Searching the Help
To search for information in the Help, type a word or phrase in the Search box. When you enter a group of words, OR is inferred. You can use Boolean operators to refine your search.
Results returned are case insensitive. However, results ranking takes case into account and assigns higher scores to case matches. Therefore, a search for "cats" followed by a search for "Cats" would return the same number of Help topics, but the order in which the topics are listed would be different.
Words and Phrases
| Search for | Example | Results |
|---|---|---|
| A single word | cat
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Topics that contain the word "cat". You will also find its grammatical variations, such as "cats". |
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A phrase. You can specify that the search results contain a specific phrase. |
"cat food" (quotation marks) |
Topics that contain the literal phrase "cat food" and all its grammatical variations. Without the quotation marks, the query is equivalent to specifying an OR operator, which finds topics with one of the individual words instead of the phrase. |
Using Boolean Operators
| Search for | Operator | Example |
|---|---|---|
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Two or more words in the same topic |
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| Either word in a topic |
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| Topics that do not contain a specific word or phrase |
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| Topics that contain one string and do not contain another | ^ (caret) |
cat ^ mouse
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| A combination of search types | ( ) parentheses |
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Assumptions
The information in this document is most useful if all of the following criteria are met.
- You are implementing Service Manager version 9.20 or greater
- You are a system implementer with general knowledge of Service Manager tailoring tools and techniques
- You have a design based on a clearly-defined and agreed-upon business plan or system model to direct your tailoring efforts
- You have an understanding of Service Manager's out-of-box data model and ITIL work flows
This document assumes you have access to features available since the Service Manager version 9.20 release. Some of these best practices can also apply to earlier versions, but some performance benefits and user experience features require you have access to newer application versions.In general, best practices that rely on a particular tool or control will have the most benefit when implemented with the newest version of the applications.
System implementers will gain the most benefit from this document as it assumes you are already familiar with basic tailoring activities and have access to all the tools referred to within. At a minimum, you will need administrative access to all of Service Manager's tailoring tools. It is also recommended that you have earned an Accredited Integration Specialist certificate.
Having a business plan or system model will help you determine which parts of Service Manager you will need to tailor. Furthermore, having a list of objectives will help you decide between competing goals. For example, if your overall tailoring goal is to provide the best user experience for your Service Manager users, then you may choose options that maximize usability rather than the best practices that are easiest to implement or maintain. Lastly, a business plan allows you to get prior approval for your implementation from your business process owners. The more agreement there is on the business plan, the more likely your business process owners will accept the tailored implementation.
Many of the suggestions in this document assume you either know or have access to the Service Manager data model and work flows. This document does not describe the out-of-box data model or workflow in detail. If you need to change the out-of-box data model or workflow, see the Service Manager help.
Related concepts
