Technical Notes

Using the Attachmate My Support Features
Technical Note 0202
Last Reviewed 16-May-2008
Summary

This technical note describes how to use the My Support features at http://mysupport.attachmate.com/.

This document covers the following topics:

For questions about logging in, see Technical Note 0201.

Note: Your session in My Support expires after 30 minutes of inactivity. To avoid losing any work (especially when opening or updating a service request), submit the page within 30 minutes.

The My Support User Interface

Basic instructions are located at the top of most pages. Use the following information as a guide to navigate and use My Support.

Graphical Icons and Controls

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Top Navigation Options

The following options are available in the upper right of each page.

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My Support Home

The My Support Home page displays your name, today's date (at Attachmate headquarters in Seattle, Washington, USA), and a menu of options.

Some links may not appear on My Support Home if:

• Your maintenance has expired.
• You are no longer a designated authorized support contact (removed by your primary authorized support contact).
• Your primary authorized support contact has not granted access to a particular feature (such as product downloads or account service requests).
• Your agreement with Attachmate does not include a particular benefit.

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Service Requests

The following options are available on the Service Requests tab of the My Support Home page.

Check My Service Requests

This page displays the status and history of your service requests.

Note: This page may display only service requests created after October 1, 2005. (If you used Attachmate SupportWeb's previous online case management tool, earlier service requests may be displayed. However, service requests closed more than 3 years are eventually removed from our systems.)

Actions you can take:

• Click New to Open a New Service Request.
• Click Find to search existing service requests.
• Click a service request number to view details, or add information or files.

Service Request Details

When you view details of a service request, you can add updates and attachments.

• Click Add Update button to add information to your service request, such as responding to a technician suggestion.
• Click Add Attachment link to add a relevant file (such as a trace, log, or screenshot). For complete steps, see Technical Note 2327.

Note: To avoid losing any work, submit your update within 30 minutes. (Your session in My Support will end after 30 minutes of inactivity; typing is not detected activity.)

After you click Submit, Attachmate Technical Support is notified. If your service request has already been assigned to a technician, then he/she is notified. You will typically be notified by e-mail regarding further updates by Attachmate to your service request.

Date/time stamps on the service request, updates, and attachments are generated and displayed in the US Pacific time zone. Stamps may be inaccurate for some updates added between March and June 2007 (see Known Issues).

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Open a New Service Request

Complete this page and click Submit to open a new service request.

Important: To avoid losing any work, submit this page within 30 minutes. (Your session in My Support will end after 30 minutes of inactivity; typing and clicking other links are not detected activity.) Tip: If you need more time, click a Select icon.

When submitting a new service request, note the following:

• If you are associated with multiple accounts (such as a consultant or partner), click the Select icon and pick the appropriate account for this service request.
• Pick the product for which you are requesting support. Although all supported products are listed, you are entitled to technical support only for your products that are currently maintained.

• Do not open the popup dialog with the Select icon. In the Product edit field, type the first few characters of the product name (such as "extra" or "reflect") and then press the tab key. The popup dialog will open with matching products. Use the buttons in the upper right to navigate multiple pages.
• Next to the Product edit field, click the Select icon to open the popup dialog. In the "Find Product starting with" edit field, enter the first few characters and then click the Go button. (The Enter key will not work unless you first tab to the Go button.) Use the buttons in the upper right to navigate multiple pages.
• Click See Supported Versions to open the Product Support Lifecycle for your selected Product.
• Click View Related Solutions to search the support site based on your entered Summary.

• In the Description edit field, enter a detailed description of the problem. Also note if your issue has a high impact, or if you have a communication preference (such as mobile or pager telephone number).
• To add a file attachment (trace, log, screenshot, etc.), after you click Submit, click the Add Attachment option on the Service Request Updates tab. For more information about adding an attachment to your Service Request, see Technical Note 2327.

What Happens Next?

When you click Submit, Attachmate Technical Support is notified about your new issue. After your entitlement is verified, your issue will be routed to an appropriate technician based on availability, expertise, and geographical location. For office hours and holidays, see http://support.attachmate.com/contact/.

You will typically be notified by e-mail regarding updates by Attachmate to your service request. You may be contacted by telephone if you indicated this communication preference in your description, or if the Attachmate technician determines this is the best method.

For more information on target response times, see the Support Guide at http://support.attachmate.com/programs/support_guide.html.

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My Account's Service Requests

This link is available if you are the primary support contact, or your primary support contact has granted you access (in My Account's Authorized Contacts).

Select an account (if you are associated with multiple accounts). Click an SR Number to view Service Request Details.

Note: You can view service requests opened by other contacts, but you can add updates only to your own service requests.

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My Account

The following options are available on the My Account tab of the My Support Home page.

My Product Updates

You can download the latest version release and service packs that are available for your maintained product(s). For more information about using the Attachmate Download Library, see Technical Note 0200.

This link is not available if your maintenance plan agreement does not include this benefit or if your primary authorized support contact has restricted your access (in My Account's Authorized Contacts).

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My Account's Maintenance Plans

On this page you can view your product licensing and maintenance entitlements. Note: Licensed NetIQ products are not displayed.

On the My Accounts tab, select an account (if you are associated with multiple accounts, such as a consultant or partner).

On the Maintenance Plans tab, the following information is displayed for your current and recently-expired VPA plan(s):

For the selected VPA plan, the following columns are displayed on the Entitlements tab:

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My Account's Authorized Contacts

Only authorized support contacts can access personalized and restricted support web site features (My Support and Download Library). Authorized support contacts may have been specified at the time of maintenance purchase or renewal. The primary support contact can change the authorized support contacts at any time.

Select your account and Maintenance Plan VPA to view the associated authorized contacts.

Changing Contact Information

If you are the primary contact, you can make changes to authorized support contacts and grant or restrict access to features.

• To add a support contact, after clicking Add, you can either:
  • Pick an existing contact on record for your account by clicking the Select icon. Adding an existing contact takes effect immediately.
  • Request a new authorized support contact if you don't find an existing contact, or the record is incorrect. Requests for creating new contacts are processed by Attachmate Customer Service, typically within one business day.

• To remove a support contact, select the support contact and click the Remove button.
• To grant access to My Account's Service Requests (ability to view all service requests on the account), select the support contact and click the Edit button.
• To block access to My Product Updates (product downloads), you must make this selection when you request a new authorized support contact. To block or unblock access for existing support contacts, contact Attachmate Customer Service.

Note: Contacts must be created only for members of your licensed and maintained organization, or for third parties working for you under contracts which include appropriate confidentiality provisions. Any other sharing of login access is a breach of your software license.

Number of Support Contacts

You are limited to a certain number of authorized support contacts per plan based on your maintenance plan level. If you have reached this limit, you will see an error SBL-EXL-00151 when attempting to add more contacts. Contact Attachmate Customer Service if you would like to purchase additional support contacts.

Contacts added on the Attachmate Download Library web site between May 2005 and February 2007 were converted to authorized support contacts. If the number of authorized support contacts temporarily exceeds the limit for your maintenance plan, you should remove excess contacts or purchase additional support contacts. You will not be able to exceed the contact limit upon future plan changes or renewal.

Strategically selecting your support contacts can maximize the benefits of maintenance. It is advisable to designate IT people in your organization who are responsible for testing, deploying, and/or supporting Attachmate products.

For more information on the default number of support contacts available for your maintenance plan level, see the maintenance program information at http://www.attachmate.com/support/programs/maintenance/.

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User Profile

As an Attachmate maintenance plan customer, please keep your profile current so that we can notify you regarding:

• Updates to your service requests from Attachmate Technical Support.
• New product version upgrade releases available for download.
• Critical security vulnerabilities, if discovered or fixed in your Attachmate products.
• Maintenance renewal reminders if you are the VPA licensee contact.

Edit My Profile

Click Edit to make changes to your profile:

• Changes to your telephone number, job title, and time zone take effect immediately.
  • For telephone numbers outside the USA, begin with "+" prefix character.
  • The job title is limited to 40 characters.
  • As of July 2007, the time zone selection currently does not affect the date/time stamps of your service requests.
• Requests to change your name or e-mail address are processed by Attachmate Customer Service, typically within one business day.

For more details on how your personal information is used, see the Attachmate privacy policy at http://www.attachmate.com/PrivacyAndLegal/.

Change My Password

Click Change Password to configure your own login password that is easier to remember.

You must enter your existing password, and enter your new password twice. Your new password must be at least 6 characters and contain at least two of the following three character classes:

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Browser Requirements

As of July 2007, the following web browsers are supported for use in My Support:

• Microsoft Internet Explorer 7.0, with current security updates
• Microsoft Internet Explorer 6.0, with current security updates
• Mozilla Firefox 2.0

Please also note you must enable:

• Cookies (for login session management)
• JavaScript
• Pop-up windows

For downloads, see also Technical Note 0200 for additional recommendations.

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Known Issues

Back Button Issue

If you use the web browser Back button after creating a new Service Request, update, or attachment, the web browser may report the page has expired, or you may see an error dialog, "We are unable to process your request. This is most likely because you used the browser BACK or REFRESH button to get to this point."

To resolve this issue, try clicking Back again, or click My Support Home at the top and re-navigate to the desired page.

To avoid this issue, use the Back buttons within the My Support user interface, which will return you to My Service Requests or My Account’s Service Requests.

Date/Time Stamps

If your User Profile is configured for a time zone outside USA Pacific time, service request updates you added between March and June 2007 may have inaccurate date/time stamps, and thus sort incorrectly. We apologize for the inconvenience.

Find By Date

When using the Find feature to query by date, you must enter dates in one of the following formats:

• dd-Mmm-yyyy with the three-letter month using an initial uppercase. For example, 5-Mar-2007.
• mm/dd/yyyy with the two-digit month and day (using leading zeros if necessary) and four-digit year. For example, 03/05/2007.

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Related Technical Notes

0200	Using the Attachmate Download Library (FAQ)
0201	Logging Into Attachmate Support Web Features (FAQ)
2327	How to Attach a File to a Service Request in My Support