Web Interface



AccessAble Help Desk Pro Edition 2.59 includes a set of pages in .asp (Active Server Pages) and .html (HyperText Markup Language) templates. The .asp pages are what is actually typed as the URLs, and these pages contain the database connection information. However, the .HTML pages act as a sort of pattern for the corresponding .asp files. This allows you to use an HTML editor to make cosmetic changes to the .html files which will be displayed when the .asp file is "browsed".

In this release I have provided a default page with links to logins for Customer (end users) and staff, as well as a link to let a user create their own account. You may modify the default.html page and when the corresponding default.asp page is viewed in the browser you should see something like the screen below. http://yourserveripaddress/pro259/default.asp

(NOTE: I have the web pages set to install to a different folder than in earlier web pages. In this way you can preserve the web pages from earlier version in case you prefer those to the new pages.



Ths web pages in this release include the use of "Styles". A default style is selected in the common.asp file, however, this can be changed by the end user at any time by adding: ?Style=oak or &Style=Pine and so on in the browser. The trial download includes only a couple of styles but registered uses receive a wide variety of styles for the web pages. You can see and test many of them on my web sites. Also, new with this release of the web pages is partial translation of the web pages for French, German and Spanish. While most of our customers are from the United States or the United Kingdom, this new feature may be helpful for those in other countries. By adding a parameter to the URL you can set the locale to one of these other countries and certain items will be shown in the selected language. Notice these buttons in different languages:

Buttons in French



Buttons in Spanish



Buttons in German



I have not provided much in the way of internationlalizing the web pages with this release. How much more I will do so in the future depends a great deal on feedback I receive. If you are planning on using the web interface in a country other than the US or the UK, I would be glad to hear from you - email me at dbandsons@aol.com with your feedback.



The most important thing to understand about the web interface is that unlike static web pages, these pages interact with the database. Therefore setting permissions is a very important part of setting up the web pages. If the special built-in "Internet Guest" account does not have proper permissions to the database and folder you may get errors such as "Operation Must Use an Updateable Query"

Below are some links that may be helpful. One of the most common errors you might see if your permissions are not set correctly is "must use updatable query"

Or if you got a message like: "Microsoft JET Database Engine (0x80004005) Could not use ''; file already in use" here is a good link to check out: Microsoft JET Database Engine (0x80004005) Could not use ''; file already in use


If you get an error message trying to use the web pages, make note of the error message and do a web search (I use Google.com most of the time) or send an email to dbandsons@aol.com and I will try to help you work through it. Don't assume you are doing something wrong or making a silly mistake. Setting up a database enabled server can take some work, but once it is done you don't have to worry about it again.

The web page interface is similar to the windows interface is this respect: database tables are presented many records at a time in a grid, or tabular view. From these screens you can add or edit records one at a time by selecting one of the record or clicking a link to add a new record. Also, when updating records, drop list boxes populated from the many lookup tables can help speed data entry and insure data is entered consistently.

The web pages allow your users to submit support requests via browser - no software to install - and to let them check the status of their support requests. The web interface also allows you and your IT staff to update and search on users, requests, knowledge base, and inventory information from any computer that can connect to your web server.


A standard user will have a security level of 1, and this is the level that will be assigned if they use the Create Account page to create their own account. Technicians and IT Staff will have a security level of 3. The menu page does not require a security level to access it, nor does the create account page. However, for pages where security is required the user (or tech) must login with their web login and web password. If they don't have the security level required for the page, they will be returned to the login page. I have included an Administrator account with a Login Name of admin and Password of Admin. You will want to create your own Administrator type account with your own password, or change the default administrator user record.




Support staff may find the web page advantageous because this allows them to update inventory records while at the user's PC. (Just remember not to save your login information on the user's computer or they might use those credentials accidentally? on purpose?)

I have provided a menu for the Administrator and IT Staff to use, however, you may want to create your own links, perhaps on your other web site pages. Remember that your link should point to the .asp file, not the .htm template. To create a link to the Adminmenu, your URL should be like http://yourserveripaddress/pro259/staffmenu.asp



Many technicians will find the ability to search and edit support requests via browser is an easy way to update support requests. A sample screen used by IT staff to search and view requests is shown below:







Below is also in the Installation Notes section, but in case you missed here, here it is again:

While the windows application and the Crystal Reports use the ODBC DSN to connect to the database, the web interface uses a DSN-Less connection as specified in the common.asp file - please see the section on the web interface for more information on setting up and using the web pages. While you can use any HTML editor to modify the .html pages, I recommend using only Notepad.exe to edit the .asp pages. You will need at least to make some changes to the common.asp file - especially if the database is not going to be in the expected directory - c:\ineptub\wwwroot\aahdpro2

Because I can't know the IP address of host name of your web server, I have the server url as localhost. So, open the file common.asp and look for the line below. Replace localhost with your server ip address, or maybe domain name:

ServerURL = "http://localhost/pro259"

The database connection is also set in the common.asp file, so look for and modify if needed the lines below in the common.asp file:

ConnectionString = "Provider=Microsoft.Jet.OLEDB.4.0;User ID=Admin;Data Source=C:\Inetpub\wwwroot\aahdpro2\aahdpro2.mdb;Persist Security Info=False"

User = "Admin"
Password = ""

'


You will want to be sure to always keep backup copies of the .asp/.html pages before making any modifications. If you need help, send email to dbandsons@aol.com