ServiceDesk 4.7.48 Update 06/27/13

Recently we were troubleshooting for some users where, upon picking a QuickPic photo to view, the system indicates inability to download the picture.  This is evidently caused by security elements in the user's system, which in some instances can be rather challenging to overcome.  Sometimes, when you come up against a wall, it's better to go around, rather than to insist on going through. 

Our solution in this instance is to offer an alternate mode of viewing. 

By default, SD's QuickPic viewer first downloads the requested photo, then opens it in whatever installed application you have designated, within your Windows setup, to open .jpg files (typically this is some kind of photo-viewer app, such as Windows Photo Viewer).  But, as my dad used to say, there's more than one way to skin a cat. 

An alternate way to view most photos (including those of jpeg variety) is, simply, within your web browser (e.g., Internet Explorer, FireFox, Chrome, etc.).  This is our method around the wall. 

If something in your system stops the default method of QuickPic download (or if, perhaps, you simply prefer to view in your web-browser as opposed to a picture viewer), you can change from the default.  The method is to simply right click within the JobRecord's instance of the QuickPic button:

At which point you'll see a dialog that looks like this.  

Simply pick your preference, and your QuickPic photos will be presented accordingly.   

4.7.47 (6/23/13):

In the past two or three years, we have had increasing requests for reports to help managers evaluate the performance of office personnel.  It's an area we've been weak.  There are a number of exports you can do from the Alt-F3 form (and, on the basis of information in those reports, do some of your own analysis).  There is also the CyberOffice Survey system, which does a truly superb job of helping you evaluate how well your call-takers are doing, in terms of making your customers feel splendidly delighted.  But (and in rather stark contrast to the plethora of tools we have to evaluate technicians), we've not had a lot more to help you evaluate office personnel in more concrete terms. 

Paul Manning emailed a while back with a particular concept.  He said he's very fond of our Result-on-Dispatches Report (F11-->T-->D), for the abundance of detailed information it provides.  He further explained he thinks some of his office persons may be lagging, particularly when it comes to pre-screening jobs in the effort to assure maximum probability of first-visit-completion.  He suspects, but would like real-numbers confirmation before he lets anyone go.  He looked at how this report lays out comparisons between techs (in regard to several measures regarding what ultimately happens on dispatches) and wondered if there could not simply be a similarly-included insertion for office personnel (on the basis, specifically, of which particular office person performed the Job/Sale transition on each particular job). 

It seemed like a rather good idea, and so is completed in this release.  Here is a snippet of the now-current report, with the newly inserted lines highlighted in yellow (they will be different for your company, obviously showing a list of your personnel):

Please forgive the fact many of the actual numbers here do not show well.  I pulled from the old data from my old service company (from way back in 2001).  At such time ServiceDesk was not maintaining all data elements in the same way it does now, by which reason this particular showing suffers.  Yours should not.  

Most of the forms, as available from within the FinishedForms context (Alt-F4), include one or more scrollable text boxes.  By nature, these boxes allow you to put in many lines of text.  Because of this, it's possible a user might put in more lines than can fit within the allotted space of the underlying form-format when printed (whereas, on-screen, it is no issue).  This release adds a feature to warn if your typed text infringes into this, good-printout-threatened territory. 

Specifically, where this situation occurs the system will change the background color of the scrollable box to red, and a ToolTip (little message that appears when you move your mouse over) will appear as follows:

You remain free to type more or less text as desired.  It is not a club: just an aid to help you, when you're intending to create an actual ticket image (whether "printed" to electronic format or actual paper) as to whether there are two many lines to ultimately fit in that context.  

Many months back we added an option, via a simple button, to physically print a summary of items as listed in the PartsPick interface (Shift-Cntrl/F8).  Recently, a client requested ability to use essentially the same summary via an Excel or similar file-based format.  That option is now added.  The old Print button, which had looked simply like this:

Now looks like this instead:

When you click on it, the Printer-Select dialog box newly offers the option to Send-to-File.  If you desire it, pick that option, and follow the prompts.  It's that simple.