[Cerberus Helpdesk - Support Center] Recently Changed Articles

How can I change the ticket masks to a different format?

Fri, 05 Jun 2009 16:56:49 GMT

Ticket masks obscure your internal ticket IDs. This is important because:

Market competitors can measure your helpdesk e-mail volume by sending you e-mail every couple days and plotting how many other messages have been generated.
Your community tools are more secure if your internal IDs aren't provided. It's a lot harder to guess a random mask (with ~1.38 trillion combinations by default) than to simply add or subtract from a known valid ID.
Masks are portable. Ticket masks allow so many combinations to reference a ticket that you have a fair assurance of uniqueness when you combine multiple helpdesks into one or perform imports. A good example of this is moving tickets from Cerberus Helpdesk 3.x to 4.0. If you did any evaluation testing in 4.0 then your internal ticket IDs will likely have consumed some IDs that were used by your original data. This means any original tickets that you import will end up with a different internal ID than they used to have. This shouldn't matter unless you're giving that ID to customers as a reference (which by now we hope you understand is a bad idea!).

As long as your preferred ticket mask format can guarantee a fair amount of uniqueness on generation, meaning multiple masks can be tried until a unique one is found, then you can change the ticket mask format to anything you like.

In the file cerb4/api/Application.class.php, near line 247, you will find:
static function generateTicketMask($pattern = "CCC-CCCCC") {

$pattern is the format of the ticket mask. At this time, the mask cannot exceed 16 characters in length. You can use the following tokens:

L - Random letter
N - Random number
C - Random letter or number
Y - Current year (4-digit)
M - Current month (01-12)
D - Current Day (01-31)

It's important to re-state that your ticket mask pattern should have an amount of randomness to it. Your helpdesk may receive a lot of mail in a very short time period, so purely date-driven masks won't be sufficient.

There's also another caveat: Make sure your ticket mask doesn't produce an entirely numeric number (i.e., without dashes, etc). The helpdesk can use internal IDs and masks interchangeably on most functionality, so if your mask looks like an ID you will run into trouble.

It's possible for support for more pattern tokens to be added, you can make suggestions from the project portal.

Forward-compatibility notice: This process may become a configuration setting from the GUI in a future update. It will depend on how often people seek to change the default mask pattern.

How do I add my company logo to the top of the helpdesk?

Mon, 16 Mar 2009 21:37:25 GMT

To personalize your helpdesk/add your logo: 1) Log in to your desk 2) Go to Helpdesk Setup 3) Under the 'System' tab, there will be an entry for Logo URL: 4) Enter in the URL to your desired logo

How can I increase the memory available to Cerb4 in PHP?

Fri, 24 Oct 2008 19:12:53 GMT

When you run through our installer it should be enforcing a minimum PHP memory_limit of 16MB.

You could increase the memory_limit a number of ways:

1) Increase it in php.ini and restart your web server process.

2) Add the following line to /cerb4/framework.config.php:
ini_set('memory_limit', '16M');

3) Add the following line to /cerb4/.htaccess:
php_value memory_limit 16M

You only need to choose from one of these options.

'java.lang.OutOfMemoryError' when running the Migration Tools

Thu, 16 Oct 2008 02:44:04 GMT

Try increasing the JRE's heap size when running the migration script:
jre/bin/java -Xmx512m -jar Cerb4-ImpEx.jar cerb3.cfg

If you were in the middle of an export, be sure to clear out the output/ directory before restarting so you don't create duplicate tickets.

How can I migrate only specific tickets from 3.x to 4.0?

Thu, 16 Oct 2008 00:32:22 GMT

There isn't a simple option for selective importing in the migration tool, but here's an easy workaround:

1. Backup your original database and copy it somewhere safe.

2. Upgrade to 3.6 if you haven't already:
http://www.cerberusweb.com/download/archives

3. You can delete any tickets you don't want imported using the GUI.

4. To not import any closed tickets, you can Issue the following SQL statement against your 3.6 database:
UPDATE ticket SET is_deleted = 1 WHERE is_closed = 1;

5. Follow the normal migration instructions using this new database:
http://wiki.cerb4.com/wiki/ImpEx:Cerb3Export

Migration out of memory error

Thu, 16 Oct 2008 00:31:11 GMT

Exception in thread "main" java.lang.OutOfMemoryError: Java heap space

Generally this error means that java has ran out of memory during the migration process. This is usually the result of java getting hung up on a very large file. Since defaults are usually 128m for java, it may have a hard time and bug out during the migration. If that happens, simply run the java tool with the following option:

-Xmx512m

./jre/bin/java -Xmx256m -jar Cerb4-ImpEx.jar cerb3.cfg

Will I lose my Cerb4 configuration if I use the ImpEx migration tools?

Thu, 16 Oct 2008 00:29:48 GMT

We've considered that people often like to do a bit of evaluation and experimentation before importing their real data. The ImpEx migration tools imports tickets, KB articles, contact addresses, contact orgs, and workers as separate xml files; one for each record. We did it this way so things were atomized -- meaning you could play around all you want with Cerb4 and then bring the data in later without overwriting anything. Because it uses standard xml, that also mean you just have to write exporters from other systems and not importers.

All imported objects are imported by the scheduler job "Background Importing and Synchronization". The ImpEx tools allow you to import your tickets into a separate group where you can sort them out later as you see fit. In this way the import process will not interfere with your Cerb4 configuration.
For more details see http://wiki.cerb4.com/wiki/ImpEx:Cerb3Export

Ticket lists fail to finish rendering

Tue, 19 Aug 2008 20:07:03 GMT

Occasionally (two known instances so far), one of the ticket lists will silently fail to completely render when loading a mail tab, but *will* render completely when you click refresh.

This turns out to be a memory allocation problem, where Cerberus is running out of memory. Increase the available memory to solve this issue.

KB Import fails with "Input is not proper UTF-8" message

Fri, 08 Aug 2008 18:39:06 GMT

If your KB import fails as improper UTF-8, it's possible that come of your articles contain invalid, Microsoft-specific, characters.

The first line of the warning (you may need to turn on display_errors in your php.ini file) should tell you what line number in the source xml to find the first problem at. Select that character and do a search and replace on all like characters. You may have to repeat this process a few times, as there are several common MS characters that will break the import:
left double quote (replace with ")
right double quote (replace with ")
right single quote (replace with ')
ellipsis (replace with ...)

Where can I find the official documentation?

Thu, 07 Aug 2008 01:26:15 GMT

The Cerberus Helpdesk 4.0 official documentation can be found here:
http://wiki.cerb4.com/wiki/Main_Page

Ticket Overview counts don't match the number in the list

Tue, 22 Jul 2008 00:14:45 GMT

If you find yourself in a situation where your Overview page displays counts that just won't seem to match up to the ticket lists (like it *says* there are 4 messages in the Inbox, but none show up when you click on it), you may have an invalid Group Setting. In Group Setup -> Mail Settings, make sure you have a valid email address in the "Send replies as e-mail:" box. If you didn't have an email address there (say, you'd switched them), then fix the config, and use the mysql console to update the incorrect tickets in the database:

update ticket set first_wrote_address_id=[id of group reply address] where first_wrote_address_id=0 or last_wrote_address_id=0 and team_id=[id of group];
update ticket set last_wrote_address_id=[id of group reply address] where first_wrote_address_id=0 or last_wrote_address_id=0 and team_id=[id of group];

Parse process creating multiple copies of tickets

Mon, 23 Jun 2008 22:25:47 GMT

There's been a report that the Coldfusion Scheduler was doing something to the parse process that was resulting in incoming messages generating multiple identical tickets. ( http://www.cerb4.com/forums/showthread.php?p=5699 ) Use of a different cron initiator solved the problem.

How do I make my ticket lists auto-refresh every couple minutes?

Wed, 23 Apr 2008 06:04:40 GMT

Our development philosophy in Cerberus Helpdesk 4.0 is to keep the application cleaner, simpler and more intuitive by not implementing various tangential preferences when good alternatives already exist.

The best way to automatically refresh a web page at a specific interval is by using a browser plug-in.

Here's a good one for Firefox:
https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/115

Does Cerberus Workstation exist in 4.0?

Wed, 23 Apr 2008 06:04:20 GMT

At the moment the Workstation concept isn't being translated to 4.0.

The major purpose of Workstation was to give us a place where we could try alternate interfaces and concepts without drastically changing Cerb 3.x.

With Cerb 4.0 we were able to give 9 months of thought to cleaning up all our concepts in the main interface, which deprecated the primary purpose of Workstation.

That's not to say we'll never have another alternative desktop interface for 4.x -- but it would have been a big time-waster developing it in tandem with the 4.0 web interface which was conceptually changing and improving very rapidly. The more dependencies we build in, the earlier, the fewer massive improvements/innovations we can make.

Workstation in 4.0 will really depend on customer demand more than anything.

We start by asking what the 4.x interface doesn't do well enough that leaves the door open for Workstation still? That kind of feedback is very helpful.

Help! My ticket masks are spelling suggestive/offensive words!

Wed, 23 Apr 2008 06:03:41 GMT

We haven't explicitly defined any "bad words" in the mask generation. Some humorous things have come up over the years. Really, anybody with an imagination is going to be able to interpret something the wrong way.

If anybody is that worried about ticket masks, we've made it really easy to modify the available letters for mask generation. The easiest thing to do about it would be eliminating vowels.

That reduces the standard mask pattern from 1.38 trillion combinations to 926 billion -- but hey, you'll live.

In the file /cerb4/api/Application.class.php, around line 472, change:
$letters = "ABCDEFGHIJKLMNPQRSTUVWXYZ";

to:
$letters = "BCDFGHJKLMNPQRSTVWXYZ";

Keywords: profanity, vulgar, swear, curse, rainbows, butterflies, gumdrops

After updating, I see "Parse error: syntax error, unexpected T_SL in ... framework.config.php"

Wed, 23 Apr 2008 06:03:30 GMT

If you see the following error after you update from Subversion it usually means you had a conflict:
Parse error: syntax error, unexpected T_SL in ... framework.config.php

Conflicts are a situation where both your local copy of a file and the official version of the same file have changes on the same lines.

The best way to resolve a conflict is to edit the affected file and manually merge the changes. Generally this involves choosing the changes to keep, which requires an understanding of the code.

A quick way to resolve a conflict, assuming you don't want to keep your local changes, is to revert the file. You can do this by issuing the following command:
svn revert framework.config.php

This will remove any local changes. It's important to note when doing this to your framework.config.php file that means it will remove your configuration settings. Be sure to make a copy of the file before reverting so you can replace your database connection info.

Once you've resolved the conflict you need to tell Subversion with:
svn resolved framework.config.php

Is my helpdesk restricted to a specific domain or URL?

Wed, 23 Apr 2008 06:03:15 GMT

Our licensing is very liberal. Cerberus Helpdesk 4.0 is licensed to your company and is not tied to a specific server, piece of hardware or domain name.

You may install the helpdesk on as many domains and servers as you desire as long as its for the use of the licensed company.

That means if your company supports 5 products, you can install multiple helpdesk copies. But you cannot install multiple copies for use by other companies (such as unauthorized reselling).

Can I become a Cerberus Helpdesk reseller?

Wed, 23 Apr 2008 06:02:49 GMT

Yes! We offer generous discounts to companies with built-in communities who feel they can add value by reselling Cerberus Helpdesk to their users.

To see if you qualify please contact sales by e-mailing sales@webgroupmedia.com or calling 714-671-9090 (USA).

How do I cancel my hosted helpdesk service?

Wed, 23 Apr 2008 06:02:41 GMT

You may cancel your hosted helpdesk service at any time by contacting support at support@webgroupmedia.com or by calling 714-671-9090 (USA).

If I have you host my helpdesk is there a contract?

Wed, 23 Apr 2008 06:02:30 GMT

Our helpdesk hosting packages are all on a month-to-month basis. There is no minimum commitment and you can cancel service at any time.

How long does it take to receive my license after I purchase?

Wed, 23 Apr 2008 06:02:08 GMT

We manually verify new orders to avoid having to price either rampant chargebacks or fraudulent orders into our pricing. We process new orders Monday through Friday, between 9AM and 6PM Pacific Time. You can expect your license to be sent out within 2 hours of receipt during these hours.

It's not uncommon for new licenses to also be sent out on weekends or holidays since our helpdesk staff is always monitoring support loads, but it's not recommended to build that assumption into your schedule.

Do my customers need to create an account to send in new tickets?

Wed, 23 Apr 2008 06:01:54 GMT

Using Cerberus Helpdesk 4.0 your customers don't need to create a special account to send you e-mail. They can send you e-mail directly (to sales@yourcompany.com, for example) or they can use a contact form you've created with our Contact Form Builder tool.

If you're worried about spam, the Contact Form Builder will not expose your e-mail address and you have the option of enabling a CAPTCHA (having users type a few letters from an image) to help reduce automated abuse of the form.

I need an invoice for my purchasing department to generate a purchase order

Wed, 23 Apr 2008 06:01:43 GMT

Contact sales by e-mailing sales@webgroupmedia.com or calling 714-671-9090 (USA) to have an invoice generated.

Be sure to let us know what products and services you are interested in. This is best accomplished by going through our online ordering system until the final payment step, then copying/transcribing/printing the selected options.

What's your phone number?

Wed, 23 Apr 2008 06:00:02 GMT

For sales and Corporate Support we can be reached at 714-671-9090 (USA).

Where is the SLA functionality?

Wed, 23 Apr 2008 05:59:32 GMT

New Service Level Agreement (SLA) functionality is being discussed in the forums:
http://www.cerb4.com/forums/showthread.php?t=13

Keywords: service level agreements, response times, priority support