Views and favorites

Views and favorites enable you to define and save a query. For example, the following out–of–box views or favorites are queries that generate record lists:

• Calls I opened
• High priority problems
• All my approvals
• My tasks
• Active contracts
• All my open requests

When you display the contents of a view or favorite, the query that is associated with it automatically runs and produces the list of records that meet the query criteria. Favorites appear in the System Navigator under Favorites and Dashboards. Views appear as queues within most Service Manager applications. Whether you access the record list from Favorites and Dashboards, or a view from an application, the list of records in each is identical.

You can create favorites if you have the user.favorites capability word in your profile. You can share favorites with other users if you have the public.favorites capability word in your profile. Service Manager stores favorites as unique records in the inbox table.

Public and private favorites

Any user can create private favorites (such as common queries and frequently used forms) for their own use if their profile contains the user.favorites capability word. A named user who has the public.favorites capability word in their profile can share their private favorites and dashboards with other users. Only the owner of a favorite or a system administrator can modify the favorite properties.

The public.favorites capability word is only for administrators to create and modify shared favorites. An administrator can create a favorite for an individual user, user groups, or the entire user community, and then specify one or more content owners. A designated content owner cannot remove the favorite folder, but they can define or modify subordinate folders or dashboards.

Add a view or favorite

You can use Add Favorite to define and save a query. When you save a record list as a favorite, you are saving a dynamic query that extracts information from the database. When the database changes, the resulting output changes.

Windows client

To add a view or favorite in the Windows client, follow these steps:

1. Navigate to the Service Manager form or application that you want to save as a view or favorite. Or, enter search criteria to find the record or list of records that you want to save, and then click Search.
2. Click the System Navigator icon and drag it to Favorites and Dashboards or to a subordinate favorites folder.
3. Type a name for the new favorite.
4. Click OK. Service Manager displays the new favorite at the bottom of the Favorites and Dashboards folder.

Web client

To add a view or favorite in the web client, follow these steps:

1. Navigate to the Service Manager form or application that you want to save as a view or favorite. You can also enter search criteria and then click Search to find the record or list of records that you want to save.

2. Click the Add Favorite button in the Record List toolbar or the Detail List toolbar to save the record list or the single record.

3. Type a name for the new favorite.

4. Click OK. Service Manager displays the new favorite in the Favorites and Dashboards folder.

   Note You cannot add a favorite in a workflow page.

Private favorites: You can create favorites only if you have the user.favorites capability word in your operator record.

Public favorites: You can share favorites with other users only if you have the public.favorites capability word in your profile. If you create a public favorite and store it in the Favorites and Dashboards parent node, the favorite is available to all users. If you create a public favorite, and store it in a node that is subordinate to the Favorites and Dashboards parent node, the availability of the favorite depends on the properties of the parent node.

Contact your administrator if you cannot create favorites.

Edit a view or favorite

You can edit a view or favorite to change the title, the query, or the view definitions. Additionally, you can move or copy views and favorites to other folders.

Windows client

To edit a view or favorite in the Windows client, follow these steps:

1. Click Favorites and Dashboards.
2. Right-click the favorite that you want to edit, and then select Properties. The View Definition form opens.
3. Update any fields that require revision, click Save, and then click OK.

To move or copy the view or favorite, click the view or favorite and drag it to the new destination.

Web client

To edit a view or favorite in the web client, follow these steps:

1. Click Manage Favorites in the Navigator pane.
2. Expand a favorite folder to display all the favorite links in the folder.
3. Click the associated check box to edit an individual favorite.
4. To edit the view or favorite:
   1. Click the favorite text link. The View Definition form opens.
   2. Update any fields that require revision.
   3. Click Save.
   4. Click OK.
5. To move the view or favorite:
   1. Select the view or favorite you want to move.
   2. Click Move To in the toolbar and select the destination folder.
   3. Click Yes.
6. To copy the view or favorite:
   1. Select the view or favorite you want to copy.
   2. Click Copy To in the toolbar and select the destination folder from the drop-down list.
   3. Click Yes.

Private favorites: You can create favorites only if you have the user.favorites capability word in your operator record.

Public favorites: You can share favorites with other users only if you have the public.favorites capability word in your profile. If you create a public favorite and store it in the Favorites and Dashboards parent node, the favorite is available to all users. If you create a public favorite, and store it in a node that is subordinate to the Favorites and Dashboards parent node, the favorite availability depends on the properties of the parent node.

Contact your administrator if you cannot create favorites.

Delete a view or favorite

You can delete a view or favorite if it is no longer needed.

Windows client

To delete a view or favorite in the Windows client, follow these steps:

1. Click Favorites and Dashboards.
2. Right-click a favorite, and then select Delete.
3. Click Yes to confirm the deletion.

Web client

To delete a view or favorite in the web client, follow these steps:

1. Click Manage Favorites in the Navigator pane.
2. Expand a favorite folder to display all favorite links in the folder.
3. Select the associated view or favorite that you want to delete.
4. Click Delete in the toolbar, and then click Yes to confirm the deletion.

Enable the auto-refresh feature for views and favorites

You can configure views and favorites in the web client to be automatically refreshed.

Windows client

To enable auto-refresh by using the Windows client, follow these steps.

1. Click Favorites and Dashboards.
2. Right-click the view or favorite that you want to edit, and then select Properties. The View Definition form opens.
3. On the Auto refresh tab, select the Enable Auto Refresh option. This option is disabled by default.

4. Select a refresh interval from the Refresh Interval drop-down list, and then save the view. When you open this view or favorite in the web client, it will be automatically refreshed at the selected interval.

Web client

To enable auto-refresh in the web client, follow these steps:

1. In the Navigator pane, click the Manage Favorites icon.
2. Click a view to open the View Definition form.
3. On the Auto refresh tab, select the Enable Auto Refresh option. This option is disabled by default.
4. Select a refresh interval from the Refresh Interval drop-down list, and then save the view.

Alternatively, if you are a system administrator, you can follow these steps:

1. In the Navigator pane, click System Administration > Base System Configuration > Miscellaneous > Views/Favorites.
2. Use search or advanced search to find a view or favorite.
3. Open the view or favorite, and then select the Enable Auto Refresh option on the Auto refresh tab. This option is disabled by default.
4. Select a refresh interval from the Refresh Interval drop-down list, and then save the view.

Set the auto-refresh interval for a view or favorite

You can set the interval at which views and favorites in the web client are automatically refreshed.

To set your own auto-refresh interval for a view or favorite, follow these steps:

1. Open the view or favorite for which you want to set a refresh interval. For example, click Service Desk > Interaction queue in the Navigator pane.

   Note You cannot set an auto-refresh interval for record lists.

2. Click Set Auto Refresh Interval in the Interaction pane menu.
3. Select a refresh interval from the Refresh Interval drop-down list, and then click Finish.

The interval starts as soon as you save it.