Before you start:
If you are using Multi-DB:
- You need to add the global table lines to
db-config.php BEFORE installing the Support System plugin or running the sql.txt
- Add this line to your db-config.php if using multi-db:
add_global_table(‘system_faq’);
add_global_table(‘system_faq_cats’);
add_global_table(‘system_tickets’);
add_global_table(‘system_tickets_cats’);
*NOTE: This plugin is for Multisite installs only, it will not work on your Single Install
Once installed login into your Network Admin Dashboard and activate the plugin by going to visit Network Admin -> Plugins and Network Activate the MU Support System plugin..
When activated you will see it appear on your network admin dashboard with two sub-menus:
Let’s check out the sub-menus!
Support
Clicking Support brings you to your Support Ticket Management screen. This is where you will manage your Active Support Tickets.
The great variety of fields on this screen will help you sort and tackle your Support Tickets like a Pro! Info like who submitted and when, the status and priority of the ticket and the subject will help you stay on top of things.
When you are in the Support Ticket Management screen you will have the option of viewing
- Active Tickets
- Archived Tickets
- Ticket Categories
Right now we don’t have any ticket categories so let’s click on Add New Category and add a couple!
OK, we are in the Add New Category Screen.
You will notice there is a Default category already included called General Questions. (This category cannot be deleted and is a great addition to any site as you may have users who may not think their questions fall into any particular category).
Below your category listing there is a field to enter your new category name and a button to add your category.
Now, before you go crazy in here, take a minute to think about what categories would be best to include for your users. For example, if you are running a Multisite that provides Marketpress stores then you would include support categories like ‘Shopping Cart‘ or ‘Shipping‘.
Make sure you use broad categories, to make things easier, too many detailed categories like
- “Add Product Description“
- “Add Product Image“
- “Product Variations“
can get confusing and are all easily contained under a broader “Adding Products” category. I’ll go ahead and add a few categories for my Multisite setup here that offers Marketpress sites to my users.
Now we have a couple categories set up! Great!
Anytime you want to manage your categories you can do so from this page by simply changing the text on any category, checking the box, and clicking Update Categories, or using the check box selector and clicking Delete to get rid of any categories you don’t want. You can update multiple categories at once by making your changes, selecting the corresponding check boxes and clicking Update Categories.
When you are done here and want to return to the System Ticket Manager screen just click Ticket Manager at the top of the page!
Ok, Our Categories are all set up! Let’s take a look at the next sub-menu under Support, the FAQ Manager
FAQ Manager
The System Support Plugin gives you the ability to create an FAQ section for your users. This is a great way to keep the support tickets at a minimum and gives you a great resource to point users to for questions before they submit a Ticket!
The plugin also lets folks vote for whether the question was helpful or not, letting you know if you need to tweak or amend any answers.
When you click on FAQ Manager from your Admin area you will be taken to the FAQ Manager screen. There you will be greeted with a summary and info of what you currently have in the FAQ area as well as a list of the 5 most helpful and 5 least helpful questions in your FAQ area.
You will have 3 ways to Manage your FAQ section and all are click-able links at the top of the FAQ Manager Screen. You can View Stats/Info, Manage FAQ Categories, and Manage FAQ Questions.
Let’s dig in and Add a few questions for my users on my Marketpress based Multi-site! First we will click on Manage FAQ Categories.
The Manage FAQ Categories page works much like the Support Ticket Categories page. You enter your categories the same way, with the same result and same editing abilities.
You will also have a default category here, just like the one on the Tickets Categories page, for General Questions that cannot be deleted. This makes a great place to put miscellaneous information or things that arise with no particular category, or cannot be divided off into a new category.
I will go ahead and add categories here that match my Support Categories, that way I can easily file the most asked ones quickly here when I see something needs to be added.
When I am finished I can look at the top of the page and can choose to navigate to Add New Category or Manage Questions. Since I am done here, and don’t need to add any categories at this time I will click Manage Questions to move on to adding the questions to my FAQ section.
The FAQ Manager Screen looks a lot like a WordPress post editor page and functions much the same way. You will input your Question, select a Category, then include any text or media in the editor area that is relevant to Answer that question.
Here is what it looks like with a few questions added in! You can remove a question at any time by clicking the checkbox next to the question you want to remove and clicking Delete. You will also have a button that will allow you to edit your questions once created.
OK, now we’re all set up! Let’s see what it looks like from the user end!
Clicking Support they can see a summary of their Support Tickets and a list of Popular FAQ’s.
Clicking FAQ shows the FAQ category list we made earlier as click-able links to the questions included in those categories.
Clicking Support Tickets returns a list of that site’s Support Tickets and brings up the Submit Ticket area. Your site users will have the ability to choose a category and a priority status for the ticket they are submitting.
Priority Levels are just below the Category Selection Drop-down:
Let’s submit a ticket to see what it looks like in the network admin dashboard. I’ll fill out the Add a Ticket area with a question about the shopping cart in Marketpress since our example is based on a Marketpress based install.
And it appears in the network admin dashboard! TaDa!
And you get a nifty email in your inbox letting you know there was a ticket submitted!
- This email will only go to the network admin email in Settings > Network Settings in the network admin dashboard
- It does not go to all Super admin users.
This email is an ticket notification email only. You can’t reply to the email and must respond directly from the Support Ticket Manager Screen.
ou will also get emails when tickets are updated and answered!
You can visit the tick by clicking on the link in the Support ticket email or login to reply direct from the Support Ticket Manager Screen. :)
Sometimes you will see the need to change categories or ticket priority level. You can also assign tickets to Super admin users. In this example I’m the only super admin user so there are no other options in my dropdown in the picture above besides the one pictured.
Now you are ready to provide the most AMAZING network support in existence! Good Job!
