Work Item Communications

Use the Communications section of the Work Item Preview pane to create new customer communications, and to view or edit existing communications.

Adding Communications to Work Items

IMPORTANT: Working with Communications requires the following are installed on your computer:

• .Net 4.5.x
• Microsoft Web Services Enhancements (WSE) 3.0
• XTRAC Communications Prerequisites 1.0

If the Communications component is not working for you, contact your XTRAC administrator to ensure that the above required packages are correctly installed, and that you have the applicable security functions.

To add a communication to a work item:

1.

In the Work Item Page, click the Communications tab.

Note: If you opened the work item from a Search Results list, the work item opens in a Preview Pane. In the Preview Pane, click the Communications icon ( ).

2.

Do one of the following:

• In the Preview Pane, click .
• In the Work Item Page, click Add.

The Communications page opens listing several communication templates you can use to send customers formatted communications:

3.

From the list of templates, click the template you want to use in your communication.

For more information, see Using the Communications Template List.

The Communications Editor opens in Preview mode at the bottom of the page.

4.

In the Communications Editor, click to activate the editing tools.

5.

Replace "Type your text here" with the content of your communication.

6.

In the Memo field, enter an optional memo.

Note: Memos are required only on canceled communications. If the communication is canceled, add a memo describing why it is being canceled.

7.

Take action on the communication by clicking the appropriate action button.

Note: The action you can take on a communication depends on the type of template you selected. For example, if you select a template that requires an approval, the available action could be Submit for approval. If the communication does not require an approval, the available action could be Create or Print.

The action you can take on an existing communication that you are editing depends on its current status. For example, if the status is Submitted for Approval, the actions you can take are Edit, Reject, Approve, and Cancel. If the status is Printed, the actions are Reprint and Copy.

Using the Communications Template List

The communications template list displays only the templates that your entitlement set lets you see.

To the left of the template list there are tabs that let you view all available templates, only the templates that you have added to your favorites list, and templates that have been used recently.

Filter the Communications Template List

You can filter this list by entering keywords and making selections from the drop-down lists in the fields above the templates list.

To filter the communications template list using any combination of the following:

• Enter keywords in the text field above the list.
• As you type, the list will update based on the characters you enter. For example, if you enter "ab" the list displays all templates that include the letter combination of "ab".
• To filter the list by group, make a selection from the Group drop-down.
• For example, to display only templates that require an approval, select Approval from the Group drop-down.
• To filter the list by node, make a selection from the Node drop-down.
• To filter the list by work item type, make a selection from the Item Type drop-down.
• Note: If you filter by work item type, a Subtype drop-down is displayed after you make a selection from the Item Type drop-down.

To clear the filtering selections you've made from the drop-downs, select Clear Selection from each drop-down that has a filter.

Add Templates to a Favorites List

To quickly access the templates you use most often, you can add them to a favorites list.

1.

Open the communications template list.

2.

Click the star icon to the left of the templates you want to add to the favorites list.

Note: The a blank star changes to a filled star when a template is added to the favorites list. Click a filled star to remove the template from the favorites list.

3.

Click View Favorites to display only the templates in your favorites list.

Note: Click View Recent to view a list of the templates you have recently used.

Note: Click View All to view all available templates (including those that are in your favorites list). If you have filtered the list, clicking View All displays only the templates that match your filtering criteria.