HelpDesk v1.63

Feature Request...

If you're interested in requesting a feature please use the form on this page:
http://www.hackvb.com/helpdesk.php

Description:
This is a ticket support system. Your members can now open up tickets rather than email you all the time.

Features

• No File Edits!
• Ability to turn the HelpDesk off.
• Ability to turn the New Ticket option off.
• Automated Response to users when tickets are submitted by email or private message.
• Ability to select which usergroups have access to creating Departments and managing the other usergroup's HelpDesk settings.
• Departments / Ticket Categories.
• Limit usergroups to handle certain department tickets.
• Limit usergroups by the following actions: new tickets, edit tickets, delete tickets, resolve / unresolve tickets, claim/unclaim ownership of tickets.
• New Tickets since last visit to forums.
• New Replies since last visit to forums.
• Unresolved / Resolved Tickets.
• WYSIWYG Editor for replies.

No File Edits!
When upgrading your forums there will be no problems. This will not give you any headaches because it almost runs separate of vBulletin..

1 Template Modification
This only has one template modification and that is to the navbar if you want a link there.

How-tos:
Giving Access to the Departments and Usergroup Settings
Usergroup Settings
Managing Departments

Installed?
Please click install if you install so you get notifications of all the latest bug fixes and feature addons.


Bug Fixes / Feature Additions:
v1.00 - Initial Release
v1.01 - Added template caching for a slight performance increase. Thanks to: princeton
v1.02 - Install script updated to create databases with table prefixes. Also added the ability to select which usergroups have access to the administer options.
v1.03 - Uninstall section added to the install script.
v1.50 - Ton of features added. Will update this with a link to the post where I named all the features added.
v1.51 - Bug fix. This fixes the problem with sending PMs for the auto responder.
v1.52 - Bug fix. This fixes the problem where the creator of tickets cannot reply to the ticket and a cosmetic fix to the installer.
v1.53 - Bug fixes. Fixes the problem with the PM pop-up, database errors for some people and the delete errors.
v1.54 - Bug fixes. Fixes the problem with the install script with one table.
v1.55 - Bug fixes. Fixes the problem with the Usergroup Settings page loading half the way down the page in IE.
v1.60 - Bug fixes. Fixes the security hole pointed out by xYarub. This also adds the send a new PM on ticket update feature.
v1.61 - Bug fixes.
v1.62 - Parse error fix.
v1.63 - Really fixed the permission errors.

Donations:
Hacks like these takes up enormous amounts of time and energy. This hack is entirely free to use. Please help me, help the vBulletin community by donating. Donations will keep me releasing hacks for free rather than doing custom work. A donation of any amount is much appreciated! Tell me this hack isn't work a couple bucks?

[WhSox21]

Originally Posted by attroll

I have thought of that. But if I switch them to a new user group then they will not have access to the ADMINCP. Hmm. Will have to give this more thought I think.

Just give that usergroup Admin permissions.

[tokenyank]

This is a fantastic mod and will be installing soon...

Whilst I realise that dev of this may be stopped/slowing down due to the immient 3.5 release, I still would kick myself if I didn't request it... If not for the 3.0.x engines, maybe for the 3.5 when I can finally coax the wife into letting me update it!

What I would really like is more of an 'add-on' to this hack as I think that the helpdesk/ticket system (from what I've read) is spot on... But, could there be a 'FAQ builder' added on to it as well?

i.e. User has issue with not being able to post an image in their sig. User opens ticket, Staff answers ticket with proper syntax of BBcode to make it work, Staff clicks button, User notified of answered ticked, (add on bit) ---- Staff clicks another button and an 'editable' version of the ticket is ported to either the FAQ system already in place for vB or a special forum created to be specifically for the FAQ (which ever is easiest to code).

This way, if multiple questions are asked, instead of replying over and over to them, you can refer your users to the FAQ section to see previous tickets what resolved them... The tickets would have to be editable because of possible sensitive data being added to the ticket, but that's the only problem I forsee with it.

Just an idea though!

[HC.]

so in my departments under the usergroup section should have the usergroup(id's) set for PM's

[HC.]

whsox21,
Is there a way to have LIVE text chat for the help desk

[tokenyank]

Just installed it and it's good...

Just one more 'suggestion'

could the departments be allocated emails/userid/both to notify if a ticket comes in?

So, if someone has a sales question, notification of new ticket will go to sales@domain.com....... info goes to info@domain.com...... And so on...


I do apologise if any of my suggestions were mentioned before, but I admit wholeheatedly that I am lazy and did not read all 39 pages before installing this hack.

[WhSox21]

Originally Posted by hunterscentral

so in my departments under the usergroup section should have the usergroup(id's) set for PM's

That's correct. Those usergroups should also be the only ones who can respond to the tickets.

Originally Posted by hunterscentral

whsox21,
Is there a way to have LIVE text chat for the help desk

This is planned for a future version of the 3.5 install.

Originally Posted by tokenyank

Just installed it and it's good...

Just one more 'suggestion'

could the departments be allocated emails/userid/both to notify if a ticket comes in?

So, if someone has a sales question, notification of new ticket will go to sales@domain.com....... info goes to info@domain.com...... And so on...


I do apologise if any of my suggestions were mentioned before, but I admit wholeheatedly that I am lazy and did not read all 39 pages before installing this hack.

Development for this is in 3.5 version but 3.0.x will not see this feature.

[WhSox21]

Originally Posted by tokenyank

This is a fantastic mod and will be installing soon...

Whilst I realise that dev of this may be stopped/slowing down due to the immient 3.5 release, I still would kick myself if I didn't request it... If not for the 3.0.x engines, maybe for the 3.5 when I can finally coax the wife into letting me update it!

What I would really like is more of an 'add-on' to this hack as I think that the helpdesk/ticket system (from what I've read) is spot on... But, could there be a 'FAQ builder' added on to it as well?

i.e. User has issue with not being able to post an image in their sig. User opens ticket, Staff answers ticket with proper syntax of BBcode to make it work, Staff clicks button, User notified of answered ticked, (add on bit) ---- Staff clicks another button and an 'editable' version of the ticket is ported to either the FAQ system already in place for vB or a special forum created to be specifically for the FAQ (which ever is easiest to code).

This way, if multiple questions are asked, instead of replying over and over to them, you can refer your users to the FAQ section to see previous tickets what resolved them... The tickets would have to be editable because of possible sensitive data being added to the ticket, but that's the only problem I forsee with it.

Just an idea though!

Has everyone thought of the features that are being currently developed? Yes, this will be in 3.5 as well.

[attroll]

I have some suggestions for the new one you are working on for 3.5.

As it is with the current version once a person has Claimed Ownership of a ticket then no one else can see what has transpired with that thicket. I think it would be nice to have the administrator be able to see what is going on with tickets that have Claimed Ownership.

Right now you can only assign a user group to a Department. Which is great, but I would like to see it so that once you assign a user group to that department that you can take it a step further and assign a specific user within that user group to a department. This way each department listed will be able to have either multiple user groups to handle the tickets or just one person can do it. If we could assign specific users to a department then we could also have it send only emails to just that one person that is handling that department instead of the whole user group getting the email.

In the department listing that a user has to choose from when leaving a new ticket can we have the default set to something like “Choose option”. This way if a user goes to leave a ticket and hits transmit and they did not pick a ticket but just left it at what the default is (which is the first one on the list) then it will tell them that they have to make a choice. I can see an issue with this because right now I have my Contact Us set for multiple choices and the users always seem to leave it on what ever it defaults to.

Well that is my three suggestions for now. If you need to explain more about what I am trying to say here please let me know.

[jellybaby]

Ive set this up and members can send tickets but I am admin and I cant see them anywhere!

[jilly]

I don't think this question has been answered yet -

How do you set it up so that X usergroup recieves a PM when a new ticket is created? So they know to go take a look and start working on that ticket?

[andrew67]

Originally Posted by Antivirus

installed on version 3.08, testing now!

Whats the verdict ?

[MustangLisa]

Thanks, I'll be installing this on one of my sites.

[WhSox21]

As we approach the release of vBulletin 3.5 gold we also approach the initial release of the Help Desk.

[attroll]

Originally Posted by WhSox21

As we approach the release of vBulletin 3.5 gold we also approach the initial release of the Help Desk.

I am trying to wait patiently for this release. 3.5 is so close to being released now why don't you go ahead and just put the 3.5 help desk up for us to use?

[WhSox21]

It's not as simple as that. I'm still in testing stages for a few things. It will be released before vB 3.5 gold or very shortly after.