Creating a Support Assistant Policy

Creating a Support Assistant Policy

ย Creating a Support Assistant policy involves the following steps:

  1. Configuring the Name and Options for the Support Assistant Policy

  2. Configuring the Icon Users See on Their Desktops

  3. Configuring the Context Menu Your Customers See

  4. Setting an Uninstall Password for the Support Assistant

Configuring the Name and Options for the Support Assistant Policy

To create and name the Support Assistant policy
  1. In Service Center, clickย Service Deliveryย >ย Policies >ย Supportย Assistant.

  2. Clickย New.

  3. In theย Policy Nameย box, type a name.

  4. Optionally, in theย Descriptionย box, type a description.

  5. Clickย Create.

  6. Click theย Settingsย tab.

  7. Clickย Modify.

To customize how Support Assistant is displayed
  • In theย Customizationsย area, select any or all the following:

    • Display icon in notification areaย If selected, displays the support assistant icon in the notification area, which is located on the right side of the taskbar by default.

    • Show service notificationsย If selected, notifications are displayed in the notification area, which is located on the right side of the taskbar by default. Notifications include whether Device Manager can communicate with Service Center. As well, if you hover the mouse over the icon, a message shows whether Device Manager can connect to Service Center.

    • Display service shutdown option in context menuย If selected, allows your end user to use the context menu to shut down Device Manager. You may want to include this option so that end users can ensure no network traffic is generated by the Device Manager in billable environments such as a hotel.

    • Require user consent for remote accessย If selected, the end user needs to give consent for remote access. When selected, you'll see another box where you need to enter how long to wait for user consent. You also see theย Message for Remote Session Consentย box below.ย 

To create the branded messaging for the Support Assistant policy
  1. In theย Brandedย Messagesย area, type the name of the service in theย Service Nameย box.
    This is the name users see when they hover the mouse over the icon in the notification area. For branding purposes, you could use your business name for the service name.

  2. In theย Messageย forย Remoteย Sessionย Consentย box, type a message that the user sees when you request a remote session.

  3. In theย Service Shutdown Menu Item Textย box, type the text users will see in the context menu for the option to shut down the service.

Configuring the Icon Users See on Their Desktops

By default, anย operational iconย appears in the notification area in the taskbar when the service is installed and running:ย 

Operationalย icon

Shows when the service is communicating with Service Center.

Faultย icon

Shows when the service is not able to communicate with Service Center.

This option is ignored by Support Assistant.

To change the icon for the service
  1. Do one of the following:

    • To change theย Operationalย icon, select the check box besideย Operational Icon and clickย Upload Custom Icon.

    • To change theย Faultย icon, select the check box besideย Fault Iconย and clickย Upload Customย Icon.

    You have the option of using only one icon. In this case, bothย Operationalย andย Faultย icon are the same.

  2. Clickย Choose File, locate the icon file (ICO) you want to use and clickย Open.

    You can only upload icons that are 16 x 16 pixels. Do not use icons that contain a space character in the name.

  3. Clickย Upload.

To change the icon for the service back to the default icon
  • Do one of the following:

    • To change the Operational icon, select the check box besideย Operational Iconย and clickย Use System Default Icon.

    • To change the Fault icon, select the check box besideย  Fault Iconย and clickย Use System Defaultย Icon.

Configuring the Context Menu Your Customers See

When users click the icon in the notification area in the taskbar, they will see the context menu for the service. You can customize the context menu to include any of the following items:

  • A link to an email address.

  • A text message.

  • An option to submit a ticket.

  • A link to a web page.

Ticket Options

There are three options you can use to allow end users to submit tickets toย Service Center. You can use a combination of all three.

  • Predefinedย ticketย A type of ticket that you create and configure and requires no additional information from the user. You set the ticket title, description, priority and severity. When users select this option from the context menu of Barracuda RMM. For example, you can use this type of ticket to help users request aย callback.

  • Basic ticketย A type of ticket that asks users for one piece of information. Use this option if you want to prefill the ticket information but allow the user to provide a brief summary of their issue or even just provide contact information. You can customize the name of the box the user sees. For example, you can use this type of ticket to ask users for the telephone numberย at which they would like to be reached.

  • Detailed ticketย A type of ticket that asks users for a combination of three pieces of information: ticket title, description or priority. Use this option when you want the user to provide detailed ticket information. You can't customize the names of the boxes the user sees.

After a user submits a ticket, a ticket is created in Barracuda RMM. If a service desk integration is set up, the ticket is submitted to the Professional Services Automation (PSA) or service desk system as well.

Ticketing Information Sent to Barracuda RMM

When you set up options for end users to submit a ticket, the following information is sent to Barracuda RMM no matter what ticket option you use:

  • URL of the device from which the ticket was submitted that you can use to go quickly to the target device.

  • User ID (login name) of the person who submitted the ticket

The ticket is stored in a category calledย Service Requestsย and the status is set toย New.

Toย addย aย linkย toย anย emailย addressย inย theย contextย menuย forย theย service
  1. In Service Center, clickย Service Deliveryย >ย Policiesย >ย Supportย Assistant.

  2. Click the name of the Support Assistant policy you want to modify.

  3. Click theย Settingsย tab.

  4. Clickย Modify.

  5. In theย Context Menuย area, clickย Add.

  6. Select theย Emailย button.

  7. In theย Menu Textย box, type the text for the menu item.

  8. In theย Email Addressย box, type the email address.

  9. To include a link to the device in the body of the email, select theย Include link to device in message bodyย check box.
    When you receive the e-mail and select this link, you will be taken to the device that submitted the ticket. If you are not already logged on to Service Center, you will initially be asked to log in before taken to the device. You may also want to open a ticket in Barracuda RMM to track the progress of this request.ย ย 

  10. Clickย Add.

To add a text-based message to the context menu for the service
  1. In Service Center, clickย Service Deliveryย >ย Policiesย >ย Supportย Assistant.

  2. Click the name of the Support Assistant policy you want to modify.

  3. Click theย Settingsย tab.

  4. Clickย Modify.

  5. In theย Context Menuย area, clickย Add.

  6. Select theย Textย button.

  7. In theย Menu Textย box, type the text for the menu item.

  8. Clickย Add.

Toย addย anย optionย toย submitย aย predefinedย ticketย toย theย contextย menuย for theย service

A predefined ticket enables you to assign preconfigured values to the ticket boxes and provides a quick way for the end user to submit a ticket.

For example, you can add a title called "Request Remote Assistance" and when an end user clicks this menu item, a ticket is automatically created and sent to Service Center.

  1. In Service Center, clickย Service Deliveryย >ย Policiesย >ย Supportย Assistant.

  2. Click the name of the Support Assistant policy you want to modify.

  3. Click theย Settingsย tab.

  4. Clickย Modify.

  5. In theย Context Menuย area, clickย Add.

  6. Select theย Ticket Submissionย button.

  7. In theย Menu Textย box, type the text for the menu item.

  8. In theย  Confirmation Window Message box, type the message you want users to see after they have submitted a ticket. When users submit a ticket, they will see this message along with the ticket number.

  9. From theย Userย Viewย section, select theย Predefinedย ticketย (noย userย input required)ย button.

  10. From theย Ticketingย Fieldย Configurationย section, in theย Titleย box, type the title of the ticket.

  11. In theย Descriptionย box, type a description of the ticket.

  12. From theย Priorityย list, select a priority.

  13. From theย Severityย list, select a severity.

  14. From theย Assign Toย list, select to whom the ticket should be assigned.ย ย 
    The options in this list are the user accounts set up in Barracuda RMM.ย ย 

  15. To send an email to the user account in theย Assignย Toย list, select theย Email ticket to assigneeย check box.

  16. Clickย Add.

Toย addย anย optionย toย submitย aย basicย ticketย toย theย contextย menuย forย the service

A basic ticket requires some information from the end user. The box displayed to the end user can be either one line or multi-line.

The maximum number of characters that a user can enter in this box is 1024 characters.

For example, you can add a title called "Request Callback" so that end users can request a telephone call. Then the ticket can include a prompt for the telephone number of the user. In this case, you would clear theย  Show multi-line text box for requested dataย check box to show a form box that is one line.

  1. In Service Center, clickย Service Deliveryย >ย Policiesย >ย Supportย Assistant.

  2. Click the name of the Support Assistant policy you want to modify.

  3. Click theย Settingsย tab.

  4. Clickย Modify.

  5. In theย Context Menuย area, clickย Add.

  6. Select theย Ticket Submissionย button.

  7. In theย Menu Textย box, type the text for the menu item.

  8. In theย Confirmation Window Messageย box, type the message you want users to see after they have submitted a ticket.

  9. From theย Userย Viewย section, select theย Basicย ticketย informationย required from userย button.

  10. In theย Labelย forย Requestedย Dataย box, type the label the user will see in the ticket submission form.

  11. Do one of the following:

    • To show a box that is a single line, clear theย Showย multi-lineย textย box for requested dataย check box.

    • To show a box that is a multi-line box, select theย Show multi-line text box for requested dataย check box.

  12. From theย Ticketingย Fieldย Configurationย section, in theย Titleย box, type the title of the ticket that is sent to Service Center.

  13. In theย Descriptionย box, type a description of the ticket that is sent to Service Center.

  14. From theย Priorityย list, select a priority for this type of ticket.

  15. From theย Severityย list, select a severity for this type of ticket.

  16. From theย Assign Toย list, select to whom the ticket should be assigned.
    The options in this list are the user accounts set up in Barracuda RMM.

  17. To send an email to the user account in theย Assignย Toย list, select theย Email ticket to assigneeย check box.

  18. Clickย Add.

Toย addย anย optionย toย submitย aย detailedย ticketย toย theย contextย menuย for theย service

A detailed ticket requires the end user to provide information before a ticket is submitted. For some boxes, you can choose to assign preconfigured values or you can ask the user to provide this information. By prefilling the boxes with information, you can help the end user know what information you're expecting. If the user doesn't replace this text, it's included in the ticket and sent to Barracuda RMM.

  1. In Service Center, clickย Service Deliveryย >ย Policiesย >ย Supportย Assistant.

  2. Click the name of the Support Assistant policy you want to modify.

  3. Click theย Settingsย tab.

  4. Clickย Modify.

  5. In theย Context Menuย area, clickย Add.

  6. Select theย Ticket Submissionย button.

  7. In theย Menu Textย box, type the text for the menu item.

  8. In theย Confirmation Window Messageย box, type the message you want users to see after they have submitted a ticket.

  9. From theย Userย Viewย section, select theย Detailedย ticketย information required from userย button.

  10. Optionally, select the following check boxes.

    • Show Titleย When selected, shows aย Titleย box when the user submits a ticket and asks the user for the title of the ticket. When cleared, you must enter the title in theย Titleย box so that the ticket information can be complete in Barracuda RMM.

    • Show Descriptionย When selected, shows aย Descriptionย box when the user submits a ticket and asks the user for a description of the ticket. When cleared, you must enter the description in theย Descriptionย box so that the ticket information can be complete in Barracuda RMM.

    • Showย Priorityย When selected, shows aย Priorityย list when the user submits a ticket and asks the user to select a priority for the ticket. When cleared, select the default priority for all tickets.

  11. From theย Severityย list, select a severity.

  12. From theย Assign Toย list, select to whom the ticket should be assigned.
    The options in this list are the user accounts set up in Barracuda RMM.

  13. To send an email to the user account in theย Assignย Toย list, select theย Email ticket to assigneeย check box.

  14. Clickย Add.

To add a link to a web page in the context menu for the service
  1. In Service Center, clickย Service Deliveryย >ย Policiesย >ย Supportย Assistant.

  2. Click the name of the Support Assistant policy you want to modify.

  3. Click theย Settingsย tab.

  4. Clickย Modify.

  5. In theย Context Menuย area, clickย Add.

  6. Select theย Web Pageย button.

  7. In theย Menu Textย box, type the text for the menu item.

  8. In theย Web Page Addressย box, type the URL of the web page.

  9. Clickย Add.

To edit an item on the context menu for the service
  1. In Service Center, clickย Service Deliveryย ย >ย Policiesย >ย Supportย Assistant.

  2. Click the name of the Support Assistant policy you want to modify.

  3. Click theย Settingsย tab.

  4. Clickย Modify.

  5. In theย Context Menuย area, click the name of the context menu item you want to edit.

  6. Make the desired changes.

  7. Clickย Save.

To move an item up or down in the context menu for the service
  1. In Service Center, clickย Service Deliveryย >ย Policiesย >ย Supportย Assistant.

  2. Click the name of the Support Assistant policy you want to modify.

  3. Click theย Settingsย tab.

  4. Clickย Modify.

  5. In theย Contextย Menuย area, select the check box for the context menu item you want to move.

  6. Clickย Move Upย orย Moveย Down.

To delete an item from the context menu for the service