Sharepoint Helpdesk - few questions - some advice pls 1

[chickendipper]

Hello there,

I wonder if you can help

Summary:-

I am looking to use sharepoint as our main call logging system as it apparently links into ms outlook/exchange well.

The built in customisation bit that is on the page seems a little weak. Probably fine for layout, column and content editing but not detailed enough for what im trying yo achive.

Ideally i want to have a more refined view when first opening it in the morning. Prehaps it could have the ability to close calls so they arent shown once that status is set - also automatic email alerts on all helpdesk tickets

I know you can have the filter option at the top, but that resets every time reload yer browser

I downloaded frontpage so i could prehaps edit the layout etc,,, but when i try to connect to I enter the username and password and suprise suprise it fails saying that default.aspx is in use.....


Questions:-

Firstly ,,, has anyone setup a decent helpdesk template i can install or look at?

Secondly ,,, Where is the default location for the files used on sharepoint? (i was reading something about ms frontpage being the better option for editing it)


any tips, advice or experiences would be appreciated

Many thanks

Stu

 

[philhege]

Sorry I can't help with the helpdesk; we use another product. As for the filters, you can create a custom view and set it as the default, so the page opens as you want to see it.

Sharepoint pages are based on templates and much of the information and customization is stored in the SQL database, not the file system. FrontPage gives you a simple method of editing the pages.

 

[chickendipper]

aha


ok its in the database - that explains it!

ill have to be patient and try to get frontpage setup properly with it.

what is the helpdesk product you are using philhege?

I would happily try something else but i doubt i will find anything that is tied into Outlook/Exchange as well - (other people in the office rely on shared calendars and contacts).

 

[philhege]

We're using TrackIT v8.0 (

http://www.numarasoftware.com).

It has a SQL back end, so we do a lot of trending/pareto reports on our own. It's AD-aware, so if your people are in AD, you know who's submitting, who's a technician, etc.

And it's not just help desk; it does IT inventory, purchasing, and solutions/knowledgebase also.

Phil Hegedusich
Senior Programmer/Analyst
IIMAK

http://www.iimak.com

-----------
Pity the insomniac dyslexic agnostic. He stays up all night, wondering if there really is a dog.

 

[chickendipper]

ill check that out.

thanks for the input philhege

 

[joesenna]

Here is an idea..we are designing a similar solution at our organization.

Create a document library and edit the default template where the new file option gives you your helpdesk ticket form. This can be an excel form or word form. If users are not in the SharePoint library then you can use Infopath to create the form (IE Compatible) and have them submit the form to the library. Create teh form publish to form library. Form library is where HD personell manage the submissions.

Once in the library, which collects the forms when submitted, you can create several columns (either post sumission or part of the publsihed form) and then create specific views to filter these submissions on the values of those columns. Here is where you can hold your status. In addition, workflow can be incorporated to assign the submissions based on the selected content of the form.

We are designing the solution such that the assignments are passed to the user via workflow and the User Task Web Part is used to manage the issues assigned to the user.

In MOSS 2007 SharePoint Designer is the preferrable design tool....This is an eventual replacement to FP.

 

[jshurst]

I ran across this the other week and it is awesome...

http://www.spiceworks.com

(it uses ads, but then again, so does Google...)

J

 

[jddirtboy]

JShurst you are the man!!!!

Spiceworks is absolutely incredible. I keep waiting for the catch. Thank you again.