Anybody out there have any experience with web based support scripts. We are looking for a inexpensive way to handle support for our customers and track problems resolved.

Hello
The only one I know of thats publicly available is:

http://www.wonderdesk.com/

It costs $500, but should be worth the money.
I am still thinking about buying it, but every time I reach for my credit card the number of support requests drops to a manageable level (using a standard e-mail client).

The other one I liked at was called web support and was not as good but only $100.

I would be interested to know what other systems are available.

Gordon

I use phpWeb Support.
Its a cheaper alternative and it does the job, so £100 is the choice for me :)

where can I find php web support?

Originally posted by historian
where can I find php web support?

http://www.irc-html.com/vault.php/WebSupport

Originally posted by GordonH

The other one I liked at was called web support and was not as good but only $100.


Actually, its phpWeb Support you're thinking of (http://www.irc-html.com/vault.php/WebSupport)

Hello
Actually that seems to be a different one again, but very interesting. I am going to have a look.
I wonder what thepractical differences would be between the flat file text database and Mysql versions?

Gordon

MySQL version is better.

Test based one has security issues and is slower.
Basically, if someone knows where your text files are, they can read all your helpdesk entries - and if customers put their username and apssword in it then, well, you get the picture :)

Nicholas,
Actually, there is not a security issue with the text based version (called WonderDesk Standard (http://www.wonderdesk.com)) if your web server is set up properly.

For starters, all of the critical files are behind a password protected directory (using .htaccess or similar). Additionally, if your web server has a cgi-bin, it will prevent people from downloading files just because they know where they are.

Gordon,
You can see a technical explanation (http://www.webwonderland.com/cgi-bin/contact/wonderdesk.cgi?db=faq&uid=default&from=&language=english&view_records=1&ID=15&ww=1) of the differences. In summary, WonderDesk Standard can handle around 5,000-10,000 records, whereas the MySQL version of the WonderDesk (called WonderDesk SQL) is rated for 50,000,000+ records.

Also be sure to check out helpdesks.com (http://www.helpdesks.com) for more help desk software packages.

I wasn't talking about Wonder Desk, I was talking about phpWeb Support

Wonderdesk = Perl + MySQL (or Flat files)
phpWebSupport = PHP + MySQL (or Flat files)

phpWebSupport looks so similar to isupport

check out this link

http://www.tokidesigns.com/products/scripts/isupport/screenshots.htm

Ok,
Downloaded and installed PHP WebSupport. Works very smoothly and sends emails everytime a ticket is modified. The only two things (minor) that took some time were: you have to create tables in the mySQL database for the script, and you have to password protect the directory that holds the admin.php.
I went ahead and purchased the license. I think it is worth the $100. It's not too complex to work with, and that's something I was looking for at this time.

Well
I have downloaded it but haven't installed it yet.
Actually it is based on the old perl one that I had looked at before, but it does seem a lot better.

I will get the installation done.
The idea is to have a central support desk for all our brands at the domain supportonline.org
That way I can consolidate all the support into one ticket system which should be a lot more manageable.

Thanks for pointing it out Nicholas, it certainly looks liek it will be worth the money and at least they let me try it before I have to pay for it.
There was always a nagging doubt about what would happen if I couldn't get Wonderdesk to work properly.

Gordon

all these scripts looks very similar to WebSupport by sigh.org. I think they are a direct ripoff of the original websupport script.

they are a rip off. hehe, if you're gunna steal and rip them off, try thinking of at least changing the colors! ha

have a quote from the readme...
"I would like to thank Melissa Peh (sigh.org), she has provided me with permission to re-code and distribute
this script. She has also introduced the Internet to WebSupport, an excellent customer support
tool."

And this from the WebSupport website...
"If you are familiar with sigh.org's WebSupport system, it is similar, only coded in our favorite language, PHP. WebSupport is a ticket-based support system directed towards hosting companies and others in need of a uniform support solution..."

Yes
It was the sigh.org one that I remember trying before.
Atthat time she was unable to continue supporting the project so it must have been passed to someone else.

Gordon

Hello,

I am the current developer of (php)WebSupport at http://www.irc-html.com. I just wanted to clear a few things up.

Yes, the code is based upon the perl version by Melissa Peh, http://www.sigh.org. I have added many features since, and will be developing it in to a different direction. If you have tried both scripts you would see that there are many differences, although the core of the HTML is the same. Unlike many other developers, I *have* gotten permission from her to develop and sell the script. With the differences in the current script, I could have stated it was all my work, original and all, but I have credited Melissa with the core and original idea.

I do hope this clears some of the confusion up.

Best Regards,

Kenneth Schwartz - http://www.irc-html.com
Kenneth.Schwartz@irc-html.com

Thanks for that Kenneth.
I have just unzipped it and am about todo the install.
Assuming I can get it to work you will be receiving an order for a licence from me.

Gordon

Well
I got it installed but I am getting a Mysql error.
I am sure the database is set up correctly, but when I add a ticket I get an error.

http://www.supportonline.org/helpdesk/index.php

I ran the set up file through php myadmin and it seemed to be OK.
The only thing is the database has a different name because of the way our servers are set up but I am sure I got it right in the config file.

I have left a message on the support forum so we will see what happens.

Gordon

OK
It was a username problem.
Ifinally worked it out and its working OK.
The only issue now is getting the admin page put in a password protected area.

Gordon

OK
I got it all working and secured.

Heres a tip:
I was able to cut and paste the code that the PHP creates on the new ticket page and use it to replace the existing mail form on my website:
http://www.hostroute.com/support.html#form

This was already linked throughout my web support manual so I didn't really want to have to recode all that.

Its a very good ticket system and worth the money.

Gordon

http://mailbox.univie.ac.at/~le/helpdeskmail/

Check this one out.. It's good. and free.

Hey Guys,

You might want to check out Ticketsmith. We wrote it and it's released under a free license.

It's mySQL/php based.

Visit http://www.voxel.net; click software and click Ticketsmith.

Cheers,

Originally posted by nopzor
Hey Guys,

You might want to check out Ticketsmith. We wrote it and it's released under a free license.

It's mySQL/php based.

Visit http://www.voxel.net; click software and click Ticketsmith.

Cheers,


looks very good. there hasnt been a release in quite a while, is this a on going development project or is it finished? i suggest getting competitor scripts and try to match or exceed what their scripts do. very promising script. i look forward to giving it a whirl.

hmm, on http://www.voxel.net/projects/ticketsmith/, it shows the last release was at the end of jan, on the other page, http://ticketsmith.solidlinux.com/, march 5th. i suggest updating your pages :)

teck,

thanks for pointing that out. it's fixed.

eventually, ticketsmith will be integrated with cbms (our billing software, also freely available) so you'll be able to see which clients are generated the most support requests and which clients have open requests. you'll even be able to prioritize the requests on a per-client basis.

Cheers,

wow! nice job. i hope you continue to develop and improve your scripts. i look forward to using them :)

The ticketing software looks great however I keep getting an error. Sent an email to someone over there we will see what happens :).....

For those that care, at this point Ticketsmith doesn't seem to work well with Exim (ticketsmith works on an email piping system, and the gateway.pl script pipes the email to the program itself).

As soon as that gets fixed I'll love it :)

doh, get use it on my vo server then. fix it guys!

I've found one called "Firefly" on http://firefly.ocare.com/ not yet installed it since it uses Postgres.

Will be giving it a try in a couple of days.

Shri

teck,

did you manage to get this working with your server? i noticed a few messages fly by on the mailing list about exim. did you have any luck?

for users of cbms and/or ticketsmith, we're integarting our the two very soon. feature requests would be welcome. how is it working out for you guys?

thanks,

Originally posted by GordonH

http://www.supportonline.org/helpdesk/index.php



That's funny. The wording on that is the _exact_ same as the wording on our support request page (at http:/www.voxel.net), which i personally wrote.

You'd think that people could at least be a LITTLE creative when ripping content from other sites :)

No harm no foul.

Cheers,

Raj.

Just take the "-w" off the #!/usr/bin/perl -w part and it'll work (kinda of a weird way to do it but it works.

I will try it later today Raj. I put phpWebSupport yesterday and that works fine. I'll let you know something this afternoon if I get it to work.

since we dont use sendmail but exim, what do you we put under the line when it asks for the location of sendmail?

teck, what is the link for phpwebsupport ?

http://www.irc-html.com - click websupport in the nav bar up top.

I have ticketsmith working perfectly at VO. And didnt have to do anything about the EXIm thing.. I just uses "/usr/sbin/sendmail" as the path to sendmail.. and its working Just fine.


I also installed it at rotohost, but am getting a DBD:mysql error their... I havent been able to resolve this yet.

I REALLY Like Ticketsmith~!

Is there any software like ticketsmith which is free?

Errrrrr... isn't ticketsmith free??? :confused:

Yes.. ticketsmith is free and always will be free.

That's funny. The wording on that is the _exact_ same as the wording on our support request page (at http:/www.voxel.net), which i personally wrote.

You'd think that people could at least be a LITTLE creative when ripping content from other sites

No harm no foul.

Cheers,

Raj.


Just want to point out that I did not write that.
Its hard coded into the software that generates the pages.......

Gordon

Thanks guys, TicketSmith Looks really good. I am gona try it out!

*haven't read the other posts*

Check out www.vbulletin.com , they have an awesome helpdesk, maybe they'll sell it to you

Hello

Ticketsmith is fine but for god's sake, would you please work a little more on its output pages.

If you can work a little on its appearance it will be very great.

At the time being I think phphelpdesk is better because of its appearance.

Its abilities are nothing against ticketsmith but I prefer it for this reason.

Mac

Originally posted by OmniSlash
*haven't read the other posts*

Check out www.vbulletin.com , they have an awesome helpdesk, maybe they'll sell it to you :eek: Where is there "help desk?"