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Notes

The Incident Notes tab displays entries made by a User or Customer regarding an Incident. New Notes are date-stamped automatically and associated with the User logging the Note.

The number of Notes recorded against an Incident is displayed in brackets on the Notes tab, and if a Note has been added by a Customer or a Technician other than the Technician assigned to the Incident, an asterisk will also be visible on the Notes tab until the assigned Technician opens the Note.

Add Note

The Add Note button within the Summary tab can be used to open the Incident in Edit mode and automatically access a new Note window, as shown in Step 4 below.

Viewing All Notes

Use an Incident's Print button to access a list of all Incident Notes in one screen. To hide Private Notes in the Print output, remove the tick from the Show Private Notes box.

Adding a Note

When the first Note is created for an Incident, the Incident Description automatically populates the New Note editor allowing the Technician to enter their response.

To add a Note:

1. Click the Incident ID Number
   The Incident Information>Summary tab appears.

2. Click Edit

3. In the Notes tab, click New

4. Enter the Note details
   Or, select a Template if a relevant pre-configured response has been set for the Item Type or Category for the Item assigned to the Incident.
   
   

5. Enter Note Time
   The time entered represents the amount of time accumulated to formulate the Note's content or time spent working on a request away from the system. If no additional time has been spent on the Incident away from the application this field will be automatically populated with the Logged Time when the Incident is in Edit mode, if the Manual Request Time option is disabled in the Setup>Privileges>User tab. When this option is disabled, is visible next to the Incident number in the top right corner of the Summary Tab screen when the Incident is in Edit mode. (See: Contracts Logged Time.)

6. Adjust the time and date work was completed, if relevant

7. Add attachments to be sent with the Note, if required
   A maximum of two attachments can be added per Note.

8. Adjust the Note visibility, if relevant
   The default Private or Public visibility for Email Notes is set within Admin>Setup>Privileges>Requests, and can be adjusted on a per Note basis.

9. Refine the Email Recipient options as required
   The default Request Notifications for Notes is set within the Team assigned to the Request, and can be adjusted on a per Note basis.  
   Vendors, as Email Recipients, is displayed as an option if the Incident is in a State associated with an Underpinning Contract.

10. Click .
    The Note editor screen will close and the Note will be emailed to recipients, if defined.

Create Knowledge

• This option is only visible for Public Notes.

When a new Note is created for an Incident it can be added to the Knowledge Base by selecting the Create Knowledge option. By selecting this option and then clicking the Propose or Solution button, the system automatically moves the Incident to the default Closed State for the Workflow and creates a Solution Knowledge Base Article with a visibility of Assigned Request. This visibility allows Customers of a shared Incident to view the Solution. For the Solution to be available to other Customers of the same Item Type, the visibility must be adjusted to Technicians and Customers within the Analysis tab of the Incident or the Knowledge Tab.

Solution

If an Incident Note resolves the issue, the Note can be saved as the Solution. This will convert the Note into a Solution Article (found under Incidents>Analysis tab), by enabling the Create Knowledge option before selecting the Solution button. Clicking the Solution button will automatically move the Incident to the default Closed State. If a Solution is applied to an Incident containing attachments, the attachments are included in the Solution email.

To save a Note as the Solution:

1. Enter the Note details

2. Select Create Knowledge, if the Note content is to be available in the Knowledge Base

3. Click Solution.
   For Create Knowledge enabled Notes the content  will be recorded as the solution under the Analysis tab. The Status of the Incident will change to the default Exit State of the assigned Workflow.

4. This option is not available if the Handshaking facility is enabled in Admin>Setup>Privileges>Requests.

Propose Handshake

If a Note is a possible solution to an Incident, it can be sent to the Customer with a notice stating the Incident will be closed in a set number of days if no correspondence is received from the Customer. (The time span, in days, is specified by the Administrator in Setup>Privileges>Requests or within the Organizational Unit information screen).

To send a Public Note with a Handshake Notification:

1. Within the Notes Editor, enter the possible solution

2. At the bottom of the Notes field, click the Propose button.
   The proposed solution and handshake notification will be sent to the Customer. The Incident will automatically change status to On Hold - Pending Approval.

• For a Customer to re-open an Incident using the link in the handshake email, the web server must be using Port 80.

Draft Note

Use the Draft button to save an incomplete Note entry, which will be displayed in the Notes list. When a Note is saved as a draft, the Status will be displayed as . If the Add Note button is selected when a draft Note has been recorded against a request, a warning will be displayed. To continue working on a draft Note, open the request in Edit mode and select the Note No. hyperlink.

Changing the Status of an Incident Note

• When the Incident Note is created, it can be either public or private. After the Note is saved, it is possible to switch visibility

• If a Note is marked Private, a padlock graphic is visible. To change the status to Public, click to display

• To change the Public Incident Note to Private, click  to display .

Viewing a Note

To view a Note:

1. Select an Incident ID Number

2. Select the Notes tab

3. Click on the Incident Note Number hyperlink.
   
   

When Notes are viewed without opening the Request in Edit mode by clicking the Note No. link, the User can scroll through the Notes list by selecting inside the top right corner of the Notes window.

Replying to a Note

To reply via email to a Customer Note:

1. Click the required Incident ID number.
   The Incident Information screen appears.

2. Select Edit

3. Select Notes tab

4. Click on the Note number
   The Note appears.

5. Click Reply
   The new Notes editor is opened and includes the Customer Note.

6. Enter the Note content

7. Adjust the Visibility and Recipients settings, accordingly

8. Select Add Note to send the Note, or click Draft to finish the Note later.

Emailing Saved Incident Notes

To email a Customer after a Note has been saved:

1. Click the required Incident ID number
   The Incident Information screen appears.

2. Select Edit

3. Select Notes tab

4. Click on the Note number
   The Note is displayed.

5. Click Email to send the Note to the Customer and any other Users added to the notification list.

Adding Notes to Groups

When a Note is created for an Incident that belongs to a Group, the Apply to Group option is visible within the Notes tab. If the new Note is to be assigned to all requests within the Group, select the Apply to Group option.

• Any new requests added to the Group at a later date will also have all pre-existing Notes, with this option selected, applied to the newly grouped request.

When the Apply to Group option is selected, the Add Note Time to Group option is displayed. Select this checkbox to also apply the Note Time to each of the requests.

Selecting the Apply to Group option and then clicking the Solution button, closes all Incidents within the Group.