Application Settings

The 'Application Settings' form is accessible to administrators of the database through the Admin menu. The form is divided in to four tabs. Each tab contains the global preferences that can be set for different areas within Web Tracks. The settings on this form are global which means that all Web Tracks users will see the changes you make.

APPEARANCE TAB

Tables that are administrative related are Departments and Locations. These tables can also be accessed using the main form's Data Menu.

Page/Header Title - The title that appears in the upper left hand portion of the website.

Theme - Choose a theme to change the style of the web site.

Header Image - Upload an image to use as your site's logo. The image will appear as actual size so you should modify the image to the desired height & width before uploading it to the database.

TIP: You may change the icon displayed by the browser by replacing the favicon.ico file. This is located in 'C:\Program Files\Gritware\Web Tracks\WebRoot'.

Image Navigation Url -  Enter the Url to be taken to when a user clicks your header image.  If left blank the image will not act as a hyperlink.

Enable Smart Sizing - If this is not checked the maximum useable area of the application is 1024x768.  When checked the pages are allowed to grow to fill up more of the browser window.

AUTHENTICATION TAB

Authentication Mode

The following Authentication Modes are supported in Web Tracks:

1. Application
User passwords are encrypted and stored in the Web Tracks database. The user must enter their user id and password to access Web Tracks.

2. Active Directory
Users sign in with their Active Directory User ID and password. Users in the default domain enter their 'User ID' while users who are not in the default domain must enter their user id in the 'Domain\UserID' format.

3. Mixed Mode
This is a combination of Application and Active Directory. This is useful if you need to give access to users who are not on a trusted domain but wish to allow Active Directory authentication for users who are on a trusted domain.

4. Active Directory Auto Sign In*
The same as Active Directory but this mode does not require a user to enter their user name or password.  Authenticating in this manner requires that the user is signed in to a computer on the same domain or a trusted domain.

5. Mixed Mode Auto Sign In*
This is a combination of 'Application' and 'Active Directory Auto Sign In'. This is useful if you need to give access to users who are not on a trusted domain but wish to allow 'Active Directory Auto Sign In' for users who are currently signed in to a computer on a trusted domain. Users who are signed in to the domain automatically sign in while users who authenticate using 'Application' mode must enter their password.

IMPORTANT: Web Tracks Administrators may always authenticate using 'Mixed Mode' (even if the mode is set to Active Directory). This is done to prevent a possible lock out. Web Tracks does not force passwords (i.e., they can be blank) so it is highly recommended to set Web Tracks passwords for all administrators. When Mixed Mode authentication is used Web Tracks first attempts to authenticate using the 'Application' password.

Even if you have selected Active Directory or Mixed Mode authentication the user account must exist in the Web Tracks database for the user to be authenticated. See Working with Users and Importing Users for additional information.

NOTE: Changing from a 'Passthru' to or from a 'non-Passthru' option will force any users who are signed into Web Tracks to reauthenticate.

* In IIS 7 and newer the 'Security--Windows Authentication' Role Service must be installed to use this option.

Default AD Domain Name - The default Domain on which Active Directory accounts are authenticated. This is required if the Authentication Mode is not 'Application'. This is simply the default domain. Users in this domain may sign-in using simply their UserID while users in other trusted domains must specify the domain name in the sign-in screen (e.g., mydomain\mary).

Allow Access to the Knowledge Base without Logging in - If checked public knowledge base articles can be viewed without logging in to Web Tracks.  If checked you can provide a direct links (e.g., http://YourWebServer/WebTracks/kb/kb.aspx) from other sources to this page. You may also want to create a Dashboard Object which displays this link in the login page.

Session Length - In Web Tracks 8.11 and newer this setting is now stored in the sessionState.config file. You may configure this through Internet Information Services Manager (IIS) or edit this file located in C:\Program Files\Gritware\WebTracks\WebRoot. The default value is 600 minutes.

NOTE: A recycled application pool will also cause a session timeout. This is common on low volume systems as other users may not be accessing pages in Web Tracks (any page access resets the timer). You may increase the Application Pool's idle timeout by opening IIS, expanding application pools, selecting the application pool (default is 'WebTracksAppPool'). Right click and choose Advanced Settings. Increase the 'Idle Time-out (minutes)' value to a higher value.

Sessions may also timeout if multiple browser windows are open and one has been idle for longer than the length set.

GENERAL SETTINGS TAB

Maximum Attachment Size Allowed - The size in KB of the maximum allowable attachment size. Users will receive an error when they attempt to upload a file larger than this setting permits. Keeping this setting to a reasonable value (1000 KB) will keep your database size manageable.

Suggested Due Date Offset - The number of days to the current date when suggesting a due date for new service desk tickets.

Knowledge Base Description Preview Length - The number of characters which will be displayed in the list view for a knowledge base article.

Service Desk Description Preview Length - The number of characters which will be displayed in the list view for a service desk ticket (only applies if the preview row is enabled -- see below).

Service Desk Late Color Indicator - The highlight color for tickets which are past due.

Service Desk Due Today Color Indicator - The highlight color of the row for tickets which are due today.

Flagged Software Color Indicator - The highlight color for flagged software products.

Private Technician Comments Color Indicator - The highlight color for private ticket comments.

Grid Filter Method
    Neither: Hides Filter Bar and Filter Row
    Filter Bar: Shows the Filter Bar (drop down arrows on column headers)
    Filter Row: Show the Filter Row (text field in column header)
    Both: Shows the Filter Bar and Filter Row

NOTE: This setting applies to many but not to all of the grids within the Web Tracks Interface.

Allow the 'View All' navigation button on Grids - In the major grid views next to the page numbers there is a 'View All' button. The danger using this button is that when a table in the database grows very large the amount of time taken to render all of the records on a page will also increase. Turning off the 'View All' button eliminates the risk of your users running into this problem by forcing them to use the paging and/or filtering rather than scrolling through thousands of records.

Drop Down List Lookup Method
    Contains: Searches all entries that contain the typed in text.
    Starts With: Searches all entries that start with the typed in text.
    None: Typing in a drop down list does not provoke filtering of the list.

Show Service Desk Description Field as a Preview Row for Technicians - If checked the preview row is displayed for technicians. If this is selected the grid will display 10 records per page. If this is not checked the grid will display 20 records per page.

Show Service Desk Description Field as a Preview Row for end-users - If checked the preview row is displayed for end-users. If this is selected the grid will display 10 records per page. If this is not checked the grid will display 20 records per page.

Allow technicians to modify an existing Ticket's Description - If checked a technician can modify the description of a ticket.

Allow technicians to override comment dates - If checked technicians can change the date/time of existing comments.

Allow end-users to modify the Due Date when creating new Tickets - if checked an end-user can override the suggested due date.

Allow end-users to reopen their closed Tickets - If checked an end-user can reopen a ticket which has been closed.

Allow end-users to close their open Tickets - If checked an end-user can close their own open tickets.

SERVICE DESK USER COLUMNS TAB

Choose the columns that your end-users will see when viewing the Service Desk Ticket List.  Web Tracks Technicians can customize their views individually.

PURCHASING SETTINGS TAB

Company Name - The company name which appears on the header of purchase orders

Company Address - The company address which appears on the header of purchase orders

Company Phone - The company phone which appears on the header of purchase orders

Company Fax - The company fax which appears on the header of purchase orders

Tax Exempt Number - Tax Exempt number which may be visible to vendors

Default Tax Rate - The default tax rate for your purchases (in a percentage value)

Company Logo - Upload an image to use as a logo on your purchase orders. The image will appear as actual size so you should modify the image to the desired height & width before uploading it to the database.

Late PO Color Indicator - The highlight color of the row for purchase orders containing items which are past due.

Due Today PO Color Indicator - The highlight color of the row for purchase orders containing items which are due in today.