OUTLOOK HELP DESK 3.1
Product Information and User Manual for Service Provider edition
UPDATED FOR OUTLOOK 2007
Crow Canyon Systems, Inc.
New features in version 3.0 & 3.1
Welcome
to Outlook Help Desk 3.1 Service Provider edition!
Outlook Help Desk 3.1 leverages the power of Outlook and
Exchange Server to bring a robust, simple and effective system to track
customer support issues. The program uses highly customized Outlook forms, the
Web, Email, and Exchange public folders to build a help desk that allows you to
efficiently track and resolve IT support issues.
The Service Provider edition is meant to service external
customers and clients. The list of customers can be kept in an Exchange public
contacts folder. When creating a ticket, the name of the customer is resolved
against this contact folder. If the name
is found, the customer’s information (company, phone, address and email) is
brought into the ticket.
Outlook Help Desk has several utilities to help you manage
the Help Desk, as well as Reporting and Knowledge Base features. The utilities
allow you to set the colors of the ticket, to change the drop-down lists and
manage the numbering. Report Builder exports tickets to Microsoft Excel or a
text file for analysis of help desk performance and problem areas. The
Knowledge Base provides the Help Desk with a valuable repository of information
and experience on fixing customer problems.
Also included with Outlook Help Desk is a link to CCS
Network Inventory, our asset management tool (separate purchase). The use of
CCS Network Inventory is not required, but it can provide more effective
management of computers and lead to faster troubleshoot times. We provide a
link between Outlook HelpDesk and CCS Network Inventory for customers who use
both programs.
Outlook
Help Desk 3.1 works on all versions of Outlook that are 2000 and later. Version
3.1 does not support Outlook 98 and Outlook 97.
Creating
New Help Desk Tickets – Customers can use Web forms or Email
- Customers
can send requests to the help desk by email or through Web forms. These
emails and Web forms will be automatically converted into new tickets.
Support
staff can create tickets using Outlook, Web or Email
- Support
staff can take customer calls and fill out tickets through the Outlook
interface, the Web or email.
- Support
staff can create and assign tickets directly.
- Notifications
are sent out when a new ticket is received, whether by Outlook, Web or
email. These notices can go to a “high priority” address (such as a pager
or cell phone) for the critical tickets and a regular address for the
normal tickets.
Assigning Tickets –
Assign to yourself, to another tech, or to multiple techs.
- Once
the ticket is received, Help Desk reviews and assigns it.
- The
ticket can be assigned to “Self” or to another technician. The tech’s name
can be pulled from the Global Address List. Once assigned, the tech gets
an email notice about the assignment.
- A
ticket can be assigned to multiple techs. If assigned to multiple techs,
each tech can work on the same ticket or each can get a separate ticket.
Completing Tickets
- The
tech works on the ticket and enters in details, comments, and actions
taken into the History Log
- While
working on the ticket, the tech can send an update to the customer through
a simple click of a button.
- The
tech can copy the ticket to a personal Task so that it can sync with a PDA
or handheld computer.
- The
tech can enter in the time worked on the ticket; this is automatically
totaled.
- The
ticket can be reassigned or escalated at any time.
- The
ticket can be printed using the “Print Ticket” button.
- The
tech can mark the ticket complete and send an email to the customer.
Entering tickets with a
Web browser
You can put a Web form on a “Support Page” on your Web
site. The customer fills this support form out and presses a Send button. The
Web form is sent as an email to the Help Desk folder where it is converted into
a new ticket. Since this does not require a login, it can be available to
anyone who can access your web server.
We
offer another Web alternative for your internal users. People with Exchange
mailboxes can enter and view tickets through a Web interface that works
something like Outlook Web Access. Users access a Virtual Directory on your OWA
server. They enter a URL such as http://yourcompany.com/helpdesk in their
browser, which brings up a logon page. Once authenticated, the users can submit
a new ticket or view existing tickets. See UserManual_31SP_Web
for more information.
Email to Help Desk creates
new ticket
Customers
can send email directly to the Help Desk folder, where it is converted into a
new Help Desk ticket. The folder has an SMTP address, like support@company.com;
customers simply send an email to that address like any other email. Components
on the Help Desk folder convert the email into a Help Desk ticket. Users inside
your company can also send emails to the Help Desk by choosing the folder from
the Address Book or by typing the name of the folder in the TO line. For more
information, see UserManual_31SP_Email2K
for Exchange 2000 and above.
Other ways to create tickets -- from
an Intranet page or the Outlook Toolbar
Users can create Help Desk tickets
by clicking on a link or button on an Intranet page. This launches an Outlook form,
not an HTML form. Click here for more information.
A new Help
Desk ticket can also be launched from the Outlook Toolbar. No need to navigate
to the Help Desk folder to open a new ticket. Click here for
more information.
Generating reports with
Report Builder
Report Builder will help you track Help Desk performance and
identify problem areas. Report Builder exports tickets to an Excel spreadsheet
or text file. You can use date, status, and 12 other filters to generate the
reports you want. See more information under Report Builder.
Knowledge Base – valuable information at your fingertips
The Knowledge Base provides a valuable and easily accessible
repository of information on Help Desk issues and fixes. The information is
readily available to Help Desk staff to help them speedily fix problems. The
Knowledge Base is an integrated with Outlook Help Desk system, using the same
Problem Categories and Types for sorting articles. New articles can be created
from tickets with the click of a button. See Knowledge Base
for more information.
Use with
Public or Private Calendars
Appointments
can be created from the Assigned Tickets in whatever Calendar folder you
designate. This could each person’s personal Calendar or a public shared
Calendar. The appointment has the ticket number and other details in it for
reference back to the ticket. This is a convenient way to block out and track
time for each ticket.
Linkage
to CCS Network Inventory
Outlook
Help Desk can be linked to CCS Network Inventory, our asset management tool
(separate purchase). The Asset Link utility in the Utilities folder turns the
linkage on or off. When the link is active, the Assigned tickets have buttons
that retrieve data from the Inventory database. The use of CCS Network
Inventory is not required, but it can provide more effective management of computers
and lead to faster troubleshoot times.
Utilities
give you control over Outlook Help Desk:
- Name
Resolution allows
you to set how customer information is put in the ticket, whether from the
Global Address List, a public contacts folder, or entered manually.
- List
Manager lets
you control the contents of the drop-down boxes.
- Ticket
Colors allows
you to change the colors of the tickets on the fly.
- Ticket
Numbering sets
up sequential numbering with a prefix and/or suffix.
- Automatic
Notification
designates two email addresses to send notices to when a new Help Desk
Ticket is created. One address is for high priority tickets, the other
address is for all others.
- Ticket
Mode allows
you to switch the Help Desk Ticket's default mode from "end
user" to "help desk" depending on who is filling out the
tickets.
- Popup
Message lets
you configure a message to display to the users whenever they fill out a
new Ticket. The message is easily changed or turned on and off.
- Asset
Link turns on or off the linkage between the ticket
and our CCS Network Inventory asset tracking tool.
- Set
Calendar Folder is used to set what Calendar folder will be
used when creating appointments from the ticket.
See Utilities for more information.
Copy to
Tasks for synching with PDA or handheld
The
Assigned Tickets have a “Copy to Tasks” button. This will make a copy of the
ticket in the tech’s personal Tasks folder. This copy can then be synched with
a PDA or handheld computer so the tech has the ticket information readily
available.
Fully compatible with
Outlook 2000, 2002/XP, 2003 and 2007
Outlook
Help Desk 3.1 works on all versions of Outlook that are 2000 and later. Outlook
Help Desk safely avoids generating the Outlook security warning through the use
of Redemption.DLL. Without Redemption,
Outlook 2002/XP, 2003, and 2007, as well as versions of Outlook 2000 with
Microsoft’s security patch installed, will generate a security warning when
programs try to access the address book, read the body, send a message, and
other similar tasks.
NEW “LICENSE UTILITY” IN
VERSION 3.1
Outlook
Help Desk 3.1 introduces a License Utility to manage program licensing. Upgrading
from the trial version to the full release is now much simpler. There is no
longer any need to remove the trial version and then recreate the folders.
Instead, you simply enter a License Key. You will not lose any tickets or data.
We send
you the License Key upon purchase of the program. Note that the Trial Version DOES
NOT REQUIRE a License Key, but will expire on a pre-set date.
The
License Key is entered into the License Utility, which sits in the License
folder under the Utilities folder. Simply enter in the Key and Save and Close
the Utility.
Purchase
can also be initiated from the License Utility. The “Purchase” button will take
you to our secure web purchase pages where you can buy the program. These pages
can also be reached by the URL http://www.crowcanyon.com/purchase/purchase_sp.asp
After purchase, use the “Request
License” button to email us for a valid License.
New
License folder under the Utilities folder:
New License Utility:
REPORT BUILDER
Using Report Builder
To use Report Builder, you can either:
A.
Go
to the Reports folder and double-click the "Report Builder" form.
This will bring up a new Report Builder. OR
B.
Go
to the Reports folder and double-click an existing Report template. The program
comes with several pre-built reports ready for use in the Reports folder, or
you can create your own templates for later use and save them to the Reports
folder (instructions below).
In Report Builder, you can choose which fields to export by
individually checking them or by checking “Select all fields” to export all
fields. Report Builder is set to export from the Assigned Help Desk Tickets
folder by default, but you can switch folders with the “Change Folder” button.
Also, rather than export all tickets, you can select
Optional Filters to filter on Status, Priority, Date, and/or Specific Fields. These
filtering options let you tailor the exports to get the reports you want.
After making your choices, press the Export to Excel button.
This will read each ticket that meets your criteria into either an Excel
spreadsheet. It will not delete any data or information from the tickets during
the export.
Microsoft Excel needs to be on the PC that is running Report
Builder. Excel does not need to be opened, but it does need to be installed.
If you want to create a new Report and save it with the
fields and filter choices you have selected, go to the Actions menu and choose "New
Report Builder". When this comes up, make your field and filter
selections, then give the Report a name. To save it, go to File/Save to save it,
then File/Move to Folder and choose the Reports folder.
Knowledge Base
articles can be created directly in the Knowledge Base folder (go to Actions
menu, then “New KB Article”).
Also, every Assigned Help Desk
Ticket has a “Create KB Article” button. If you find that the information and
fixes in a ticket would be valuable to remember, you can create a new KB
article from the ticket with the click of a button. This new article will have
the same Problem Category and Type as the ticket.
Knowledge Base articles can be
sent by email, using the “Send by Email” button on the article. This makes a
quick and easy way to send users fixes and solutions to common problems. The
Knowledge Base can also be used to keep track of Help Desk information, such as
“how-to” articles, configurations, and procedures.
CALENDAR FOLDER
Outlook Help Desk 3.1 build 108 and later comes with a
Calendar folder for those who want to create appointments for the work on the
tickets. We provide a Calendar folder under the Help Desk folder for this
purpose. This folder can be used where it is, or it can be moved to another
location in the public folders.
Also, you can use an existing calendar folder or create your
own or even use each person’s private Calendar folder. In those cases, the Calendar
folder under Help Desk can be deleted. We have included a Set Calendar Folder
utility so you can designate any calendar folder – whether public or private –
as the place to create appointments
Note that
the use of a Calendar folder is optional. The system does not need to work with
a calendar folder. This Calendar folder can be deleted, and the settings in Set
Calendar Folder utility can be ignored.
The Make Appt
button on the Assigned Ticket is used to create the Appointment.
The Set Calendar Folder in the Utilities folder is used to
set the Calendar folder:
LIST
MANAGER
From the Utilities folder, open "List Manager".
This utility will allow you to set the contents of the drop-down boxes that are
on the Help Desk Ticket forms:
·
Problem Category
·
Problem Type
·
Priority
·
When
needed
·
Maker/Model
·
Operating
System
On the first page of List Manager, you can set
the When Needed, Maker/Model, Operating System and Priority boxes. For
Priority, you put the entries in the High,
On the second page of List Manager, you can set the Problem
Category and Problem Type lists. These two lists can be linked or unlinked.
Linked:
When linked,
changing the Problem Category changes what is listed in the Problem Type. For
instance, a Problem Category might be Email and the Problem Types might be
“Address Book”, “Can’t Send/Receive”, etc. and another Problem Category might
be Network and the Types might be “Drive mapping”, “Logon Problems”, etc.
To set this
up, enter whatever you want into the Problem Categories list (each on its own
line), then use the “Select Problem Category” drop-down list to select a
Problem Category. Add, modify or delete the list of Problem Types for that
Problem Category. You can switch from Problem Category to Problem Category
using the drop-down lists and modify the Problem Type lists accordingly. Enter the
Problem Types each on its own line.
Unlinked:
When
unlinked, they operate independently so that if the Problem Category changes,
this has no effect on the Problem Type. This might be used if the Problem Types
are more general and you don’t want linkage between the two lists.
Outlook
Help Desk comes with the List Manager form already in the Utilities folder. If
it is deleted, you can create a new one by using the Actions menu and choosing
"New List Manager". When the form comes up, choose File/Save, then
File/Move to Folder and select the Utilities folder.
There must
be only one "List Manager" form in the Utilities folder.
POPUP MESSAGE
The Popup Message utility in the Utilities folder allows you
to set up a message that users will see when they open a new Help Desk Ticket.
This could be an informational notice (“Network down 10 pm – 1 am tonight”) or
a Yes/No box (“We are aware the Internet is down. Do you still want to fill out
a ticket?”). The message can easily be turned on and off with the Message On
checkbox. Other boxes allow you to set the Message Title and the Message Text.
FIVE
UTILITIES
From the Utilities folder, open "Five Utilities”. This
form has five utilities, each on its own tab.
1. HELP DESK TICKET NUMBERING allows you to change the sequential
numbering of the Help Desk Tickets and add prefixes or suffixes to the Tickets
automatically. Ticket IDs are issued when the ticket is assigned, not when the
Help Desk ticket is first created. This is so that the numbering sequence is
not filled with gaps caused by users opening a ticket and then canceling or by
tickets that the help desk determines do not need to become Assigned Help Desk
Tickets.
KNOWLEDGE BASE ARTICLE NUMBERING allows you to change the sequential
numbering of the Knowledge Base articles. The numbering can be changed or reset
using this form
2. AUTOMATIC NOTIFICATION TO STAFF allows you to set email addresses
that will be notified whenever a new ticket is entered in the Help Desk folder.
This notification works for any new ticket, whether entered from Outlook, by
email or the Web. Use SMTP addresses in the boxes.
The High Importance box allows you to specify an address,
such as a pager or cell phone, that gets notified about critical tickets only,.
This allows you to quickly identify and react to important issues, thereby
increasing your response time.
How users can mark an item “High Importance”:
A. Outlook form – the end user page of
a new Help Desk Ticket has an “Emergency or High Importance” check box
B. Web form – the web form has an
“Emergency or High Importance” check box
C. Email to Help Desk – an email can be
marked high or low importance (they are “normal” by default).
The
notification is not sent to the person filling out the ticket if his or her email
address is in the list. Presumably, the person knows there is a new ticket in
the Help Desk folder and does not need to be notified.
SEND CC TO CUSTOMER WHEN
TICKET IS ASSIGNED is
a checkbox that lets you set whether or not the Customer will be notified by
email when the ticket is assigned. An email is always sent to the person to
whom the ticket is assigned. The Customer can be added to this message as a
“cc” to keep notified of when the ticket was assigned and to whom it was
assigned.
This email to the Assigned To person, and to the Customer if
the checkbox is checked, is automatically sent upon ticket assignment. (In
previous versions, this email was displayed before being sent.) This “Send CC
to Customer” checkbox was added in release 3.1, vA310B105.
3. TICKET MODE allows you to set new Help Desk Tickets to open in either
end user or Help Desk mode. Most of the time, you will want to leave it at the
default "Help Desk". However, if end users in your company are
entering the tickets, you will want to switch to "End User" mode.
This brings the tickets up without the assignment buttons, so users can submit,
but not assign tickets.
CONTACT NAME RESOLUTION allows you to select the type of name resolution you
will use. This can be none, GAL (Global Address List), or a public Contacts
folder that contains the customer contact records. If a Contacts folder, use
“Pick Folder” to find the folder.
4. TURN OFF “WARNING ON DELETE” MESSAGE allows you to turn off the message
box that Outlook Help Desk shows when assigning a message. This message box is
meant for people with Outlook set to ‘Warn before permanently deleting items’.
When assigning a ticket, Outlook Help Desk deletes the ticket from the Help
Desk folder, which causes Outlook to warn. Our message tells you to say “Yes”
to this Outlook warning; otherwise, the Help Desk ticket will not be deleted.
If you know to answer “Yes” to Outlook’s warning or if you do not have Outlook
set to ‘Warn before permanently deleting items’, then you do not need our box
to show up.
TURN OFF “COMPLETION MESSAGE” TO CUSTOMER gives you three options concerning the
message that goes out to the customer upon completion of a ticket. The first
option is to show the box asking “Do you want to send a message to customer?”
so you can decide for each ticket. The second is to not show the box and never
send the message to customer. The third is to not show the box, but always send
the message to customer. This gives flexibility on how you want to communicate
with the customer and if you want to send them a message on ticket completion.
5. TICKET COLORS is a replica of the Help Desk Ticket. Using the Red, Green
and Blue boxes under Foreground and Background in the upper right, the colors
of the tickets can be changed. It is fun to experiment with this and see what
color combinations come up. Once saved, this color scheme will be used on all
Help Desk Tickets and Assigned Help Desk Tickets. Also, in the full release
version, the title “Help Desk Ticket” can be modified on this form and the
titles on the tickets will be changed also.
With different colors:
Outlook
Help Desk comes with the Five Utilities form already in the Utilities folder.
If it is deleted, you can create a new one by using the Actions menu and
choosing "New Five Utilities 30SP". When the form comes up, choose
File/Save, then File/Move to Folder and select the Utilities folder.
Note: Version 3.1 adds Outlook 2007 support
- Name Resolution of customers – Customer records can be kept
in an Exchange public folder, the Global Address List, or a contacts
database. Outlook Help Desk can be set to integrate with any of these
options, as well as allowing each customer’s information to be entered in
manually. This allows for many options in how the tickets link to
contacts.
- Knowledge Base - Outlook Help Desk includes an
integrated Knowledge Base. All the efforts and experience the Help Desk
staff gains through completing IT support requests can be compiled into a
readily available list of articles. With one click of a button on our Help
Desk Ticket, a KB article can be created to serve as a valuable reference
for future support.
- Assigned Ticket can be printed – The Assigned Help Desk
Tickets now have a “Print Ticket” button that allows you to print out a
nicely formatted ticket.
- All messages are formatted better – The Update, Completion, and
Assignment messages are now in HTML format. They are easier to read and better
looking.
- Report templates can be saved and reused - Report Builders can be saved
and rerun over and over. You can build a standard daily, weekly or monthly
report template, then reuse it whenever needed. We send the program with
several templates already created and ready for your use.
- Report
Builder exports full History Log and Description - The full History Log and
Description can now be exported with Report Builder. In previous versions,
only a truncated part of the Description was exported. This limitation has
been removed and these fields can now be used to build reports and provide
valuable insight into Help Desk activity.
- Streamlined
Interface - The
forms are simpler and easier to read, providing a sleeker, more
professional look. We won't claim that you will solve the IT support
issues faster, but the forms will be much more pleasing to use.
- Sync with a PDA with "Copy to Tasks"
feature - People
sometimes want their assigned tickets in a PDA or handheld computer.
However, tickets (which are tasks) in public folders do not sync to PDAs
or pocket PCs. With this new feature, Technicians can now make a
"reminder" copy of the Ticket in their personal Tasks folder and
sync that with the PDA. They will need to use Outlook to update and
complete the Ticket, but they will be able to work more effectively with
Ticket reminders in their handheld devices.
- Event Sink instead of script to convert Exchange
2000/2003/2007 emails into Tickets - Versions 3.0 & 3.1 use a COM+ Component (a
DLL) that takes advantage of the Web Storage System event sinks in
Exchange 2000 and above. This DLL replaces the Agent script and uses the
Exchange server resources more efficiently and securely. It will
automatically convert incoming emails to the Help Desk folder into new
Tickets.
- Completely overhauled Upgrade Utility makes it
much easier to upgrade – The Upgrade Utility now copies the folders, renames
the old folders, moves and upgrades the tickets and passes the settings in
the Utilities from the old system to the new one automatically. This makes
it much, much easier to upgrade!
- Popup Message for Users - A new utility allows you to
create a popup message that end users will see before they fill out a
ticket. You can turn this message on and off at will with a simple check
box. The box can be informational ("Server upgrade this
weekend.") or a Yes/No box ("We are aware the Internet
connection is down. Do you still want to create a new Ticket?"). The
text of this box can be changed instantly. A great way to communicate with
your users!
- Special Notifications for High Importance
tickets -- End
users can mark a ticket "Emergency or High Importance" and this
will send an email to a specially designated email or pager address.
Standard tickets will go to the usual notification address. This allows
you to get immediate and specific notice of critical tickets.
- Task Splitter -- One ticket can be split into
multiple tasks
-- Sometimes, one ticket requires multiple staffers to work on parts of it
separately. It could be a ticket to upgrade a company with three
locations, for example. One ticket is created, but you could split the
ticket up when assigning it so that each site has a separate task to
complete.
- One-pass Resolution -- Help Desk staff can now
enter and complete a ticket in one pass. Some tickets are handled
immediately and do not need to be assigned and kept open. A ticket can be
opened and resolved in one session, making the Help Desk more efficient.
- Web can be used in two ways -- For internal users, you can
set up the Outlook Help Desk web pages. Users log in and fill out a ticket
that is similar to the Outlook-based tickets. Users can also view the
contents of the Help Desk folders. For external users, you can set up a
Web form that generates an email to the Help Desk folder. This email from
the Web form is then converted to a new Help Desk Ticket like any other
email using our event sink or agent script.
- Entries in the Log can be automatically emailed -- When you add a new entry to
the History Log, this can also be sent to the user. That way, the fix to
the problem can be simultaneously sent to the user and recorded in
the Log. Also, you can keep track of email correspondence with the user in
this way.
- Date Completed is not a locked field – Date Completed is no longer a
locked field because you may mark a ticket “Complete” after you actually
complete the task. By not being locked, you can change the Date Completed
to record the actual time completed rather then the time you are marking
it complete.
- Reset Colors and instructions on Ticket Colors
form – The
Ticket Colors utility now has a “Reset Colors” button to put the colors
back to the white and gray defaults that come with the program. Also,
there are instructions on the utility on how to get the Red, Green, Blue
numbers for colors.