KevPT Help

About KevPT

Welcome to KevPT. It can be used to track problems, questions, or requests from your clients. You can track problems of your clients, of your clients' assets, and any actions you take to solve their problems. KevPT was primarily designed for help desks and technical support operations but can be used in any situation which requires tracking problems and requests from your clients.

KevPT was developed using FileMaker Pro and AppleWorks on Macintosh computers. KevPT is ©1998 by Kevin Hayes

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Using KevPT

Logging In

Double-click the KevPT (or KevPT.fp5) icon to open KevPT. If asked, enter the FileMaker Pro password to enter the KevPT system. After opening KevPT, you will see a login screen. Type your username and password in the space provided and click login. You will then be presented with your Home Screen.

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Home Screen

The Home screen shows important information that should be viewed whenever logging on. The home screen shows open problems (problems that have not been solved) assigned to you and to everyone. This screen serves to remind you the problems for which your clients are still waiting for resolution. Navigation buttons are present to go directly to the problem . Messages are also displayed that are posted for you and everyone. You can return to the Home screen at any time by clicking the Home button. Note: you can only navigate records found from the last search performed. To navigate through all records, perform a search without entering search criteria.

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Messages

You can leave messages for fellow staff members. You can leave them to one or all staff members. To leave a message go to the Home Screen and click the New Message button . A message screen will appear. Select the recipient for your message (select All Users to leave a message for everyone). When you have finished entering your message, click the Enter Message button . Once you have read your message you can delete it by clicking the Delete Message button . Only administrators can delete messages belonging left for all users.

 

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Navigation

You can navigate through records in KevPT using the navigation buttons at the bottom of every window. There are buttons for first record, previous record, next record, and last record. If you click on the record number, a dialogue will appear allowing you to navigate to a specific record.

When viewing Details screens that show related records you can bring up the details of the related record by clicking the Go To Details button or . For example, a Client Details screen showing problems and assets belonging to that client shows the Go To details button beside each problem and asset.

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Searching

You can search for clients, their assets, their problems, and their problems' actions. To perform a search by clicking the appropriate search button , entering search criteria, and clicking the perform search button in the upper right corner. If you do not enter any search criteria, all records will be found. The search criteria can be enhanced by using the following symbols in the search fields:

Symbol

Meaning

Example

<

less than

< 5 will find a field value less than 5 (4, 3, 2, 1, etc.)

<=

less than or equal to

<= 5 will find a field value less than or equal to 5 (5, 4, 3, 2, 1, etc.)

>

greater than

> 5 will find a field value greater than 5 (6, 7, 8, 9, etc.)

>=

greater than or equal to

>= 5 will find a field value greater than or equal to 5 (5, 6, 7, 8, 9, etc.)

=

exact match

=Jim will find Jim but not Jimbo. Matches individual words only. =Bob MacDonald will find Bob, MacDonald, Bob MacDonald

...

range

3...6 will find 3, 4, 5, or 6. 12/01/2000...12/03/2000 will find 12/01/2000, 12/02/2000, and 12/03/2000

!

duplicates

will find any record that appears twice in a database. The records must be exactly equal.

//

today’s date

will find any field value with today’s date

@

@ one character wild card

B@th will find Both but not Booth

*

general wild card

Jim* will find Jim, Jimmy

“”

literal text

“Bob MacDonald” will find Bob MacDonald, but not Bob or MacDonald.

==

field content match

Like “” but with any type of field

After searching, if only one record has been found, the details screen will be displayed for viewing and/or editing. If more than one record has been found, a list will appear with the search results. To view the details of a particular record, click the Go To Details button ( or ).

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Adding Clients

When contacted by a client, perform a search for the client using the Client Search button . If the client is not found, click the New Client button and enter the client's contact information.

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Adding Assets

If a clients problem is with an asset, add it using the New Asset button . It will automatically be linked to the client or problem currently displayed. An new asset must be linked to the current client. The Asset can be removed from the client later if need be. (for example, if the asset changes ownership).

If you have an existing asset which you wish to link to an existing client or problem, search for the client or problem. Then search for the asset you wish to link and click the Link to Asset button. Link Client to Asset or Link Problem to Asset

Similarly, if you wish to remove a link between a client or problem and an asset (note this will not delete the client, problem, or asset; just the link between them.) perform the same procedure, but click the appropriate Remove Link button instead. Remove Client Link to Asset or Remove Problem Link to Asset

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Adding a Problem

New problems must be attached to a client. To add a new problem, first search for the client. If the client that reported the problem cannot be found in the database, the new client must first be entered. Once the client has been entered (or found), click the New Problem button and enter the new problem information.

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Adding an Action

An action is a record any work done on a client's problem. This can be a phone call with instructions, an email message, or whatever is appropriate in your situation. To add an action, search for the client's problem and click the New Action button and enter the action information.

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Editing Records

When you have the details record on screen (after searching, for example) and you have editing privileges, you can edit the data in the record. To edit a record, simple change the data and click the Edit button .


Assigning Problems To Other Staff Members

Often, staff members may wish to have a colleague help them solve a client's problem. KevPT allows you to assign the Problem to another staff member. You can do this by setting the "Assigned To" field on the Problem details screen to the appropriate staff member and editing the problem. You can assign it to an individual staff member or all staff members by assigning it to "All Users" 

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Sending Email To Clients

Email can be sent to clients from the Problem Details screen. Click on the Send Email button beside the client name on the Problem Details screen. Your preferred email client will be launched with a new message addressed to the client.


Deleting Records

You may delete a record by clicking the Delete button . After you delete a record, it is recoverable until your administrator has performed the "Expunge Deleted Records" procedure. Your administrator must recover the record for you.

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Reports

Clicking the Reports button will bring up the Reports screen. You can view reports based on Problems or Actions. When selecting a report, you will be asked if you wish to view a report based on all records, or the current found set of records. The current found set is the records last searched for. If you wish to print the report choose Print Report from the Script menu after selecting the report. Reports are only available to FileMaker Pro clients. They are not available to Web browser clients.

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Logging Out

When you are finished using KevPT, click the Logout button .

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