What’s new in CDESK 3.0.186

25. February 2021

With the version 3.0.186, a new module Paid Time Off Requests has been added to CDESK. This update also brings a new way of sorting mail communication, group management of assignee selection and many other useful features.

TOP Updates – 25 February 2021

New module Paid Time Off Requests

Version 3.0.186 introduces a new module Paid Time Off Requests which records and approves the use of vacation, sick leave, care for a family member and other types of leave according to your configuration. Remaining number of vacation days is shown. You can choose the minimum interval for taking a time off – from one hour, which also meets the Czech legislation. The list of requests is accessible for users according to permissions.

List of requests for time off
List of requests for time off

When creating a new request, you can set up a substitute who will perform the user’s actions in the user’s absence.

Form for creating a request and button for setting the substituting person
Form for creating a request and button for setting the substituting person

By default, six different types of time off requests can be created. Namely:

  • Vacation
  • Compensatory leave
  • Incapacity for work
  • Carer´s Allowance
  • Obstacle to work on the part of the employee
  • Unpaid leave
Types of requests for time off
Types of requests for time off

The user can also define other types of requests in the Global Settings. It is possible to specify for each type of time off whether the request will be subject to approval as well as individual approval steps.

Approval settings for a specific type of the request for time off
Approval settings for a specific type of the request for time off

Competent users are informed about the creation and the need to approve a request for time off via email notifications. Information on time off taken is also recorded in the CDESK calendar. The list of requests can also be exported in XLS format.

Export of requests for time off
Export of requests for time off
Automatic inclusion of mail conversation in the request discussion without identifier

The function of automatically sorting the mail conversation into a discussion can be best explained on an example. A user has sent a new mail on address of a certain recipient and at the same time to a CDESK address. After automatic processing, a new request was created by the rules.

During the ongoing conversation between user and recipient in copy with CDESK, new requests were still being made because the subject line did not contain a CDESK code. As of the version 3.0.186, such mails are now automatically assigned as discussion posts to the request created from the first mail.

Automatic inclusion of mail conversation in a request discussion without identifier
Automatic inclusion of mail conversation in a request discussion without identifier

Condition for a successful inclusion of mails to the request is that none of the communicating parties change the subject of the message and they always use the Reply function. Should they choose the Forward function or change the subject, a new request will be created. If the request to which the communication is linked is closed, a new request will be created the next time the communication is replied to.

 

Check the unique value of additional properties

With this update a function for checking the unique value of additional properties has been added. The value is checked for objects classified in the same CI Type, ignoring archived objects.

Enable the unique value check of additional properties added to the CI Type
Enable the unique value check of additional properties added to the CI Type

 

When this function is enabled, the following types of values are checked:

  • Date
  • Text – case-insensitive
  • Number
  • Link
  • Codebook – the uniqueness of the codebook value combination is checked. Individual items can be selected multiple times in different objects

If a user attempts to create a CI Object with a value of an additional property that has already been recorded for that CI Type, they will be notified via an error message. Such an Object cannot be saved until the additional property value has been changed.

Error message that the value of additional property is already in use on another CI Object
Error message that the value of additional property is already in use on another CI Object

Unique value check is not available for composite properties.

 

Group management of assignee selection for other assignees
Since version 3.0.186, group control of this field is possible
Since version 3.0.186, group control of this field is possible

Prior to the version 3.0.186, the following scenarios for assignee selection were possible:

  • The assignee is assigned directly to the company, making it optional.
  • The assignee sees all other assignee accounts in the Assignee field on the Requests, Work Orders, and Fulfillment forms.
  • If the request was related to a service area, only assignees linked to the selected service area were visible in the Assignee field.
  • When Global Settings -> Requests -> Restrict assignee selection by assignee group is enabled, only assignees from the selected group can see each other in the Assignee field.

With the new update, the possibility to regulate assignees according to the chosen company has been added and it is carried over into fulfillments. This has increased the security of data protection and reduced the error rate of changing to the wrong assignee. By regulating the list of offered assignees, the record is not made available to unauthorized persons.

This is a feature that is particularly appreciated by service providers working with many companies, with responsibility for these companies being allocated to different workers. Some of them may be external and it is particularly important that sensitive information is not leaked to them.

Schematic of the group management of assignee selection
Schematic of the group management of assignee selection

This new functionality introduces group management of assignee selection. Groups can be created according to company type and category.

Group management of assignee selection by company type and category
Group management of assignee selection by company type and category

 

SLA notifications for evaluation of work orders

Another new feature is the possibility to send SLA notifications for Time to Own and Time to Resolve deadlines of work orders. It is also possible to set up additional notifications at a specific time before or after a given deadline.

Setup of SLA notifications for work orders
Setup of SLA notifications for work orders
Mail notification about the approaching deadline for work order assignment
Mail notification about the approaching deadline for work order assignment

With the latest update, the form for registering scheduled works has also been improved. The Description field has been replaced by two new fields Information for the Customer and Internal Description with special permissions.

New fields in the form for recording scheduled work
New fields in the form for recording scheduled work

 

The customer information field is for the customer from the linked request. It also appears in the mail notification for that customer and in the announcement that can be created from the record of scheduled work.

The internal description is not accessible to the customer. It is used to record instructions for assignees and operators. If a scheduled work record is created from the request, description is automatically copied into this field. The internal description is also displayed in email notifications to assignees and operators.

List of all CDESK updates 3.0.187 >