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In asset-form fields bound to the columns attrib1 to attrib10 in the Asset table, you can enter commands that trigger the generation of various types of

notification for analysts whenever they log or examine a call relating to the asset concerned.

Against a given server, for example, you could set up a notification informing analysts that the server is a “mission-critical” one. The notification would be generated at the analyst’s workstation on successful entry of the asset’s identification details into the Log Call form. Another example might be a notification that a given laptop PC is currently on loan to a particular person. It is easy to see that asset-specific notifications can be useful whether set up on a temporary or permanent basis.

The above columns can also be used simply to hold additional asset data. To indicate to everyone that a field, on the asset form, bound to such a column is being used specifically for notification purposes, it would have an appropriate display name, as seen on the form. This name can be changed by means of the Data Dictionary Editor, as described in the System Customisation Guide. Asset-specific notifications for analysts are of three types:

• Pop-up message boxes

• Text messages on the information bar • Sounds

Each type of notification is triggered by a command in an appropriate format, although all commands begin with an exclamation mark (!) to identify them as commands rather than plain text. It is possible to generate more than one notification per asset by entering a command in more than one of the special fields.

Command specifications for each type of notification are given in the following sub-sections.

Commands for Generating Pop-Up Message Boxes

The pop-up message box triggered by a command in an asset record is a simple Windows dialogue box that contains an icon of your choice and the text of your predefined message. Here is an example:

The message box pops up in front of the Log Call form immediately after the analyst has entered data that uniquely identifies the asset. If more than one message-box notification has been set up for a given asset, the message boxes will all pop up in a stack, each in front of the previous one.

Note that notifications of this type are generated during the call logging process only. Unlike other kinds of notification, the message box will not appear in the context of the Call Details form.

The format of the command to generate a pop-up message-box notification is as follows:

!P<icon>:<text of message>

where:

<icon> is one of the following letters, representing the icon indicated:

I = Information icon

Q = Question icon

E = Exclamation icon

S = Stop icon

<text of message> is any text you wish to compose.

For example, the command to generate the message box illustrated above (containing the exclamation icon) would be:

!PE:This is a mission-critical server

Commands for Generating Text Messages on the Information Bar

Another place where textual notifications can be displayed by command from an asset record is on the information bar that stretches along the bottom of the Log Call and Call Details form. Such a notification consists of an icon of your choice, followed by your predefined text in the colour of your choice. Here is an example, using the same text as in the previous one:

On the Log Call form, the message appears in the information bar as soon as the analyst has entered the valid identifying asset information. If more than one information-bar notification has been set up for a given asset, the messages will cycle around continuously, each of them being displayed for about two seconds at a time.

In the context of the Call Details form, the message will appear in the

information bar when the form opens, or when the analyst changes the asset to one whose record contains the relevant notification command.

The format of the command to generate an information-bar notification is as follows:

!T<icon><text colour>:<text of message>

where:

<icon> is one of the following letters, representing the icon indicated:

E = (Error)

X = (Exclamation)

I = (Information)

T = (Shaded clock)

C = (Calculator)

D = (Calendar)

K = (Unshaded clock)

<text colour> is one of the following hexadecimal digits, representing the colour indicated: 0 = (Black) 1 = (Dark blue) 2 = (Light blue) 3 = (Dark green) 4 = (Light green) 5 = (Dark cyan) 6 = (Light cyan) 7 = (Dark red/brown) 8 = (Light red) 9 = (Dark magenta) A = (Light magenta) B = (Dark yellow/green) C = (Light yellow) D= (Dark grey) E = (Lighter green)

<text of message> is any text you wish to compose.

For example, the command to generate the text message illustrated above (with an exclamation icon and light-red-coloured text) would be:

!TX8:This is a mission-critical server

Commands for Generating Sounds

In addition to, or instead of, defining a visual notification in an asset record, you could specify a sound to be played when an analyst has entered valid identifying asset information in the Log Call form, or displays the asset’s information in the Call Details form. This sound can be a standard Windows (or PC speaker) sound, or it can be a sound stored in a specific .wav file. Note that, if you set up more than one sound notification, only the first of these will be played.

In the context of the Call Details form, the sound will be played when the form opens, or when the analyst changes the asset to one whose record contains the relevant notification command.

The format of the command to generate a sound notification is as follows:

!S<sound type>[:<pathname>]

where:

<sound type> is one of the following characters, representing the type of sound to be played: – = PC speaker beep A = Asterisk X = Exclamation H = Critical Stop Q = Question O = Default Beep W = .wav file

<pathname> is the folder location and filename of the .wav file that is to be played, if any. It is necessary to supply a pathname (together with the preceding colon) only if you have specified the sound type as W.

The sound types A, X, H, Q and O refer to the sounds associated with standard Windows events, as defined in the Sounds section of Control Panel.

The command to generate the Windows “Exclamation” sound, for example, would be:

!SX

To play the sound file tada.wav, the command might be:

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