Help Desk Server Missing Options

joedewitt2 · 2022-01-19T14:19:01.000Z

I am migrating from Spiceworks 7.5.00107 to Help Desk Server. I have download and installed the ova and began configuration. I have run into a few road blocks for missing features that I thought were a part of the onprem version but I just can’t seem to find them.

I need the ability to create reports with custom attributes.

I need the ability to modify the notification template.

Our operations are based off of these features heavily. Am I missing something or has Spiceworks dropped support for these two features all together? I can’t find them in either Cloud or onprem HDS.

scheff1 · 2022-01-19T19:14:03.000Z

jdewitt6029:

I have run into a few road blocks for missing features that I thought were a part of the onprem version but I just can’t seem to find them.

I don’t know your thoughts. But it has always been known that the legacy Windows edition was the most feature rich edition of Spiceworks. And already when its EOL was announced, it was clear that all other editions will remain far behind feature equality until reaching EOL. Spiceworks did not commit to reach feature equality at all.

jdewitt6029:

I need the ability to create reports with custom attributes.

I didn’t get your reference. It is known that help desk server (HDS) has many less builtin reports and less customization options when compared to the legacy Windows edition.

Do you refer to custom attributes of tickets or of reports or of what else?

Even the getting started guide already includes customization options for tickets , in its section 2. The documentation provides more details . As far as I know, there are not more customization options for tickets.

As far as I can see, CHD allows you to create your own reports. It also started to allow customization of existing reports, for dates. For more reporting, it has an interface to PowerBI integrated. I didn’t try this integration as I don’t have PowerBI. As I didn’t try yet HDS, I don’t know if the same options exist for HDS or remain more limited. According to the screenshots in its docu, at least some of these options are present too, if not even more.

jdewitt6029:

I need the ability to modify the notification template.

I don’t know what you mean by that. If you experiment a bit in settings, you’ll see a few customization options for notifications. They seem to be more limited for HDS compared to CHD. See this part of its documentation , after custom attributes.

jdewitt6029:

Am I missing something or has Spiceworks dropped support for these two features all together? I can’t find them in either Cloud or onprem HDS.

No, Spiceworks hasn’t dropped these features. They are just not (yet) as extended as for the legacy Windows edition.

And in the EOL announcement for the legacy Windows edition was also the announcement to suspend active development of HDS until December 2021, with a promise to review such decision during December 2021 and report the result of that review in December 2021. We’re still waiting these review results, and probably the review too.

Feel free to add any feature requests you see helpful and vote up already existing ones you consider helpful for your organization.

joedewitt2 · 2022-01-19T20:38:53.000Z

When I say “I need the ability to create reports with custom attributes.” what I mean is that I can create custom attributes like ‘Story Points’ as an example. I can use them and assign them to tickets. But I don’t seem to be able to create a report and add ‘Story Points’ as one of the columns in the report. I can only select existing non custom columns. No ‘Story Points’ as an option. I download these reports into excel and run pivot tables.

2af0963b-f653-4317-a1b2-9af9f4108c9e-sp1.jpg542×525 35.1 KB

What I mean by " I need the ability to modify the notification template." is exactly that. There is a template you can modify for email notifications in the legacy:

a34c4fd1-f264-4228-a7a0-21258a4d4bef-sp2.jpg800×123 12.6 KB

I need that template to have extra stuff that is not in the default notification and in a certain order. This option does not exist in HDS or CHD

scheff1 · 2022-01-19T22:53:24.000Z

jdewitt6029:

I need that template to have extra stuff that is not in the default notification and in a certain order. This option does not exist in HDS or CHD

Agreed. As far as I can see in CHD, I can customize the notification footer but not the content of the notification. This option is also mentioned in the documentation of HDS.

jdewitt6029:

When I say “I need the ability to create reports with custom attributes.” what I mean is that I can create custom attributes like ‘Story Points’ as an example. I can use them and assign them to tickets. But I don’t seem to be able to create a report and add ‘Story Points’ as one of the columns in the report. I can only select existing non custom columns. No ‘Story Points’ as an option. I download these reports into excel and run pivot tables.

Have in mind how a database designer thinks and you’ll better understand the documentation of HDS. I don’t know which relation you want to have between tickets and story points. If there may exist either one or no story point per ticket, then it should be possible with CHD. In that case, you could first add a field story point, e.g. of type text field or text area for tickets and assign that field to portal and email.

Doesn’t this then add the availability of this field also to reports?
I don’t have HDS and hence don’t know if this proceeding is available as well in HDS.

In the screenshot of the getting started guide of HDS in section reports, I see a JSON option in the create ticket view which I don’t see in CHD. Don’t know what this option allows you to do. So in my understanding, a subset of what I understood of your request should be possible to configure.

Attachment and notes might offer additional workarounds but will not have the same impact.

Suzanne-Spiceworks · 2022-01-20T04:43:21.000Z

Tagging support for a definitive answer on what HDS can and can’t do.

@spiceworks-support-team

Brendan-Spiceworks · 2022-01-20T20:50:26.000Z

More robust reporting is facilitated by Power BI:

https://community.spiceworks.com/support/help-desk-cloud-edition/docs/reporting#advanced-reporting-with-power-bi

At this time you cannot edit the notification, however it’s the number one feature request and understood to be very important to the people using it - I think it’s something that’ll be added, I just can’t speak to when.

scheff1 · 2022-01-20T23:09:25.000Z

Brendan (Spiceworks):

At this time you cannot edit the notification, however it’s the number one feature request and understood to be very important to the people using it - I think it’s something that’ll be added, I just can’t speak to when.

Sorry, can’t follow. I see currently 5 feature requests for HDS . The spiciest one is about the search function. None is about an edit option for notification.

Which other view or database do you have for your claim?
And when will active development of HDS resume?

Brendan-Spiceworks · 2022-01-21T14:53:12.000Z

You’re right - but because the CHD and HDS share a codebase, the number one feature request for CHD is the ability to edit the notification template - when that makes its way into CHD, the expectation is that it’d appear in HDS as well.

I can’t speak to the active development bits because it’s not in my purview. I’ll see what I can find out!

joedewitt2 · 2022-01-28T17:09:07.000Z

Any information you can offer on these topics would greatly be appreciated. Both of these features exist in the legacy and neither exist in CHD nor HDS. At this point I have no choice but to start looking for a replacement for Spiceworks which I consider unfortunate.

scheff1 · 2022-01-28T18:03:47.000Z

jdewitt6029:

Both of these features exist in the legacy and neither exist in CHD nor HDS.

As far as I understood, almost feature equality was a purpose before announcing EOL of legacy edition. I don’t know if that purpose still exists. But definitely, feature equality was no longer expected when Spiceworks decided on the date of EOL of the legacy edition.

jdewitt6029:

At this point I have no choice but to start looking for a replacement for Spiceworks which I consider unfortunate.

That was the purpose of the early EOL announcement to give the organizations using the legacy edition enough time to prepare and migrate to whichever solution they consider an appropriate successor. And that a significant part of these organizations will not consider HDS nor CHD as a suitable successor was expected. It will be interesting to get statistics on next Spiceworld or a quarter before how large that share of organizations will be to drop use of Spiceworks tools and solutions. And despite Spiceworks suspending active development of HDS last Spring, I was astonished that there seems to be a significant share of organizations considering HDS as suitable for their needs. But I also saw that some thought first that HDS was fitting their needs and had to realize that it did not.

I consider the Spiceworks communication about the future of HDS as unfortunate. Such a communication policy is also called self-fulfilling prophecy.

And yes, the fact that remaining Spiceworks editions did not reach feature equality with legacy edition is unfortunate too.

Brendan-Spiceworks · 2022-01-28T20:07:14.000Z

Again, it’s not because I want to be elusive - I just genuinely don’t have answers as to timeframes for these questions.

@siddharth-spiceworks may be able to shed some light on this, though!