OUTLOOK HELP DESK 3.1
Installation Manual for Standard
Edition
Crow Canyon Systems, Inc.
Linking to CCS Network Inventory
INSTALLATION INSTRUCTIONS
COMPONENTS
The following components are
included in OutlookHelpDesk310.Zip.
REQUIRED COMPONENTS
1) OutlookHelpDesk31.PST: The set of Help Desk folders that make up the main part of
the program. This consists of the
Help Desk folder with four folders under it. They are delivered as a PST
(Personal Folder) file. You temporarily add this PST file to your Outlook so
that you can copy the folders to the location in the Public Folders where they
you want them to reside.
2) OutlookHelpDesk310-113.MSI silently installs Redemption.dll and OHD1.dll on client PCs.
Needed on PCs that will use Outlook to interact with the Help Desk. The MSI package can be distributed by
a software installation process, such as Group Policy, login scripts, SMS, or
other. (Note: these DLL’s are NOT needed on clients that will only send in
email or use the Web to create or view tickets.)
ClientSetup directory with a
Setup.exe: We provide
this EXE as an alternative way to install the client components. This requires
user interaction to install.
OPTIONAL COMPONENTS
3)
Event Sink email conversion files
(E2K-EventSink310.Zip): allows users to email in requests. The Event Sink will convert that
emails into new Help Desk Tickets automatically.
4)
Web Interface files
(WebFiles31-2K.Zip): allows
users to create and view tickets with a web browser.
These two optional components are provided as separate Zips
inside the installation package. The installation manuals for them are included
in their individual zip files, not in this document. If you do not have these
files, please contact us at support@crowcanyon.com
1) INSTALLATION OF THE
HELP DESK FOLDERS
The Outlook Help Desk 3.1 set of folders will be copied from
the OutlookHelpDesk31.PST file to the Public Folders. This is done with an
Outlook client. It only has to be done once, and then the public folders are
available to anyone in the Exchange organization. (The folders can also be
installed in a shared mailbox, where they would be available to anyone with
access to that mailbox.)
The Help Desk folders can sit anywhere in the Exchange
Public Folder hierarchy (or a shared mailbox) as long as they retain the folder
structure. The top-level “Help Desk” folder can be renamed, but the other
folders need to keep their names as is:
First, make sure you have the rights to create new folders
under whatever folder you will be placing the Help Desk folders. The best way
to test if you have rights is to try to create a new folder at the location you
want. If you cannot, you will need to get this permission from your Exchange
administrator (or have the administrator do the installation).
1.
Unzip
the “OutlookHelpDesk310.zip” and extract the files. Remember where you put
"OutlookHelpDesk31.PST"; you will need it for the next step.
2.
Using
an Outlook client, connect to an Exchange Server, and then:
In Outlook 2000, go to Tools/Services/Add
and select Personal Folders. In Outlook
2002, go to File/New/Outlook Data File and choose Personal Folder under
“Types of Storage”. In both versions, when the “Create or Open” dialog box
comes up, browse to the " OutlookHelpDesk31.PST" file that you just
unzipped. Choose "OK" in the next dialog box accepting the defaults.
In Outlook 2003 and 2007, go to
File/Open/Outlook Data File and navigate to the “OutlookHelpDesk31.PST"
file that you just unzipped and press OK.
3.
You
will now have another set of folders under "Outlook Help Desk 310
Release". Expand this set of folders. If you only see a Deleted Items and
Search folder, see Appendix A on how to make all
folders visible.
4.
In
the "Outlook Help Desk 310 Release" set of folders, select the Help
Desk folder then right-click it and select Copy "Help Desk" (or go to
Edit/Copy to Folder on top menu). In the "Copy Folder" dialog box
that comes up, select the folder where you want to place the Help Desk. This will
copy the Help Desk and the folders under it to the location you have chosen.
Note:
Outlook may give you a warning message like the one below when you copy, but
you can safely ignore this. It seems to be a bug in Outlook and does not affect
anything.
Under this
newly created Help Desk folder in the public folders, there also should be
"Assigned Help Desk Tickets", “Knowledge Base”, “Reports”, and
"Utilities”. These should have copied over when you copied the "Help
Desk".
The custom "Help Desk Ticket" form will now come
up when you choose "New” or click the white space in the Help Desk folder.
OR
Once the
folders are copied, delete the Personal Folder you added in step #2. In Outlook
2000, go to Tools/Services, highlight "Outlook Help Desk 310 Release"
and press "Remove". In Outlook 2002, go to File/Data File Management,
highlight the PST file and hit “Remove”. In Outlook 2003 and 2007, right-click “Outlook
Help Desk 310 Release” and choose Close.
Permissions on the Folders
Set permissions for the folders as follows (this can be done
by a folder Owner in Outlook or by an Exchange Admin in Exchange System Manager
(under Client Permissions of the folder):
Help Desk
Default = Author
Help Desk/IT staff = Publishing
Editor (or Owner)
Assigned Help Desk Tickets
Default = Reviewer
Help Desk/IT staff = Publishing
Editor (or Owner)
Knowledge Base
Default = Reviewer
Help Desk/IT staff = Publishing
Editor (or Owner)
Reports
Default = Reviewer
Help Desk/IT staff = Publishing
Editor (or Owner)
Utilities
Default = Reviewer
Help Desk/IT staff = Publishing Editor (or Owner)
People
doing ticket assigning (if different than Help Desk staff): Custom role with
Read Items, Folder Visible, Edit items (All), Delete items (None)
License (under Utilities)
Default = Reviewer
Someone on Help Desk/IT staff = Owner
2) INSTALLATION OF OHD1.DLL
AND REDEMPTION.DLL
Outlook Help Desk 3.1 uses OHD1.dll in addition to
Redemption.Dll. Both OHD1.dll and Redemption.dll must be installed and
registered on PC’s that will be using an Outlook client to interact with the
Help Desk. OHD1.dll and Redemption.dll
are NOT needed on clients that will only be sending in emails or using a Web
browser to access the Help Desk system.
The easiest way to install (and later update) the client
side DLLs is to use our MSI package, OutlookHelpDesk310-113.MSI. Almost any
current software distribution system should be able to utilize the MSI file to
silently install the two DLLs on the computer. The MSI package is set to
overwrite existing copies of these two DLLs, so it can be used to update
clients as needed.
We also include a Setup.exe file that installs OHD1.dll and
Redemption.dll, in case the use of MSI files is not available.
More on OHD1.dll
OHD1.dll provides much of the functionality of the program
when inside of Outlook. The custom forms in the Help Desk folders display and
allow interaction with the ticket data; OHD1.dll powers the program behind the
scenes.
More on our use of Redemption.dll
Redemption.dll (also known as Outlook Redemption) uses
Extended MAPI to provide secure access to Outlook and Exchange. It is used in
Outlook Help Desk to manage Outlook security warnings, to provide the
Redemption Data Objects library, and to access MAPI Tables for reporting and
other uses. See the sections below for details on each of these uses.
We have
licensed Redemption.dll from its developer for use with Outlook Help Desk. More
information on Outlook Redemption is available at http://www.dimastr.com/redemption/
1) To manage Outlook
Security warnings
Versions of
Outlook 2000 with Microsoft’s security patch installed (Version 9.0.0.4201 and
later) and all Outlook 2002/XP, 2003, and 2007 clients generate a security
warning when programs try to access the address book, read the message body,
send an email, and do other related functions. Outlook Help Desk 3.1 safely
avoids generating these Outlook security warnings through the use of
Redemption.dll.
2)
To provide access to the Redemption Data Objects programming library
Previous
version of Outlook Help Desk used CDO (Collaboration Data Objects). However,
with Outlook 2007, Microsoft no longer includes CDO as part of the Outlook
installation. In Outlook Help Desk 3.1, we have replaced CDO with the more
robust and functional “RDO” - Redemption Data Objects.
3) To access MAPI
Tables
MAPI Tables
are the internal data structure of the Exchange public folder store. Previously
available only to highly specialized applications, Redemption makes these tables
accessible to programs such as Outlook Help Desk. This allows lightning fast
access to the ticketing data, making reporting and other functions much faster.
3 & 4) OPTIONAL COMPONENTS –
Email Conversion Files and Web pages
These two
optional components are provided as separate Zips inside the installation
package. The installation manuals for them are included in their individual zip
files, not in this document. If you do not have these files, please contact us
at support@crowcanyon.com
Setting up the Event Sink to
convert emails into Help Desk tickets
An Event Sink in Exchange 2000 and above converts emails sent
to the Help Desk folder into new Help Desk tickets. This is a separate setup. See UserManual_31_Email2K.
In Exchange 5.5, a folder script converts emails. Contact us
for more information if using 5.5.
Setting up the Web
Interface
Users
can also submit and view tickets through a Web browser. This is a separate
setup. See UserManual_31_Web2K
for Exchange 2000, 2003 and 2007. If you are using Exchange 5.5, contact us for
information and web files.
UPGRADING FROM TRIAL VERSION TO FULL RELEASE
Going from the Trial to the Full Release is very simple.
Just enter the key we send upon purchase of the program. You will not lose any tickets or
data. Note
that the Trial Version DOES NOT REQUIRE a Key, but the Full Release version
does.
(If you
wish to delete the Trial Version, or if the Trial Version was on a test machine
and now you need to put the full version in a live environment, then you can do
the full installation as per the “Installation Instructions” below, and enter
the Key in as part of that process.)
LINKING TO CCS NETWORK INVENTORY (OPTIONAL)
Crow Canyon’s CCS Network Inventory tool is a powerful hardware and software inventory and asset tracking
program that scans your LAN to get detailed software and hardware inventory and
configuration information. Outlook Help Desk 3.1.106 introduces a link to CCS
Network Inventory from the Assigned Tickets. This allows quick and easy access
to important data about the asset and can lead to faster problem resolution
times.
CCS Network
Inventory is a separate purchase. The use of CCS Network Inventory is not
required and is entirely optional. The asset boxes can be filled in manually as
needed.
Requirements for the
“Asset Link”:
- CCS Network Inventory must be purchased (from us) and
installed. The inventory database must be on a network share that is
accessible to staff members who will use the link while troubleshooting
tickets. For more information on CCS Network Inventory, see http://www.crowcanyon.com/network_inventory/network_inventory.asp
- A DSN (data source name) needs to be
on clients that will use the link. Since the link is in the Assigned tickets
only, and the Assigned are used by the Help Desk staff, usually only the
Help Desk staff members need to set this DSN up. The setup of the DSN is
described in Appendix B of this manual.
- Outlook Help Desk needs to be version 3.1.106,
which has the new Asset Link utility in the Utilities folder. This utility
turns the link between the help desk and the inventory tool on and off. Simply
check the box if you want the Assigned Tickets to access data from the CCS
Network Inventory database.
How to access CCS Network Inventory
data from an Assigned Ticket
The Asset tab of the Assigned Ticket has been changed in
Outlook Help Desk 3.1.106. This tab now includes a “Device Type” drop-list, an
“IP address” text box, and four new buttons.
“Device Type’ has four choices, Computer, Network device,
Printer, and Other. When “Computer” is chosen, and the Outlook Help Desk is set
to link to CCS Network Inventory (in the Asset Link utility), then the four
buttons become active.
If a Name is entered, the buttons can be pressed to retrieve
data about that computer. The code will go out and try to make a connection to
the Inventory database using the DSN that is setup on the local PC. If it
cannot connect, or if the Name is not found in the database, a dialog box is
returned informing about this. If it connects successfully, the following
information is retrieved:
Basic: fills in IP address, OS, Model,
and puts other information in the details box.
Disk: puts disk information (drive
letter, free space, total space, etc.) in the details box.
Apps: puts list of installed apps in the
details box.
Hotfixes: puts list of hotfixes in the
details box.
At anytime,
of course, the boxes can be filled in or modified manually. For instance, Asset
No. is not retrieved from the database, and can only be filled in manually. The
other boxes can be changed at any time. One caution is that changing “Name”
will clear the other boxes.
UNINSTALLING
To
uninstall Outlook Help Desk, take the following steps:
1)
Delete
the set of Help Desk public folders. Make certain you want to take this step
first, as once the folders are deleted, the tickets and settings are gone. You
can archive the folders to a PST file if you wish to retain the ticket data.
2)
On
Outlook clients with OHD1.dll and Redemption.dll installed, you can either
leave them there as they are only activated when our program accesses them or
delete them by unregistering them (with REGSVR32 /u switch) and then deleting
the dll files. These files are usually in the Program Files/Crowcanyon
directory on the client.
3)
For
the Event Sink, delete the “Outlook Help Desk Event Sink” COM+ Application that
was created during installation in the Component Services on the Exchange
Server. The OHD310ES.DLL on the Exchange Server (usually in Program
Files/exchsrvr/bin) can either be left there since it will not be running and
won’t affect the server, or unregistered with REGSVR32 /u switch and then
deleted.
4) For the Web files, delete the
“helpdesk” Virtual Directory that was created during installation, then delete
the “helpdesk” file directory (usually under INETPUB/wwwroot) on the Exchange
server.
“Disappearing”
folders in Help Desk in Outlook 2003/2007
If you
install the PST file and do not see the Help Desk folder, like the view on the
left, simply click the folder icon at the extreme bottom right (the one that is
yellowed in the right-hand view) and you will see the folders:
Adding a DSN (Data
Source Name) to the local PC
(Used only for the Outlook Help Desk
link to CCS Network Inventory)
Each PC
that will access the CCS Network Inventory database from the Assigned Ticket
needs to have a DSN set up. Note that this is only required if the CCS Network
Inventory link is active, and only on PCs that will be using the link from
Assigned tickets to the database,
Follow
these steps to add the DBISAM Connector (DSN) to a PC. The DBISAM Connector
comes with CCS Network Inventory. First, install CCS Network Inventory. After
installing, go to Start, All Programs, CCS Network Inventory, then ODBC, then
“ODBC Driver for 5.x Database”. This will install the driver on the PC.
After
installing the driver, go to Control Panel/Administrative Tools/Data Sources
(ODBC), System DSN, ADD
Find the DBISAN
4 ODBC Driver. Click Finish.
This
configuration wizard comes up. Enter “CCSNetworkInventory” as the Data Source
Name, then click Next.
Choose
Local (database should be on your PC or a mapped network share).
Use the
Select button to find the database directory
Accept the
defaults on the next page:
Accept the
defaults again
Accept the
defaults again
If you put
a password on the table, enter it here. Otherwise, leave this blank, then press
Finish.
The
“CCSNetworkInventory” DSN will now be listed in the System DSN tab
