Web Surface Usage #

The ticket system can be controlled via the Command Line Interface (CLI) (also known as the command-line tool) or via the web surface.

Tickets can be created, viewed and edited via the web interface. The unregistered users can only add comments to the tickets. After logging in, administrators / employees can also change the status of a ticket, merge two tickets and change the agent of the ticket. The CLI communicates with the server via a Web API. From the ticket system server’s point of view, it simulates a mail application that queries messages from the server via the API and sends them to the respective e-mail addresses. In addition, new messages can also be entered to the ticket system server via the CLI, which are then used on the server side either to create a new ticket or to attach a comment to an existing ticket.

The following operations can be performed using the web interface:

• Log into the System
• Logout of the System
• Create a new Ticket
• Assign a User to a Ticket
• View Tickets
• Change the Status of a Ticket
• Merge Tickets
• Activate the Vacation Mode
• Remark on the Field Reply Type

Log into the System #

The login mask in the header is used to log in. There you have to enter a valid username and password and click on Login. Some predefined users are registered for the login and must be used. If the login is successful, you will be redirected to your dashboard where you can view your settings and your assigned tickets. In addition, the login form disappears, for which the username and a logout button are displayed instead. However, if the login failed, you remain on the start page and have no access to the tickets.

Logout of the System #

Once you are logged in, you can also log out again. To do this, click on the Logout button in the header next to your username. This will terminate the session and you are logged out. Then you will be redirected to the start page.

Create a new Ticket #

If you are not logged in, fill in the fields on the start page and click on Create ticket. In the following ticket view you can add comments to the ticket. Since normal users do not log in, a user cannot automatically display all his or her tickets when he or she accesses the page again. However, it is possible to find the created ticket using the Ticket ID <ticket-id> by entering the URL

https://localhost:<Port>/ticket?id=<ticket-id>

in the address bar of the browser. In addition, the users receive an email with a link to their ticket via the mailing service connected to the Mail API (see Mail API Reference for more information). Registered users can create tickets by selecting Create ticket in the navigation.

Assign a User to a Ticket #

This action can only be performed by registered users in the web interface. For this purpose, a user can be selected from a selection field for each unassigned ticket under the navigation point All tickets. A click on Assign confirms the selection of the agent. Editors who have just activated the vacation mode cannot be selected.

View Tickets #

Logged-in users get the tickets assigned to them displayed on the dashboard. For each ticket there is also a button which can be used to open it. Tickets can only be opened by the editor assigned to them. Tickets that do not yet have an editor can be opened by any registered user (via the navigation point All Tickets).

Another method to open a ticket is to type the URL pointing to the specific ticket into the browser’s address bar. To do this, you need to know the exact ticket id to be inserted as a URL query parameter. This is described in Create a new Ticket above.

Change the Status of a Ticket #

There are three different processing statuses for a ticket:

• Open (The ticket is not assigned yet)
• In Progress (The ticket is assigned and being processed)
• Closed (The ticket has been processed and is closed)

A user can change the status of the tickets assigned to him at any time by opening the ticket and selecting the status from a selection list and then confirming his changes with a click on Save. In addition, the status is automatically changed for certain events. If an editor is assigned to a ticket, its status automatically changes to In Progress. If an editor chooses Release ticket on his dashboard for one of his tickets, the status automatically changes to Open. If two tickets are merged, the ticket merged to the other one is closed. And finally, if a new answer is created using the E-Mail Recipience API and the corresponding ticket is already closed it is opened again.

Merge Tickets #

In the event that a customer accidentally creates a new ticket rather than commenting on the existing one, two tickets that share the same customer (same email) and processor can be merged. To do this, the agent must open the ticket that was incorrectly created and select the desired original ticket in the “Merge with” selection field. If the selection field is empty, the processor has no other ticket from this customer. After the editor confirms the step with Save, the wrongly created ticket is closed and the message (and all comments) is copied into the original ticket. The ticket that was merged to the other ticket will be hidden and the comments will be sorted by creation time.

Activate the Vacation Mode #

Registered users can switch the vacation mode on and off on their dashboard by clicking on “Activate vacation mode” / “Deactivate vacation mode”. If a user is in vacation mode, new tickets cannot be assigned to him.

Remark on the Field Reply Type #

Whenever you want to change or comment on an open ticket as an editor, you have to select the field Reply Type. Internal comments are only displayed to registered users and can be recognized by a light green background color. External comments are shown with a light blue background color. In addition, no emails will be sent to the customer for any changes and comments stored under the reply type internal. The customer will be informed via email (to be accessed via the Mail API) about changes where the field is set to external.