You are here: Chapter 8: Using FootPrints > Working with Issues > Completing a New Issue

Completing a New Issue

If the Auto-Suggest Solutions feature is enabled, you will be able to view suggested Solutions that exist in the Knowledge Base which match the criteria you enter in the Issue Information on the Issue page, and to browse the Knowledge Base from there as well. This will give you the opportunity to more quickly resolve the Issue. (See Auto-Suggest Solutions, below.)

Note

The names of many of the fields in FootPrints can be changed by the administrator (Title, Priority, Status, Description, etc.), as well as the name of the records (Issue). Custom fields can also be created.   These fields may also be in a different order from the order described here, and may contain different choices, depending on how the Workspace is configured.  For clarity, this manual always refers to FootPrints records as Issues, and uses the default terms for the other field names.

  1. Enter a Title—Used as the summary or subject line.

Note

Although the Title is intended to be brief, it is important to enter meaningful words since it is used to identify the Issue. For example, a good title would be "MS Word crashes when underlining", but "READ THIS--IMPORTANT!!" would not be as effective.  This field can optionally be a drop-down box with a defined set of subjects.

  1. Select a Priority—The Priority of the Issue is a number or word that indicates the importance or impact of the Issue.  Select the appropriate Priority from the drop-down list.
  2. Select a Status—The Status is the indication of the current state of the Issue.  The valid statuses depend on how the Workspace is configured.  Statuses may include "Open", "Pending", "Testing", "Closed", etc.  Select the appropriate Status from the drop-down list. Since you are creating a new Issue, set the Status to "Open."
  1. Fill in Contact Information—This section contains the contact information for the Customer associated with this Issue.  The Select Contact feature searches the Address Book for the user. Refer to Select Contact for more information.
  1. Enter Issue Information—The fields that appear here vary according to Workspace and are defined by the FootPrints Workspace Administrator.  For example, you may have a field called Platform that is a drop-down box.  Select the user’s platform from the list of choices.  You may also have a field called Version number with a text field next to it.  You would type the version number in this field.  Contact your FootPrints Workspace Administrator for more information on the Workspace fields in the current Workspace.

Note

The fields in your FootPrints installation may be different from those shown here, as they can be customized.

Note on Red Fields

All fields displayed in red are mandatory and must be filled out.

  1. Auto-Suggest Solutions—If this feature is enabled, you are required to view the suggested Solutions before you can submit the Issue. Once you have viewed the suggested Solutions, you can select a Solution or browse the Knowledge Base. If there are no Solutions that resolve your Request, you can continue entering information in the Issue and submit it.
  1. To view the suggested solutions, click Auto-Suggest. If any Solutions exist in the Knowledge Base that matches the criteria you entered in the Issue Information section, they will display on the Select Solution dialog box that appears.
  2. To view the Solution's description, point to the Solution in the list. A tooltip will appear with the description.
  3. Select the Solution if it resolves your Request. If not, you can search for other Solutions from the Browse section of the Select Solution dialog box.
  4. Once you've selected a Solution, and if it resolves your Issue, click This solution resolves my Issue on the next dialog box that displays.
    The Solution's Description is added to the Description in the Issue. You can continue entering information in the Issue.
    Note: Your Workspace Administrator may have configured the Auto-close Issues feature. If so, once you select a Solution, the Issue will automatically close and display on your Homepage.
  1. Description—Enter a full description of the issue in this field.  You can type an unlimited amount of text in this box.  This field is designed to contain a complete description of the Issue and is usually mandatory when creating a new Issue.  If you are using the Rich Text Mode Editor, there are many options available to format the text in the Description.

Fill in a full description of your Issue.  FootPrints automatically records the date, time and your name as the originator of the Issue.

  1. Search Knowledge Base (optional)—Search the Knowledge Base for a Solution to the current issue and then import that Solution into the Description. Refer to Knowledge Base Search Options for more information.
  1. Attach a File (optional)—You can attach one or more files to this Issue from your local or network drive(s). Refer to File Attachments for more information.
  1. Assignees—The list on the left contains a list of all FootPrints users in this Workspace.  To assign someone to this Issue, double-click the name in the Workspace Members list or highlight the user name in the Workspace Members list and click the right arrow.  The name is displayed in the Assignees list.  Multiple users can be assigned.  Before assigning Agents, you can check Agent availability by clicking the Check Availability icon to see which Agents can be scheduled to work. To remove a name from the Assignees list, double-click it. Refer to Check Agent Availability for more information.
  1. To view the members of a Team, select the Team name. The Team expands with a list of users.
  2. To assign the Team, select Assign Team and click the right arrow. The Team appears in the assignment box.
  3. To assign a particular user, select the user's name and click the right arrow.  The user is listed under the Team name in the assignment box.
  4. Multiple users can be assigned from the Team.
  5. To assign another Team, click the Team name to shrink the list and select another Team.
  1. To assign a user without his or her Team, or who doesn't belong to a Team, select the Individual Users option.

    Note

If the Auto Assign feature is enabled, Teams and or users appear in the Assignee box automatically based on a choice in one of the drop-down fields.  Ask your Workspace Administrator whether this feature is enabled.

  1. Email Notification—This feature can send email notification to users when an Issue is created, updated, and closed and can also send a Survey to the customer. Refer to Email Notification Options for more information.
  1. Time Spent—This section allows you to enter the amount of time you have spent on this Issue.  This can include the entire time spent on this Issue, not necessarily just the time spent filling out the Issue in FootPrints.  Fill in the hours and minutes spent.  Additional fields may be displayed in this section depending on the Workspace configuration, including Start Time/Date and End Date/Time and Billing Rate.  If the field is mandatory and you must enter a Start and End Date/Time, you cannot enter the same Date/Time for both the Start and End (i.e., you cannot enter zero time).  If the field is optional, you can enter the same Start and End Date/Times (i.e., you can enter zero time).   Consult the Workspace Administrator for more information.
  2. Automated Time Tracking—If this feature is enabled, the auto time clock is displayed in the upper-right corner of the Issue above the Title field. Click the pause button to stop the clock. Click the pause button again to restart the clock. When you submit the Issue, elapsed time is recorded.
  3. Comment—If the Workspace administrator has enabled time tracking comments, you can enter a comment here. The field is limited to 255 characters.  Comments in the time tracking field can be viewed in the Time Spent section of an Issue and can be displayed in a report.
  4. Submit Issue—When you are ready to submit the Issue, click Save
    If Auto-suggest Solutions is enabled, you will see an Auto-Suggest button instead of a Save button (see Search Knowledge Base, above).
    If FootPrints detects that you have left a mandatory field blank or entered something incorrectly (e.g., entered text in a number field), a message is displayed instructing you to go back and fix the Issue.

Once you have successfully submitted the Issue, FootPrints assigns it an Issue number and displays your FootPrints Homepage.  From there, you can select the new Issue to view the Details, click Edit to edit the Issue, or perform any other FootPrints task.

Setting Appointments from a Date/Time Field

Users can set an appointment from a date/time field when creating or editing an Issue.  To do so:

  1. Select the date from the calendar.
  2. Select the time for the appointment.
  1. Click in the date/time field or the calendar icon beside the field.
  2. Enter a start time for the appointment by clicking the Start Time radio button, then clicking on the time fields beside it (e.g., if the meeting begins at 2:30 in the afternoon, click on the 2, then the 30, and then the PM).
  3. Enter a time for the appointment to end by clicking the End Time radio button and then clicking on the time fields beside it and an end date, as appropriate.
  1. Select whether to link the appointment to the personal calendar, personal and workspace calendars, or neither by selecting a radio button.
  2. Click the GO button.