703.242.7200 [email protected]

Tips & Tricks #1: Using mrsetfield.pl to populate Reference Number field

RightStar TeamFebruary 20, 2013
Solving For:
I have several workspaces and I want to be able to tell, at-a-glance, to which workspace a ticket is associated.

Solution:
Create a new field called Reference Number and use mrsetfield.pl to prefix the ticket number with an alpha numeric workspace designator (SD in this example to signify Service Desk).

Details:
STEP 1:
Go into Administration >> Workspace >> Form Designer and create a field called Reference Number.

STEP 2:
Set the field to Read Only for both Customers and Agents. Save and Publish Form.

STEP 3:
Go to Administration >> Workspace >> Escalation and create a new escalation rule. It should be an instant escalation on creation of issue, should include all statuses, should include all Issue Types, and should fire and External Action.

The External Action should call the following command line:
c:FootprintsbinPerlbinperl c:Footprintsbinmrsetfield.pl %%MRID%% “Reference Number” “SD-%%MRID%%” %%PROJID%%
[Path to mrsetfield.pl program] [Variable that holds the current ticket number] [The field that you wish to set] [The string that you wish to prefix to the ticket number] [The ticket number] [The workspace ID]

Note: Both the prefix string and the ticket number variable must be enclosed in double quotes in this example: “SD-%%MRID%%”
STEP 4:
Save your escalation rule as “Set Reference Number Field on Create”.
STEP 5:
Create a new ticket and save it.
VERIFICATION:
Take a look at your Reference Number Field. It should now hold SD- + the current ticket number. Example: SD-17

USAGE:
You can now include this reference number in all of your email templates, etc. and teach your customer community to refer to the Reference Number rather than the system generated ticket number (i.e. SD-17 instead of 17).