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Creating and managing form templates

To help ensure accuracy and completeness, you can use a form template to create records. Templates help you configure commonly used workflows, ensure consistency in the way information is captured, increase productivity and efficiency, and reduce errors. By using templates, you can pre-populate fields on a form, which reduces the need to enter commonly used data. Templates are useful if your data must use a standard format. Track-It! provides an ability to define and apply templates for the ticket and assignment records. You must have system administrator permission to create and manage form templates.

This topic contains the following information:

Video

The following video (15:01) provides information about ticket templates and Assignment status progression in Track-It!:



https://youtu.be/im59NOyYH5E Open link

Key considerations

The following key considerations are relevant when you create and manage form templates:

  • You can create templates for ticket and assignment records.
  • Although you can edit a template, you cannot change the record type for which it was created.
    For example, you can edit a template that is created for tickets, but you cannot change the template and use it to create assignments.
  • You can create templates that can be used by specific groups.
    For example, if you have a group whose expertise is resolving HR tickets, you can create a template that can be specifically used by technicians belonging to this group.
  • You can assign form templates to the requestors, which they can use to create tickets.
  • You can save the customized form as a template. For more information, see Customizing forms for groups.
  • When using the template to create a record, only the fields that are added to the template as default values are populated. The users must enter values manually for the other fields on the record form.
  • (2020 Release 02) If you apply a template containing Category, Assigned to Technician, and Assigned to Group fields to a Self Service ticket, the ticket inherits the values from the template. The ticket ignores Self Service configuration default settings and the default support specialist for the category of the template.
  • (2020 Release 02) If you apply a template containing a category which has a default support specialist to a ticket, the ticket ignores the support specialist and links the technician or group from Self Service configuration default settings.
  • (2020 Release 02) If you change the category after applying a template to a Self Service ticket, the default support specialist of the updated category is linked to the ticket provided that the updated category has a default support specialist. The group of the ticket is changed to the group of the default support specialist.
  • You can apply assignment templates to assignments by using one of the following options:
    • Manual selection on the Assignment form
    • Mobile App
    • Web API
  • (2020 Release 03) If you apply an assignment template with notes to an assignment and then save the assignment:
    • The notes of the assignment template are added to the assignment.
    • The duration of these notes is zero.
    • The technician of these notes is the logged in technician and is not affected by the technician in the Assigned To Technician field of the template.
  • You can apply ticket templates to tickets by using one of the following options:
    • Manual selection on the Ticket form
    • Mobile App
    • Ticket Scheduler
    • Web API
  • (2020 Release 03) If you apply a ticket template with notes to a ticket and then save the ticket:
    • The notes of the template are added to the ticket.
    • The duration of these notes is zero.

    • The technician of these notes is the logged in technician and is not affected by the technician in the Assigned To Technician field of the template.

  • If the applied ticket template has an assignment template linked to it, then an assignment is added to the ticket.
  • (2020 Release 03) If the applied ticket template has an assignment template with notes linked to it, then the notes of the assignment template are added to the assignment of the ticket.
  • (2020 Release 03) While creating a ticket from Self Service, if you apply a ticket template with notes to the ticket and then save the ticket:
    • The notes of the ticket template are added to the ticket.

    • The duration of these notes is zero. There is no change in the Total Time Spent and the Charge of the ticket.
    • The technician of these notes is Self Service.
    • The requestor of these notes is the logged in requestor who applied the template.
  • In Self Service, if the applied ticket template has an assignment template linked to it, then an assignment is added to the ticket.

  • (2020 Release 03) In Self Service, if the applied ticket template has an assignment template with notes linked to it, then the notes of the assignment template are added to the assignment of the ticket.

Out-of-the-box templates

Track-It! provides the following out-of-the-box templates:

Record typeTemplate name
TicketNew Hire
Terminate User
AssignmentAssign a Location for the New Hire
Assign a Phone for the New Hire
Configure the New Hire Workstation
Deactivate the User from a Location
Disable the User's Access
Disable the User's Workstation
Remove the User's Phone

Attachments in templates (2020 Release 02)

You can create Ticket and Assignment templates with attachments linked to them. You can add a file or URL as an attachment. The Attachments tab is added to templates as shown in the following figure:

When you create a record (Ticket or Assignment) using a template with an attachment, the record is created with the attachment. You can add, download, or delete an attachment from the Attachments tab.

Important

  • You cannot attach a file larger than 29 MB to a template.
  • You cannot attach files with restricted extensions and same names to a template.

    The following extensions are restricted:

    0xe, 73k, 89k, 8ck, a6p, a7r, ac, acc, acr, actc, action, actm, ade, adp, ahk, air, apk, app, applescript, arscript, asb, asp, aspx, azw2, ba_, bas, bat, beam, bin, btm, caction, cel, celx, cer, cgi, chm, cmd, cnt, cof, coffee, com, command, cpl, crt, csh, cyw, dek, der, dld, dmc, dmg, ds, dxl, e_e, ear, ebm, ebs, ebs2, ecf, eham, elf, epk, es, esh, ex4, ex5, ex_, exe, exe1, exopc, ezs, ezt, fas, fky, fpi, frs, fxp, gadget, gpe, gpu, grp, gs, ham, hlp, hms, hpf, hpj, hta, html, icd, iim, inf, ins, ipa, ipf, isp, isu, ita, its, jar, js, jse, jsf, jsx, kix, ksh, kx, lnk, lo, ls, m3g, mac, mad, maf, mag, mam, maq, mar, mas, mat, mau, mav, maw, mcf, mcr, mda, mdb, mde, mdt, mdw, mdz, mel, mem, mio, mlx, mm, mpx, mrc, mrp, ms, msc, msh, msh1, msh2, mshxml, msh1xml, msh2xml, msl, msi, msp, mst, mxe, n, ncl, nexe, ops, ore, osd, osx, otm, out, paf, paf.exe, pcd, pex, php, phar, pif, pkg, pl, plg, plsc, plx, prf, prc, prg, ps1, ps1xml, ps2, ps2xml, psc1, psc2, pst, pvd, pwc, pyc, pyo, qit, qpx, rbf, rbx, reg, rfu, rgs, rox, rpj, run, rxe, s2a, sbs, sca, scar, scb, scf, scpt, scptd, scr, script, sct, seed, server, sh, shb, shs, spr, smm, svg, tcp, thm, tiapp, tmp, tms, u3p, udf, upx, url, vb, vbe, vbp, vbs, vbscript, vdo, vexe, vlx, vpm, vsmacros, vsw, vxp, wcm, widget, wiz, workflow, wpk, wpm, ws, wsc, wsf, wsh, x86, xap, xbap, xlm, xml, xnk, xqt, xys, zl9

If a record has an existing attachment and you apply a template to the record that contains an attachment with the same name, then the attachment from the template is renamed with the text (Copy) added to its name.

Example

You have created a ticket T1 with an attachment named User Details.xlsx. The New Hire template has an existing attachment also named User Details.xlsx.

When you apply the New Hire template to ticket T1, the attachment of the template is renamed as User Details(Copy).xlsx in the ticket.

Notes in templates (2020 Release 03)

You can create notes for a Ticket or Assignment template from the Ticket Notes or Assignment Notes tab. These tabs are added to the template details section. The following details of the notes are displayed in the template details section:

  • Activity Code
  • Note Type
  • Note

For more information about notes in a template, see To add, edit, or delete a note in a template.

Before you begin

  • Based on your requirements, use form customization to add the preferred fields to the default Ticket and Assignment forms. For more information, see Customizing forms for groups.
  • You must add and enable the Select and apply template field on the default form assigned to the Ticket and Assignment modules.
  • To link Predecessors and Successors to an assignment template, you must first create the required assignment templates.
  • Ensure that you have configured the assignment status progression. For more information, see Configuring assignment status progression.

To create a template

  1. On the header bar, expand the hamburger menu , and select Configuration.
  2. Select Form Definitions> Form Templates.
  3. On the Form Templates page, click New.
  4. In the New Template dialog box, in the Template Information section, perform the following actions:
    1. From the Template For list, select one of the following record types:
      • Ticket
      • Assignment.
        The dialog box is refreshed after you select a record type and the field options are displayed based on your selection.
    2. In the Template Name field, enter an appropriate title for the template.
    3. (Optional) In the Template Description field, enter a short description about the template.
  5. In the Template Contents section, perform the following actions:
    1. From the Select Field list, select a field that you want to add to the template.
    2. In the box next to the field, select or enter a field value.
      The field next to the Select Field list changes based on the type of the selected field.
      For example, for fields such as Category and Status, you can select a value from the list. For text fields such as Email, you must enter the information in the box.
    3. Repeat steps 5a and 5b to add required fields to your template.
    4. (Optional) To change the value of a selected field, select the field in the selected fields list, change the value, and click Update.
    5. (Optional) To remove any field, select the field and click Remove.
      You can remove multiple fields at a time.
  6. In the Template Availability section, perform the following actions:
    1. For the Used By option, select one of the following options:
      • To make the template available to all users, select Everyone.
      • To make the template available to specific groups, select Groups.
        In the All Groups list, double-click the groups that you want to add to the Selected Groups list.
    2. To make the template available to Self Service users, select the Display in Self Service check box.
    3. (Optional) To make the template unavailable, select the Mark as Inactive check box.
      Templates that are marked as inactive cannot be used to create records in Track-It! and Self Service.
  7. Click Save.

To add, edit, or delete a note in a template (2020 Release 03)

  1. Navigate to the Form Templates page (hamburger menu  > Configuration > Form Definitions > Form Templates). 
  2. Double-click a template to open the Template: templateName - Modify dialog box. 
    Alternatively, select a template and click Edit 
  3. In the template details section, click the Ticket Notes or Assignment Notes tab and perform one of the following actions:

    ActionSteps
    To add a note
    1. Click New.
    2. In the New Ticket Note or New Assignment Note dialog box, select the Note Type from the following options:
      • For a ticket note:
        • Technician Note

        • Ticket Description

        • Ticket Resolution
      • For an assignment note:
        • Assignment Description
        • Assignment Resolution
        • Technician Note
    3. Select the required Activity Code for the note.
    4. (Optional) (For ticket templates only) To hide the note from requestor, select the Private note (hidden from Requestor) check box.
    5. (Optional) Enter the note details in the body of the note.
      Notes support text in both plain text and rich text formats.
    6. Click Add / Update Note.
      The following message is displayed after you have added a note:
      Ticket Note/Assignment Note has been created successfully.
      The note is displayed under the Ticket Notes or Assignment Notes tab.
    7. Click Save.
    To edit a note
    1. From the list of available notes, double-click a note to open it.
      Alternatively, select a note and click Edit .
    2. In the Ticket/Assignment Notes #noteID dialog box, edit the required fields.
    3. Click Add / Update Note.
      The following message is displayed after you have edited a note:
      Ticket Note/Assignment Note has been updated successfully.
    4. Click Save.
    To delete a note
    1. From the list of available notes, select a note and click Delete .
    2. In the Delete Note dialog box, click Yes.
      The following message is displayed after you have deleted a note:
      Note has been deleted successfully.

Linking assignment templates to a ticket template

You can link multiple assignment templates to a ticket template. When the ticket template is applied to a record, the linked assignments are created in the same order as the order of the linked assignment templates. When you create a record by using a template that has linked assignments, after you save the record, the linked assignments are created automatically. However, if the linked template does not contain any field, then the linked assignments are not created. If you unlink an assignment template, it does not delete or unlink the existing records that were created before you unlinked the assignment template.

  1. Create a required ticket template. For more information, see To create a template.
  2. Navigate to the Form Templates page (hamburger menu , select Configuration > Form Definitions > Form Templates).
  3. On the Form Templates page, select the required template and click .
  4. In the Details section, click Link Templates.
  5. In the Select from Templates dialog box, select a template and click OK.
  6. To add more templates, repeat steps 4 and 5.
  7. Click Save.
  8. (Optional) To unlink a template from the parent template, select a template and click Unlink.

Linking predecessors and successors to an assignment template

You can link multiple predecessors and successors to an assignment template. You must first select a parent ticket template and link the assignment templates to the parent ticket template, before linking the assignments as predecessors or successors. Linking predecessors and successors helps to establish a chronological sequence of events for various assignments linked to a ticket. The predecessor-successor relationship is a tree relationship, not a sequential one, and can have different workflows. Depending upon the workflow, there can be two or more assignments that need to be completed simultaneously. For more information about predecessors and successors, see Linking predecessors and successors to an assignment.

  1. Create a required ticket template. For more information, see To create a template.
  2. Navigate to the Form Templates page (hamburger menu  , select  Configuration > Form Definitions > Form Templates).
  3. On the Form Templates page, select the required template and click .
  4. In the Details section, in the Select Template to attach a workflow to list, select an appropriate ticket template.
  5. To add a predecessor, click the Predecessors tab and then click Link Predecessors.
  6. In the Select from Templates dialog box, select a template and click OK.
  7. To add a successor, click the Successors tab and then click Link Successors.
  8. Repeat step 6.
  9. To add more predecessors or successors, repeat steps 5 through 8.
  10. Click Save.
  11. (Optional) To unlink a template, select a template and click Unlink Successors or Unlink Predecessors.

Changing template display order

After you create templates, you can set an order in which templates are displayed in a module. The templates are displayed in the set order in the Select and apply template list in the Ticket or Assignment form in the Track-It! application and when requestors click the Common Requests button while creating a ticket in Track-It! Self Service. By default, the templates are displayed in alphabetical order.

  1. Navigate to the Form Templates page (hamburger menu , select  Configuration > Form Definitions > Form Templates).
  2. On the Form Templates page, click the More Actions menu , and select Template Display Order.
  3. In the Template Display Order dialog box, in the Templates For list, select a record type: Ticket or Assignment.
    The dialog box is refreshed and the Templates box displays all the templates for the selected record type.
  4. In the Templates dialog box, select the required templates and use the Move Up and Move Down arrow buttons to set the display order.
  5. Click Save.

Copying, editing, or deleting a template

When you copy a template, the resulting template has the same contents as the original, but the Details section is not copied. This feature is useful when you need the same content for an issue but want to link different assignments to it.
When you delete a template, the system removes all references to the linked templates. The existing records created with a template are not deleted, but the template reference is not visible on those records. Also, the linked templates are not deleted.

  1. Navigate to the Form Templates page (hamburger menu  > Configuration > Form Definitions > Form Templates).

  2. In the Form Templates page, in the templates list, select the required template and perform one of the following actions:

    ActionSteps
    To copy the template
    1. Click the More Actions menu , and select Copy Template.
    2. In the Copy Template dialog box, in the Enter new Template Name field, enter a name for the new template.
    3. Click Save.
    To edit the template
    1. Click Edit .
    2. In the Template: templateName - Modify dialog box, edit the required fields.
    3. Click Save.
    To delete the template
    1. Click Delete .
    2. In the Delete Record dialog box, click Yes.


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Comments

  1. Cole Hayes

    I just upgraded to 20.20.02 and I uploaded a PDF to a ticket template, and was able to execute on a new ticket. However, when I applied a template to an already existing ticket, the attachment did not save to the ticket. Is this a bug? or is this how it is meant to function?

    Oct 12, 2020 10:15
    1. Dov Kaiser

      Hi, Cole. We advise that you contact Customer Support to log a formal ticket on this issue.

      Oct 14, 2020 07:06
  2. Dov Kaiser

    Hi, Cole. Thanks for contacting us! We have forwarded your input to the writer who is responsible for this content.

    Oct 13, 2020 12:40
  3. Arturo Carrillo

    Is there any function that will add a prepopulated Notes area for the user on the Self Service side? Like prefilled questions to ask the user to gain more valuable information from them?

    Jul 21, 2021 09:11
    1. Dov Kaiser

      Hi, Arturo. Thanks for your question. I have forwarded it to the writer who is responsible for this content.

      Jul 21, 2021 09:25
    1. Dov Kaiser

      Hi, Arturo.

      Track-It! cannot prepopulate the Note field in the Create Ticket form. However, in the post-create phase, you can add ticket note records with relevant questions to the ticket creation templates in Self Service. Then, when a ticket is created in Self Service via templates, the notes are added automatically to the ticket.

      Jul 22, 2021 06:08
    1. Richard Rowe

      Hi Arturo

      The best way to work around this is to use the "additional information" field in your template. You can present this in your template and make it visible, so when a user selects the template from "common requests", the additional information field contains some information to help the user share information that will enable you to deal with their request more efficiently.

      We are (True North Service Management Solutions) currently working on a self service add-on solution that'll allow you to have some request forms for the self service.

      Jul 22, 2021 06:29