Edit requests in the Service Portal

By default, users cannot edit requests in the Service Portal. If you have the appropriate permissions, you can enable users to edit requests in the portal. The following is a use case demonstrating one advantage of such a capability.

1. A user submits a request reporting an issue with mobile phone connectivity. The user adds details of the phone and its operating system.

2. After submitting the request, the user discovers that the phone operating system has automatically been upgraded to the latest version. Therefore, the information in the submitted request is incorrect.

3. The user logs in to the Service Portal, goes to the request tracking page, and corrects the information about the operating system.

4. Assuming Service Management is configured appropriately, the request assignee then receives notification that the user has made a change to the request. The agent reviews the change and continues to work on it.

Another use case might be where a user discovers that a previously submitted request is about an issue that affects many colleagues. The user therefore wants to edit the request by making it public for wider viewing.

How to enable users to edit requests in the Service Portal

If you have the appropriate permissions, you can enable users to edit requests in the portal by doing the following:

Enable new request tracking page

If not already using the new request tracking page:

1. From the main menu, select Administration > Configuration > Service Portal Settings > Feature Settings.

2. In the Enable new request tracking page field, select On.

3. Click Save.

Enable the editable request form

1. From the main menu, select Administration > Configuration > Service Portal Settings > Feature Settings.

2. In the Use the custom request form field, select Customized form - with tracking and editing.

3. Click Save.

Add business rule

The following business rule allows you to specify:

• What fields are editable, and

• When (in which specified phase) they are editable

1. From the Main menu, select Administration > Configuration > Records.

2. In the drop-down at the top of the page, select the Request record type.

3. Select the Processes and Rules tab.

4. In the left pane, select Request at the top of the tree.

5. In the main panel, in the Rendering forms section:

   1. Click Add.

   2. Click “If…Then” rule.

   3. Select the Restrict/allow editing of fields template, and click OK.

6. Click expression to edit the condition for the rule. Consider using the following conditions:

   • entity.Id !=null

     This makes the rule applicable for requests after they have been created (they have an ID), and so does not apply to requests at the time of creation.

   • current_flow.IsPortalFlow

     This makes the rule applicable to the Service Portal only. It therefore has no effect on agents using the main Service Management environment.

   • entity.PhaseId=='<phase name>'

     Adding this part to the rule makes it applicable to request records only in the specified phase. For example, entity.PhaseId=='Fulfill' makes the rule applicable to only the Fulfill phase, so users can edit request records in that phase.

     If you want users to edit request records in more than one phase, but not every phase, you must add a business rule for each phase in which you want users to be able to edit requests, or add the appropriate phases with an 'OR' operator to the condition. For example:

     entity.PhaseId=='Fulfill' || PhaseId=='Review'

     If you do not add a part like this to the expression, users can edit in all phases.

     Note You can view the relevant phase names by clicking HR Support, IT Service, or IT Support in the left pane below Request when in Standard mode.

   The following example expression makes the rule applicable when request records are in the Fulfill phase, and for a user in the Service Portal.

   entity.Id !=null && current_flow.IsPortalFlow && entity.PhaseId=='Fulfill'

   For more information, see Expression Language.

7. Click Restrict and select Allow from the drop-down. Then click OK.

8. Click click to specify.

9. Click Select Specific fields. This allows a user in the portal to edit only the specified fields of a request record.

   Caution Do not select All fields, as this enables editing of all fields on the request form, and this is unlikely to be desirable. For example, you do not want users to be able to edit the Solution field.

   1. Click Add item.

   2. Select the field you want from the drop-down.

   3. Repeat steps a and b for each field you want to add.

10. Save your changes.

How to disable this feature

If, after enabling this feature, you want to disable it, either:

• Go to main menu > Administration > Configuration > Service Portal Settings > Feature Settings > Use the custom request form, and select a form other than Customized form - with tracking and editing, or

• Disable the previously added business rules.