Tag Archives: Service Requester

Features Used Lightly – 1 of 3

January 19, 2010 by Arlene 0 Comments

There are many wonderful features within Maintenance Connection, and some that we think are very interesting yet not used much. In this first in a three part series about lightly used features in Maintenance Connection, we will review the ability to modify the colors and HTML text displayed in the Service Requester.

To access the Service Requester Configuration tool, open the Tools Menu and select Service Requester Configuration… The Service Requester Configuration tool will open:

Customize Service Requester Colors or Background

The Appearance Tab of the SR Configuration Tool allows you to set the color of displayed titles, headers, text and links. You can even set a background color/image or modify the logo displayed.

To change the color, click on the color dropdown control to the right of the attribute to be altered and click on the desired color. For example, to change the blue “Text Link Color” to a shade of green, you might select the color shown at the bottom of the color palette:

You can continue modifying color selections for different types of text to be displayed on the SR Pages. When you are finished, click the “Apply Button” and then click “Preview“. Your new color selections will display:

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Customizing HTML Pages

The default Main Menu tab includes “Edit” buttons allowing you to customize the Welcome, Customer Service and FAQ Page. Only the pages that are “checked” have been designated to display in your Service Requester.

To edit the content and appearance of one of these pages, click the “Edit” Button to the right of the page name. For example, clicking the “Edit” Button to the right of the FAQ Page might appear as follows:

The content of the displayed text can be modified through simple text editing. To change the format of the displayed HTML Text, simply select the text and then select the desired option from the toolbar. For example, selecting text and clicking:

  • – would change the selected text to italic.
  • - would bring forward the color picker on which a color can be selected.

 

Click “Apply” when finished and then click “Close“. Click “Preview” to view the new page in the Service Requester. The updated HTML might appear as follows:

For more information on Service Requester Configuration, refer to the System Administration: Service Requester Configuration section of the Online User Guide.

Feature Spotlights

Configuring the Service Requester – Week 3 of 3

September 17, 2009 by Arlene 0 Comments

In this third post regarding Configuring the Service Requester, we will discuss how to set up the SR to send an email notification when work orders are generated from a service request.

Use the Rules Manager to Set Up Email Notification

The Rules Manager can be used to set up an email notification for all work orders generated from a service request, or only work orders that meet particular criteria, such as work orders of a high priority or those requiring shutdown of an asset. Notifications can be sent to individuals associated with the work order (such as the “assignee”) and/or another specified email address. You can even modify the content of the email.

To set up an email notification rule, use the “Rules Manager” option on the MRO Tools Menu. When the Rules Manager appears, click the Notification Rules Tab.

Ensure the correct Repair Center is specified in the upper right of the dialog and click the Button at the bottom of the dialog. The “New Auto-Email Rule” Dialog will appear, prompting you to specify the event that will invoke the rule. Scroll down the list and select the EVENT labeled: “New Work Order (Created Using the Service Requester)”. The selected event name will automatically be populated into the Rule Name at the top of the dialog. Be sure to specify the Repair Center for the rule (below the name).

If you want the email to be sent whenever a service request is generated, you do not need to specify criteria. However, if you only want emails to be sent under certain conditions, click the Criteria Sub-Tab. Use the Edit Button at the bottom of the dialog, to define criteria (such as “Priority is 01-High” or “Target Date is within Current Week”).

To specify who should receive the email, click the Associated Recipients Sub-Tab. Let’s click the “Requester” checkbox to indicate that the individual requesting the work order should receive an email.

The Recipients Sub-Tab is used to specify additional recipients that should receive the email. Notice that you can specify an individual to receive the email only when there are no “associated recipients” (such as when there is no default assignment) or in all cases. To test this feature, you can enter your own email address as an “Additional Recipient.”

When you are finished defining this email notification rule, click the Button at the bottom of the dialog. The new rule will be saved as “Enabled” by default and listed in the Rules Manager.

Once the rule has been saved, you can “Edit” the rule and use the sub-tabs available to alter the Message Text/HTML or other email settings.

Don’t forget to sign up for the October 27-28th
Western Regional Training Seminar at the Palms Resort in Las Vegas.

Feature Spotlights
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Configuring the Service Requester – Week 2 of 3

September 11, 2009 by Brad Squires 0 Comments

In this second post regarding Configuring the Service Requester, we will discuss how customers with onsite installations of Maintenance Connection can set up the SR to allow users to upload files, such as images or documents.

Configuring the SR to Allow Attachments

Customers with onsite installations of MC are taking advantage of this helpful feature that allows users entering service requests to attach pertinent documents and images. The attachments, such as an image of damaged equipment or further explanatory documentation, are then automatically attached to the generated work order.

To configure the SR to allow for updating of images or attachments, use the “Service Requester Configuration…” option on the MRO Tools Menu. When the Configuration Tool appears, click the Submit Service Request Tab…

Customers with onsite installations of MC will notice that the following three checkboxes are available in the far right column of the field list:

These options allow you to specify whether or not users should be able to upload Documents, Images or Misc Files from the Service Requester. The Documents option allows users to attach a document from your current Documents Library, but does not allow them to upload a new document. The “Images” and “Misc Files” options allow users to upload new images or file attachments that will be directly associated with the generated work order.

Let’s check the options for Images and Misc Files and look at how this affects the SR:

To save the changes you have made, be sure to click the Button (you can also click Save, but this will close the Configuration Tool).

To see how this will appear on the actual Service Requester, click the Button in the lower left of the Configuration Tool. The “Submit Service Request” Page will appear, displaying new sections for uploading “Images” and “Misc Files.”

In the following example, the user has used the available “Add” buttons to specify an image and file to be attached:

These attachments would be accessible from the Work Order: Attach Tab of the generated work order.

 

Coming Postings…

Next week, in our final blog in the series on Configuring the SR, we will discuss how to set up an email notification for Service Requests.

Reminder: Maximize your investment in MC by attending the October 27-28th
Western Regional Training Seminar at the Palms Resort in Las Vegas.

Feature Spotlights
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Configuring the Service Requester – Week 1 of 3

September 3, 2009 by Brad Squires 0 Comments

Have you ever wanted to remove a field displayed in the Service Requester? In this first of three posts on the Service Requester, we will discuss how to define the fields displayed and how to ensure users enter values into required fields.

Seminar/Reminders
Don’t Forget! Mark your calendars for October 27-28 to take your CMMS skills to the next level with our Western Regional Training Seminar at the Palms Resort in Las Vegas. Spaces are filling up quickly, sign up today…

Configuring Display Fields
To configure the fields that should be displayed on the Service Requester, use the “Service Requester Configuration…” option on the MRO Tools Menu. When the Configuration Tool appears, click the Submit Service Request tab…

For each field listed, you can specify whether or not it should be displayed on the Service Requester and whether or not the user should be required to enter a value in the field prompt. There are two checkboxes prefacing each field name; the one on the right specifies whether or not the field should be displayed; the one on the left (marked with the exclamation point) allows you to designate if entry should be required.


In the above example, only the Type and Priority fields will be displayed, and the user will not be required to complete either field. The Submit Service Request Page might look like this…

Let’s go ahead and change the Configuration Tool to prompt the user to enter the date the repair is “Needed By”. To do this, check the box immediately to the left of the “Needed By” field (click in the box). Similarly, if you want to require the user to specify the “Type” of problem, check the “required” box in the left column. Your new configuration page might look like this:

To save the changes you have made, be sure to click the Button (you can also click Save, but this will close the Configuration Tool).

To see how this will appear on the actual Service Requester, click the Button in the lower left of the Configuration Tool. The “Submit Service Request” Page will appear showing the changes you specified. Notice how the Needed By field now appears and the Type Field now indicates it is “Required”. The user will not be able to “Submit” a Service Request without completing all fields designated as required.

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Feature Spotlights
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Feature Spotlight on 4.0 – Week 1 of 3

January 29, 2009 by Brad Squires 0 Comments

Our development team is putting the finishing touches and testing on our upcoming version 4.0, and we have some exciting things to share. For the next three weeks, we will highlight a specific feature of the next version to help you begin considering how to implement these into your usage of Maintenance Connection.

First things first, CONGRATULATIONS to Nancy Chrisman from Bastyr University on winning the drawing for the iPod Nano. Thanks, Nancy, for participating in the 2009 Annual Customer Survey. Stay tuned for more opportunities to win prizes in the next couple weeks.

Service Requester Enhancements

Release 4.0 includes numerous enhancements to the Service Requester. The configuration tool now allows organizations to determine which fields should be “required” on the Submit Service Request Page. In addition, the “account” and “category” fields can now be included and the “department” field has been made configurable. In the following example, the Service Requester has been configured to display numerous fields, with Type, Department, and Asset Location specified for required entry.

The above configuration would result in this appearance in the Service Requester. Note how the user is told that the Type, Department and Asset/Location must be completed (Required). A custom title can also be defined to appear at the top of the Service Requester.

Additional configuration options have been added to allow for uploading of documents, images and miscellaneous files. Uploaded documents will automatically be added to the Documents Module and associated with the generated work order. Onsite customers will also be able to upload miscellaneous files that will only be associated only with the generated work order. On the Service Requester Status Screen (below), users can now create unlimited notes to be associated with the work order. The Service Requester Status Screen will also now honor filter criteria when users move to the next page.

Feature Spotlights, Release Notes
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