v12.8.24 - Released 24th August 2012
Custom Job queues
Custom job queues appear in the Explorer screen. Create as many queues as you want, and then simply drag/copy as many jobs into the queue as you want. It will stay there until you remove it. This is a great feature if you have a busy job queue and you want to priorize, re-order or filter.
Desktop Web
Email processing improvements
The Email Manager and all email related processing such as drag 'n drop have been improved and extended. Previously some email could not be processed, or when they were, the text in HelpMaster was double-spaced. This has now been fixed and improved. Furthermore, you can now also drag individual email attachments into HelpMaster as attachments.
Web log job, client searching and selecting
The job logging process for the web interface has been improved. Searching for clients is now similar to the way the Desktop edition works, with a filtered list being displayed as the user types the client ID.
Web navigation, charts and other minor improvements
The web interface now supports a collapsable navigate bar on the left-hand side. The charts on the home page have been improved, and a lot of small formatting and "ajaxification" of the web interface have been developed.
Miscellaneous small fixes, enhancements and improvements
As always, we improved the stability of the product by addressing reported issues, as well as made minor improvements to overall functionality and ease of use. The "Filter" tab is now replaced with a "Filter" text box. Much easier.
...and you can now log a new job directly from a Client, Site or Asset.
v12.6.22 - Released 22nd June 2012
Recurring Jobs
The recurring events feature is a service-based automation (similar to Priority Manager, Email Manager etc), that will log a new job based on a schedule. This is perfect if you have regular jobs that you always do. Great for facilities maintenance, regulatory compliance, system checks and anything else that just needs to be done on a recurring schedule. Create a new Recurring Profile, give it a name, set the frequency and then pick a job template - done!
Unspecified system codes
Unspecified codes allow a job to be logged and created using special <unspecified> codes for the Issue, Job Type, Contact type and Priority. These codes can be used to force the person the job is assigned to, to update these codes and re-classify the job. This feature is particularly handy for use with the Email Manager and for times when you just need to log a job, but don't necessarily know how to classify it.
v12.4.24 - Released 24th April 2012
Multi-timezone aware
HelpMaster now supports multiple timezones. This is great if you have a distributed team working across different timezones, countries or daylight-savings regions. HelpMaster will now display all date information in the local timezone (your timezone), but also allow you to see the original timezone that was used.
Site and client timezones and business operating hours is more accessible and visible.
Please note!
This feature changes the way date data is stored in the HelpMaster database. If you currently use customized reports, or have implemented custom integrations via the HelpMaster API, AddIn manager or other custom development work, please read this important information.
Knowledge base
The knowledge base now has a feedback and rating system. This is our first phase in the on-going development to align HelpMaster with the principles and concepts of Knowledge Centered Support.
System administrators can now create a custom knowledge base feedback form/survey that can be used by people viewing knowledge base content. The results from this feedback can be used to improve, update and deliver superior knowledge content to your customers, staff and users. Using a world-first weighted feedback and ranking system, HelpMaster will allow knowledge authors, curators and administrators the ability to pinpoint exactly what and how corporate knowledge is being received by the end-user.
Each article now contains a lot of information about it's content and user feedback.
Each Knowledge Base article can now be ranked according to user feedback, using the unique feedback weighting score that system administrators can assign to each feedback option. This is in addition to the charts and visual histograms can be viewed for each article.
Search relevancy is also captured, stored and utilized so that knowledge authors can improve and create knowledge content.
This information is collected and stored to allow knowledge base authors and system administrators the ability to see what people are searching for, and whether they are getting the right results.
We've also improved the statistics for a range of knowledge base metrics.
Active Directory
The Active Directory module has also been totally re-written to provide better performance, less administration and more flexibility. HelpMaster now accesses the Active Direcory directly via native Microsoft .Net code rather than via the OLE SQL Server method that was previously used. This means less configuration, better flexibility and makes it a lot easier to update in the future - We've got some great plans for this module - stay tuned..
In the meantime, here's what's new with the Active Directory module
- Totally re-written Active Directory access functionality
- Flexible field mappings. Map site, location, department to the HelpMaster site field.
- Better event logging an diagnostic capabilities
Priority Manager
The Priority Manager now has a dedicated "Action" screen that allows you to set the "To be completed by" date for any job within the system. This new feature is great if you need to automatically set the completion date for a job based on pre-defined triggers, people, companies or other factors.
Once a job has a "To be completed by" date, you can easily build other workflow automations for escalation, SLA and reporting. Use this date field as the basis for reporting, KPIs, escalaitons, automations and updates.
Searching improvements
Following on the back of the v11 release, HelpMaster continues to make searching for the different entites easier. Custom data is now searchable in the quick-search textboxes. The full-text searching capabilities of SQL Server have been improved and the rating and ranking system of the new knowledge base improvements make it even easier to find what you're looking for.
Spell check for knowledge base searches that return no results
Performance
After upgrading to this version of HelpMaster, everything should run faster. The Explorer screen, viewing jobs, running reports - everything! The database upgrade will improve the indexing and overall performance of the Microsoft SQL Server database that stores all of the HelpMaster data.
In addition to these database improvements, the web interface has also been improved to use better controls, better HTML design and optimized code. The web should now render better on a wider range of browsers, and give better response time.
New reports
Several new reports are available in this release of HelpMaster. The Timeline reports have been improved to include markers to indicate trends in helpdesk statistics and data. Reports should also run faster due to improvements in the database architecture (see below)
Web Interface
The web interface continues to evolve and become more useable, more stable and more functional. There have been many minor changes to improve compatibility between browsers, as well as small touches like context-sensitive right-click popup menus, persistent list and grid settings for columns, improved styling, social connectors for Knowledge Base.
Stability
As always, every release of HelpMaster includes a number of minor improvements, bug-fixes and overall changes to improve the overall performance, stability and look and feel of the application. For full details about the fixes in this version, please refer to the detailed version history. Thank you to everyone who has reported an issue, or who has suggested an improvement. We log them all, and we do get around to them.
Installation and compatibility
The HelpMaster installation process has also been refined for better installation for IIS and the web module. We've also improved the behaviour and compatibility of HelpMaster with Microsoft Terminal Services and other terminal/remote emulations.
We've also made adjustments to the theming engine so that the gradients displayed in HelpMaster can be controled via different themes. This allows for a better remote/terminal session experience.
Better sample applications / example code for the API and plug-in manager
For developers and system integrators who use the HelpMaster API to integrate and/or create HelpMaster plug-ins, we've updated the sample code project to give greater insight into what is possible with the API and Plug-in architecture.