Contents

Upgrading Vector HelpDesk

Please read this document before you upgrade. It contains important information about upgrading Vector HelpDesk.

What's changed in Vector HelpDesk?

  • Keep the e-mail conversation with the associated issue
    Automatically add e-mails replied back from Users or Contacts to an existing issue or ticket. Automatically or manually create tickets from new e-mails that arrive into the POP3 mailbox.
  • Mailbox Workflow
    Define rules for automatically creating issues, linking e-mails to issues, sending automatic e-mail responses, etc. Automatically assign, set status and more from incoming e-mails. Set priority automatically to Highest for specific VIP senders. Create rules for ignoring specific e-mails or SPAM messages so they are not converted to issues.
  • Search issues based on e-mail content
    Increase productivity exponentially by unlocking the knowledge held in other issues, using text search of issues or tickets based on text that was included in related e-mails.
  • Self-service View for users
    Provide your customers or end users with the power to submit new issues, check the status of pending issues and append new information. Do all this from the Web, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, allowing you to save on expensive support calls. Combine Self-service with Knowledgebase Views for the most efficient Service Desk.
  • Web based E-mail configuration
    Web based interface for managing incoming e-mails from different accounts, rules and actions. Remotely configure your mail settings. Integrate with POP3 mail servers. Create rules and actions for getting incoming e-mail from POP servers, convert messages to issues, link messages to issues, send automatic replies, read receipts and more. Work with mail servers even if they are not in the same local network.
  • Automatically create new Contacts from the e-mail
    If your HelpDesk or Service Desk allows users to submit issues without previous registration in the system or in an Active Directory, you can take advantage of the automatic creation of contacts from e-mails. Automatically or manually create tickets from new e-mails that arrive into the POP3 mail box.
  • E-mail Templates
    Set standard responses and canned text for rapid responses to common questions. Create your HTML or text templates and save time.
  • Switch Web views
    Switch Web views without having to log off and log on again.
  • Activity Log
    The Activity Log provides all the information about the actions taken to solve the issue in a comprehensive and simple way, automatically keeping track of all the e-mail communication. Readily available and conveniently displayed in an integrated timeline, the Activity Log increases efficiency and reduces the time spent in solving incidents and problems. The Activity Log eliminates the highly inefficient task of going back and forth between applications to check information about the issue and the correspondence with the customer or end user (contact). With Vector HelpDesk, you have complete and simple access to all the information about the issue, the contact and the correspondence in chronological order, regardless of whether it was exchanged with you or with other employees.
  • Get Status Report by E-mail
    Built-in auto-reply e-mail allows Users or Contacts to quickly check the status of their issues in a simple way and without the assistance of support personnel.
  • Global Service Level Agreements
    Do you need only one Service Level Agreement (SLA) for all or most of your users? The new Global Service Level Agreements is the right solution. If you would like to define an agreement that will be applied for all issues that don't fall under other agreements for users, departments or companies, select Global for who the agreement is with. To override the global agreement for specific scenarios, you can still define agreements for certain users, departments or companies.
  • Update the Choices in the views instantly from Web Admin
    Click the Update Now button in the Choices editor (Web Admin) to update the choices in all Web views where the choice list is used. In previous versions, new or updated choices were only available in the Web views the next time they were generated, unless the Automatically Update List attribute was set to Yes for the choice list (in the Web View Editor).
  • Custom Macro Functions
    In previous versions, when adding a new custom macro for e-mail notifications or queries, a new function had to be added to the MacroXX.bas file. When upgrading to a new version of HelpDesk, those functions had to be re-added to the MacroXX.bas file of the new version. For example, the custom functions had to be moved from Macro65.bas to Macro70.bas.

    Since HelpDesk 5.5, custom macros that you create must be added to the CustomMacro.bas. The main advantage of this is that you will not need to move your custom macro functions to a new file when you upgrade to the next version of Vector HelpDesk.
  • Shared Projects are no longer suppored
    Projects sharing definitions and styles are no longer supported. Please contact Technical Support for more information.

How do I upgrade?

To successfully upgrade and configure Vector HelpDesk, you must be able to log on to Windows with a domain account that has Administrator permissions.

To upgrade Vector HelpDesk:

  1. Back up the HelpDeskServer folder and databases.
  2. Run an Integrity check on your projects. How?
  3. Make sure all users are logged off. How?
  4. Upgrade the HelpDesk Server to Vector HelpDesk 5.5.
  5. If you installed HelpDesk Admin and the Web View Editor on other computers, upgrade those components. How?
  6. Reapply any Web view customizations. More info

Top

Frequently Asked Questions

What happens to my old Vector HelpDesk projects when I upgrade?
Do I have to back up anything?
Is there anything else I should do before I upgrade?
What happens to my Web views when I upgrade?
What happens to my customizations?
Do I have to regenerate my Web views?
How do I upgrade the Vector Census components on the Web server?
How do I upgrade copies of HelpDesk Admin and Web View Editor installed on other computers?

What happens to my old Vector HelpDesk projects when I upgrade?

The Vector HelpDesk Upgrade program automatically upgrades all your Vector HelpDesk projects. This includes all your definitions (such as users, groups, fields, queries, sorts, layouts, and reports), and all your data (the issues you are tracking). Workflow rules are also upgraded.

Top

Do I have to back up anything?

  • Back up the HelpDeskServer folder.
  • If you have projects located outside of the HelpDeskServer folder, you must back up those projects.
  • Back up all the SQL Server databases as well.

Top

Is there anything else I should do before I upgrade?

Yes. Run an Integrity check on your projects.

  1. Start HelpDesk Admin and on the Tools menu, click Integrity.
  2. Select all projects and all tasks, and click Start.

Next, use the Logons Editor in HelpDesk Admin to check that all users are logged off. During the upgrade, users will not be allowed to log on.

Top

What happens to my Web views when I upgrade?

The Upgrade program preserves your Web view definitions. After the upgrade is finished, the Web views must be regenerated. If the Web views are not customized, the Upgrade program will regenerate the Web views for you.

Top

What happens to my customizations?

Certain Web view customizations have to be manually reapplied, in particular the ones whose files are in the CUSTOMIZEDFILES folder.

Customized Files Folder

The Upgrade program backs up your existing customizations by renaming the CUSTOMIZEDFILES folder. You'll need to review and possibly update your customizations to work with the new release. Then you'll have to copy your updated customizations to the new CUSTOMIZEDFILES folder before you regenerate your Web views. In general, we recommend you test all your customizations with the new version of Vector HelpDesk.

If you have customized the file CustomCode.bas, you need to apply your changes to the new version of this file. The new structure of the CustomCode.bas file makes it much easier to add, identify and maintain custom code in future upgrades.
The original functions of Vector HelpDesk are now located in the file MqCustomCode.bas, which must not be modified. You may refer to this file when applying your changes to CustomCode.bas.
Start with a copy of the original CustomCode.bas v5.5 (located by default in C:\Program Files\Vector\HelpDeskServer\CensusWeb\Templates\View\HTML\) and place it in the proper folder inside the CUSTOMIZEDFILES folder. Make the changes to this file.
Refer to the Help for more information on the CUSTOMIZEDFILES folder and contact Technical Support if you need any assistance.

Custom Macro Functions

If you created any custom macro for e-mail notifications or queries, you added new functions to the Macro70.bas file. These functions must be moved to the CustomMacro.bas file, located in the project folder with the Macro70.bas file (for example, C:\Program Files\Vector\HelpDeskServer\helpdesk\).

Top

Do I have to regenerate my Web views?

Yes. After you upgrade, users cannot log on until you regenerate your Web views. If you haven't customized the Web views, you can have the Upgrade program regenerate your Web views for you. Otherwise, you'll have to update your customizations before you regenerate the Web views.

Top

How do I upgrade the Vector Census components on the Web server?

  1. Log on to the Web server with a domain Windows account that has Administrator permissions.

  2. Run the Vector Census install package to upgrade the Vector Census components installed on your Web server:

    • Census Server
    • Census Web Server
    • Web View Editor
    • Census Admin (if this component is installed on your Web server)

How do I upgrade copies of HelpDesk Admin and Web View Editor installed on other computers?

  • Log on to the other computers and run the original Setup program of HelpDesk 5.5.

    For example, to upgrade HelpDesk Admin on a computer named ABC123, go to ABC123 and run the extracted Setup.exe or the compresssed HelpDesk55.exe.

    Only the HelpDesk Admin components are to be upgraded.

    
									
    
								
    • 
							

							
Top

							
							
Other things to consider

							
Grant permissions to use the new features

							The new features in Vector HelpDesk 5.5 can be enabled or disabled per user 
							group.
							
By default, the upgrade will enable all the new features for members of the 
								Admins group and disable them for the other groups. You can enable any of these 
								features for specific groups in the Groups Editor (Security Tab, Web Admin).

							
The new features are:

							

								

									Feature
									Permits the user to
								

								

									Add & Save Issues
									Create new isues and save them
								

								

									Copy & Save Issues
									Create a new issue based on the current one in the Web view and save it
								

								

									Email Conversation
									View and manage the e-mails linked to the current issue in the Web view
								

								

									E-mail Current Issue
									Send an e-mail with a summary of the current issue from the Web views
								

								

									Email Queue
									View and manage the e-mails that are not linked to issues
								

								

									Manage E-mail Templates
									Create, update and delete e-mail templates that are used when composing new 
										e-mails or in automated e-mail responses
								

								

									Save Issues
									Update and save issues from the Web views
								

								

									Update Submit Only View Contact
									Update the contact information from a Submit-Only View
								

								

									Use E-mail Templates
									Apply saved e-mail templates when composing new e-mails
								

								

									Web Admin - Email Integration
									Manage and configure integrations of HelpDesk and e-mail accounts for 
										submitting issues by e-mail, linking e-mails to issues, automatic status by 
										e-mail and more
								

							

							
Exchange Integration from previous versions

							

								Exchange Integration is discontinued in favor of the new POP-based e-mail 
								integration which provides greater functionality and simplicity.
								

								If you were using Exchange Integration in HelpDesk 5.0x, you need to create a 
								new e-mail integration account in the E-mail Integration Editor in the Web 
								Admin and ensure the POP3 service on the Exchange Server is enabled.
								

								

								If the Exchange Server is running on a different computer than the HelpDesk 
								Server, uninstall the Standalone Exchange Integration from the Exchange Server.
								

								If it is in the same computer, it will be automatically removed during the 
								upgrade.
							

							
Use the new field Add to Knowledge Base

							The new field Add to Knowledge Base is added automatically to 
							your projects and it is recommended to add it to the KB Query if you are using 
							Knowledge Base views.
							

								Since the KB Query controls which articles (issues) are accessible through the 
								view, by adding this field to the KB Query, HelpDesk analysts have a convenient 
								way to specify if an issue is to be accessible as a KB article. Typically, you 
								will set this field to "No" to prevent the opened issue from being published in 
								the KB view, and set it to anything else to have it published.
							

							
Note:If you add the field to the KB query, remember to export 
								this field to the KB views and other Web views as needed using the Web View 
								Editor.
							

							
Implementing Self-Service Views

							HelpDesk Users can log on to Self-Service views. Contacts do not have a logon 
							account and therefore cannot use these views.
							

							If you already have Contacts that should have access to these views, you must 
							convert them to Users. Users can also be synchronized with Active Directory 
							users to effectively skip the logon page.
							
Self-Service Web views do not take up regular user licenses. Instead, 5 
						concurrent sessions are allowed per every licensed user.