Managing your work
As an IT Agent, save time and effort by using Shared Ticket Console to perform multiple actions from one console. Access multiple ticket types such as incidents, problems, and changes from a single console. Additionally, use the Shared Ticket Console to search for your tickets quickly by using presets and filters, or perform bulk actions such as assigning, following, or unfollowing a ticket. You can also export tickets to a .csv format.
If you have admin permission, you can navigate to your subscribed Service Management applications. For example, select Business Workflows or any line of business like Facilities or HR by selecting the application from Line of Business.
The following video (2:52) provides an overview of ticket console in BMC Helix ITSM:
The following diagram displays the functionalities of the Shared Ticket Console:
You can also customize the Shared Ticket Console according to your needs. For more information, see Customizing a Ticket Console.
The Shared Ticket Console displays tickets of the following types:
- Incident
- Problem
- Known error
- Infrastructure change
- Release
- Service Request
- Task
- Work order
- Activity
Before you begin
Make sure your administrator has set the value of CCS parameter enableSharedTicketConsole to true in Centralized Configuration as described in the Setting-configuration-parameters-in-BMC-Helix-ITSM topic. For more information, see Enabling and customizing the Shared Ticket Console.
Ticket statistics
When you click Show ticket statistics, the ticket console displays statistics cards with ticket statistics such as the number of critical tickets, major incidents, tickets that need attention, overdue tickets, and new tickets.
By default, when you filter the tickets, their statistics are automatically refreshed. Click Show ticket statistics again to view the statistics cards with the filters applied. You can also click a statistics card to refresh the console grid with data from the statistics card. For example, if the ticket console displays all the open tickets of all ticket types and you click the Critical statistics card, the ticket console refreshes the grid to display all the open critical tickets of all ticket types.
Searchable columns in Shared Ticket Console
You can do a textual search on the Shared Ticket Console columns.
Out-of-the-box, you can do a textual search on the following columns of the Shared Ticket Console:
- Assignee name
- Summary
- Display Id
- Service
- Description
- Customer first name
- Customer last name
- Service Request Id
To export tickets
Export tickets to a .csv format to work on them offline. You can export only selected rows or all rows to the .csv format. For example, the ticket console displays change requests and incidents. And you want to export only change requests.
Perform the following steps to export selected rows:
- From the main menu, select Console > Ticket Console.
- Select change requests that you want to export.
- Click Export.
- Click Export selected rows.
Selected records are exported to the .csv format.
Filters
Use the out-of-the-box filters to filter and view the records as per your requirements.
It’s mandatory to select at least two filters. The filters are alphabetically sorted.
Additional information about filters
For some filters such as Assignee, Customer, Problem coordinator, when you you start entering values in the filter, you see additional information about the filter. This helps you to distinguish two or more filters with the same value. For example, let's say you enter some value in the Customer filter and there are two customers with the same value, you can distinguish them from their email IDs and department information.
Use the Keywords filter to filter records based on one or more keywords. The Keywords filter is applied out of the box to the Display Id and Summary columns on the Shared Ticket Console. However, an administrator can configure the columns on which the Keywords filter must be applied.
The percent symbol (%) is used as a wildcard to filter the records by keywords. By default, the keyword you specify is automatically enclosed within the percent (%) wildcard, and records containing the keyword in the Display ID or Summary are filtered. For example, if you specify the keyword email, all records containing the text email in Display ID or Summary are filtered.
For more information about customizing the Keywords filter, see Customizing-the-Keywords-filter-in-Shared-Ticket-Console.
If you specify multiple keywords, records are filtered based on the placement of the wildcard in each keyword, and the OR condition is applied to the keywords and columns.
For example, if you specify the keywords Outlook and VPN, all records containing the text Outlook or VPN in Display ID or Summary are filtered.
To create a view preset
You create a view preset to filter and view only the tickets that you need. For example, to view emergency change requests, you create a view preset by adding the emergency change class to the filters. You can also create a view preset to change the columns that are displayed, the order of the columns, the sort order of the rows, and the width of the displayed columns.
Perform the following steps to create a view preset to see all emergency change requests that are assigned to your support group:
- Open the ticket console.
- Click Filter.
- From Change class, select Emergency.
- From Ticket type, select Change.
- From Assignee group, select My support groups.
- Click Save as.
- Enter preset name and click Save.
To share a view preset
Share the presets that you create with your team members. So, that your team members don't have to create the presets for the same filter criteria that you have created.
- Open the ticket console.
- Select the preset that you created. For example, Emergency changes.
- Click on
.
- Click Share.
- In Share preset with, enter the name of the user with whom you want to share the preset.
You can also search for a user with their name, login ID, and email address.
- Click Add.
You can add multiple users. - Click Save.
You can share the presets with a maximum of 100 users. The presets you created are shown in the list of presets under Created by me in the preset selection dropdown. The presets you shared with others are flagged with
.
To delete a view preset
If you create a view preset, you can delete it if it's no longer required.
- Open the ticket console.
- Select the filter preset that you want to delete.
- Click on
.
- Click Delete.
User preferences
The last used filters of the session are saved and applied by default when you log in for the next session. When you create a preset filter, it is applied and saved for your next session. However, if you change the filters later, the last used filters of the session are saved and are applied when you log in for the next session.
To sort on multiple columns
You can change the sort order of a single column or multiple columns of Shared Ticket Console. For example, you change the sort order of multiple columns to see the last modified date of the change requests that are in the Draft status.
- Open the ticket console.
- Select the column that you want to sort, click
.
- Click Ascending or Descending.
- Select another column that you want to sort and click
.
- Click Ascending or Descending.
The grid is sorted on multiple columns.
To make columns visible
In Shared Ticket Console, by default, columns such as Priority, Display Id, and Summary are visible. If you want to view data for additional fields, you can make these additional columns visible.
- Open the ticket console.
- Select
.
- Search for the column that you want to make visible.
- Select <columnname>.
The column that you select appears on the grid.
To open classic Smart IT ticket console
If you want to use the classic Smart IT ticket console, the admin must add it from the screen configuration to the main menu. For more information, see Enabling-and-customizing-Shared-Ticket-Console.
- From the main menu, select Console > Ticket Console.
- Click More and then click the name of the old ticket console.
To access the ticket details quickly, we recommend that you make Dashboard your landing page, when you log in to theBMC Helix ITSM application. For more information, see Setting-configuration-parameters-in-BMC-Helix-ITSM.
What has changed from the classic Smart IT Ticket Console?
Click here to see the differences between the classic Smart IT Ticket Console and the BMC Helix Innovation Studio based Shared Ticket Console.
Functionality | Ticket Console | Shared Ticket Console |
|---|---|---|
Export | You cannot export the tickets. | You can export the ticket to .csv format.
|
Ticket type-based filters | When you select a ticket type, the filters are refreshed and only the filters that apply to the selected ticket type are displayed. | You can access all the filters, irrespective of the ticket type that you select.
|
Bulk update | You can perform the following bulk updates for a single ticket or multiple tickets:
| You can perform the following bulk updates for a single or multiple tickets:
Note:- Bulk update is not available for Tasks. |
Error handling in Bulk updates | If there is an error updating some of the tickets in bulk updates, none of the tickets is updated. | If there is an error updating some of the tickets in bulk updates, the error is handled and the other tickets are updated. For more information about error handling in bulk updates, see Troubleshooting-bulk-updates-issue-in-the-Shared-Ticket-Console. |
Row-level actions | You cannot perform any row-level actions on a ticket. | You can perform the following row-level actions on a single ticket:
|
Statistics card | Statistics card displays the count of the following tickets:
| Statistics card displays the count of the following tickets:
|
Date time format | The Target Date field is not displayed in the date time format. | The Target date is displayed in a date time format.
|
Wildcard search | You can use wildcards such as % to search for matching records. For example, INC% | The wild card % is automatically added to the search criteria. |
Permissions to access to ticket console | You need the following permissions to access the Shared Ticket Console:
| If you have access to any of the following ticket types, you can access the Shared Ticket Console:
|
Ticket details | You can view the ticket details by clicking on any column of the ticket console. | You can view the ticket details only by clicking the Display ID column. |
Filter list | Not applicable | You cannot search for the tickets by using the following filters:
Note:- Release Coordinator and Release Coordinator Group fetch the same results as Assignee and Assigned Group filters. |
Filter criteria | You need to apply at least two filter criteria to search for the tickets.
| You can apply two filter criteria's or one quick text search to search for tickets.
|
Locale support | Supports Hebrew locale. | Does not support Hebrew locale. |
Filter list | If you don’t have permission to access the specific ticket type, you don’t see the ticket type in the filters. | Even if you don’t have permission to access the specific ticket type, you can still see the ticket type in the filters. For example, if you don’t have permission to access change module, you can still see Change in the Ticket type filter. If you select change from the filter, the grid does not display change tickets because you don’t have permission to access the change module. |
Major incident | Not applicable | You can apply the following filters to major incidents:
|
Status and Status reason values | The display order of status and status reason values is according to the stages in the lifecycle of the ticket. For example, the display order of status values of an incident are New, Assigned, In Progress, and so on. | The display order of status and status reason is alphabetical. For example, the display order of status values of an incident is Assigned, In Progress, New, and so on. |
Bulk update status of a problem investigation | When you update the status of a problem investigation to Complete and the status reason to Known Error, the application automatically creates a known error and relates it to the problem investigation. | When you update the status of a problem investigation to Complete and the status reason to Known Error, the application doesn’t automatically create a known error. |
Bulk assignment of a problem investigation | When you do bulk assignment of problem investigations, you can select assignee for the unassigned problem investigations. | When you do bulk assignment of problem investigations, you cannot select assignee for the unassigned problem investigations. |
Accessibility view | Accessibility view is available in Universal Client. | Accessibility view is not supported. |
Instructions for classic interfaces
View instructions for classic Smart IT
This topic displays information about tailoring the consoles by using filters, sort items, columns, preset and custom status reason.
To filter and sort items
By default, the consoles show the open tickets, articles, or assets (items) assigned to you (or managed by you). In the universal client and tablets, counts of items assigned to you (My Tickets or My Articles), along with tickets and articles in other categories, are shown above the lists of tickets and articles. These counts apply to the tickets and articles currently displayed, so the numbers can change when you apply a filter. Click or tap a count to show only the tickets or articles you want to see in the table (for example, Critical Tickets or Published articles).
You can sort a console table by tapping or clicking one of the column headings (tablets and universal client), or by selecting a sorting option from a menu (phones).
You can apply a minimum of two filters to a console table; for example, to show only certain types of tickets with a particular status. In the Ticket Console, when you filter by the type of ticket, such as Change or Incident, the rest of the available filters dynamically change so that only the filters appropriate for that ticket type (or type) are listed. For example, if you select Incident, the filters for Change Manager, Change Class, and so on are not displayed.
In the Asset Console, there are advanced filters specifically for Computer System assets. For example, you can filter for all computers that have a minimum of 2 CPUs and a Windows operating system.
To search for specific tickets on the Console (all three consoles), you can select multiple filters and click Apply. The system displays the result according to the filters that you specified. When selecting filters if you select Cancel, the system cancels your selection and displays the result according to the filters that were previously applied. Note that you must select minimum two filters for the system to display the result. If you have set preset, and additionally specified filters, the system displays the result as per the preset and filters. To clear all the filters, click the Clear Filters option. The system now displays the result according to the default preset. The Apply button will remain disabled if you clear the filters and again select the same filters.
In the Ticket Console. the ticket statistics are not displayed by default. When you click the Show Ticket Statistics button, you can view the number of tickets assigned to you, critical tickets, tickets that need attention, new tickets, open tickets, and all tickets.
In the Ticket Console, if you click Security Tickets, the filter of Security Incident is applied. Additionally, the Security Incident option is selected under Filter > Incident Type. This option is displayed only if the Smart IT administrator has configured the required settings. For more information, see Configuring settings for managing security incidents.
You can filter incidents and major incidents in Ticket Console by their Assigned Group name. To filter major incidents based on Manager Group, Coordinator group and Assigned Group in Ticket Console, select the Major Incident filter as Candidate or Yes.
For more information about major incidents, see Managing major incidents.
You get an additional and quicker ticket search capability in the Ticket Console. After adding the filters in the Ticket Console, you can narrow down the search result further by entering a keyword in a search box. The keyword is highlighted in the search results, and this is not case sensitive. If your search keyword contains wildcard, then the keyword is not highlighted in the search result. The keyword search is done on the Summary, Description, and Display ID columns. This quick text search cannot be saved as a Preset. Wildcard is allowed only after you enter three or more characters. You can enter a minimum of 3 and a maximum of 100 characters in the search box. The search result is displayed based on the database collation level.
To filter items based on attention flag
To filter tickets that need your attention, select the Needs Attention filter:
To work with columns in Universal Client (UC)
In the universal client, you can select columns to show in a console, such as the Assignee or Status columns. Click the menu that appears below the ticket or article counts to display the Change and Order Columns panel.
For example, from Available Columns in the Ticket Console, select Columns that Apply to All Tickets, or choose one or more ticket types (such as Change or Incident) to show the available columns for that ticket type. Add columns by double-clicking each column name, or by dragging columns from Available Columns to Visible Columns. Arrange the order in Visible Columns by dragging.
Apply a filter on custom column only if that custom column is added in the visible column list. In edit preset blade, if user removes a custom column from the visible column list then all the filters which were already applied on that custom column will be removed after saving the preset.
Instructions for classic interfaces
View instructions for classic Smart IT
Managing your work in Smart IT console
Smart IT provides the list view of the following consoles to help you manage your work:
- Ticket Console
- Knowledge Console
- Asset Console
Your ability to view each console (and items in the console) depends upon the specific permissions you have been granted to fulfill your role in the organization. For example, you must have the minimum permissions required for a Change Agent to view change requests in the Ticket Console.
Each console displays a list of items (or records), such as tickets, knowledge articles, or assets. By filtering and sorting the list, you can locate items that match your criteria, such as open incidents assigned to your group. From the Ticket Console or Knowledge Console, you can also take a specific action on several items at the same time (bulk actions), such as changing the status or assignee.
To view details of a ticket, article, or asset, click or tap the item in the list. In the Smart IT Universal client, when you click an item in the Ticket, Asset or Knowledge console with the Shift key pressed, the details of that ticket, asset, or knowledge article is displayed on a new browser tab.
In the Ticket Console, the ticket priority is indicated by the following colors in the Priority column:
Ticket priority | Color in the Priority column |
|---|---|
Critical | Red |
High | Orange |
Medium | Yellow |
Low | Green |
Tailoring Smart IT consoles for your work
This topic displays information about tailoring the consoles by using filters, sort items, columns, preset and custom status reason.
To filter and sort items
By default, the consoles show the open tickets, articles, or assets (items) assigned to you (or managed by you). In the universal client and tablets, counts of items assigned to you (My Tickets or My Articles), along with tickets and articles in other categories, are shown above the lists of tickets and articles. These counts apply to the tickets and articles currently displayed, so the numbers can change when you apply a filter. Click or tap a count to show only the tickets or articles you want to see in the table (for example, Critical Tickets or Published articles).
You can sort a console table by tapping or clicking one of the column headings (tablets and universal client), or by selecting a sorting option from a menu (phones).
You can apply a minimum of two filters to a console table; for example, to show only certain types of tickets with a particular status. In the Ticket Console, when you filter by the type of ticket, such as Change or Incident, the rest of the available filters dynamically change so that only the filters appropriate for that ticket type (or type) are listed. For example, if you select Incident, the filters for Change Manager, Change Class, and so on are not displayed.
In the Asset Console, there are advanced filters specifically for Computer System assets. For example, you can filter for all computers that have a minimum of 2 CPUs and a Windows operating system.
To search for specific tickets on the Console (all three consoles), you can select multiple filters and click Apply. The system displays the result according to the filters that you specified. When selecting filters if you select Cancel, the system cancels your selection and displays the result according to the filters that were previously applied. Note that you must select minimum two filters for the system to display the result. If you have set preset, and additionally specified filters, the system displays the result as per the preset and filters. To clear all the filters, click the Clear Filters option. The system now displays the result according to the default preset. The Apply button will remain disabled if you clear the filters and again select the same filters.
In the Ticket Console. the ticket statistics are not displayed by default. When you click the Show Ticket Statistics button, you can view the number of tickets assigned to you, critical tickets, tickets that need attention, new tickets, open tickets, and all tickets.
In the Ticket Console, if you click Security Tickets, the filter of Security Incident is applied. Additionally, the Security Incident option is selected under Filter > Incident Type. This option is displayed only if the Smart ITadministrator has configured the required settings. For more information, see Configuring settings for managing security incidents.
You get an additional and quicker ticket search capability in the Ticket Console. After adding the filters in the Ticket Console, you can narrow down the search result further by entering a keyword in a search box. The keyword is highlighted in the search result and this is not case sensitive. If your search keyword contains wildcard, then the keyword is not highlighted in the search result. The keyword search is done on the Summary, Description, and Display ID columns. This quick text search cannot be saved as a Preset. Wildcard is allowed only after you enter three or more characters. You can enter a minimum of 3 and a maximum of 100 characters in the search box. The search result is displayed based on the database collation level.
To filter items based on attention flag
To filter tickets that need your attention, select the Needs Attention filter:
To filter items by Region, Site Group, and Site fields in Asset console
In the Asset console, when you filter by the Region, Site Group, and Site fields, it works as an OR condition for these three filters. For all other filters (Asset type, Status, Keyword, Supplier, Used by, etc) in the Asset console, it works as an AND condition.
For example, consider that the following company, region, site group and site data is present in the Mid-Tier:
Company name | Region | Site group | Site |
|---|---|---|---|
Calbro services | Asia Pacific | Hong Kong | Hong Kong Support Center |
Calbro services | Asia Pacific | Japan | Tokyo Support Center |
The following assets (CIs) for computer system have been created for different region, site group, and site.
Asset name | Company, region, site group, and site details |
|---|---|
Asset 1 | Calbro services -> Asia Pacific -> Hong Kong-> Hong Kong Support Center |
Asset 2 | Calbro services -> Asia Pacific -> Hong Kong-> Hong Kong Support Center |
Asset 3 | Calbro services -> Asia Pacific -> Japan -> Tokyo Support Center |
Asset 4 | Calbro services -> Asia Pacific -> Japan -> Tokyo Support Center |
If you apply the following filters in the Asset console:
- Asset Type: Computer System
- Status: Deployed
- Region: Calbro services -> Asia Pacific
- Site Group: Calbro services -> Asia Pacific -> Hong Kong
Smart IT retrieves all assets that fulfill the following conditions:
asset type = computer System AND Status = Deployed AND ((Region = Calbro services -> Asia Pacific) OR (Site Group = Calbro services -> Asia Pacific -> Hong Kong))
The assets that match the filter criteria are displayed in the Asset console as shown in the following screenshot:
To work with columns in Universal Client (UC)
In the universal client, you can select columns to show in a console, such as the Assignee or Status columns. Click the menu that appears below the ticket or article counts to display the Change and Order Columns panel.
For example, from Available Columns in the Ticket Console, select Columns that Apply to All Tickets, or choose one or more ticket types (such as Change or Incident) to show the available columns for that ticket type. Add columns by double-clicking each column name, or by dragging columns from Available Columns to Visible Columns. Arrange the order in Visible Columns by dragging.
- Apply a filter on custom column only if that custom column is added in the visible column list.
- In edit preset blade, if user removes a custom column from the visible column list then all the filters which were already applied on that custom column will be removed after saving the preset.
To create preset filters
Each console includes at least one pre-defined set of filters, called a preset. When you choose a preset from the list, the filters are applied to the console. (See number 2 in the following figure.) For example, the Ticket Console has the following out-of-the-box presets:
- My Security Tickets
- Security filter includes All Incident type as Security & Assigned Group: My Support Groups.
- If you select this option, the Security Incident option is selected under Filter > Incident Type. Additionally, the Security Tickets option on the console displays the number of security tickets in the Ticket Console.
- When you open any security ticket, the
icon is displayed. This icon distinguishes the security tickets from regular tickets.
- My Assigned Tickets (default)
- Applies the All Open and Assignee:Me filters to the console.
- My Groups Assigned Tickets
- Applies the All Open and Assigned Group:My Support Groups filters to the console.
From the universal client, you can also create custom presets. Custom presets allow you to save different filter selections, visible columns, or both, depending on the different perspectives you need for each of your roles in the organization. For example, if you are both a change approver and a service desk manager, you can save different preset perspectives for each role, and then quickly toggle between them. (See numbers 1 and 2 in the following figure.) You can delete presets that you created that are no longer needed by hovering the mouse over the name and clicking the x.
From the universal client, you can choose any preset as your default. In addition, you can now edit any of your custom presets. (See number 2 in the following figure.) Your default preset is displayed every time you log in from the universal client or from your mobile device. After you edit a preset or change the default, your changes are displayed immediately in the universal client. For mobile clients, you must log in again to see the updates.
Also in the universal client, you can click Refresh to see the latest list of results based on your current filters and column configurations. (See number 3 in the following figure.)
To display custom status reasons in the Ticket Console
On UC, the custom status reason specified for ticket status is displayed in the Ticket console under the Status Reason column. The custom status reason only appears in Smart IT if the administrator has added the custom status reason to all the corresponding ticket forms in BMC Helix ITSM. In the following table, forms that must be updated are listed as per ticket types:
Ticket type | Read form | Create form | Master console form | Status reason form |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Incident | HPD:Help Desk | HPD:IncidentInterface_Create | SMT:UnionSmartIT_TicketConsole | SYS:Status Reason Menu Items |
Work order | WOI:WorkOrder | WOI:WorkOrderInterface_Create | ||
Problem Investigation | PBM:Problem Investigation | NA | ||
Known Error | PBM:Known Error | NA | ||
Change request | CHG:Infrastructure Change | CHG:ChangeInterface_Create | ||
Task | TMS:Task | TMS:SummaryData |
Example
For incident tickets, you can add the Custom Reason 1 (ID - 33000) to the following forms:
- HPD:Help Desk form - Add Status_Reason_Hidden to any view panel for example, the Category panel, and then add Custom Reason 1 (ID - 33000) to the Status_Reason_Hidden field.
- HPD:IncidentInterface_Create form - Add Custom Reason 1 (ID - 33000) to the Status Reason field.
- INT:HPDSLM:HelpDesk_SLM_Join_Outer to show this custom reason in Smart IT.
- SMT:UnionSmartIT_TicketConsole form - Add Custom Reason 1 (ID - 33000) to the ConsolidatedStatusReason field.
- Rebuild the View of Smart IT, by performing Build/Rebuild database Union Structure from the SHR:Union_ConfigurationConsole form.
- Clearing the server cache to reflect the changes.
- Add the Status Reason Column in the Ticket Console of Smart IT.
If the same custom status reason is used across multiple ticket types, their ID must be same across those ticket types. In other words, no two ticket types should have two different custom status reasons having same ID, because as part of consolidation on the Ticket console, the system cannot distinguish them without having different IDs.
Status reasons with same ID in multiple ticket types are considered as a consolidated value that is shown on the Ticket console across those multiple ticket types. The ID must not be used for another status reason of any other ticket type. To add same custom status reason to multiple ticket types, use the same ID. For example, in BMC Helix ITSM, the Admin adds Custom Status Reason 1 with the ID - 33000 to incident, work order, and change request ticket. In Smart IT, when a service desk agent specifies Custom Status Reason 1 for incident, work order, and change request tickets, on the Ticket console, Custom Status Reason 1 can be seen under the Status Reason column. In another instance, Admin adds Custom Status Reason 2 with the ID - 34000 to incident ticket type. When this custom status reason is selected for an incident, it is also seen under the Status Reason column.