Maintaining Hot News


Overview

Tasks

Included with

Tivoli Problem Management

Overview

Overview of Hot News

The Hot News Diagnostic Aid enables help desk analysts to search the Tivoli Problem Management database for time-dependent solutions, such as:

    Problem: How can I print my diagram to a PostScript file format?

    Solution: A patch for this function was released on April 16th.

When a help desk analyst uses Hot News, Tivoli Problem Management uses the current date and time, the specified SCIM information, the location, and the problem type to find possible matching problems.

Tip: Help desk analysts can perform a Hot News record inquiry from the Diagnostics menu to search using other criteria such as title, organization ID, date, description text, and solution text.

Work with Hot News dialog box

To access the Work with Hot News dialog box, do one of the following:
  • If you are using the Tivoli Problem Management Analyst profile or Tivoli Problem Management Administrator profile, from the Diagnostics menu, choose Hot News.
  • If you are using the Tivoli Service Desk Administrator profile or Tivoli Service Desk User profile, from the Problem Mgmt Diagnostics menu, choose Hot News.
  • From the Help menu, choose Your System Profile and follow the instructions under Work with Hot News.

Add Hot News dialog box

This dialog box enables users to add a new Hot News record to the database or create one from an existing Solutions record.

Note: There are no group records in Hot News.

To access the Add Hot News dialog box:

The dialog box has these tabs:

Tab Fields
General tab The General tab enables users to add the Title, System, Component, Item, Module, Problem Type, Severity, Description, Organization, Problem ID, Location, Start Date, Start Time, End Date, End Time, and Solution.
Advanced tab The Advanced tab primarily contains Node ID, Date Added, Time Added, Adding User, Action, and Hyper Tree Node.

Edit Hot News dialog box

This dialog box enables users to modify Hot News records.

To access the Edit Hot News dialog box:

View Hot News dialog box

This dialog box enables users to retrieve and view any Hot News record. In view mode, however, you cannot modify the record.

To access the View Hot News dialog box:

Hot News Inquiry dialog box

To access the Hot News Inquiry dialog box:
  • In the Work with Hot News dialog box, choose Inquiry.

Tasks

Inquiring about Hot News records

You can review, edit, and delete individual Hot News records. To find a specific Hot News record, you use the Hot News Inquiry dialog box to perform an inquiry.

To inquire about a Hot News record:

  1. In the Work with Hot News dialog box, choose Inquiry.
  2. In the Hot News Inquiry dialog box, type data in any of the boxes to specify the search criteria for the Hot News record that you want to find.
  3. Choose OK.

For information on using Inquiry dialog boxes, see Searching and Inquiring.

Adding Hot News records

This help topic explains how to add a new Hot News record to the database. Unlike Common Problems and Error Messages records, Hot News uses only individual records. There are no group records in Hot News.

To add a Hot News record:

  1. In the Work with Hot News dialog box, choose Add.
  2. In the Title box of the Add Hot News dialog box, type a title for the Hot News record.
  3. From the System list, select a system.
  4. From the Component list, select a component.
  5. From the Item list, select a item.
  6. From the Module list, select a module.
  7. From the Problem Type list, select a problem type.
  8. From the Severity list, select a severity.
  9. In the Description box, type the description of the Hot News.
  10. Do one of the following:
    • In the Organization box, type the exact name of the organization associated with this Hot News record.
    • Choose the Organization button beside the Organization box. The Organization dialog box appears. Select a organization, then choose Select. The Add Hot News dialog box appears with the selected organization in the Organization box.
  11. Do one of the following:
    • In the Problem ID box, type the exact name of the Problem ID associated with this Hot News record.
    • Choose the Problem ID button beside the Problem ID box. The Problem ID dialog box appears. Select a Problem ID, then choose Select.
  12. Do one of the following:
    • In the Location box, type the exact name of the Location associated with this Hot News record.
    • Choose the Browse button beside the Location box. The Location dialog box appears. Select a Location, then choose Select.
  13. Do one of the following:
    • In the Start Date box, type the exact date that you wish to start this Hot News record.
    • Choose the Calendar button beside the Start Date box. The Calendar dialog box appears. Select a Start Date, then choose OK.
  14. In the Start Time box, type the time when the new Hot News record should first appear to help desk analysts.
  15. Do one of the following:
    • In the End Date box, type the date when the new Hot News record should stop appearing to help desk analysts.
    • Choose the Calendar button beside the End Date box. The Calendar dialog box appears. Select a End Date, then choose Select.
  16. In the End Time box, type the time when the new Hot News record should stop appearing to help desk analysts.
  17. In the Solution box, type a description of the solution.
    Tip: Be sure to include the steps required to solve the problem.
  18. Choose the Advanced tab.
  19. To specify a Tivoli Script or external program to run when a help desk analyst activates this Hot News record as a solution, type the command for that program in the Action box.
  20. The syntax for a Tivoli Script program is either:

    • module:procedure ()
    • or

    • module:function()

    For example:

      INCIDENT:QUICKSOLUTION ()

    The syntax for an external command is:

      D:\directory\filename.ext

    For example:

      WINHELP.EXE HELPFILE.HLP

      Note: When specifying actions, you cannot use commands that call for arguments. For executable and command programs, you must include the extension (such as .exe, .com, .cmd, and so on).

  21. To display a HyperTree node when a help desk analyst activates this Hot News record, do one of the following:
    • Type the node ID in the HyperTree Node box. Continue with step 16.
    • Choose the Browse button beside the HyperTree Node box. The Pick Diagnostics Node dialog box appears. Select a node, then choose Select.
  22. Choose OK.
  23. In the Advanced tab, choose OK.
  24. When the Work with Hot News dialog box appears with the new Hot News record in the Hot News List, choose Close.

For instructions on adding , updating, and deleting hypermedia links, see Hypermedia Links.

Creating Hot News records from existing Solutions records

You can create a Hot News record from an existing Solutions record in the database.

To create a Hot News record from an existing Solutions record:

  1. In the Work with Hot News dialog box, choose Add.
  2. In the Title box of the Add Hot News dialog box, type a title for the new Hot News record.
    Choose Find Solution.
  3. In the Solutions Inquiry dialog box, specify any search criteria for the Solutions records that you want to display, or leave the boxes empty to display all records.
  4. Choose OK.
  5. From the Solutions List in the Work with Solution dialog box, select the Solutions record for which you want to create a Hot News record.
  6. Choose Select and the information from the Solutions record appears in the Add Hot News dialog box.
  7. Add any additional information to the Hot News record, then choose OK.

Viewing Hot News records

You can easily retrieve and view any Hot News record. In view mode, however, you cannot make any changes to the record.

To view a Hot News record:

  1. In the Work with Hot News dialog box, select a Hot News record from the Hot News List.
  2. Choose View.
  3. In the View Hot News dialog box, choose Close.

Editing Hot News records

To edit a Hot News record:
  1. In the Work with Hot News dialog box, select a Hot News record from the Hot News List.
  2. Choose Edit.
  3. In the Edit Hot News dialog box, edit the Hot News record. The boxes and options in the Edit Hot News dialog box are identical to those provided in the Add Hot News dialog box, which are described in Adding Hot News Records.
    Note: The following information on the Advanced tab is saved with each record for historical purposes and cannot be edited:
    • Node ID
    • Date added
    • Time added
    • Adding user
  4. Choose OK.

For instructions on adding, updating, and deleting hypermedia links, see Hypermedia Links.

Deleting Hot News records

To delete a Hot News record:
  1. In the Work with Hot News dialog box, select the Hot News record you want to delete from the Hot News List.
  2. Choose Delete.
  3. Choose Yes when the Warning message appears.
    Result: Tivoli Problem Management removes the Hot News record from the Database.
  4. Choose Close.

Refreshing the Hot News list

If you have been working with Hot News records for some time, and other users are updating the data in your database, you should periodically refresh the Hot News List in the Work with Hot News dialog box.

To refresh the list of Hot News records: