TEXT: MIRIAM DE HOOGH & JOLANDA SIMONIS

In the Spotlight Create your own shortcuts in the Self Service Desk

Organizations that work with multiple departments in one TOPdesk database tend to have specific wishes. As consultants, we often hear that clients wish to be able to make a call (or incident) for a specific operator group in the Self Service Desk. Callers are then able to create a call directly for the IT or Facilities department. In this article, you will find out all about how easy this is to set up.

Many clients are perhaps already aware of the option to do this by making the field Operator group available in the Self Service Desk. The problem with this is that when logging a call, the caller has to choose between a number of different operator groups, not always knowing who to approach. Should calls about TOPdesk be logged on the name of the

group Network management or Application management?

Shortcuts in the Self Service Desk

A helpful alternative is to create separate shortcuts in the Self Service Desk. Each shortcut then creates a new incident for the relevant operator group, such

as New IT incident and New Facilities call. You can call the link anything you wish, which is useful if your department uses specific terminology. Read on to find out how you can set up these shortcuts. Setting up shortcuts First, in the secure section of TOPdesk, go to Settings > System Settings > Menu Settings Self

Figure 1: Setting up shortcuts

Figure 2: Setting up screened shortcuts

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Service Desk > Incidents/Calls. Next, untick the option to create a new incident/call under the heading New. Click the New icon to create two shortcuts (see figure 1). Enter the name and the URL of the shortcut. The URL for a new call for IT looks as follows: /tas/public/inci dentpublic?action=new&status=1 &replacefi eld0 =operatorid&searchfi eld0=naam& searchvalue0=Servicedesk%20 IT&save=false&validate=false Replace Servicedesk%20IT with the name of the desired operator group. Note that spaces in the names are replaced with %20 and ensure that the name in the link matches the name of the first line operator group exactly. If the name of the operator group changes, you will also need to change the name of the shortcut. Finally, tick the option Include in shortcuts and untick the option In new window. In the Self Service Desk, it will end up looking as follows:

change requests that only key users may submit or orders that only budget holders may place. By screening the shortcuts selectively, you can make certain shortcuts only available for certain users. You can gain access to the various shortcuts via the Person card. Here, you can tick the options Department, Budget holder or Branch. These options will then give the corresponding person access to the shortcuts in the Self Service Desk that fall under the heading Department, Budget holder or Branch. In the menu settings of the Self Service Desk, you can indicate which shortcuts are and are not available for those persons with these extra rights. Untick all existing shortcuts and add a new one, following the above instructions. Those persons with additional rights to this heading will then be able to see the new shortcut, but not the standard ones. Setting up screened shortcuts Imagine that you want to make a shortcut to a new change request available for budget holders. Find the appropriate URL by going to the Self Service Desk > Changes, then click with the right mouse button on Change proposal under the heading New and select Copy Link Location. This URL should look as follows: http://<uw servernaam>/ tas/public/changepublic?action=ne w&status=1 Next, in the operators section, go to Self Service Desk > Changes in the menu settings. Tick the

option Change proposal under the heading New and create a shortcut under the heading Budget holder. Call this New change request and paste the shortcut from /tas onwards. Untick In new window, then tick Include in shortcuts and save your settings. Henceforth, the shortcut in the Self Service Desk will only be visible for those who have a tick next to Budget holder on their Person card.

N.B.
You are advised to always test adjustments like these in a test environment. Only when this works correctly, can it be carried through into the production environment of TOPdesk. We also recommend that you create a back-up prior to carrying through the changes.

No time to do it yourself?
Would you like to make these types of adjustments yourself in the Self Service Desk, but dont have the time or the means? Why not invite a TOPdesk consultant to do it for you? By updating the look and feel, you can also change your Self Service Desk to match your intranet or your organizations corporate identity. For more information, please contact TOPdesk Consultancy on +44 (0)20 7803 4200 or email consultancy@topdesk.com.

Screened shortcuts
An added benefit of this solution is that you can make the shortcuts available for a select group of callers. Consider, for instance,

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