You are here: Chapter 3: Navigating the Interface > The Homepage (Overview) > Below the Toolbar
Below the Toolbar
Resorting the Homepage
The list displayed on the homepage can be resorted by column. Note that most column headings on the homepage, or any search results page, are hypertext links. One way to sort the list is to click on a column heading. The list is automatically sorted by that column. For example, if you click on the Status column, the list is sorted immediately into alphabetical order by status. In addition, you can:
Hover the cursor over the column heading. A down arrow is displayed to the right of the column name.
Click the down arrow to the right of the column name. A menu is displayed.
Click on Sort Ascending or Sort Descending in the menu to sort the column in ascending (from lowest to highest) or descending (highest to lowest) order.
Note
The homepage cannot be sorted by Assignee, Issue Type, Time of Last Edit, Time Submitted, or multi-line character fields. All other fields,
including custom fields, can be sorted. To view Issue data that is sorted by assignee, please use the reports feature.
Filtering Columns
Columns can be filtered to display only the Issues that meet the specified filter criteria. For example, the agent can filter the list of Issues on the homepage according to the Status field, requesting that only Issues with a status of Open or Testing be displayed.
Column Types That Can Be Filtered
The following column types can be filtered:
Single-line character, web site and FTP file/site, email address fields—Columns populated by strings (text) can be filtered by entering a string. Issues containing the string are displayed in the column.
Drop-down and multi-select fields—Columns populated by drop-down and multi-select field data can be filtered by selecting field options as criteria. The agent selects from a list of available choices (the choices available in the field are displayed as checkboxes and the agent selects the criteria for filtering by clicking on the checkboxes). There is also an entry for "No data". When the filter is applied, only the Issues containing the selected checkbox items in that field are displayed. If "No data" is selected, only Issues that contain no data in the field are displayed. Agents can select one, more than one, or all checkboxes as filter criteria. Some additional considerations are:
For cross Workspace searches, all of the possible entries from all Workspaces for the field are displayed.
For multi-select fields, if any of the fields being filtered on were selected on an Issue, that Issue will show up on the query results.
For Submitted By fields, only agents are displayed, but not customers. For example, if the filter criteria were "Smith", only Issues with the name "Smith" are displayed, and only if "Smith" is an agent.
Checkbox fields—Columns populated by checkboxes can be filtered based on two choices. The default options are On and Off, but the filter displays the names given the checkboxes (for example, they may have been named "True" and "False"). Issues where neither was selected are included in the results for Off. The column can be filtered for one or the other option, but not for both.
Number fields—Filtering on number fields applies to Integer and Real Number field types. The column can be filtered for greater than (>), less than (<), or equals (=).
Date/Date Time fields—The column can be filtered for dates/date times before, on, or after a specified date/ date time. In other words, the agent can specify a date/date time and display all Issues with an earlier date/date time in the field (before), the same date/date time (on), or a later date/date time (after).
Assignees field—Filtering is similar to filtering for a multi-select field. The list of available options for the Assignees is the same as the list in the “Advanced Search” |”Assigned To” list box plus an extra option for “Not Assigned". The agent can select one or more agents/teams from the list. Some additional rules are:
If the agent picks more than one agent/team from the list, the results include Issues that have any of those assignees assigned to it.
If the option to filter by is a team, the result include only Issues that have that team directly listed in its Assignees list box.
If the option to filter by is a member, the result include all Issues that have that member directly listed in its Assignees list box no matter which team the member belongs to.
When selecting to filter by “Not Assigned”, the result include all Issues not assigned to anybody.
Column Types That Cannot Be Filtered
The following column types cannot be filtered:
Multi-line Character fields
Issue Type
Closed by
Last Updated (Time Since)
Popularity
Time of Last Edit
Time Submitted
Composite Title
Filtering Search Results
Filtering can also be applied to search results. For example, if the current search displays only open Issues on the homepage and the agent sets up a filter to show only high priority Issues, the ultimate result shall list open Issues of high priority. If the filter criterion contradicts the search criteria, the filter shall still be applied. In these cases the search could result in no matches. For example, if the search is displaying open Issues and the filter is set to display only closed Issues, the result is no matches. If the agent performs a new search, the filtering is cleared.
Filter results cannot be cleared without leaving the homepage. If the agent clicks on the Refresh button, both search and filter results are refreshed, but both the search and filter are still in effect.
Filtering is not persistent. When a different search is run or the agent logs out of FootPrints, the filtering is cleared.
Filtering Multiple Columns
To include multiple columns when filtering, apply them one at a time or save them all at once by setting the filter criteria on each column and then clicking Apply Filter on the last one set. All filter settings are pending until Apply Filter is clicked from a filter menu.
To Filter a Column
To filter a column:
Hover the cursor over the column heading. A down arrow is displayed to the right of the column name.
Click the down arrow to the right of the column name. A menu is displayed.
Click Filter.
Enter the filtering criteria. This may require entering a string, clicking a checkbox or checkboxes, entering a date, etc. Refer to the section of this document titled Column Types That Can Be Filtered (above) for details. Long lists of options can be scrolled up and down.
Click Apply Filter. The column is filtered according to the criteria you specified and only the Issues matching the criteria are displayed.
Note
The homepage cannot be filtered by the title field.
The Filter Icon
After a filter has been applied, a filter icon is displayed in the bar above the Issue list. Hover the mouse over the icon to display a description of applied filters or to select the Clear Filter option.
Clearing Filters
To clear a filter, either:
Hover the mouse over the Filter icon and then click the Clear Filter option (this clears all filters at once) or
Clear or unselect the filter criteria for each filter individually from each filter menu. This is useful for clearing the values from only some filtered columns.
Persistence
Filtering is not persistent. If the browser window is refreshed, another search is run, or a different page is displayed, the filtering is removed if the original page is displayed again.
Removed Column
If a column is removed from the page, the page is refreshed and the order of the Issues in the columns is restored to the default, non-filtered order.
Reordering Columns
You can change the order of columns by dragging and dropping the column heading to the right or left. Column reordering persists if an agent logs off and back on or takes some other action. Reordering is reflected in the Preferences page.
Resizing Columns
You can use the mouse to resize columns. To do so, hover the cursor over the line that separates column headings. When the resize symbol is displayed, hold down the left mouse button and drag the resize symbol to the right or left to change the column size. Resizing a column causes the other columns to be resized proportionally, i.e., the increase or decrease is divided among the other columns equally. For performance reasons, multi-line character fields will not instantly redisplay the homepage list with the resized column. The column resizing will take effect on the next refresh of the homepage. Column resizing persists if an agent logs off and back on or takes some other action.
Resizing Restrictions
The following restrictions apply to resizing columns:
The Status and Priority columns can be sized to no less than 50 pixels wide unless another field is added.
The Title column can be sized to no less than 250 pixels wide.
Other columns can be sized down to fit just the first letter of the field name plus "..." (where "..." indicates that the full field name is not displayed) plus the sorting icon.
Display Drop-down
Above the home page list is the display drop-down box.
This list contains built-in and custom lists and searches. Agents
can customize this list via thePreferences link on the FootPrints. By
selecting an option, the homepage list changes to the queue selected automatically.
To refresh the current list, click Refresh.
The
Display drop-down choices include (some of the choices are only displayed if you are an administrator, a member of a team, a member of multiple Workspaces, a Change Manager approver, etc.):
My
Assignments—The
most recent active Issues assigned to you. Shown by default.
My
Assignments in All Workspaces—Active
Issues assigned to you in all Workspaces (only displayed if you belong to
multiple Workspaces).
My
Assignments and Requests—Active
Issues assigned to you and unassigned requests from Customers.
Team
Assignments—Active
Issues for your Team (only displayed if you belong to a Team).
My
Active Approvals—Lists all Issues for which the Agent is an approver,
the Agent may or may not have yet voted, and voting has not been completed.
(Applies
to Change Manager approvers only.)
My
Active Approvals and Assignments—Lists all Issues for which the
Agent is an approver, the Agent may or may not have yet voted, and voting
has not been completed, as well as the Agent’s assignments in the current
Workspace. (Applies
to Change Manager approvers only.)
My Vote Required—Displays Change Manager Issues on which
the Agent's vote is required.
My Vote Required and Assignments—Displays
Change Manager Issues on which the Agent's vote is required as well
as Issues to which the Agent is assigned.
All
Issues—All
Issues in the Workspace database (only available if you have rights to see
all Issues in the Workspace).
Global
Issues—All
active Global Issues
for the Workspace.
Requests—Requests
submitted by Customers (see below).
Saved
Searches—Displays
the Issues for Personal and Shared custom searches.
Knowledge
Base—Displays Solutions from the Knowledge Base. Select Internal Solutions (available to agents only), Solutions (available to agents and customers), or Solutions in All Workspaces, which are solutions available to agents and customers in all Workspaces.
For example, if you choose "Requests", a list
of all Customer Requests is displayed. To return to the original
view, click "Workspace Home" on the FootPrints Toolbar,
or choose "My Assignments" as your view. Both of these
have the same effect: They return you to your original Home page.
If the current list has many Issues, Next and Previous
buttons appear in the top right hand corner of the frame.
Use these to page through the complete list.
Viewing Issues
To view the details of an Issue, click the word “more” in the Subject column of the Issues, then click “Details”. In the same way, you can click “Descriptions” to view only the Descriptions for that Issue, or click “Edit” to view the full Edit page of the Issue.
The Details, Create Issue, and Edit Issue pages can be displayed with expandable/collapsible sections or tabs. The type of display is specified by the user from the Preferences page.
The Details page gives you all of the information on an Issue, including Submit Date, Priority, Status, Description, Contact Information, Issue Information, Assignees, etc. If you don't see all data, use the scroll bar to display the full Issue.
There are also buttons that allow you to work with this Issue. They are:
Edit—Update the Issue (only available if you have Edit permissions to this Issue).
Details—Display details of Issue (default).
Link—Create a static or dynamic link between Issues.
Take—Take the Issue (only available if you have Taking permissions).
Copy/Move—This icon will open a second toolbar with options to copy the Issue within the current Workspace, or copy or move the Issue to another Workspace
Subtask—This icon will open a second toolbar with options to create a subtask of the Issue, or make this Issue a subtask of an existing Issue.
New Global Link—Turn the Issue into a Global Issue or GlobalLink.
Delete—Delete the Issue from the Workspace (only available if you have Delete permissions for the Issue).
Report—Display a report of this Issue (opens in separate window for printing).
Add to KB—Create a Solution for the Knowledge Base with the details from this Issue (won’t affect original Issue).
These options are discussed in more detail in Working with Issues and subsequent sections.
Quick Action Checkbox Dialog
The Quick
Action Checkbox dialog, available on the
Homepage, allows users to perform an action on one or more Issues. This
provides a quick means to update or report on an Issue or to make a change
that affects many Issues simultaneously. Some
of the functions are only available to administrators, while others are
available to Agents and administrators.
To perform a Quick Action on Issues from the Homepage:
In the main frame,
check the box for each of the Issues you wish to change, or check the
All box at the top of the column to select all of the Issues displayed
on the current page.
Select the action
from the drop-down list.
Click GO.
Different options
are available depending on the action selected. See below for more details.
The Following Options are Available to All Internal Users
Report—Display the
details of the Issues in a separate window. If custom templates have been
created, a drop-down is displayed that lists the available templates (Work
Order, RMA, etc.) The
Summary report displays all Issues in one window. Custom
templates display each Issue in a separate window for printing purposes.
Close—Close the Issues
selected. Only Issues to which you have close rights are Closed. When
Close
is selected:
A special Close
Issues page is displayed.
You can enter
final notes in the Description
box. They are appended to all Issues selected.
Check the boxes
to send email to the Assignees, Customer Contacts, and CCs for the selected
Issues.
Click GO. The Issues are
closed and updated and emails are sent.
The Following Options are Available Only to Administrators
Delete—Delete all
Issues selected. A
confirmation message appears. Click
OK
to proceed.
Status—Change the
status of the Issues selected.
Priority—Change the
priority of the Issues selected.
Assign—Re-assign the
Issues selected.
When Status,
Priority,
or Assign
is selected:
A special Change
Issues page is displayed.
Select the new priority,
status, or assignees for the Issues.
If re-assigning an
Issue, you can unassign the current assignees of the Issues selected by
checking the Remove
Previous Assignees checkbox.
You can optionally
enter notes in the Description
box. The
notes are appended to all Issues selected.
Check the boxes to
send email to the Assignees, Customer Contacts, and CCs for the selected
Issues.
Click GO. The Issues are
updated and emails are sent.
The Following Option is Only Available If You Have "Taking"
Rights
Taking—Take the Issues
and assign them to yourself.
When Taking
is selected:
A special Take
Issues page is displayed.
You can unassign
the current assignees of the Issues selected by checking the Remove
Previous Assignees checkbox.
You can optionally
enter notes in the Description
box. The notes are appended to all selected Issues.
Check the boxes to
send email to the Assignees, Customer Contacts, and CCs for the Issues
selected.
Click GO. You are now assigned
to the selected Issues.