensing on page 19 Create a Worker Account on page 20 Incident Settings on page 20 Localization on page 23 Uninstalling Helpdesk on page 24 Setup and Installation Helpdesk Solution 6.0 installs to the Notification Server 6.0 infrastructure with new taskbased user interface features, updated security, localized language support, easy-to-use Helpdesk Solution Help 15

16 wizards, and integrated IT solutions. In fact, the whole Notification Server infrastructure has been updated, including the Helpdesk Solution and its complementary suite of IT solutions. New users will enjoy the ease-of-use and intuitive features for getting up and started. Previous users updating to the new Altiris Console will see significant updates and a new task-based user interface with increased response. These major updates require the installation of Microsoft.NET services, updated MDAC connectivity, increased database requirements, and other design considerations when moving to a production environment. See Altiris Notification Server for complete information. Setup, installation, and configuration of this product will vary depending on what Altiris products you have installed. Choose one of the following options: If you are a new customer You must review System Requirements to ensure you have met all software and hardware requirements. Then, download and install Altiris Notification Server followed by Installing Helpdesk Solution from the Altiris Console. Note If you are evaluating Helpdesk Solution, accept the default settings and install in a test environment with the prescribed server and client computers. If Notification Server 6.0 is already installed Go to Installing Helpdesk Solution from the Altiris Console to install Helpdesk Solution from the Solution Center. If you are upgrading to Notification Server 6.0 and Helpdesk Solution from previous versions Because Notification Server 6.0 and Helpdesk Solution 6.0 include major feature upgrades, in many cases you must perform basic update tasks, such as increasing allotted disk space for the database, and completing additional design optimization tasks before proceeding. Go to Upgrading from Previous Versions of Helpdesk Solution 6.0 for detailed instructions. If you are upgrading to a new release of Helpdesk Solution 6.0 If you already have Helpdesk Solution 6.0 installed and want to check if there is a new release, go to Upgrading New Releases of Helpdesk Solution 6.0 on page 19. System Requirements The following information shows the system requirements for installing Notification Server and Helpdesk Solution on the server and setting up the Altiris Agent on all managed client computer devices. Hardware Requirements for Notification Server Operating System Windows Server 2003, Windows 2000 Server, or Windows 2000 Advanced Server with SP2 or later Processor Pentium III 800 MHz or faster RAM 512 MB 1 GB recommended for increased speed and large environments Helpdesk Solution Help 16

17 Hardware Requirements for Notification Server (Continued) Hard Drive 20 GB (recommended) 105 MB for Notification Server and components (disk space) File system 1 GB for SQL Server database NTFS partition The following are system requirements for the client computer running the Altiris Agent. Altiris Agent Requirements for the Managed Computer Operating System Windows XP or later Disk space on client 5 MB disk space for Altiris Agent, plus space to install required software. RAM 64 MB Browser Microsoft Internet Explorer 4 or later Worker Console Requirements Worker Console / End User Console Microsoft Internet Explorer 7.0 or later Altiris Notification Server Before you begin the setup and installation process, review the System Requirements on page 16 to ensure you have all hardware and software components necessary to proceed. Follow the instructions to download, install, and configure the settings for the Altiris Notification Server. See the Altiris Notification Server Help. Go to Installing Helpdesk Solution from the Altiris Console on page 17 when you have finished installing Notification Server. Installing Helpdesk Solution from the Altiris Console After successfully installing Notification Server, you can download Helpdesk Solution through the Altiris Console. To download and install Helpdesk Solution 1. Select Start > Programs > Altiris > Altiris Console. 2. Click the Getting Started tab. 3. Click the Install Altiris Solutions from the Solution Center link. By default, the Solution Center page opens with the Available Solutions tabview. Click the appropriate Solutions, Suites, or Segments (large suites) button. You can also sort the solutions categorized by the operating system (OS). 4. Click Altiris Helpdesk Solution from the solutions list. 5. Click Start to begin downloading and installing the product. 6. From the Altiris Console, click the Configuration tab on the Altiris Console. Helpdesk Solution Help 17

18 7. Click the Currently Installed tab on the Solution Center page. This table displays a list of the solutions installed on the Notification Server. If the Helpdesk Solution is not listed, try refreshing the Web browser s page or reinstall the product. 8. Go to Installing Licenses on page 20. Upgrading from Previous Versions of Helpdesk Solution 6.0 Helpdesk Solution 6.0 installs to Notification Server 6.0, a major update of the Altiris Infrastructure. Upgrading to Notification Server 6.0 lets you further optimize the design of your system, clean up old files and database data, and expand the database to handle the added features included with Notification Server 6.0 and Helpdesk Solution 6.0. Before upgrading your system, backup the Notification database and the Helpdesk database. This ensures that inventory data, status information, custom reports, collections, and policies in the system can be migrated to Notification Server 6.0. After you uninstall previous versions of Notification Server and any Altiris solutions from the Windows operating system, including previous versions of Helpdesk Solution, you can begin upgrading software. Steps required for Notification Server 6.0 and Helpdesk Solution 6.0 upgrade Note The Helpdesk Database gets upgraded through this upgrade process. After you upgrade to Helpdesk Solution 6.0, you still have your Helpdesk information (including incident information) from your previous version of Helpdesk. If you want to create a new Helpdesk Database after you upgrade, you can do this on the Incident Settings page (see Incident Settings on page 20). 1. Back up the Notification Server database. If the database version you are backing up is previous to the Notification Server 5.5 SP3 database, you must upgrade to that version first, and then perform a database backup. 2. Open Add/Remove Programs from the Control Panel of the Windows operating system. Remove Altiris Notification Server. Remove Altiris Helpdesk Solution, if it was not removed during the Altiris Notification Server uninstall. Remove Inventory Solution and any other Altiris solutions that have been installed, if they were not removed during the Altiris Notification Server uninstall. 3. Clean up all MSIs and other files from previous installations. 4. Run InstallHelper to identify any missing software required for Notification Solution 6.0. See the Altiris Notification Server Help for information. 5. Install Notification Server 6.0. See the Altiris Notification Server Help for information. Helpdesk Solution Help 18

19 Note As part of the Notification Server 6.0 installation, you are required to specify a database name where all Notification Server data is stored. You can enter the database name previously backed up, which upgrades all data to be compatible with Notification Server 6.0, or you can define new SQL Server settings and database name. 6. Install Helpdesk Solution 6.0. See Installing Helpdesk Solution from the Altiris Console on page 17. Upgrading New Releases of Helpdesk Solution 6.0 Upgrading Helpdesk Solution can be done by doing an upgrade check in the Solution Center. This installs over the top of the existing software. Downloading the latest AeXHD.exe and running it manually upgrades Helpdesk Solution also. If you use Add/ Remove Programs to remove the previous version of Helpdesk, any customization to the Web site you made may be lost and have to be reconstituted. Upgrading an interim development database is not supported and requires the creation of a new database. An interim development database is defined as any database created by a non-released version of Helpdesk Solution. Interim builds during beta testing should be removed using the Add/Remove Programs in the operating system. Subsequent builds can then be installed once the previous build has been removed. Upgrades between beta versions of the product, only from a released version to either a beta version or a final released version. Any time Notification Server is being updated to a newer version along with Helpdesk Solution, Notification Server should be upgraded before upgrading Helpdesk Solution. Note Beta releases are always required to be installed on test servers and kept separate from released production installations of Helpdesk Solution. Licensing Starting with Altiris Helpdesk Solution 6.0, Altiris has changed the Helpdesk Solution licensing model from node based to a concurrent user licensing model. This means that Altiris licenses can be purchased based on a factor of 1 concurrent license for every 100 nodes in the Helpdesk Database. However, you may request a license with a higher node limit, if necessary. To upgrade to Helpdesk Solution 6.0 or renew Annual Upgrade Protection, you need to obtain a new license from Altiris Customer Support. A concurrent user is considered to be anyone who uses the Helpdesk Solution system except employee self-help users (My Helpdesk Console users). Level 1 and Level 2 workers, Supervisors, Administrators, and so forth are all required to have a concurrent license slot available when they log in. Employee self-help users can open incidents on their own behalf and check the status of these incidents, as well as search the Knowledge Base, without a license. When a user requiring a license logs into the system, Helpdesk lets the user search for and view incidents without running a license check. The moment the user attempts to edit an incident or create a new incident, Helpdesk asks the Notification Server for the Helpdesk Solution Help 19

20 number of concurrent sessions allowed by the license. If the number of open sessions is less than the number allowed by the license, the user can save the record. If not, the user is denied the ability to save changes with an appropriate screen message and is returned to the Edit Incident screen with all modifications intact. There is also a timeout feature that frees the concurrent license slot after 5 minutes of inactivity. The license slot is taken again when the user updates or creates an incident record. Installing Licenses Altiris Helpdesk Solution comes with a 30-day evaluation license agreement. You must register the product though the Altiris Web site, and then a product key is sent to you through . You must install the new product key through the Altiris Console to continue using Helpdesk Solution. To install licenses 1. From the Altiris Console, click the Configuration tab. 2. In the left pane, click Licensing. 3. In the right pane, click the Install License tab. Option 1: Click Path to license folder. Click Browse to navigate where the license product key information is located, and then click Install License. Option 2: Click Paste content to Licenses below (default option). Copy and paste the license product key information into the text field, and then click Install License. Create a Worker Account After installing Helpdesk and applying the Helpdesk license, you are required to set up an administrator to implement role-based security. The worker name you add must be in the Altiris Administrators group through Security Role Management on the Altiris Console (which uses the Windows NT file system). By default, the administrator has the appropriate privileges to complete the Helpdesk setup and installation steps. To create a Worker account 1. From the Altiris Console, click the Incidents tab. 2. Enter a name in the Worker name field. This is the user name that is used by the administrator to log on to the Helpdesk system. By default, the user name you are logged on to the Notification Server with is the name that appears on the Create worker account page. 3. Enter the worker property values in the fields on the page. 4. Click OK. Incident Settings This command configures the incidents database, which is where the Helpdesk incidents are stored. Helpdesk Solution Help 20

21 The incidents database gets created when Alert Manager is installed (at the installation of Notification Server) and is used by Helpdesk Solution. The Incident Settings page gives you the ability to create a new database. However, if you create a new database, the data in your old database will not transfer over and you need to configure your Helpdesk Knowledge Base again. If you create a new database, your old database is preserved so you can use it in the future. Keep in mind that data will only be added to the selected database on the Incident Settings page. Performing search commands much faster is the advantage of keeping incidents stored in a separate database instead of combining data in the Notification Database. To configure Incidents 1. From the Altiris Console, click the Configuration tab. 2. Select Notification Server Settings > Incident Settings. 3. Enter a property value in the Database field if you do not want to keep the default name. 4. Select the checkbox if you want to use a specific SQL login. a. Enter a property value in the User name field. b. Enter a property value in the Password field. c. Click Test Connection to make sure you can connect to the database. 5. (Optional) Select Synchronize resource and incident data with Notification Server. For information, see Importing Assets and Contacts from Notification Server on page (Optional) Select Read from active inboxes and enter the Inbox processing interval (in seconds). 7. (Optional) Select Process deletions and multiple incident edits and enter the Incident processing interval (in seconds). 8. Select Include incident change log with every incident comment for the incident change log to be included with every incident comment. This applies to changing an incident comment on the incident edit page. 9. Select Show decrypted passwords to workers to unencrypt passwords and make them visible to workers. 10. Click Apply. Importing Assets and Contacts from Notification Server Alert Manager imports Notification Server resources into its own database for use as Assets. Initially, Alert Manager imports Computer resources only. Use the Resource Types command under the Admin menu on the Incidents tab to choose the types of resources to be imported. This process is also called autoupdating because it happens automatically. This process occurs in the background on a schedule you can set on the Incident Settings page. You can disable all automatic integration with Notification Server by clearing the Synchronize resource and incident data with Notification Server checkbox. The Synchronize Interval can be any integer number of seconds greater than or equal to 60. Helpdesk Solution Help 21

22 The autoupdate process is efficient but it can take several seconds of CPU time to run on very large databases. Do not set the interval too small. The default for a new installation is 3600 seconds (one hour). Most of the data imported into Alert Manager changes very slowly, if ever. A more aggressive schedule is usually not required. If you want to force an autoupdate, run the Resource Types command, choose Edit and then OK without changing the list. That causes the autoupdate process to start in the background. The autoupdate process executes the queries found in the \AexHD\templates\nssource.xml file. This file has more detailed information about how the queries work. The queries are carefully designed to only return resources that are new or whose data differs from the data stored in the Alert Manager tables. Alert Manager considers two Notification Server resources to be identical if they share the same asset name and resource type. The asset name is constructed by Alert Manager from various data fields if the raw name field is blank. The first resource found by Alert Manager is imported duplicates are then ignored. Computer resources are a special case. If the vresource.ismanaged field is set, then those resources take precedence and Alert Manager imports it. Also, if an asset created by a worker using the New Asset command matches the imported data, then that asset is updated to become an imported asset. Assets that are autoupdated from Notification Server are not directly editable inside Alert Manager/Helpdesk, even if they were originally created by a worker. You must use Asset Control to edit the underlying resource data in Notification Server which will then be autoupdated into Alert Manager the next time the autoupdate runs. If you do not have Asset Control, you must identify where the data was pulled from, such as Active Directory, and fix the data at the import source because Notification Server does not allow a direct edit of the data without Asset Control. User resources are a special case. User resources that meet certain criteria are added as Contacts in the Alert Manager database. User resources cannot be added as Assets. User resources must have a non-empty row (UserId, Domain) in the Inv_Global_Windows_Users table or a non-blank field in the vuser view to be considered for importing. If some User resources have identical (UserId, Domain) rows or identical addresses, then only one of them is imported and the others are ignored. Unlike assets, workers can always edit contact information but changes made to the imported data fields, such as contact_ , revert back to what the Notification Server User resource has as the correct value of that field when the next import occurs. Changes to fields that are not autoupdated, such as contact_comment, are preserved. The autoupdate process detects when Notification Server resources previously autoupdated into Alert Manager have been deleted from the Notification Database. It then marks those assets and contacts as not autoupdated, allowing workers to edit them again. The autoupdate process reports its activities in the Notification Server logfile. When assets or contacts are created or modified, a message is written there. If no changes are made, then no messages are written unless the LogBackgroundActivity value in the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Altiris\eXpress\Helpdesk Package registry key is set to true without the quotes. In that case, a message is output each time the autoupdate process runs. Troubleshooting If you have problems with synchronization, set the LogBackgroundActivity registry value as shown above. Then set the Synchronize Interval to a small number Helpdesk Solution Help 22

23 (Example: 120) so you can see results quickly. Do this using the Incident Settings page. Do not try to set the other registry values directly. Because of.net, the actual times between autoupdates may be up to 60 seconds more than the interval you specify. Note Using the Incident Settings page resets Alert Manager. Workers using the user interface may lose work. Because Notification Server accepts data from a variety of mechanisms, it is sometimes possible to get bad resource data into the database. Duplicates and incomplete information are the most common problems. Troubleshooting these kinds of problems involves looking at the Notification Database at the raw SQL level using tools like SQL Query Analyzer. It helps to have a basic familiarity with the Notification Server data tables and views. You can run the autoupdate queries manually in SQL Query Analyzer or other SQL server tools. Simply copy them out of the nssource.xml file and run them against the Notification Database. The nssource.xml file contains a detailed description of how the queries work. If one of the queries return rows, even after autoupdate has run many times, then Alert Manager is rejecting those rows because they would create illegal duplicates in the Alert Manager database or because they are otherwise incomplete. This may represent a Helpdesk problem, especially if the logs report an autoupdate processing error. If they fail to return resources you believe should be being picked up, you need to look at those resources closely to see if they actually exist in the Notification Database and are not marked as deleted. Also, check the Alert Manager managed_object or contact table to see if there might be an asset or contact that has status i for inactive that might be a duplicate of what you are trying to find. Localization Helpdesk Solution supports localized versions of French, German, Portuguese, Spanish, Japanese, Simplified Chinese, Russian, Danish, Swedish and Arabic. Assuming the browser is installed and properly configured, Helpdesk Solution displays its content in the preferred language configured by the browser. All text in the user interface is localized to the above specified languages; however, database values in the drop-down lists, incident titles, and comments will not. Information from other components, such as error messages from SQL Server, is displayed in the configured language of the server or in English, depending on how other components were installed. Note You must change the locale setting of the computer to view the language in Internet Explorer 6.0 or later. Configure Regional Option 1. Select Start > Settings > Control Panel > Regional Options. Worker Console Microsoft Internet Explorer 6.0 or later Helpdesk Solution Help 23

24 End User Console 1. Select one of the supported languages from the drop-down list. English Spanish French German Portuguese (Brazilian) Japanese Simplified Chinese Russian Danish Swedish Arabic 2. Click Apply, then OK. 3. The changes take affect when you refresh or launch the Web browser. Uninstalling Helpdesk To ensure that Helpdesk Solution uninstalls from the Notification Server cleanly and successfully, perform a stop and restart of IIS prior to removing the product. Caution Restarting IIS causes current users to lose their work. You can uninstall the Altiris Helpdesk Solution by selecting Add/Remove Programs from the Control Panel of the Windows operating system. Files that have been added to the Helpdesk Solution custom directories will not be deleted by Uninstall; however, files installed by the setup program that you modified are deleted. Uninstall does not delete or modify data or tables in SQL Server databases, or delete Helpdesk Solution registry settings and license data from the Notification Server. If you reinstall Helpdesk Solution, the previously configured SQL Server and database are selected unless you define new settings. Helpdesk Solution Help 24

25 Chapter 3 Security Role Management When you install Notification Server 6.0, five new groups are added to the Local Users and Groups for NT authentication. These groups are provided so you can control the attributes of the solution available to users based on privileges set by the Altiris System Administrator. These groups are considered Roles, which dictate privileges to features available in the Notification Server and other Altiris suites and solutions. You can add as many Roles as you want to fit the needs of your organization. All users must have a valid NT User ID and be assigned to a Role in order to use Helpdesk Solution. Helpdesk Solution uses a person s Windows NT account and the Role to which they are assigned to determine what features are available in the user interface. The privileges for each role are described in Roles and Privileges on page 25. For more information on Security Role Management, see the Altiris Notification Server Help. To change the Role Management settings 1. From the Altiris Console, click the Configuration tab. 2. Select Server Settings > Notification Server Settings > Security Role Management. 3. In the right pane, click on one of the management Roles. 4. Click the scroll arrow in the lower pane and select or clear the Global Privileges. 5. Click Apply. Roles and Privileges The Altiris Security Roles are designed to give you the security you need in a typical helpdesk environment. Example: only the Altiris Administrators have permission to delete incidents. This prevents users from accidentally deleting incidents. This also prevents users from intentionally deleting incidents that might reflect negatively on them. The following table describes the Roles as they are designed for specific types of users. You can edit these Roles or add Roles to fit your needs. Altiris Guests: Altiris Guests by default do not have access to the Incidents tab or the Worker Console (that is accessed in the Incidents tab view). Those who belong to this group can still use the My Helpdesk, NTUser, and user (authenticated by address) consoles. Altiris Guests have access to the Reports tab. You can then grant guests permissions to run specific reports or view saved reports. Altiris Level 1 Workers: Level 1 Workers have the rights to create incidents, edit incidents, create bulletins, and search and view Knowledge Base articles. Users assigned to this role are full Helpdesk workers and are able to work in the worker console. Level 1 workers are the front-line Helpdesk workers. They answer the call when the end-user calls the support number. Helpdesk Solution Product Guide 25

26 Altiris Level 2 Workers: Level 2 Workers have all the same rights as a Level 1 Worker and also can edit Knowledge Base articles. Users assigned to this role are full Helpdesk workers and work in the worker console. Level 2 workers are specialists to whom an incident is escalated when the Level 1 worker s expertise has been exceeded. Altiris Supervisors: Users assigned to this role have all of the Level 2 Worker rights and also the rights to administer the Knowledge Base. Altiris Administrators: Users assigned to this role have all rights to administer Helpdesk. Role Management Default Settings Role Name Global Privileges Altiris Incident Privileges Administrator Administer Incidents Create Bulletins Edit Incidents Edit Multiple Incidents Manage Workers Altiris Management Privileges View Incidents Create Agent Settings Create Collections Create Secured Collections Create Reports Create Notification Policies Altiris System Privileges Create Shortcuts Change Security Import XML Take Ownership View Security Helpdesk Privileges Edit SQL Directly Administer Knowledge Base Create Incidents Edit Knowledge Base Articles Altiris Console Privileges View Knowledge Base Articles View Incidents Tab View Resources Tab View Configuration Tab View Reports Tab View Tasks Tab View Getting Started Tab Helpdesk Solution Product Guide 26

27 Role Management Default Settings (Continued) Role Name Global Privileges Altiris Supervisors Incident Privileges Create Bulletins Edit Incidents Manage Workers View Incidents Altiris Management Privileges Edit Multiple Incidents Create Agent Settings Create Collections Create Secured Collections Create Reports Create Notification Policies Create Shortcuts Altiris System Privileges View Security Helpdesk Privileges Create Incidents Edit Knowledge Base Articles Altiris Console Privileges View Knowledge Base Articles View Incidents Tab Altiris Level 1 Workers Incident Privileges View Resources Tab View Configuration Tab View Reports Tab View Tasks Tab View Getting Started Tab Create Bulletins Edit Incidents View Incidents Altiris Management Privileges None available Altiris System Privileges None available Helpdesk Privileges Create Incidents Altiris Console Privileges View Knowledge Base Articles View Incidents Tab View Resources Tab View Configuration Tab View Reports Tab View Tasks Tab View Getting Started Tab Helpdesk Solution Product Guide 27

28 Role Management Default Settings (Continued) Role Name Global Privileges Altiris Level 2 Workers Incident Privileges Create Bulletins Edit Incidents Altiris Management Privileges View Incidents Create Agent Settings Create Collections Create Reports Create Notification Policies Create Shortcuts Altiris System Privileges None available Helpdesk Privileges Create Incidents Altiris Console Privileges View Knowledge Base Articles View Incidents Tab View Resources Tab View Configuration Tab View Reports Tab View Tasks Tab View Getting Started Tab Altiris Guests Incident Privileges None available Altiris Management Privileges None available Altiris System Privileges None available Helpdesk Privileges None available Altiris Console Privileges View Reports Tab Helpdesk Privileges These privileges are available only if you have Helpdesk Solution installed. Administer Knowledge Base Create Incidents Edit Knowledge Base Articles View Knowledge Base Articles Lets you configure the Knowledge Base, create libraries, archive content, delete content, and approve articles for publishing. Lets you create incidents. When granted, this lets users access Incidents > New Incident on the Incidents tab. Lets you create or edit a Knowledge Base article. Lets you search for and view Knowledge Base articles. Helpdesk Solution Product Guide 28

29 Incident Privileges These privileges are available if you have Alert Manager or Alert Manager and Helpdesk Solution installed. Administer Incidents Lets you access all nodes on the Admin menu on the Incidents tab. Create Bulletins Lets you create bulletins (Incidents > Bulletins > New Bulletin on the Incidents tab or within an incident). Edit Incidents Edit Multiple Incidents Manage Workers View Incidents Lets you edit all incidents. Workers should be granted this as well as View Incidents to perform their work. Lets you edit multiple incidents by accessing Incidents > Edit Multiple Incidents on the Incidents tab. This lets you grant the ability to edit multiple incidents without giving Administrator privileges. Lets you list, create, and edit workers and queues. Lets you view all incidents. Workers should be granted this as well as Edit Incidents to perform their work. Altiris Console Privileges The following privilege is available for Alert Manager and Helpdesk Solution. View Incidents Tab Lets you view the Incidents tab. Users who are not granted this will need to open the worker console to perform any incident work. Helpdesk Solution Product Guide 29

30 Chapter 4 Helpdesk Business Rules Helpdesk Solution provides Validation rules, Incident rules, Routing rules, Notify rules, Automation rules, and Automation Actions to automatically route incidents through your Helpdesk system and notify anyone at any step, giving you a way to enforce your corporate policies, business rules, and service escalations. Validation Rules Validation rules allow you to define a new set of rules to ensure that modifications to an incident meet certain criteria before they can be saved. For more information, see Validation Rules on page 77. Incident Rules These go a step beyond Routing rules and let you affect any field in the incident. This gives you control over creating a workflow process. For more information, see Incident Rules on page 81. Routing Rules Routes incidents to an individual or a queue and lets you set the status of each Assigned field. Routing rules lets you get the incident to the right worker. For more information, see Routing Rules on page 85. Notify Rules Notifies workers or groups via of an incident based on criteria that you set. For more information, see Notify Rules on page 90. Automation Rules Automation rules allow you to build and manage more complex and automated workflow and change management scenarios. For more information, see Automation Rules on page 94. Automated Actions Specifies the action to take when a Notification Policy is run. Each Notification Policy can have multiple Automated Actions. Automated Actions let you send , launch applications, and launch reports. For more information on Notification Policies and Automated Actions, see the Altiris Notification Server Help. When Rules and Actions are Applied Rules can be created at any time and are active as soon as they are created. Any time the Save button is clicked on an incident page, all active rules which apply to that incident get run in the following order: 1. Validation rules 2. Incident rules 3. Routing rules 4. Notify rules 5. Automation rules Helpdesk Solution Product Guide 30

31 Note Validation rules are run first to ensure that all data that is required from the user is in place when the rest of the rules run. The rules (Validation, Incident, Routing, and Notify, and Automation) get applied to an incident immediately after the Save button on that incident is clicked. Automated Actions are associated with Notification Policies, which are time based. Notification Policies run on a set schedule. You can set up notification through the use of Notify rules or Notification Policies. Notify rules send immediately after the incident is saved. Notification Policies send on a set schedule. Quick Links Using Rules and Automated Actions on page 31 Complex Conditions for Helpdesk Business Rules on page 34 Using Rules and Automated Actions This section gives you some scenarios for using routing and notification tools in your Helpdesk system. Quick Links Scenario 1 - Using Routing Rules to Enforce Service Escalations on page 31 Scenario 2 - Using Incident Rules to Enforce Service Escalation on page 32 Scenario 3 - Using Notify Rules to Notify Customers When an Incident is Resolved on page 32 Scenario 4 - Using Categorization to Process a New Employee on page 33 Scenario 5 - Using Automated Actions to Escalate the Priority on page 33 Scenario 1 - Using Routing Rules to Enforce Service Escalations Suppose a telephone call comes in from someone who wants some software installed. The worker assigns the incident to the category of Add/Install software and gives it a Medium priority. Suppose a Routing rule has been put in place to automatically route all incidents of this category type to a Desktop Software queue. When the worker saves the incident, it automatically gets placed in the Desktop Software queue. Suppose you have a service escalation to respond to all incidents within 24 hours. You can set up an Automated Action in a Notification Policy to notify someone if that incident has not been responded to in 24 hours. Or you can set up an Automated Action to assign that incident to another worker. This helps you enforce your service escalation by sending out an or updating the priority or status or routing the incident to another person. Now suppose this incident gets escalated by getting sent to another worker because it has not been responded to in the set amount of time. This worker then changes the status on the incident and saves the incident. Suppose you have an Incident rule that sets the value of the Category field every time the status of an incident changes. This Helpdesk Solution Product Guide 31

32 incident will then be placed in a different queue (perhaps an escalation queue) when the incident is saved. Scenario 2 - Using Incident Rules to Enforce Service Escalation Suppose you have a service escalation to fix network printer problems as soon as possible. You can create an Incident rule to change all incidents that are logged against an asset that is a network printer to the ASAP priority. To create an Incident rule to change incidents with Asset type of Network Printer to the ASAP priority 1. From the Incidents tab of the Altiris Console, select Admin > Incident Rules > New Incident Rule. 2. Enter the name of the rule (Example: All Network Printers to ASAP). 3. Enter a comment to describe the rule in more detail. 4. In the Set these properties section, select Priority from the drop-down list, and then click the Add button. 5. Select the specific Priority to automatically assign (Example: ASAP) and then click OK. Note You can enter as many properties as you want. 6. In the When section, select Asset type from the drop-down list, and then click the Add button. 7. Select the When the value of Asset type check-box, and then select is equal to and Network Printer from the drop-down lists. 8. Click the OK button. 9. Select the Active and/or Terminal check-boxes depending on your needs. 10. Click OK to save this Incident rule. 11. When an Incident rule is created, the status is automatically set to Active. To view an Incident rule 1. From the Incidents tab of the Altiris Console, select Admin > Incident Rules > List Incident Rules. 2. From here, you can view, edit, delete, or create Incident rules. Now when incidents are created for network devices with the Asset type of Network Printer, the priority of those incidents automatically get changed to ASAP when they are saved. Scenario 3 - Using Notify Rules to Notify Customers When an Incident is Resolved Notify rules allow you to notify customers of an incident s progress. You can create a Notify rule that runs only when the status of an incident changes from Open to Helpdesk Solution Product Guide 32

33 Resolved. You can use this Notify rule to notify a customer that the incident has been resolved and ask them to verify. Scenario 4 - Using Categorization to Process a New Employee Helpdesk Solution can help you set up a process for new employees. When a new employee comes in, a request is made to create a new employee incident. When a new employee incident comes through, there should be an approval request. So, when a new employee incident comes in, the category of Authorize Approve is selected. When this happens, an gets sent to the person responsible of approval (Example: a manager). That person replies to the and the incident gets assigned a new category (such as Service Request) and gets placed in the appropriate queue. The owner of the incident then monitors it. Then a whole new set of rules can come into play based on the new category. You can also set up Tasks to show up on an incident based on certain criteria. Example: a new employee incident might have the following Tasks show up: Get approval Show me the assets that are in stock Go get a computer from receiving Install the default image (with a link to Deployment Solution) Install additional software (with links to that software) Scenario 5 - Using Automated Actions to Escalate the Priority Notification Policies are time-based, running automatically on the schedule you want. Each Notification Policy can have one or more Automated Actions, which perform a separate task when the policy runs. Suppose you want to escalate the priority of all incidents of High priority to ASAP every 2 days. Helpdesk Solution comes with several built-in Notification Policies. One of these is called Escalate Incident Priority: High to ASAP. This policy, when enabled and on a business schedule (every hour during business hours), changes the priority on all incidents of High priority to ASAP. These incidents are then re-assigned based on applicable Routing rules. Example: this might let you forward these incidents to a different group that handles incidents with ASAP priority. This Notification Policy can be changed to fit your needs. Example: you can change the schedule on this Notification Policy from hourly during business hours to every 2 days. Now, this policy runs on a 2 day schedule. If you want to keep this policy, but also have a slightly different policy, you can clone it and change the clone. Suppose you clone this policy and change its schedule to run every 2 days. Now, suppose you want to send an informing the helpdesk supervisor which incidents had their priority changed. In this policy, you would create a new Report Automated Action that runs a report and set it up to send an containing the report. Now, when the Notification Policy runs, incident priorities are changed from High to ASAP and a report is generated and ed. You can also create Notification Policies from scratch if you desire. For more information on Notification Policies and Automated Actions, see the Altiris Notification Server Help. Helpdesk Solution Product Guide 33

34 Complex Conditions for Helpdesk Business Rules Helpdesk Business rules are governed by conditions that you set up. When the condition or conditions of a rule occur, Helpdesk runs the rule. These conditions can be simple or complex. Simple conditions are usually non-nested condition groups which use data from the Helpdesk Database. Complex conditions are usually nested condition groups or are advanced conditions which use data from the Notification Database. When you create rules or Tasks, you specify conditions for when the rule is run or the Task is available. Helpdesk gives you the ability to nest condition groups. The available condition groups are: When ALL of these are TRUE When ANY of these are TRUE When ANY of these are FALSE When ALL of these are FALSE The default is When ALL of these are TRUE. Condition groups can be nested inside each other. You can add as many conditions as you want to a group and add or nest as many condition groups as you want. To nest a condition group, click inside a condition group, then click the Add a When <end> group icon. A new condition group will be added. The FALSE conditions let you provide exceptions to your rules. Example: suppose you have the following Routing rule: When ALL of these are TRUE Category is the same as Article Review Status is not equal to Hold <end> This lets you route an incident in the Article Review queue except when it has a status of Hold. Quick Link Data Macros on page 240 Advanced Conditions Helpdesk stores only a subset of asset information from the Notification Database. The drop-down list used for selecting conditions in a rule or Task lists this subset of information. Helpdesk provides a way to use any data from the Notification Database by selecting Advanced condition in the drop-down list. You can select the Advanced condition at the bottom of the condition drop-down list (listed as <Advanced condition>). When you select <Advanced condition> and click the Add button, you can enter any condition that you want by using the HDQUERY or AEXQUERY macros. See Complex Macros on page 243. Helpdesk Solution Product Guide 34

35 To use the Advanced condition 1. Select <Advanced condition> from the drop-down list when creating a new rule or Task. 2. Click Add. A New Validation Rule screen appears. 3. In the first box in the When section, enter the field name that you want to compare. This can be any field name that is found in the View incident page. You may use any Data Macro in this field such as PARENTITEM. 4. Select the type of comparison from the drop-down list. 5. In the box under the drop-down list (value box), enter the text value that meets the condition. Most of the time, you would use a macro in the value box, such as AEXQUERY or WORKITEM. 6. Select what you want the condition to be compared as in the Compared as dropdown list. 7. Click OK. Example To make a condition that occurs when the Modified date is before the due date, enter workitem_due_on as the field name, select Greater Than in the drop-down list, and enter WORKITEM(workitem_modified_on) in the value box. Advanced conditions can be used for two important things: accessing custom fields not otherwise available in the conditions drop-down, and manipulation of contextual data in the criterion (using standard Helpdesk macros). Example of accessing custom fields not otherwise available in the conditions drop-down: suppose you have added a custom field called workitem_custom_value to the workitem table using the documented procedures (see Customization on page 183). You can use the advanced criterion to test for some value of this field (example: workitem_custom_value is the same as My value ). Example of manipulation of contextual data in the criterion: Helpdesk macros are resolved before any criteria comparison is done, so it is possible to add macros to an Advanced condition to compare data contextually. For instance, the condition workitem_status_lookup_value is not equal to PARENTITEM(workitem_status_lookup_value) will be true if an incident s status is different from that of its parent item. This technique can also be used to perform advanced comparisons against data from the Notification Server database. For instance, the condition managed_object_resource_guid is equal to AEXQUERY(<NS asset query>) will be true if the asset assigned to the incident matches a single resource guid returned by <NS asset query>. There are more examples installed in the default set of rules/tasks that come with Alert Manager/HelpDesk. Notification Server data from any Notification Server field can be retrieved using the AEXQUERY macro. The AEXQUERY macro specifies a SQL query to run against the Notification Database. Because this data is intended to replace a single value in the invoking text stream, this query must return a single scalar value of any length. Failure to do so means that the macro fails to resolve. In order to relate Helpdesk asset data to the correct Notification Server data, the SQL query within the AEXQUERY macro can contain WORKITEM macros to select values from the Notification Database based on asset name, NS ID, and so forth. Helpdesk Solution Product Guide 35

36 The AEXQUERY macro lets you query directly into the Notification Database using SQL. Example: You can create a query that looks for the asset of a resource that is associated with an incident and gathers inventory detail. You can also create a condition for when the asset is Server and the Operating System is Windows 2003 SP2. When you use the AEXQUERY macro, if the select statement has any embedded simple macros, it will insert that value from the incident directly into the query. You don't have to hard code the query. It will be based on dynamic information from the incident record when the rule is evaluated. Advanced Assignments Advanced assignments are very similar to Advanced conditions and can be used for essentially the same two purposes: setting the value of a custom field setting the value of a field based on some contextual value obtained elsewhere Advanced assignments let users expand what values they will be setting which were not included in the limited drop-down box. In the Set text box, enter any field that is marked as writable in the incident view fields (listed in the table found in Incident View Fields on page 230). The text value of what that field will be set to goes in the to dropdown box. This value can be any text value or data macro. Example: Under specific conditions, you want to set the Owner equal to the Owner of a linked Incident. Set Workitem_owned_by_worker_id to PARENTITEM(workitem_owned_by_worker_id) DataType number Helpdesk Solution Product Guide 36

37 Chapter 5 The Incidents Menu An incident is a reported issue or request for service, with general or specific information about the nature of the issue. Workers or queues responding to incidents can add processes or step procedure to the incident itself, or publish a Knowledge Base article to help others know how to resolve the incident being reported. Workers assigned to the Helpdesk department create a new incident for each issue or request reported by other users. Incidents are assigned to either a worker or a queue when they are created. Routing rules, set by administrators and managers with the appropriate privileges, can also be applied to incidents, which helps direct them to an appropriate person or queue for resolution. You can use the Find Incidents command to search for incidents already entered in the Helpdesk system, or you can use the Queries command to retrieve data based on specific values. Both of these methods are similar because you have the option of saving the search criteria used in the find incidents command as a new query. Incidents can become bulletins, which lets workers link other incidents to the bulletin as a means of tracking system-wide problems. A bulletin that informs workers about a major problem can help distribute information to a broad audience, while the incidents linked to the bulletin are managed as one call. When the problem is resolved and the incident that became the bulletin can be closed, all the incidents linked to the bulletin are closed. Incidents can have a contact or an asset associated with them, send s, attach files, and link to other incidents. All these features are available through the Incident menu. Helpdesk Solution gives you the ability to manage your IT infrastructure by tracking and routing each request in the most efficient manner possible. Note There are several places in the Helpdesk console that use a grid to display results. This grid can be customized per worker so that the displayed columns can be selected and sized and given a different text value. These changes are accessible by a Format table icon and the changes are saved with the worker. Quick Links Worker Report on page 38 New Incident on page 39 Find Incidents on page 50 Queries on page 54 Bulletins on page 58 Last Query Results on page 61 Edit Multiple Incidents on page 62 Retrieve a Queued Incident on page 64 Delete Incidents on page 64 Helpdesk Solution Help 37

38 Worker Report This is the default page displayed when a Helpdesk specialist logs into the Helpdesk system. By default, the Report period value is Past 30 days, and the Query value is set to Incidents I recently viewed. The incidents listed on the page can be sorted in ascending order by clicking on one of the title columns. Example: if you want to display all the incidents by order of their category, you can click the Category column and the incidents displays in ascending order according to the category field. You can also select any other column in the table, which sort the incidents according to the column name. On the right side of the page, there are two titles: Incidents assigned to me and Incidents owned by me, with a list of status topics below them. There is an item count next to each status topic if there are any incidents for you to view. At the bottom of the page is the Bulletins section. This displays system broadcast messages, created by administrators, managers, and other workers, that inform workers and guest users about system-wide problems. Example: if the network has an outage, a bulletin message can provide information to let others know that it has been reported and the Network department is working to restore connectivity. Bulletins can also inform workers of server maintenance schedules or any other kind of information that may be helpful to workers as they take support calls. See Bulletins on page 58. To view the Worker report 1. Click the drop-down arrow and select the number of days for the Report period from the list. Click Refresh. 2. The default Query is set for Incidents I recently viewed. If you want to change this setting, click the drop-down arrow and select a Query from the list. The query list contains all shared and personal non-prompted queries (input from the worker is not required). This lets workers retrieve incidents without going to the Queries menu. 3. Click on any item count (highlighted in blue) at the top of page. If the item count is 1, an incident view will appear. Otherwise, a new page displays the query results with a list of incidents. 4. Click on one of the incidents listed on the page. 5. Click View or Edit. 6. Click Table to change the view of the incident table. A new page displays where you can add or delete columns from the table. Any changes you make affects all incident table views in the console. 7. At the bottom of the page is the Bulletins section. Choose one of the following: Click View to review the bulletin content. Click Edit to change the bulletin content. Click Notify me when this bulletin clears to create a linked incident that notifies you when the primary incident changes to the appropriate status (Closed). Make an Incident into a Bulletin If a number of calls from users report the same type of problem, you can track and manage the issue through the use of this feature. Each problem reported to the Helpdesk should have its own incident opened for tracking and managing purposes. Helpdesk Solution Help 38

39 When a system-wide problem occurs, users call to report the same issue to the Helpdesk center. Workers can create a new incident for each call received, and then link the incident to the bulletin reporting the status of the issue. After the problem is resolved and the bulletin is closed, any incidents linked to the bulletin are closed as well. To link an Incident to a Bulletin 1. Select Incidents > New Incident. 2. Enter the property values in the fields on the page. 3. Click Save. 4. Select Incidents > Worker Report. 5. Click on the incident you want to convert into a bulletin (newly created) in the incident grid. 6. Click the Edit icon in the header of the incident grid to edit the incident. 7. Click the Make this incident a bulletin icon. 8. Select Make this incident a bulletin. 9. Give the bulletin a title and description. 10. Select the incident status for which the bulletin will be displayed. Whether or not a bulletin is active on an incident bulletin depends on which status is selected here. Example: a status of Open will make the bulletin have a status of Active and a status of Closed will make the bulletin have a status of Inactive. 11. Select if you want this bulletin to be visible to guests and if you want guests to be able to link this bulletin. 12. Click OK to save the bulletin. 13. Save the incident. New Incident Calls that are reported to the Helpdesk organization must be monitored and tracked to ensure problem resolution. For each call that is reported to the Helpdesk, a new incident is created by a Helpdesk Specialist, although administrators and managers can create new incidents also. The new incident s toolbar consists of the following buttons: Save, Save and Create a New Incident, Cancel, Contacts, Assets, , Link Incident, Attachments, and Bulletins. These options give you the flexibility to associate contacts or assets with an incident, add notifications or file attachments, link to another incident, and create a bulletin from the incident s content. After you save an incident, the View Incident page displays, where you can review its contents, edit, publish the incident to the Knowledge Base, or search the Knowledge Base for an article. To create a new Incident 1. Select Incidents > New Incident. 2. Enter the incident property values in the fields on the page. 3. Click Save. Helpdesk Solution Help 39

40 Quick Links View Incident on page 40 Edit Incident on page 40 Publish Incident to Knowledge Base on page 41 Incident Search Knowledge Base on page 42 View Contact Properties on page 42 Find a Contact on page 42 Select a Contact on page 43 View Asset Properties on page 44 Find an Asset on page 44 Select an Asset on page 45 Messages on page 46 Link Incidents on page 47 File Attachments on page 48 Incident to Bulletin on page 49 View Incident Viewing an incident lets you review all the property values you entered for an incident. This is also a necessary step if you want to edit values or publish the contents to the Knowledge Base. After an incident is created, this page displays so that Helpdesk workers can issue an incident number to users who call in to report issues. To view an Incident Option 1: After you save an incident, the view page displays. Option 2: Below Common Tasks of the Helpdesk menu, enter the incident number you want to view in the Incident field, and click View. The following icons are found on the View Incident page: Click Edit to change the property values of the incident. Click Publish to create a Knowledge Base article from the incident. Click Search Knowledge Base to find an article in the Knowledge Base. Click Details to switch between displaying or hiding the incident s History details. By default, the details show Modified, Modified by, Assigned, Category, Priority, Status, and Type information. When the details are shown, you can click the Format table icon to add or remove fields or change the location of the fields in the table. Click Edit comment under History to edit an individual history comment. This is only available to administrators. Edit Incident After you save an incident, the View Incident page displays the property values you entered for the incident. From this page, you can choose to edit, publish the incident to Helpdesk Solution Help 40

41 the Knowledge Base, or search the Knowledge Base. You can also enter an incident number to edit below the Common Tasks of the Helpdesk menu, which displays the Edit Incident page without having to go through the View Incident page. Icon Save this incident and view report Save this incident and start a new one Cancel View contact properties View asset properties Send when this incident is saved Description Saves all changes and displays a report of the incident. Saves all changes and creates a new incident. Cancels all changes. Lets you view the contact properties for this incident. Lets you view the asset properties for this incident. This lets you create an message, add attachments, and select any addresses to send the message to. After clicking this icon, select Also send to other addresses to send this message to the addresses in the Other field. Click Done when finished. Link this incident to another incident Add attachments to this incident Make this incident a bulletin Lets you link this incident to a related incident. Lets you add one or more attachments to this incident. Lets you change this incident to a bulletin. After clicking this icon, select Make this incident a bulletin, enter the bulletin information and click OK to save. To edit an Incident Option 1: From the View Incident page, click Edit. a. Re-enter the property values of the incident in the fields on the page. b. Click Save. Option 2: Below Common Tasks of the Helpdesk menu, enter the incident number you want to edit in the Incident field, and click Edit. c. Re-enter the property values of the incident in the fields on the page. d. Click Save. Publish Incident to Knowledge Base This command lets you create an article in the Knowledge Base from the content of an incident. You can choose from Problem/Cause/Solution, or the Question/Answer format types. The format type determines the content required for the article. The article you submit must be reviewed by an administrator or manager before it can be Helpdesk Solution Help 41

42 published for other users. See The Knowledge Base Menu on page 146 for further details. To publish an Incident to the Knowledge Base 1. From the View Incident page, click Publish a New Article. 2. By default, the incident property values display at the top of the Publish Article page. Edit the Title, Author, and Keywords fields as needed. 3. Click the drop-down arrow and select an Expires date. 4. Click the drop-down arrow and select the article s Format. 5. Depending on the format you selected, 2 or 3 blank fields will display. Enter the content according to the description next to each field. 6. Click OK. Incident Search Knowledge Base After you save an incident, the View Incident page displays the property values you entered for the incident. You can click Search Knowledge Base, which displays the Search Articles page. This is helpful if you are looking for articles to resolve the incident or you want to create an article from an incident but want to find out if a similar article already exists. See The Knowledge Base Menu on page 146 for details. View Contact Properties If you want to associate a contact with an incident, you must search for a contact already entered in the Helpdesk system or enter a new contact. If the Contact field value is set to --[none]--, or the result count option --[select (2 found)]--, and you click View contact properties, the Contact page is displayed for you to add a new contact. If there are other incidents associated with the contact you are viewing, they are displayed at the bottom of the page. To view Contact properties 1. Select Incidents > New Incident. 2. Enter a search criteria in the Contact field. 3. Click Find. 4. Click the Contact drop-down arrow and select a contact from the list. If the contact you want is not listed or you want to change a selected contact s properties, continue to the next step. 5. Click View contact properties. 6. Enter the property values in the fields on the page. 7. Click Save. Find a Contact This command searches the Helpdesk system for active contacts based on a search criteria and then lets you associate a contact with an incident. Helpdesk Solution Help 42

43 Enter a search string into the Find field, and then click Find. Helpdesk searches in several different contact fields including name and phone number. The text pattern can be any valid expression supported by Transact SQL LIKE, such as %, _, [], [^]. Example: to search for all contacts named John, you could specify the pattern John%. The search pattern will only be used to find active contacts, and the results show all contacts that have John in the name field. Additionally, this command prefixes and suffixes the pattern entered in the Find field, with a % if a % symbol is not detected in the pattern. This results in a slower search performance because a table scan is performed. If one or more contacts match the specified pattern, then the contact drop-down list is populated. If you click Find without entering any search criteria, all active contacts entered in the Helpdesk system are displayed. The contact selected from the drop-down list is the contact that is associated with the incident when it is saved. If --[none]-- is selected, then no contact is associated with the incident. If a contact and asset are specified when an incident is saved, then a contact-asset association is made. This association is used for the auto-association feature. Auto-Associating an Incident s Asset Using the Contact When a contact is selected, the system determines if there are any assets associated with the contact. This is done only if an asset has not been selected from the Asset dropdown list, which is populated with any assets associated with the contact. The first contact displayed in the drop-down list is arbitrarily selected. Auto-association is attempted if a contact is selected from the Contact drop-down list on the New Incident page or in any operation that results in a contact being selected from the Select a Contact page, such as New contact, Recent contact, or Find contact. Note Auto-association only occurs when you create a new incident. This feature is not available from the View or Edit Incident pages. To Find a Contact 1. Select Incidents > New incident. 2. Enter a title. 3. Enter a partial name or phone number into the Find field. 4. Click Find. 5. Click the Contact drop-down arrow and select a contact from the search results. 6. Click Save. Select a Contact This command lets you keep or remove the current contact, create a new contact, or associate the incident with a different contact all from the same page. From this page you can view if there is a contact associated with an asset, review recent contacts, or find a contact already entered in the Helpdesk system. To select a Contact 1. Select Incidents > New Incident. Helpdesk Solution Help 43

44 2. Click Select a contact. 3. Click one of the following options: Keep current contact: Do not change the contact associated with the incident. Remove current contact: The selected contact will no longer be associated with the incident. New Contact: The Contact page appears when you click OK or Properties. Enter the property values in the fields on the page. Contact associated with the current asset: The drop-down list displays the contacts that have been previously associated with the current asset. Recent contact: The drop-down list displays recent contacts. Find contact: To find a contact, enter as many values in the fields as you want for a search criteria, and then click Find. The search results populate the dropdown list below the Find button; select a contact from the list. 4. Click OK. 5. Click Properties to view, edit, or create a new contact. View Asset Properties If you want to associate an asset with an incident, you must search for an asset already entered in the Helpdesk system or enter a new asset. If the Asset field value is set to - -[none]--, or the result count option --[select (2 found)]--, and you select View asset properties, the Asset page appears for you to add a new asset. If there are other incidents associated with the asset you are viewing, they are displayed at the bottom of the page. To view Asset properties 1. Select Incidents > New Incident. 2. Enter a search criteria in the Asset field. 3. Click Find. 4. Click the Asset drop-down arrow and select an asset from the list. If the asset you want is not listed, or you want to change a selected asset s properties, continue to the next step. 5. Click View asset properties. 6. Enter the property values in the fields on the page. 7. Click Save. Find an Asset This command searches the Helpdesk system for active assets, based on a search criteria, and then let you associate an asset with an incident. Enter a search string into the Find field, and then click Find. Helpdesk searches in several different asset fields. The text pattern can be any valid expression supported by Transact SQL LIKE, such as %, _, [], [^]. Example: to search for all assets named HP, you could specify the pattern HP%. The search pattern will only be used to find active assets, and the results show all assets that have HP in the name field. Helpdesk Solution Help 44

45 Additionally, this command prefixes and suffixes the pattern entered in the Find field with a % if a % symbol is not detected in the pattern. This results in a slower search performance because a table scan is performed. If one or more assets match the specified pattern, then the assets drop-down list is populated. If you click Find without entering any search criteria, all active assets entered in the Helpdesk system are displayed. The asset selected from the drop-down list is the asset that is associated with the incident when it is saved. If --[none]-- is selected, then no asset is associated with the incident. If an asset and contact are specified when an incident is saved, then an assetcontact association is made. This association is used for the auto-association feature. Auto-Associating an Incident s Contact Using the Asset When an asset is selected, the system determines if there are any contacts associated with the asset. This is done only if a contact has not been selected from the Contact drop-down list, which is populated with any contacts associated with the asset. The first asset displayed in the drop-down list is arbitrarily selected. Auto-association is attempted if an asset is selected from the Asset drop-down list on the New Incident page or in any operation that results in an asset being selected from the Select an Asset page, such as New asset, Recent asset, or Find asset. Note Auto-association only occurs when you create a new incident. This feature is not available from the View or Edit Incident pages. To find an Asset 1. Select Incidents > New Incident. 2. Enter a partial name or manufacturer into the Find field. 3. Click Find. 4. Click the Asset drop-down arrow and select an asset from the search results. 5. Click Save. Select an Asset This command lets you keep or remove the current asset, create a new asset, or associate the incident with a different asset all from the same page. From this page you can view if there is an asset associated with a contact, review recent assets, or find an asset already entered in the Helpdesk system. To select an Asset 1. Select Incidents > New Incident. 2. Click Select an asset. 3. Click one of the following options: Keep current asset: Do not change the asset associated with the incident. Remove current asset: The selected asset will no longer be associated with the incident. New asset: The Asset page displays when you click OK or Properties. Enter the property values in the fields on the page. Helpdesk Solution Help 45

46 Asset associated with the current contact: The drop-down list displays the assets that have been associated with the current contact. Recent asset: The drop-down list displays recent assets. Find asset: To find an asset, enter as many values in the fields as you want for a search criteria, and then click Find. The search results populate the dropdown list below the Find button; select an asset from the list. 4. Click OK. 5. Click Properties to view, edit, or create a new asset. Messages You can send messages to any worker, queue, or contact that has a valid address. The s you send are recorded in the history of the incident for future reference. s are delivered to the recipients specified when you save an incident; however, this feature should not be confused with that is generated from Notify rules associated with incidents. See Notify Rules on page 90 for details. To send messages 1. Select Incidents > New Incident. 2. Click Select the To, Cc, or Bcc checkboxes to send notification to the Current contact. 4. Select the To, Cc, or Bcc checkboxes for each recipient available in the list. 5. Below These addresses are the To, Cc, and Bcc fields. Enter an address for additional recipients using the SMTP format. Example: [email protected];[email protected]. Use a semicolon to separate each address you enter. Note You have the ability to process macros in the To, Cc, and Bcc fields. 6. Select one or more attachments to send with the . Any file you wish to attach must first be uploaded. Click Upload new attachments to upload a file. From the Upload new attachments screen, you can upload a file or attach a URL. 7. Click the drop-down arrow and select an template from the list. 8. Enter additional comments in the Message field. 9. Click Done. Note The message is formatted and inserted into the template you selected and then sent to each recipient you specified. The recipient list and message are recorded in the Comment field of the incident along with the worker's explicitly typed comments. Helpdesk Solution Help 46

47 Link Incidents If you have two incidents tracking the same problem or request, or they are somehow related, you can combine the two incidents into one trackable incident by linking one incident to another. While the link command lets you only link to one other incident, it is possible for multiple incidents to be linked to the same incident. Linking multiple incidents is like a parent-child relationship, you can have one parent incident and many children incidents. This makes incident tracking and managing easier and more efficient for both the workers reporting incidents, and the queues that respond to incidents. If an incident was previously linked at the time you are trying to link to another incident, the first link is overwritten by the second link. To clarify this command in more detail, be sure to read through the following scenario. Scenario 1. Worker Susan creates incident #2 requesting to move a PC. Incident #4 is referring to moving the same PC. Susan links incident #2 to incident #4. 2. Worker John creates incident #5 requesting that computer equipment needs moving in the same office as incident #4. John links incident #5 to incident #4. 3. Worker Bob creates incident #6 requesting that a printer needs to move from one office to another, the same office move as stated in incident #4. Bob links incident #6 to incident #4. 4. Worker Susan reopens incident #2 to make edits. Incident #3 is another PC move for the same office as stated in incident #2. Susan links incident #2 to incident #3. 5. After the worker clicks OK, the current incident is linked to the most recently selected incident. Helpdesk Solution Help 47

48 To Link an Incident 1. Select Incidents > New Incident. 2. Click Link. 3. Click one of the following link options. Keep current: The default setting is Not currently linked. Remove current link: Do not link to another incident. Link to a recently viewed incident: Click the drop-down arrow and select an incident from the recent list. Find incident: Enter a search string, and then click Find. Click the drop-down arrow and select an incident from the search results. Incident number: Enter the incident number you want to link to. 4. Click OK. File Attachments This command lets you attach files or URL addresses to incidents. Workers or queues retrieving incidents can use the files or be directed to URL addresses to help debug and resolve the problems being reported. There is no limitation on file format types; however, IIS does limit the size of files that can be attached. Files that are too large are rejected and an error message is displayed. If needed, see the IIS administrator to increase the file size limit of attachments. To attach files to an Incident 1. Select Incidents > New Incident. 2. Click Attachment. 3. Choose one of the following options. Click Browse to navigate to the file location. After you select a file to upload, the file path appears in the Upload file field. If you know the file s location, you can enter a path directly without using the Browse button. Enter a valid HTTP address in the Attach URL field. 4. Enter a property value in the Description field. Note If you enter a property value in the Description field, the text appears in the Attachments field. If you leave the Description field blank, the filename or URL you attached appears instead. 5. Click Attach. The files you selected are uploaded to the server, and depending on the file size, the length of time to complete the upload may vary. 6. Repeat step 3 5 to attach additional files or URLs. 7. If the files or URLs you attached are not correct, select one of the attachments listed in the Attachments field, and then click Remove. 8. Click Done. Helpdesk Solution Help 48

49 To delete attachments from an incident 1. While viewing an incident, click the Edit icon. 2. Click the Add attachments to this incident icon. 3. In the Attachments list, select the attachment you want to delete. 4. Click Remove. 5. Click Done. Incident to Bulletin Bulletins are messages that keep Helpdesk workers and other users accessing My Helpdesk (optional) updated on system related problems, server maintenance schedules, or any other information that helps workers respond to calls being reported or prevent users from raising incidents for known issues. Bulletins are displayed at the bottom of the Worker Report page, which is the default page for workers using the Helpdesk system and are also displayed on the My Helpdesk Console page. You can create a bulletin in two ways: the New Incident command or the Bulletins command. If you want to let users link incidents to a bulletin, you must create an incident or open an existing incident first, and then make it a bulletin by clicking Bulletin on the Edit or New Incident pages. Using the Bulletins command from the menu lets you create a bulletin message for other workers to view, but you cannot link incidents to the bulletin itself. If you make an incident a bulletin, and save the incident, the View Incident page displays a bulletins View button at the bottom of the page. When a user calls in to the Helpdesk department reporting a problem that has already been made into a bulletin, the worker creates a new incident to track the call and then create a new linked bulletin. There is no limit to the number of incidents that can be linked to a bulletin. After the incident gets resolved, the owner of the bulletin opens the incident (that was made into a bulletin) and sets the status to Closed. The bulletin becomes inactive, is no longer displayed to users, and all incidents linked to the bulletin are closed. To make an Incident a Bulletin 1. Select Incidents > New Incident. 2. Enter the property values in the fields on the page. 3. Click Bulletin. 4. Select the Make this incident a bulletin checkbox. 5. Enter a property value in the Bulletin title field. 6. Enter a message in the Bulletin description field. 7. Select the status checkboxes. This determines if the bulletin is visible in the Worker or My Helpdesk consoles. 8. Select the Visible to guests checkbox if guest users are able to view the bulletin. 9. Select the Guests can link checkbox if guest users can link incidents to this bulletin. 10. Click OK. 11. Click Save. Helpdesk Solution Help 49

50 Note The new incident must be saved before the bulletin is displayed to other users. Find Incidents This page lets you search the Helpdesk system to find incidents based on either simple, advanced, or expert search options. Workers can use this command to find incidents previously entered as a means to help resolve other open incidents. You can make the search criteria you entered to find incidents into a query that can be used by other workers. The Find Incidents page has the following behaviors 1. If the user changes from a simpler tab to a more advanced tab, the settings from the simpler tab are used to pre-populate the settings of the more advanced tab (Example: Simple > Advanced uses the query-by-example Simple fields to create the boolean equivalent in the Advanced query builder, while Simple > Expert and Advanced > Expert renders the previous page's actual SQL statement). This serves the dual purpose of demonstrating how the query model works as well as training workers how to create more complex query criteria. Going back the other way is not supported and the user interface is reset (the page pops up a message box warning the user that the current criteria is lost). 2. The last page the user was on is stored in their CurrentWorker tags so they always come back to the Find page they last used. Common Page Item Among all Tabs Search incident history When this is selected, the search includes the incident history for the specified criteria. Each incident is searched history change by history change. If an incident has a history entry where all the criteria are met, then that incident is found by the search. Normally the search finds incidents matching the criteria at the present time. When you select Search incident history, the search also finds incidents that have history that matches the criteria. Simple This page lets you search for incidents already entered in the Helpdesk system. The property values of the fields you enter as a search criteria can be saved as a new query. This is helpful when the search you are running is done on a regular basis. You can choose whether or not you want to make the query you create visible for other workers to use. The Pattern field (available when you click the More choices link) matches on the Category field and the Scope drop-down list helps you select an appropriate pattern for a given category. You can also type in your own search pattern if you want. The Comment/Title field sets up an OR clause to search in both the current title and historical comment. Note The Simple page in Helpdesk Solution 6.0 SP3 is a combination of the Simple and Advanced pages in Helpdesk Solution 6.0 SP1 and earlier. Helpdesk Solution Help 50

51 To simple search for an Incident 1. Select Incidents > Find Incidents. 2. Enter the search criteria in the fields on the page. 3. Match All words is the default method to match the Title and Comment fields. To change the search method, click the drop-down arrow and select one of the other options. 4. Click the drop-down arrow and select a value for the Category, Status, and Assigned fields. Click the More choices link to view more fields to search from. You do not have to enter values in all available fields. 5. Click Find. If the search yields any incidents, they appear on the same page. 6. Click Reset to clear the fields and start another search. 7. Click Table to change the view of the table. A new page appears where you can add or delete columns from the Find Incident table. 8. Click on one of the incidents listed on the page, and then choose one of the following: Click View to review the incident. Click Edit to modify the incident. 9. Click Save query to save the property values of the fields you entered for the search criteria as a new query. After the New Query page appears, do the following: a. Enter a property value in the Name field. b. The Based on value creates a new query from an existing query and should not be used from the Find Incidents page. Go to the next step. c. Select the Share this query with all workers checkbox if you want other workers to use this query. d. Click Save. Advanced The Advanced page is a query builder, based on the Helpdesk rule editors. It uses the rule field selector and field edit sub pages to let you build a complex boolean expression. In the Advanced page, the rule structure is transformed into a SQL statement. In addition to the criterion editors we now support, lookups offer is one of and is not one of editors that manage a list of possible lookup values and target comparison values. To advance search for an Incident 1. Click Edit, Add a When...<end> group, Move up, Move down, or Delete. A blank search group is provided. a. To add an item to a group, select <none specified> or an item inside the group, click the drop-down arrow and select from the list of fields, and then click Add. A new page displays additional options for the field you selected. Select the criteria for that field, and click OK to add the item to the group. b. To change the group condition, select the group (Example: When ALL of these are TRUE) and click the Edit icon. A new page displays available options for this group condition. Select the one you want and click OK. Helpdesk Solution Help 51

52 c. To add a group inside of a group, select an item inside of a group and click the When...<end> group icon. 2. Review the criteria you created in the display box. You can add more criteria, edit, move up, move down, or delete a criterion. Highlight a criterion to change, and then click Edit, Add a When...<end> group, Move up, Move down, or Delete. 3. Click Find. If the search yields any incidents, they will display on the same page. 4. Click Reset to clear the fields and start another search. 5. Click Table to change the view of the table. A new page displays where you can add or delete columns from the Find Incident table. 6. Click on one of the incidents listed on the page, and then choose one of the following: Click View to review the incident. Click Edit to modify the incident. 7. Click Save query to save the property values of the fields you entered for the search criteria as a new query. After the New Query page displays, do the following: a. Enter a property value in the Name field. b. The Based on value creates a new query from an existing query and should not be used from the Find Incidents page. Go to the next step. c. Select the Share this query with all workers checkbox if you want other workers to use this query. d. Click Save. Expert The Expert page is a multiline edit box letting you type the where clause in raw SQL. This is for workers with advanced knowledge of SQL. To expert search for an Incident 1. Create a SQL expression in the Expression box. 2. Click Find. If the search yields any incidents, they will display on the same page. 3. Click Reset to clear the fields and start another search. 4. Click Table to change the view of the table. A new page displays where you can add or delete columns from the Find Incident table. 5. Click on one of the incidents listed on the page, and then choose one of the following: Click View to review the incident. Click Edit to modify the incident. 6. Click Save query to save the property values of the fields you entered for the search criteria as a new query. After the New Query page displays, do the following: a. Enter a property value in the Name field. Helpdesk Solution Help 52

53 b. The Based on value creates a new query from an existing query and should not be used from the Find Incidents page. Go to the next step. c. Select the Share this query with all workers checkbox if you want other workers to use this query. d. Click Save. Search in Comment or Title Field You can search within the comment field of an incident. As with all fields, searching Comments works against the current state of the incident as well as historical incident data. This is very beneficial as workers search incidents for solutions to similar problems. Full-text searching using FREETEXT and CONTAINS (Transact SQL) syntax is supported but may require configuration of the database itself. Full-text searching provides powerful searching within the Title and Comment fields. If MS SQL 7 or 2000 has not been configured for full-text searching, searches can still be done using Transact SQL wildcard character searches (see Wildcard Searches on page 54). These searches are more limited than full-text and can be less efficient than full-text searching, especially as your database expands. Full-text (FREETEXT and CONTAINS) Searches Note Full-text searching is supported only with Microsoft SQL 7, 2000, and It is not supported with MSDE. During initial configuration, full-text search configuration is attempted. To do this, the Full-Text Search service, MSSearch, must be installed using an advanced options available during the MS SQL installation. Additionally, this service can be activated post install. If successful, a full-text index is created on the comment column of the workitem table, and a new catalog (HD_workitem_comment) is created to store the full-text index. When full-text searches have been correctly configured, a message displays beneath the comment field that indicates that FREETEXT and CONTAINS syntax may be used. Additionally, the message contains the date and time that the index in the catalog HD_workitem_comment was last updated. Comment data modified after this date will not be found using a full-text search until the catalog has been updated (repopulated). If full-text search has not been correctly configured, a warning message, (with a yellow background) displays beneath the comment field that indicates that full-text search is not enabled. When full-text search is not enabled, FREETEXT and CONTAINS syntax may not be used. Manual Configuration If the Full-Text Search service, MSSearch, is not installed, full-text searches cannot be configured and full-text searches need to be configured manually. Search MSDN for articles on implementing full-text searches. Syntax When full-text search service is enabled, it recognizes whether the search being performed is a FREETEXT or CONTAINS search. Helpdesk Solution Help 53

54 Note Do not include the FREETEXT or CONTAINS predicate in the search field; this is done for you. FREETEXT is less precise than CONTAINS and matches values on meaning, not the exact word. Search MSDN for articles on FREETEXT. CONTAINS is more precise then FREETEXT and recognizes special syntax such as and, or, and not, FORMSOF, NEAR, etc. Search MSDN for articles on CONTAINS. If full-text searching is enabled, the user can override FREETEXT or CONTAINS searches by checking Disable full-text searching in the Find feature. This lets the user perform wildcard searches as discussed in Wildcard Searches below. Wildcard Searches Wildcard searches are not nearly as powerful as FREETEXT and CONTAIN searches. If full-text searches have been configured, the user is limited to this type of search. Any valid Transact SQL wildcard character can be used (Example: %, _, [] [^]). Search MSDN for articles on wildcard searches. Note Do not include the LIKE predicate in the search field, this is done for you. Service Catalog The Service Catalog is a list of tasks that enable Helpdesk workers to quickly resolve incidents or move them along in a process. Tasks appear by category. You can create additional tasks and categories to appear in the the Service Catalog to meet the needs of your organization. For information on the Service Catalog, see About the Service Catalog on page 128. For information on Service Categories, see About Service Categories on page 127. To use the Service Catalog from the Helpdesk Console 1. In the Helpdesk Console, select Incidents > Service Catalog. 2. In the Service Catalog, select the task link for the action that you want to perform. Queries This command lets workers retrieve incident data by running queries against the Helpdesk database. The Helpdesk Solution ships with a set of standard queries, but you can add new queries by modifying an existing query or creating your own SQL expressions. Queries can also be selected from the drop-down list on the Worker Report page. The query command includes a parameter replacement system so that input can be solicited whenever the query is run. The query command only works against the most recent version of all incidents; however, any valid Tansact-SQL WHERE clause (minus the word WHERE ) can be entered as the expression to be evaluated. Quick Links List Queries on page 55 Helpdesk Solution Help 54

55 New Query on page 57 Delete Queries on page 58 List Queries This command displays a list of queries defined in the Helpdesk system. The list is comprised of the standard queries that come with the Helpdesk Solution, as well as new queries created by administrators, managers, or workers who have the appropriate privileges. The Shared value means that other workers can access and run the query. You can run, view, edit, delete, or duplicate one of the queries listed on the page. You can also go directly to the New Query page to create a query if the queries listed do not retrieve the data you want. To list Queries 1. Select Incidents > Queries > List Queries. 2. Click on one of the queries listed on the page. 3. Click Run, View, Edit, Delete, New, or Clone. Quick Links Run Query on page 55 View Query on page 56 Edit Query on page 56 Delete a Single Query on page 57 Clone Query on page 57 Run Query This command lets you run one of the queries selected from the List Queries page, which retrieves data from the Helpdesk Database. The Run Query - Query Name page displays the results in a table list. If you want to change the table columns of the queries listed, click Table and add or delete the columns as needed. You can also choose to view or edit any of the incidents listed on the page. To run a Query 1. Select Incidents > Queries > List Queries. 2. Click on one of the queries listed on the page. 3. Click Run. 4. The Run Query - Query Title page displays the results. Click Table to change the view of the query table. 5. Click on one of the incidents listed on the page, and then choose one of the following: Click View to review the incident. Click Edit to modify the incident. Helpdesk Solution Help 55

56 View Query This command displays the properties of one of the queries you selected from the List Queries page. If you want to execute the query, click Run to retrieve the incident data from the Helpdesk database. To view a Query 1. Select Incidents > Queries > List Queries. 2. Click on one of the queries listed on the page. 3. Click View. 4. The View Query - Query Title page displays the query s properties. Click Run to run the selected query. 5. The Run Query page displays the results. Click Table to change the view of the query table. 6. Click on one of the incidents listed on the page, and then choose one of the following: Click View to review the incident. Click Edit to modify the incident. Edit Query This command lets you edit one of the queries you selected from the List Queries page. The Edit Query - Query Title page displays the query s properties in the edit mode. You can change any of the property values listed on the page. To edit a Query 1. Select Incidents > Queries > List Queries. 2. Click on one of the queries listed on the page. 3. Click Edit. 4. The Edit Query - Query Title page displays the query s properties in the edit mode. Re-enter a property value in the Name field. 5. The Based on value creates a new query from an existing query and should not be used from the Edit page. Go to the next step. 6. Edit the Expression as needed. 7. Select the Share this query with all workers checkbox if other workers can run this query. 8. Click Run to execute the query without saving your changes. The Run Query page displays the results, go to step 11. If you want to save the query before you run it, go to step Click Table to change the view of the table view. 10. Click Save to save the changes. The View Query page displays the changes you made. Click Run to execute the query. Helpdesk Solution Help 56

57 11. Click on one of the incidents listed on the page, and then choose one of the following: Click View to review the incident. Click Edit to modify the incident. Delete a Single Query This command lets you delete a single query, while the Delete Queries command on the menu can delete multiple queries at once. You are asked to confirm the query you selected before it is actually deleted from the Helpdesk database. To delete a single Query 1. Select Incidents > Queries > List Queries. 2. Click on one of the queries listed on the page. 3. Click Delete. 4. Click OK. Clone Query The Clone icon brings up the New Query page pre-populated with the properties of the selected query. This lets you easily create a new query based on the properties of an existing one. New Query If the standard queries that come with the Helpdesk Solution do not retrieve the incident data you want, you can create as many new queries as you need using this command. The Based on field is a drop-down list of all the queries in the system. Select a query from the Based on list, Get the Expression, and then modify the expression as needed. This is the easiest way to create a new query; however, you can create a query based on any valid Tansact-SQL expression. Note For information on Advanced Queries, see Advanced Query Settings on page 222. To create a new Query 1. Select Incidents > Queries > New Query. 2. Enter a property value in the Name field. 3. Click the drop-down arrow and select a Based on value, and then click Get Expression. 4. Edit the Expression as needed. You can also enter an expression directly without using the Based on feature. 5. Select the Share this query with all workers checkbox if other workers can run this query. 6. Click Run to execute the query. The Run Query page displays the results, go to step 9. Helpdesk Solution Help 57

58 7. Click Save to save the changes. The View Query page displays the new query s property values you set. Click Run to execute the query. 8. Click Table to change the view of the query table. 9. Click on one of the incidents listed on the page, and then choose one of the following: Click View to review the incident. Click Edit to modify the incident. Delete Queries This command lets you delete multiple queries from the Helpdesk system all at once. You are asked to confirm the queries you selected before they are actually deleted from the Helpdesk database. To delete Queries 1. Select Incidents > Queries > Delete Queries. 2. Select the checkbox next to each individual query that you want deleted from the system. 3. Click Next. 4. The Delete Queries page displays the queries you have selected to be deleted from the Helpdesk system. Click Back and make corrections to the list, and then repeat step Click Finish to delete the queries. Bulletins This command is for administrators, managers, and workers to communicate systemwide information to a global audience. Bulletins can be used to announce known error, high-impact outages, changes in policy, IT maintenance schedules, and any other information needed to help manage the status of IT resources. The bulletin board messages are displayed on the Worker Report and the My Helpdesk pages. You can create a bulletin in 2 ways: through the Incident to Bulletin command or by using the Bulletins command. If you want to let other users link incidents to a bulletin, you must create an incident first, and then make it a bulletin by clicking Bulletin on the New Incident page. If you want to broadcast a bulletin message for viewing only (incidents cannot be linked to the bulletin), use the Bulletins command. The difference is that bulletins created from an incident lets other workers link new incoming incidents to the bulletin. If a bulletin is created using this command, it is intended for viewing only and workers will not be able to link incidents. Using the Bulletins command from the menu lets you create a bulletin message for other workers to view, but other incidents cannot be linked to the bulletin itself. Quick Links List Bulletins on page 59 New Bulletin on page 60 Helpdesk Solution Help 58

59 Delete Bulletins on page 61 List Bulletins This command displays a list of all the bulletins in the Helpdesk system. The list consists of the bulletin s name, when it was last modified, if it is visible to guest users, and its status either active or inactive. If the bulletin was created through the Incident to Bulletin command, the Incident column displays a number. To list Bulletins 1. Select Incidents > Bulletins > List Bulletins. 2. Click on one of the bulletins in the list. 3. Click View, Edit, New, Delete, or Clone. Quick Links View Bulletin on page 59 Edit Bulletin on page 60 Delete a Single Bulletin on page 60 Clone Bulletin on page 60 View Bulletin This command displays the property values of a bulletin that you selected from the List Bulletins page. If you want to change the values of the bulletin, click Edit to go to the Edit Bulletin page. To view a Bulletin 1. Select Incidents > Bulletins > List Bulletins. 2. Click on one of the bulletins listed on the page. 3. Click View. 4. Option 1: If the bulletin you selected to view does not have an incident number, do the following: a. Click Edit. b. Re-enter the property values of the fields on the page. c. Click OK. 5. Option 2: If the bulletin you selected to view has an incident number, it was created from an incident. Do the following: a. Click the Edit bulletin. The Incident to Bulletin page displays. b. Re-enter the property values of the fields on the page. c. Click OK. d. Click Save. The incident is saved and the bulletin information is updated. Helpdesk Solution Help 59

60 Edit Bulletin This command lets you change the property values of a bulletin that you selected from the List Bulletins page. If the bulletin you selected to edit has an incident number displayed, the Incident to Bulletin page is displayed. If the bulletin you want to change does not have an incident number, the Bulletin page is displayed in the edit mode. To edit a Bulletin 1. Select Incidents > Bulletins > List Bulletins. 2. Click on one of the bulletins listed on the page. 3. Option 1: If the bulletin you selected does not have an incident number, do the following: a. Click Edit. b. Re-enter the property values of the fields on the page. c. Click OK. 4. Option 2: If the bulletin you selected to view has an incident number, it was created from an incident. Do the following: a. Click the Edit bulletin. The Incident to Bulletin page displays. b. Re-enter the property values of the fields on the page. c. Click OK. d. Click Save. The incident is saved and the bulletin information is updated. Delete a Single Bulletin This command lets you delete a single bulletin, while the Delete Bulletins command on the menu can delete multiple bulletins at once. You are asked to confirm the bulletin you selected before it is actually deleted from the Helpdesk database. To delete a single Bulletin 1. Select Incidents > Bulletins > List Bulletins. 2. Click on one of the bulletins listed on the page. 3. Click Delete. 4. Click OK. Clone Bulletin The Clone icon brings up the New Bulletin page pre-populated with the properties of the selected bulletin. This lets you easily create a new bulletin based on the properties of an existing one. New Bulletin You can create bulletins to communicate the status of IT resources throughout your organization. Bulletins are displayed at the bottom of the Worker Report and My Helpdesk pages for workers and other users to view. Users who log into the Helpdesk Helpdesk Solution Help 60

61 system as guest can only view bulletins if you select the appropriate checkbox on this page. To create a new Bulletin 1. Select Incidents > Bulletins > New Bulletin. 2. Enter a property value for the Title field. 3. Enter a property value for the Message field. 4. Select the Visible to guests checkbox if you want the bulletin displayed to users logged in as guest. 5. Clear the Active checkbox if you do not want the bulletin to be active. 6. Click OK. Delete Bulletins Administrators, managers, or workers who have been granted the appropriate privileges can delete bulletins as needed. After you select the bulletins to be deleted, a confirmation message appears. When you confirm the deletion message, the bulletins are deleted from the Helpdesk system and are no longer listed on the List Bulletins page. Note Bulletins displayed from incidents are not available for deletion on this page. To delete Bulletins 1. Select Incidents > Bulletins > Delete Bulletins. 2. Select the checkbox next to each individual bulletin that you want deleted from the system. 3. Click Next. 4. The Delete Bulletins page displays the bulletins you have selected to be deleted from the Helpdesk system. Click Back if you want to make corrections to the list, and then repeat step Click Finish to delete the bulletins. Last Query Results This command recalls and displays the results from the last query run by the worker currently logged into the Helpdesk system. To view the Last Query Results 1. Select Incidents > Last Query Results. 2. Click Refresh to re-run the query. The Items list updates the results. 3. Click Table to change the view of the table. A new page appears where you can add or delete columns from the table. 4. Click on one of the incidents listed on the page, and then choose one of the following: Helpdesk Solution Help 61

62 Click View to review the incident. Click Edit to modify the incident. 5. Click Save query to save the field property values entered for the last query run as a new query. After the New Query page appears, do the following: a. Re-enter a property value in the Name field. b. The Based on value is used for when you want to create a new query from an existing query and should not be used from this page. Go to the next step. c. Edit the Expression as needed. d. Select the Share this query with all workers checkbox if you want others to use this query. e. Click Save. Edit Multiple Incidents Incident management is simplified because you can change properties for multiple incidents in one process. Example: employees who leave for vacation, or are no longer affiliated with your organization, may have incidents assigned to them that need immediate attention. Administrators and managers who have the appropriate privileges can change many of the field values for incidents, including the Assigned To value, which makes managing incidents and worker assignments much easier. You must enter either a simple, advanced, or expert search criteria to find the incidents first, and then the Edit Multiple Incidents page lets you enter the field values for all the incidents. Common Page Items Among all Tabs Build a list of incidents to edit This lets you build a list of incidents to edit by searching for incidents and adding them to the edit list. When this is selected, two lists appear below: a list that contains the incidents found based on the search criteria (incidents found list), and a list that you create by adding the found incidents that you want edit (edit list). Edit all incidents matching the specified criteria All of the incidents that are found in the search will be edited on the next screen. When you have found and selected the incidents to edit, click Next. Then, on the next screen, click Finish to edit the listed incidents. Search incident history When this is selected, the search includes the incident history for the specified criteria. Each incident is searched history change by history change. If an incident has a history entry where all the criteria are met, then that incident is found by the search. Normally the search finds incidents matching the criteria at the present time. When you select Search incident history, the search also finds incidents that have history that matches the criteria. Simple The Simple search command has a selected number of fields for you to enter a search criteria when finding incidents in the Helpdesk system. After you find the incidents you Helpdesk Solution Help 62

63 want to change, the Edit Multiple Incidents page lets you change a number of fields, which affects all the incidents you found in one process. You must use caution to ensure that the search criteria is specific enough to only find the incidents you want to modify. The ability to edit multiple incidents at once is a powerful feature that can produce unintended results if used with an imprecise query. The property values of the fields you enter as a search criteria can be saved as a new query. This is helpful when the search you are running is done on a regular basis. You can choose whether or not you want to make the query you create visible for other workers to use. To edit Multiple Incidents using Simple 1. Select Incidents > Edit Multiple Incidents. 2. Enter the search criteria in the fields on the page. 3. Select Build a list of incidents to edit or Edit all incidents matching the specified criteria (see Edit Multiple Incidents on page 62). 4. The default method to match the Title and Comment fields is Match all words. To change the search method, click the drop-down arrow and select one of the other options. 5. Click the drop-down arrow and select a value for the Category, Scope, Assigned, Owner, Priority, Status, Type and Asset type fields. 6. Click Find. If the search yields any incidents, they are displayed on the same page. 7. Click Reset to clear the fields and start another search. 8. Either select incidents to add to the edit list and click Next, or click Next depending on your choice from step Select the checkbox next to each field that you want to change. 10. Enter a property value for each field that you selected to change. 11. Click Finish. Advanced The Advanced search command is similar to the simple search, but there are more fields available to enter a search criteria when finding incidents in the Helpdesk system. After you find the incidents you want to change, the Edit Multiple Incidents page lets you change a number of fields, which affects all the incidents you found in one process. You must use caution to ensure that the search criteria is specific enough to only find the incidents you want to modify. The ability to edit multiple incidents at once is a powerful feature that can produce unintended results if used with an imprecise query. The property values of the fields you enter as a search criteria can be saved as a new query. This is helpful when the search you are running is done on a regular basis. You can choose whether or not you want to make the query you create visible for other workers to use. To edit Multiple Incidents using Advanced 1. Select Incidents > Edit Multiple Incidents. 2. Click the Advanced tab. Helpdesk Solution Help 63

64 3. Select Build a list of incidents to edit or Edit all incidents matching the specified criteria (see Edit Multiple Incidents on page 62). 4. Select the search criteria in the fields on the page (see Find Incidents). 5. Either select incidents to add to the edit list and click Next, or click Next depending on your choice from step Click Finish to perform the changes to the incidents listed. Expert The Expert page is a multiline edit box letting you type the where clause in raw SQL. This is for workers with advanced knowledge of SQL. To edit Incidents using Expert 1. Select Incidents > Edit Multiple Incidents. 2. Click the Expert tab. 3. Select Build a list of incidents to edit or Edit all incidents matching the specified criteria (see Edit Multiple Incidents on page 62). 4. Create a SQL expression in the Expression box. 5. Click Find. If the search yields any incidents, they will display on the same page. 6. Click Reset to clear the fields and start another search. 7. Either select incidents to add to the edit list and click Next, or click Next depending on your choice from step Click Finish to edit all incidents listed. Retrieve a Queued Incident This command lets workers retrieve the next available incident from a specified queue. Workers retrieve from their assigned queue unless their queue assignment is set to Prompt. If a worker retrieves from their assigned queue then the next available incident is assigned to them and then displayed. Incidents are retrieved from queues based on their priority, and then the Create date and time. The highest priority incidents are retrieved first, with older incidents getting preference over newer ones. A worker s queue assignment is set by administrators and managers, who have the appropriate privileges, in the The Worker Menu. To retrieve a Queued Incident 1. Select Incidents > Retrieved Queued Incidents. 2. Click on one of the queues listed on the page. 3. Click Retrieve. The next available incident is assigned to you, and then displayed. Delete Incidents This command lets you delete multiple incidents from the Helpdesk system. You must enter either a simple, advanced, or expert search criteria to find the incidents first, and then confirm the incidents you want deleted from the Helpdesk system. You must use Helpdesk Solution Help 64

65 caution to ensure that the search criteria is specific enough to only find the incidents you want to delete. The ability to delete multiple incidents at once is a powerful feature that can produce unintended results if used with an imprecise query. Common Page Items Among all Tabs Build a list of incidents to delete This lets you build a list of incidents to delete by searching for incidents and adding them to the delete list. When this is selected, two lists appear below: a list that contains the incidents found based on the search criteria (incidents found list), and a list that you create by adding the found incidents that you want deleted (delete list). Delete all incidents matching the specified criteria All of the incidents that are found in the search will be deleted on the next screen. When you have found and selected the incidents to delete, click Next. Then, on the next screen, click Finish to delete the listed incidents. Search incident history When this is selected, the search includes the incident history for the specified criteria. Each incident is searched history change by history change. If an incident has a history entry where all the criteria are met, then that incident is found by the search. Normally the search finds incidents matching the criteria at the present time. When you select Search incident history, the search also finds incidents that have history that matches the criteria. Save query Saves the property values of the fields you entered for the search criteria as a new query. After the New Query page displays, do the following: 1. Enter a property value in the Name field. 2. The Based on value creates a new query from an existing query and should not be used from the Find Incidents page. Go to the next step. 3. Select the Share this query with all workers checkbox if you want other workers to use this query. 4. Click Save. Simple The Simple search command has a selected number of fields for you to enter a search criteria when finding incidents in the Helpdesk system. You must confirm the incidents to be deleted before they are actually deleted from the Helpdesk database. To delete Incidents using Simple 1. Select Incidents > Delete Incidents. 2. Select Build a list of incidents to delete or Delete all incidents matching the specified criteria (see Delete Incidents on page 64). 3. Enter the search criteria in the fields on the page. 4. The default method to match the Title and Comment fields is Match All words. To change the search method, click the drop-down arrow and select one of the other options. 5. Click the drop-down arrow and select a value for the Category, Scope, Assigned, Owner, Priority, Status, Type and Asset type fields. Helpdesk Solution Help 65

66 6. Click Find. If the search yields any incidents, they are displayed on the same page. 7. Click Reset to clear the fields and start another search. 8. Either select incidents to add to the delete list and click Next, or click Next depending on your choice from step Click Finish to delete the incidents listed. Advanced The Advanced search command is similar to the Simple search, but there are more fields available to enter a search criteria when finding incidents in the Helpdesk system. You must confirm the incidents to be deleted before they are actually deleted from the Helpdesk database. To delete Incidents using Advanced 1. Select Incidents > Delete Incidents. 2. Click the Advanced tab. 3. Select Build a list of incidents to delete or Delete all incidents matching the specified criteria (see Delete Incidents on page 64). 4. Select the search criteria in the fields on the page (see Find Incidents). 5. Either select incidents to add to the delete list and click Next, or click Next depending on your choice from step Click Finish to delete all incidents listed. Expert The Expert page is a multiline edit box letting you type the where clause in raw SQL. This is for workers with advanced knowledge of SQL. To delete Incidents using Expert 1. Select Incidents > Delete Incidents. 2. Click the Expert tab. 3. Select Build a list of incidents to delete or Delete all incidents matching the specified criteria (see Delete Incidents on page 64). 4. Create a SQL expression in the Expression box. 5. Click Find. If the search yields any incidents, they will display on the same page. 6. Click Reset to clear the fields and start another search. 7. Either select incidents to add to the delete list and click Next, or click Next depending on your choice from step Click Finish to delete all incidents listed. Helpdesk Solution Help 66

67 Chapter 6 The Quick Incidents Menu These commands manage quick incidents, which are used by workers to create new incidents for commonly reported problems or requests. Administrators and managers, who have been granted the appropriate privileges, can choose from a list of fields and set their property values for each quick incident they create. Workers can use the List Quick Incidents command from the menu, to select a quick incident from the list displayed. Selecting an existing Quick Incident opens the new incident screen and populate it with the field values specified in the Quick Incident definition, which saves workers the time to enter these values manually. Note There are several places in the Helpdesk console that use a grid to display results. This grid can be customized per worker so that the displayed columns can be selected and sized and given a different text value. These changes are accessible by a Format table icon ( )and the changes are saved with the worker. Quick Links List Quick Incidents on page 67 New Quick Incident on page 69 Delete Quick Incidents on page 70 List Quick Incidents This page displays a list of quick incidents, which have been created to help you expedite commonly reported problems or requests for services. You can view, edit, run the quick incident, delete a single quick incident, or create a new quick incident. To list Quick Incidents 1. Select Quick Incidents > List Quick Incidents. 2. Click on one of the quick incidents listed on the page. 3. Click View, Edit, Delete, Run, New, or Clone. Quick Links View Quick Incident on page 68 Edit Quick Incident on page 68 Delete a Single Quick Incident on page 69 Run a Quick Incident on page 69 Clone a Quick Incident on page 69 Helpdesk Solution Help 67

68 View Quick Incident This command displays the property values that have been set for the quick incident you selected from the List Quick Incidents page. You can run or edit the quick incident, adding additional fields, or change the property values already set. To view a Quick Incident 1. Select Quick Incidents > List Quick Incidents. 2. Click on one of the quick incidents listed. 3. Click View. 4. Review the quick incident information on the page. 5. Choose one of the following: Click Edit to change property values. Click Run to create a new incident. Edit Quick Incident This command lets you edit the property values that have been set for the quick incident you selected from the List Quick Incidents page. You can refer to New Quick Incident for information on field values. To edit a Quick Incident 1. Select Incidents > Quick Incidents > List Quick Incidents. 2. Click on one of the quick incidents listed on the page. 3. Click Edit. 4. Re-enter a property value in the Name field. 5. Re-enter a property value in the Description field. 6. The For new incidents section shows the Edit and Delete buttons. Before you can click one of the buttons, you must first add a field value. a. Click the drop-down arrow and select from the list of fields available. Click Add. A new page appears for you to set the value of the field you selected. b. Click OK. c. Repeat steps a - b to add additional fields and their set to values. 7. Review the list of fields and values you set. 8. If you want to make changes, click on one of the field values you added, and then choose one of the following: Click Edit to change the property values. Click Delete to delete the field. 9. Click OK. Helpdesk Solution Help 68

69 Delete a Single Quick Incident This command lets you delete a single quick incident, while the Delete Quick Incidents command on the menu can delete multiple quick incidents. You are asked to confirm the quick incident you selected before it is actually deleted from the Helpdesk Database. To delete a single Quick Incident 1. Select Quick Incidents > List Quick Incidents. 2. Click on one of the quick incidents listed. 3. Click Delete. 4. Click OK. Run a Quick Incident When you run a quick incident, a new incident is created from the field values set in the quick incident. After you run a quick incident, the New Incident page appears for you to add any additional information if needed. To run a Quick Incident 1. Select Quick Incidents > List Quick Incidents. 2. Click on one of the quick incidents listed on the page. 3. Click Run. 4. Enter additional property values in the fields on the page. 5. Click Save. Clone a Quick Incident The Clone icon brings up the New Quick Incident page pre-populated with the properties of the selected quick incident. This lets you easily create a new quick incident based on the properties of an existing one. New Quick Incident This command lets you create a quick incident, which workers use to create new incidents for commonly reported problems or requests. When you create a quick incident, select any of the fields available and set a default value. When a worker runs a quick incident, a new incident is created with the property values set from the quick incident. Field Definitions The Comment, External ID, Priority, Status, Category, Owned by worker, and Type are the same fields used to create a New Incident. Action: This value represents the action performed on an incident each time it is modified. At the bottom of the View Incident page below the History section, you will find the date and time for each comment record. The record format is, MM/DD/YYYY hh:mm:ss Worker - Action. Example: if you set the status of an incident to Helpdesk Solution Help 69

70 Resolved, then the header on the history record would look like 1/5/2004 3:15:00 AM JSmith Resolved. You can set this field to be any text value you want. Source: This field specifies that another Altiris solution or the incident event handler created the incident instead of Helpdesk Solution. You cannot view this field value on the View Incident page, but it is accessible through various rules. Example: you can create a Routing Rule that specifies the route to be QueueA if source = HR Department, and then create a quick incident where the source value is set to HR Department. You can set this field to be any text value you want. Parent incident number: This is the incident number that you want to link the new incident to. You can create a parent incident #2343, and then create a quick incident where this field value is set to #2343. Each new incident created from the quick incident is linked to the parent incident #2343. This is an easy way to categorize and manage incidents with a child-parent relationship. Parent link type: This is the type of link relationship to create when linking to a parent. You can set this field value to simple, no special relationship, or Inherit status, which indicates the child s status is set to the same value as the parent when the parent status changes. If you close a parent incident, all child incidents are closed as well. To create a new Quick Incident 1. Select Incidents > Quick Incidents > New Quick Incident. 2. Enter a property value in the Name field. 3. Enter a property value in the Description field. 4. The For new incidents section shows the Edit and Delete buttons. Before you can click one of the buttons, you must add a field value. a. Click the drop-down arrow and select from the list of fields available. Click Add. A new page displays for you to set the value of the field you selected. b. Click OK. c. Repeat steps a - b to add additional fields and their set to values. 5. Review the list of fields and values you set. 6. If you want to make changes, click on one of the field values you added, and then choose one of the following: Click Edit to change the property values. Click Delete to delete the field. 7. Click OK. Delete Quick Incidents This command lets you delete multiple quick incidents from the Helpdesk system. You are asked to confirm the quick incidents you selected before they are actually deleted from the Helpdesk database. To delete Quick Incidents 1. Select Incidents > Quick Incidents > Delete Quick Incidents. 2. Select the checkbox next to each individual quick incident that you want deleted from the system. Helpdesk Solution Help 70

71 3. Click Next. 4. The Delete Quick Incidents page displays the quick incidents you have selected to be deleted from the Helpdesk system. Click Back if you want to make corrections to the list, and then repeat step Click Finish to delete the quick incidents. Helpdesk Solution Help 71

72 Chapter 7 The Admin Menu The Admin Menu is reserved for administrators and managers who have been granted the appropriate privileges to use some of the most powerful administrative features of Helpdesk Solution. This chapter details how to define Routing rules, Notify rules, and Incident rules, all of which are evaluated when workers create a new incident or modify an existing one. You can also learn to set up templates, inboxes and filters, tasks, and categories. All of these commands contribute to the reporting and tracking of incidents and the worker s ability to route incidents, notify users of incidents created or modified, and monitor inboxes, which can be used as another method for reporting incidents. The Admin Report command manages all the incidents reported to a Helpdesk department, where you can view the number of incidents, based on priority, or you can view the incidents for a particular worker or queue. This snap-shot view is helpful because you can quickly discover the overall status of the Helpdesk system and direct attention to high-priority issues. Note There are several places in the Helpdesk console that use a grid to display results. This grid can be customized per worker so that the displayed columns can be selected and sized and given a different text value. These changes are accessible by a Format table icon and the changes are saved with the worker. Quick Links Admin Report on page 73 Categories on page 73 Validation Rules on page 77 Incident Rules on page 81 Routing Rules on page 85 Notify Rules on page 90 Automation Rules on page 94 About Tasks on page 106 Templates on page 115 Inboxes on page 117 Inbox Filters on page 122 Resource Types on page 125 Lookups on page 125 Import Admin Data on page 126 Export Admin Data on page 127 Helpdesk Solution Help 72

73 Admin Report This is the page where administrators and managers can review statistical data for all workers using the Helpdesk system. By default, the Report period value is Past 30 days, but you can set the report period to different incremental time intervals up to 365 days, or choose All dates. The results of the report period query are displayed in the Incidents by Worker window. The Incidents by Worker window displays a list of all workers and queues entered in the Helpdesk system and column header with several categories to view incidents as a group. You can select a worker or queue from the list, and then view the incidents that have been assigned to them. On the right side of the page, below Incidents, you will find a list of status topics. This helps you review quickly the status of all incidents for all workers. An item count (highlighted in blue) is the same as in the Incidents by Worker window. There is an item count next to each status topic if there are any incidents for you to view. At the bottom of the page, you will see the Bulletins section. Here you will find system broadcast messages, created by administrators, managers, and other workers, that inform workers and guest users about system-wide problems. Example: if the network has an outage, a bulletin message can provide information to let others know that it has been reported and the Network department is working to restore connectivity. Bulletins can also inform workers of server maintenance schedules or any other kind of information that may be helpful to workers as they take support calls. See Bulletins on page 58 for details. To view the Admin Report 1. Select Incidents > Admin. 2. Click the drop-down arrow and select the number of days for the Report period from the list. Click Refresh. 3. Click on any item count (highlighted in blue) below Incidents. If the number of incidents is greater than 1, a new page displays the query search results. 4. If multiple incidents are listed, click on one of the incidents. 5. Choose from the following options: Click View to review the incident. Click Edit to change the incident. Click Table to change the view of the table. A new page displays allowing you to add or delete columns from the admin report table. Categories Incidents entered into the Helpdesk system must be associated with a category, which keeps similar incidents grouped together. The Categories command is only available from the Admin Menu and is accessed by administrators and managers who have the appropriate privileges. While Helpdesk has many out-of-box categories already, you can list, edit, move, copy, or delete categories to meet the needs of your organization. Categories use a hierarchical structure following a parent-child relationship. Main topic categories can be created with similar or same topics created as levels below. Helpdesk Solution Help 73

74 Example Parent main topic Break-Fix Child topic Child topic Child subtopic Child subtopic...copier...desktop...monitor...keyboard The example shows a category parent main topic called Break-Fix, followed by two additional child topic categories: Copier and Desktop. The Desktop category needed additional subtopics to define all the elements of the desktop; thus, child subtopics were created. You may notice that the categories are represented on the Edit Incident page as multiple drop-down lists, which keeps the lists of categories manageable when there are a few hundred categories, subcategories, sub-subcategories, and so on. Quick Links List Categories on page 74 Edit Categories on page 74 List Categories This command lets you view a list of all the categories in the Helpdesk system. The hierarchical list shows the name of the category and its status, which can be labeled the following terms: Inactive Other incidents cannot be associated with it. Blank The category is active and incidents can be grouped to it. Default The category is used for the category setting if the category field of an incident is not specified. To make changes to the categories listed, you must use the edit command. To list Categories 1. Select Admin > Categories > List Categories. 2. Review the categories listed on the page. 3. Click Edit. Edit Categories The Edit Categories page looks similar to the List Categories page except for the Default category drop-down list. This property value is applied to incidents when the category field has not been defined by workers. While Helpdesk has many out-of-box categories, which groups the majority of incidents submitted to the Helpdesk, you can also create, edit, move, copy, or delete categories as needed. To edit the Category List 1. Select Admin > Categories > Edit Categories. 2. Click the drop-down list to change the Default category. 3. Click on one of the categories listed on the page. Helpdesk Solution Help 74

75 4. Click New, Modify, Move, Copy, or Delete. Quick Links New Category on page 75 Modify Category on page 75 Move Category on page 76 Copy Category on page 76 Delete Category on page 77 New Category If you have incidents that need to be grouped together into categories which are not already defined in the system, you can create as many new categories as needed. The categories you create must follow a hierarchical parent-child relationship structure. See Categories on page 73 for details. To create a new Category 1. Select Admin > Categories > Edit Categories. 2. Click on one of the categories listed on the page. The new category can be inserted above, below, or as a child of this line item. 3. Click New. The category you highlighted is displayed at the bottom of the page. Example: if you highlighted the category Network, and then clicked New, you will see New Category - Break-Fix\Network at the bottom of the page. This verifies that you are creating the new category in the hierarchical structure correctly. 4. Enter a property value in the Category field. 5. Click the drop-down arrow and select the Position of the new category. 6. Clear the Active checkbox if you do not want the category to be active. 7. Click OK. 8. Repeat step 2-7 to create additional categories. 9. Click Save. Modify Category This command lets you modify any category in the Helpdesk system; however, you can only change the category s name and status. If you want to change a category s hierarchical placement, use the Move Category command. To modify a Category 1. Select Admin > Categories > Edit Categories. 2. Click on one of the categories listed on the page. 3. Click Edit. The category you highlight displays at the bottom of the page. Example: if you highlight the category Network, and then click the Edit icon, you will see Modify Helpdesk Solution Help 75

76 Category - Break-Fix\Network at the bottom of the page. This verifies that the category you selected is about to be edited. 4. Re-enter a name in the Category field. 5. Clear the Active checkbox if you do not want the category to be active. 6. Click OK. 7. Repeat step 2-6 to edit additional categories. 8. Click Save. Move Category You can change the placement of a category by moving it up and down in the hierarchical tree structure of the category list. If you want to move a parent category and it has a child or subchild category topics, they will all move to the new location in the hierarchical tree at the same time. If you select a child or subchild category topic and move it above a parent topic, the child or subchild topic becomes a new parent category. The ability to move category topics lets you group categories together in any order you want. To move a Category 1. Select Admin > Categories > Edit Categories. 2. Click on one of the categories listed on the page. 3. Click Move. The category you highlight is displayed at the bottom of the page. Example: if you highlight the category Network, and then click the Move icon, you will see Move Category - Break-Fix\Network at the bottom of the page. This verifies that the category you selected is about to be moved. 4. Click the drop-down arrow and select a Move to place to insert the category you want to move. 5. Click the drop-down arrow and select a Position for the category to be inserted in the category list. 6. Click OK. 7. Repeat step 2-6 to move additional categories. 8. Click Save. Copy Category The copy category command lets you copy topics from one location in the category list to another. When you copy a category, its name and status remain the same no matter where it is inserted in the hierarchical tree. If you select a child or subchild category topic and then copy it above a parent topic, the child or subchild topic becomes a new parent category. To copy a Category 1. Select Admin > Categories > Edit Categories. 2. Click on one of the categories listed on the page. 3. Click Copy. Helpdesk Solution Help 76

77 The category you highlight is displayed at the bottom of the page. Example: if you highlight the category Copier, and then click the Copy icon, you will see Copy Category - Break-Fix\Copier at the bottom of the page. This verifies that the category you selected is about to be copied. 4. Click the drop-down arrow and select a Copy to destination. 5. Click the drop-down arrow and select a Position for the copied category to be inserted in the category list. 6. Click OK. 7. Repeat step 2-6 to copy additional categories. 8. Click Save. Delete Category Categories that are no longer needed can easily be removed from the Helpdesk system. Deleting categories, whether parent or child topics, will not effect incidents that are assigned to the category you want to delete. The category that is assigned to an incident remains the same, even if the category is deleted. This is to preserve the integrity and historical content of the incident itself. To delete a category 1. Select Admin > Categories > Edit Categories. 2. Click on a category in the list. 3. Click Delete. The category you highlight is displayed at the bottom of the page. Example: if you highlight the category , and then click the Delete icon, you will see Delete Category - Break-Fix\ at the bottom of the page. This verifies that the category you selected is about to be deleted. 4. If the category has sub-categories, click the drop-down arrow and select one of the Delete options. Delete Children: Used to delete the category you selected and all its child topics. Move Children to Grandparent: Used to delete a parent topic but retains the child topics by moving them to the next parent topic level above the category you are deleting. 5. Click OK. 6. Repeat step 2-5 to delete additional categories. 7. Click Save. Validation Rules Validation rules allow an administrator to define a new set of rules to ensure that modifications to an incident meet certain criteria before they can be saved. For instance, a rule can be written to require a Close Code be selected whenever an incident's status is being changed to Closed. A Validation rule's properties include the same set of criteria available in the other rules plus the text message displayed to the worker when an incident is invalid. Helpdesk Solution Help 77

78 Note When the conditions of the Validation rule return true, the incident save is stopped and the Validation rule message is displayed for the user. When the conditions of the Validation rule return false, the save continues unimpeded. Quick Links List Validation Rules New Validation Rule Delete Validation Rules List Validation Rules This command displays a list of all the Validation rules in the Helpdesk system. This page is helpful if you need a quick glance at the status of a Validation rule or to examine the evaluation order of the rules. All rules are evaluated when an incident is created or modified, but only if they are Active. If a rule evaluates to true and it is Terminal, then no other rules in the list are processed. You can view, edit, move up or down, delete, or create new Validation rules. To list Validation rules 1. Select Admin > Validation Rules > List Validation Rules. 2. Click on one of the Validation rules listed on the page. 3. Click View, Edit, Move Rule Up, Move Rule Down, New, Delete, or Clone. Quick Links View Validation Rule on page 78 Edit Validation Rule on page 79 Change the Order of Validation Rules on page 79 Delete a Single Validation Rule on page 79 Clone Validation Rule on page 79 View Validation Rule This command lets you view the property values that have been set for any Validation rule you selected from the List Validation Rules page. You can edit the rule, adding additional criteria to be evaluated, or change the property values already set. To view a Validation rule 1. Select Admin > Validation Rules > List Validation Rules. 2. Click on one of the Validation rules listed on the page. 3. Click View. 4. Review the properties on the page, and then click Edit to change values. Helpdesk Solution Help 78

79 Edit Validation Rule This command lets you edit the property values that have been set for the Validation rule you selected from the List Validation Rules page. You can refer to New Validation Rule for information on field values. To edit a Validation rule 1. Select Admin > Validation Rules > List Validation Rules. 2. Click on one of the Validation rules listed on the page. 3. Click Edit. 4. Re-enter the property values of the fields on the page. 5. Click OK. Change the Order of Validation Rules This command lets you change the order of the Validation rules that are listed on the List Validation Rules page. The rules are processed in the order they are listed on the page. You can move a rule up or down, one level at a time, from its current position. To move Validation rules up or down 1. Select Admin > Validation Rules > List Validation Rules. 2. Click on one of the Validation rules listed on the page. 3. Click Move Rule Up or Move Rule Down to position the rules in the correct order. 4. Repeat step 2-3 as needed until the Validation rules are in the correct order. Delete a Single Validation Rule This command lets you delete a single Validation rule, while the Delete Validation Rules command on the menu can delete multiple Validation rules at once. You are asked to confirm the Validation rule you selected before it is actually deleted from the Helpdesk database. To delete a single Validation rule 1. Select Admin > Validation Rules > List Validation Rules. 2. Click on one of the Validation rules listed on the page. 3. Click Delete. 4. Click OK. Clone Validation Rule The Clone icon brings up the new Validation rule page pre-populated with the properties of the selected Validation rule. This lets you easily create a new Validation rule based on the properties of an existing one. Helpdesk Solution Help 79

80 New Validation Rule Administrators and managers, who have been granted the appropriate privileges, can create as many Validation rules as needed. The Helpdesk system runs the rule in the order it appears in the Validation rules list. The Validation rules are evaluated by the Helpdesk system when incidents are modified or newly created. To create a new Validation rule 1. Select Admin > Validation Rules > New Validation Rule. 2. Enter a property value in the Name field. 3. Enter a property value in the Comment field. 4. Enter a message to be displayed in the Display this message field. This is the text message you want to display to the worker when an incident is not valid (example: when the rule criteria evaluate true). 5. The When section provides three options in a drop-down list. This lets you easily select three common criteria use cases that you might typically create using the criterion editor. These options let the rule identify when it is run based on the option that is selected. Every time incident is saved Only when incident is new Only when incident already exists 6. The And section specifies the rule s criteria. Click Edit, Add a When...<end> group, Move up, Move down, or Delete. You must Add at least one Validation rule criterion first (see step a) before using the buttons listed above. a. Click the drop-down arrow and select from the list of fields. Click Add. A new page displays additional options for the field you selected. b. Select the When the value of <field> changes checkbox if you want the criterion to evaluate true when the specified values changes. c. Select the When the value of <field> checkbox if you want the criterion to evaluate true based on a specific conditions. Note Select both checkboxes if you want the rule to run when the field both changes AND meets the selected conditions. d. Click the drop-down arrow and select a condition for the field to be tested. Based on the field and condition you selected, additional drop-down lists or fields may display. Select or add additional values as needed. e. Click OK. f. Repeat step a - e to add additional criterions. 7. Review the criteria you created in the display box. You can add more criteria, edit, move up, move down, or delete a criterion. Highlight a criterion to change, and then click Edit, Add a When...<end> group, Move up, Move down, or Delete. 8. Clear the Active checkbox if you do not want the New Validation rule activated. The Validation rule will only be evaluated during incident updates when it is active. 9. Click OK. Helpdesk Solution Help 80

81 Delete Validation Rules Administrators and managers, who have been granted the appropriate privileges, can delete Validation rules as needed. Deleting a rule takes effect when you confirm its deletion, and it is removed from the List Validation Rules page. To delete a Validation rule 1. Select Admin > Validation Rules > Delete Validation Rules. 2. Select the checkbox next to each individual Validation rule that you want deleted from the system. 3. Click Next. 4. The Delete Validation Rules page displays the rules you have selected to be deleted from the Helpdesk system. Click Back if you want to make corrections to the list. Then repeat step Click Finish to delete the Validation rules. Incident Rules Incident rules are similar to Routing Rules, but where Routing rules only affect the Assigned field, Incident rules can set more fields for new and modified incidents. The rules are evaluated by the Helpdesk system whenever an incident is saved and changes the properties of those incidents that match the rule s criteria. Example: an Incident rule called Network Down ensures all network problems are given the highest priority. The rule sets a criterion that determines if the Title field of new or modified incidents contain the words network down. If the rule evaluates to true, then the incident field values are set according to the fields defined by the Incident rule. In this example, the incident priority would change to ASAP, regardless of the original priority set by the worker. Incident rules are a great asset to any Helpdesk environment because they ensure that incidents of a particular nature have their properties set automatically. This ensures that incidents have the property values for selected fields the way administrators and managers want. Quick Links List Incident Rules on page 81 New Incident Rule on page 83 Delete Incident Rules on page 85 List Incident Rules This command displays a list of all the Incident rules in the Helpdesk system. This page is helpful if you need a quick glance at the status of an Incident rule or to examine the evaluation order of the rules. All rules are evaluated when an incident is created or modified, but only if the rules are Active. If a rule evaluates to true and it is Terminal, then no other rules in the list are processed. You can view, edit, move the rule up or down, delete, or create new Incident rules from this page. Helpdesk Solution Help 81

82 To list Incident rules 1. Select Admin > Incident Rules > List Incident Rules. 2. Click on one of the Incident rules listed on the page. 3. Click Edit, Move rule up, Move rule down, New, Delete, or Clone. Quick Links View Incident Rule on page 82 Edit Incident Rule on page 82 Change the Order of Incident Rules on page 82 Delete a Single Incident Rule on page 83 Clone Incident Rule on page 83 View Incident Rule This command lets you view the property values that have been set for any Incident rule you selected from the List Incident Rules page. You can edit the rule by adding additional criteria to be evaluated, set additional field values, or change the property values already set. To view an Incident rule 1. Select Admin > Incident Rules > List Incident Rules. 2. Click on one of the Incident rules listed on the page. 3. Click View. 4. Review the properties on the page, and then click Edit to change values. Edit Incident Rule This command lets you edit the property values that have been set for the Incident rule you selected from the List Incident Rules page. You can refer to New Incident Rule for information on field values. To edit an Incident rule 1. Select Admin > Incident Rules > List Incident Rules. 2. Click on one of the Incident rules listed on the page. 3. Click Edit. 4. Re-enter the property values of the fields on the page. 5. Click OK. Change the Order of Incident Rules This command lets you change the order of the Incident rules that are listed on the List Incident Rules page. The rules are processed in the order they are listed on the page. You can move the rule up or down, one level at a time, from its current position. Helpdesk Solution Help 82

83 To move Incident rules up or down 1. Select Admin > Incident Rules > List Incident Rules. 2. Click on one of the Incident rules listed on the page. 3. Click Move rule up or Move rule down to position the rules in the correct order. 4. Repeat step 2-3 as needed until the Incident rules are in the correct order. Delete a Single Incident Rule This command lets you delete a single Incident rule, while the Delete Incident Rules command on the menu can delete multiple Incident rules at once. You are asked to confirm the Incident rule you selected before it is actually deleted from the Helpdesk database. To delete a single Incident rule 1. Select Admin > Incident Rules > List Incident Rules. 2. Click on one of the Incident rules listed on the page. 3. Click the Delete icon. 4. Click OK. Clone Incident Rule The Clone icon brings up the new Incident rule page pre-populated with the properties of the selected Incident rule. This lets you easily create a new Incident rule based on the properties of an existing one. New Incident Rule Administrators and managers, who have been granted the appropriate privileges, can create as many Incident rules as needed. You must select field values that are used to change the incidents, and then select the field criteria that evaluate the incidents before any changes are made. Incident rules that evaluate to true, applies the rule s field values to new or modified incidents. The Helpdesk system runs each Incident rule in the order it appears on the List Incident Rules page. Note You should exercise care with Incident rules as they can overrule value assignments made by workers, which can lead to confusion. To mitigate this, the View Incident page displays a list of all rules that were applied to an incident and the last time it was modified. Workers may consult this list to determine why the incident properties did not get set the way they expected. The rules should be effectively named so that it is apparent in this context what actually happened. To create a new Incident rule 1. Select Admin > Incident Rules > New Incident Rule. 2. Enter a property value in the Name field. 3. Enter a property value in the Comment field. Helpdesk Solution Help 83

84 4. The Set these properties section sets the field values of the rule. Click Edit, Move up, Move down, or Delete. You must Add at least one or two incident fields first, (see step a) before you can use the buttons listed above. a. Click the drop-down arrow and select a field from the list. b. Click OK. c. Repeat step a - b to add additional fields. d. Review the fields you added in the display box. You can add, edit, move up, move down, or delete the fields. Highlight the field to change, and then click Edit, Move up, Move down, or Delete. 5. The When section provides three options in a drop-down list. This lets you easily select three common criteria use cases that you might typically create using the criterion editor. These options let the rule identify when it is run based on the option that is selected. Every time incident is saved Only when incident is new Only when incident already exists 6. The And section specifies the Incident rule s criteria. Click Edit, Add a When...<end> group, Move up, Move down, or Delete. You must Add at least one criterion first, (see step a) before using some of the buttons listed above. a. Click the drop-down arrow and select from the list of fields. Click Add. A new page displays additional options for the field you selected. b. Select the When the value of <field> changes checkbox if you want the criterion to evaluate true when the specified value changes. c. Select the When the value of <field> checkbox if you want the criterion to evaluate true based on a specific condition. Note Select both checkboxes if you want the rule to run when the field both changes AND meets the selected condition. d. Click OK. e. Repeat step a - d to add additional criterions. f. Review the criteria you created in the display box. You can add, edit, move up, move down, or delete a criteria. Highlight a criterion to change, and then click Edit, Add a When...<end> group, Move up, Move down, or Delete. 7. (Optional) Clear the Active checkbox if you do not want the New Incident rule to be active. 8. (Optional) Clear the Terminal checkbox if you do not want to stop processing rules when this rule evaluates to true. 9. Click OK. Helpdesk Solution Help 84

85 Delete Incident Rules Administrators and managers, who have been granted the appropriate privileges, can delete Incident rules from the Helpdesk system. Deleting a rule takes effect when you confirm its deletion, and it is removed from the List Incident Rules page. To delete an Incident rule 1. Select Admin > Incident Rules > Delete Incident Rules. 2. Select the checkbox next to each individual Incident rule that you want deleted from the system. 3. Click Next. 4. The Delete Incident Rules page displays the rules you have selected to be deleted from the Helpdesk system. Click Back if you want to make corrections to the list, and then repeat step Click Finish to delete the Incident rules. Routing Rules Routing rules allow Helpdesk Solution to assign incidents to workers based on specific values that the worker has assigned to an incident. The typical use case for this is to assign incidents to a particular worker or queue based on its category, but in fact Routing rules can depend on most fields in the incident. By default, Routing rules only fire when an incident is unassigned (Example: the creating worker selected auto in the Assigned field), so in typical operation the first Routing rule to result in an assignment will also be the last. However, it is possible to create a Routing rule that evaluates its other conditions whether or not an assignment has already been made. Furthermore, all rules are evaluated in order until either none are left or until a terminal rule is found (Example: a rule that explicitly suspends further processing when it evaluates true). This makes it possible to write rules that override assignments made by earlier rules or even those made by the worker. This is useful if you want to override an incident assignment and route an item to a different worker or queue when the contact associated with it is a VIP, or if you would like to temporarily divert Worker A's items to Worker B. Routing rules have a special semantic: they are evaluated serially and can be dependent on one another. The flow of evaluation is dependent on the specifics of the rules themselves for the following reasons: 1) Routing rules result in a change to incident assignment and can evaluate assignment as one of their conditions; 2) they can optionally evaluate their condition statement whether or not the incident is still unassigned; and 3) they can terminate the rule evaluation process when they evaluate to true and set the assignment. Since effective assignment is the primary goal in any problem resolution process (you want your first responders to be the right responders), Routing rules are an ideal place to fine tune the work management process. External processes may want to define specialized Routing rules (along with custom queues and Notify rules) to deal with incidents that they create. Routing rules are much more powerful than the old category routing system. Administrators can make routing decisions based on any field in the incident in combination or in sequence. A special criterion called [Incident is unassigned] indicates that routing only occurs when a worker is not assigned to an incident; Helpdesk Solution Help 85

86 however, limiting the use of this criteria can give administrators greater control based on other fields. Example: you can easily create a Routing rule called Assign to the Supervisor queue if the contact_vip_flag is true and priority is ASAP, which assigns the rule to Supervisor no matter who the incident is currently assigned to. A subsequent rule could be added that says Assign to worker Susan when current worker is Supervisor and workitem_category contains Documentation. An incident created or modified by a VIP contact, where the subject is documentation, gets routed to Susan regardless of the Assigned to value. Note If a worker attempts to assign an incident to John, the worker might be confused when Susan is still the assigned worker. To mitigate this, the View Incident page displays a list of all rules that were applied to an incident and the last time it was modified. Workers may consult this list to determine why the incident did not go where they thought it would. The rules should be effectively named so that it is apparent in this context what actually happened. Routing rules coincide with the Assigned field of a new or existing incident. A Routing rule consists of a name, description, criteria, status, a terminal flag, and a worker or queue name. Any time an incident is created new or an existing incident is modified, the Routing rule s criteria are evaluated. If the criteria evaluate to true, the incident is assigned to the worker or queue defined by the Routing rule. If none of the rules on the List Routing Rules page have criteria that evaluate to true, then the Assigned field of an incident is still unassigned. By setting a default Route to value, you can ensure that all incidents, whether created new or modified, get assigned to a worker or queue. Routing rules are executed in the order they appear on the List Routing Rules page, beginning with the first rule listed. After a rule s criteria is evaluated, the next rule in the list is evaluated, unless the current rule is set to be a terminal rule. The terminal setting tells the system to stop evaluating the rules in the list and assign the incident to the worker or queue defined by the last rule that evaluated true. If the rule is not set to be terminal, the process of evaluating rules continues until a terminal rule is encountered or all rules have been processed. Quick Links List Routing Rules on page 86 New Routing Rule on page 88 Delete Routing Rules on page 90 List Routing Rules This command displays a list of all the Routing rules in the Helpdesk system. This page is helpful if you need a quick glance at the status of a Routing rule or to examine the evaluation order of the rules. All rules are evaluated when an incident is created or modified, but only if they are Active. If a rule evaluates to true and it is Terminal, then no other rules in the list are processed. You can view, edit, move up or down, delete, or create new Routing rules. To list Routing rules 1. Select Admin > Routing Rules > List Routing Rules. Helpdesk Solution Help 86

87 2. At the bottom of the page, click the drop-down arrow and select a worker or queue for the The Route to this worker by default value, and then click Set. This is used when none of the Routing rules evaluate to true. The Assigned field of the incident defaults to this property value. 3. Click on one of the Routing rules listed on the page. 4. Click Edit, Move Rule Up, Move Rule Down, New, Delete, or Clone. Quick Links View Routing Rule on page 87 Edit Routing Rule on page 87 Change the Order of Routing Rules on page 87 Delete a Single Routing Rule on page 88 Clone Routing Rule on page 88 View Routing Rule This command lets you view the property values that have been set for any Routing rule you selected from the List Routing Rules page. You can edit the rule, adding additional criteria to be evaluated, or change the property values already set. To view a Routing rule 1. Select Admin > Routing Rules > List Routing Rules. 2. Click on one of the Routing rules listed on the page. 3. Click View. 4. Review the properties on the page, and then click Edit to change values. Edit Routing Rule This command lets you edit the property values that have been set for the Routing rule you selected from the List Routing Rules page. You can refer to New Routing Rule for information on field values. To edit a Routing rule 1. Select Admin > Routing Rules > List Routing Rules. 2. Click on one of the Routing rules listed on the page. 3. Click Edit. 4. Re-enter the property values of the fields on the page. 5. Click OK. Change the Order of Routing Rules This command lets you change the order of the Routing rules that are listed on the List Routing Rules page. The rules are processed in the order they are listed on the page. You can move a rule up or down, one level at a time, from its current position. Helpdesk Solution Help 87

88 To move Routing rules up or down 1. Select Admin > Routing Rules > List Routing Rules. 2. Click on one of the Routing rules listed on the page. 3. Click Move Rule Up or Move Rule Down to position the rules in the correct order. 4. Repeat step 2-3 as needed until the Routing rules are in the correct order. Delete a Single Routing Rule This command lets you delete a single Routing rule, while the Delete Routing Rules command on the menu can delete multiple Routing rules at once. You are asked to confirm the Routing rule you selected before it is actually deleted from the Helpdesk database. To delete a single Routing rule 1. Select Admin > Routing Rules > List Routing Rules. 2. Click on one of the Routing rules listed on the page. 3. Click Delete. 4. Click OK. Clone Routing Rule The Clone icon brings up the new Routing rule page pre-populated with the properties of the selected Routing rule. This lets you easily create a new Routing rule based on the properties of an existing one. New Routing Rule Administrators and managers, who have been granted the appropriate privileges, can create as many Routing rules as needed. The Helpdesk system runs the rule in the order it appears in the Routing rules list. The Routing rules are evaluated by the Helpdesk system when incidents are modified or newly created. To create a new Routing rule 1. Select Admin > Routing Rules > New Routing Rule. 2. Enter a property value in the Name field. 3. Enter a property value in the Comment field. 4. Click the drop-down arrow and select a worker or queue for the Route to assignment. 5. Clear the Incident is unassigned checkbox if the Routing rule should apply to all incidents; otherwise, the rule applies to only unassigned incidents. This is useful in situations when you want to redirect incidents from one worker to another. Helpdesk Solution Help 88

89 Note When a worker selects auto (as opposed to an actual worker or queue) at incident assignment time, then the incident is left unassigned to be processed by the Routing rules. When a Routing rule runs, it evaluates the Incident is unassigned value first before evaluating the additional criteria listed in the And field below. If the rule is allowed to change a real assignment, workers who explicitly assign an incident might be confused when the rule changes the routing assignment they originally made. To mitigate this issue, the View Incident page displays a list of all rules that were applied to an incident the last time it was modified. Workers can consult this list to determine why the incident did not go where they thought it would. The rules should be effectively named so that it is apparent in this context what actually happened. 6. The When section provides three options in a drop-down list. This lets you easily select three common criteria use cases that you might typically create using the criterion editor. These options let the rule identify when it is run based on the option that is selected. Every time incident is saved Only when incident is new Only when incident already exists 7. The And section specifies the rule s criteria. Click Edit, Add a When...<end> group, Move up, Move down, or Delete. You must Add at least one Routing rule criterion first (see step a) before using the buttons listed above. a. Click the drop-down arrow and select from the list of fields. Click Add. A new page displays additional options for the field you selected. b. Select the When the value of <field> changes checkbox if you want the criterion to evaluate true when the specified values changes. c. Select the When the value of <field> checkbox if you want the criterion to evaluate true based on a specific conditions. Note Select both checkboxes if you want the rule to run when the field both changes AND meets the selected conditions. d. Click the drop-down arrow and select a condition for the field to be tested. Based on the field and condition you selected, additional drop-down lists or fields may display. Select or add additional values as needed. e. Click OK. f. Repeat step a - e to add additional criterions. 8. Review the criteria you created in the display box. You can add more criteria, edit, move up, move down, or delete a criterion. Highlight a criterion to change, and then click Edit, Add a When...<end> group, Move up, Move down, or Delete. 9. Clear the Active checkbox if you do not want the New Routing rule activated. The Routing rule will only be evaluated during incident updates when it is active. 10. Clear the Terminal checkbox if you do not want to stop processing rules when this rule evaluates to true. If this checkbox is selected, and this rule evaluates to true, no other rules are processed. Helpdesk Solution Help 89

90 11. Click OK. Delete Routing Rules Administrators and managers, who have been granted the appropriate privileges, can delete Routing rules as needed. Deleting a rule takes effect when you confirm its deletion, and it is removed from the List Routing Rules page. To delete a Routing rule 1. Select Admin > Routing Rules > Delete Routing Rules. 2. Select the checkbox next to each individual Routing rule that you want deleted from the system. 3. Click Next. 4. The Delete Routing Rules page displays the rules you have selected to be deleted from the Helpdesk system. Click Back if you want to make corrections to the list. Then repeat step Click Finish to delete the Routing rules. Notify Rules Notify rules are notifications used to send and pager messages when incidents are created or modified. Notify rules describe what action to take when incidents are generated, and the conditions that must be met before s are sent. You can also define the template and the recipients for each Notify rule you create. Notify rules are not the same as Notification Policies as provided by Altiris Notification Server. Notification Policies are designed for time-based escalations of incidents, while Notify rules send a message as the result of saving an incident after making a change to its property values. When a Notify rule fires, the is composed from a specified template in the context of the incident being changed and sent to a specified distribution list. External processes can leverage this capability by defining Notify rules (and associated templates) that fire off specifically formatted messages whenever an incident enters a condition of interest. Notify rules let you send specially formatted using an template. You do this by creating an template and then, when creating a Notify rule, selecting the template in the Send drop-down list. For information, see Templates on page 115. The body of templates can be HTML, which lets you write surveys and more. You can create survey templates that can be selected in the Notify rule. The survey capability lets you a survey and receive specific replies back from workers. Quick Links List Notify Rules on page 91 New Notify Rule on page 92 Delete Notify Rules on page 94 Helpdesk Solution Help 90

91 List Notify Rules This command displays a list of all the Notify rules in the Helpdesk system. This page is helpful if you need a quick glance at the rules defined in the system to review their intended action and status. All rules are evaluated when an incident is created or modified, but only if the rules are Active. You can view, edit, delete, or create new Notify rules as needed. To list Notify rules 1. Select Admin > Notify Rules > List Notify Rules. 2. Click on one of the Notify rules listed on the page. 3. Click View, Edit, New, Delete, or Clone. Quick Links View Notify Rule on page 91 Edit Notify Rule on page 91 Delete a Single Notify Rule on page 91 Clone Notify Rule on page 92 View Notify Rule This command lets you view the property values that have been set for any Notify rule you selected from the List Notify Rules page. You can edit the rule, adding additional criteria to be evaluated, or change the property values already set. To view a Notify rule 1. Select Admin > Notify Rules > List Notify Rules. 2. Click on one of the Notify rules listed on the page. 3. Click View. 4. Review the properties on the page. Then click Edit to change values. Edit Notify Rule This command lets you edit the property values that have been set for the Notify rule you selected from the List Notify Rules page. You can refer to New Notify Rule for information on field values. To edit a Notify rule 1. Select Admin > Notify Rules > List Notify Rules. 2. Click on one of the Notify rules listed on the page. 3. Click Edit. 4. Re-enter the property values of the fields on the page. Delete a Single Notify Rule This command lets you delete a single Notify rule, while the Delete Notify Rules command on the menu can delete multiple Notify rules at once. You are asked to Helpdesk Solution Help 91

92 confirm the Notify rule you selected before it is actually deleted from the Helpdesk database. To delete a single Notify rule 1. Select Admin > Notify Rules > List Notify Rules. 2. Click on one of the Notify rules listed on the page. 3. Click Delete. 4. Click OK. Clone Notify Rule The Clone icon brings up the new Notify rule page pre-populated with the properties of the selected Notify rule. This lets you easily create a new Notify rule based on the properties of an existing one. New Notify Rule Administrators and managers, who have been granted the appropriate privileges, can create as many Notify rules as needed. The Helpdesk system runs Notify rules, and if a rule s criteria evaluate to true, and pager s notifications are sent to the recipients defined by the rule. Out-of-box Notify rules must be selected by workers in the Notify Rules section when an incident is created or edited. Rules can optionally be configured as default rules so that they are initially enabled for evaluation when a new incident is created. Additionally, rules can be locked or hidden by administrators so that workers do not have the option of activating or deactivating them when creating a new incident. To create a new Notify rule 1. Select Admin > Notify Rules > New Notify Rule. 2. Enter a property value in the Name field. 3. Enter a property value in the Comment field. 4. Click the drop-down arrow and select a Send template. This is optional if a Pager has been selected. 5. Click the drop-down arrow and select a Send pager template. This is optional if a normal template is selected. 6. Select the To, Cc, or Bcc checkboxes to send notification to the Current contact. 7. Select the To, Cc, or Bcc checkboxes for each recipient available in the list. 8. Below These addresses are the To, Cc, and Bcc fields. Enter an address for additional recipients using the SMTP format. Example: [email protected];[email protected]. Use a semicolon to separate each address you enter. Note You have the ability to process macros in the To, Cc, and Bcc fields. Helpdesk Solution Help 92

93 9. Upload and attach one or more attachments for this Notify rule. To upload a file, click Browse and then navigate to the file you want to attach. Next, click Attach. Repeat until you have attached all files you want to this Notify rule. Note Attachments can be specified to be associated with a particular Notify rule independent of the template the rule sends and independent of the incident that fired the rule. This is useful for sending a standard file with all sent by the rule (Example: a disclaimer document with all sent to end users). 10. The When section provides three options in a drop-down list. This lets you easily select three common criteria use cases that you might typically create using the criterion editor. These options let the rule identify when it is run based on the option that is selected. Every time incident is saved Only when incident is new Only when incident already exists 11. The And section is used to specify the rule s criteria. Click Edit, Add a When...<end> group, Move up, Move down, or Delete. You must Add at least one criterion first (see step a) before using some of the buttons listed above. a. Click the drop-down arrow and select from the list of fields. Then click Add. A new page displays additional options for the field you selected. b. Select the When the value of <field> changes checkbox if you want the criterion to evaluate when the specified value changes. c. Select the When the value of <field> checkbox if you want the criterion to evaluate true based on a specific condition. Note Select both checkboxes if you want the rule to run when the field both changes AND the meets the selected condition. d. Click the drop-down arrow and select a condition for the field to be tested. Based on the field and condition you selected, additional drop-down lists or fields may display. Select or add additional values as needed. e. Click OK. f. Repeat step a - e to add additional criterions. 12. Review the criteria you created in the display box. You can add more criteria, edit, move up, move down, or delete a criterion. Highlight a criterion to change, and then click Edit, Add a When...<end> group, Move up, Move down, or Delete. 13. Clear the Visible checkbox if you do not want the Notify rule to be viewed by workers when editing an incident. 14. Select the Locked checkbox so that other workers cannot turn the rule on or off when editing an incident. Note If both Locked and Default are selected, all existing incidents are marked to evaluate this rule. Helpdesk Solution Help 93

94 15. Select the Default checkbox so that the rule is selected by default for new incidents. Note Default only applies to new incidents and not existing incidents unless Locked is selected as well; otherwise existing incidents are not checked to evaluate the rule. 16. Clear the Active checkbox if you do not want to evaluate this rule when an incident is updated. 17. Click OK. Delete Notify Rules Administrators and managers, who have been granted the appropriate privileges, can delete Notify rules as needed. Deleting a rule takes effect when you confirm its deletion, and it is removed from the List Notify Rules page. To delete Notify rules 1. Select Admin > Notify Rules > Delete Notify Rules. 2. Select the checkbox next to each individual Notify rule that you want deleted from the system. 3. Click Next. 4. The Delete Notify Rules page displays the rules you have selected to be deleted from the Helpdesk system. Click Back if you want to make corrections to the list. Then repeat step Click Finish to delete the Notify rules. Automation Rules Automation rules allow you to build and manage more complex and automated workflow and change management scenarios. Automation rules work by providing the ability to execute a URL automatically based on any criteria in the incident. You can use them to instantly open linked subtasks for a change request, provide better event-driven integration with external systems, and forward Helpdesk or Alert Manager incidents from one Notification Server to another. You can more closely model advanced change management processes and requirements, and have event driven processes that span multiple Notification Servers. For example, a Monitor Solution alert that gets raised in its local Alert Manager can be forwarded to a central Helpdesk instantly so it can be brought to the attention of Helpdesk staff. This feature is also useful for managed service providers as they can now deploy Notification Servers as needed at customer sites and ensure that any incidents or alerts that meet specified criteria will be forwarded to a central helpdesk server, greatly simplifying the MSP support and management model. An Automation rule is a collection of one or more URLs that have been created using the new Invoke a URL and Create or edit an incident URL editors. Unlike Tasks, which must be manually invoked by clicking the task link, Automation rules are automatically invoked when the data of a modified incident meet the qualifications Helpdesk Solution Help 94

95 as defined by the rule's criteria. Unlike Notify rules, Automation rules do not have to be associated with a particular incident. In this regard, they are more like Incident rules. Active Automation rules are processed until they have all been executed or until the process is ended by a terminal rule. When the conditions are met in an Automation rule, the URL runs or an incident gets created or edited. This is done automatically; no page needs to be opened and no feedback is necessary from a user. Automation rules are used to invoke URLs automatically when certain criteria are met. They can also let you create and edit incidents not only on your helpdesk, but also on other helpdesks. This allows for a hierarchical system. They let Helpdesk act as an engine for the workflow of a Notification Server. A Notification Server task can be created to perform a number of ordered steps before it is finished. Automation rules provide the way for the steps to progress. An incident can be created and that incident can progress through its cycle automatically as one or more Automation rules run in order. You can even set up an Automation rule so that it that it updates the incident that is causing the rule to be invoked. It can execute a URL and update the incident and move to the next URL until all URLs for that rule have run in the correct order. Automation rules let administrators automatically retrieve data from external sources, create or update other Helpdesk incidents and optionally run custom.net code to process the results of those operations. Automation rules are evaluated when an incident is saved similar to the way Incident rules are evaluated. They consist of criteria to decide when the rule should run and a list of URLs that are the operations that the rule will perform when the rule runs. There are two types of URLs supported: URLs to external webservices These URLs will typically return XML documents but are only required to return a string. Common examples are a webservice that returns a product code or purchase order number that would then be included into an incident. URLs to a Helpdesk ProcessWorkitem webservice This webservice can modify children or parent incidents or can create new incidents based on data supplied in the request. A single Automation rule can invoke as many URLs as necessary, unlike Tasks, which can only invoke a single URL. Automation rules are evaluated after all other rules types have been evaluated: Validation, Incident, Routing, and Notify rules. If the criteria for an Automation rule are met, each URL defined in the Automation rule is invoked by the Helpdesk service layer and the result of each URL is collected and managed as defined by the advanced options available in the rule. The incident itself could be updated again as a result of the rule running, based on Automation rule properties. This kind of self-updating does not cause Automation rules to run once again. Automation rules are powerful and can be abused if not carefully considered and tested on staging servers before being put into production. It is not possible for a single rule that creates new incidents to create an infinite number of such incidents. However, two or more such rules working together might cause such a situation which will eventually crash the Helpdesk web application and fill the Helpdesk database up with thousands of unwanted incidents. Automation rules also impact performance because more work is being done on behalf of the worker who saved the incident. This is somewhat hidden from workers using the user interface by processing Automation rules in the background, allowing the worker to Helpdesk Solution Help 95

96 view the newly saved incident immediately. However, if rules perform extensive calculations or wait for long periods of time, the response time for workers using the user interface might degrade. New workitem_* fields make it easy for all rules to work with Automation rules. The Modified by rule criteria allows rules to see if a specific Automation rule is responsible for the incident commit that is occurring. This allows sets of Validation, Incident, Routing, Notify, and Automation rules to be developed and tested together. Quick Links List Automation Rules on page 96 New Automation Rule on page 97 Delete Automation Rules on page 106 List Automation Rules This command displays a list of all the Automation rules in the Helpdesk system. This page is helpful if you need a quick glance at the rules defined in the system to review their intended action and status. All rules are evaluated when an incident is created or modified, but only if the rules are Active. You can view, edit, delete, or create new Automation rules as needed. You can also make an Automation rule a terminal rule. To list Automation rules 1. Select Admin > Automation Rules > List Automation Rules. 2. Click on one of the Automation rules listed on the page. 3. Click View, Edit, New, Delete, or Clone. Quick Links View Automation Rule on page 96 Edit Automation Rule on page 97 Delete a Single Automation Rule on page 97 Clone Automation Rule on page 97 View Automation Rule This command lets you view the property values that have been set for any Automation rule you selected from the List Automation Rules page. You can edit the rule, adding additional criteria to be evaluated, or change the property values already set. To view a Automation rule 1. Select Admin > Automation Rules > List Automation Rules. 2. Click on one of the Automation rules listed on the page. 3. Click View. 4. Review the properties on the page. Then click Edit to change values. Helpdesk Solution Help 96

97 Edit Automation Rule This command lets you edit the property values that have been set for the Automation rule you selected from the List Automation Rules page. You can refer to New Automation Rule for information on field values. To edit a Automation rule 1. Select Admin > Automation Rules > List Automation Rules. 2. Click on one of the Automation rules listed on the page. 3. Click Edit. 4. Re-enter the property values of the fields on the page. Delete a Single Automation Rule This command lets you delete a single Automation rule, while the Delete Automation Rules command on the menu can delete multiple Automation rules at once. You are asked to confirm the Automation rule you selected before it is actually deleted from the Helpdesk database. To delete a single Automation rule 1. Select Admin > Automation Rules > List Automation Rules. 2. Click on one of the Automation rules listed on the page. 3. Click Delete. 4. Click OK. Clone Automation Rule The Clone icon brings up the new Automation rule page pre-populated with the properties of the selected Automation rule. This lets you easily create a new Automation rule based on the properties of an existing one. New Automation Rule Administrators and managers, who have been granted the appropriate privileges, can create as many Automation rules as needed. The Helpdesk system runs Automation rules, and if a rule s criteria evaluate to true, the assigned URLs for the rule are invoked. Active Automation rules are automatically evaluated for each incident modification. All Automation rules are run if their criteria evaluate to true or until the process is terminated by a terminal rule. Helpdesk Solution Help 97

98 Section/Item Name Description This is the name of the Automation rule displayed on the View Incident page. You can use macros to display contextual data associated with the incident or from Helpdesk or Notification Server, so that the rule name can be descriptive about what the rule will do. The name is only for display purposes within the list of Automation rules and when logging to an incident. Comment Log to Incident This property value is a longer description of the rule than used by the Name field and appears in the tooltip of the rule link. You can use macros to display contextual data associated with the incident or from Helpdesk or the Notification Server. When selected, a new entry is added to the history of the current incident (the incident from which the rule was invoked). The entry will be localized, if applicable, and is created so that it will not be visible to guests. Log to incident works the same way that it does in Tasks. The only difference is that when logging to the incident, a single history entry is created that contains the sum of the results of all of the rule's URLs. Selecting this makes the following fields available on the New URL page: Save the raw text of the response in the incident and Advanced response processing. Active Terminal When Evaluate this rule during an incident update. Stop processing rules when this rule evaluates to true. This section provides three options in a drop-down list. This lets you easily select three common criteria use cases that you might typically create using the criterion editor. These options let the rule identify when it is run based on the option that is selected. Every time incident is saved Only when incident is new Only when incident already exists Helpdesk Solution Help 98

99 Section/Item And Description This section specifies the rule s criteria. Click the Edit, Add a When...<end> group, Move up, Move down, or Delete icon buttons to use. You must Add at least one Automation rule criterion first (see step 1) before using the icon buttons listed above. 1. Click the drop-down arrow and select from the list of fields. Click Add. A new page displays additional options for the field you selected. 2. Select the When the value of <field> changes checkbox if you want the criterion to evaluate true when the specified values changes. 3. Select the When the value of <field> checkbox if you want the criterion to evaluate true based on a specific conditions. Note Select both checkboxes if you want the rule to run when the field both changes AND meets the selected conditions. 4. Click the drop-down arrow and select a condition for the field to be tested. Based on the field and condition you selected, additional drop-down lists or fields may display. Select or add additional values as needed. 5. Click OK. 6. Repeat step 1-5 to add additional criterions. 7. Review the criteria you created in the display box. You can add more criteria, edit, move up, move down, or delete a criterion. Highlight a criterion to change, and then click Edit, Add a When...<end> group, Move up, Move down, or Delete. Invoke these URLs This section lets you add URLs to invoke when this rule runs. To add a URL, click the New icon. Icons Edit - Click to edit the selected URL. Move up - Click to move the selected URL up one place in the list. Move Down - Click to move the selected URL down one place in the list. Delete - Click to delete the selected URL. New - Click to enter a new URL. When you click New, a page opens that has the following fields available based on whether you select Invoke a URL or Create or edit an Incident. Helpdesk Solution Help 99

100 Section/Item Invoke a URL Description This option is useful for creating URLs that target another Web or Web application, or for targeting any Helpdesk command. This is a URL address that launches a Web browser and goes to the location where a process or rule is initiated. You can use macros to pass contextual data associated with the incident or from Helpdesk or the Notification Server. Note Create or edit an incident specifically targets Helpdesk commands that create and edit incidents. Name - The name of the URL within the rule. When Log to Incident is selected, this is the name that gets logged. It is displayed when logging to the incident and it is useful on the main page of Automation rules in the grid that lists the URLs of the rule. Base URL The base URL. This field will be initialized with but will not be modified upon saving. URL Parameters Name/Value pairs of parameters that will be sent to the server. Parameters can be used to send custom data to the server, as well as Helpdesk contextual data (example: data from the incident that is invoking the URL). Parameter names and values can contain Helpdesk macros (evaluation will occur for both the name and value). There are macros that can be used to extract data from an incident. Helpdesk Solution Help 100

101 Section/Item Invoke a URL (continued) Description Enter a parameter name and value and click Add to add it to the list. The drop-down list contains all the data that can be extracted from the current incident and sent to the server as a parameter. When the << button is clicked, a Helpdesk macro that resolves to the value of the selected field is copied into the Value field. After you have provided a name for the parameter, click Add to add it to the list. The Remove button moves the parameter name/value pair that is selected in the list into the Name and Value fields. This gives you the chance to modify the parameter data and then re-add it to the list if desired. Send parameters using Select the method that will be used to send the parameters from the browser to the server. If the GET method is used, parameters are appended to the URL. Caution If there is a substantial amount of data, there is a potential for lost data if the GET method is used. If the POST method is used, parameter data is packaged inside the body of the HTTP request. This means the size of the data is not limited; however, the data is a little more difficult to work with from a server perspective (example: the targeted Web will need to know how to retrieve the data for a POST request). Create or edit an incident This option is useful for creating URLs that target the requests that create and edit incidents in Helpdesk. The data that is specified in this section is converted to parameters and a URL based on the parameters. This is why View Automation Rule can contain URL parameters that you might not have created when editing a URL. They were created on behalf of various settings and fields in this section. The word current used in this section refers to the incident from which the URL is being invoked. Name - The name of the URL. When Log to Incident is selected, this is the name that gets logged. Helpdesk The URL to the root of a Helpdesk Web. This URL can contain different schemas depending upon how Helpdesk is configured (examples: HTTPS and a non-default Web site). Helpdesk Solution Help 101

102 Section/Item Create or edit an incident (continued) Description Create or edit an incident The following buttons determine the incident modification that will occur, create or edit, as well as the incident or incidents that will be modified when the URL is invoked. Create a new incident Use this to specify that a new incident should be created. When this is selected, Title must be specified or a validation message will be displayed. Macro evaluation occurs on this value. If Create incident as child of current incident is selected, the created incident will be linked to the incident that is invoking the URL. The Link type drop-down list only applies if Create incident as child of current incident is selected. Helpdesk currently ships with three link types: Simple, Inherit Status, and Push Status. The three link types have special semantic meaning in Helpdesk. Because these are Helpdesk objects, we recommend that they not be modified. Any modification could potentially break how incident status is handled in various situations by Helpdesk. Simple No special status processing will occur. Inherit Status The status of the incident will be inherited from the parent. If the status of the parent incident changes, the status will be updated in the child as well. Push Status The status of a child incident will be pushed to the parent. If the status of a child incident changes, the status will be updated in the parent as well. You can create your own custom link types by selecting Admin > Lookups, selecting Link type, and clicking Edit. Custom link types can be used to create various rule criterion that automation processes are based upon. Edit current incident s parent Use this to specify that the parent of the current incident should be edited. If the child does not have a parent, the modification is obsolete. Edit current incident s children Use this to specify the children of the current incident should be edited. If the current incident does not have children, the modification is obsolete. Helpdesk Solution Help 102

103 Section/Item Create or edit an incident (continued) Description Edit this incident Use this to provide the incident number of the incident to be edited. If this is selected, then Incident will need to be specified. Macro evaluation will occur for the value entered. The value must be a valid incident number. Set these properties The incident property values that will be set for incidents affected when this URL is executed. Add When clicked, a specialized assignment editor will be invoked based upon the field that is selected in the drop-down. Set from current When clicked, an assignment for the currently selected field is added to the list (the user will not be taken to a specialized assignment editor as when Add is clicked). The value of the assignment will be a WORKITEM macro whose argument is the SQL field name of the field that is selected in the drop-down. This is an easy way to specify that the properties of the incident or incidents being modified should be set to the same value as the current incident (the incident that is causing the URL to be invoked). This feature should not be used when Edit current incident is selected. Credentials Impersonate the worker - Uses the logged in user s credentials. This should almost always be selected. Use Helpdesk application credential - Uses the Helpdesk application ID when running the URL. This can be used when you need to invoke a Helpdesk identity such as when a 3rd party webservice and URL is not available to the worker. Helpdesk Solution Help 103

104 Section/Item Description Log to incident Save the raw text of the response in the incident If Log to Incident was selected on the previous screen, you can also choose to record the response in the incident by selecting Save the raw text of the response in the incident. When this is selected, the response will be saved in the incident and can be accessed from the field workitem_modified_by_rule_result in the workitem view. The response will be wrapped in a <response> XML element. Save the raw text of the response in the incident works the same way that it does in Tasks. The only difference is that when saving the raw text of the response, a separate <response> node is created for each URL that is invoked. Each one is then added as a child of a root <responses> element. There are two possible outcomes for the result that will be saved within the incident depending on whether or not Advanced response processing is selected: Advanced response processing is not selected In this case, the fact that the rule was invoked is recorded as the name of the rule. Because Helpdesk will not be displaying the report, there is no ability to view the response. In this case, Helpdesk only records the fact the rule was invoked. Advanced response processing is selected In this case, the response is processed before it gets saved. If Advanced response processing is not selected, the default processing will occur. If the response is HTML, the raw text of the response is wrapped in a CDATA which becomes the text of the <response> element. If the response is XML, the element is appended as a child of the <response> element. If Advanced response processing is selected, you can choose to perform advanced processing by selecting Advanced response processing. This lets you provide VB.NET code as the body of the ProcessResponse function which is run to process the response. The signature of this code is: Public Function ProcessResponse(url, response, item) As String Helpdesk Solution Help 104

105 Section/Item Log to incident (continued) Description The parameters for this function are described below: url as UrlDataSet The URL object that contains all the properties of the URL. response as String This string contains the complete serialized response from the URL. item as WorkitemDataSet this is the incident that fired the rule or rule invoking this URL. The ProcessResponse return value is the value that will be saved in the incident. Changes to item can be made and will be saved if Log to incident is selected. If not logging to the incident, setting item properties has no affect (the item is read-only). To create a new Automation rule 1. Select Admin > Automation Rules > New Automation Rule. 2. Enter a property value in the Name field. 3. Enter a property value in the Comment field. 4. The Automation section is used to specify the rule s criteria. Click Edit, Add a When...<end> group, Move up, Move down, or Delete. You must Add at least one criterion first (see step a) before using some of the buttons listed above. a. Click the drop-down arrow and select from the list of fields. Then click Add. A new page displays additional options for the field you selected. b. Select the When the value of <field> changes checkbox if you want the criterion to evaluate when the specified value changes. c. Select the When the value of <field> checkbox if you want the criterion to evaluate true based on a specific condition. Note Select both checkboxes if you want the rule to run when the field both changes AND the meets the selected condition. d. Click the drop-down arrow and select a condition for the field to be tested. Based on the field and condition you selected, additional drop-down lists or fields may display. Select or add additional values as needed. e. Click OK. f. Repeat step a - e to add additional criterions. 5. Review the criteria you created in the display box. You can add more criteria, edit, move up, move down, or delete a criterion. Highlight a criterion to change, and then click Edit, Add a When...<end> group, Move up, Move down, or Delete. 6. Clear the Visible checkbox if you do not want the Automation rule to be viewed by other workers when editing an incident. 7. Select the Locked checkbox so that other workers cannot turn the rule on or off when editing an incident. Helpdesk Solution Help 105

106 8. Select the Default checkbox so that the rule is selected by default for new incidents. 9. Clear the Active checkbox if you do not want to evaluate this rule when an incident is updated. 10. Click OK. Delete Automation Rules Administrators and managers, who have been granted the appropriate privileges, can delete Automation rules as needed. Deleting a rule takes effect when you confirm its deletion, and it is removed from the List Automation Rules page. To delete Automation rules 1. Select Admin > Automation Rules > Delete Automation Rules. 2. Select the checkbox next to each individual Automation rule that you want deleted from the system. 3. Click Next. 4. The Delete Automation Rules page displays the rules you have selected to be deleted from the Helpdesk system. Click Back if you want to make corrections to the list. Then repeat step Click Finish to delete the Automation rules. About Tasks Tasks enable Helpdesk workers and end users to quickly perform actions such as sending an or installing software, without leaving the page they are on. Tasks are URL links to items such as Altiris Console pages and other Altiris solutions. See About Task URLs on page 107. Tasks can appear in the following locations: Service Catalog on the My Helpdesk Console Service Catalog on the Worker Console Service Catalog on the Helpdesk Console Incidents The Service Catalog is a list of tasks displayed by category that appears on the Worker Console and the My Helpdesk Console. You can also access the Service Catalog in the Helpdesk Console by selecting Incidents > Service Catalog. See About the Service Catalog on page 128. In the Service Catalog on the My Helpdesk Console, tasks provide a form of self-service for end users. For example, you could create a task for managers that initiates a New Employee Hire process by creating incident with many fields pre-populated. In incidents and in the Service Catalog on the Worker Console and the Helpdesk Console, tasks are tools for workers to resolve incidents or move them along in a process. For example, you could create a task for workers that allows them to launch Altiris Real Time System Manager to quickly access all of the information about that computer and to make changes to its configuration. Helpdesk Solution Help 106

107 Incident tasks are contextual; they appear in an incident depending on the incident s values. See How Tasks Appear in Incidents on page 108. In all locations, tasks are displayed by service category. See About Service Categories on page 127. Quick Links About Task Types on page 107 About Task URLs on page 107 How Tasks Appear in Incidents on page 108 Creating a Task on page 108 Deleting a Single Task on page 109 Deleting Multiple Tasks on page 109 Field Desciptions for the New Task and Edit Task Pages on page 109 About Task Types Task types identify the actions tasks initiate. A task can be one of the following task types: Task Type Invoke a URL Task Type Create or Edit an Incident Task Type Start a Task Server Task Description Initiates a Web site or Web application, or Helpdesk commands. When you click the task link, Helpdesk opens the URL where a process or task is initiated. You can use macros to pass contextual data from the incident, from Helpdesk, or from Notification Server. Initiates the programmatic requests that create or edit incidents in Helpdesk Solution. The data that is specified in this section is converted to a URL and its parameters. This is why View Task can contain URL parameters that you might not have created when editing a URL. They were created on behalf of various settings and fields in this section. This option is available only if you have Altiris Task Server. Initiates Task Server tasks or jobs. See the Task Server online help or Best Practices. About Task URLs Task URLs are the links that users click on to initiate the tasks. Task URLs can be links to pages in the Altiris Console or links to Web services exposed by Altiris products. They can also launch local files on the user computers by using the file URL syntax. Example: A task URL can launch the user manager file or an application on the user s computer. You can use the URL link of the task to pass in parameters from Helpdesk. These can be parameters such as an asset or a string that defines a new incident. These contextual Helpdesk Solution Help 107

108 parameters can be resolved in the context of the incident, the incident's associated contact or asset, auxiliary data provided at item creation time, or data available in the Helpdesk Database or the Notification Database. Example: You can have an incident task that creates a hardware change request. When the Helpdesk worker selects the URL, a new incident is created and all appropriate fields (such as Type and Category) are populated from the incident that the task was in. For more information about tasks, see About Tasks on page 106. How Tasks Appear in Incidents Tasks appear in the Tasks section of incidents according to the following criteria: The condition statement that defines whether the task is available to an incident The presence or absence of contextual data in the task URL A task does not appear in an incident if contextual data required to accomplish the task is not available in the incident. Example: You can have a Perform Backup incident task defined to perform a backup on the associated asset. But, if you have an incident with no associated asset, the Perform Backup incident task does not appear in it. Helpdesk determines whether tasks should appear in an incident when a worker views an incident. Example: When a worker views an incident where the Source field contains the text Software Delivery Solution, a task that specifies that the Source field of an incident must contain the text Software Delivery Solution appears in the incident when it is displayed. A task that specifies that the Source field must contain the text Application Metering Solution does not appear in the incident. For more information about tasks, see About Tasks on page 106. Creating a Task Tasks are URL links to items such as Altiris Console pages and other Altiris solutions. Tasks enable Helpdesk workers and end users to quickly perform actions such as sending an or installing software, without leaving the page they are on. See Field Desciptions for the New Task and Edit Task Pages on page 109. To create a task 1. In the Helpdesk Console, select Admin > Tasks > New Task. 2. On the first New Task page, choose one of the following options: To create an incident task, select Display this task on the Incident View page when specific incident values apply. To create a service catalog task, select Display this task in the Service Catalog. 3. In Task type, select the type of action for this task to take. See Field Desciptions for the New Task and Edit Task Pages on page Click Next. 5. On the second New Task page, complete the remaining fields as necessary. See Field Desciptions for the New Task and Edit Task Pages on page Click Finish. Helpdesk Solution Help 108

109 Deleting a Single Task Follow these steps to delete a single task. To delete multiple tasks, you must have the appropriate privileges. For information, see Deleting Multiple Tasks on page 109. To delete a single task 1. Select Admin > Tasks > List Tasks. 2. Select the task to delete. 3. Click Delete. 4. Click OK. Deleting Multiple Tasks Administrators and managers who have the appropriate privileges can delete multiple tasks at one time. To delete multiple tasks 1. Select Admin > Tasks > Delete Tasks. 2. Select each task to delete. 3. Click Next. 4. Click Finish to delete the tasks. Changing the Service Category of a Task Tasks are displayed by category in incidents and in the Service Catalog. You can change the category of a task. See About Service Categories on page 127. To change the service category of a task 1. In the Helpdesk Console, select Admin > Tasks > List Tasks. 2. In the task list, select the task for which to change the category, and then click the edit (pencil) icon. 3. On the Edit Task page, in Service Category, select the new category for the task. 4. At the bottom of the page, click OK. Field Desciptions for the New Task and Edit Task Pages The New Task pages and the Edit Task pages contain the same options. On the New Task pages, you create new incident tasks or Service Catalog tasks. On the Edit Task pages, you can modify existing tasks. See About Tasks on page 106. The options that are available on the New Task and Edit Task pages depend on the task type that you select. See About Task Types on page 107. Helpdesk Solution Help 109

110 Field descriptions are provided in the following topics: Options for Most Task Types on page 110 Options for Invoke a URL Task Type on page 112 Options for Create or Edit an Incident Task Type on page 113 Options for Start a Notification Server Task Task Type on page 114 Options for Most Task Types The following options are available for most task types. See About Task Types on page 107. Option Display this task on the Incident View page when specific incident values apply Log to incident Save the raw text of the response in the incident Description Specifies that the task appears in incidents, not in the Service Catalog. See About Tasks on page 106. Adds an entry to the history of the incident from which the task was invoked. The entry is localized (translated into another language), if applicable, and is not be visible to guests. Saves the response in the incident. The response can then be accessed from the field workitem_modified_by_rule_result in the workitem view. The response is wrapped in a <response> XML element. If you also select Display response report, the response is displayed to the user. Display this task in the Service Catalog Specifies that the task appears in the Service Catalog on the My Helpdesk Console and the Worker Console, not in incidents. See About Tasks on page 106. Task type Defines what type of action the task takes. See About Task Types on page 107. Name Name of the task. You can use macros to display contextual data from the incident, from Helpdesk, or from Notification Server, so that the name can be more descriptive. Comment Tooltip of the task link. You can use macros to display contextual data associated with the incident or from Helpdesk or Notification Server, so that the comment can be more descriptive. Helpdesk Solution Help 110

111 Option Service Category Description Select the Service Category to which the task belongs. Tasks are displayed by category in incidents and in the Service Catalog. See About Service Categories on page 127. Rank Visible to guests Task is available Credentials Defines the order in which tasks appear within a service category. Select to have the task appear in the Service Catalog on the My Helpdesk Console as well as on the Worker Console. If you do not select this check box, the task appears only on the Worker Console. Specify the criteria for running the task. The task runs only when the criteria in this section is met. Credentials for running the URL. Impersonate the worker: Uses the logged-in user s credentials to run the URL. This is the correct option in most cases. Use Helpdesk application credential: Uses the Helpdesk application ID to run the URL. This option can be used to invoke a Helpdesk identity, such as when a third-party Web service and URL is not available to the worker. Display the response report Select to process and display the task response. If you do not select this option, the the ProcessResponse return value is saved in the incident. Helpdesk Solution Help 111

112 Option Advanced response report Description Select to provide VB.NET code as the body of the ProcessResponse function which processes the response. The signature of this code is: Public Function ProcessResponse(url, response, item) As String The parameters for this function are: url as UrlDataSet: The URL object that contains all of the properties of the URL. response as String: This string contains the complete serialized response from the URL. item as WorkitemDataSet: This is the incident that initiated the rule or task that invoked this URL. If this option is not selected, the default processing occurs. If the response is HTML, the raw text of the response is wrapped in a CDATA which becomes the text of the <response> element. If the response is XML, the element is appended as a child of the <response> element. The Display simple incident report task that is included with Helpdesk provides an example of advanced processing. Open in new window Specifies whether the page that appears after the user selects the task appears in the current window or in a new window. Options for Invoke a URL Task Type The following options are available for tasks of the Invoke a URL task type. See About Task Types on page 107. Option Base URL URL Parameters Description The URL that the task launches. Parameters that are sent to the server. Parameters can be used to send custom data and Helpdesk contextual data to the server. (Example: Data from the incident that is invoking the URL.) Parameter names and values can contain Helpdesk macros. There are macros that can be used to extract data from an incident. Name Value Name of the parameter. Data that can be extracted from the current incident and sent to the URL as a parameter. Helpdesk Solution Help 112

113 Option Send parameters using Description The method used to send the parameters from the browser to the server. GET: Parameters are appended to the URL. Warning If there is a substantial amount of data, the GET method can cause some data to be lost. POST: Parameter data is packaged inside the body of the HTTP request. There is no limit on the amount of data; however, the data is more difficult for the server to work with. Example: The targeted Web must know how to retrieve the data for a POST request. URL has its own browser-hosted user interface Select this option if the URL has its own interface and worker interaction is required. Options for Create or Edit an Incident Task Type The following options are available for tasks of the Create or Edit an Incident task type. See About Task Types on page 107. Option Helpdesk Create a new incident Create incident as child of current incident Description URL to the root of the Helpdesk Web. This URL can contain different schemas, depending on how Helpdesk is configured. Examples: HTTPS and a non-default Web site. Select this option for the task to create a new incident, and then enter the name for the new incident in Title. Select to create the new incident as a child of the current incident. Helpdesk Solution Help 113

114 Option Link type Description Select the type of link. Caution The Link type options have special semantic meaning within Helpdesk, and we strongly recommend that you not modify them. Simple: No special status processing occurs. Inherit Status: The status of the child incident is inherited from the parent. Push Status: The status of the child incident is pushed to the parent. You can create custom link types that can be used to create various rule criterion that automation processes are based on. To create custom link types, select Admin > Lookups. Select Link type, and then click Edit. Edit this incident Set these properties Give the user a chance to edit the incident Select to edit a specific incident, and then enter the number of the valid incident in Incident. Define the properties of the incident to be set by the task. Use the Add button to define a specific value for a property, or use the Set from current button to set the value for a property as the value of the property in the current incident. Lets the user add information to the incident before it is committed. Options for Start a Notification Server Task Task Type The following options are available for tasks of the Start a Notification Server Task task type. See About Task Types on page 107. Option NS Server URL Get Tasks NS Tasks Get Task Inputs Description URL of the Notification Server to start a Task Server task on. Click for Helpdesk to retrieve the available Task Server tasks and jobs. Select the Task Server task or job to run. Click to retrieve the inputs required by the Task Server task or job. Next, specify the incident data to pass to the task or job as input, click Get Task Inputs and then click Edit. Helpdesk Solution Help 114

115 Templates notifications are used to generate and send and pager messages when a new incident is created or when an existing incident is modified. Administrators or managers, who have been granted the appropriate privileges, can create templates which define the format and content of messages sent. The format for templates can be straight text or HTML, and the content of the message can contain contextual data from the current incident using embedded macros. Note Microsoft Office 2008 does not support the use of HTML in messages. If you are using Office 2008, you should not use HTML in templates. Template Definitions notification: This is used for notification rules that deliver long, formatted messages. Pager notification: This is for notification rules that use short text-only messages. action: This is used for incident operations, such as sent explicitly by workers from an incident and logged as part of the comment history of the incident. Quick Links List Message Templates on page 115 New Template on page 116 List Message Templates This command lets you view both the out-of-box templates that come with Helpdesk Solution and any templates created by administrators and managers. You can view, edit, or create new templates as needed. To list the Templates 1. Select Admin > Templates > List Message Templates. 2. Click on one of the templates listed on the page. 3. Choose one of the following options. Click View to review the template properties. Click Edit to change the template properties. Click New to create a new template. Click Clone to duplicate an existing template. Quick Links View Template on page 116 Edit Template on page 116 Clone Template on page 116 Helpdesk Solution Help 115

116 View Template This command lets you view the property values that have been set for any template you selected from the List Message Templates page. You can edit the template, adding additional information or changing the property values already set. To view a Template 1. Select Admin > Templates > List Templates. 2. Click on one of the templates listed on the page. 3. Click View. 4. Review the properties on the page. Then click Edit to change values. Edit Template This command lets you edit the property values that have been set for the template you selected from the List Message Templates page. You can refer to New Template for information on field values. To edit a Template 1. Select Admin > Templates > List Templates. 2. Click on one of the templates listed on the page. 3. Click Edit. 4. Re-enter the property values of the fields on the page. 5. Click OK. Clone Template The Clone icon brings up the new Template page pre-populated with the properties of the selected template. This lets you easily create a new template based on the properties of an existing one. New Template Administrators and managers, who have been granted the appropriate privileges, can create as many templates as needed. If you edit or create a new template, you can use special macros in the Message field to represent data that is inserted by Helpdesk Solution when it generates an from the template. See the Advanced E- Mail Template section of the Altiris Helpdesk Solution Reference Guide for macros information. To create a new Template 1. Select Admin > Templates > New Template. 2. Enter a property value in the Name field. 3. Enter a property value in the From field. You can use the organization, a Helpdesk queue, a worker s name, or a macro definition resolving to a name. Example: MODIFIED_BY_WORKER (worker_full_name) would evaluate to the full display name of the worker that modified the incident causing this template to be sent Helpdesk Solution Help 116

117 4. Enter property value in the From address field. The address is displayed as the originator of the message. The macro language is supported for this property but it must resolve to a valid SMTP address. Example: MODIFIED_BY_WORKER (worker_ ) would resolve to the SMTP name of the worker that modified the incident causing this to be sent, formatted as [email protected]. 5. Enter a property value in the Subject field. The macro language is supported for this property, which lets you insert contextual data from the incident generating this message 6. Click the drop-down arrow and select one of the following options for the notification Type. notification: To be distributed through . Pager notification: Intended for pager notification. action: To send incident notification, such as sent explicitly by workers from an incident and logged as part of the comment history of the incident. 7. Enter a property value in the Comment field. 8. Upload and attach one or more attachments for this template. To upload a file, click Browse and then navigate to the file you want to attach. Next, click Attach. Repeat until you have attached all needed files to this template. Note Attachments defined in a template are independent of the incident from which they are sent. This is useful for sending files with a specific cover message. 9. Enter the content in the Body field. The macro language is supported for this property, which lets you insert contextual data from the incident generating this e- mail message. 10. Select the Interpret as HTML checkbox if you want HTML tags used within the body of the message. applications that support HTML are able to interpret the tags and display the message in the HTML format. If you elect to use this option, the Body field should be a complete HTML template. 11. Click Preview to preview the template. 12. Click Preview with context (enter an incident number) after entering an incident number to preview the template based on the incident number (so that the macros are evaluated). 13. Clear the checkbox if you do not want the template Active. Inactive templates are not available for selection when adding Notify rules. 14. Click OK. Inboxes This feature lets you monitor an IMAP4 or POP3 mailbox for new messages and map the content of the messages to the fields of new and existing incidents. Example: If you were monitoring a mailbox called [email protected], the s subject maps to the Title field and the body maps to the Description field as a new incident is created. To Helpdesk Solution Help 117

118 help monitor incoming , you can set inbox filters to help control spam and autoreply messages. See Inbox Filters on page 122 for details. Note All messages that are not limited by inbox filters are processed as long as there is not a blank subject line. inboxes can be configured to specify default values for incidents that they create. This feature lets you define inboxes for specialized purposes. Example: You can designate inboxes for handling high-priority issues or specific categories of issues, which sets the priority or category for new incidents accordingly. You can also receive a message being sent in relation to an existing incident. The inbox looks for a distinguishing characteristic, (the incident s number in the subject field in the form #NNN ), when deciding whether to create a new incident or modify an existing one. This could mean the person replied to a message sent from Helpdesk where the incident s number was in the original subject field, or the person was following specific instructions and included the incident number as reference. If an incident number in the subject field is recognized, the s message is recorded as an update to the referenced incident. If the incoming does not refer to an existing incident, then a new item is created from the incoming mail using the subject line as the incident title and the message body as the initial comment. Only the pure text version of the message body is used for the comment (HTML formats and embedded images and objects are lost). The From address in the incoming is used to locate or create a contact record to be associated with the incident. The inbound processor can be configured to provide a limited number of defaults (example: initial Status and Category) for routing purposes. Other initial incident settings (such as Type and Priority) can be specified through a message body data input mechanism. This isn't particularly useful for created by end users unless they do so through an form or other front end. Data specified in the input mechanism takes preference over the defaulted data. If the incoming does refer to an existing item, then the existing item is loaded and the message body added as a new comment. The inbound processor can be configured to optionally reset the status to a designated value (default: Open). Any other data specified in the message body data input mechanism is applied as well. Whether the refers to an existing incident or not, any attachments in the are uploaded to Helpdesk and added as attachments to the incident. Historical bodies are cut by searching for headers like -----Original Message However, the entire message is first processed to find the first instance of the message body data input mechanism. This allows notify templates to add return data to the initial outgoing notification (preferably preceded by text that says Please don't alter any text following this line ) and then retrieve it when and if the addressee replies. Message body data input mechanism Helpdesk always searches incoming for a data island containing specific name value pairs representing additional data changes to be applied to the incident. If more than one such data island exists, only the first is processed in case historical thread information somehow survives. The data island is implemented with a pseudo XML syntax (actual XML is not used both to prevent unintended markup interpretation when displayed in HTML mail viewers and to prevent stripping by mail servers producing a text-only view of the message). The entire data island is delimited by a beginning {HelpdeskData} marker and an ending Helpdesk Solution Help 118

119 {/HelpdeskData} marker. Individual field values are similarly delimited by a {HelpdeskValue} {/HelpdeskValue} pair surrounding a string value representing a field name delimited by an = sign. Everything following the = sign (up to the closing {/HelpdeskValue} marker) is taken as the value for the specified field (leading and trailing whitespace is stripped). Auxiliary incident data is specified in a {HelpdeskAuxValue} {/HelpdeskAuxValue} pair containing a <member>,<name>=<value> construct. The entire data island format looks like the following (whitespace anywhere other than within <value> is ignored, so the markers and field designators can appear on their own lines if desired): {HelpdeskData} {HelpdeskValue}<field_name>=<value>{/HelpdeskValue} {HelpdeskAuxValue}<member>,<name>=<value>{/HelpdeskAuxValue} {/HelpdeskData} where field_name specifies any writable field from the incident view and member and name are application defined strings for identifying externally significant auxiliary data. White space is ignored except for the value replacement, where it is preserved. The inbound feature does not require any instance data; therefore, there is no data import definition. The entire set of the pseudo XML syntax must not have HTML tags around it, but must be in plain text. The pseudo XML syntax can be in an HTML only if it is inside a commented out section of the HTML code which does not display when the HTML is viewed in a browser. Any text that displays on the page which is in HTML tends to have formatting text around all the characters which breaks the pseudo XML. The fields that can be used are listed in formats.xml under the string sid dataislandvalidfields. Each of these fields are from the list of incident view fields that are marked as writable. As many of the fields that are writable are only ID values, you need to know the integer value of what you are setting. Example This changes the status of an incident to Closed. {HelpdeskData} {HelpdeskValue} workitem_status_lookup_id = 600 {/HelpdeskValue} {/HelpdeskData} Note Most of the time, only HelpdeskValue entries should be used. HelpdeskAuxValue is only used for expanded auxiliary data that is generally associated with customization and utilizes this expanded auxiliary data storage. Quick Links List Inboxes on page 120 New Inbox on page 121 Delete Inboxes on page 121 Helpdesk Solution Help 119

120 List Inboxes This command lets you view inboxes that have been created by administrators and managers. You can view, edit, or create new inboxes as needed. To list Inboxes 1. Select Admin > Inboxes > List Inboxes. 2. Click on one of the inboxes listed on the page. 3. Choose one of the following options. Click View to review the inbox properties. Click Edit to change the inbox properties. Click New to create a new inbox. Click Clone to duplicate an existing inbox. Quick Links View Inboxes on page 120 Edit Inboxes on page 120 Clone Inboxes on page 121 View Inboxes This command lets you view the property values that have been set for any inbox selected from the List Inboxes page. You can edit the inbox, adding additional information or changing the property values already set. To View an Inbox 1. Select Admin > Inboxes > List Inboxes. 2. Click on one of the inboxes listed on the page. 3. Click View. 4. Review the properties on the page, and then click Edit to change values. Edit Inboxes This command lets you edit the property values that have been set for the inboxes selected from the List Inboxes page. Refer to New Inbox for information on field values. To edit an Inbox 1. Select Admin > Inboxes > List Inboxes. 2. Click on one of the inboxes listed on the page. 3. Click Edit. 4. Re-enter the property values of the fields on the page. 5. Click OK. Helpdesk Solution Help 120

121 Clone Inboxes The Clone icon brings up the new Inbox page pre-populated with the properties of the selected inbox. This lets you easily create a new inbox based on the properties of an existing one. New Inbox This command lets you create inboxes to monitor messages and create or update incidents in the Helpdesk system. There is a drop-down list of fields for new and existing incidents where you define the values that are set by incoming . To create a new Inbox 1. Select Admin > Inboxes > New Inbox. 2. In the New Inbox page, in Protocol, select IMAP4 or POP3. 3. Click Next. 4. In the Edit Inbox page, in Name, enter the name for the inbox. 5. In Server, enter the name of the server. 6. In Account, enter the name of the account. 7. In Password, enter the password for the account. 8. In Authentication Mode, choose the authentication mode the server uses. 9. In Timeout(MS), enter the number of milli-seconds for Helpdesk to wait to connect to the server before timing out. 10. Click Test Connection to verify that the address is valid. 11. In Processing Options, choose an option for how you want Helpdesk to handle e- mails from unknown addresses. 12. In inbox filter, select the filter to apply to the inbox account. See Inbox Filters on page In Send reports to, enter the addresses to send inbox-associated error reports to. 14. In For new incidents, specify the actions for Helpdesk to take for incidents created by s. 15. In For existing incidents, specify the actions for Helpdesk to take for existing incidents modified by s. 16. Select Active to make the new inbox active. 17. Click OK. Delete Inboxes Administrators and managers, who have been granted the appropriate privileges, can delete inboxes. Deleting an inbox takes effect when you confirm its deletion, and it no longer appears on the List Inboxes page. Helpdesk Solution Help 121

122 To delete Inboxes 1. Select Admin > Inboxes > Delete Inboxes. 2. Select the checkbox next to each individual inbox that you want deleted from the system. 3. Click Next. 4. The Delete Inboxes page displays the quick incidents you have selected to be deleted from the Helpdesk system. Click Back if you want to make corrections to the list. Then repeat step Click Finish to delete the inboxes. Inbox Filters You can create inbox filters to help control incoming spam and auto-reply messages received by inboxes defined in the Helpdesk system. See Inboxes on page 117 for details. Filters let you set a value for the fields, such as To, From, Subject, and Body. When incoming has a value that is the same as the fields defined by the filter, the mail is rejected. The filters are processed in the order they are listed on the List Inbox Filters page, but only if the filter s status is Active. Quick Links List Inbox Filters on page 122 New Inbox Filter on page 124 Delete Inbox Filters on page 125 List Inbox Filters This command lets you view the property values that have been set for any inbox filter selected from the List Inbox Filters page. You can edit or create a new inbox filter, change the order of the filters in the list, or delete a single filter. To list Inbox Filters 1. Select Admin > Inbox Filters > List Inbox Filters. 2. Click on one of the inbox filters listed on the page. 3. Choose one of the following options. Click New to create a new inbox filter. Click View to review the inbox filter properties. Click Edit to change the inbox filter properties. Click Move rule up to move the filter up one level. Click Move rule down to move the filter down one level. Click Delete to delete the inbox filter. Click Clone to duplicate an existing inbox filter. Helpdesk Solution Help 122

123 Quick Links View Inboxes on page 120 Edit Inbox Filters on page 123 Change the Order of Inbox Filters on page 123 Delete a Single Routing Rule on page 88 Clone Inbox Filter on page 124 View Inbox Filter This command lets you view the property values that have been set for any inbox filter selected from the List Inbox Filters page. You can edit the inbox, adding additional information or changing the property values already set. To view an Inbox 1. Select Admin > Inbox Filters > List Inbox Filters. 2. Click on one of the inbox filters list on the page. 3. Click View. 4. Review the properties on the page, and then click Edit to change values. Edit Inbox Filters This command lets you edit the property values that have been set for the inboxes selected from the Inbox Filters page. You can refer to New Inbox Filter for information on field values. To edit an Inbox Filter 1. Select Admin > Inbox Filters > List Inbox Filters. 2. Click on one of the inbox filters listed on the page. 3. Click Edit. 4. Re-enter the property values of the fields on the page. 5. Click OK. Change the Order of Inbox Filters This command lets you change the order of the inbox filters that are listed on the List Inbox Filters page. The filters are processed in the order they are listed on the page. You can move the filter up or down, one level at a time, from its current position. To move Inbox Filters up or down 1. Select Admin > Inbox Filters > List Inbox Filters. 2. Click on one of the inbox filters listed on the page. 3. Click Move rule up or Move rule down to change the order of the list. 4. Repeat step 2-3 as needed until the inbox filters are in the correct order. Helpdesk Solution Help 123

124 Delete a Single Inbox Filter This command lets you delete a single inbox filter, while the Delete Inbox Filters command on the menu can delete multiple inbox filters at once. You are asked to confirm the filter you selected before it is actually deleted from the Helpdesk database. To delete a single Inbox Filter 1. Select Admin > Inbox Filters > List Inbox Filters. 2. Click on one of the inbox filters listed on the page. 3. Click Delete. 4. Click OK. Clone Inbox Filter The Clone icon brings up the new Inbox Filter page pre-populated with the properties of the selected inbox filter. This lets you easily create a new inbox filter based on the properties of an existing one. New Inbox Filter Administrators and managers, who have been granted the appropriate privileges, can create as many inbox filters as needed. To create a new Inbox Filter 1. Select Admin > Inbox Filters > New Inbox Filters. 2. Enter a property value in the Name field. 3. Enter a description for the filter in the Comment field. 4. The Reject section specifies the filter s criteria. Click on Edit, Add a When...<end> group, Move up, Move down, or Delete. You must Add at least one criterion first (see step a) before using some of the buttons listed above. a. Click the drop-down arrow and select from the list of fields, and then click Add. A new page displays additional options for the field you selected. b. Enter a test condition and a value to be tested. The criterion evaluates true when the field you selected meets this condition. Depending on the field and condition you selected, additional drop-down lists or fields may display for you to enter the criterion value. c. Click OK. d. Repeat step a - c to add additional criterions. 5. Review the criteria you created in the display box. You can add, edit, move up, move down, or delete a criterion. Highlight the criterion to change, and then click Edit, Add a When...<end> group, Move up, Move down, or Delete. 6. Click OK. Helpdesk Solution Help 124

125 Delete Inbox Filters Administrators and managers, who have been granted the appropriate privileges, can delete inbox filters. Deleting a filter takes effect when you confirm its deletion, and it no longer appears on the List Inbox Filters page. To delete Inbox Filters 1. Select Admin > Inbox Filters > Delete Inbox Filters. 2. Select the checkbox next to each individual inbox filter that you want deleted from the system. 3. Click Next. 4. The Delete Inbox Filters page displays the filters you have selected to be deleted from the Helpdesk system. Click Back if you want to make corrections to the list. Then repeat step Click Finish to delete the inbox filters. Resource Types Select the resource type from the list provided on the screen. These resources can be selected from assets within each incident. If you have Asset Control Solution enabled, you will see additional items integrated as resource types. Lookups This page displays the lookups that can be edited. These include standard ones like Status, Priority, and Type, plus custom ones that have been registered with the system. You can choose which to edit. Quick Links Edit Lookups View Lookups Edit Lookups This page lets you edit lookups that are displayed on the incidents page. You can add, delete, or change the lookup values of any field listed. This page lists the current values of the selected lookup (including display value, ID, ordinal, and so forth) for the selected lookup. To modify the entries of the selected lookup Note To preserve the meaning of lookup values that have already been saved in the incident database, you will not be allowed to modify the ID value of an existing entry or to delete entries. To remove an entry from a lookup, make it inactive. 1. Select a lookup. Helpdesk Solution Help 125

126 2. Click the Edit icon. 3. In the Default value list, select the default value for the lookup. 4. To edit a value: a. Select a value. b. Click the Edit icon. c. In the Name field, you can change the name of the value. d. Clear the Active checkbox to make the value unavailable for selection when modifying an incident. e. Click OK to save changes. 5. To create a new value. a. Click the New icon. b. In the ID field, if you want a different ID other than the suggested ID, enter an ID number. Note You cannot use an ID that already exists. c. In the Name field, enter the name that you want displayed in the drop-down list of the lookup. d. Leave Active selected if you want the value to be available when modifying an incident. e. Click OK to save changes. 6. Click OK to save changes. Note The ordinal value of the lookup is indicated by its position in the grid. The ordinal values are always written back according to this order when the entire lookup table is saved. View Lookups This page lets you view Lookup information. To view a lookup 1. Select a lookup. 2. Click the View icon. 3. To edit this lookup, select the Edit icon. Import Admin Data This page lets you import Admin data that you have exported. To import a file 1. Browse to the XML file. 2. Edit the XML file, if desired. Helpdesk Solution Help 126

127 3. Click Import. Export Admin Data This page lets you export Admin data so that you can import it into another database. To export a file 1. Select the Helpdesk object type. 2. Select one or more objects from the Available for export list. 3. Click Add. 4. Click Next. 5. Click the Export as XML file link. 6. Save the XML file. About Service Categories Service categories group tasks in the Service Catalog and in incidents. You can create or modify the categories to group tasks in ways that help users understand them. Examples of service categories: Employee Requests, Manager Requests, Software Requests, Change Management, Contract Management, Local Computer. For more information, see: Changing the Service Category Display Order on page 127 Creating a Service Category on page 127 Changing a Service Category Graphic on page 128 Changing the Service Category of a Task on page 109 Changing the Service Category Display Order Service categories group tasks in the Service Catalog and in incidents. You can change the order in which categories appear. For example, you can move the most common service category to the top. See About Service Categories on page 127. To change the service category display order 1. In the Helpdesk Console, select Admin > Service Categories > Manage Service Categories. 2. On the Manage Service Catalog page, use the blue up and down arrow buttons to move categories. Creating a Service Category Service categories group tasks in the Service Catalog and in incidents. You can create new service categories to meet the needs of your organization. See About Service Categories on page 127. Helpdesk Solution Help 127

128 A service category appears in the Service Catalog only if there are one or more tasks assigned to it. When you create a service category, it does not appear in the Service Catalog until you also assign a task to the service category. See About Tasks on page 106. To create a service category 1. In the Helpdesk Console, select Admin > Service Categories > New Service Category. 2. On the New Service Category page, enter a name and description for the service category. 3. To select an image to appear with the service category, click the Select link. To make additional images available for selection, add them to this folder: C:\\Program Files\Altiris\Helpdesk\AEXHD\images\categories 4. If the service category is ready to use, select Active. 5. Click OK. 6. To make the service category appear in the Service Catalog, assign a task to it. See About Tasks on page 106. Changing a Service Category Graphic In the Service Catalog, Service Catalog categories can be displayed with a graphic. You can change the graphic that appears with the category. To make additional graphics available for selection, add them to this folder: C:\\Program Files\Altiris\Helpdesk\AEXHD\images\categories For more information on service categories, see About Service Categories on page 127. To change a service category graphic 1. In the Helpdesk Console, select Admin > Service Categories > Manage Service Categories. 2. On the Manage Service Catalog page, select the category for which to change the graphic and then click the edit (pencil) icon. 3. On the Edit Service Category page, click the Select link, and then select the graphic to appear with the category. 4. Click OK. About the Service Catalog The Service Catalog is a list of tasks displayed by category that appears on the Worker Console and the My Helpdesk Console. You can also access the Service Catalog in the Helpdesk Console by selecting Incidents > Service Catalog. Tasks enable Helpdesk workers and end users to quickly perform actions such as sending an or installing software, without leaving the page they are on. Tasks are URL links to items such as Altiris Console pages and other Altiris solutions. When you create a task, you specify whether the task should appear in incidents or in the Service Catalog. Helpdesk Solution Help 128

129 Helpdesk Solution includes a few pre-defined tasks that appear in the Service Catalog. You can create additional tasks and categories to appear in the the Service Catalog to meet the needs of your organization. Examples of tasks for the Service Catalog: request for password reset, request for changes to the phone system, request for software, execute a remote backup of a computer, request for adding an address to a distribution list. For more information about tasks and service categories, see: About Service Categories on page 127 Creating a Task on page 108 Changing the Service Category of a Task on page 109 Finding a Service In the Service Catalog, you can search for specific services. To find a service 1. On the Service Catalog, in Search for Services, enter a keyword to search for. 2. Click Search. 3. On the Find Services page, you can search again, or select a service that was found. About the Customer Satisfaction Survey The customer satisfaction survey is an message that is based on the Satisfaction Survey template. The customer satisfaction survey is sent to the Contact for incidents by one of the follwing notification rules: Send Satisfaction Survey notification rule: Sends a customer satisfaction survey for each incident when it is closed. Send Satisfaction Survey Randomly notification rule: Sends a customer satisfaction survey for a specified percentage of incidents when they are closed. For more information, see: Enabling the Customer Satisfaction Survey on page 129 Modifying the Customer Satisfaction Survey Contents on page 130 Enabling the Customer Satisfaction Survey To use the customer satisfaction survey in your organization, enable the satisfaction survey template and enable one of the following notification rules: Send Satisfaction Survey notification rule: Sends a customer satisfaction survey for each incident when it is closed. Send Satisfaction Survey Randomly notification rule: Sends a customer satisfaction survey for a specified percentage of incidents when they are closed. Enable only one of the customer satisfaction survey rules, not both. If you enable both, then some users will receive duplicate customer satisfaction surveys. Helpdesk Solution Help 129

130 To enable the customer satisfaction survey template 1. In the Helpdesk Console, select Admin > Templates > List Message Templates. 2. In the list that appears, select Satisfaction Survey, and then click the edit (pencil) icon. 3. At the bottom of the page, select Active. To enable a customer satisfaction notification rule 1. In the Helpdesk Console, select Admin > Notify Rules > List Notify Rules. 2. In the list that appears, select the survey satisfaction notification rule to enable, and then click the edit (pencil) icon. 3. At the bottom of the page, select Active. Modifying the Customer Satisfaction Survey Contents You can change the contents of the customer satisfaction survey by modifying the Satisfaction Survey template. For information on the fields on this page, see New Template on page 116. To modify the customer satisfaction survey contents 1. In the Helpdesk Console, select Admin > Templates > List Message Templates. 2. In the list that appears, select Satisfaction Survey, and then click the edit (pencil) icon. 3. Make modifications as necessary, and then click OK. Helpdesk Solution Help 130

131 Chapter 8 The Contacts Menu Contacts are users who request help or managers acting as the contact point for another user for the associated problem or request. Each user should be defined in the database as a contact. Workers are also contacts and their information is stored in the database as well. Contacts are associated with incidents. A user who calls the Helpdesk to report an incident can be assigned as the contact for the incident being created, which makes problem resolution and follow-up easier. As incidents are routed to queues or individual workers for resolution, the point of reference for the originating problem can be contacted if further information is needed. Contacts can also be sent notifications, keeping them updated on the status and estimated time of resolution for incidents. Quick Links Contact Home on page 131 Find Contacts on page 132 New Contact on page 133 Delete Contacts on page 134 Contact Home This page displays a list of the most recent contacts that you have worked on. After you view, edit, or create a new contact, the Recent Contacts list updates, adding a new line item for the contact. If you do not want to make any changes to the contacts currently listed, go to the bottom of the page and click one of the links to find, create, or delete other contacts in the Helpdesk system. To view Contacts Home 1. Select Contacts > Contacts Home. 2. Click on one of the contacts listed on the page. 3. Click View, Edit, or Delete a Single Asset. 4. Choose one of the following quick links on this page if you do not want to change any of the assets listed in the recents list. Click the Find one or more contacts link to search the Helpdesk database for contacts. Click the Create a contact link to add a new contact to the Helpdesk database. Click the Delete contacts link to delete multiple contacts from the Helpdesk database. Helpdesk Solution Help 131

132 Find Contacts This command lets you search for contacts that have been entered into the Helpdesk system. You can enter as many field values on the page as you want for the search criteria. Contacts matching the values you entered are displayed in a list at the bottom of the page. If you click Find without entering any search criteria, all contacts entered in the Helpdesk system are displayed. To find a Contact 1. Select Contacts > Find Contacts. 2. Enter the search criteria in the fields on the page to find specific contacts. If you want to find all contacts in the Helpdesk system, do not enter any field values. 3. Click Find. 4. Contacts that match the search criteria are listed below Contacts. Click on one of the contacts in the list. 5. Click View, Edit, or Delete. View Contact After you search for contacts using the Find Contacts command, you can select any contact from the search results and view its properties. The Edit button, located in the upper-right corner of the View Contact page, takes you to the Edit Contact page if you want to edit property values. If the contact you are viewing is associated with one or more incidents, they are listed at the bottom of the page. From the list, you can view or edit any incident as needed. To view a Contact 1. Select Contacts > Contacts Home. 2. Click on one of the contacts listed below Recent Contacts. If the contact you want to view is not listed, use the Find Contacts command to search for the contact you want. 3. Click View. 4. Review the contact information on the page. 5. Click Edit to change property values. 6. View the assets associated with this contact. 7. If there are any incidents associated with the contact, they are listed below Incidents on the bottom half of the page. Click on one of the incidents in the list. Then click View or Edit. Edit Contact After you search for contacts using the Find Contacts command, you can select any contact from the search results listed and edit their property values. To edit a Contact 1. Select Contacts > Contacts Home. Helpdesk Solution Help 132

133 2. Click on one of the contacts listed below Recent Contacts. If the contact you want to view is not listed, use the Find Contacts command to search for the contact you want. 3. Click Edit. 4. Change property values for any field on the page. 5. View the assets associated with this contact. 6. Click OK. 7. If there are any incidents associated with the contact, they are listed below Incidents on the bottom of the page. Click on one of the incidents in the list. Then click View or Edit. Delete a Single Contact This command lets you delete a single contact, while the Delete Contacts command on the menu can delete multiple contacts. When you select a contact to delete, a new page is displayed and you can view the contact you are about to delete. If you confirm the deletion, the contact is removed from the Helpdesk system. Caution If you delete a contact that is associated to an incident, the Contact field for the Incident loses the contact assignment, and a new value of none selected is set. To delete a single Contact 1. Select Contacts > Contact Home. 2. Click on one of the contacts listed below Recent Contacts. If the contact you want to delete is not listed, use the Find Contacts command to search for the contact you want. 3. Click Delete. 4. Click OK. New Contact This command adds new contacts to the Helpdesk system. A user who requests help from a Helpdesk Specialist is added as a new contact. Helpdesk Specialists that input incidents or respond to incident requests are also entered into the system as contacts. The NT ID field must be defined in the format, domain\user. Example: a user could enter an ID like, altiris\hdworker. This ID is used by Helpdesk to identify users and workers logging in to one of the secured consoles such as the Worker Console or My Helpdesk Console. If the Organization drop-down arrow does not list the organization you want the contact associated with, use the field below it to enter the correct value. The Other field lets you add one or more addresses (semi-colon delimited). When an arrives, Helpdesk checks the address from both the and the Other fields. Helpdesk adds the incident to this contact if the e- mail address matches what is in either of these two fields. If the address matches an address in the Other field, it does not create a new contact with the Other E- mail address as the primary. Helpdesk Solution Help 133

134 In Notify rules or when editing an incident, all addresses listed in the and the Other fields are notified when there is a change. After you create a new contact, the View page appears so you can review the property values set. You can use Edit to change property settings for the contact. To create a new Contact 1. Select Contacts > New Contact. 2. Enter the contact property values in the fields on the page. 3. Clear the Active checkbox if you do not want the contact activated. 4. Click OK. Delete Contacts You can delete multiple contacts from the Helpdesk system using this command. You must find the contacts you want to delete, and then select each individual contact from the search results listed on the page. You are asked to confirm the contacts you selected before they are actually deleted from the Helpdesk database. Note Helpdesk does not let you delete a contact that is also a worker. Caution If you delete a contact that is associated with an incident, the Contact field for the Incident loses the contact assignment, and a new value of none selected is set. To delete Contacts 1. Select Contacts > Delete Contacts. 2. To find the contacts you want deleted, enter the search criteria in the fields on the page. If you want to find all contacts in the Helpdesk system, do not enter any field values. 3. Click Find. 4. Contacts that match the search criteria are listed on the page. Select the checkbox next to each individual contact that you want deleted from the system. 5. Click Next. 6. The Delete Contacts page displays the contacts you have selected to be deleted from the Helpdesk system. Click Back if you want to make corrections to the list. Then repeat step Click Finish to delete the contacts from the Helpdesk system. Helpdesk Solution Help 134

135 Chapter 9 The Assets Menu Assets can be any resource that you want to track through the Helpdesk database, such as computers, printers, monitors, network hubs, and so forth. Not only can you track IT resources, but you can create asset items for office equipment like phones, copiers, fax machines, or furniture. Assets can be associated with incidents, which help department managers analyze the functionality and associated costs based on a specific resource. Example: if a user reports there is a problem printing on a particular network printer, the Helpdesk Specialist can associate the network printer asset with the incident. Department managers can run a report to show the history of the network printer and how many incidents have been generated because of ongoing problems with the printer. The capability to track incidents to assets provides a basic level of ITIL Problem Management, enabling problem managers to spot trends and replace an asset that has proven trouble-prone. It also allows the tracking of costs associated with an asset, which can be useful in negotiating contracts and making informed equipment purchases. Quick Links Assets Home on page 135 Find Assets on page 136 New Asset on page 137 Delete Assets on page 138 Assets Home This page displays a list of the most recent assets that you have worked on. After you view, edit, or create a new asset, the Recent Assets list updates, adding a new line item for the asset. If you do not want to make any changes to the assets currently listed, go to the bottom of the page and click one of the links to find, create, or delete other assets in the Helpdesk system. To view Assets Home 1. Select Assets > Assets Home. 2. Click on one of the assets listed on the page. 3. Click View, Edit, or Delete a Single Asset. 4. Choose one of the following quick links on this page if you do not want to change any of the assets listed in the recents list: Click the Find one or more assets link to search the Helpdesk Database for assets. Click the Create an asset link to add a new asset to the Helpdesk Database. Click the Delete asset link to delete multiple assets from the Helpdesk Database. Helpdesk Solution Help 135

136 Find Assets This command lets you search for assets that have been entered into the Helpdesk system. You can enter as many field values on the page as you want for the search criteria. Assets matching the values you entered are displayed in a list at the bottom of the page. If you click Find without entering any search criteria, all assets entered in the Helpdesk system are displayed. By default, computer resources in the Notification Database are imported into Helpdesk Solution's asset tables. Helpdesk incidents are now modeled as Resources in the Notification Database. This allows for better visibility of incidents related to assets and their costs. To find an Asset 1. Select Assets > Find Assets. 2. Enter the search criteria in the fields on the page to find specific assets. If you want to find all assets in the Helpdesk system, do not enter any field values. 3. Click Find. 4. Assets that match the search criteria are listed below Assets. Click on one of the assets in the list. 5. Click View, Edit, or Deletes. View Asset After you search for assets using the Find Assets command, you can select any asset from the search results and view its properties. The Edit button takes you to the Edit Asset page if you want to edit property values. If the asset you are viewing is associated with one or more incidents, the list of incidents are displayed at the bottom of the page. You can view or edit assets as needed. To view an Asset 1. Select Assets > Assets Home. 2. Click on one of the assets listed below Recent Assets. If the asset you want to view is not listed, use the Find Assets command to search for the asset you want. 3. Click View. 4. Review the asset information on the page. 5. Click Edit if you want to change property values. 6. View the contacts associated with this asset. 7. If there are any incidents associated with the asset, they are listed below Incidents on the bottom half of the page. Click on one of the incidents in the list. Then click View or Edit. Edit Asset After you search for assets using the Find Assets command, you can select any asset from the search results listed and edit their property values. Helpdesk Solution Help 136

137 To edit an Asset 1. Select Assets > Assets Home. 2. Click on one of the assets listed below Recent Assets. If the asset you want to view is not listed, use the Find Assets command to search for the asset you want. 3. Click Edit. 4. Change property values for any field on the page. 5. View the contacts associated with this asset. 6. Click OK. 7. If there are any incidents associated with the asset, they are listed below Incidents on the bottom of the page. Click on one of the incidents in the list. Then click View or Edit. Delete a Single Asset This command lets you delete a single asset, while the Delete Assets command on the menu can delete multiple assets. When you select an asset to delete, a new page displays so you can view the asset you are about to delete. If you confirm the deletion, the asset is removed from the Helpdesk system. Caution If you delete an asset that is associated with an incident, the Asset field for the Incident loses the asset assignment, and a new value of none selected is set. To delete a single Asset 1. Select Assets > Assets Home. 2. Click on one of the assets listed below Recent Assets. If the asset you want to delete is not listed, use the Find Assets command to search for the asset you want. 3. Click Delete. 4. Click OK. New Asset This feature adds new assets to the Helpdesk system. Assets can be any resource that you want to track within an organization, such as PCs, monitors, software products, printers, fax machines, and more. The External ID field is for organizations who need to identify their assets with a unique ID from an external management system. If the Organization drop-down arrow does not list the organization you want the asset associated with, use the field below to enter the correct value. After you create a new asset, the View page displays so you can review the property values set. You can use Edit to change property settings for the asset. To create a new Asset 1. Select Assets > New Asset. 2. Enter the asset property values in the fields on the page. Helpdesk Solution Help 137

138 3. Clear the Active checkbox if you do not want the asset activated. 4. Click OK. Delete Assets You can delete multiple assets from the Helpdesk system using this command. You must find the assets you want to delete, then select each individual asset from the search results listed on the page. You are asked to confirm the assets you selected before they are actually deleted from the Helpdesk Database. Caution If you delete an asset that is associated to an incident, the Asset field for the Incident loses the asset assignment, and a new value of none selected is set. To delete Assets 1. Select Assets > Delete Assets. 2. To find the assets you want to delete, enter the search criteria in the fields on the page. If you want to find all assets in the Helpdesk system, do not enter any field values. 3. Click Find. 4. Assets that match the search criteria are listed on the page. Select the checkbox next to each individual asset that you want deleted from the system. 5. Click Next. 6. The Delete Assets page displays the assets you have selected to be deleted from the Helpdesk system. Click Back if you want to make corrections to the list. Then repeat step Click Finish to delete the assets from the Helpdesk system. Helpdesk Solution Help 138

139 Chapter 10 The Worker Menu The Worker Menu displays if you have the appropriate privileges to perform tasks such as setting up new workers, changing hourly rates, assigning workers to queues, and managing queues in the Helpdesk system. Workers and Worker Queues A Worker is a person who is assigned a level of responsibility by the Helpdesk administrator and responds to incident requests submitted to the Helpdesk. Workers can also create new incident requests from a phone support environment, gather contact information, enter a brief description for the reported incident, and route the request to an appropriate Queue. To track costs associated with incidents, administrators can assign hourly rates to workers or to a worker s queue. The hourly rate displays in clear text and is visible to anybody with privileges to edit worker properties, so use caution. Quick Links List Workers on page 139 New Worker on page 140 List Queues on page 141 New Queue on page 144 List Workers This command displays all the workers entered into the Helpdesk system. You can select a worker on the page and then view or edit their properties. You can also create a new worker from this page. Note Workers cannot be deleted from the database. Workers that are no longer needed can be inactivated. This helps maintain referential integrity. To make a worker inactive, edit the worker by clicking the Edit icon, and then clear the Active checkbox. To list Workers 1. Select Workers > List Workers. 2. Click New to create a new worker. 3. Click on one of the workers listed on the page. 4. Click View or Edit. Quick Links View Worker on page 140 Edit Worker on page 140 Helpdesk Solution Help 139

140 View Worker This command lets you review worker information. You must use Edit to actually change worker properties. To view a Worker 1. Select Workers > List Workers. 2. Click on one of the workers listed on the page. 3. Click View. 4. Review the worker information on the page. 5. Click Edit to change property values. Edit Worker The List Workers page lists all the workers in the Helpdesk system. You can select any worker from the list and go directly to the edit command without viewing its properties. This command makes it convenient if you already know that a worker s property values need to be changed. To edit a Worker 1. Select Workers > List Workers. 2. Click on one of the workers listed on the page. 3. Click Edit. 4. Change property values for any field on the page. 5. Click OK. New Worker You must create a new worker entry for each worker intending to create Helpdesk incidents. You must know the domain and Windows NT account name for each worker you create, although the field value itself (at the time of entry) is not validated against any Windows authority, such as a Domain Controller or Active Directory. When a new worker tries to access a Helpdesk page, their NT identity is submitted to the server by their browser. If the NT identity submitted does not correspond to a defined worker account, they are given the opportunity to enroll as a Helpdesk worker. Therefore, it is recommended that Helpdesk Administrators use the Internet Services Manager to secure the Helpdesk entry point, allowing access to only those users that are Helpdesk workers. Workers can be assigned a queue value. The Retrieve queues field uses a drop-down list to display the queues available in the Helpdesk system. The List Queues command displays a list of default queues and any customized queues created by the Helpdesk Administrator. Routing rules can be defined to route incidents to specific queues in the Helpdesk system. If you specify queue values for workers, they can use the Retrieve Queued Incident command to assign the next available incident (based on priority and create time) to themselves. Helpdesk Solution Help 140

141 Field Definitions Worker name: The name of the user logging in to the Helpdesk system to create new incidents. This name is the worker's Helpdesk ID and is displayed in various reports for Helpdesk activity and in drop-down lists for incident assignments. Hourly rate: Used by reports to estimate the cost of incidents. The rate is displayed only on the Worker Edit page, so use caution when assigning users the privilege to create and edit workers. Retrieve queue: This denotes what queue the worker accesses when they use the Retrieve Queued Incident command. The default is [prompt], which means the worker is prompted to select from one of the Helpdesk queues to retrieve incidents from. Full name: Required field. This value is not necessary but is strongly recommended. The address must be unique to the worker and not to a worker queue. This is the address that the Helpdesk system uses to notify workers with Incident Notify rules. NT ID: Required field. The entry must be in the format Domain\NT ID. When a browser attempts to access a Helpdesk page, it submits the NT credentials of the current user to the Helpdesk Web site. The Helpdesk system looks up the worker by the Windows NT account name, and all subsequent interaction is in the context of the worker s account. Active: This value determines if a worker is allowed to access the Helpdesk system, pending Windows NT authentication. If a worker is de-activated while they are currently using Helpdesk, it does not take effect until the worker closes their Web browser; any access thereafter is denied. Note The Active checkbox is different for a new worker than for a new contact. Workers can still be active contacts but listed as inactive workers. To create a new Worker 1. Select Workers > New Worker. 2. Enter the new worker property values in the fields on the page. 3. Clear the Active checkbox if you do not want the worker activated. 4. Click OK. List Queues A queue is a holding area where incidents are stored prior to workers retrieving them. When you create an incident, you can choose to set the Assigned field value to either a specific worker or queue. See New Incident on page 39. Administrators and managers can assign an hourly rate to queues (just the same as for workers), which helps to track the cost of incidents assigned to a queue. We recommend assigning all workers to a queue, so that the cost of labor hours can be reported accurately. Helpdesk Solution Help 141

142 Worker Queues Workers can find incidents by performing a search based on a queue, or they can retrieve incidents that are assigned to a queue. Helpdesk provides a set of default queues that correspond to worker types that are commonly found in a production Helpdesk environment. Queue Asset Management Deployment SW Delivery Human Resources Level 1 Level 2 Level 2 Desktop Level 2 Network Level 2 Server Description This queue is for incidents that report issues with any type of asset. Workers associated with this queue are from the Asset Management department. This is for incidents that report issues or requests for the deployment of software packages, patches, or release updates. The IT department generally has workers dedicated to maintaining company software. This is for incidents that report any type of human resource issue. Workers associated with this queue are from the Human Resource department. This queue is for Helpdesk workers who respond to common user incidents such as password resets, and How to questions. Typically, if a Level 1 Helpdesk worker cannot resolve the reported issue, they will turn the incident over to a Level 2 worker. This queue is for a Helpdesk worker who is technically more advanced than a level 1 worker. The workers associated with this queue provide phone support for more complicated incidents, and can be field or system managers. This is for incidents related to desktop issues or requests. Workers associated with this queue are from the IT department and trained to provide desktop support. This is for incidents related to network issues or requests. Workers associated with this queue are network specialists from the IT department, trained to debug and resolve connectivity problems. This is for incidents related to any type of server issue. Workers associated with this queue are generally system administrators from the IT department: they are trained to resolve server and firewall software or hardware problems. Helpdesk Solution Help 142

143 Queue Operations Professional Services Supervisor Description Workers associated with this queue are assigned incidents generated for the Operations department. Workers associated with this queue are assigned incidents generated for the Professional Services department. This queue is reserved for managers, supervisors, or administrators. To list Queues 1. Select Worker > List Queues. 2. Click on one of the queues listed on the page. 3. Click View, Edit, or New. Quick Links View Queue on page 143 Edit Queue on page 143 View Queue This command lets you review information about a selected queue. You must use Edit to actually change queue properties. To view a Queue 1. Select Workers > List Queues. 2. Click on one of the queues listed on the page. 3. Click View. 4. Review the queue information on the page. 5. Click Edit to change property values. Edit Queue The List Queues page lists all the queues in the Helpdesk system. You can select any queue from the list and go directly to the edit command without viewing its properties. This command makes it convenient if you already know that a queue s property values need to be changed. To edit a Queue 1. Select Workers > List Queues. 2. Click on one of the queues listed on the page. 3. Click Edit. 4. Change property values for any field on the page. 5. Click OK. Helpdesk Solution Help 143

144 New Queue If you have a group of workers or an additional department that is not already accounted for in the default queues available, you can create a new queue. After the queue is added to the Helpdesk database, it appears on the List Queues page. To create a new Queue 1. Select Workers > New Queue. 2. Enter the new queue property values in the fields on the page. 3. Clear the Active checkbox if you do not want the queue to be active. 4. Click OK. Helpdesk Solution Help 144

145 Chapter 11 The Recents Menu This command is a convenient way for you to find the most recent incidents, contacts, and assets you have accessed. The recents menu is divided into three sections: Incidents, Contacts, and Assets. Each section contains the last 10 items of the type that you viewed or edited. As you access incidents, contacts, and assets, the oldest items eventually migrate off to display only the most recent 10 items. To view Recents 1. Click Recents. 2. Click one of the incidents, contacts, or assets listed on the page. Helpdesk Solution Help 145

146 Chapter 12 The Knowledge Base Menu This section provides information on how to use the Knowledge Base Menu. Note You must Configure the Knowledge Base before this feature can be used. Quick Links Configure the Knowledge Base on page 146 Search Articles on page 147 Publish Article on page 151 Publish Existing Document on page 152 Review Article on page 154 Search Article Properties on page 157 Libraries on page 157 Archive Articles on page 164 Delete Articles on page 165 Configure the Knowledge Base You must configure the Knowledge Base before you can begin using this feature. Configuring the Knowledge Base creates a file folder structure in both the Helpdesk database and the Windows NT file system. After you configure the Knowledge Base file structure, you can use the Helpdesk user interface to create additional libraries and scopes. If the Knowledge Base has not yet been configured, when you go to any one of several Knowledge Base pages that require prior configuration (such as the search page), you are prompted to configure the Knowledge Base. If you have the appropriate privileges, a link is displayed where you can go directly to configure the Knowledge Base. To configure the Knowledge Base 1. From the Altiris Console, click the Configuration tab. 2. Select Solutions Settings > Incident Management > Helpdesk > Knowledge Base Settings. 3. In the New default library path field, enter the directory path where you want Knowledge Base libraries, scopes, and articles to be stored. 4. In the Catalog Directory field, enter the directory path where Knowledge Base index files are stored. 5. Clear the checkbox if you do not want to remove other indexing service catalogs from the Notification Server. Helpdesk Solution Help 146

147 Note To increase the performance of the Knowledge Base, we recommend that all other index catalogs be removed from the Notification Server. If existing index catalogs are found on the Notification Server, they are listed on the bottom half of the page. 6. Refresh scopes in background lets you control whether or not you want to refresh scopes that have been manually edited. If this is selected, scopes will be refreshed at the interval you enter and articles that are manually added to the Knowledge Base libraries will have a Knowledge Base record created for them. If this is not selected, scopes will not be refreshed and files or folders that are manually added to the Knowledge Base libraries will not have a Knowledge Base record created for them. Warning Setting the interval to near 0 will cause the scopes to refresh continually or almost continually and should be avoided. Note When you create an article in Helpdesk, its scope gets added or updated whether or not this field is selected. This field should be selected if you expect to manually add or update scopes. 7. Click Apply to save your configuration. 8. View the acknowledgement screen, then click Finish to finalize the changes. Search Articles This command lets you search the Knowledge Base to find articles based on either the simple or the advanced search options. Workers can search for articles to help resolve reported incidents, which increase the Helpdesk s efficiency. Note To index and search Adobe Acrobat documents, an additional component called ifilter is required. To download, see Searches produce a list of articles that contain the word or phrase no matter where they appear in the text. This list gives the rules for formulating queries: Consecutive words are treated as a phrase: they must appear in the same order within a matching document. Queries are case-insensitive, so you can type your query in uppercase or lowercase. You can search for any word except for those in the exception list (for English, this includes a, an, and, as, and other common words), which are ignored during a search. Note The exception lists for all languages can be found by searching for noise.xxx where xxx is the language code (usually found in the system32 folder of the Windows operating system). Words in the exception list are treated as placeholders in phrase and proximity queries. Example: if you searched for Word for Windows, the results could give Helpdesk Solution Help 147

148 you Word for Windows and Word and Windows, because for is a noise word and appears in the exception list. Punctuation marks such as the period (.), colon (:), semicolon (;), and comma (,) are ignored during a search. To use specially treated characters such as &,, ^, $, (, ), in a query, enclose your query in quotation marks ( ). To search for a word or phrase containing quotation marks, enclose the entire phrase in quotation marks and then double the quotation marks around the word or words you want to surround with quotes. Example: World-Wide Web or Web searches for World-Wide Web or Web. You can insert Boolean operators (AND, OR, and NOT) and the proximity operator (NEAR) to specify additional search information. The wildcard character (*) can match words with a given prefix. The query esc* matches the terms ESC, escape, and so on. Free-text queries can be specified without regard to query syntax. Vector space queries can be specified. Vector queries return pages that match a list of words and phrases. The rank of each page indicates how well the page matched the query. Example: the search light, bulb would produce a list of files with the words light and bulb. Vector queries also help you search for pages that contain weighted prefixes, words, and phrases. Example: the search invent*, light[50], bulb[10], light bulb [400] would produce files that contain words prefixed by invent, the words light, bulb, and the phrase light bulb (the terms are weighted). ActiveX (OLE) and file attribute property value queries can be issued. Query Examples > > 95/12/23 Apple tree apple apple tree Microsoft > microsoft > " #filename ^s = John Smith $contents why is the sky blue? Results Pages larger than one million bytes Pages modified after the date Pages with the phrase apple tree Same as above Same as above Pages with the word Microsoft that are larger than one million bytes Pages with the phrase specified (not the same as above) Video files (the # prefix is used because the query contains a regular expression) Pages with the archive attribute bit on Pages with the given author Pages that match the query Helpdesk Solution Help 148

149 Query Examples < 100 & #filename > 95/12/23 Results Graphics Interchange Format (GIF) files less than 100 bytes in size Pages modified after the date Simple This command searches for articles in all the Knowledge Base libraries within the Helpdesk system, and also search all data fields such as type, author, and keywords. The search can be performed using one of three options: all words, free-text, and exact phrase. To search for an article number, enter AKB followed by the article number. To Simple Search for an article 1. Select Knowledge Base > Search Article. 2. Enter the search criteria in the Content field. 3. The default method to match the content value in articles is All words. To change the content search method, click the drop-down arrow and select Free-text, or Exact phrase. 4. Click Find. If the search yields any articles, they are displayed at the bottom of the page. The articles listed are presented with Rank, Score, Accesses, and descriptive information. Rank represents the number of times the search terms appear in the document, and not an overall measurement of relevancy. The score is an average of the usefulness of the article as it is rated by other Knowledge Base users. Accesses is the number of times an article has been viewed by users. You can sort the columns according to the criteria mort useful to find the articles you need. 5. To view an article do one of the following: Double-click on one of the articles listed on the page. Select one of the articles listed on the page, and then click View. Whichever method you select, the article is opened in a new window. Microsoft Office and Adobe Reader documents display with the appropriate viewer, which requires that the corresponding application be installed on the user's computer. 6. You can link the article to an incident by entering its number in the Incident field. If you found the article by doing a search directly from an incident, the incident number will already be entered in the field. Clicking Link establishes the link in the database and a hyperlink to the article is displayed every time the incident is viewed. 7. Click Close Article. 8. When the article closes, a dialog box appears. Click on one of the ranking numbers. When you click one of the buttons, it establishes another score data point in the database. You can close the dialog box without selecting a value; however, rating each article is important to administrators and managers when evaluating the importance and overall usefulness of its content, an helps keep the Knowledge Base content current and useful. Helpdesk Solution Help 149

150 Advanced The advanced search is similar to the simple search, except that entering a search term in a specific field limits the search results to only those articles that also contain the search term in the specified field. It is also possible to narrow searches to specific libraries and scopes for more precise results and faster searching. You can enter search terms in as many fields as you want, from very broad to very specific when defining the search criteria. To Advance Search for an article 1. Select Knowledge Base > Search Article. 2. Click the Advanced tab. 3. Enter the search criteria in the fields on the page. The default method to match the content value in articles is All words. To change the content search method, click the drop-down arrow and select Free-text, or Exact phrase. 4. In the Scope section, select the scopes that you want to search for articles. Leave empty to search all scopes. To add a scope to the list: a. Select a scope from the library drop-down list. This populates the next drop-down of main scopes, then the selection of a scope pulls a list of sub-scopes and so on. Either just the library can be added or a scope at any level can be added to the Scope list. b. Click Add. If the option Search in children of specified scopes is selected, then the listed scopes and all their sub-scopes will be searched; otherwise, only articles that are directly in one of the scopes added to the list are searched. Note A scope can be removed from the scope list by highlighting it and clicking the Remove icon. 5. Clear the Search in children of specified scopes checkbox if you do not want to search in the children of the selected libraries scopes. 6. Select the Include old versions (if any) in the search checkbox to include old versions in the search. Old versions will exist if you selected Track article versions when existing articles are put into this library when creating the library. 7. Select the Include archived articles in the search checkbox to include all archived articles in the libraries in the search. 8. Click Find. If the search yields any articles, they are displayed at the bottom of the page. The articles listed are presented with Rank, Score, Accesses, and descriptive information. Rank represents the number of times the search terms appear in the document, and not an overall measurement of relevancy. The score is an average of the usefulness of the article as it is rated by other Knowledge Base users. Accesses is the number of times an article has been viewed by users. You can sort the columns according to the criteria mort useful to find the articles you need. Helpdesk Solution Help 150

151 9. To view an article, do one of the following: Double-click on one of the articles listed on the page. Select one of the articles listed on the page, and then click View. Whichever method you select, the article is opened in a new window. Microsoft Office and Adobe Reader documents display with the appropriate viewer, which requires that the corresponding application be installed on the user's computer. 10. You can link the article to an incident by entering its number in the Incident field. If you found the article by doing a search directly from an incident, the incident number will already be entered in the field. Click Link establishes the link in the database and a hyperlink to the article is displayed every time the incident is viewed. 11. Click Close Article. 12. When the article closes, a dialog box appears. Click on one of the ranking numbers. When you click one of the buttons, it establishes another score data point in the database.you can close the dialog box without selecting a value; however, rating each article is important to administrators and managers when evaluating the importance and overall usefulness of its content, an helps keep the Knowledge Base content current and useful. Publish Article This command gives you a pre-formatted screen that lets you choose different types of articles to publish. This provides a quick and easy way to publish articles. After an article is created using this command, it can be published directly from an incident. Out of the box, two formats are provided: Problem/Cause/Solution and Question/ Answer. These change the overall format of the article you publish. Depending on the format you choose, different fields are searchable. Every article template has Title, Author, Keywords, and Expires fields. The Format fields constitute the body of the article once it gets published. The format does not get stored as part of the Knowledge Base. The Title, Author, Keywords, and Expires fields get stored as part of the Knowledge Base. The Title, Author, Keywords, and Expires fields are called meta-data and get stored in addition to the actual content of the article. The meta-data is stored in SQL Server along with a pointer to the actual file in the file system. Field Definitions Title: The description name for the article being published. This field is searchable when finding articles about a particular subject. Author: The name of the person who wrote the article, and is considered the content expert. The author can also be the person other users contact if they have questions about the article. Keywords: The words used to describe the content of the article. This field is searchable when finding articles about a particular subject. Keywords can be separated with a space, comma or semi-colon; however, the Helpdesk system always ignores commas and semi-colons and convert them into spaces. Whatever method Helpdesk workers choose, we recommend a consistent method for ease of use. Helpdesk Solution Help 151

152 Expires: The expiration date is used by the Knowledge Base administrator to know how long to make this article available to others. The expiration date can be used to locate old articles that should be archived or otherwise removed from the Knowledge Base. The Knowledge Base administrator must manually archive articles using the Archive Articles menu. Format: The format of the article. There are two formats provided: Problem/Cause/ Solution and Question/Answer. Note Each of fields under the Format field provide icons which allow you to change the format of the text, insert hyperlinks, and import images. For the images, we recommend you use either GIF or JPEG files because they display natively in a Web browser. Problem: The problem for which the article provides a solution. Cause: The cause of the problem. Solution: The solution to the problem. Question: The question that the article answers. Answer: The answer to the question. To publish an article using a Template 1. Select Knowledge Base > Publish Article. 2. Enter a name for the article in the Title field. 3. Enter the name of the person responsible for the article s content in the Author field. 4. Enter the words used to search for the article in the Keywords field. Keywords should be used judiciously and include words that users would commonly use to search for information that the document contains. Keywords should not be repeated such as Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Power Point. The existence of a keyword causes an article to be given a much higher ranking. Keywords should only be added when a search for that word has a very high probability of being in the article that you are searching for; otherwise the frequency of the word in the article should be enough. 5. Click the drop-down arrow, and then select a date for when the article Expires. The default value is 1 year. 6. Select the format of the article from the Format drop-down menu. 7. Enter the desired information for the article based on the format you chose. 8. Click OK. Publish Existing Document This command is useful when you have a Microsoft Office, Adobe Reader, or an HTML file that you want published to the Knowledge Base. This option lets you navigate to any directory location, either locally or through the network, and select a file source to upload. When you upload a file, it is forwarded to the Review Article queue, where the knowledge manager reviews its contents, and then publish it to the active Knowledge Helpdesk Solution Help 152

153 Base. Prior to committing the document to the active Knowledge Base, the reviewer is given the opportunity to add key words or other descriptive text to describe the document and make it easier to target during searches. Publish Articles in Mass Quantities Publishing large quantities of documents requires that the publisher has read and write access to the appropriate scope directories, in the Libraries directory of the Knowledge Base, on the Helpdesk server. NT file system permissions govern the accessibility and search ability of all Knowledge Base content, and for the given user as well. Any documents added to the Knowledge Base through this method are presumed to have already been reviewed by the Knowledge Base administrator, and will not be available through the Review Article command of the Helpdesk user interface. If you are adding large quantities of documents to a specific scope folder, it is possible to create subscopes beneath the parent scope, which lets you separate articles by subjects or topics. The libraries, scopes, and subscopes establish a parent-child relationship after a refresh is performed. If you delete a directory, it is removed from the Knowledge Base and the scopes are adjusted. After publishing articles, the library or scope must be refreshed to re-index the new articles so they can become searchable. See Libraries and Refresh Scope for more details. Publishing articles through the mass quantities feature lets you easily migrate existing Knowledge Base articles from another database to the Altiris Helpdesk Knowledge Base. Field Definitions Upload File: The article source must be a Microsoft Word document, an Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF), or an HTML file. Title: The description name for the article being published. This field is searchable when finding articles about a particular subject. Keywords: The words used to describe the content of the article. This field is searchable when finding articles about a particular subject. Keywords can be separated with a space, comma or semi-colon; however, the Helpdesk system always ignores commas and semi-colons and convert them into spaces. Whatever method Helpdesk workers choose, we recommend a consistent method for ease of use. Author: The name of the person who wrote the article, and is considered the content expert. The author can also be the person other users contact if they have questions about the article. Source: This is where the originating article source came from. Example: if you are using Helpdesk Solution, the source would be Altiris Helpdesk. Type: Any string value used to categorize Knowledge Base articles. By default, Helpdesk uses HTML as the type for articles created from incidents. Expires: The expiration date is used by the Knowledge Base to know how long to make this article available to others. The expiration date can be used to locate old articles that should be archived or otherwise removed from the Knowledge Base. To publish an existing document 1. Select Knowledge Base > Publish Existing Document. 2. Enter a directory path or click Browse to select a file to Upload. 3. Enter a name for the article in the Title field. Helpdesk Solution Help 153

154 4. Enter the words used to search for the article in the Keywords field. Keywords should be used judiciously and include words that users would commonly use to search for information that the document contains. Keywords should not be repeated such as Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Power Point. 5. Enter the name of the person responsible for the article s content in the Author field. 6. Enter the name of the solution or the originating source for the article in the Source field. It is the role of the knowledge manager to ensure that the this field entry is consistent and accurate. 7. Enter the article s file format type in the Type field. It is the role of the knowledge manager to ensure that the this field entry is consistent and accurate. 8. Click the drop-down arrow, and then select a date for when the article Expires. The default value is 1 year. 9. Click OK. Review Article Helpdesk Knowledge Base managers who have been granted the appropriate privileges are allowed to review, edit, and publish articles to the Knowledge Base libraries. Articles submitted by Helpdesk workers from an incident through the Publish Existing Document menu go to the Review directory. From this directory, articles can be edited and published to the active Knowledge Base for general access. If articles are added in mass quantity to the Knowledge Base libraries through the NT file system, they will not be available for review. See Publish Existing Document on page 152 for further details. To review an article 1. Select Knowledge Base > Review Article. 2. Enter the subject content of the article in the Find field. If you do not enter any value in this field, all the articles in the Review library are displayed on the page. Click Find. 3. Click on one of the articles listed on the page. 4. Click Publish, Delete, View, or Edit. Note To view or edit an article that has changes pending, click the Changes Pending tab. Note We recommend that you view the article before publishing it. If the article s properties need to be changed, use the Edit Article command. Publish Article After you have viewed or edited articles submitted to the Knowledge Base, you must use this command to publish them for others to access. This command is for publishing individual articles through the Helpdesk user interface. If you want to publish articles in mass quantities, see Publish Existing Document on page 152 for further details. Helpdesk Solution Help 154

155 To publish an article 1. Select Knowledge Base > Review Article. 2. Click one of the buttons to return all articles for review, or to find articles by searching for a specific term. 3. If you want to search for articles with a search criterion, enter the subject content of the article in the Find field. 4. Click Find. 5. Click on one of the articles listed on the page. 6. To publish the article, click Publish. a. Click the drop-down arrow and select a library or scope where the article is stored. If you have not created new libraries or scopes, the only option is the Public library. b. Select the status for the article. c. Click OK. 7. To request changes, click Request Changes. a. Enter your comment. b. Click OK. Delete Article This command lets you delete individual articles submitted to the Knowledge Base before they are published to libraries or scopes. The delete article command can be helpful, especially when an article with the same content is created by two different workers. Administrators and managers can review and edit both articles, until all the content is contained in one article. Deleting articles during the review process eliminates redundancy and filters out articles that may no longer be valid, before they actually get published. To delete an article 1. Select Knowledge Base > Review Article. 2. Click one of the buttons to return all articles for review or to find articles by searching for a specific term. 3. If you want to search for articles with a search criterion, enter the subject content of the article in the Find field. 4. Click Find. 5. Click on one of the articles listed on the page. 6. Click Delete. View Article This command lets you review Knowledge Base articles before they are published. The top of the page displays the article s title, article #, keywords, source, and average user rating. You can link an incident to the article by entering a value in the Link to Incident field. This provides a quick way to establish a resolution for the incident, as well as a Helpdesk Solution Help 155

156 hyperlink to the article when the incident is viewed. The Link to Incident field can also be used to denote that the article was derived from an incident. To view an article 1. Select Knowledge Base > Review Article. 2. Click one of the buttons to return all articles for review or to find articles by searching for a specific term. 3. If you want to search for articles with a search criterion, enter the subject content of the article in the Find field. 4. Click on one of the articles listed on the page. 5. Click View. 6. Enter an incident number in the Link to Incident field. You can leave this field blank if you do not want to link the article to an incident. Click Link to Incident. 7. Click Close Article. 8. When the Rate this Article dialog appears, click a rating from the scale on the page. If you do not want to rate the article, close the dialog box. Edit Article This command lets you change the references to the article, such as the title, keywords, subject, and author. You can edit an HTML article only if it has been generated from a Helpdesk incident. To edit an article 1. Select Knowledge Base > Review Article. 2. Click one of the buttons to return all articles for review or to find articles by searching for a specific term. 3. If you want to search for articles with a search criterion, enter the subject content of the article in the Find field. 4. Click on one of the articles listed on the page. 5. Click Edit. 6. Re-enter the values in the fields on the page. 7. Select a location to publish this article: a. Select Review to send the article for review. b. Select Hold to make the changes to the article but not send the article for review. The article can then be viewed at another time before sending for review. c. Select Scope and select the scope from the drop-down list to send the article to that scope. 8. Click OK. Helpdesk Solution Help 156

157 Search Article Properties This command lets you find articles in libraries and scopes based on the article s properties, or meta-tags. You must enter search criteria to find all the articles, and then from the search results displayed, you can either view or edit individual articles. The search article properties command is useful when you want to find articles based on a date, as well as the title, keyword, author, source and type fields. To search article properties 1. Select Knowledge Base > Search Article Properties. 2. Enter a value in the Title, Keyword, Author, Source, and Type fields. If you do not enter any values, the search finds all articles in the selected libraries and scopes based on the other selections on this page. 3. Select the Entered checkbox to find articles base on when the article was initially entered in the Knowledge Base. Select before or after, then click the drop-down arrow and select a date from the pop-up calendar. 4. Select the Last accessed checkbox to find articles base on when the article was last accessed by users. Select before or after, then click the drop-down arrow and select a date from the pop-up calendar. 5. Select the Expires checkbox to find articles base on the expire date of an article s properties. Select before or after, then click the drop-down arrow and select a date from the pop-up calendar. 6. Click the drop-down arrow and select an Accesses criteria, and then enter a value in the next field. 7. Click the drop-down arrow and select a Score criterion, and then enter a value in the next field. 8. Select the Scopes that you want to search for articles. Leave empty to search all scopes. 9. Clear the Search in children of checked scopes checkbox if you do not want to search in the children of the selected libraries scopes. 10. Select the Include old versions (if any) in the search checkbox to include old versions in the search. Old versions will exist if you selected Track article versions when existing articles are put into this library when creating the library. 11. Select the Include archived articles in the search checkbox to include all archived articles in the libraries in the search. 12. Click Find. If the search yields any articles, they are listed at the bottom of page. 13. From the list of articles displayed, click View or Edit. Libraries The Libraries page lets you view, create, edit, and manage your libraries. Helpdesk Solution Help 157

158 While this page lets you manage the libraries for the Knowledge Base, you must use the View Library to access scope information. You can also set permissions on libraries and scope by changing the security setting for their folders (of the same name) through the Windows NT file system. This helps control the users who access libraries, scopes, and article information. The Knowledge Base search engine compares the NT user and group information of the person performing the search, and return a list containing only those articles which are accessible with their NT credentials on the file system. To list Libraries 1. Select Admin > Knowledge Base > Libraries. 2. Click on one of the libraries in the list, and then choose one of the following: Click Edit to change the library status value from Active to Inactive. Click Refresh to re-index the articles in the library. Click New to create a new library. Click View to review the library properties. Click Delete to delete the library. Quick Links New Library on page 158 View Library on page 159 Edit Library on page 163 Delete Library on page 163 Refresh Library on page 163 Library and Article Security on page 164 New Library Library names created for the Knowledge Base cannot contain any special characters or trailing spaces. Because the library names in the Knowledge Base create folders of the same name in the Windows file system, Windows naming conventions must apply. Example: Internal Knowledge would be an acceptable library name, but not the name, Internal;Knowledge. To create a new Library 1. Select Admin > Knowledge Base > Libraries. 2. Click the New icon. 3. Enter the name for the new library in the Name field. 4. Enter a description of what the library is used for in the Description field. 5. Click the drop-down arrow and select the Status of the library. Active indicates it is available to users for searching, retrieving, and publishing articles. Inactive indicates the library is currently unavailable to all users. Helpdesk Solution Help 158

159 6. Select Assign this library for use as a draft library to immediately publish articles assigned to this library as soon as the article is created. When this is selected, it bypasses the review and lets articles in this library to be searched right away. 7. Select Track article versions when existing articles are put into this library for a new version to get created when an article has been published to the library and gets changed. This lets you view changes by viewing different versions. Older versions are archived and the newest version is always available in the library. If this is not selected, when a new article is created, it will go into review and while it is in review, both versions will exist. As soon as the review gets published, rather than moving the old version out, it gets replaced. 8. Enter a directory path for the new library in the Path field. Leaving the path field blank creates the new library in the directory path that was defined when the Knowledge Base was configured. 9. Click OK. Draft Libraries Articles in a draft library immediately publish as soon as the article is created. When you set a library as a draft library, the review is bypassed and the articles are sent for immediate publication. An article in a draft library is considered to be an article in progress. It can be indexed, found, and searched. Anyone can edit and contribute to a draft library allowing full participation for the content of the article. After the article in the draft library has received full participation, it can be sent for review. You can have multiple draft libraries. Each draft library can be given its own permissions so that it can be available only to the group of users that need to edit it. This lets you create a draft library that is immediately searchable by a select group of contributors who can edit articles in the library and continue to contribute to them and internally bring an article to a good working state before it is sent for review. An article in a draft library can then be reviewed by a Knowledge Base administrator and published to the external (public) Knowledge Base. View Library You can review the library properties using this command. This command also gives you the option to edit or refresh the library. The only properties of a library that you can edit are its description and status. If the library name or path is not what you want, use the Delete Library command to remove it from the Helpdesk system and then create a new library with the correct values you want. To see the child scopes associated with the library, click on the root scope link. Example: on the Public library page, click on the Public Articles root scope. Note You must use the View Library command to access scope information such as view a scope, create a new scope, edit a scope, or delete a scope. To view a Library 1. Select Admin > Knowledge Base > Libraries. 2. Click on one of the libraries in the list. Helpdesk Solution Help 159

160 3. Click View. 4. The library you selected to view displays its property settings at the top of the page. If there are any scopes, they are displayed below the library. You can edit or refresh the library properties, or you can view a scope, which displays another page where you can create a new scope, edit scope properties, or delete a scope. Click Edit to change the library properties. Click Refresh to re-index articles in the library. Click View to access scope properties. Note If the View Library page does not list any scopes, you must still click View to access the scope commands. Quick Links Edit Scope on page 160 Refresh Scope on page 160 New Scope on page 161 View Scope on page 162 Delete Scope on page 162 Edit Scope You can change any scope s status property from Active to Inactive, which affects whether or not users can access the articles within a scope. If the scope name or directory path need to be changed, it is best to use the Delete Scope command first, and then re-create the scope with the property values you want. To edit a Scope 1. Select Admin > Knowledge Base > Libraries. 2. Click on one of the libraries in the list. 3. Click View. 4. The library you selected to view displays its property settings at the top of the page. If there are any scopes, they are displayed below the library. When a new library is created, the Articles root scope is called <library name Articles>. Click the link to the scope you want to change. 5. At the top of the View Scope page, there is a Scopes drop-down arrow, which displays the libraries and scopes in their hierarchical order. Select a scope from the drop-down list, and then click Edit. 6. Click the drop-down arrow and select the Status property of either Active or Inactive. 7. Click OK. Refresh Scope When you refresh a scope, you are initiating the re-indexing of all its articles, which can take some time depending on how many articles need to be re-indexed. This command Helpdesk Solution Help 160

161 is useful when you have added new articles, and users are not able to access them. Refreshing the scope updates the index catalog so that articles can become searchable. The name of a scope corresponds to the name of a folder inside the Articles folder. The refresh not only reindexes, but it also searches the scope folder for new subfolders so new subscopes can be created under the existing scope. Note It is recommended for performance reasons that you refresh only those scopes in which an article has been published, modified, or deleted since the last refresh was performed. To refresh a Scope 1. Select Admin > Knowledge Base > Libraries. 2. Click on one of the libraries in the list. 3. Click View. 4. The library you selected to view displays its property settings at the top of the page. If there are any scopes, they are displayed below the library. When a new library is created, the Articles root scope is called <library name Articles>. Click the link to the scope you want to change. 5. At the top of the View Scope page, there is a Scopes drop-down arrow, which displays the libraries and scopes in their hierarchical order. Select a scope from the drop-down list, and then click Refresh. 6. Enter the property values in the fields on the page. 7. Click Finish. New Scope Libraries are the parent level folders within the Knowledge Base, and scopes are the subfolders at the child level. Scopes let you keep the Knowledge Base articles organized, by dividing broad subject material in libraries into more specific library topics. You can create as many scopes for one library as needed. This ability lets you manage the Knowledge Base, organizing article subjects into scope topics. Ultimately, the users benefit because they can select the library or scope they want to search for articles, which cuts down on search time to find the articles they need in resolving incidents. To create a new Scope 1. Select Admin > Knowledge Base > Libraries. 2. Click on one of the libraries in the list. 3. Click View. 4. The library you selected to view displays its property settings at the top of the page. If there are any scopes, they are displayed below the library. When a new library is created, the Articles root scope is called <library name Articles>. Click the link to the scope you want to change: this is where you add a new child scope. 5. At the top of the View Scope page, there is a Scopes drop-down arrow, which displays the libraries and scopes in their hierarchical order. Select a scope from the drop-down list, and then click New. 6. Enter the description for the scope in the Name field. Helpdesk Solution Help 161

162 7. Click the drop-down arrow and select either Active or Inactive. This determines if users are able to access articles within the scope. 8. Click OK. View Scope This command lets you review scope properties, the scope name, directory path of the scope, and scope status. From this page, you can also choose to edit, refresh, create a new scope, or delete a scope from the Knowledge Base hierarchical library structure. When you publish an article to the Knowledge Base, the actual article is moved to the directory location of the appropriate scope. To view a Scope 1. Select Admin > Knowledge Base > Libraries. 2. Click on one of the libraries in the list. 3. Click View. 4. The library you selected to view displays its property settings at the top of the page. If there are any scopes, they are displayed below the library. When a new library is created, the Articles root scope is called <library name Articles>. Click View for the scope you want to change. 5. At the top of the View Scope page, there is a Scopes drop-down arrow, which displays the libraries and scopes in their hierarchical order. Select a scope from the drop-down list, and then choose one of the following: Click Edit to change the scope s status property from Active to Inactive. Click Refresh to re-index the articles in the scope. Click New to create a new child scope. Click View to review the scope properties. Click Delete to delete the scope. Delete Scope If you want to change the directory where a scope resides, you must delete it first, and then create a New Scope with the directory path. Deleting scopes from the Knowledge Base that are no longer valid helps decrease the time it takes for users to search for articles. To delete a Scope 1. Select Admin > Knowledge Base > Libraries. 2. Click on one of the libraries in the list. 3. Click View. 4. The library you selected to view displays its property settings at the top of the page. If there are any scopes, they are displayed below the library. When a new library is created, the Articles root scope is called <library name Articles>. Click the link to the scope you want to change. Helpdesk Solution Help 162

163 5. At the top of the View Scope page, there is a Scopes drop-down arrow, which displays the libraries and scopes in their hierarchical order. Select a scope from the drop-down list, and then click Delete. 6. Click OK. Edit Library The only library properties that can be changed with the edit command are the Description and Status fields. If the library name or directory path needs changing, it is best to use the Delete Library command first, and then re-create the library with the property values you want. To edit a Library 1. Select Admin > Knowledge Base > Libraries. 2. Click on one of the libraries in the list. 3. Click Edit. 4. Re-enter a description for the library (what type of articles are stored there) in the Description field. 5. Click the drop-down arrow and select the Status of the library. Active indicates it is available to users for searching, retrieving, and publishing articles. Inactive indicates the library is currently unavailable to all users. 6. Click OK. Delete Library If you want to change the directory path where a library resides, you must delete it first, and then create a New Library in the directory you want. Deleting libraries from the Knowledge Base that are no longer valid helps decrease the time it takes for users to search for articles. To delete a Library 1. Select Admin > Knowledge Base > Libraries. 2. Click on one of the libraries in the list. 3. Click Delete. 4. Select the checkbox if you want to Remove the library structure and all the article files from the hard disk. 5. Click OK. Refresh Library When you refresh a library, you are initiating the re-indexing of all its articles, which can take some time, depending on how many articles need to be re-indexed. This command is useful when you have added new articles, and users are not able to access them. Refreshing a library updates the index catalog so that articles can become searchable. Helpdesk Solution Help 163

164 Note To index and search Adobe Acrobat documents, an additional component called ifilter is required. To download, go to To refresh a Library 1. From the Altiris Console, click the Incident tab. 2. Select Admin > Knowledge Base > Libraries. 3. Click on one of the libraries in the list. 4. Click Refresh. 5. Click Finish. Library and Article Security Each Library has a subfolder in the Libraries folder. Each library s root article folder is the Articles folder. This folder and any subfolder can have Microsoft NTFS permissions such that users that should not see articles in a scope should not have read access to that article. Administrators and the Helpdesk system need full control of a library s folders and subfolders. However, all other users are granted access to a Library s articles by having Read and Execute, List Folder Contents, and Read permissions. If a user does not have permission to view an article, that article will not be listed in any search results by that user. Archive Articles Knowledge Base articles that have invalid or outdated content, or have expired the date that lets other users gain access to the article, can be moved to the archive library. You must enter search criteria to find all the articles you want to archive, and then select each individual article to archive from the search results displayed. Archiving is a way to clear out older articles from libraries and scopes, which improves performance for workers trying to find articles. To archive articles 1. Select Knowledge Base > Archive Articles. This screen lets you find the articles you want to archive by entering applicable search criteria. 2. Enter a value in the Title, Keywords, Author, Source, Article #, Filename, and Type fields. If you do not enter any values, the search finds all articles in the selected libraries and scopes based on the other selections on this page. 3. Select the Entered checkbox, to find articles base on when the article was initially entered in the Knowledge Base. Select before or after, then click the drop-down arrow and select a date from the pop-up calendar. 4. Select the Last accessed checkbox, to find articles base on when the article was last accessed by users. Select before or after, then click the drop-down arrow and select a date from the pop-up calendar. Helpdesk Solution Help 164

165 5. Select the Expires checkbox, to find articles base on the expire date of an article s properties. Select before or after, then click the drop-down arrow and select a date from the pop-up calendar. 6. Click the drop-down arrow and select an Accesses criteria, and then enter a value in the next field. 7. Click the drop-down arrow and select a Score criterion, and then enter a value in the next field. 8. In the Scope section, select the scopes that you want to search for articles to archive. Leave empty to search all scopes. To add a scope to the list: a. Select a scope from the library drop-down list. This populates the next drop-down of main scopes, then the selection of a scope pulls a list of sub-scopes and so on. Either just the library can be added or a scope at any level can be added to the Scope list. b. Click Add. If the option Search in children of specified scopes is selected, then the listed scopes and all their sub-scopes will be searched; otherwise, only articles that are directly in one of the scopes added to the list are searched. Note A scope can be removed from the scope list by highlighting it and clicking the Remove icon. 9. Clear the Search in children of specified scopes checkbox if you do not want to search in the children of the selected libraries scopes. 10. Select the Include old versions (if any) in the search checkbox to include old versions in the search. Old versions will exist if you selected Track article versions when existing articles are put into this library when creating the library. 11. Click Find. If the search yields any articles, they are listed at the bottom of page. 12. From the list of articles displayed, select each article that you want to archive, and then click Next. 13. When the articles you selected to archive are displayed, click Finish to confirm. Delete Articles Articles that you do not want to leave in Knowledge Base libraries and scopes can be permanently deleted from the Helpdesk system by using this command. You must enter search criteria to find all the articles you want to delete, and then select each individual article to delete from the search results displayed. Deleting articles is a way to clear out older or unused articles from libraries and scopes, which reduces search times for workers trying to find articles. To delete articles 1. Select Knowledge Base > Delete Articles. This screen lets you find the articles you want to delete by entering applicable search criteria. Helpdesk Solution Help 165

166 2. Enter a value in the Title, Keyword, Author, Source, and Type fields. If you do not enter any values, the search finds all articles in the selected libraries and scopes based on the other selections on this page. 3. Select the Entered checkbox, to find articles base on when the article was initially entered in the Knowledge Base. Select before or after, then click the drop-down arrow and select a date from the pop-up calendar. 4. Select the Last accessed checkbox, to find articles base on when the article was last accessed by users. Select before or after, then click the drop-down arrow and select a date from the pop-up calendar. 5. Select the Expires checkbox, to find articles base on the expire date of an article s properties. Select before or after, then click the drop-down arrow and select a date from the pop-up calendar. 6. Click the drop-down arrow and select an Accesses criteria, and then enter a value in the next field. 7. Click the drop-down arrow and select a Score criterion, and then enter a value in the next field. 8. In the Scope section, select the scopes that you want to search for articles to delete. Leave empty to search all scopes. To add a scope to the list: a. Select a scope from the library drop-down list. This populates the next drop-down of main scopes, then the selection of a scope pulls a list of sub-scopes and so on. Either just the library can be added or a scope at any level can be added to the Scope list. b. Click Add. If the option Search in children of specified scopes is selected, then the listed scopes and all their sub-scopes will be searched; otherwise, only articles that are directly in one of the scopes added to the list are searched. Note A scope can be removed from the scope list by highlighting it and clicking the Remove icon. 9. Clear the Search in children of specified scopes checkbox if you do not want to search in the children of the selected libraries scopes. 10. Select the Include old versions (if any) in the search checkbox to include old versions in the search. Old versions will exist if you selected Track article versions when existing articles are put into this library when creating the library. 11. Select the Include archived articles in the search checkbox to include all archived articles in the libraries in the search. 12. Click Find. If the search yields any articles, they are listed at the bottom of page. 13. From the list of articles displayed, select each article that you want to delete, and then click Next. Helpdesk Solution Help 166

167 14. When the articles you selected to delete are displayed, click Finish to confirm. Helpdesk Solution Help 167

168 Chapter 13 Format for Print This feature formats the incident page for printing. Click the Format for Print link under Common tasks on the Incidents tab view and use the browser's print button to print the incident. Helpdesk Solution Help 168

169 Chapter 14 Helpdesk Knowledge Base The Knowledge Base is a convenient, fully integrated way to capture and preserve information to be used for future reference. Helpdesk workers can search the Knowledge Base to find resolutions to incidents they are working on, which can reduce the time needed to restore service and makes each worker more productive. The Knowledge Base provides many features, some of them are as follows: Author knowledge directly from an incident Publish existing articles in HTML, Word and Acrobat file formats; all of which can be fully searchable Organize content into hierarchical libraries (called scopes) for more targeted searching Search the Knowledge Base from the My Helpdesk console Set expiration dates for each article so that outdated articles can be easily archived Review process for each article submitted Security to restrict searching and display content by group Users can rate how useful an article was in resolving their problems Helpdesk workers can search or author content for the Knowledge Base through one of three methods; they are as follows: Publish an article directly from an incident Upload and publish a single document individually Publish multiple documents at once through the NT file system The first two methods use the Altiris edit and review process to publish the articles, while the third method does not go through any Altiris review process for publishing. Helpdesk workers can review an article through one of two methods: Open the incident associated with the article Access the article in the article review area (see Reviewing an Article by Viewing it in the Review Article Area on page 175) The Altiris system administrator grants privileges to Helpdesk administrators and managers, giving them access to manage the Knowledge Base libraries, scopes, and articles. The Knowledge Base uses a combination of Microsoft Indexing Service and SQL Server for information storage and retrieval. The Indexing Service is used to store and index the raw text of the articles. SQL Server is used to store the meta-data elements. Publicly available information shows that the Microsoft Indexing Service has been successfully used to catalog and search libraries consisting of over 1 million documents with good results by a number of companies. Helpdesk Solution Product Guide 169

170 Note Everything that you can do in Helpdesk Solution regarding the Knowledge Base can also be done in the Web services layer. Example: publishing content and searching for articles. For information about creating a completely customized portal, contact Altiris Professional Services. Knowledge Base Search Priority Each article has meta-data fields as well as the body of the article. What you put in the meta-data fields (Title, Keywords, Author, Source, Type, and Expires) of an article takes priority in the Knowledge Base search results over anything that is in the body of the article. If the specified search terms appear in the meta-data, that article is going to appear at the top of the list. When the rest of the body is searched by the Indexing Service using the specified search terms, the Indexing Service evaluates the size of the article as well as the number of times the search terms appear in that article. For a very large article, if the search terms only appear a couple of times, the article gets an overall, relatively low ranking. If it is a relatively small article and the search terms appear a number of times, it is going to get a higher ranking because it is assumed to be more relevant overall. Quick Links Using Libraries on page 170 Using the File System on page 171 Publish an Article from an Incident on page 172 Publish a Single Document Individually on page 175 Publish Multiple Documents on page 177 Moving a Helpdesk/Knowledge Base System to a New Server on page 177 Using Libraries Libraries are the top level of the organizational hierarchy of the Knowledge Base. Each library corresponds with a folder of the same name on the server s file system under the Libraries folder specified in the Knowledge Base configuration (Program Files\Altiris\Knowledge Base\Libraries by default). Each library folder contains the following folders: Archives - Contains articles that have been archived. ArchivesProxy - Contains internal files that have meta-data and pointers to the files in the Archives folder. Articles - Contains scope folders and content, along with some additional directories used by the system for various purposes. This folder is the physical location of the scopes associated with the library and the articles associated with those scopes. ArticlesProxy - Contains internal files that have meta-data and pointers to the files in the Articles folder. Revisions - Contains articles that have been submitted for a revision. RevisionsProxy - Contains internal files that have meta-data and pointers to the files in the Revisions folder. Helpdesk Solution Product Guide 170

171 The initial configuration of the Knowledge Base creates two default libraries called, Public and Review. The Review library is used only by the Knowledge Base and is not viewable from the user interface. The Public library, by default, stores documents for a global audience to access. The articles submitted to the Knowledge Base by Helpdesk workers are automatically stored in the Review library. Administrators and managers can review articles where they can make edits, or add key words to search the article s content. After the articles have been reviewed, the publishing process moves the articles from the Review to the Public library, or another library or scope as specified by the administrator or manager. You can create as many libraries as you need. Example: you can create an Internal library for use exclusively inside your organization or an HR library for use exclusively by your Human Resources department and have them be completely secure. This provides you with the flexibility to fit the needs of your organization. The library structure provides a good way to organize and secure content. To help keep the Knowledge Base more organized, you can divide article content into hierarchical libraries and scopes for more targeted searching. Each Library has a root scope. Each root scope can contain one or more scopes (also called sub-scopes). Scopes provides you with the ability to perform granular searches. When articles are placed in the library, they are actually stored in library s scopes. Example: you could create a new library named DesktopSupport with two scopes named AppSupport and DriverInfo. Both of these scopes would contain articles with the same subject material as the scope s name indicates. Users can select the library or scope they want to search so that articles in the Knowledge Base can be retrieved more quickly. You are not required to organize your Knowledge Base into libraries and scopes, but it is much easier for you to secure your data if you do. The Indexing Service, which is used to store and index raw text of articles, uses NT file system permissions for displaying articles to users. Example: suppose you have two libraries and each library contains 10 scopes. Some of these scopes need to be available to Helpdesk workers. Some of them need to be available to everybody. And some need to be available to end-users. These scopes can be secured by a directory in the NT file system because libraries and scopes are analogous to directories in the NT file system. When you secure a directory, the Indexing Service will not return any result from that directory unless the requester or the requester s group has NT file system permissions to view that directory. The Knowledge Base moves articles automatically as they proceed through the revision process. When you submit an article to the Knowledge Base, it is placed in the Revisions folder first. After it gets published, it goes in the Articles folder. Articles that are taken out of the Knowledge Base and archived are placed in the Archive directory. Using the File System The only time you need to access the file system while using the Knowledge Base is to publish a group of articles, to create a whole new file structure, or to govern the permissions of your Knowledge Base. Example: you can create new libraries in the file system without using the interface. Suppose you want to place all of your articles in one library for security reasons, but you still want to segregate your content. You can do that by using the meta-data fields Title, Keywords, Author, Source, and Type. You can create drop-down lists on these fields to limit what users search for. Now, your content is all in one library, but articles are still easy to search for. Helpdesk Solution Product Guide 171

172 There are different strategies you can use to set up your Knowledge Base through the file system. However, using the default libraries and scope structure provided by Helpdesk Solution gives you increased security benefits. Publish an Article from an Incident One of the ways you can publish an article to the Knowledge Base is to create a preformatted article and publish it from an incident. When you want to publish an article this way, go to the Publish Article page. For more information on using the Publish Article page, see Publish Article. First, you need to fill in the Title, Author, and Keywords fields. Next, select an appropriate Expires date (the default is for the article to expire in one year). Next, select the appropriate format for your article. Out of the box, two formats are provided: Problem/Cause/Solution and Question/ Answer. Select the one that best fits the type of article you want to create. The following takes you through the process of publishing and reviewing an article by using an incident: Suppose you want to create a simple article in question and answer format. To start, you would open the Publish Article page and enter the applicable information in the Title, Author, and Keywords fields. Keep the default for the Expires date. Next, select the Question/Answer format. In the Question/Answer Format, enter a question and an answer in the appropriate fields, and then click the OK button to send this article to be published. The Helpdesk system automatically creates an incident to keep track of the article. This incident gets assigned to the Article Review queue to track the progress of this article. Note When the article is first created, it is physically sent to the Review library in the Articles directory. When this article is sent for any revisions, it is moved to the Revisions folder. Because this article is being followed by an incident, it allows you to follow regular SLA guidelines for escalation, to have different Routing rules, and to create Notification Policies that act on it to make sure it is published. Example: if someone forgets to review it, then they can get reminded through a Notification Policy. This incident now shows up on your Worker Report page as an open incident. You can also create a special queue for All Knowledge Base Articles so you can track them as a group. This incident has the Category of Article Review and gets assigned to the Article Review queue. Let's now take on the role of the person responsible for reviewing this article. Example: someone who is a member of the Article Review queue. When this incident is opened, you will see a Task associated with it. This Task is a link that is found under the Tasks section and starts with Review Knowledge Base Article. When you click this link, you are given three options: you can click the Publish button to publish this article to the Knowledge Base, you can request changes by clicking the Request Changes button, or you can close this window by clicking the Close button. Suppose you have reviewed this article and feel that changes need to be made. When you click the Request Changes button, the Review Article window opens. From here, you can type in a comment and change the Assigned, Priority, and Status fields for the incident. When you have entered the information you want, click the OK button. The incident will now be assigned back (by default) to the creator of the article. If you made Helpdesk Solution Product Guide 172

173 any changes to the Assigned, Priority, and Status fields, the incident will reflect those changes. The creator of the article can now open the incident and see the requested changes. A Task is added to this incident which lets the creator of the article modify the article. When this Task link is clicked, the Edit Article window opens. This contains the current article information and lets you make any changes that are needed. When the OK button is clicked, the incident that this article is attached to gets placed back in the Article Review queue. Now, the article reviewer can open the incident and click on the Task to review the article again. This process can be repeated until the article is ready to be published. When the article is ready to be published, the article reviewer clicks on the Task and clicks the Publish button. It is a best practice for most organizations to have one person responsible for publishing articles. For larger organizations, you might want to have a small group of people responsible for publishing articles. This helps you maintain the same look and feel throughout your organization s documents. When you click the Publish button, the Review Article screen appears, letting you select the scope of the article and status of the incident. The Incident Status field on this window lets you close the incident when the article is published. Click OK to publish the article to the Knowledge Base. The following is the flow of the article review process: Helpdesk Solution Product Guide 173

174 When you deem an incident to have a reusable solution, it is possible to publish a Knowledge Base article directly from the incident. The process for doing so is as follows: 1. While in the view mode of the incident, click the Publish new article icon. 2. The Publish Article screen appears with the following fields: a. Title: Populated from the title of incident (edit as necessary). b. Author: Populated from the assignee of the incident. c. Keywords: Populated from the category of the incident (edit as necessary). Helpdesk Solution Product Guide 174

175 d. Expires: Set out 1 year from today (edit as necessary). e. Format - Choose the appropriate format: Problem / Cause / Solution - Fill in the information. Question / Answer - Fill in the information. 3. Click OK to submit the article for review. Reviewing an Article by Viewing it in the Review Article Area There are two methods for reviewing an article: open the incident associated with the article and access the article in the Article Review menu. The first method was discussed in Publish an Article from an Incident. Another way to review an article is to view the article in the Review Article menu (see Review Article on page 154). To do this, click on Knowledge Base > Review Article. The Review Article menu contains all articles that have an incident open that is tracking that article through the review process. This area lets you view all articles, both those that need to be reviewed and those that have changes pending. In this area, click on the article that you want to review or change. Note By default, only the reviewer is given the option of requesting changes and only the originator can make those changes. If an article is in the Changes Pending mode and you make the changes and click OK, it is sent to the Review mode. Publish a Single Document Individually This process is used when an existing document (Microsoft Word, Adobe Acrobat, and so forth) needs to be published to the Knowledge Base. Publishing an existing document can only be performed by a user that has the Helpdesk privilege Administer Knowledge Base. The process for publishing an existing document is as follows: 1. From the Incidents menu, select Knowledge Base > Publish Existing Document. 2. Enter the requested information on the Publish Existing Document screen. a. Upload File: Select the file to upload by browsing to the file. b. Title: Enter the title of the document. c. Keywords: Enter the appropriate keywords for the document. d. Author: Enter the author of the document. e. Source: Enter the source of the document. f. Type: Enter the type of knowledge or other appropriate information. g. Expires: Set out 1 year from today (edit as necessary). 3. Click OK to submit the article for review. Helpdesk Solution Product Guide 175

176 When you click OK, an incident is automatically created to track the article. It can then be reviewed and published the same way as was described in Publish an Article from an Incident on page 172. Note When you click the Task in the incident to review the article, you are given the option of saving the document to a location of your choice. This lets you make changes to the document as needed and upload it at a later time. The Title, Keywords, Author, Source, Type, and Expires fields are meta-data and are stored in SQL Server along with the file. After this file is submitted to the Knowledge Base, the Indexing Service allows users to scan the document for actual content. After creating the article, it is submitted for review to the Article Review queue and follows the following flow: Helpdesk Solution Product Guide 176

177 Publish Multiple Documents You can publish multiple documents to the Knowledge Base without the use of the review process. To perform this type of import of documents, copy the documents into the Articles folder under the appropriate scope folder. Example: Program Files\Knowledge Base\Libraries\Desktop Support\Articles. After you move the files into the Articles folder, it is necessary to refresh the scope in the Altiris Console for the new files to be recognized. Refreshing scopes can only be performed by a user that has the Helpdesk privilege Administer Knowledge Base. To refresh a scope 1. From the Incidents menu, select Knowledge Base > Libraries. 2. Select the library to be refreshed and click the Refresh button. 3. From the Refresh Scope screen, you can enter the meta-data that applies to all files that do not already contain meta-data. Note You do not need to enter any meta-data information at this time. You can enter it later to the individual files or to the group. 4. Select the File Processing option that is appropriate. In this case, Discover new files only. To update the meta-data regardless of whether it exists or not, select Discover new files and update existing files. 5. Click OK to refresh the scope. The library refresh begins. The articles in the library are now indexed and are published in the Knowledge Base. Moving a Helpdesk/Knowledge Base System to a New Server Once you have a healthy Helpdesk/Knowledge Base solution system running, you may need to move it to another server, such as while upgrading hardware, or because of a hardware failure. Moving a Helpdesk only solution is straightforward and is included in the process detailed below. Moving a Helpdesk solution that includes an active Knowledge Base application is more complicated. The reasons for the additional complexity are as follows: you have a SQL database to move you have at least twelve (12) virtual directories to configure you have an Indexing Service catalog to rebuild you have a lot of files to manage The SQL database, which is the same database as Helpdesk's, has tables that track the location of the Knowledge Base articles. The Knowledge Base has proxy files associated with each article that track meta-data, including article location, of every article in the Knowledge Base. Each Knowledge Base library has six virtual directories associated with it that are assigned physical directories on the source server. Finally there are several Microsoft KB articles stating that Indexing Service catalogs cannot be moved from one Helpdesk Solution Product Guide 177

178 server to another. So, you have a fair amount of bookkeeping to do to successfully move your system to a new server, but by following the steps below you can do it. Prepare for the Move To prepare for the move, you should back up everything on your source server. To back up your source server 1. Backup the Helpdesk database. This is typically named Altiris_Incidents and contains all of the Helpdesk and Knowledge Base data. Note You should use SQL Enterprise Manager to backup the Helpdesk database (see the SQL online help). 2. Backup the Helpdesk upload directory. This is typically named C:\Program Files\Altiris\Helpdesk\AeXHD\upload. These are the file attachments of the Helpdesk incidents. 3. Backup the Knowledge Base articles. The default location is C:\Program Files\Altiris\Knowledge Base\Libraries. There is a subdirectory for each library in the system plus an empty directory, AeXKB, that can be ignored. Each library directory has six subdirectories: Archives, ArchivesProxy, Articles, ArticlesProxy, Revisions, RevisionsProxy. The directories with Proxy concatenated to them hold the article proxy files that contain the article meta-data. Prepare your Destination Server To prepare your destination server 1. Install the latest Notification Server/Helpdesk Solution on your destination server. Configure the Knowledge Base the usual way as if you were starting a fresh system. Set the library default path to the location you want to use now, which may or may not be the same location as on your source server. Set the index server path to a location that is not used by IIS and with plenty of room to grow. 2. Install any additional Indexing Service filters that your system requires, such as the PDF filter. These can be found, if available, on the respective manufactures web sites, such as for the PDF filter. 3. Through the interface, create any additional libraries you have on your source server. If you want to use a different name on your destination server, now is the time to set it. Do NOT add scopes to these libraries to match your source system, we'll handle that later. 4. Your Knowledge Base libraries should look exactly like what you want your final system to look like, less, of course, the scopes and articles. Note You can only move an entire library from the source to the destination. This process does not support the splitting or combining of libraries. It should only be one-to-one moving. Helpdesk Solution Product Guide 178

179 5. Confirm that six (6) virtual directories exist in the AeXKB web (inside the IIS manager) for each library you created. Remember there is a required Review library also. 6. Copy the Formats.xml file, located by default in C:\Program Files\Altiris\Helpdesk\AeXHD\bin, from the source server to the destination server, if you are using the same version. If you are upgrading, edit the file on the destination server with any modifications you made before. Note If you have not made any changes to this file, then you may skip this step. Copy the Data Files To copy the data files 1. Copy the article files from each of the libraries to the destination server. Copy the three article directories (Archives, Articles and Revisions) from each library on the source server to the appropriate library on the destination server. Do NOT copy the proxy directories. Just leave the existing (empty) ones alone. Remember, if you are using a new library name, the destination directory will be the new name. 2. Copy the incident attachment files from the Helpdesk Web upload directory of the source to the upload directory of the destination (see step 2 in Prepare for the Move on page 178). Copy the database To copy the database 1. Delete the destination Helpdesk database, Altiris_Incidents, from the SQL Server. 2. Use SQL Enterprise Manager to copy the database from the source server to the destination server. You may need to stop IIS on the source server to close all the database connections so the copy can proceed. Remember to enable full text indexing on the destination database. Modify the destination database Run SQL statements to update the article, scope and library tables. To modify the destination database 1. Update the library directory and name with the following SQL statements, use SQL Query Analyzer, replace [DESCRIPTION] with your data. Preserve the case of all fields. UPDATE kb_library SET library_path = N'[DESTINATION LIBRARY PHYSICAL DIRECTORY]' WHERE library_path = N'[SOURCE LIBRARY PHYSICAL DIRECTORY]' UPDATE kb_library SET library_name = N'[DESTINATION LIBRARY NAME]' Helpdesk Solution Product Guide 179

180 WHERE library_path = N'[SOURCE LIBRARY NAME]' Example UPDATE kb_library SET library_path = N'C:\Knowledge Base\Libraries\MyNewLibraryName' WHERE library_path = N'C:\Program Files\Altiris\Knowledge Base\Libraries\MyOldLibraryName' UPDATE kb_library SET library_name = N'MyNewLibraryName' WHERE library_path = N'MyOldLibraryName' 2. Update the scope directory and scope root names with the following SQL statements. UPDATE kb_scope SET scope_directory = REPLACE(scope_directory, N'[SOURCE LIBRARY PHYSICAL DIRECTORY]', N'[DESTINATION LIBRARY PHYSICAL DIRECTORY]') WHERE scope_directory LIKE N'[SOURCE LIBRARY PHYSICAL DIRECTORY]%' UPDATE kb_scope SET scope_name = REPLACE(scope_name, N'[SOURCE LIBRARY PHYSICAL NAME]', N'[DESTINATION LIBRARY NAME]') WHERE scope_name LIKE N'[SOURCE LIBRARY PHYSICAL NAME]%' Example UPDATE kb_scope SET scope_directory = REPLACE(scope_directory, N'C:\Program Files\Altiris\Knowledge Base\Libraries\MyOldLibraryName', N'C:\Knowledge Base\Libraries\MyNewLibraryName') WHERE scope_directory LIKE N' C:\Program Files\Altiris\Knowledge Base\Libraries\MyOldLibraryName%' /* notice the '%' stays */ UPDATE kb_scope SET scope_name = REPLACE(scope_name, N'MyNewLibraryName', N'MyOldLibraryName') WHERE scope_name LIKE N'MyOldLibraryName%' /* notice the '%' stays */ 3. Update the article directory and filename fields: UPDATE kb_article Helpdesk Solution Product Guide 180

181 SET article_fqfn = REPLACE(article_fqfn, N'[SOURCE LIBRARY PHYSICAL DIRECTORY]', N'[DESTINATION LIBRARY PHYSICAL DIRECTORY]') WHERE article_fqfn like N'[SOURCE LIBRARY PHYSICAL DIRECTORY]%' UPDATE kb_article SET article_directory = REPLACE(article_directory, N'[SOURCE LIBRARY PHYSICAL DIRECTORY]', N'[DESTINATION LIBRARY PHYSICAL DIRECTORY]') WHERE article_directory LIKE N'[SOURCE LIBRARY PHYSICAL DIRECTORY]%' Example UPDATE kb_article SET article_fqfn = REPLACE(article_fqfn, N'C:\Program Files\Altiris\Knowledge Base\Libraries\MyOldLibraryName', N'C:\Knowledge Base\Libraries\MyNewLibraryName') WHERE article_fqfn like N' C:\Program Files\Altiris\Knowledge Base\Libraries\MyOldLibraryName%' /* notice the '%' stays */ UPDATE kb_article SET article_directory = REPLACE(article_directory, N'C:\Program Files\Altiris\Knowledge Base\Libraries\MyOldLibraryName', N'C:\Knowledge Base\Libraries\MyNewLibraryName') WHERE article_directory LIKE N'C:\Program Files\Altiris\Knowledge Base\Libraries\MyOldLibraryName%' /* notice the '%' stays */ 4. Update the Helpdesk attachments table UPDATE workitem_attachment SET url = REPLACE(url, N'[SOURCE HOST NAME]', N'[DESTINATION HOST NAME]') Example UPDATE workitem_attachment SET url = REPLACE(url, N'[ N'[ Refresh the Libraries Refresh the libraries to discover the scopes (directories copied from the source computer) and create the article proxy files. Helpdesk Solution Product Guide 181

182 To refresh the libraries 1. Browse to the Knowledge Base configuration page (Configuration > Solutions Settings > Incident Management > Helpdesk Solution > Knowledge Base Settings). 2. Select the Delete the existing catalog and recreate it in the same location checkbox. 3. Click Apply to confirm the Knowledge Base configuration. 4. Notice the Finalize page is displayed when this is completed. Now click the Finish button to confirm the required libraries are present and a refresh is performed on each one. 5. This process may take quite a while if there are a large number of articles. You can monitor it by browsing to the Incidents tab of the Altiris Console and choosing the Libraries command from the Knowledge Base flyout menu. The Scopes to Refresh column shows the number of scopes remaining to be processed. Helpdesk Solution Product Guide 182

183 Chapter 15 Customization This section provides information to assist in customizing the Helpdesk consoles and other features. Quick Links Customizing Using AppWeaver on page 183 Customizing the Helpdesk Consoles on page 195 Customization Use Cases on page 197 Database on page 218 Support for Pocket PC (PPC) on page 220 Customizing Using AppWeaver The AppWeaver.NET architecture, on which Helpdesk Solution is built, provides a very flexible way to customize an application by leveraging, extending, and overriding the application s features. These features include: Consoles - Set of commands, implemented as ASP.NET user controls, which provide the functionality of an AppWeaver.NET application. Commands - Provide contextual information (Example: name, description, and modality) that can be used by the system and the module that implements the command. Presentations - Provide a look-and-feel that can be used by one or more consoles. Modules - ASP user controls (ascx files) that provide the user interface and implementation of a command. Files - Files used by an application. Image Files - Image files used by an application. Resource Libraries - Assembly and file type resources (Example: strings) that are localizable. Strings - Strings that can be displayed throughout an application (non-localizable in this context). Whether the customizations are simple or complex, integrating them into the application require these same basic steps: 1. Create one or more XML-based files named custom.config. 2. Create elements that declare or define the customizations (Example: <consoles>, <command>, <file>). 3. Place the custom.config file(s) into one or more directories in the URL path. The following list presents a few reasonable customization scenarios: Helpdesk Solution Product Guide 183

184 Leveraging - You want to create a scaled-down console that only exposes a subset of the commands exposed by an existing console. In this case, you are leveraging the existing commands, presentations, modules, and so forth of the application. Extending - You want to create a new command and hook it into the application. In this case, you are extending the application s feature set. Overriding - You want to change the look and feel of the application, perhaps by adding different company branding or changing the overall presentation of a console. In this case, you are overriding the presentation of a console (and extending it with a new presentation). This section covers the specification of a custom.config file in order to integrate customizations into an AppWeaver.NET application. It does not discuss how to code customizations (Example: adding a new field in the database, modifying a template, or creating a new presentation). For more information concerning this part of the customization process see Customizing the Helpdesk Consoles on page 195 Quick Links Customization Integration on page 184 Best Practices on page 186 Specification of a custom.config File on page 186 Customization Integration Customization integration is provided through the specification of one or more files, named custom.config, that are placed in directories in the URL path. The custom.config file is modeled after the standard ASP.NET application configuration file (Example: web.config file), and, like web.config files, they inherit settings from other custom.config files in the URL path. Unlike web.config files, which are monitored for changes, custom.config files are not. This means that if a custom.config is modified, the changes will not be apparent until a new session is started or IIS is restarted. The <custom.configuration> node in the custom.config file, called a section in.net terms, contains elements that declare or define customizations. In order to understand the function of the custom.config file, you must look at it alongside the web.config file(s) that declare or define the applications features. Various attributes, such as id, are used to make associations between the custom.config and web.config file(s). Example: the following snippets from a web.config file and custom.config file illustrate how two file aliases can be overridden. web.config <files path= ~/templates/ > <file id= WorkItemView file= WorkItemView.ascx /> <file id= WorkItemEdit file= WorkItemEdit.ascx /> </files> custom.config <files path= ~/custom/ > <file id= WorkItemView file= AltWorkItemView.ascx /> Helpdesk Solution Product Guide 184

185 <file id= WorkItemEdit file= AltWorkItemEdit.ascx /> </files> Things of note about this example WorkitemView and WorkItemEdit are file aliases. Throughout an application, aliases are used for reference purposes (Example: reference a file, a command, or a presentation). Therefore, changing the file that the alias points to, rather than the alias itself, allows you to make a simple modification that can potentially affect many areas. Prior to the custom.config specification, the system would have tried to resolve the file alias WorkItemView to a file named WorkItemView.ascx in the ~/templates/ directory (the file path is inherited from the path of the parent element and ~ resolves to the root of the web). With the custom.config in place, the system will now try to resolve the file alias WorkItemView to a file named AltWorkItemView.ascx in the ~/custom directory. This can represent a scenario where the original user control, WorkItemView.ascx, was copied to a custom directory and renamed AltWorkItemView.ascx. Modifications, perhaps the addition of a field, were made to the template and exposed in the user interface. The following is an outline for a custom.config file: <?xml version= 1.0 encoding= utf-8?> <custom.configuration> <consoles> <console> <command> <commandparam /> </command> </console> </consoles> <presentations> <presentation /> </presentations> <modules> <module /> </modules> <files> <file /> </files> <imgfiles> <imgfile /> </imgfiles> <resourcelibs> <resourcelib /> </resourcelibs> <strings> <string>...</string> </strings> </custom.configuration> Helpdesk Solution Product Guide 185

186 Best Practices The majority of your customizations will be based upon code that has already been written. Example: you might want to add a field and processing to an existing template. Follow these best practice guidelines: Make backups before attempting any customization. This should include file and database backups when applicable. This ensures that you can get back to the working application should things go wrong. Make modifications to a copy of a file and not the original. The Altiris upgrade and installation process will not remove files that it did not create. Therefore, a customized file will not be removed or replaced. This will also provide the easiest path for reapplying modifications if the application is ever upgraded and there are new versions of affected files. The Altiris upgrade and installation process will not remove folders that it did not create or the files within those custom folders. With the exception of custom.config, any file found in a folder created by Altiris will be removed during an upgrade. Integrate customizations into an application using custom.config files and not by directly modifying a web.config file. Follow this approach to get back to the state prior to customization by simply removing the custom.config file. Create a special directory that contains customized files so that they can be easily tracked. Example: you might want to create a custom directory in the application s root directory. Extending this, you can mirror the directory structure of the application under a new custom directory (Examples: ~/custom/templates, ~/ custom/images, ~/custom/modules, and ~/custom/presentations). Use a naming convention for customized files. Example: if you are going to customize an existing file name, such as MyCommand.ascx, then you should copy it to your custom directory and rename it something like CustomMyCommand.ascx or prefix the name with your company s name. This helps prevent the modifications being made to the wrong file. Following these best practice guidelines gives you the optimal chance of success with your customizations. Specification of a custom.config File Quick Links <custom.configuration> on page 187 <consoles> on page 187 <console> on page 188 <command> on page 189 <commandparam> on page 190 <presentations> on page 190 <presentation> on page 191 <modules> on page 191 <module> on page 192 <files> on page 192 Helpdesk Solution Product Guide 186

187 <file> on page 193 <imgfiles> on page 193 <imgfile> on page 194 <resourcelibs> on page 194 <resourcelib> on page 195 <custom.configuration> Description Configuration section processed by AppWeaver.NET which declares, and in some cases defines, application customizations. It is the container for all other elements. Child Elements Supported by <custom.configuration> Child Elements Container for <consoles> <console> elements. <files> <file> elements. <imgfiles> <imgfile> elements. <modules> <module> elements. <presentations> <presentation> elements. <resourcelibs> <resourcelib> elements. <strings> <string> elements. <consoles> Description Container for all <console> elements. Child Elements Supported by <consoles> Child Elements Container for <console> <command> elements. Helpdesk Solution Product Guide 187

188 <console> Description Container for <command> elements. It contains declarations for new commands and overrides of existing commands. Attributes Supported by <console> Attributes Description id [text] text - Unique id of the console. It is used to wire a console s entry point ASPX with the console declaration in the config file. If id is the same as the id of an existing <console> in the web.config file, then the commands contained by the <console> elements in the respective files will be combined. defaultcommand defaultpresentation If id does not match an existing <console> in the web.config file, then <console> in the custom.config declares a new console. If this is the case, then a console entry point ASPX page must be present and must have the same id (usually set by overriding OnInit in the ASPX). [text] text - Id of the command that gets invoked when the console is first entered. It corresponds to the id attribute of a <command>. This overrides the defaultcommand for an existing <console> in the web.config. [text] text - Identifies the default presentation to use for the console. It actually corresponds to the name attribute of a <presentation>. This overrides the defaultpresentation for an existing <console> in the web.config. Child Elements Supported by <console> Child Elements Description <command> Declares a command that is exposed in the console. Helpdesk Solution Product Guide 188

189 <command> Description Declares a command that is exposed in the console. It can be a new command or an override of an existing one. Attributes Supported by <command> Attributes Description Active [true false] true Command is active. false Command in inactive. Description Id AppWeaver.NET prevents inactive commands from being run. [text] text - Description of the command. Currently not used for anything. [text] text id of the command. If id does not match an existing <command> in the web.config file, then <command> declares a new command. Modal If id is the same as the id of an existing <command> in the web.config file, then the command is an override. [true false] true Command is modal. false Command is not modal. moduleid AppWeaver.NET will disable controls in the console that are not in the content holder (designated area for a command s output). [text] text - An alias for the module (ascx user control) that implements the command. Name privileges* AppWeaver.NET provides a special module, TemplateModule, that extends the.net UserControl. A majority of the commands exposed by an AppWeaver.NET application are TemplateModules. A command that uses the TemplateModule must provide a <commandparam> that names a template (ascx file) that is loaded and processed by the TemplateModule. [text] text Displayable name for the command. [text] text GUID of a Notification Server privilege. Helpdesk Solution Product Guide 189

190 * This is a Helpdesk extension to AppWeaver.NET. Child Elements Supported by <command> Child Elements Description <commandparam> Defines a parameter that is passed to a command when the command is invoked. <commandparam> Description Defines a parameter that is passed by the system to the command when it is invoked. It can be accessed in a module through the AppWeaver.NET Command object (Example: Command( id )). Attributes Supported by <commandparam> Attributes Description Name [text] Value text Name that can be used by a command to access the parameter. [text] text Value of the parameter. <presentations> Description Container for all <presentation> elements. Attributes Supported by <presentations> Attributes Description Path [text] text The path to the directory where presentations files are stored. The ~ resolves to the AeXHD web folder (Example: ~/presentations resolves to ). All child <presentation> elements inherit this value, but can override it by specifying their own Path. Child Elements Supported by <presentations> Child Elements Description <presentation> Declares a presentation. Helpdesk Solution Product Guide 190

191 <presentation> Description Declares a presentation. The presentation can be a new presentation or an override of an existing one. Attributes Supported by <presentation> Attributes Description name [text] path text The name of the presentation. A <console> references a presentation by name. [text] text The path to the directory where presentations files are stored. The ~ resolves to the AeXHD web folder (Example: ~/presentations resolves to ). All child <presentation> elements inherit this value, but can override it by specifying their own path. <modules> Description Container for all <module> elements. Attributes Supported by <modules> Attributes Description Path [text] text The path to the directory where module files are stored. The ~ resolves to the AeXHD web folder (Example: ~/modules resolves to ). All child <module> elements inherit this value, but can override it by specifying their own Path. Child Elements Supported by <modules> Child Elements Description <module> Declares a module. Helpdesk Solution Product Guide 191

192 <module> Description Declares a module. The module can be a new module or an override of an existing one. Attributes Supported by <module> Attributes Description id [text] text Id of the module. If id does not match an existing <module> in the web.config file, then <module> declares a new module. File Path If id is the same as the id of an existing <module> in the web.config file, then the module is an override. [text] text Name of the module file. [text] text The path to the directory of the module file. If specified, then it is an override of the parent <modules> path. The ~ resolves to the AeXHD web folder (Example: ~/modules resolves to modules/modules ). <files> Description Container for all <file> elements. Attributes Supported by <files> Attributes Description Path [text] text The path to the directory were files are stored. The ~ resolves to the AeXHD web folder (Example: ~/files resolves to ). All child <file> elements inherit this value, but can override it by specifying their own Path. Child Elements Supported by <files> Child Elements Description <file> Declares an alias for a file used by the application. Helpdesk Solution Product Guide 192

193 <file> Description Declares a file alias. The file alias can be a new file alias or an override of an existing one. Attributes Supported by <file> Attributes Description Id [text] text File alias. If id does not match an existing <file> in the web.config file, then <file> declares a new alias. File Path If id is the same as the id of an existing <file> in the web.config file, then the alias is an override. [text] text Name of the file that the alias references. [text] text The path to the directory of the file that the alias references. If specified, then it is an override of the parent <files> path. The ~ resolves to the AeXHD web folder (Example: ~/files resolves to files/files ). <imgfiles> Description Container for all <imgfile> elements. Attributes Supported by <imgfiles> Attributes Description Path [text] text The path to the directory where the image files are stored. The ~ resolves to the AeXHD web folder (Example: ~/images resolves to <server>/aexhd/images ). All child <imgfile> elements inherit this value, but can override it by specifying their own path. Child Elements Supported by <imgfiles> Child Elements Description <imgfile> Declares an alias for an image file used by the application. Helpdesk Solution Product Guide 193

194 <imgfile> Description Declares an image file alias. The image file alias can be a new image file alias or an override of an existing one. Attributes Supported by <imgfile> Attributes Description Id [text] text Image file alias. If Id does not match an existing <imgfile> in the web.config file, then <imgfile> declares a new alias. File Path If Id is the same as the id of an existing <imgfile> in the web.config file, then the alias is an override. [text] text Name of the file that the alias references. [text] text The path to the directory of the image file that the alias references. If specified, then it is an override of the parent <imgfiles> path. The ~ resolves to the AeXHD web folder (Example: ~/images resolves to <server>/aexhd/imgfiles/images ). <resourcelibs> Description Container for all <resourcelib> elements. Child Elements Supported by <resourcelibs> Child Elements Description <resourcelib> Declares a resource library (a repository of strings) that can be localized. Helpdesk Solution Product Guide 194

195 <resourcelib> Description Declares a resource library. A resource library is a repository of resources, primarily string resources, that can be used by an application. The resources can be localized. The library can be a file type or an assembly type resource. Attributes Supported by <resourcelib> Attributes Description assembly [text] text The name of the assembly that contains resources. base File Path If assembly is specified, then base must also be specified. In this case, file and path are obsolete. [text] text Root name of the resources. [text] text The name of the XML-based file that contains string resources. If file is specified, then path must also be specified. In this case, assembly and base are obsolete. [text] text The path to the directory of the resource file. The ~ resolves to the AeXHD web folder. Customizing the Helpdesk Consoles Helpdesk pages are developed using AppWeaver, an application development platform that provides a number of features designed to support very lightweight user interface development with an eye toward easy customization and maintenance. AppWeaver provides services and controls that allow development of fairly complex pages with a minimum of markup and coding. AppWeaver basically extends the capabilities of ASP.NET, so a firm grasp of ASP.NET page fundamentals and how server-side web controls work is very important. Altiris recommends finding a good book (Microsoft Press and Wrox both have good selections) on developing for ASP.NET before attempting any serious customizations. Most AppWeaver controls are simply derived from standard ASP.NET controls. In addition to the standard properties provided by the base controls, AppWeaver controls also offer the following: Automatic localization - All display text (text, tooltips, labels, entries, and so forth) is rendered in the current culture of the browser (assuming resource assemblies or custom XML string files have been provided for that culture code). Resource libraries can be searched in preferred order, allowing for easy string override. Cooperative layout - When contained within a Layout control, these controls negotiate for space (according to attributes set in the Layout control) and position themselves dynamically. This allows pages to specify controls in a flat markup stream without having to position them absolutely and inject new controls into the page where they will be dynamically integrated into the layout. This is critical for Helpdesk Solution Product Guide 195

196 Helpdesk's upcoming UI-based customization features. This takes care of labeling and column margins without having to spec them in markup. Two-way databinding - ASP.NET provides one-way databinding where data is moved from a datasource into form controls. Two-way databinding copies data out of the form controls and back into the original datasource where it can be immediately committed. Inherited data sources - Databound controls look up the ancestor hierarchy for data source specifications. This cleans up the markup by allowing datasource specifications to be made at a container level rather than on each control (explicit specification on any control always overrides any ancestor specifications). This is especially useful for property pages where multiple controls are bound to a single dataset. Inherited modality - Controls can be console modal or disabled on an entire page to simulate a modal console display. AppWeaver also has several custom controls that you will encounter in Helpdesk page templates. The Layout control (mentioned above), the MultiPage and PageView controls, and the WebGrid. Unlike most typical ASP.NET applications, Helpdesk utilizes a coding approach that can be called code in front (as opposed to the code-behind strategy used by most ASP.NET applications). This means that the pages that implement the Helpdesk User Interface are installed with their source-code exposed in the same template file with their markup (they are compiled by ASP.NET just in time ) and are therefore ideally suited for heavy customization. While these files can be edited directly to create customized behavior, it is actually not considered a best practice to do so. The Helpdesk install components maintain a running list of files that they are responsible for and ignore all others. This means that custom files can simply be dropped in place among the shipping files and will be left alone when Helpdesk is removed or upgraded. AppWeaver provides a file aliasing mechanism to allow you to override the shipping files and dynamically replace them with your own modified copies. You can simply drop a custom.config file into the web to customize the application. This custom.config file allows you to specify override definitions in the root of AeXHD or in an appropriate entry point (typically the worker folder - this behaves like web.config in that definitions are inherited from parent directories). Overridden files are opened in place of the originals. The format of custom.config is as follows (unneeded definitions can be deleted): <?xml version= 1.0 encoding= utf-8?> <custom.configuration> <consoles> <console id= conid > <command id= existingornewcmdalias moduleid= TemplateModule name= sidnamestring description= siddescstring > <commandparam name= template value= OverrideOrNewFileAlias /> </command> </console> </consoles> <presentations path= ~/ExistingOrCustomFolder/ > <presentation name= ExistingOrNewPresName file= OverrideOrNewPresFile.ascx /> </presentations> Helpdesk Solution Product Guide 196

197 <files path= ~/ExistingOrCustomFolder/ > <file id= ExistingOrNewFileAlias file= OverrideOrNewFile.ascx /> </files> <imgfiles path= ~/ExistingOrCustomFolder/ > <imgfile id= ExistingOrNewImageAlias file= OverrideOrNewImage.gif width= 100 height= 100 alt= sidaltstring /> </imgfiles> <resourcelibs> <resourcelib assembly= Resources.Assembly base= Resources.Base /> <resourcelib file= Resources.xml path= ~/ ExistingOrCustomFolder/ /> </resourcelibs> <strings> <string id= sidexistingornewstringalias >Overridden or new string!</string> </strings> </custom.configuration> The best practice technique is to make your override definitions right in this file (rather than in a copy of web.config in a new entry point as previously documented). When upgrades/reinstalls occur, this file is left alone so that your overrides continue to be in force. New/overridden strings added directly to this file (as opposed to strings in new resource libs added to this file) are not localized. Resource libs added to this file follow the localization mechanism and can contain localized strings in culture-code-named subfolders. See Also Customization Use Cases on page 197 Customization Use Cases The following are use cases for customizing specific features. Quick Links Should I Override a Command or the File Alias of the Template that Implements the Command? on page 198 How to Override a Command on page 199 How to Leverage Existing Functionality by Overriding a Template File Alias on page 201 How to Create Your Own Custom Console on page 202 How to Add a Scalar Field on page 205 How to Add a Lookup Field on page 209 How to Centralize all of Your Custom Strings for Ease of Management and Localization on page 215 Helpdesk Solution Product Guide 197

198 Should I Override a Command or the File Alias of the Template that Implements the Command? This depends upon whether you will only be making modifications to a template, or whether you also need the template to be invoked with a different command context. A command's context is defined by its declaration in a web.config file and includes, but is not limited to: ID - The identifier of the command. Module ID - The module alias for the module,.net user control (.ascx file), that implements the user interface and functionality of the command. Modality - Whether the command should be run modally or not. By convention most of the editors in Helpdesk are modal. This forces the user to accept or cancel the changes and prevents an inadvertent loss of data. Command Parameters - Static data (analogous to input parameters to a function or subroutine). Overriding a command The newitem and edititem commands of Helpdesk will help illustrate what is meant by a command's context. Both commands rely on the same template, WorkItemEdit, to provide their user interface and functionality. The template behaves differently for the two commands because their contexts are different. Below are the declarations of the newitem and edititem command as they appear in the ~/worker/web.config file. web.config <command id= edititem moduleid= TemplateModule name= sidedititem description= sidedititemdesc modal= yes privileges= privviewincidents,priveditincidents > <commandparam name= template value= WorkItemEdit /> </command> <command id= newitem moduleid= TemplateModule name= sidnewitem description= sidnewitemdesc modal= yes privileges= privcreateincidents > <commandparam name= template value= WorkItemEdit /> <commandparam name= action value= new /> </command> The WorkItemEdit template can access the command context, in this case the commandparams, through the Command object provided by AppWeaver. WorkItemEdit.ascx code snippet If Command( action ) = new Then [do something] Else [do something else] End if In summary, if you want to change a command's context, then you will override the command. Helpdesk Solution Product Guide 198

199 Overriding a File Alias If the context is sufficient, and you just need to add some functionality to a template (perhaps you would like to expose a new field), then you will probably only need to override the file alias. In this scenario, you copy the WorkItemEdit.ascx to CustomWorkiItemEdit.ascx in a custom directory, make the necessary modifications, and then override the file alias so that it references your copy of the file. This can be made clear by looking at the file alias for the template commandparam (the same commandparam is used for both newitem and edititem): <commandparam name= template value= WorkItemEdit /> The alias WorkItemEdit is declared in the ~/web.config and is resolved by AppWeaver to an actual file in the web (in this case ~/templates/workitemedit.ascx): <files path= ~/templates/ > <file id= WorkItemEdit file= WorkItemEdit.ascx /> <files /> By changing the file that is referenced by the alias, you can tell the system to load and run CustomWorkItemEdit.ascx instead of the original template WorkItemEdits.ascx. Example: you might change the file alias as follows (this should be done using the custom.config file and not editing the web.config file directly): <files path= ~/custom/ > <file id= WorkItemEdit file= CustomWorkItemEdit.ascx /> <files /> Note Specific examples on overriding commands and file aliases will be given and will follow the best practice guidelines that we have established in order to ensure the greatest likelihood of success and to minimize the possibility that your customizations will continue to work when Helpdesk is upgraded. How to Override a Command This customization covers steps that can be taken to override a command. It involves creating a custom.config file and providing a command declaration to override an existing command from the worker console. In this example, you will be overriding the viewitem command so that you can provide additional context by specifying custom data using a commandparam. Prerequisites You need a familiarity with customization integration using custom.config (see Customizing Using AppWeaver on page 183 for additional information). You need a familiarity with XML. Solution You will be creating a custom.config file and providing a command declaration that overrides an existing command from the web.config. Helpdesk Solution Product Guide 199

200 Create a custom.config file and override the viewitem command Create a file named custom.config in the worker entry point (Example: ~/worker) with the following contents: ~/custom.config <?xml version= 1.0 encoding= utf-8?> <custom.configuration> </custom.configuration> Note The file must specifically be named custom.config or AppWeaver will not pick up the changes. Add a console declaration to the custom.configuration section that has the same console id that is used in the ~/worker/web.config: <?xml version= 1.0 encoding= utf-8?> <custom.configuration> <console id= conworker > </console> </custom.configuration> Add a command override for the viewitem command that provides an additional commandparam for custom data. The easiest and safest way to do this is by copying over the command declaration from the web.config and then making modifications. The command in custom.config overrides the one in web.config because it uses the same id, viewitem, as a command in the web.config file. <custom.configuration> <console id= conworker > <command id= viewitem moduleid= TemplateModule name= sidviewitem description= sidviewitemdesc privileges= privviewincidents > <commandparam name= template value= WorkItemView /> <commandparam name= customdata value= [custom data] /> </command> </console> </custom.configuration> Notice that a new commandparam has been added whose name is customdata and whose value can be anything that you would like. The new data can be accessed within the template as follows: WorkItemView.ascx Dim customdata As String = Command( customdata ) Now, within the template, the customdata variable can be used to access customized data that is passed to the command from the web.config file via a commandparam. In most situations where you override a command, you will also override the file alias of the template that implements the command. See the How to Leverage Existing Helpdesk Solution Product Guide 200

201 Functionality by Overriding a Template File Alias on page 201 for a description about how this should be done. How to Leverage Existing Functionality by Overriding a Template File Alias This customization covers steps that can be taken to leverage the functionality of an existing template (.ascx user control) by copying the template and specifying a custom.config file to override the template's file alias so that the alias points to the copy of the template. The template that implements the functionality for both the newitem and edititem commands, WorkItemEdit.ascx, will be used for this example. Prerequisites You need a familiarity with customization integration using custom.config (see Customizing Using AppWeaver on page 183 for additional information). You need a familiarity with XML. Solution There are two basic steps involved in this process. The first involves copying the template into a custom directory. The second involves integrating the new template into Helpdesk using a custom.config to override a file alias. A little background on the template and commands will provide a clearer understanding about what you will be accomplishing with this customization. The newitem and edititem commands both rely on the same template, WorkItemEdit.ascx, to provide their user interface and functionality as indicated in their respective command declarations in the ~/worker/web.config file (notice that they both specify WorkItemEdit for the template commandparam). web.config (~/worker) <command id= edititem moduleid= TemplateModule name= sidedititem description= sidedititemdesc modal= yes privileges= privviewincidents,priveditincidents > <commandparam name= template value= WorkItemEdit /> </command> <command id= newitem moduleid= TemplateModule name= sidnewitem description= sidnewitemdesc modal= yes privileges= privcreateincidents > <commandparam name= template value= WorkItemEdit /> <commandparam name= action value= new /> </command> Notice that both commands specify the same module alias, TemplateModule, and both specify the same template alias, WorkItemEdit, for their template commandparam. TemplateModule is a special AppWeaver.NET module that acts as a template engine. This module requires that a template commandparam be specified whose value is a file alias. Given this information, we can override the WorkItemEdit file alias so that it references a customized copy of the original file. Helpdesk Solution Product Guide 201

202 Copy the template into a custom directory in the web and rename it 1. If a custom directory does not exist, create one in the root of the web (Example: ~/ custom/). This directory can serve as a common repository for all custom files (Example: templates, presentations, and images). 2. Copy ~/templates/workitemedit.ascx to the directory that you created in step 1 (Example: ~/custom/workitemedit.ascx). 3. Rename the file to CustomWorkItemEdit.ascx. This helps to avoid the confusion of having two files with the same name in the same web. Override the WorkItemEdit file alias Override the WorkItemEdit file alias from the web.config by creating the file ~/ custom.config file with the following contents (a snippet of the web.config has been included for comparison purposes). custom.config <?xml version= 1.0 encoding= utf-8?> <custom.configuration> <files path= ~/custom/ > <file id= WorkItemEdit file= CustomWorkItemEdit.ascx /> </files> </custom.configuration> Note The file must specifically be named custom.config or AppWeaver will not pick up the changes. web.config <files path= ~/templates/ > <file id= WorkItemEdit file= WorkItemEdit.ascx /> </files> Notice that WorkItemEdit now resolves to ~/custom/customworkitemedit.ascx when the application is run. The alias defined in custom.config wins. How to Create Your Own Custom Console You may have an application that requires a completely new console. That is, a different organization of the existing Helpdesk commands than those shipped. Start with an existing console and modify it by removing (and possibly adding) commands you want your users to have available in your new console. Prerequisites You need a familiarity with customization integration using custom.config (see Customizing Using AppWeaver on page 183 for additional information). You need a familiarity with XML. You need to understand HTML tables. Helpdesk Solution Product Guide 202

203 Solution This customization creates a new console that only exposes a subset of the worker console's commands. This same approach can be extended to adding commands by copying commands from other consoles (Example: winuser console) to make them available in your custom console. Declare a new console Declare a new console by creating the file ~/worker/custom.config. You can copy the existing console declaration from the ~/worker/web.config and make the necessary modifications. In the example below only six commands have been copied from the web.config. This console simply demonstrates the concept of declaring a new console. custom.config <?xml version= 1.0 encoding= utf-8?> <custom.configuration> <consoles> <console id= concustom defaultcommand= homeworker defaultpresentation= Standard > <command id= homeworker moduleid= TemplateModule name= sidhomeworker description= sidhomeworkerdesc privileges= privviewincidents > <commandparam name= template value= WorkerReport /> </command> <command id= newitem moduleid= TemplateModule name= sidnewitem description= sidnewitemdesc modal= yes licenserequired= yes privileges= privcreateincidents > <commandparam name= template value= WorkItemEdit /> <commandparam name= action value= new /> </command> <command id= viewitem moduleid= TemplateModule name= sidviewitem description= sidviewitemdesc privileges= privviewincidents > <commandparam name= template value= WorkItemView /> </command> <command id= edititem moduleid= TemplateModule name= sidedititem description= sidedititemdesc modal= yes privileges= privviewincidents,priveditincidents > <commandparam name= template value= WorkItemEdit /> </command> <command id= dashboard moduleid= TemplateModule name= siddashboard description= siddashboarddesc > <commandparam name= template value= Dashboard /> </command> <command id= recents moduleid= TemplateModule name= sidrecents description= sidrecentsdesc > <commandparam name= template value= Recents /> </command> </console> </consoles> </custom.configuration> Helpdesk Solution Product Guide 203

204 Create a new web form for your custom console (XML and script modification) Access to an AppWeaver console is always through a web form page (ASPX) which is ultimately derived from the AppWeaver Console class. The HelpdeskConsole extends the AppWeaver console and provides Helpdesk specific functionality. All of the Helpdesk consoles use the HelpdeskConsole class. The console page is made available to web browsers by placing it in a web directory or entry point. The following is an example of some page directives that will be found in most Helpdesk web forms: ~/worker/default.aspx (code snippet) <%@ Page SmartNavigation= false Language= vb Inherits= Altiris.Helpdesk.Web.HelpdeskConsole %> <%@ Register TagPrefix= aw Namespace= Altiris.AppWeaver Assembly= Altiris.AppWeaver %> Notice that the webform is derived from Altiris.Web.HelpdeskConsole. There can be multiple console forms (Example: ASPX pages) within the same directory. You can create a new entry point into your custom console by copying the existing one. Copy ~/ worker/default.aspx to ~/worker/custom.aspx. Edit Custom.aspx and use that same id as the one you used to declare the console in the custom.config file in the previous section (in this case concustom). By convention, we do this in the OnInit override: Custom.aspx Public Overrides Sub OnInit(ByVal e As EventArgs) Me.ID = concustom MyBase.OnInit(e) End Sub Debug and Test Your Customizations Restart IIS and test your console by entering the URL to your console (Example: localhost/aexhd/worker/custom.aspx). If you have errors, confirm the custom.config file is syntactically correct by opening it with Internet Explorer. Create a new entry point for your custom console The section Create a new web form for your custom console (XML and script modification) on page 204 described how to create a new console page residing in the same directory as the original console. As an alternative, you may want to place your custom console in its own entry point. The advantage to placing a console in its own entry point is that it can be secured by web server permissions to allow access only to the subset of workers that need to use it and it can be wired to a different kind of Helpdesk credential (Example: to allow workers to be authenticated by address rather than NT Id). To develop your custom console in its own entry point, follow steps in Create a new web form for your custom console (XML and script modification) on page 204, but with a few modifications: first copy the ~/worker directory to a new ~/ custom directory and set its web permissions as desired using the Internet Information Services administrative tool. Since this new custom directory is unknown to the Helpdesk upgrade components you do not have to worry about your modifications being lost when Helpdesk is upgraded. This means that you can edit the web.config and default.aspx files directly. If your console file is left with the name default.aspx, you can simply access the new console through the URL Helpdesk Solution Product Guide 204

205 How to Add a Scalar Field This customization covers adding a scalar field, a field that is not a reference to a value in another table, to an incident. You will be adding a new Application field. Upon successful completion of the solution you will be able to type in the name of an Application when creating or editing an incident. This new field will be displayed on the incident properties page and in the incident editor. Prerequisites You need to be able to add a column, create an index, modify views, and run stored procedures using SQL Server Enterprise Manager and Query Analyzer. You need a familiarity with customization integration using custom.config (see Customizing Using AppWeaver on page 183 for additional information). You need a familiarity with XML. You need to understand HTML tables. Solution The first few sections of this solution describe changes that must be made to the Helpdesk database. The remaining sections discuss how to expose the new application field in the Helpdesk user interface, which includes modification to Helpdesk templates. Each section must be completed successfully before the procedure in the next section is attempted to ensure a successful modification. Add application column to the workitem table Using SQL Server Query Analyzer run the following script against your Helpdesk database. ALTER TABLE workitem ADD application nvarchar(128) NOT NULL DEFAULT (N'') GO To confirm the field was created successfully run the following script against your Helpdesk database. SELECT application FROM workitem WHERE id = 0 GO You should see the following in the results window. application application is the new field you just added. If you do not see this output in the results window, an error has occurred. Check the spelling of the field in the Alter table statement and the Select statement. Helpdesk Solution Product Guide 205

206 Note Notice that for variable length character data, the unicode nvarchar data type is used. All character data in Helpdesk must be nchar or nvarchar. Please see Transaction-SQL Reference for a description of nchar and nvarchar data types and their implications. Note NULL values are not permitted or supported for Helpdesk columns. Notice the NOT NULL clause of the ALTER TABLE statement above. Note All Helpdesk columns must contain a default value. All nchar and nvarchar defaults are prefixed with N as set forth in Transaction-SQL Reference when dealing with unicode data (Example: N 0, N', N My Default ). Alternatively you could have modified the table directly using the Design table feature of SQL Server Enterprise Manager. Update the view_def table with information about the new column (database modification) The view_def table is very important to the installation/upgrade process of Helpdesk. This table must be updated so that the changes that you make will be preserved during the installation/upgrade process. Using SQL Server Query Analyzer run the following script against your Helpdesk database. EXEC sp_addviewdef N'workitem_only_view', N'workitem.application AS workitem_application', N'' GO This script will add a row to the view_def table. Notice that the second argument specified for stored procedure sp_addviewdef is an alias specification. By following the conventions that have been established in Helpdesk you will ensure that databinding will be much easier. If you view data in the view_def table the conventions are selfexplanatory. Run the following script to verify the field was added to the view. SELECT * FROM view_def WHERE column_sql = N'workitem.application AS workitem_application' GO You should get one row returned with table_name = workitem_only_view and column_sql = workitem.application AS workitem_application Alternatively, you could have modified the view_def table directly using SQL Server Enterprise Manager. Drop and recreate the workitem_only_view (database modification) Using SQL Server Query Analyzer run the following script against your Helpdesk database. Helpdesk Solution Product Guide 206

207 EXEC sp_createhddview 'workitem_only_view', 'workitem' GO EXEC sp_createhddview 'workitem_detail_view', 'workitem_only_view' GO if exists (select * from sysobjects where id = object_id(n'[dbo].[workitem_current_view]') and OBJECTPROPERTY(id, N'IsView') = 1) drop view [dbo].[workitem_current_view] GO CREATE VIEW dbo.workitem_current_view AS SELECT workitem_detail_view.* FROM workitem_detail_view WHERE (workitem_is_last = N'1') GO Run the following script to verify the field is present in the view. SELECT workitem_application FROM workitem_only_view WHERE workitem_id = 0 GO You should see the workitem_application field with no rows returned. Stored procedure sp_createhddview will drop the view for you before recreating it. The first parameter is the name of the view and the second parameter is the name of the table associated with the view. Copy the templates into a custom directory in the web and rename them 1. If a custom directory does not exist, create one in the root of the web (Example: ~/ custom/). This directory can serve as a common repository for all custom files (Example: templates, presentations, and images). 2. Copy ~/templates/workitemedit.ascx and ~/templates/workitemview.ascx to the directory that you created in step 1 (Example: ~/custom/workitemedit.ascx). You will need to clear the Read-only attribute so that the files can be modified. 3. Rename the files by prefixing them with the word Custom (Example: CustomWorkItemEdit.ascx). This simply helps to avoid the confusion of having two files with the same name in the same web. Override the WorkItemEdit and WorkItemView file aliases Override the WorkItemEdit and WorkItemView file aliases from the web.config by creating the file ~/custom.config with the following contents in the root of the web (a snippet of the web.config has been included to help illustrate the override). custom.config Helpdesk Solution Product Guide 207

208 <?xml version= 1.0 encoding= utf-8?> <custom.configuration> <files path= ~/custom/ > <file id= WorkItemEdit file= CustomWorkItemEdit.ascx /> <file id= WorkItemView file= CustomWorkItemView.ascx /> </files> </custom.configuration> Note The file must specifically be named custom.config or AppWeaver will not pick up the changes. web.config <files path= ~/templates/ > <file id= WorkItemEdit file= WorkItemEdit.ascx /> <file id= WorkItemView file= WorkItemView.ascx /> </files> Notice that WorkItemEdit now resolves to ~/custom/customworkitemedit.ascx and WorkItemView resolves to ~/custom/customworkitemview.ascx (declarations from the custom.config win). Modify the templates to enable editing and display of the application field (template modification) Edit ~/custom/customworkitemedit.ascx to enable the application to be edited through the interface. Search for the line beginning with <aw:layout id= lopanels. Paste the following line immediately before it. <aw:textbox id= tbapplication runat= server Width= 300px ItemDataField= workitem_application ColSpan= 4 Label= Application: ></aw:textbox> This line defines an AppWeaver TextBox control to contain the application value. The control has an id of tbapplication and can be any unique string (conventionally we prefix the id of aw:textbox controls with tb ). The control is databound to the data source WorkItem (case sensitive name defined in the MultiPage control as the ItemDataSourceName attribute and which can be inherited by its children) and data field workitem_application (the attribute ItemDataField of our TextBox). The data field workitem_application is the new view field created in a previous section. The control has a label called Application: to identify the text box on the page. The ItemDataSourceName could have been directly specified on our TextBox, but AppWeaver databinding will search up the control hierarchy if it is not specified. Now modify ~/custom/customworkitemview.ascx file in a similar way. Paste the following AppWeaver Label control on the line after the lblcreated label control. <aw:label id= lblapplication runat= server ItemDataField= workitem_application label= Application: ></ aw:label> You can experiment with the location and label of the textbox and label controls on the pages. Helpdesk Solution Product Guide 208

209 To add a string translation for the new field This can be done by adding a new string to either the strings section of the custom.config or to the strings inside a string resource file. In either case, the string Id would be sid_<new workitem view field name>. Example: sid_workitem_application. Debug and Test Your Customizations View the customizations by entering into the address bar of your browser. Edit an incident, look for the application field and enter an application name and save. Confirm that the incident properties has your application name. How to Add a Lookup Field This customization covers adding a new lookup id to an incident that is a field that is a reference to a value in another table. Upon successful completion of the solution, Helpdesk workers will be able to select an Application from a drop-down when creating or editing an incident, and the Application will be displayed on the incident report. Implementing Application as a lookup table rather than a scalar field offers several advantages. First, it will prevent redundant Applications from being entered into the database (Example: Microsoft Word, MS Word, and MS Office Word). Second, searching for incidents by Application could be simplified. Example: you could provide an Application drop-down on the Find command. Finally, you get all the benefits offered by Helpdesk's implementation of lookup tables: ability to choose a default, activate or inactive a value, and weigh the values. Prerequisites You need to be able to add a column, create an index, modify views, and run stored procedures using SQL Server Enterprise Manager and Query Analyzer. You need a familiarity with customization integration using custom.config (see Customizing Using AppWeaver on page 183 for additional information). You need a familiarity with XML. You need to understand HTML tables. Solution The first few sections of this solution describe changes that must be made to the Helpdesk database. The remaining sections discuss how to expose the new application field in the Helpdesk user interface, which includes modification to Helpdesk templates. Each section must be completed successfully before the procedure in the next section is attempted to ensure a successful modification. Add a new workitem_application_lookup table and populate it with an initial set of values Using SQL Server Query Analyzer run the following script against your Helpdesk database. Helpdesk Solution Product Guide 209

210 if not exists (select * from sysobjects where id = object_id(n'[dbo].[workitem_application _lookup]') and OBJECTPROPERTY(id, N'IsUserTable') = 1) begin CREATE TABLE [dbo].[workitem_application_lookup] ( [id] [int] NOT NULL PRIMARY KEY, [status] [nchar] (1) NOT NULL DEFAULT (N'a'), [value] [nvarchar] (255) NOT NULL DEFAULT (N''), [ordinal] [int] NOT NULL DEFAULT (0), [is_default] [nchar] (1) NOT NULL DEFAULT (N'0') ) ON [PRIMARY] end GO Note For variable length character data, you must use unicode nvarchar data type. ALL character data in Helpdesk must be nchar or nvarchar. See Transaction-SQL Reference for a description of nchar and nvarchar data types and their implications. Note NULL values are not permitted or supported for Helpdesk columns. Notice the NOT NULL clause in the CREATE TABLE script above. Note All Helpdesk columns must contain a default value. All nchar and nvarchar defaults are prefixed with N as set forth in Transaction-SQL Reference when dealing with unicode data (Example: N 0, N, N My Default ). Using SQL Server Query Analyzer run the following script against your Helpdesk database. This will populate the lookup table with some Applications. insert into workitem_application_lookup (id,status,value,ordinal,is_default) values(100,'a','other',1,'1') insert into workitem_application_lookup (id,status,value,ordinal,is_default) values(200,'a','altiris express Web Administrator',2,'0') insert into workitem_application_lookup (id,status,value,ordinal,is_default) values(300,'a','altiris express Helpdesk',3,'0') insert into workitem_application_lookup (id,status,value,ordinal,is_default) values(400,'a','aliris express Notification Server',4,'0') insert into workitem_application_lookup (id,status,value,ordinal,is_default) values(500,'a','microsoft Office',5,'0') Helpdesk Solution Product Guide 210

211 insert into workitem_application_lookup (id,status,value,ordinal,is_default) values(600,'a','microsoft System Management Server',6,'0') GO Alternatively you could have created the table directly using the New table feature of SQL Server Enterprise Manager. The script above adheres to the conventions that have been established for Helpdesk lookup tables. If you use the New table feature you should do the same. To verify your new lookup table was created and populated successfully run the following script. select * from workitem_application_lookup GO You should see the following results: 100 a Other a Altiris express Web Administrator a Altiris express Helpdesk a Altiris express Notification Server a Microsoft Office a Microsoft System Management Server 6 0 Add application_lookup_id column to the workitem table Using SQL Server Query Analyzer run the following script against your Helpdesk database. int set nocount on = object_id(n'[dbo].[workitem]') if not exists( select * from syscolumns where name='application_lookup_id' and id=@id) begin ALTER TABLE workitem ADD application_lookup_id int NOT NULL CONSTRAINT [DF_workitem_application_lookup_id] DEFAULT (0) WITH VALUES CREATE INDEX [IX_workitem_application_lookup_id] ON [dbo].[workitem]([application_lookup_id]) ON [PRIMARY] end GO Helpdesk Solution Product Guide 211

212 Note Notice that we have specified the DEFAULT keyword to specify a default value of 100 for the new field. In versions of Helpdesk after 6.0 SP1, this will not be necessary. The is_default column should determine the default. However, currently there is a bug for custom lookups that prevent the value marked as the default (is_default='1') from being used as the default. Typical consideration should be placed on whether or not to index the column. You would remove the CREATE INDEX statement in the script above if you chose not to index the column. Update the view_def table with information about the new lookup (database modification) The view_def table is very important to the installation/upgrade process of Helpdesk. This table must be updated so that the changes you make will be preserved during the installation/upgrade process. Using SQL Server Query Analyzer run the following script against your Helpdesk database. exec sp_addviewdef N'workitem_only_view', N'workitem.application_lookup_id AS workitem_application_lookup_id', N'' GO exec sp_addviewdef N'workitem_detail_view', N'wal.value AS workitem_application_lookup_value', N'LEFT OUTER JOIN workitem_application_lookup wal ON workitem_application_lookup_id = wal.id' GO exec sp_addviewdef N'workitem_detail_view', N'wal.ordinal AS workitem_application_lookup_ordinal', N'' GO This script will add rows to the view_def table. Notice that the second argument specified for stored procedure sp_addviewdef is an alias specification. By following established conventions, you will ensure that databinding will be much easier. If you read in detail data in the view_def table, the conventions are self-explanatory. Alternatively you could have modified the view_def table directly using SQL Server Enterprise Manager. Drop and recreate the workitem_only_view, workitem_detail_view and workitem_current_views (database modification) There are three different views that will need to be dropped and recreated so that data for the new application lookup will be included in the view. exec sp_createhddview 'workitem_only_view', 'workitem' Helpdesk Solution Product Guide 212

213 GO exec sp_createhddview 'workitem_detail_view', 'workitem_only_view' GO if exists (select * from sysobjects where id = object_id(n'[dbo].[workitem_current_view]') and OBJECTPROPERTY(id, N'IsView') = 1) drop view [dbo].[workitem_current_view] GO CREATE VIEW dbo.workitem_current_view AS SELECT workitem_detail_view.* FROM workitem_detail_view WHERE (workitem_is_last = N'1') GO Note The order in which the views are created is significant because of dependencies that exist. Stored procedure sp_createhddview will drop the view for you. The first parameter is the name of the view and the second parameter is the name of the table associated with the view. Insert a query that will retrieve data from the lookup table into the query table (database modification) You need to create a new query that will be used to retrieve Application lookup values. Using SQL Server Query Analyzer run the following script against your Helpdesk database. insert into query (name, expression, cache_results) values (N'ApplicationList', N'SELECT * FROM workitem_application_lookup where lower(status)=n''a'' order by ordinal', N'1') GO Note Remember the name that you gave the query, ApplicationList, because it will be used later when you modify the template. Helpdesk Solution Product Guide 213

214 Copy the templates into a custom directory in the web and rename them 1. If a custom directory does not exist, create one in the root of the web (Example: ~/ custom/). This directory can serve as a common repository for all custom files (Example: templates, presentations, and images). 2. Copy ~/templates/workitemedit.ascx and ~/templates/workitemview.ascx to the directory that you created in step 1 (Example: ~/custom/workitemedit.ascx). You will need to clear the Read-only attribute so that the files can be modified. 3. Rename the files by prefixing them with Custom (Example: CustomWorkItemEdit.ascx). This helps to avoid the confusion of having two files with the same name in the same web. Override the WorkItemEdit and WorkItemView file aliases Override the WorkItemEdit and WorkItemView file aliases from the web.config by creating the file ~/custom.config with the following contents in the root of the web (a snippet of the web.config has been included for to help illustrate the override). custom.config <?xml version= 1.0 encoding= utf-8?> <custom.configuration> <files path= ~/custom/ > <file id= WorkItemEdit file= CustomWorkItemEdit.ascx /> <file id= WorkItemView file= CustomWorkItemView.ascx /> </files> </custom.configuration> Note The file must specifically be named custom.config or AppWeaver will not pick up the changes. web.config <files path= ~/templates/ > <file id= WorkItemEdit file= WorkItemEdit.ascx /> <file id= WorkItemView file= WorkItemView.ascx /> </files> Notice that WorkItemEdit now resolves to ~/custom/customworkitemedit.ascx and WorkItemView resolves to ~/custom/customworkitemview.ascx (definitions from the custom.config win). Modify the templates to enable editing and display of the application field (template modification) Add label control to the Incident properties page by modifying the CustomWorkItemView.ascx file. Paste the following AppWeaver Label control on the line after the lblcreated label control and before the pnlnotifyrules panel control. <aw:label id= lblapplication runat= server colspan= 4 ItemDataField= workitem_application_lookup_value label= Application: ></aw:label> Helpdesk Solution Product Guide 214

215 Notice the ItemDataField is the new field added to the workitem_detail_view in the section above. The control has a label on the page of Application: The strings for your customizations can be hardcoded like this or a string id can be used and a string resource file can be used. The string resource file can be localized if desired. Now edit CustomWorkItemEdit.ascx to enable the user to select the application to be associated with the incident. Near the top of the file is a subroutine called LoadDataSources. This is run once when the template is loaded. The data sources are all defined here. Find the set of lines that initialize the various data stores. They all begin with DataStore( SomeObject ). Add the following line to the end of the list to load the application lookup list into the data store. DataStore( Applications ) = New ListDataSet( ApplicationList ) Notice we specify the query we added above to query the lookup table for all the applications available. Now add a drop-down list of applications to the incident editor by adding an AppWeaver DropDownList control to the edit page. Again, add this just after the Created label and before the pnlnotifyrules panel control. <aw:dropdownlist id= ddlapplication runat= server ItemDataField= workitem_application_lookup_id Label= Application: DataTextField= value DataValueField= id DataSourceName= Applications currentvalue= True ></ aw:dropdownlist> The ItemDataField attribute specifies which field will be updated by changes made in this control by the user. The DataTextField sets the field to display in the control (in our example value which is the text of the application lookup). The DataValueField specifies what you get from the control. In our example the id is returned. The DataSourceName attribute specifies the data source to use for this control. We use the Applications data source we added to the LoadDataSources subroutine. Our new dropdown list uses the Applications data source and displays the data in the value field and puts the id of the value selected by the user into the workitem_application_lookup_id field of the WorkItem data store. Note this was specified by the ItemDataSourceName= WorkItem attribute of the AppWeaver MultPage control aw:multipage at the top of the page. You can experiment with the location and label of the textbox and label controls on the pages. Debug and Test Your Customizations Restart IIS and view the customizations by entering default.aspx into the address bar of your browser. Edit an incident, look for the application field and enter an application name and save. Confirm that the incident properties page has your application name. How to Centralize all of Your Custom Strings for Ease of Management and Localization In the previous sections, you hard coded strings were used for our control labels. This is fine for simple customizations with only one or two controls but what if there are Helpdesk Solution Product Guide 215

216 numerous controls in several files or you need to localize your strings to support several languages? This section covers how custom strings can be specified. Prerequisites You need a familiarity with customization integration using custom.config (see Customizing Using AppWeaver on page 183 for additional information). You need a familiarity with XML. You need to understand HTML tables. Solution This solution takes you through creating an XML file to contain all your custom strings and how to refer to the strings in your templates. Finally you learn how to localize your strings. Creating a strings resource file A strings resource file is an XML file that can be created with any text editor. It must have the format below: <strings> <string id= csidstring1 >Custom String 1</string> <string id= csidstring2 >Custom String 2</string>... </strings> The root node is strings and can contain any number of string nodes. Each string node must have a unique id attribute. The text of the string is the inner text contained between the > delimiting the string node attributes and the < at the start of the closing string tag. The string id needs to be in quotes ( ) and must be unique within this file. It can be any combination of characters and numbers. Altiris recommends devising a naming standard and sticking with it. The example above uses csid representing custom string id then the string name. Now create a string file for the application lookup field customization performed in the previous section. The view and edit page used a label attribute of label= Application:. For demonstration purposes lets use Application: for the view page and Software Application: for the edit page. Our strings file should look like this: <strings> <string id= csidlblapplication >Application:</string> <string id= csidlblsoftwareapplication >Software Application:</ string> </strings> Copy and paste this into a text editor (such as Notepad) and save as ~/custom/ CustomStrings.xml. Now confirm the syntax of your file by opening it with Microsoft Internet Explorer. It should display your string resources correctly. If not, it may show an error like tags do not match and refer to the line and position of the offending character. Examine your file carefully and fix the error and repeat until the file can be opened without any errors. Helpdesk Solution Product Guide 216

217 Declare a resourcelib for your custom string file Declare a resourcelib for your custom string file by creating the file ~/custom.config with the following contents in the root of the web. custom.config <?xml version= 1.0 encoding= utf-8?> <custom.configuration> <resourcelibs> <resourcelib file= CustomStrings.xml path= ~/custom/ /> </resourcelibs> </custom.configuration> Note The file must specifically be named custom.config or AppWeaver will not pick up the changes. Adding string ids in place of strings in templates Now add the string ids to the control label in the customized templates. Open the CustomWorkItemView.ascx file and find the lblapplication control. Replace the text in the label attribute with csidlblapplication. See the example below: <aw:label id= lblapplication colspan= 4 runat= server ItemDataField= workitem_application_lookup_value label= csidlblapplication ></aw:label> Similarly, replace the label text in the WorkItemEdit.ascx file with the string id we defined above, csidlblsoftwareapplication. <aw:dropdownlist id= ddlapplication runat= server ItemDataField= workitem_application_lookup_id Label= csidlblsoftwareapplication DataTextField= value DataValueField= id DataSourceName= Applications currentvalue= True ></aw:dropdownlist> Save both files and test. You should see your strings appear in the incident properties and the incident editor. The incident properties should look exactly the same. That is, Application: should be displayed for the control label. The incident editor will have Software Application for the label. Localizing strings in your custom file You can localize your custom strings so the application will present the correct language based on the user's browser settings. To localize, create a subdirectory under the custom directory for each language that you wish to support. Name them using the 2 or 4 letter culture codes. The culture names follow the RFC 1766 standard in the format <languagecode2>-<country/regioncode2>, where <languagecode2> is a lowercase two-letter code derived from ISO and <country/regioncode2> is an uppercase two-letter code derived from ISO Example: U.S. English is en-us. For a complete list see the CultureInfo class at Copy the localized CustomStrings.xml files into each directory. Restart IIS, and you are ready to go. Helpdesk Solution Product Guide 217

218 Debug and Test Your Customizations Note the system tries to find the best language fit possible, so if you have a Swiss German localized file called CustomStrings.xml, it should be in the de-ch directory. A Germany German CustomStrings.xml file should be in the de subdirectory. If the browser settings are set to Swiss German the de-ch subdirectory will be searched first for a match for the string id, then the de subdirectory, then the custom directory, then the Helpdesk and AppWeaver resources. In this way, string ids not found in the country or regioncode file will next be searched for in the languagecode file and, if not found there, searched for in the (default) CustomStrings.xml file in the custom directory and finally in the (localized) Helpdesk resource files. Note that Helpdesk uses en-us as its default language. You may want to keep your default custom strings file in US English so there will be no confusion in the browser setting. This technique is the same one that.net uses and is convenient because of the built in fall back capabilities inherent in the system. Database The following sections contain a list of the tables, views, and stored procedures used in Helpdesk. Tables hdinstallreport schema_version view_def license audit_log bulletin workitem_category_routing workitem_category_tree contact contact_mo_join custom_processor _message lookup_tree managed_object managed_object_ns_unique_id managed_object_sms_unique _id managed_object_source managed_object_source_definiti on mo_source_join mo_workitem_history organization query tag tag_collection template_alias url_alias server_url_alias worker worker_hourly_rate worker_query workitem workitem_attachment workitem_next_number wu_custom_instance workitem_wuci_join managed_object_type_lookup workitem_priority_lookup workitem_status_lookup workitem_category_lookup workitem_type_lookup workitem_link_type_look up standard_lookups default_tag Helpdesk Solution Product Guide 218

219 Views asset_only_view asset_view bulletin_only_view bulletin_view contact_only_view contact_view managed_object_only_view managed_object_view mo_source_join_view organization_only_view organization_view tco_view worker_only_view worker_query_only_view worker_query_view worker_view workers_in_workitem_vie w workitem_current_view workitem_detail_view workitem_only_view workitem_wuci_join_view wu_custom_instance_view Stored Procedures sp_getschemaversion sp_checkschemaversion sp_updateschemaversion sp_createdtable sp_report sp_addurlalias sp_addserverurlalias sp_addviewdef sp_newtagcollectionid sp_createhddview sp_addupdatequery sp_addaudit sp_addcontactassetassociation sp_addtag sp_addattachment sp_addupdatemanagedobjects sp_addworkerhourlyrate sp_addworkitemwuci ource sp_deleteallworkitemwucis sp_deletebulletin sp_deletesingletag sp_deletetags sp_deletesource sp_deleteworkerquery sp_deletewuci sp_deleteallworkitemcateg orytree sp_deleteallworkitemcategoryr outing sp_getcontact sp_getdefaultattachment sp_getdefaultbulletin sp_getdefaultorganization sp_getdefaultcontact sp_getdefault message sp_getdefaultmanagedobject sp_getdefaultworker sp_getdefaultroutingworkerid sp_getautoroutingworkerid sp_getdefaultworkerquery sp_getdefaultworkitem sp_getdefaultwuci sp_get message sp_getguestworker sp_getmanagedobject sp_getmanagedobjectsour ce sp_getmosautoupdatelist sp_getmosourcejoinlist sp_getquerybyname sp_gettags sp_geturlalias sp_getserverurlalias sp_getworker sp_getworker addrs sp_getworkitemprevious sp_getworkitemwucilist sp_getworkitemhistorylist sp_newbulletin sp_newcontact sp_new message sp_newmanagedobject sp_neworganization sp_newworker sp_newworkerquery sp_newworkitem sp_newworkitemcategorytree sp_newworkitemcategoryr outing sp_newwuci sp_resolveurls sp_resolveserverurls sp_updatebulletin sp_updatecontact sp_update message sp_updatemanagedobject Helpdesk Solution Product Guide 219

220 sp_updatemoslastautoupdate sp_updateorganization sp_updateworker sp_updateworkerquery sp_updateworkitem sp_updatewuci sp_updateworkitemnoincreme nt sp_importsmsresource sp_importnsresource sp_importnscontact sp_workerreportdata sp_adminreportdata sp_workitemstatuscount sp_workitemprioritycount sp_workitemstatuscountbywork erid sp_workitemprioritycountbywo rkerid sp_workerconsoledata sp_workitemlinkedby sp_deleteworkitembynumber sp_deletecontactsbyidlist sp_getdeleteworkitemcoun t sp_deleteallworkitemsbyq uery Support for Pocket PC (PPC) sp_deleteassetsbyidlist sp_deletenonlinkedworkitemsb yquery sp_getdefaultinvisiblewuciids sp_insertdefaulttag sp_inserttag sp_updatesingletag sp_gettagvalue sp_verifyworkercontacttags sp_getrecentitems sp_getasset sp_getbulletin sp_getcontactbyid sp_getcontactbyntid sp_getcurrentworker sp_getcurrentworkerbyname sp_getcurrentworkerbynti d sp_getdefaultbulletin2 sp_getdefaultorganization2 sp_getdefaultcontact2 sp_getdefaultworkitemandwuci s sp_getdefaultquery sp_getdefaultwuci2 sp_getorganization sp_getwuci sp_getguestworkerbycont actid sp_getguestworkerby add sp_getworkerbyname ress sp_getguestworkerbycontactnti d sp_getworkerbyntid sp_getworkitem sp_newcontact2 sp_updatecontact2 sp_getdefaultasset sp_newasset sp_updateasset sp_newbulletin2 sp_getstandardlookups sp_getworkerquery2 sp_getdefaultworkerquery2 sp_newworkerquery2 sp_updateworkerquery2 sp_retrievenextworkitemfromq ueue sp_countrealworkers sp_checkorganization sp_setdefaultworkitemcategor y sp_addupdatesource sp_updateworkitemcomment sp_importsmsresource2 sp_importnsresource2 sp_updateworkitemwuciids sp_new message2 sp_update message2 sp_newworker2 sp_updateworker2 Administrators and workers can access the worker console from any Windows CE device. Handheld support is included with your product and does not require any additional cost or configurations. Handheld support adds even greater flexibility for managing your product by extending functionality beyond the desktop. You can access the Worker Console using the worker URL. The Worker Console features that are not supported include file upload. Some fields in lists throughout the Worker Helpdesk Solution Product Guide 220

221 Console have been scaled down for better viewing on the lower resolution Pocket PC.Requirements Windows CE version 3 Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.0 or higher Resolution: Standard Pocket PC dimensions of 240 x 320 Note While the Worker Console is fully supported with the exceptions noted above, the Administrator Console is not currently supported on the Pocket PC platform. The Administrative Console will load on a Pocket PC device. However, the screen is not properly formatted for the reduced screen resolution size of most handhelds. Administrative features can be executed on a handheld device by directly accessing the URLs for those features. Pocket PC Navigation There is a drop-down for recent incidents at the top of the Worker Console. Select an incident number and click the View Work Item icon to the left of the drop-down to view the report for the item. To view the report for an item not displayed in the drop-down, the standard toolbar has been included so that the worker can enter an incident number in the Edit field and click the View Work Item icon to the left of the Edit field on the toolbar. Work item actions are not displayed as a horizontal list for the Pocket PC, but have been added to the command drop-down. Select an action and click the green arrow icon to the left of the drop-down to perform the action. The action will be performed on the incident that is selected in the recent incident drop-down that appears to the left. This drop-down is shared by commands that are available on the Work items tab. Work item commands are available by clicking the home icon at the top of the console. All commands for the work item command group will populate the command dropdown (this is a shared drop-down). Execute a command by selecting it from the dropdown and clicking the green arrow icon. Helpdesk Solution Product Guide 221

222 Chapter 16 Advanced Query Settings Helpdesk Solution has a parameter replacement system so that user input can be solicited whenever a query is run. The query replacement system only works against the most recent version of all incidents. Helpdesk workers cannot query against incident history directly, unless they type in valid Transact-SQL sub-select statements, which query against a table named workitem_detail_view. To modify a query 1. Select Incidents > Queries > New query. 2. Select an existing query from the Based on drop-down list. Note It is easier to modify the expression of an existing query. 3. Click Get Expression. 4. Edit the parameters of the query expression. 5. Click Run. 6. To save the query expression, enter a property value in the Name field. 7. Click Save. 8. The new query you created will display on the List Query page, and in the Based on drop-down list on the New Query page. Quick Links Query Parameter Replacement on page 222 Query Data Types on page 224 Query Parameter Replacement There are a number of special parameters that the query system recognizes. When a query is run, the parameters are resolved and the results are returned. With the exception of $current_worker_id$, all queries containing parameters present an intermediate page where the worker can provide input. $current_worker_id$ This parameter automatically resolves to the Windows NT account credentials of the worker logged in to the Helpdesk system. The resolved parameter will not be quoted. Query: [My open incidents] Expression: workitem_assigned_to_worker_id = $current_worker_id$ and workitem_status_lookup_id = 300 To find all incidents created by the current worker, enter the following text in the Expression field on the New Query page. Helpdesk Solution Product Guide 222

223 workitem_created_by_worker_id = $current_worker_id$ $prompt_number( <prompt> )$ The parameter $prompt_number( <Prompt> )$ produces an edit control labeled with <prompt> on an intermediate page where the worker can provide numeric data. The resolved parameter will not be quoted. Example for $prompt_number( <prompt> )$: workitem_number >= $prompt_number( Enter work item number lower boundary )$ $prompt_string( <prompt> )$ The parameter $prompt_string( <Prompt> )$ produces an edit control labeled with <prompt> on an intermediate page where the worker can provide string data. The resolved parameter will be quoted. Example for $prompt_string( <prompt> )$: assigned_to_worker_name >= $prompt_string( Enter a worker name )$ $prompt_lookup( <prompt>, <lookup query name> )$ The parameter $prompt_lookup( <prompt>, <lookup query name> )$ produces a drop-down on an intermediate page where the worker can select a value from the dropdown. The resolved parameter will be the ID of the selected value and will not be quoted. The second parameter must be the name of an existing lookup query. Lookups are customizable. As long as a query is created for the lookup, and the lookup table follows the format of existing lookup tables the lookup prompt parameter will produce a drop-down. Example for $prompt_lookup( <prompt>, <lookup query name> )$: workitem_status_lookup_id=$prompt_lookup( Select work item status:, StatusList )$ The following lookup queries are available: PriorityList StatusList TypeList $prompt_datetime( <prompt> )$ The parameter $prompt_datetime( <Prompt> )$ will produce a datetime control labeled with <prompt> on an intermediate page where the worker can provide datetime data. The control will be initialized with the current date and time. The resolved parameter will be quoted. Example for $prompt_datetime( <prompt> )$: workitem_modified_on > $prompt_datetime( Work items modified after: )$ $prompt_date( <prompt> )$ The parameter $prompt_date( <Prompt> )$ will produce a datetime control labeled with <prompt> on an intermediate page where the worker can provide date data. The control will be initialized with the current date. This parameter is particularly useful when querying against workitem_start_on and workitem_due_on fields because only the date portion of those fields are stored in the db. The resolved parameter will be quoted. Helpdesk Solution Product Guide 223

224 Example for $prompt_date( <prompt> )$: workitem_start_on >= $prompt_date( Work items that will start on or after: )$ Query Data Types There are three basic data types used in query expressions: uint, string, and datetime. Queries that use the string or datetime data type must have quotes around their arguments. It is important to notify workers of these data type conditions so that quotes can be added or omitted in query expressions appropriately. String Examples workitem_external_reference like SMS% (wild card character for partial string matching) assigned_to_worker_name = 'mdavis' Datetime Examples workitem_modified_on > '12/11/00 10:10:00 AM' workitem_modified_on > '12/11/00 10:05:00' (interpreted as 24 hour clock) workitem_modified_on > '12/08/00 15:00:00'(interpreted as 24 hour clock) workitem_modified_on > '12/11/00' (interpreted as midnight between 10th and 11th) workitem_modified_on > 'Dec 09, :00:00 AM' workitem_modified_on > ' ' Uint Examples workitem_number > 150 workitem_minutes_spent > 3 workitem_status_lookup_id = 100 Data Field Description The table below displays a list of field names, their corresponding data type, and acceptable values or additional comments, when applicable. Data Fields Field Name Type Acceptable Values or Comments workitem_link_parent_number uint workitem_number uint workitem_is_last string 1, 0 workitem_has_attachments string 1, 0 workitem_version uint workitem_external_reference string workitem_priority_lookup_id uint workitem_status_lookup_id uint Helpdesk Solution Product Guide 224

225 Data Fields (Continued) Field Name Type Acceptable Values or Comments workitem_category_lookup_id uint workitem_type_lookup_id uint workitem_link_type_lookup_id uint workitem_assigned_to_worker_id uint workitem_created_on datetime workitem_created_by_worker_id uint workitem_start_on datetime Only date part is in db; e.g. 11/10/ 03 workitem_due_on datetime Only date part is in db; e.g. 11/10/ 03 workitem_modified_on datetime workitem_modified_by_worker_id uint workitem_minutes_spent uint workitem_action string Create, open, assign, attach, link, edit, associate contact, associate object, resolve (values that are provided; however, this field can be customized). workitem_title string workitem_managed_object_id uint workitem_contact_id uint workitem_tag_collection_id uint workitem_is_scheduled string 1, 0 assigned_to_worker_name string assigned_to_worker_status string a, i, v (a = active, i = inactive, v = virtual. Inactive workers can be inactive virtual workgroups or inactive real workers.) assigned_to_worker_ string assigned_to_worker_phone string assigned_to_worker_cell_phone string assigned_to_worker_pager string assigned_to_worker_location string created_by_worker_name string created_by_worker_status string a, i, v (a = active, i = inactive, v = virtual. Inactive workers can be inactive virtual workgroups or inactive real workers.) created_by_worker_ created_by_worker_phone created_by_worker_cell_phone created_by_worker_pager string string string string Helpdesk Solution Product Guide 225

226 Data Fields (Continued) Field Name Type Acceptable Values or Comments created_by_worker_location string modified_by_worker_name string modified_by_worker_status a, i, v (a = active, i = inactive, v = virtual. Inactive workers can be inactive virtual workgroups or inactive real workers.) modified_by_worker_ string modified_by_worker_phone string modified_by_worker_cell_phone string modified_by_worker_pager string modified_by_worker_location string workitem_priority_lookup_value string workitem_priority_lookup_ordinal uint workitem_status_lookup_value string workitem_status_lookup_ordinal uint workitem_category_lookup_value string workitem_category_lookup_ordinal uint workitem_type_lookup_value string workitem_type_lookup_ordinal uint workitem_link_type_lookup_value string workitem_link_type_lookup_ordinal uint contact_name string contact_ string contact_phone string contact_organization_name string managed_object_name string managed_object_type_lookup_id uint managed_object_type_lookup_valu string e managed_object_type_lookup_ordin al workitem_comment uint string Helpdesk Solution Product Guide 226

227 Chapter 17 Advanced Template Macros When you are adding or editing an template, you can use special macros in the message for the From, Subject, and Body fields to represent data that will be inserted by Helpdesk Solution when it generates using the template. The macros described in this section are only useful in templates. See Data Macros on page 240 for a description of general macros. The macros described in this section are considered complex macros and have the same characteristics as the Complex macros in Data Macros on page 240. The following embedded macros can appear inside the template argument of Advanced Template macros. $$field_name$$ - Same as the Simple WORKITEM(field_name) macro, but only interpreted when appearing inside the template argument of Complex macros. For the AEXQUERY, HDQUERY, and other non-incident macros, the field_name refers to the data fields of the results. $$AUXDATA: member, name$$ - Same as the Simple WORKITEM_AUXDATA(member, name) macro, but only interpreted when appearing inside the template argument of Complex macros that operate on incident data. $$AUXDATA: member, name, xpath$$ -- Same as the Simple WORKITEM_AUXDATA(member, name, xpath) macro, but only interpreted when appearing inside the template argument of Complex macros that operate on incident data. Quick Link Templates on page 115 HTML Link Macros HTML Link macros are a class of macros that do formatted replacement but create <A HREF=mailto:specificworker- -address>format</A> links. They allow you to provide your readers with an easy way to contact the workers associated with the current incident via and pager . The template argument for HTML Link macros can be any string of text or HTML and can include $$field_name$$ arguments. ASSIGNED_TO_ _LINK[[template]] - This macro returns a hyperlink reference that resolves to the address given by the incident field assigned_to_worker_ . The template argument is processed for any embedded macros of the form $$field_name$$ and the result becomes the display text of the hyperlink. ASSIGNED_TO_PAGER_ _LINK[[template]] - Same as above, but for the assigned_to_worker_pager_ field. MODIFIED_BY_ _LINK[[template]] - Same as above, but for the modified_by_worker_ field. Helpdesk Solution Product Guide 227

228 MODIFIED_BY_PAGER_ _LINK[[template]] - Same as above, but for the modified_by_worker_pager_ field. CREATED_BY_ _LINK[[template]] - Same as above, but for the created_by_worker_ field. CREATED_BY_PAGER_ _LINK[[template]] - Same as above, but for the created_by_worker_pager_ field. OWNED_BY_ _LINK[[template]] - Same as above, but for the owned_by_worker_ field. OWNED_BY_PAGER_ _LINK[[template]] - Same as above, but for the owned_by_worker_pager_ field. Example: <BR>Click ASSIGNED_TO_ _LINK[[here]] to send to the assigned worker</ BR><BR> MODIFIED_BY_ _LINK[[$$modified_by_worker_name$$]]</ BR>). View Incident HTML Link Macros View Incident HTML Link macros provide HTML links to web pages. WORKITEM_LINK[[template]] - This macro returns a hyperlink reference to the current incident in view mode. The template argument is processed for any embedded macros of the form $$field_name$$ and the result becomes the display text of the hyperlink. The HTML that is produced points to the standard incident report in Helpdesk Solution. If a person who reads this mail and clicks on the link is not a known Helpdesk Solution worker, then the normal challenge occurs. If the user has worker rights, then the worker console opens to view the incident; otherwise, it attempts to open the My Helpdesk console to that incident. This macro is intended for messages that are sent to Helpdesk Solution workers in response to an incident being updated. This macro produces an HTML <A> tag with the HREF parameter set to the incident report command for the current incident. The text of the <A> tag is the evaluated template. Example: WORKITEM_LINK[[$$workitem_title$$- $$workitem_number$$]] produces (for incident #1 title is First incident ): <A HREF= <helpdesk server>/ AeXHD/worker/default.aspx?cmd=viewItem&id=1">First incident - 1</A> WINUSER_LINK[[template]] - Produces a link to the winuser console. WORKER_LINK[[template]] - Produces a link to the worker console. Output Lists These are macros that produce no HTML code, but straight text based on the format. Only if HTML code is added to the template argument will it output any HTML code. The template argument is processed character by character which includes line returns. If no line return is in the template, the entire template is repeated on the same line once for every record in history. So a history of comments will end up on one continuous line Helpdesk Solution Product Guide 228

229 even if there are 5 historical records. A return character needs to be in the template argument just before the closing brackets. This is simply done by moving the closing brackets to a new line which now has that return character in the template. This is not as important if you are doing HTML coding in your format section because the HTML code defines line breaks /TD. HISTORY_LIST[[template]] - This macro produces a multi-line result, one line for each entry in the history of the incident. Each line is a repeat of the template string except that any embedded macros of the form $$field_name$$, $$AUXDATA: member, name$$, and $$AUXDATA: member, name, xpath$$ are first resolved in the context of the corresponding historical set of field values. This is an important subtlety from the same shorthand notation as used in the Complex macros because, in that case, the macros always operate in the context of the current incident data rather than the historical values. If the current incident has been updated 5 times, then 5 rows will be output into the message. Rows are produced in reverse chronological order (latest update first) so the data in the first row output using this macro will match the data in the WORKITEM() macro. Example: <TABLE>HISTORY_LIST[[<TD>$$workitem_version$$</ TD><TD>$$workitem_modified_on$$</ TD><TD>$$workitem_modified_by_worker_name$$</TD>]]</TABLE> produces a simple HTML table that shows who has modified the incident and when, with the last update being the first row. ATTACHMENT_LIST[[template]] - This macro produces a multi-line result, one line for each entry in the attachment list of the incident. Each line is a repeat of the template string except that any embedded macros of the form $$attachment_field_name$$ are first resolved in the context of the corresponding row of field values in the attachment sub table. TASK_LIST[[template]] - This macro produces a multi-line result, one line for each entry in the resolved task list of the incident. Each line is a repeat of the template string except that any embedded macros of the form $$resolved_task_field_name$$ are first resolved in the context of the corresponding row of field values in the task sub table. Only tasks whose conditions and successful macro expansion indicate they should be displayed are processed. LINKEDBY_LIST[[template]] - This macro produces a multi-line result, one line for each entry in the linked by list of the incident. Each line is a repeat of the template string except that any embedded macros of the form $$field_name$$ are first resolved in the context of the corresponding row of field values in the linked by sub table. Helpdesk Solution Product Guide 229

230 Chapter 18 Incident View Fields This table lists the fields available in the incident views. The fields listed here can be used by the various Helpdesk macros and data bound into.net server controls. Writable fields mean that updates to the incident are committed back into the database. Note Contact_resource_guid and managed_object_resource_guid are special cases. They are not really writable but the web service layer will detect changes in these fields and use them to look up and set the internal database IDs workitem_contact_id and workitem_managed_object_id (this is because many external consumers such as NS won't have access to the internal ID but WILL have access to the GUID). Most other field values are actually obtained based on the values in these writable fields. In other words, consider that the workitem_status_lookup_id 600 corresponds to a workitem_status_lookup_value of Closed and that workitem_status_lookup_id is writable while workitem_status_lookup_value is not. To change the status of an incident to Closed, you would set the value of the workitem_status_lookup_id field to 600 and update the incident. The workitem_status_lookup_value field would be updated to the corresponding Closed value. Changes to workitem_status_lookup_value (nonwritable) are discarded and set based on changes to workitem_status_lookup_id. Field Writable? Description workitem_id workitem_number workitem_is_last workitem_version Internal database Id of incident. Incident number. Assigned by Helpdesk when item is committed. workitem_title x The incident title. Maximum length of 255 characters. workitem_comment x The comment for the current incident change. Effectively unlimited in length. workitem_category_t ree_value workitem_priority_lo okup_id workitem_priority_lo okup_value workitem_priority_lo okup_ordinal x x A fully qualified category table ( \branch\branch\leaf ). Should be an existing table value from the current category tree, though it will be stored with the incident even if it isn't. Incident priority. Must be a legal value from the priority lookup table. Helpdesk Solution Product Guide 230

231 Field Writable? Description workitem_status_loo kup_id workitem_status_loo kup_value workitem_status_loo kup_ordinal workitem_type_looku p_id workitem_type_looku p_value workitem_type_looku p_ordinal x x Incident status. Must be a legal value from the status lookup table. Incident type. Must be a legal value from the type lookup table. workitem_contact_id x The contact to be associated with the new incident. The Id must be an internal Helpdesk database ID. contact_name contact_resource_gui d contact_ contact_pager_ contact_phone contact_location contact_organization _name contact_vip_flag contact_organization _name contact_cell_phone contact_comment contact_company contact_created_on contact_department contact_ contact_external_id contact_id contact_location contact_modified_on x An alternative way to specify the contact associated with the incident (only through the web service). Takes precedence over workitem_contact_id if both are changed. Helpdesk Solution Product Guide 231

232 Field Writable? Description workitem_managed_ object_id managed_object_org anization_name managed_object_ass et_tag managed_object_co mment managed_object_cre ated_on managed_object_ext ernal_id managed_object_id managed_object_ip_ address managed_object_loc ation managed_object_ma nufacturer managed_object_mo del managed_object_mo dified_on managed_object_na me managed_object_ope rating_system managed_object_org anization_id managed_object_res ource_guid managed_object_seri al_number managed_object_stat us managed_object_tag _collection_id managed_object_typ e_lookup_id x x The asset to be associated with the new incident. The ID must be an internal Helpdesk database ID. An alternative way to specify the asset associated with the incident (only through the web service). Takes precedence over workitem_managed_object_id if both are changed. Helpdesk Solution Product Guide 232

233 Field Writable? Description managed_object_typ e_lookup_ordinal managed_object_typ e_lookup_value workitem_external_r eference workitem_is_schedul ed x x A string value to be associated with the incident. Typically used to reference this item in other tracking software. 1 means the item is scheduled and the start and due dates are meaningful. 0 means the item is not scheduled. workitem_start_on x Start date for the item. Must be in an unambiguous date format recognized by ASP.NET. workitem_due_on x Due date for the item. Must be in an unambiguous date format recognized by ASP.NET. workitem_link_paren t_number workitem_link_type_l ookup_id workitem_link_type_l ookup_value workitem_link_type_l ookup_ordinal workitem_minutes_s pent workitem_bulletin_st atus workitem_has_attach ments workitem_assigned_t o_worker_id assigned_to_worker_ is_virtual assigned_to_worker_ name assigned_to_worker_ status assigned_to_worker_ cell_phone x x x x Incident number that this item is linked to. An integer that represents the number of minutes spent working on this incident transaction. An a indicates this incident is currently publishing an enhanced bulletin (though the bulletin may not be displayed due to its current conditions). An i indicates the item is not a bulletin item. The current assignee of the incident. Must be an internal Helpdesk database ID. Helpdesk Solution Product Guide 233

234 Field Writable? Description assigned_to_worker_ assigned_to_worker_ location assigned_to_worker_ full_name assigned_to_worker_ nt_id assigned_to_worker_ pager assigned_to_worker_ pager_ assigned_to_worker_ phone assigned_to_worker_ resource_guid workitem_owned_by _worker_id owned_by_worker_is _virtual owned_by_worker_n ame owned_by_worker_st atus owned_by_worker_c ell_phone owned_by_worker_ owned_by_worker_lo cation owned_by_worker_fu ll_name owned_by_worker_nt _id owned_by_worker_p ager owned_by_worker_p ager_ owned_by_worker_p hone owned_by_worker_re source_guid x The current owner of the incident. Must be an internal Helpdesk database ID. Helpdesk Solution Product Guide 234

235 Field Writable? Description workitem_created_o n workitem_created_b y_worker_id created_by_worker_i s_virtual created_by_worker_ name created_by_worker_s tatus created_by_worker_c ell_phone created_by_worker_ created_by_worker_l ocation created_by_worker_f ull_name created_by_worker_ nt_id created_by_worker_ pager created_by_worker_ pager_ created_by_worker_ phone created_by_worker_r esource_guid workitem_modified_o n workitem_modified_b y_worker_id modified_by_worker_ is_virtual modified_by_worker_ name modified_by_worker_ status modified_by_worker_ cell_phone modified_by_worker_ Helpdesk Solution Product Guide 235

236 Field Writable? Description modified_by_worker_ location modified_by_worker_ full_name modified_by_worker_ nt_id modified_by_worker_ pager modified_by_worker_ pager_ modified_by_worker_ phone modified_by_worker_ resource_guid workitem_action workitem_source workitem_auxdata Contact view fields This table lists the fields available in the contact views. Writable fields let you make changes in their values that can be committed back into the database when the contact is updated. Field Writable? Description contact_id Database ID contact_name x The contact display name. Maximum length of 255 characters. Required for commit. contact_resource_gui d contact_ x Contact address. The value of this field must be unique within the Helpdesk database. Maximum length of 255 characters. This field is required for commit if contact_nt_id is not provided. contact_nt_id x Contact Windows NT account name. The value of this field must be unique within the Helpdesk database. Maximum length of 255 characters. This field is required for commit if contact_ is not provided. contact_version Number of times this contact has been modified. contact_title x Title. Maximum length of 255 characters. Helpdesk Solution Product Guide 236

237 Field Writable? Description contact_external_id x External reference for this contact. Typically used to reference the contact in another tracking system. Maximum length of 255 characters. contact_phone x Phone number for the contact. Non numeric characters are permitted (i.e CALLATT). Maximum length of 255 characters. contact_cell_phone x Cell phone number for the contact. Non numeric characters are permitted (i.e CALLATT). Maximum length of 255 characters. contact_pager x Pager number for the contact. Non numeric characters are permitted (i.e CALLATT). Maximum length of 255 characters. contact_pager_ x address for auto-paging system. Maximum length of 255 characters. contact_vip_flag x A value of 1 flags the contact as a VIP. The default value is 0. contact_status x An a means that this contact is active (i.e. available to be searched/associated with incidents). An i means that this contact is inactive. contact_password x The Helpdesk password for this contact. This field is only meaningful for consoles that are secured behind a Helpdesk user credential (as opposed to a winuser credential which uses real NT Ids for authentication). The user credential prompts users for their address and Helpdesk password when they are being authenticated. contact_location x Location. Maximum length of 255 characters. contact_company x Company. Maximum length of 255 characters. contact_department x Department. Maximum length of 255 characters. contact_organization _name x Organization. Maximum length of 255 characters. contact_comment x Comment (description) field. Used to hold notes about the contact. Effectively unlimited in length. contact_created_on x Date the contact was created. contact_modified_on x Date the contact was last modified. Helpdesk Solution Product Guide 237

238 Asset view fields This table lists the fields available in the asset views. Writable fields let you make changes in their values that can be committed back into the database when the asset is updated. Field Writable? Description asset_id Database ID asset_name x The asset name. Maximum length of 255 characters. Required for commit. asset_resource_guid asset_version asset_type_lookup_id x Asset type. Must be a legal value from the asset type lookup table. asset_type_lookup_or dinal asset_type_lookup_va lue asset_external_id x External reference for this asset. Typically used to reference the asset in another tracking system. Maximum length of 255 characters. asset_location x Location. Maximum length of 255 characters. asset_manufacturer x Maximum length of 255 characters. asset_model x Model. Maximum length of 255 characters. asset_serial_number x Serial number. Maximum length of 255 characters. Must be unique. asset_asset_tag x Asset tag. Maximum length of 255 characters. Must be unique. asset_ip_address x IP address. asset_operating_syste m asset_organization_id asset_organization_n ame x Operating system. Maximum length of 255 characters. x Organization name. Maximum length of 255 characters. asset_status x A value of a means the asset is active (i.e. available to be searched/associated with incidents). An i value means the asset is inactive. asset_comment x Comment (description) field. Used to hold notes about the asset. Effectively unlimited in length. Helpdesk Solution Product Guide 238

239 Field Writable? Description asset_created_on asset_modified_on Helpdesk Solution Product Guide 239

240 Chapter 19 Data Macros There are several situations where you may want to access data from within Helpdesk itself or from other sources that Helpdesk has access to. In templates (used for notification and incident ) and in task definitions, you will frequently want to report or pass along specific instance data associated with the current incident. Helpdesk supports a number of data macros for this purpose. These macros all operate within the context of a specific incident. Helpdesk supports a number of data macros for this purpose. These macros all operate within the context of a specific incident. There are several types of macros: Simple, Map, Complex, Date, and Parsing. Each type returns a string result replacing itself. The macros are evaluated in the order given above: Simple, then Map, then Complex, Date, and finally Parsing. Within a type, macros are evaluated in left-to-right order as found in the string text being evaluated. Macros can be specified in all rule criteria and assignments using the advanced condition or advanced assignment options, and in other places: Automation rule and incident task URLs, Notify rule address fields, Validation rule messages, and templates. Macros useful only in templates are described in Advanced Template Macros on page 227. Quick Links Simple Macros on page 240 Map Macros on page 243 Complex Macros on page 243 Date Macros on page 244 Parsing Macros on page 244 See Also Advanced Conditions on page 34 Advanced Assignments on page 36 Simple Macros WORKITEM(field_name) - This macro returns the value of the given field in the incident. If the named field does not exist in the incident, then macro processing fails and an empty string is returned. WORKITEM_AUXDATA(member, name) - This macro retrieves data contained in the auxdata field of the incident. That field's value is further sub-structured as member groups of name/value pairs. This macro returns the value paired with the given name in the indicated member group. If the named member doesn't exist or the named value cannot be found in the member group, then macro processing fails and an empty string is returned. Helpdesk Solution Product Guide 240

241 WORKITEM_AUXDATA(member, name, xpath) - This macro retrieves data contained in the auxdata field of the incident. The name/value pair is retrieved as documented above, but the value is assumed to be a valid XML string. The xpath argument is an XPath expression used to select a node from the XML string stored in the member/name/value tuple. The macro returns the XMLDom Text value of the selected node (example: the value of an attribute or the text of an element). If the named attribute doesn't exist or no node matches the given XPath, then macro processing fails and an empty string is returned. WORKITEM_BULLETIN(field_name) - This macro retrieves data contained in the enhanced bulletin associated with an incident. It is an error if there is no such bulletin. The legal field_name values are the fields in the SQL bulletin_view. PARENTITEM(field_name) - This macro returns the value of the given field from the current incident's parent ( linked to ) item, if any. If the current incident has no parent, or if the named field does not exist in the parent incident, then macro processing fails and an empty string is returned. PARENTITEM_AUXDATA(member, name) - This macro retrieves data contained in the auxdata field of the parent of the current incident. That field's value is further substructured as member groups of name/value pairs. This macro returns the value paired with the given name in the indicated member group. If the named member doesn't exist or the named value cannot be found in the member group, then macro processing fails and an empty string is returned. PARENTITEM_AUXDATA(member, name, xpath) - This macro retrieves data contained in the auxdata field of the parent of the current incident. The name/value pair is retrieved as documented above, but the value is assumed to be a valid XML string. The xpath argument is an XPath expression used to select a node from the XML string stored in the member/name/value tuple. The macro returns the XMLDom Text value of the selected node (example: the value of an attribute or the text of an element). If the named attribute doesn't exist or no node matches the given XPath, then macro processing fails and an empty string is returned. PARENTITEM_BULLETIN(field_name) - This macro retrieves data contained in the enhanced bulletin associated with the parent incident. It is an error if there is no such bulletin. The legal field_name values are the fields in the SQL bulletin_view. PREVIOUSITEM(field_name) - This macro returns the previous value of the given field in the incident, that is, the value of the field before the last time the incident was updated. This is useful for reporting the value a field had in the last version of the incident. If the named field does not exist in the incident, then macro processing fails and an empty string is returned. PREVIOUSITEM_AUXDATA(member, name) - This macro retrieves data contained in the auxdata field of the previous version of the current incident. That field's value is further sub-structured as member groups of name/value pairs. This macro returns the value paired with the given name in the indicated member group. If the named member doesn't exist or the named value cannot be found in the member group, then macro processing fails and an empty string is returned. PREVIOUSITEM_AUXDATA(member, name, xpath) - This macro retrieves data contained in the auxdata field of the previous version of the current incident. The name/value pair is retrieved as documented above, but the value is assumed to be a valid XML string. The xpath argument is an XPath expression used to select a node from the XML string stored in the member/name/value tuple. The macro returns the XMLDom Text value of the selected node (example: the value of an attribute or the text of an Helpdesk Solution Product Guide 241

242 element). If the named attribute doesn't exist or no node matches the given XPath, then macro processing fails and an empty string is returned. URLALIAS(string_id) - This macro first looks up the string_id argument in the Helpdesk string resources to find the URL string. If no string resource having that identifier is found, then string_id is taken to be the URL string. If the URL string begins with a tilde '~' character, then it gets dropped and replaced with the absolute path to the Helpdesk web application. Useful for returning HREF and SRC parameters for use in template markup or to get urls to other Helpdesk consoles, such as the winuser console via: URLALIAS( viewworkitemwinuserurl). CONTACT(field_name) - This macro retrieves data contained in the contact associated with the incident. The legal field_name values are the fields in the SQL contact_view. Most of this data is already available using the WORKITEM() macro, but a few additional fields are exposed using this macro. ASSET(field_name) - This macro retrieves data contained in the asset associated with the incident. The legal field_name values are the fields in the SQL asset_view. Most of this data is already available using the WORKITEM() macro, but a few additional fields are exposed using this macro. ASSIGNED_TO_WORKER(field_name) - This macro retrieves data about the worker who created the incident. The legal field_name values are the fields in the SQL worker_view. Most of this data is already available using the WORKITEM macro, but a few additional fields are exposed using this macro. MODIFIED_BY_WORKER(field_name) - This macro retrieves data about the worker who last modified the incident. The legal field_name values are the fields in the SQL worker_view. Most of this data is already available using the WORKITEM macro, but a few additional fields are exposed using this macro. When incident tasks are evaluated, this macro does not refer to the worker attempting to view the incident - see CURRENT_WORKER. CREATED_BY_WORKER(field_name) - This macro retrieves data about the worker who created the incident. The legal field_name values are the fields in the SQL worker_view. Most of this data is already available using the WORKITEM macro, but a few additional fields are exposed using this macro. OWNED_BY_WORKER(field_name) - This macro retrieves data about the worker who owns the incident. The legal field_name values are the fields in the SQL worker_view. Most of this data is already available using the WORKITEM macro, but a few additional fields are exposed using this macro. CURRENT_WORKER(field_name) - This macro retrieves data about the currently authenticated worker who is viewing or possibly modifying the incident. The legal field_name values are the fields in the SQL worker_view. Most of this data is already available using the WORKITEM macro, but a few additional fields are exposed using this macro. This macro is especially useful in rule criteria and incident task parameters. HISTORY_COUNT() - This macro returns the number of times the incident has been committed as a string. ATTACHMENT_COUNT() - This macro returns the number of attachments currently associated with the incident. TASK_COUNT() - This macro returns the number of incident tasks available to the current worker. LINKEDBY_COUNT() - This macro returns the number of child incidents this incident has. Helpdesk Solution Product Guide 242

243 Quick Link Complex Conditions for Helpdesk Business Rules on page 34 Map Macros Map macros are useful to convert integers and non-friendly text strings to humanreadable strings like yes and no suitable for templates or descriptive incident comments. NUMBER_MAP(number,value1[[template1]]value2[[template2]] ) - This macro expands to template1 if number equals value1, to template2 if number equals value2, and so forth. If valuen is omitted, it will be treated as if it was equal to number, and templaten is used for the macro expansion. Normally, an omitted value is used at the end of the list for a catch-all, or default, template. STRING_MAP(text, value1 [[template1]] value2 [[template2]] ) - This macro expands to template1 if text equals value1, to template2 if text equals value2, etc. If valuen is omitted, it will be treated as if it was equal to text, and templaten would be used for the macro expansion. Normally an omitted value is used at the end of the list for a catch-all, or default, template. Complex Macros Complex macros have a single template input parameter that can include Simple and MAP macros. Complex macros often return a more complex result. Some Complex macros iterate across a table of values and return multiple copies of the input template resolved in the context of each row in the table. For all Complex macros, the double brackets surrounding the parameters can be replaced with double braces: {{ }}. Example: HDQUERY[[select 1]] and HDQUERY{{select 1}} will both return the value 1. AEXQUERY[[sql_select_statement]] - This macro causes the given SQL to be executed against the notification server database. If the select statement has any embedded simple macros, then they are expanded before execution. This allows the query to relate data in the Helpdesk data to data in notification server. This macro returns the value in the single column of the single row in the query result. If more than one column or row results, or if the SQL execution generates an error, then macro processing fails. HDQUERY[[sql_select_statement]] - This macro is the same as AEXQUERY except that the SQL is executed against the Helpdesk database. Example: For an incident number of 546, HDQUERY[[select WORKITEM(workitem_number)]] first evaluates the WORKITEM macro, making the complex macro HDQUERY[[select 546]] returns 546. Quick Link Complex Conditions for Helpdesk Business Rules on page 34 Helpdesk Solution Product Guide 243

244 Date Macros CURRENT_DATETIME() - This macro returns the current date and time. TIMESPAN(datetime, years, months, days, hours, minutes, seconds) - This macro adds the supplied number of years, months, days, hours, minutes, and seconds to the given datetime. The numbers can be negative. FORMAT_DATETIME(datetime, output_format, input_format) - This macro interprets the datetime argument using the input_format and recomposes the same datetime but formatted using the given output_format. The Microsoft.NET library methods DateTime.ParseExact() and DateTime.ToString() are used to interpret and recompose respectively, so refer to their documentation for the syntax of the format arguments. Parsing Macros The Parsing macros provide advanced pattern matching and string replacement capabilities based on.net regular expression and XML processing classes. Because they are evaluated after all other macros are evaluated, their parameters can include macros of all other types. These parameters for these macros are delimited by double brackets: [[ ]] or by double braces: {{ }} to support values and patterns that may themselves contain braces or brackets. You cannot nest these macros inside each other or recursively inside themselves. REGEX[[value]][[match]][[replace]] or REGEX{{value}}{{match}}{{replace}} - This macro performs a.net regular expression pattern match on the value parameter, replacing all found matches with the replace parameter. Refer to.net documentation for complete match and replace syntax. If no matches are found, then value is returned unchanged. Typically, only the value would contain a WORKITEM macro such as WORKITEM(workitem_comment). XPATH_VALUE[[value]][[xpath]] or XPATH_VALUE{{value}}{{xpath}} - This macro assumes value is a string representing a valid XML document. The xpath argument is an XPath expression used to select a single node from the XML string stored in the value. The macro returns the XMLDom InnerXml of the selected node as a string. If the XPath expression fails to return a single node, then macro processing fails and an empty string is returned. Valid XPath syntax descriptions are available elsewhere. Typically only the value would contain a WORKITEM macro, such as WORKITEM(workitem_modified_by_rule_result). Helpdesk Solution Product Guide 244

245 Index A accessing Helpdesk 12 Admin menu 72 admin report 73 categories 73, 73 categories, copy 76 categories, delete 77 categories, edit 74 categories, list 74 categories, modify 75 categories, move 76 categories, new 75 inbox filter, new 124 inbox filters 122 inbox filters, delete 125 inbox filters, delete single 124 inbox filters, edit 123 inbox filters, list 122 inbox filters, order of 123 inbox filters, view 123 inboxes 117 inboxes, delete inboxes 121 inboxes, edit inbox 120 inboxes, list inboxes 120 inboxes, new inbox 121 inboxes, view inboxes 120 template, edit 116 template, new 116 template, view 116 templates 115 templates, definitions 115 templates, list 115 incident rule, delete single 83 incident rules, delete 85 incident rules, edit 82 incident rules, list 81 incident rules, new 83 incident rules, order of 82 incident rules, view 82 notify rule, delete 94, 106 notify rule, delete single 91, 97 notify rule, edit 91, 97 notify rule, new 92, 97 notify rule, view 91, 96 notify rules 90 notify rules, list 91, 96 routing rule, delete single 88 routing rule, edit 87 routing rule, new 88 routing rule, view 87 routing rules 85 routing rules, delete 90 routing rules, list 86 routing rules, order of 87 tasks 106 tasks, delete 109 tasks, delete single 109 tasks, new 109 validation rule, edit 79 validation rule, new 80 validation rule, view 78 validation rules, delete 81 validation rules, list 78 advanced assignments 36 advanced condition 34 advanced macros 240 advanced queries data field description 224 query data types 224 query parameter replacement 222 settings 222 Alert Manager 13 archive knowledge base articles 164 assets importing 21 Assets menu 135 asset home 135 delete a single asset 137 delete assets 138 edit asset 136 find assets 136 new asset 137 view asset 136 attachment delete 49 B bulletins bulletins 58 delete single bulletin 60 edit bulletin 60 list bulletins 59 view bulletin 59 C categories copy category 76 delete category 77 edit categories 74 list categories 74 modify category 75 move category 76 new category 75 configure knowledge base 146 contacts importing 21 Contacts menu 131 contact home 131 delete a single contact 133 delete contacts 134 edit contact 132 find contacts 132 new contact 133 view contact 132 copy category 76 Create or Edit an Incident task type 107 customer satisfaction survey 129 about 129 enabling 129 modifying contents 130 customization of Helpdesk Solution 183 D data macros 240 database, incident settings 20 delete assets 138 category 77 contacts 134 inbox filters 125 inboxes 121 incident rules 85 incidents 64 incidents, advanced 66 incidents, simple 65 knowledge base article 155 knowledge base articles 165 knowledge base library 163 knowledge base scope 162 notify rules 94, 106 quick incidents 70 routing rules 90 single asset 137 single contact 133 single inbox filter 124 single incident rule 83 single notify rule 91, 97 single quick incident 69 single routing rule 88 single tasks 109 tasks 109 validation rules 81 download Notification Server 17 E edit Helpdesk Solution Product Guide 245

246 asset 136 categories 74 contact 132 inbox 120 inbox filters 123 template 116 incident 40 incident rules 82 knowledge base article 156 knowledge base library 163 knowledge base scope 160 notify rule 91, 97 queue 143 quick incident 68 routing rule 87 validation rule 79 worker 140 edit lookups 125 edit multiple incidents 62 edit multiple incidents, advanced 63 edit multiple incidents, simple 62 attachments 46, 93, 117 inbox filters delete inbox filters 125 delete single inbox filter 124 edit inbox filters 123 inbox filters 122 list inbox filters 122 new inbox filter 124 order of inbox filters 123 view inbox filters 123 inboxes delete inboxes 121 edit inbox 120 list inboxes 120 new inbox 121 view inboxes 120 interface IMAP4 and POP messages, incidents 46 templates edit template 116 template definitions 115 list templates 115 new template 116 template macros 227 template macros, complex 228 template macros, mail 228 template macros, simple 227 view template 116 F file attachments, incidents 48 find assets 136 contacts 132 incidents 50 incidents, advanced 51 incidents, simple 50 find a contact, incident 42 find an asset, incident 44 H helpdesk moving to a new server 177 Helpdesk Solution, introduction 10 I IMAP 4 interface 117 importing assets and contacts 21 incident rules delete incident rules 85 delete single incident rule 83 edit incident rules 82 list incident rules 81 new incident rule 83 order of incident rules 82 view incident rules 82 incident settings, database 20 incident to bulletin 49 incidents how tasks appear in 108 Incidents menu 37 bulletins 58 bulletins, delete single bulletin 60 bulletins, edit bulletin 60 bulletins, list bulletins 59 bulletins, view bulletin 59 delete incidents 64 delete incidents, advanced 66 delete incidents, simple 65 edit incident 40 edit multiple incidents 62 edit multiple incidents, advanced 63 edit multiple incidents, simple 62 messages 46 file attachments 48 find a contact 42 find an asset 44 find incidents 50 find incidents, advanced 51 find incidents, search comment or title 53 find incidents, simple 50 incident to bulletin 49 last query results 61 link incident to a bulletin 38 link incidents 47 new incident 39 publish incident to knowledge base 41 queries 54, 55 queries, delete queries 58 queries, delete single query 57 queries, edit query 56 queries, new query 57 queries, run query 55 queries, view query 56 retrieve queued incident 64 search knowledge base 42 select a contact 43 select an asset 45 view asset properties 44 view contact properties 42 view incident 40 worker report 38 installing Helpdesk 17 installing licenses 20 introduction 10 Invoke a URL task type 107 K Knowledge Base archive articles 164 configure knowledge base 146 delete article 155 delete articles 165 delete library 163 delete scope 162 edit article 156 edit library 163 edit scope 160 list libraries 157 moving to a new server 177 new library 158 new scope 161 publish article 154 publish existing document 152 refresh library 163 refresh scope 160 review article 154 search article properties 157 search articles 147 search articles, advanced 150 search articles, simple 149 view article 155 view library 159 view scope 162 Knowledge Base menu 146 L last query results 61 licensing 19 link incident to a bulletin 38 link incidents 47 list categories 74 inbox filters 122 inboxes 120 templates 115 incident rules 81 knowledge base libraries 157 notify rules 91, 96 queues 141 quick incidents 67 routing rules 86 validation rules 78 workers 139 Helpdesk Solution Product Guide 246

247 lookup editing 125 M macros advanced 240 menu Assets menu 135 Contacts 131 Incidents menu 37 Knowledge Base menu 146 Recents menu 145 Worker menu 139 modify category 75 move category 76 N new asset 137 category 75 contact 133 inbox 121 inbox filter 124 template 116 incident 39 incident rules 83 knowledge base library 158 knowledge base scope 161 notify rule 92, 97 queue 144 quick incident 69 routing rule 88 task 109 validation rule 80 worker 140 notify rules delete notify rules 94, 106 delete single notify rule 91, 97 edit notify rule 91, 97 list notify rules 91, 96 new notify rule 92, 97 view notify rule 91, 96 P print formatting 168 publish existing knowledge base document 152 publish incident to knowledge base 41 publish knowledge base article 154 Q queries delete queries 58 delete single query 57 edit query 56 list queries 55 new query 57 queries 54 run query 55 view query 56 queries, advanced data field description 224 query data types 224 query parameter replacement 222 queues default queues 142 edit queue 143 list queues 141 new queue 144 view queue 143 Quick Incidents delete quick incidents 70 delete single quick incident 69 edit quick incident 68 list quick incidents 67 new quick incident 69 run quick incident 69 view quick incident 68 Quick Incidents menu 67 R Recents menu 145 refresh knowledge base library 163 refresh knowledge base scope 160 resource types 125 retrieve queued incident 64 review knowledge base article 154 routing rules delete routing rules 90 delete single routing rule 88 edit routing rule 87 list routing rules 86 new routing rule 88 order of routing rules 87 view routing rule 87 run quick incident 69 S satisfaction survey 129 see customer satisfaction Survey 129 search comment or title, find incidents 53 search knowledge base article properties 157 search knowledge base articles 147 search knowledge base articles, advanced 150 search knowledge base articles, simple 149 search knowledge base, incidents 42 select a contact, incident 43 select an asset, incident 45 Send Satisfaction Survey notification rule 129, 129 Send Satisfaction Survey Randomly notification rule 129, 129 Service Catalog about 128 service categories changing display order 127 changing graphic in Service Catalog 128 changing service category of a task 109 creating 127 Start a Task Server task task type 107 Support for Pocket PC (PPC) 220 synchronize resource and incident data 21 T task types 107 task URLs 107 tasks changing the service category 109 creating 108 delete single task 109 delete tasks 109 how they appear in incidents 108 new task 109 task types 107 V validation rules delete validation rules 81 edit validation rule 79 list validation rules 78 new validation rule 80 view validation rule 78 view asset 136 contact 132 inbox filters 123 inboxes 120 template 116 incident 40 incident rules 82 knowledge base article 155 knowledge base scope 162 notify rule 91, 96 queue 143 quick incident 68 routing rule 87 validation rule 78 worker 140 view asset properties, incident 44 view contact properties, incident 42 view knowledge base library 159 W Worker menu 139 default queues 142 edit queue 143 edit worker 140 list queues 141 Helpdesk Solution Product Guide 247

248 list workers 139 new queue 144 new worker 140 view queue 143 view worker 140 worker report 38 workers delete 139 Helpdesk Solution Product Guide 248