10Creating and Administering iHelp
Creating and Administering iHelp
This chapter includes information about administering iHelp. It includes the following topics:
About iHelp
iHelp is real-time step-by-step instruction that helps users complete tasks within the Siebel CRM application. iHelp is best used to provide instruction to first time or occasional users. For information about how to use iHelp, see Siebel Fundamentals. For information about Application Deployment Manager (ADM) and iHelp, see Siebel Application Deployment Manager Guide.
Scenario for Administering iHelp
This topic gives one example of how iHelp administration might be used. You might use iHelp administration differently, depending on your business model.
The agents in training in the North American call centers of a multinational company want step-by-step instructions on how to create activities.
The North American administrator creates an iHelp item to appear in the iHelp pane of the Activities and Accounts screens (screens frequently used by the agents). Because these instructions pertain only to call center agents, this iHelp item is set to be visible only to those users with the Call Center responsibility.
The North American administrator and the call center managers are the only people who modify this iHelp item; the call center managers provide the content of the iHelp steps, and the administrator restricts edit access by associating the Call Center access group with the iHelp item.
Various employees test the iHelp item. When the tests are complete, the administrator activates the iHelp item.
At the end of the month, a policy change occurs that effects some steps in the iHelp item. This policy change is handled by creating two versions of the iHelp item. One item is set to expire at the end of the month and the second item (with steps corrected for the new policy) is set to become active at the beginning of the next month.
In North America, the call centers operate in both English and French. The manager of the francophone call center revises the iHelp item, translating the text into French.
The European call centers use a different database, but they also want their call center agents to see this iHelp item. The North American administrator exports the iHelp item to a file and sends it to the European administrator. Then, the European administrator imports the item into the European database, adds responsibilities and access groups, and activates the iHelp item.
Process of Administering iHelp
To administer iHelp, complete the following tasks:
Creating iHelp Item Records
The first task in creating iHelp items is to create the iHelp item record.
In this task, you determine the following for the iHelp item:
In which Siebel Business Applications the iHelp item appears
In which screens the iHelp item appears
Which users can see the iHelp item
Which administrators can modify the iHelp item
(Optional) Activation and expiration dates for the iHelp item
If the iHelp item is downloaded to remote and local databases
You can create iHelp items in several ways. You can import and export the items, or you can manually create the items. If you manually create the items, then make sure that you test your iHelp items in either of the following ways:
Create and test your iHelp item in the intended production environment. While you test, restrict the responsibilities associated with the iHelp item to restrict visibility of the item. For more information, about how to restrict responsibilities, see the following task about how to create an iHelp item record.
Create and test your iHelp item in your development environment, then use ADM to deploy the item to production. For information about ADM and iHelp, see Siebel Application Deployment Manager Guide.
You can determine the database tables that store the data that you create in iHelp views. On the Administration - iHelp screen, navigate to a view, select Help from the application-level menu, then About View, and note the business components for the view. In Siebel Tools, the database table name appears in the Table column for a business component.
If you use the Applet Wizard to create an applet, then the HTML Type field for the controls and list columns is automatically set to Text. If you are using iHelp, then change the HTML Type field to Field.
This task is a step in Process of Administering iHelp.
To create an iHelp item record
Navigate to the Administration - iHelp screen, then the All iHelp Items view.
Create a new record, and complete the necessary fields.
Some fields are described in the following table.
Field Comments Name
Type the name that appears in the iHelp pane. Make sure that the name clearly identifies the iHelp item.
Do not include any special characters such as colons or quotation marks in the Name.
Remote Support
Select a value to determine if items are downloaded. iHelp items can be downloaded to regional and local databases. Value include:
All. Items are downloaded to both regional and local databases.
Regional. Items are downloaded to regional databases only.
None. Items are not downloaded to any databases.
Application
Select the Siebel Business Applications in which you want the iHelp item to appear. For example, if you want the iHelp item to be used in Siebel Call Center, then set this field to Siebel Universal Agent (the internal name for the Call Center application).
Make sure that all these Siebel Business Applications contain the screens and views needed for the iHelp item that you create.
Related Task
Select a task to which you want to link from the iHelp item. If you select a value in this field, then colored text appears in the iHelp item to indicate that you can use the task-based UI for this task.
You cannot pass the current UI context to a related task. For example, if the user has selected a contact, and selects an add activity task from iHelp, then you cannot pass the selected contact to the Activities form.
‘Show Me’ Location
Type the location of a file or a URL to open when a user clicks the Show me more link at the end of the iHelp item. If you type the location of a file in this field, then you must specify a relative path. If you type a URL, then you must use the HTTP protocol. You must also specify the protocol in the URL (include http://).
If you do not type a value in this field, then a Show me more link does not appear in the iHelp item.
Private
Clear the check box to indicate any user with access to the Administration - iHelp screen can modify the iHelp item. If you want to restrict edit access for this iHelp item, then see Step 5.
Activation Date
(Optional) Select the date when the iHelp item first appears in the iHelp pane.
Expiration Date
(Optional) Select the date after which the iHelp item no longer appears in the iHelp pane.
Status
Displays the status of the iHelp item. The status changes when the Activate, Revise, and Deactivate buttons on the All Help Items view are clicked.
Version
Displays the version of the iHelp item. This field is automatically updated when an item of the same name is created or imported.
Description
(Optional) Type a description of the iHelp item. This description is for only the administrator. The text does not appear in the iHelp pane.
Set which users can see the iHelp items (in the iHelp pane or Map) by completing the following steps:
Navigate to the Responsibilities view.
Associate the responsibilities of those users who you want to see the iHelp item.
Make sure the Active flag is selected for each responsibility.
Note: Users also must have the Task Assistant Player View associated with at least one of their responsibilities. For more information about how to associate views and responsibilities with users, see Siebel Security Guide.
Specify the locations in the Siebel application where you want the iHelp item to appear.
When you specify a location, you specify a combination of screens, business objects, and views. iHelp items are mapped to business objects. Business objects are often uniquely associated with a particular screen, but there are some exceptions. For example, business object home pages do not have this unique relationship. If you want an iHelp item to appear on both the Activities Home Page and other views under the Activities screen, then you must associate both of the following business objects with the iHelp item:
Action Home
Action
To specify the locations in the UI where you want the iHelp item to appear, perform the following steps:
Navigate to the Screens view.
Create a new record, and select a combination of screens, business objects, and views where you want the iHelp item to appear.
You can select only a combination of screens, business objects, and views, which is common to all the Siebel Business Applications specified in the Application field.
If you want to restrict edit access for the item, then set the access groups to determine who can modify the iHelp item by completing the following steps:
Navigate to the Access Groups view.
Associate access groups with the iHelp item.
Make sure that you belong to one of the access groups.
Navigate to the More Info view, and select the Private check box in the form view.
For more information about access groups, see Siebel Security Guide.
Adding Additional Help Topics to an iHelp Item
Complete the following procedure to add additional help topics to an iHelp item.
To add additional help topics to an iHelp item
Navigate to the Administration - iHelp screen, then the All iHelp Items view.
Select the iHelp item you want to work with, and then navigate to the Related iHelp view.
Create a new record on the Related iHelp form, select an iHelp item from the iHelp Item dialog box, and click OK.
You can use the numbers in the Order field for each help topic to specify the order in which the help topics appear in the iHelp item.
Designing iHelp
Assemble step-by-step iHelp instructions in the iHelp Designer by creating steps and connecting them with branches.
This task is a step in Process of Administering iHelp.
Creating an iHelp Step
Complete the following procedure to create an iHelp step.
To create an iHelp step
Navigate to the Administration - iHelp screen, then the All iHelp Items view.
Drill down on the Name field of the iHelp item.
In the iHelp Designer, move the Step or Start icon onto the grid.
The first step in any iHelp must be Start. The start step navigates the user to the correct view for the iHelp item. Only one Start step is allowed for each iHelp item.
In the Step form, complete the necessary fields.
Some fields are described in the following table.
Field Comments Name
Type the name that appears on the step’s icon in the iHelp Designer. The user does not see this name.
View
Select a view name if you want the step to:
Provide a hyperlink to a view.
Highlight buttons or fields on the view.
Note: If you provide a hyperlink to a screen that is different from the main screen for the iHelp, then you might lose record context as you navigate to the other screen. For example, a user in the Contact Activities view of the Contacts screen, highlights an activity record and clicks an iHelp link to the Activities screen. In going to the Activities screen, the record context is broken. The highlighted activity is no longer selected, and the user must query for it again. If you remain in the same screen, then context is generally maintained.
Only views that are common to all the Siebel Business Applications specified in the Application field are available for selection.
Caption
Type the text that appears in the step. Use the following tags to format step captions:
<b> and </b> for bold.
<i> and </i> for italics.
<u> and </u> for underline.
<v> and </v> for view navigation links. If you add these tags to text, then the text appears in bold and changes color, and has an underline when you point to the text.
<a> and </a> for external hypertext links. For example, <a href="http://www.oracle.com" target="_blank">Oracle</a>. If you add these tags to text, then the text appears in bold and changes color, and has an underline when you point to the text.
Section Label
(Optional) Type the section label that appears prior to the step text in bold, underlined text.
Description
(Optional) Type information for only the administrator’s use. This description is not visible in the iHelp pane.
(Optional) Highlight a button or field by completing the following steps:
Click the Field and Button Highlights folder.
In the Field and Button Highlights list, create new records and complete the necessary fields.
(Optional) Create substeps by completing the following steps:
Click the SubSteps folder.
In the SubSteps list, create new records, and complete the Caption field.
If you add substeps to a step, then an arrow appears at the end of the step caption. Click this arrow to show the substeps. Click the arrow again to hide the substeps.
Note: You cannot add view navigation links to substeps.
Connecting Steps With Branches
Complete the following procedure to connect steps with branches.
To connect steps with branches
Navigate to the Administration - iHelp screen, then the All iHelp Items view.
Drill down on the Name field of the iHelp item.
In the iHelp Designer, move the Branches icon onto the grid.
Move the end points of the branch to connect two steps.
If multiple branches leave one step, then set conditions on the branches by completing the following steps:
Click the Branches folder for the step.
In the Branches list, complete the necessary fields.
No Condition Expression is required for the last branch in the sequence. For information about the Branch Condition Expression Designer, see Developing and Deploying Siebel Business Applications.
Clearing the iHelp List Cache
iHelp loads all iHelp items to the iHelp Map and iHelp pane when the Siebel application is initialized. When you modify iHelp items, you might have to clear the iHelp List Cache before you can see changes to the iHelp item (in the iHelp pane).
This task is a step in Process of Administering iHelp.
To clear the iHelp List Cache
Navigate to the Administration - iHelp screen, then the All iHelp Items view.
Click the cogwheel icon, and select Clear iHelp List Cache.
Activating, Revising, and Deactivating iHelp Items
The Activate, Revise, and Deactivate buttons control:
The status of the iHelp items
Whether the items are visible in the iHelp pane and iHelp Map
Whether the items can be edited
The following table describes the behavior of these buttons.
Table About the Activate, Revise, and Deactivate Buttons
| Button | When to Use | Effect | Changes Status From... | To... |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Activate |
The iHelp item is complete and ready for general use. |
The iHelp item cannot be modified (although it can be deleted). The status and version no longer appear with the item name in the iHelp pane. After the status changes to Active, any active version of the item becomes Outdated. |
In Progress |
Active |
Revise |
You want to make changes to an active iHelp item. |
The iHelp item is copied to a new record that can be edited. For the new record, deselects Active flag on Responsibilities view. |
Active Inactive |
In Progress |
Deactivate |
You no longer want the item to appear in the iHelp pane. |
The iHelp item no longer appears in the iHelp pane or the iHelp Map. |
Active |
Inactive |
This task is a step in Process of Administering iHelp.
To activate an iHelp item
Navigate to the Administration - iHelp screen, then the All iHelp Items view.
Select an in-progress iHelp item.
Click Activate.
Revising an Active iHelp Item
Complete the following procedure to revise an active iHelp item.
To revise an active iHelp item
Navigate to the Administration - iHelp screen, then the All iHelp Items view.
Select an active iHelp item.
Click Revise.
Deactivating an iHelp Item
Complete the following procedure to deactivate an iHelp item.
To deactivate an iHelp item
Navigate to the Administration - iHelp screen, then the All iHelp Items view.
Select an active iHelp item.
Click Deactivate.
Translating iHelp Items
When translating an iHelp Item, only the text strings that the user sees are translated. These text strings are:
Item name
Section labels
Step captions
Substep captions
If translation is not defined for a language, then the text from the base record appears.
This task is a step in Process of Administering iHelp.
To translate an iHelp item
Navigate to the Administration - iHelp screen, then the Translations view.
In the iHelp Items list, select an iHelp item.
In the Translations list, create a new record, and complete the necessary fields.
Some fields are described in the following table.
Field Comments Display Name
Type the display name for the translation of the iHelp item name
Navigate to the Designer view.
For each step, complete the following steps:
- Open the Translations folder.
Create a record to the Translations list and complete the necessary fields.
For each substep, complete the following steps:
- Open the Translations folder for the substep.
In the Translations list, create a new record, and complete the necessary fields.
Importing and Exporting iHelp Items
iHelp items can be exported and imported as XML files.
Export and import iHelp items to:
Move iHelp items from one database to another database, for example when upgrading.
Create backups of iHelp items.
You cannot move iHelp items between different types of Siebel repositories. For example, you cannot export from a Siebel Call Center application to a Siebel Automotive application. In general, make sure that all the Siebel Business Applications, screens, and views referenced in the exported item are available in the repository where the item is imported.
This task is a step in Process of Administering iHelp.
To export an iHelp item as an XML file
Navigate to the Administration - iHelp screen, then the All iHelp Items view.
In the iHelp Items list, select an iHelp item.
Note: Make sure that the name of the item does not contain any special characters such as colons or quotation marks.Click the cogwheel icon, and select Export iHelp Item Definition.
Importing an iHelp Item
Complete the following procedure to import an iHelp item.
To import an iHelp item
Navigate to the Administration - iHelp screen, then the All iHelp Items view.
Click the cogwheel icon, and select Import iHelp Item Definition.
Browse for the iHelp item XML file and click Import.
If an iHelp item of the same name already exists, then the imported iHelp item is imported as a new version of the item.
After import, the iHelp Items list is filtered to show only the newly imported item.
Note: Responsibility information and access group information are not exported or imported.