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:

  1. Hover the cursor over the column heading.  A down arrow is displayed to the right of the column name.
  2. Click the down arrow to the right of the column name. A menu is displayed.
  3. 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:

Column Types That Cannot Be Filtered

The following column types cannot be filtered:

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:

  1. Hover the cursor over the column heading.  A down arrow is displayed to the right of the column name.
  2. Click the down arrow to the right of the column name. A menu is displayed.
  3. Click Filter.
  4. 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.
  1. 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:

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:

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 the Preferences 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.):

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:

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:

  1. 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.
  2. Select the action from the drop-down list.
  3. Click GO.
  4. Different options are available depending on the action selected. See below for more details.

The Following Options are Available to All Internal Users

The Following Options are Available Only to Administrators

When Status, Priority, or Assign is selected:

  1. A special Change Issues page is displayed.
  2. Select the new priority, status, or assignees for the Issues.
  3. If re-assigning an Issue, you can unassign the current assignees of the Issues selected by checking the Remove Previous Assignees checkbox.
  4. You can optionally enter notes in the Description box.  The notes are appended to all Issues selected.
  5. Check the boxes to send email to the Assignees, Customer Contacts, and CCs for the selected Issues.
  6. Click GO. The Issues are updated and emails are sent.

The Following Option is Only Available If You Have "Taking" Rights

When Taking is selected:

  1. A special Take Issues page is displayed.
  2. You can unassign the current assignees of the Issues selected by checking the Remove Previous Assignees checkbox.
  3. You can optionally enter notes in the Description box. The notes are appended to all selected Issues.
  4. Check the boxes to send email to the Assignees, Customer Contacts, and CCs for the Issues selected.
  5. Click GO. You are now assigned to the selected Issues.