In the Online Help

This release of the online documentation contains the following new and updated material.

• Support documentation for the 9.7 release
• A new topic describing the Matching Panel functionality, as well as updated information on those system admin windows affected by this new feature
• A new topic in Designer on Configuring Button Labels, describing how you can configure buttons that are displayed in vFire Self Service, as well as updated information on configuring fields
• A full list of Predefined Reports in vFire
• Introductory documentation on Introduction to Nano, our new generation user interface, currently in alpha development
• Updated connector matrix
• vFire mobile app documentation, describing the new app designed for users to access and manage their calls and approvals.

This release of the online documentation contains the following new and updated material.

• Managing Calls, a new section containing 55 topics on how to manage calls in vFire Core
• Proactive Analysis, a new section on to enhance your Problem Management process by allowing you to set up rules to automatically log calls or requests based on events in your call and request activity. This section tells you how to set up and us proactive analysis.
• Managing Requests, improved and updated topics on workflow management
• Updated release notes for 9.4, 9.5 and 9.6, reflecting fixes introduced in these minor releases
• Configuration Portability has been updated, with an additional topic with advice for best practice
• Upgraded information in the Mobile App documentation
• Updated information on configuring external network access to vFire

This release of the online documentation contains the following new and updated material:

• Managing Requests, 32 topics on workflow management, and how to manage requests in vFire Core
• Managing Tasks, 50 topics on how to manage tasks in vFire Core
• Updated release notes for 9.6, reflecting the fixes introduced in 9.6.1
• Updated information in the Installation Guide on upgrading using the maintenance package
• Maintenance Package Installation Guide, containing full instruction on upgrading using the maintenance package
• Updated video links, reflecting the new Vimeo location for all of our tutorial and What's New videos
• Updated SSO Technical Reference Guide, now containing an overview of the Azure documentation as well as a topic containing instruction on how to configure Azure Active Directory discovery through Secure Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (TLS 1.2)

This release of the online documentation contains updates to reflect the new and enhanced features introduced in the 9.6 software release, as well as fixes and improvements based on feedback. Details of the 9.6 release are available in the release notes. Key and new topics in the online help include:

• New About Chat feature, which allows users to have a text based chat with an analyst in real time.
• New About Reminders functionality, and the resulting changes to:
  • Messaging
  • IPK Management Role: Options Tab - removal of Reset Escalation checkbox which is now enabled for all Analysts
  • IPK Settings (Partitioned) - removal of Reminders checkbox which is now enabled for all Analysts
  • Stored Procedures - addition of the Repeat Reminders checkbox
  • Message Types - addition of message types for reminders
• How to modify the web page title for your Self Service Portal Systems
• Additional configuration options for Banners and the My Counts widgets when Using Skins in the Self Service Portal
• Single Sign On using SAML. See Single Sign-On using SAML for more details. You can also view or download the Technical Guide.

This release of the online documentation contains additional sections and topics, as listed below.

• Security and Authentication for the vFire Officer App for the vFire Mobile App. This topic contains recommendations for a DMZ and when Windows Authentication is enabled in vFire Core.
• New tutorials in the Learn section:

Getting Started
The Basics	How to log in, change your password and log out of vFire Core
The vFire Core Window	A brief look at the different elements of a typical vFire Core Details window - the wrapper; the details pane; the information panel and the explorer pane
Completing Details in vFire Core	A brief look at the different types of field in a typical vFire Core Details window, and how to complete them
Personalizing your System	How to enable multiple windows; personalize the explorer pane; configure the wrapper and create keyboard shortcuts. The features described in this video are dependent on login and will only apply to the analyst assigning them.
Searching in vFire Core	How to conduct searches in vFire Core, using the Search window and Q/D searches
Configured and Advanced Searches	How to configure your search criteria, and developed Advanced Searches, based on rules
vFire Admin
Screen Sets	An overview of how screen sets work in vFire
Screen Sets and IPK Settings	A step-by-step tutorial on how to configure your IPK settings, particularly in relation to screen sets. For a full understanding of screen sets, watch the Screen Sets video before watching this one.
IPK Settings (Partitioned)	A step-by-step tutorial on how to configure the IPK settings for each partition in partitioned systems
Workflow Management Settings	A step-by-step tutorial on how to configure the Workflow Management settings for your system,
IPK Workflow Rules	An overview of how IPK workflow rules work, followed by a step-by-step tutorial on how to create and apply a workflow rule
Creating Groups	A step-by-step tutorial on how to create IPK and Workflow Management groups
Security Roles	An overview of the purpose of security roles in vFire Core, followed by a step-by-step tutorial on how to create a typical security role
Creating a Person Record	A step-by-step tutorial on how to create a person record. An analyst record is used as an example.
Call Template Administration	An overview of the purpose of call templates, followed by a step-by-step tutorial on how to create one
Delegation	A step-by-step tutorial on how to set up delegation to allow analysts to share their workload with other, designated analysts, as well as a demonstration of how analysts can access delegated work
Self Service Portal Settings	A step-by-step tutorial on how to set up the vFire Self Service portal, and choose optional settings for your system
Self Service Portal Security Roles	A step-by-step tutorial on how to set up security roles for your vFire Self Service portal. For a conceptual overview of security roles, see the Security Roles video.

 

• Updated prerequisites in the vFire and the vFire app sections of the documentation, to reflect the release of the app on all playstores.
• Updates to the installation documentation following feedback and to include further instruction on the mobile app.

This release of the online documentation reflects the new features which have been introduced in vFire Core 9.5, as well as additional functionality within the online help:

• Installing Connectorsreflects the new connectors which are now included standard with the product
• Defining a Resource Mapping includes Location, Organization, Contract, Knowledge Article, Subscriber Group, and Cost Center as import options.
• Connector Suite for MS SQL Server Tables - new connectors in 9.5 delivering integration functions with MS SQL Server tables and the data contained within them. These four connectors allow lookup, insert, and update operations on MS SQL Server database tables.
• Connector for Resource Databases - a new connector in 9.5 which is highly configurable to allow integration with SQL Server or Oracle databases.
• Updated Web Server Requirements to expand on requirements for Oracle systems.
• A new Learn item has been added to the drop-down menu on the home page. Within this section, there are sets of video tutorials on:
  • How vFire Works - Building your vFire System; Configuring your vFire System and Managing your vFire System
  • Using vFire - Getting Started; vFire Self Service; vFire Designer
  • Troubleshooting - vFire Statistics Tool

  This section will be expanded with each release. You can also access it by selecting the tutorial icon on the home page.

• The online help is now available through our alemba help self service portal, by selecting vFire Help & Documentation Site from the My Options menu.
• The images in the online help have been updated to reflect the new Alemba branding and colors.
• 9.4 fix list has been updated to reflect the interim release fixes.

This release of the online documentation reflects the new features which have been introduced in vFire Core 9.4.0, as well as additional functionality within the online help:

• "Add Me" for Major Incidents
• Exchange 365 certification
• vFire Statistics Tool
• Terminology change to bring vFire in line with the latest ITIL requirements
• Create Custom Pages feature

Release Support Documentation

This release of the online help coincides with the release of vFire Core 9.4.0 and vFire Officer & Portal 9.4.0. The release notes for vFire Core and vFire Officer & Portal are now combined into a single set of vFire 9.4.0 Release Notes, which you can download from the website, or find here. Installation and licensing documentation for earlier releases remain valid for 9.4.0.

The Prerequisites Guide has been updated to reflect changes to Oracle support, as well as email server requirements. You can download this from the website, or find it here.

Videos and Tutorials

This release also introduces a new area of the online help, designed to contain tutorials, videos and other resources that will help you get the most from your vFire system. You can access this by selecting the icon on the Help home page.

This release of the online documentation reflects the new features which have been introduced in vFire Core 9.3.0, including the following:

Install

• Update to the Installation Guide to reflect the changes when installing the 9.3.0 version of the software. Users of earlier releases should refer to the appropriate Installation Guide.
• Update to the Prerequisites to reflect the requirements for installing or upgrading to the 9.3.0 version of the software. Users of earlier releases should refer to the appropriate Prerequisites Guide.
• vFire Core 9.3.0 Release Notes, documenting the new features, enhancements and feature fixes in this release.
• vFire Officer & Portal 9.3.0 Release Notes, documenting the new features, enhancements and feature fixes in this release.

Admin

• Update to Customer Portal Systems to reflect the new interface options
• Customer Portal My Options - a new feature in 9.3.0, allowing system administrators to configure the options and appearance of the menu in the customer portal
• Catalog Promoted Items - a new feature in 9.3.0, allowing system administrators to present promoted items on the first page of the customer portal
• Search Field Settings - Enhanced search functionality to perform a search as you type, presenting matching results which adjust as you continue typing. Search fields are entity fields such as Person, Location, Service, and so on. They can be configured, allowing you to specify which columns from the entity to display in the results popup, which columns to search within for matching values, whether to perform a 'starts with' or 'contains' type search, how many characters must be typed before the results are displayed, and how many results to show at one time.
• Link screen set to reason - a new feature allowing system administrators to link call closure reasons to screen sets as well as reason
• The functionality of the vFire to vFire connector has been improved substantially in vFire Core 9.3.0, and the online help contains comprehensive instruction on how to configure it.
• URLs and Access Parameters - You can use URLs to access the main application, the portals and other vFire Core interfaces. The online help contains lists of URLs and instruction on how to use them.
• Documentation of security roles has been updated to reflect the additional permissions needed to enable advanced search and configurable columns in search windows.

• Update to Customer Portal Systems to reflect the new interface options
• Customer Portal My Options - a new feature in 9.3.0, allowing system administrators to configure the options and appearance of the menu in the customer portal
• Catalog Promoted Items - a new feature in 9.3.0, allowing system administrators to present promoted items on the first page of the customer portal
• Search Field Settings - Enhanced search functionality to perform a search as you type, presenting matching results which adjust as you continue typing. Search fields are entity fields such as Person, Location, Service, and so on. They can be configured, allowing you to specify which columns from the entity to display in the results popup, which columns to search within for matching values, whether to perform a 'starts with' or 'contains' type search, how many characters must be typed before the results are displayed, and how many results to show at one time.
• Link screen set to reason - a new feature allowing system administrators to link call closure reasons to screen sets as well as reason
• The functionality of the vFire to vFire connector has been improved substantially in vFire Core 9.3.0, and the online help contains comprehensive instruction on how to configure it.

Design

• The Skins tab in Designer, introduced in 9.3.0, allows system administrators to further configure the appearance of the customer portal.
• Search filters can now be applied to fields on portal submission screens, limiting the search results to the conditions defined in the filter. Configuring Fields explains how to implement filters.
• From 9.3.0, you can use the Collapsible Section widget on portal submission screens in the vFire Customer Portal, enabling you to divide a screen up for readability, grouping related fields inside a box with a border. This is documented in Configuring Screens.

Use

• CMDB Items and Service Actions within the Managing Services and Items section have been updated to reflect the ability to order service actions for customers from within vFire Core
• Configuring Search Criteria has been updated to reflect the new ability to use parent requests in the search criteria when searching for tasks

You can find out more about these and other new and enhanced features in the vFire Core 9.3.0 in the release notes.

This release of the online documentation introduces videos documenting the key enhancements and new features in all of the 9.2 releases to date. It also contains additional sections and topics, as listed below.

Admin

• Configuring CMDB Selection Priorities
• Using Workflow Templates

This release of the online documentation contains additional sections and topics, as listed below.

Admin

• API

This release of the online documentation contains additional sections and topics throughout, as listed below.

Learn

Several of the topics have been updated and improved.

Admin

The following sections have been added to this part of the online help:

• Email Settings - how to configure incoming and outgoing email servers
• Timesheets - how to display all task and call actions you perform on a daily basis.
• Configuring your system for the mobile app

Design

The Designer functionality has been documented.

Use

The following sections have been added to this part of the online help:

• CMDB - a range of topics on how to manage the CMDB in vFire Core. Currently this does not cover availability, asset management or depreciation.
• Bulletins - how to create, update and view bulletins
• Monitors - how to create and view charts and graphs displaying real-time events and analysis
• Dashboards - how to create and update dashboards, and use them to display monitors
• Emails - how to configure and use incoming and outgoing email
• Using the mobile app

This release of the online documentation contains the following sections and topics:

Learn

This section contains topics that introduce users to the system and how to use it, currently including:

• Getting Started
  • Using the online help
  • Logging in and out of vFire Core
  • Changing your password
  • Changing your partition
• Standard Features
  • The vFire Core window
  • Standard buttons
  • Keyboard shortcuts
  • Working with browse tables
  • Searching for items
  • Sending an email
  • Using the rules builder
• Personalizing your system
  • Personalizing the explorer pane

Install

This section contains information relating to the prerequisites, installation, upgrade and licensing of vFire Core.

Admin

This section is written primarily for system administrators, and currently covers the following functional areas:

• Partitioning
• System and Security
• Configuring IPK and Workflow
• Configuring Service Level Management
• Configuring CMDB
• Configuring Knowledge Management
• Configuring the Customer Portal
• Connectors

Design

This section contains topics relating to the design and configuration of the system, currently including:

• Call Templates

Use

This section contains instruction on those aspects of the system most commonly used in running the service desk, currently including:

• Managing people
• Managing knowledge entries