Miscellaneous tasks

You can also perform the following tasks in the Service Desk module.

Using mass update with Service Desk interaction record lists

The mass update feature enables you to update the value of one or more fields in a list of records. The system provides a template form that displays the current field values and enables you to type or select a new value for the displayed fields. In compliance with the data policy of your organization (as recorded in the Data Policy form), the Mass Update template form does not display read-only fields in the records. The mass update option is available from both interaction and incident record lists.

When you perform a mass update operation, make sure that the value you type or select for a particular field is the value you want in all the records that you selected. When you update incident records, you must also update the incident activity data.

System Administrators can determine if a field is displayed in the Mass Update template form by directly editing the Data Policy record for the form. To remove a field from the Mass Update form, change the Usage Type column for the field to System. If a System Administrator wants to grant Template Mass Update permissions to other operators, the System Administrator must update the operator profile to include the Template Mass Update and Complex Mass Update capabilities.

Update multiple interaction records

You can use the mass update feature to update one or more values in multiple interaction records. Remember that the value you enter for a particular field becomes the value for all of the records you selected when you perform a mass update.

To update multiple records, follow these steps:

1. Locate the records by using one of the following methods:
   • Go to the Interaction Queue to display a list of records.
   • Use search or advanced search to find one or more records.
2. Click More or the More Actions icon, and then select Mass Update.
3. Double-click the field that you want to update.
4. Type the value for the field or use the Find feature to display a list of potential values for the field.
5. Click Next, and then repeat steps 3 and 4 for additional fields as needed.
6. Update the Activity Action field for the updates you made in the Mass Update template, and then click Execute.

To use complex update to update multiple records:

1. Locate the records by using one of the following methods:
   • Go to the Interaction Queue to display a list of records.
   • Use search or advanced search to find one or more records.
2. Select the records that you want to update.
3. Click Mass Update, and then click Complex Update.
4. Type the instructions (in RAD syntax) to be executed one time at the beginning of the mass add or mass update operation.
5. Type the instructions (in RAD syntax) for action on each record.
6. Click Execute.

Duplicate an existing interaction record

You can duplicate an existing interaction record to copy information from an existing record into a new record. For example, you duplicate an existing interaction record because a user is experiencing a repeat of a past problem or issue.

To duplicate an existing interaction record, follow these steps:

1. Click Service Desk > Search Interactions.
2. Use search or advanced search to find one or more records.
3. Double-click the record to open it.
4. Click More or the More Actions icon, and then and select Duplicate Interaction. Service Manager assigns the next available ID number to the duplicated interaction.

5. Add or change information in the interaction record as needed.

   Note You must clear any existing data in a field to use the Fill and Find functions to select a new value.

6. Click Save & Exit. If the record that you duplicated has any related records, a message that informs you the record has related records and asks if you want to copy the associations is displayed.

   • Click Yes to copy associated records and return to the interaction queue.

   • Click No if you do not want to copy the associated records to the new interaction record. The Escalation Details wizard starts, and you can relate the new record to an existing incident, an existing known error, or a new incident.

Add a required action

A required action is an action that a service recipient or your service organization requires you to perform before an interaction can be closed. For example, the service recipient may want to be contacted by a certain date. When you make this a required action, nobody can close this interaction until someone contacts the service recipient.

By default, Service Manager defines one required action:  When the Notify By field for an interaction is set to "telephone" the Service desk Agent must complete and close the required action before the interaction can be closed.

When you add a required action to an interaction record, the system updates the status of the record to Open-Callback, which means that the specified required action must be completed before the interaction and any associated incidents can be closed. The Service Desk Agent specifies what the required action is when they add the required action information to the interaction record. Required Actions lists a description of the action required for the interaction and a link to any associated incidents.

To add a required action, follow these steps:

1. Click Service Desk > Search Interactions.
2. Use search or advanced search to find one or more records.
3. Double-click the record to open it.
4. Click More or the More Actions icon, and then select Add Required Action.
5. Type the action details and a reason for the required action.

6. Select the incident number to associate with this interaction.

   Note You can click Fill to display a list of incidents.

7. Click OK.

   Note You cannot close the interaction until someone performs the required action.

Set a reminder for an interaction record

You can set a reminder to notify you if an existing interaction record meets certain conditions by a specified time. For example, you may want to be reminded if an interaction is still open or is not updated by a given date.

To set a reminder, follow these steps:

1. Locate an existing interaction.
2. Click More or the More Actions menu, and then select Set Reminder. 
3. Choose one of the following options to specify when the reminder occurs:

   • Click Remind At to set a reminder for a particular date and time.

     Note You can click Fill to display a calendar tool to select the date and time of the reminder. 

   • Click Remind In to set the reminder to occur after a particular time interval. If you choose this option, you must specify the time interval in hours, minutes, and seconds (use the 00:00:00 format), and then select a shift from the list.
4. In the Remind If field, select from the following options any conditions that you want the interaction record to meet before a notification occurs:
   • Always (default)
   • ... has not been updated
   • ... is still open
   • ... is still assigned to me
5. In the Pop-up Message area of the form, select from the following options the type of notification that you want to receive:
   • Pop-up
   • Email

   • SM Mail (Service Manager Internal Mail)

     Note If you select the Pop-up notification method, type the reminder message format in the Message field. If you select the Email or SM Mail notification methods, type the title you want the notification to display in the Title field, and then select Message Type.

6. Click OK.