My Items
Overview
My Items is the Asset Management tool of SSP 7. It allows the Administrators to upload all assets related to Users, regardless of their source. Currently, SSP 7 supports imports from Oracle, SQL Server and via Excel files being uploaded. Within My Items, you must define Item Types. Item Types are a unique combination of a Service and a Vendor. That link is used throughout SSP 7, and most important in the WebStore. On the following, we will explain how to create, edit and search the My Items.
My Items is accessed through the Admin panel.
The Category admin page allows you to add, remove or modify Categories and Category details.
Settings
My Items Settings allows you to change the General Settings. Click on the first icon on the My Items screen :
The following screen opens, these are the options :
Show 'My Items' link in navigation : By checking this box, the link is shown in the top navigation.
Show 'My Items Delegates' in My profile : By checking this box, the My Items Delegates is shown under My Profile menu.
Show 'Status' field in search query / search results : By checking this box, the status of an asset is shown (e.g. Active).
Show 'Model' field in search results : By checking this box, the name of an asset is shown (e.g. iPhone 4).
Show 'Usage' field in search results : By checking this box, the usage of an asset is shown.
Max # of product/item records in search : limit the results when searching through the database. We advise any number between 10 and 20.
Business Units DataStore Parameter : My Items follows the organizational chart of your company. In DataStore, you need to define a Parameter that contains the complete hierarchy, up to 3 levels. This structure needs to have 1 row per level 3 field (the lowest field).
Business unit level 1 to 3 field : define the different Fields of the selected Parameter above for each level.
User Business Unit 1 to 3 custom field : To be completed
Items Excel import default scheduled day : Define the day of the week when the Excel imports take place. We advise Saturday or Sunday, depending on the range of your global operations.
Items Excel import default scheduled hour : Define the our to perform the Excel imports.
My Items start date : The date when an asset was assigned to user.
My Items end date : The date when an asset was disposed.
Introduction text can be added in My Items Intro text section. If other language text boxes are left empty, the text of the default language will be shown.
The Introduction text defined in My Items Intro text appears under My Items top navigation menu.
Search Items
Search Items allows the Administrator to search the complete My Items database. This is different from the My Items element in the top navigation. The last one only allows for a User to search his own Items, where this section in the Administration allows to search the complete Database.
Search Items is accessed by clicking on the links next to this icon on the Admin panel:
There are 2 options:
Search by business unit : This gives total view on business units, and allows you to drill down to specific details of the items, and offers a graphical analysis.
Search by Person / item type : This option allows to find items related to a person.
Search by Business Unit
Start Date : Select the start date by clicking on the calendar icon.
End Date : Select the end date by clicking on the calendar icon.
Country : Select the country from the drop down list - this field is not required.
Sector : this is the level 1 of your organization. This selection allows you to filter level 2 and 3. The label is defined in the General Settings of My Items - this field is not required.
Department : this is the level 2 of your organization. It is filtered by the selection of the level 1 above. The label is defined in the General Settings of My Items - this field is not required.
Cost Center : this is the level 3 of your organization. It is filtered by the selection of the level 1 & 2 above. The label is defined in the General Settings of My Items - this field is not required.
Service Group : Services are grouped into Service Groups. Select any Service Group to filter the list of Services in the next drop down - this field is not required.
Service : Select any Service from the list. This field is filtered by the Service Group above - this field is not required.
Vendor : Select any Vendor from the list. This field is filtered by the Service above - this field is not required.
Status : Define which assets ( or Items ) you would like to see : Active, Not Active or Both.
The Search Results are shown, divided over the 3 different levels of your organization:
The column Cost shows the total of all devices, the column Items counts the number of unique items.
Click the Details button in the column Action to see the individual items of the selected level 3. This is opened below the summary view.
Search by Person / item type
This screen offers the following options:
Start Date : Select the start date by clicking on the calendar icon.
End Date : Select the end date by clicking on the calendar icon.
User Unique ID : enter the Unique Id to find a User. The unique ID is defined in the General Settings of SSP.
User Name : enter the name, complete or partially, of the User, whose assets you like to find. When more than 1 name matches, the search results will show all devices for all Users that fall within the name range as defined in this field.
Item Unique ID : enter the unique ID (or Serial) to find a particular item. The Unique ID is defined when setting up Item Types.
Service Group : Services are grouped into Service Groups. Select any Service Group to filter the list of Services in the next drop down - this field is not required.
Service : Select any Service from the list. This field is filtered by the Service Group above - this field is not required.
Vendor : Select any Vendor from the list. This field is filtered by the Service above - this field is not required.
The Search Results are shown, divided over the different Services.
The Item Details are shown above the Search For Items section:
You can perform a new search by folding open the Search box below the details of this Item.
Possible Actions on this Item
This box will list any Adaptors that you defined on the Item Type, to which this Item belongs.
An Adaptor will link any Item to a form made in SSP, using the Form Builder. The Adaptor will not only open the form, but can pre-fill fields in the form with data from the item.
This functionality is also present for the User, when he searches his item from the top navigation element.
Service Groups
Service Groups are used to group the different Services of My Items. This function is handy if you have a large number of Services in your organization.
The Service Groups admin page can be accessed by selecting the Service Groups section in the My Items Admin Panel.
The Service groups List page shows a list of all current Service Groups.
Title : The title of the Service Group.
Active: Is this Service Group used or not within SSP. If set to not Active No, the Services, and the Items belonging to the Services are not shown to the Users. Actions
ADD NEW SERVICE GROUP: Use this button to open the dialog window for entering a new Service Group.
Edit : Change the details of the selected Service Group.
Delete : Delete the selected Service Group.
! Deleting the Service Group will only succeed if all Items are removed from the underlying Services.
CANCEL: Disregards any changes and returns you to the main screen of My Items.
Services
Services are used to identify the different Items in My Items. By combining a Vendor and a Service, Item Types are defined. Each Item belongs to 1 single Item Type.
The Services admin page can be accessed by selecting the Services section in the My Items Admin Panel:
The Services List page shows a list of all current Services.
The Services admin page contains the following information and controls:
Services List
Title : The title of the Service.
Active: Is this Service used or not within SSP. If set to not Active No, the Items belonging to the Service are not shown to the Users.
Actions
ADD NEW SERVICE: Use this button to open the dialog window for entering a new Service.
Edit : Change the details of the selected Service.
Delete : Delete the selected Service . a
! Deleting the Service will only succeed if all Items, belonging to the selected Service, are removed.
CANCEL: Disregards any changes and returns you to the main screen of My Items.
Edit Service
On the Edit Service screen, you can define the Service:
Active : check this box to make the Service visible for all Users. If unchecked, the Items belonging to the Service are not shown to the Users.
Hide in My Items : check this box to
Title : enter the title in different languages, as set up in SSP.
Description : enter the description in different languages, as set up in SSP.
Vendors
Vendors are used to identify the different Items in My Items. By combining a Vendor and a Service, Item Types are defined. Each Item belongs to 1 single Item Type.
The Vendors admin page can be accessed by selecting the Vendors section in the My Items Admin Panel:
The Vendors List page shows a list of all current Vendors.
Edit Vendor
On the Edit Vendor screen, you can define the Vendor:
Vendor Name : enter the name of the Vendor.
Address : enter the address of the Vendor. This field is only used in this section of SSP, it is never shown to the User.
Active : check this box to make the Vendor visible for all Users. If unchecked, the Items belonging to the Vendor are not shown to the Users.
Contact Person 1 to 3 details : enter the details, only the Name of Contact Person 1 is a required field. These fields are only used in this section of SSP, they are never shown to the User.
Item Types
Item Types are used to identify the different Items in My Items. By combining a Vendor and a Service, Item Types are defined. Each Item belongs to 1 single Item Type. You do not need to give an Item Type a unique name, their unique combination of a Vendor and a Service give its name. Item Types are a crucial element in SSP. They are the key identifier to upload assets, and are also used in the WebStore, allowing a User to replace a device, by clicking on any existing device, selected from his Item Types.
When setting up an Item Type, you can define Adaptors. Adaptors create a link between the items and a selected Form in SSP. The Adaptor will link from the item to the form, pre-filling selected fields with information from the Item.
The Item Type admin page can be accessed by selecting the Item Types section in the My Items Admin Panel:
The Item Types List page shows a list of all current Item Types:
General Settings
On the Edit Item Type, General Settings - screen, you can define the Item Type:
Active? : check this box to make the Item Type visible for all Users. If unchecked, the Items belonging to the Item Type are not shown to the Users.
Service : select a Service from the drop down to set up the Item Type.
Vendor : Select a Vendor from the list to set up the Item Type.
Short Description : Enter a short description for this Item Type. This field is only used in this section of SSP, it is never shown to the User.
Import Settings
There are 4 methods to fill the Item Type:
Internal
SQL Server : import the data from any SQL DB that can be reached by SSP.
Oracle : import the data from any Oracle DB that can be reached by SSP.
Excel : upload data using Excel sheets.
Note that the import also has a date to it. This means that you can store historical data and run trend reports on the data in My Items.
The different import options are described on the next pages.
Import from SQL Server
Select SQL Server from the different possible Connection Types:
The screen will refresh and show you the appropriate boxes for this Connection Type:
Defining the SQL Connection:
Connection String : Define the connection string to access the SQL Server & DB.
SQL Query : Define the query to load the required data from the DB.
Update Type : SSP supports 3 possible update types:
Option 1 will import the complete database, add the new items, and update existing items, if person unique ID & Serial Nr & item date match. Note that the import also has a date to it. This means that you can store historical data and run trend reports on the data in My Items
Option 2 will empty the complete database for this Item Type and only import the data in the source SQL DB
Option 3 is used to delete items in My Items.
Import Start Datetime : define when the first import needs to run. Use the calendar icon to select a date. The hour must follow the standard input of HH:MM (hours in 2 digits, minutes in 2 digits).
Interval : Define the interval to run this query. Enter a number and then select a timescale in the drop down: Minutes - Hours - Days- Weeks.
Last Run Time : Indicates the last run time - this field is not editable. • Next Run Time : Indicates the next import, or shows the SCHEDULE NOW to manually start the import (as in the screenshot above).
Field denomination
SSP works with Critical & Secondary Fields when importing data to fill My Items. Critical Fields are required to make a unique Item. The 4 critical fields need to be filled in. If not, the import will skip this item. After 100 errors, the import will stop and return an error message.
Secondary fields are not mandatory, but are used for reporting and statistics. When these fields are not filled in, reporting will show little data. It is therefore advised to complete these fields as well. They will however not stop an import if not filled in.
Critical Fields
Person Unique ID : The unique number of the User. This is normally linked to the LDAP number of the User.
Item Unique ID : The unique number (serial number or auto number) of the Item.
Item Date : The label to identify the date of this data.
Status : Can be Active or Not Active. Enter 1 for Active, and 0 for Not Active.
Secondary Fields
Model : Name of the item, example: iPhone 4, BMW 320D, Fixed Line.
Cost : The Cost of the item, in € or $.
Usage : A number, indicating the usage. This number can be the size of a mailbox in megabytes, the kilometers of a car, bandwidth, ...
Import from Oracle
See 'Import from SQL' above for more details.
Import from Excel
Select Excel from the different possible Connection Types:
Field denomination
SSP works with Critical & Secondary Fields when importing data to fill My Items. Critical Fields are required to make a unique Item. The 4 critical fields need to be filled in. If not, the import will skip this item. After 100 errors, the import will stop and return an error message.
Secondary fields are not mandatory, but are used for reporting and statistics. When these fields are not filled in, reporting will show little data. It is therefore advised to complete these fields as well. They will however not stop an import if not filled in.
For each field, the column header needs to be filled in the fields. This must be a 100% match. The column headers need to be on row 1. The order of the columns is of no interest.
Critical Fields
Person Unique ID : The unique number of the User. This is normally linked to the LDAP number of the User.
Item Unique ID : The unique number (serial number or auto number) of the Item.
Item Date : The label to identify the date of this data.
Status : Can be Active or Not Active. Enter 1 for Active, and 0 for Not Active.
Secondary Fields
Model : Name of the item, example: iPhone 4, BMW 320D, Fixed Line.
Cost : The Cost of the item, in € or $.
Usage : A number, indicating the usage. This number can be the size of a mailbox in megabytes, the kilometers of a car, bandwidth, ...
Adaptors
You can define the adaptors that are visible to End-users, while checking the details of an Item. Every adaptor links to an existing Form. In the Adaptor, you need to define which fields in the form are filled by My Items. The unique reference in the field 'Field Name', which is entered for each field in the Formbuilder. When the match is made, and the Field in the Form is changed or removed, the link will no longer work.
You can link multiple Forms to a single Item Type, and link multiple Item Types to the same Form.
Click on the Adaptors tab to see a list of all current Adaptors, linked to this Item type:
Edit Adaptor
On the Edit Adaptor - General Settings - screen, you can define the Adaptor :
Live? : Check this box to make the Adaptor visible for all Users.
Name & Description : Enter the details in each of the languages as set in SSP.
At the bottom of the screen, you need to select the Form that is linked with. Drill down from Category to Topic and then to the Form.
Click on Show Fields to see all fields of this Form. This will bring you to the second tab called Form Fields.
On the Edit Adaptor - Form Fields - tab you can define which fields in the Form need to be filled by the Adaptor :
All fields from the Form are loaded in the left column. The right column shows all fields from the Item Type that can be used to pre-fill data in the Form. Simply select the appropriate values and the Adaptor is complete.
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