ServiceDesk 4.4.75 Update 08/25/10

Occasionally, we've had requests to make ServiceDesk operation subject to a password protected LogIn (i.e., you can't open it unless you provide a LogIn password).  This release adds the option to setup any station to operate in such manner. 

The setup and operation is similar to a function we added a few years back, to allow password protection for a particular tech's LogIn to TechWindow mode (see notes accompanying Release 4.2.22).  Basically, you need to go to the Security/Password form (Shift-F11).  Within that form's Users page, provide a unique password for each/any user whose SD-LogIn you wish to protect.  In the second column (next to each such password), type the user's name precisely as it's listed in the Settings form (Ctrl-F11). 

That's all that is required for setup.  To test, go to the station as setup for any person for whom you've just done the above.  When you go to open ServiceDesk, you should find there's a demand to present the password as setup for that user, or ServiceDesk will not open.  (Actually, your Master password will also work, and potentially some others for other-user-LogIn purposes; see below.) 

We've also had occasional requests from users to better accommodate the situation where you have a single computer that's used by multiple persons (e.g., on the morning shift it's Sue, while on the afternoon it's Bill). 

For nomenclature context, a  parallel situation arises sometimes on vessels at sea (ships, submarines, etc.) where there are fewer bunks than sailors.  What happens is, two (or potentially even three) sailors end up sharing the same bunk.  But not at the same time.  :)   Each of the bunk mates has staggered "watch" times -- so that, as one sailor goes off watch, he awakens his bunk-mate, who tumbles out as he tumbles in.  This has historically been called "hot bunking," and of course you hope your bunk mate has excellent hygiene. 

ServiceDesk has long had various forms of hot bunking.  There, is, for example, the Temporary Desk Reassignmentfeature (Alt-K).  It's also easy to change the directly-registered user via the Settings form, on an as-frequently-as-needed basis.  And, you can handle such needs via the Windows Users feature, where -- under any particular WindowsLogIn -- ServiceDesk recognizes a unique setup/user, as tied to the Windows User, and reacts accordingly. 

But aside from and beyond the above, some users have wanted ServiceDesk to offer the ability to do a direct LogIn -- to itself and under one and same Windows "User" LogIn -- wherein the ServiceDesk LogIn, in itself, recognizes a unique ServiceDesk user.  This likely should be called "Native" hot bunking. 

This release allows you to optionally setup for that. 

To implement, just setup your hot-bunking station with a general Password-Protected LogIn (i.e., for a primary user, as described above).  Make sure the intended bunk mates are in your Settings' form "List of Station Names," and that you've setup the same kind of unique password for each. 

That's it.  No more setup required.   However, a tiny explanation might be. 

Here is the trick.  Let's suppose Sue is setup as the primary/designated user at your hot-bunking station.  Sue does her morning shift and closes ServiceDesk.  Bill arrives for his shift, and goes to start ServiceDesk.  He's presented with the demand for Sue's password.  He doesn't know Sue's password, so obviously cannot present it.  He does know his own, however, and so types it instead.  ServiceDesk, upon seeing Bill's password, knows that it cannot open itself with Sue as a user, but figures -- "Hey, I might as well open with Bill as the user," and does so.   

It's that simple. 

Except . . . one more thing.  You might want to advise Sue that, if she doesn't want to get blamed for things that stupid Bill does during his shift, she'd better be sure she closes SD as she leaves (otherwise, of course, Bill might happily work under her LogIn). 

One more matter, closely aligned with the above two improvements, concerns the fact that some people have wanted to have the Time-Card punch-in tied to logging into ServiceDesk.  That's another thing that will happen with this release forward -- assuming just two simple elements in your setup: (1) you must setup the user for password-protected login, as per description above; and (2) you must have them designated, within the Earnings Rate form (Alt-F2), as an employee who is paid on an "hourly" basis. 

Back with release of Ver. 4.4.57, we added feature in our "to-the-grave" parts management system where, if you were an established user and been processing parts in an earlier era, you could auto-clean your old legacy history, so items not marked as fully sent to the grave -- back then (there was not mechanism for doing so back then) -- would not come up in a current report.  It turned out that cleanup process did not fully do the intended job in some circumstances.  That is now addressed.  You can access the check-off procedure from the PartsProcess form's (F8) CheatSheet (right-click in any otherwise unused space of the form, then look for the very bottom item in the menu).