Cream of the Crop 1/Cream of the Crop 1.iso/BUSINESS/HN309.ARJ/HN1.EXE/HOTNET.DOC

Text File | 1992-03-18 | 27KB | 765 lines

H O T N E T


Hotline Phone Calling/Tracking

A Single/Multi-User Help Desk System

Version 3.09


















Copyright 1990,1991 - Joey Robichaux
P.O. Box 82311
Baton Rouge, La. 70884
[phone]

Table of Contents

         Section                                       Page

         Greetings
         Basics
         Definition of Shareware
         Disclaimer - Agreement
         Registration
         Who to Contact
         Compuserve
         Table of Contents
         Hardware Requirements
         Installing and Starting Hotnet (also TSR)
         Auto Log-In
         Scrolling Picklists
         Phone Call File
         The Comments Field
         Free-Form Text Search
         Caller Detail File
         Customer Company File
         Graphics Lists
         Utilities
         Reporting with HOTRPT
         Errors
         Final
         Index

Greetings

This is a thin manual.

That's by design -- not by accident!

It used to be a thick manual -- full of extra words,
fluff, diagrams, caveats, and loads of other things
to make it look impressive.  Just like other software
manuals.

It was just about as useful as other software
manuals, too.  Too big to be useful.  All the helpful
information was hidden in the fluff.

That's why it's now thin.  I've tried to remove the
fluff and leave the bare-bones useful.

Read it if you need it -- but you probably won't.
Hotnet is pretty direct.

Also, Hotnet is a trademark of Joey Robichaux.  All other
brand and product names mentioned are trademarks of their
respective companies.

Basics

Do you run a help-desk?  Maybe you call it a
hotline, or a customer service center, or a trouble
desk?  Whatever you call it, you've discovered a
few things.

First, you're swamped by calls.  Second, you're run
ragged solving the same types of problems over
and over again.  Finally, things are happening so
quick it's hard to share information among your
staff.

That's where Hotnet comes in.  It's your help-desk
solution.

Hotnet logs calls -- but even more, Hotnet does it
simply and quick.  When the phone's ringing off
the wall, you don't want to be struggling with your
software.

Hotnet queries your calls -- again, simply and
quickly.  Recycle your solutions -- if you've solved
a problem once, use that solution.  Don't reinvent
the wheel -- don't look up the same obscure error
messages again and again.  Let Hotnet tell you
the answers.

Finally, Hotnet manages your information.  Track
your progress; prove your efforts to management
with Hotnet's reporting functions.

Definition of Shareware

Shareware distribution gives you a chance to try
software before buying it. If you try a Shareware
program and continue using it, you must register
the product.

Copyright laws apply to both Shareware and
commercial software, and the copyright holder
retains all rights.  The main difference between
Shareware and commerical software is the method
of distribution.  The author specifically grants the
right to copy and distribute the software, either to
all or to a specific group.

Shareware is a distribution method, not a type of
software.  Shareware has the ultimate money-back
guarantee -- if you don't use the product, you don't
pay for it.


Disclaimer - Agreement

Users of HOTNET must accept this disclaimer of
warranty:

"Hotnet is supplied as is.  The author disclaims
all warranties, expressed or implied, including,
without limitation, the warranties of
merchantability and of fitness for any purpose.
The author assumes no liability for damages,
direct or consequential, which may result from the
use of Hotnet."

Hotnet is a "shareware program" and is provided
at no charge to the user for evaluation.  Feel free
to share it with your friends, but please do not
give it away altered or as part of another system.

If you use Hotnet after a reasonable trial period,
you must make a registration payment of $89 to
the author.  This licenses one copy for use on any
one workstation at any one time.  If multiple
people use Hotnet, you must license multiple
copies.  Discounts are available -- please contact
the author for details.

Commercial users of Hotnet must register and
pay for their copies of Hotnet within 30 days of
first use or their license is withdrawn.

Registration

When you register Hotnet you'll receive:

                  *         a copy of the latest version of
                            Hotnet,  direct from the author
                            and guaranteed virus-free;
                  *         a printed copy of this reference
                            manual;
                  *         notification of upgrades and
                            new releases;
                  *         access to free technical support.

Who to Contact

For technical support, enquiries, and multiple copy
discount information, the author can be contacted
in the following ways:

     *            On Compuserve, via EASYPLEX to
                  ID 71336,336.

     *            By US Mail:        Joey Robichaux
                                     P. O. Box 82311
                                     Baton Rouge, La. 70884

     *            Telephone : [phone].  Please
                  note that the author will not normally
                  be available at this number during
                  working hours, but please leave a
                  message and he will return your call
                  as soon as possible.
Compuserve

To thank you for registering Hotnet, and to make
support easier, I'm offering a free introductory
subscription to CompuServe to registered users.
This subscription include $15.00 worth of free
connect time.

To collect your membership ID and password:

        {This information contained in
         registered version}


Hardware Requirements

Hotnet will run on any IBM compatible PC-
DOS/MS-DOS machine.  A hard drive and printer
are required for optimum performance.  You
should have 640K conventional RAM.  Hotnet
may work with less RAM, but you may run into
problems trying to print reports.

Hotnet will run on a NETBIOS-compatible
network.  It has been tested on Novell Advanced
Netware, ELS, and on TopShare.  It uses standard
NETBIOS record locking techniques.

Hotnet should work on LANTASTIC, Netware Lite,
and other peer-to-peer networks.  However, you
should set this environment variable:
        SET LANTASTIC=T
no matter which peer-to-peer network you use.
You may also need to run the DOS SHARE command.

Hotnet supports both color and monochrome video
monitors.

Hotnet supports the following types of printers
(and compatables):

                  Epson EX/FX/JX/RX/LQ
                  HP LaserJet 500/+/II/III
                  Generic ASCII printers
                  HP LaserJet I
                  IBM Proprinter
                  Panasonic KX
                  Diablo 620 & 630
                  Toshiba P341/P351

Installing and Starting Hotnet (also TSR)

Create a subdirectory on your hard disk.  This will be your
personal hard disk if you are installing Hotnet for non-LAN
personal use.  It will be the file server's hard disk if you
are installing Hotnet for multi-user access.  Note that you
must have the proper supervisory rights to create
subdirectories on your network.  Also, you must grant
read/write/delete rights to all users.

Make this new subdirectory the current directory. Your DOS
prompt will look something like this:

         F:/HOME/HOTNET> _

Hotnet is contained in two self-extracting files, HN1.EXE
and HN2.EXE.  Place the first diskette in your diskette
drive.

Type the following command:

         F:/HOME/HOTNET> A:HN1         {press Enter}

This assumes your Hotnet diskette is in drive A. The Hotnet
files self-extract into your subdirectory.  When it's
finished, repeat the process with the second disk and
HN2.EXE.

Your installation is now almost complete -- you must check
your FILES and BUFFERS statements in your CONFIG.SYS file.

You should at least have FILES = 42 and BUFFERS = 8.  If
you're running Microsoft Windows or some "shell" programs,
you may have to increase the FILES even greater.  If Hotnet
terminates with an "Open" error or a "REDOINDEX" error, this
is most likely because of insufficient file handles.

To start HOTNET, simply type "HOTNET" at the DOS prompt.  To
start HOTNET as a TSR, just supply any dummy parameter when
you start HOTNET.  For example, "HOTNET TSR".  The Alt -
Equal Sign keys (ALT=) activate Hotnet(tsr).

The TSR version tucks itself away into expanded or extended
memory.  If none is available, it loads into a temporary
disk file.  If you terminate Hotet(tsr) normally (with the
Terminate function), this file is deleted.  If you turn the
machine off without terminating Hotnet, the disk file stays
around.  It doesn't hurt anything, but it does use up disk
space.  You can delete old ones without hurting anything;
just try "DIR *." and look for strange alpha or numeric
names.

NOTE: You cannot run bot HOTNET and HOTNET(tsr) at the same
time on the SAME machine ... you'll hang one or the other on
file/record locking problems.

The first time HOTNET runs, it spends a few moments building
the necessary data files.
Auto Log-In

When you use Hotnet, you "Log In" so Hotnet knows
who is answering calls.

Hotnet automatically logs you in if you dedicate
an environment variable.  This takes a few bytes
of environment space, so you may decide not to
use this option.

Use an environment variable called LOGNAME.
Place this in each user's LOGIN script or in his
AUTOEXEC.BAT file.  You can use the following
DOS command:

         SET LOGNAME=USERNAME

where USERNAME is the user's name.  Hotnet
uses this to track who is answering and recording
calls.

If you don't use the LOGNAME variable, you
must log in manually with the Log in function of
Hotnet.  This function is in the Utility section.
Scrolling Picklists

Hotnet maintains data files with a feature called
scrolling picklists.

Select a data file and Hotnet pops open a window.
It sequentially loads portions of records in each
window.  A highlighting bar rests on the first
record in the window.  You can move this bar and
scroll the records in the list; you can pick records
from the list by highlighting them and pressing
Enter.  (That's why they call it a scrolling
picklist!)

For example, the figure shows the scrolling
picklist for the call details.  The window shows
record portions for records with tracking numbers
from 35 through 47 (call number 45 has been
deleted).  The second record in the list is
highlighted.

Use the up and down arrow keys to move
highlighted bar.  If you press PgUp or PgDn, the
window scrolls an entire screen at a time.

To jump to the first record in the list, press the
Home key.  To reach all the way to the bottom,
press the End key.

To locate a record by key search, press the first
letter of the desired key.  The window scrolls to
the first record with a key matching the letter.
Press another key and the window scrolls to the
first record whose key matches the two letter
sequence.  You can also use the Backspace key to
correct searches.  This technique is called
successive refinement.  It is used in most of the
picklist sequences except tracking number order.

Use scrolling picklists to insert new records, select
old records to edit or browse, delete existing
records, or return to the previous menu.  In some
cases you can even do a free-form phrase search.
The message line at the bottom of the screen tells
you what you can do.
For instance, to add a new record, press the
Insert key.  A blank window pops open to capture
the new record.  In general, you can press F10 or
Ctrl-W, or enter all the data fields, to save the
new record, or Escape to abort the addition.

Once you press F10, Ctrl-W, or Escape, the
display returns to the scrolling picklist.

To edit or browse a record, press Enter after
highlighting the desired record.  The scrolling
picklist fetches the entire record and opens a new
window for this record.

The message area at the bottom of the display
again prompts you for any action.  In this
example, you can press "E" to actually edit the
record data, "C" to call up the caller detail record,
or Escape to quit and return to the scrolling
picklist.

To delete a record from the scrolling picklist,
press the Delete key after you've highlighted the
desired record.  Confirm the delete by pressing the
"D" key.

While Hotnet uses scrolling picklists to maintain
all data files, each file is slightly different.  For
example, you cannot free-form phrase search the
caller detail file.  Still, the basic principles of
scrolling picklists will apply to each file -- pop
open a list, scroll the list, and Insert, edit, delete,
or browse records.  When you're finished, just
press Escape to return to the previous menu.

Phone Call File

The phone call record looks like this:

Note you can use the F1 function key to perform lookups on the caller
detail file.  You can insert or delete callers while you're performing this
lookup.  However, when you highlight a caller and press ENTER, you'll return
to the phone call record -- plus you'll plug the caller name with the caller
you selected.

When you're editing the comments field, you can use these three function keys:

F2  = insert date, time, and logname
F5  = accept comments and close call (plug solve time and date)
F10 = accept comments

The data fields are:

LOG      :        The phone answerer currently logged in.  This is the
                  name in the environment variable LOGNAME or it is the
                  name used in the LOG IN utility option to override
                  LOGNAME.  This field can not be edited UNLESS you
                  are logged in as Master User.  You can assign calls to
                  other people by changing this fields.
TRACK    :        A tracking number assigned when the call was originally
                  added.  You cannot edit this field.  It ranges from 1
                  through 999,999.  When the field passes 6 digits, it cycles
                  back to 1.
WHO      :        The caller's name.  This field makes it easy to reference
                  previous calls from the same caller.
CALLTYPE :        A one character field users can define to denote the
                  "type" of call (personal, problem, followup, etc)
DESC     :        a short problem description.
WHERE    :        The caller's location
PHONE    :        The caller's phone number
EXT      :        The caller's extension
FAX      :        The caller's fax number
TIME     :        The time the call was added.
SOLVED   :        The time the call was solved.
DATE     :        The date the call was added. (YY.MM.DD format)
SOLVED   :        The date the call was solved. (YY.MM.DD format)
                  See also "Change Solve Date Default" later in this book.
plus     :

The comments box.  This box contains a free-form
memo field.  This field can be thousands of bytes
long.
The Comments Field

When you're entering free-form comments, you're
in a mini-word processor mode.  This simple word
processor does word-wrapping and responds to
many standard word processing commands,
including the following:

F2                                   Enter Date, Time, and Logname stamp
F5                                   Finish edit, save data, and close call
                                     (plug date and time as solved)
F10                                  Finish edit and save data
Up arrow or CTRL-E                   Cursor up
Down arrow or CTRL-X                 Cursor down
Left arrow or CTRL-S                 Cursor left
Right arrow or CTRL-D                Cursor right
CTRL-left arrow or CTRL-A            Cursor left one word
CTRL-right arrow or CTRL-F           Cursor right one word
HOME                                 Beginning line
END                                  End of line
CTRL-HOME                            Beginning of current window
CTRL-END                             End of current window
PgUp                                 Previous edit window
PgDn                                 Next edit window
CTRL-PgUp                            Beginning of comments field
CTRL-PgDn                            End of comments field
Return                               Move to beginning of next line
Delete                               Delete character at cursor
Backspace                            Delete character to left of cursor
Tab                                  Insert tab character or spaces
CTRL-Y                               Delete the current line
CTRL-T                               Delete word right
CTRL-B                               Reformat paragraph
Insert                               Toggle insert mode
CTRL-W                               Finish edit and save data
ESCAPE                               Abort edit without save
Free-Form Text Search

Hotnet uses a high-powered "free form text
search" facility that makes it a snap to retrieve
special records.  Not only is it easy to enter call
information, it's just as easy to locate that
information.

When you press the F2 function key from the
Phone Call scrolling picklist, Hotnet asks you for
a search string.  This can be any string --
characters, blanks, punction marks, or whatever --
that you'd like to locate.

For instance, to find all comments with the words
"nuclear fission", you could use these search
strings:

         nuclear fission
         lear fiss
         r fis
         nuclear fi
         ... and so on ...

The search is case-insensitive.  It matches lower-
case to upper-case.

Hotnet searches the caller name, the short
description, the locate, and the free-form
comments field.

Hotnet returns all matching records, one at a
time.  You can optionally browse or edit these
records, or you can skip to the next locate record.
Caller Detail File

The Caller Detail File contains information
specific to each caller.  This is an optional data file
-- you don't need to record caller data.

The Caller Detail File looks like this:
The data fields are:

COMPANY           :         The caller's company.  This is useful if you're
                            serving different client companies.  If you're
                            doing internal phone support, a special
                            company -- NULL COMPANY -- is defined in
                            the Customer Company file.  You can also
                            rename NULL COMPANY to your own
                            company name.
CALLER            :         The caller name.
PHONE             :         The caller's phone number
MISC              :         Eight different miscellaneous data fields.  Use
 (1 through 8)              these fields for particulars about the caller.
Customer Company File

The Customer Company file contains information
about each caller's company.  This is most useful if
you're serving multiple client companies.

If you're doing internal support, you may not use
this file -- or you can enter a single dummy
company with your own company name.

The sample record is an entry for NULL
COMPANY.

The Customer Company file looks like this:
The data fields are:

COMPANY           :         Company name
ADDRESS           :         The first address line
                  :         The second address line
CITY/ST/ZIP       :         The city, state, and zip code
PHONE             :         A central phone number
MISC              :         Three miscellaneous text fields
  (1 through 3)
Graphics Lists

The Graphics List file is a list of .PCX file names. These
files must exist in the current subdirectory!

This lets you display keyboard templates, schematics, maps,
or other types of graphics data you need to run your help
desk.  For instance, you can capture common application
screens with screen capture routines -- then refer to these
screens to answer questions.

You can also insert a "description" field about each .PCX
file. The description field can be up to 128 bytes long. You
edit this field in a horizontally scrolling window.

Hotnet will display any .PCX file -- however, your video
hardware should support the particular type of .PCX!  For
example, if you have a CGA display and try to display a VGA
graphics file, the function might fail.  However, Hotnet
will try to remap the .PCX file.

The Graphics List uses the familiar scrolling picklist.
When you highlight a filename and press Enter, you will
display that image.  You also have a chance to change the
description field.

To change a filename, you must Delete the old name and
Insert the new.

When viewing, you can "Scroll" or "Display" the file.  If
the image is larger than your screen, try Scroll.


When you are "scrolling" an image, you can use the following
control keys:

Key                     Action

Escape                  Exit
Up, Down Arrow          Scroll Up or Down
Left, Right Arrow       Scroll Left or Right
PgUp,PgDn               Page Up or Down
Home,End                Display Top left or Bottom Right corner
Ctrl: Left,Right        Page Left or Right



Utilities

The Utilities menu looks like this:

Use the LOG IN option to manually log in or to override the
LOGNAME environment variable.

*** IMPORTANT ***  You must be logged in as "Master User" to
perform the next four functions.  Furthermore, no one else
should be accessing Hotnet when you perform these functions
***

Occasionally you'll want to rebuild your data index files.
As you add and delete records, the efficiency of the data
retrieval mechanism degrades.  Use BUILD NEW INDEX to
reorganize your files and regenerate the index files.

Use the PURGE OLD RECORDS option to remove records before a
specified date.

Do you solve most calls on the first call?  If so, then
change the SOLVE DATE default to "Solved".  This will load
today's date in the field automatically.  Otherwise, it will
intialize as blank.

Insert mode?  Overstrike?  Which do you prefer?  Select your
default with "Insert/Overstrike Mode Default".

You don't use US style phone numbers?  Set this to "N" to
use free-form phone numbers.

Should you require all callers to be defined in the caller
database?  Use this option to choose.

Reporting with HOTRPT

A separate program, HOTRPT, generates reports.    You should
not use this program while someone is updating the call
report files.

The reports selection looks like this:

Depending on the report you choose, you may have to enter a
range of dates.

If there is no data -- for example, if there are no open
calls and you select the Open Call report -- then no report
will be generated!

Choose Select Printer and the scrolling picklist lets you
choose a printer type.    When you press Enter, you select a
printer.  If you want to leave without selecting a printer,
use ESCAPE!  You can also choose to display reports to the
screen instead of to a printer.


Errors

While this program has been heavily tested, it's
still possible for bugs to creep in -- particularly in
a networked environment.

Most errors tend to be involved in network rights.
When Hotnet intercepts a terminal error, it pops
open an error window.  This window lists the
program module, the error type, and the line
number.

If you encounter this error window, please note
the information (or do a screen print) and notify
the program author.

*** MULTIPLE ERRORS in PROC REDOINDEX ***
If you see this error message, the most likely
cause is an insufficient number of file handles.
Simply increase the number of files in your
CONFIG.SYS.

*** RUN error ***
Normally caused during reporting -- this is because there's
insufficient conventional memory to load the report module.
Try unloading any TSR's to free up as much conventional
memory as possible.

*** picklists look "wierd" ***
This is often caused by a clobbered index file.  You can either
use Utilities to rebuild the index files, or you can delete *.NTX
files from DOS.  Hotnet will then automatically rebuild the index
files.

**  free form search works "strange" ***
Probably a clobbered word index file.  Either rebuild index files
from Utilities, or delete the PHONE.IA file from DOS.  Hotnet will
automatically rebuild the index file.

*** Terminal Error -- Index Error ***
These errors are associated with the free-form index file, PHONE.IA.
When these errors occur, the index file is deleted.  When you restart
Hotnet, the index file is automatically rebuilt -- so the error probably
will not happen again (at least, immediately!)

If these errors happen consistently, drop to DOS.  Delete file PHONE.IA.
Next, sign into Hotnet as "Master User".  Select Utilities, then Build
New Index.  This will probably handle the problem.

Some main error codes are:

-1      CREATEFAIL:  Could not create index file.  Check for sufficient
        space on disk; also check network rights and protection.
-2      MEMERR    :  Could not allocate sufficient memory.
-3      BADWRITE  :  Write error while generating index file header.
-4      BADSEEK   :  Error attempting to seek index record.
-5      BADREAD   :  Read error while reading index record.
-6      BADWRITE  :  Error while writing index record.
-7      RECBOUND  :  Number of file records doesn't match index records.
-8      ISDELETED :  Record already marked as deleted.
-9      NONDELETED:  Attempt to undelete non-deleted record.
-10     OPENERR   :  Unable to open index file.
-11     INTERR    :  Internal Error
-13     NORECS    :  Index operations on empty file.
-17     NOMOREHANDLES:  Ran out of file handles.
-18     BADHANDLE :  Invalid file handle.
-19     BADIHANDLE:  Invalid internal handle.
-20     LOCKFAILED:  Couldn't lock index file.
-21     NOMORELOCKS: Lock table exhausted.
-22     CANNOTUNLOCK: Couldn't unlock file.

Final

Well, I said it was a thin manual!

Seriously, I sincerely believe that Hotnet is so easy
to use that this manual is not all that necessary --
with a few exceptions.

And I hope I've covered those exceptions!

Please feel free to call or EMAIL any questions --
I'd be glad to help out!
Index
        {included in printed manual}