Outlook Help Desk 3.0 leverages the power of Outlook and Exchange Server to bring a robust, simple and effective system to track customer support issues. The program uses highly customized Outlook forms, the Web, Email, and Exchange public folders to build a help desk that allows you to efficiently track and resolve IT support issues.

Creating New Help Desk Tickets - Customers can use Web forms or Email

• Customers can send requests to the help desk by email or through Web forms. These emails and Web forms will be automatically converted into new tickets.

Support staff can create tickets using Outlook, Web or Email

• Support staff can take customer calls and fill out tickets through the Outlook interface, the Web or email.
• Support staff can create and assign tickets directly.
• Notifications are sent out when a new ticket is received, whether by Outlook, Web or email. These notices can go to a "high priority" address (such as a pager or cell phone) for the critical tickets and a regular address for the normal tickets.

Assigning Tickets - Assign to yourself, to another tech, or to multiple techs.

• Once the ticket is received, Help Desk reviews and assigns it.
• The ticket can be assigned to "Self" or to another technician. The tech's name can be pulled from the Global Address List. Once assigned, the tech gets an email notice about the assignment.
• A ticket can be assigned to multiple techs. If assigned to multiple techs, each tech can work on the same ticket or each can get a separate ticket.

Completing Tickets

• The tech works on the ticket and enters in details, comments, and actions taken into the History Log
• While working on the ticket, the tech can send an update to the customer through a simple click of a button.
• The tech can copy the ticket to a personal Task so that it can sync with a PDA or handheld computer.
• The tech can enter in the time worked on the ticket; this is automatically totaled.
• The ticket can be reassigned or escalated at any time.
• The ticket can be printed using the "Print Ticket" button.
• The tech can mark the ticket complete and send an email to the customer.

Entering tickets with a Web browser

You can put a Web form on a "Support Page" on your Web site. The customer fills this support form out and presses a Send button. The Web form is sent as an email to the Help Desk folder where it is converted into a new ticket. Since this does not require a login, it can be available to anyone who can access your web server.

We offer another Web alternative for your internal users. People with Exchange mailboxes can enter and view tickets through a Web interface that works something like Outlook Web Access. Users access a Virtual Directory (named "helpdesk") on your OWA server. They enter a URL such as http://yourcompany.com/helpdesk in their browser and this brings up a logon page. Once authenticated, the users can submit a new ticket or view existing tickets. See UserManual_30SP_Web for more information.

Email to Help Desk creates new ticket

Customers can send email directly to the Help Desk folder, where it is converted into a new Help Desk ticket. The folder has an SMTP address, like support@company.com, and customer simply send a request to that address like any other email. Components on the Help Desk folder convert the email into a Help Desk ticket. Users inside your company can also send emails to the Help Desk by choosing the folder from the Address Book or by simply typing the name of the folder in the TO line.

For more information, see UserManual_30SP_Email55 for Exchange 5.5 and UserManual_30SP_Email2K for Exchange 2000. The email script and Event Sink component are provided with purchase of the full release version.

Other ways to create tickets -- from an Intranet page or the Outlook Toolbar

Internal users can create Help Desk tickets by clicking on a link or button on an Intranet page. This launches an Outlook form, not an HTML form. Click here for more information.

A new Help Desk ticket can also be launched from the Outlook Toolbar. No need to navigate to the Help Desk folder to open a new ticket. Click here for more information.

Generating reports with Report Builder

Report Builder will help you track Help Desk performance and identify problem areas. Report Builder exports tickets to an Excel spreadsheet or text file. You can use date, status, and 12 other filters to generate the reports you want. The full version comes with report templates ready to use. See more information under Report Builder.

Knowledge Base - valuable information at your fingertips

The Knowledge Base provides a valuable and easily accessible repository of information on Help Desk issues and fixes. The information is readily available to Help Desk staff to help them speedily fix problems. The Knowledge Base is an integrated with Outlook Help Desk system, using the same Problem Categories and Types for sorting articles. New articles can be created from tickets with the click of a button. See Knowledge Base for more information.

Utilities give you control over Outlook Help Desk:

• Name Resolution allows you to set how customer information is put in the ticket, whether from the Global Address List, a public contacts folder, or entered manually.
• List Manager lets you control the contents of the drop-down boxes.
• Ticket Colors allows you to change the colors of the tickets on the fly.
• Ticket Numbering sets up sequential numbering with a prefix and/or suffix.
• Automatic Notification designates two email addresses to send notices to when a new Help Desk Ticket is created. One address is for high priority tickets, the other address is for all others.
• Ticket Mode allows you to switch the Help Desk Ticket's default mode from "end user" to "help desk" depending on who is filling out the tickets.
• Popup Message lets you configure a message to display to the users whenever they fill out a new Ticket. The message is easily changed or turned on and off.

See Utilities for more information.

Copy to Tasks for synching with PDA or handheld

The Assigned Tickets have a "Copy to Tasks" button. This will make a copy of the ticket in the tech's personal Tasks folder. This copy can then be synched with a PDA or handheld computer so the tech has the ticket information readily available.

Fully compatible with Outlook 2002/XP and 2003, no security warning

Outlook Help Desk 3.0 works on all versions of Outlook. However, Outlook 2002/XP and 2003, as well as versions of Outlook 98 and 2000 with Microsoft's security patch installed, will generate a security warning when programs try to access the address book. Outlook Help Desk avoids generating this warning through the use of Redemption.DLL.