The questions found here have all been asked quite recently. We are still taking questions and providing personal replies, but before you asked use one or two, we request you to scan through the existing FAQs.

The FAQs list are divided into simple categories. If you don't find your question in one, please try the others before submitting your question to us directly.

Requirements

What versions of Microsoft Outlook work with SupportCalls? Microsoft Outlook 2003 with SP2 (or higher) or Microsoft Outlook 2007. Outlook Express is not supported.   I have only installed the client portion of SupportCalls system. Can I install the optional managerial pack later on? Yes, you can. Just goto "Add/Remove Programs" in the case of Windows XP or "Programs and features" under Windows Vista, select the entry "SupportCalls System" and then click 'Change' to pull up the SupportCalls maintenance wizard. Select the option to install other features, and check the option 'Managerial pack" and click 'Next'.   Apart MS Outlook, do I need any additional software requirements on my system to install SupportCalls system? Yes. SupportCalls system requires the Microsoft .NET 2.0 framework installed on your system.   To use the web access portal, which version of ASP do I need to enable in the IIS Manager? SupportCalls web access portals require ASP.NET 2.0 or higher enabled in the IIS Manager. Moreover, ASP.NET AJAX version 1.0 also needs to be installed on the server system.

Installation

What is the difference between the Managerial and Client installs? Managerial install - If you are an administrator/helpdesk manager and have not configured an Exchange public folder or mailbox yet to be used with SupportCalls, you should also install the optional 'Server and managerial tools'. This install should be performed only once. Simple client install - If you are just a technician/helpdesk staff that want to work on the support cases (the settings for which are already configured by your manager in a public folder or mailbox), you should accept the default installation option (that is, the 'Server and management tools' should be left unchecked). The main portion of the client tools is a simple Outlook add-in Do we need to uninstall SupportCalls system again when upgrading my Office 2003 to Office 2007 and then re-install again? That is incorrect! There will be a seamless migration of all available add-ins in Outlook 2007 also when upgrading from Outlook 2003. So no need to uninstall/reinstall SupportCalls system.   After installation, can I rename the folder name of the SupportCalls root and subfolders? Yes, absolutely! You can rename it later on via Outlook (after installation, that is). For that fact, you can even rename any of the subfolder as well ('Ongoing Cases', 'Resolved Cases', 'KB' etc) and SupportCalls simply  works. All we ask for you and other users is NOT to remove/modify the XML content of the folder description field of each subfolder (as they are crucial for SupportCalls functionality). .

Usage

What happens if several technicians open the same support case? Does SupportCalls notify the technician that the case already opened by another technician?  How does SupportCalls handle simultaneous changes from several technicians on a particular? There is no special action that SupportCalls system would do under such circumstances, as it leverages the existing functionality of Exchange folder permissions and access control mechanism. Typically, any number of technicians may open and modify the same case in an exchange folder. However, only the first user to save a modified case can save it in the original case. Subsequent technicians who try to save their copy of the case are notified that the case has been changed. They are then given the option of either discarding their changes or saving their edited case as a separate item in their respective Inbox. Exchange then generates a conflict message that contains both versions of the case item and sends a notification to the appropriate technicians. Exchange makes no attempt to automatically reconcile the contents of the conflicting items nor are the changes analyzed to assist the users in manual reconciliation. So, it is upon the involving technicians to resolve the conflict (by reverting one of the copy to the original item). Does SupportCalls system requires that Outlook is connected to the Exchange Server, all the time to work? Is offline mode available to work support cases? Yes, only when connected to your Exchange server.