Chapter 11: Working with Solutions

Over a period, direct customer support helps your organization to build a rich knowledge Base for future reference. Knowledge Base in the form of solutions (also called as articles or frequently asked questions) enables your organization in solving the repetitive problems encountered by customers with limited resources. Solutions module integrated with Cases is very useful for organizations that are mainly focusing on post-sales support, particularly technology and knowledge-based industries.

The Solutions home page contains,

• Solutions List
• Solution Reports
• Tools, such as Import, Export, mass transfer, and delete solutions
• Quick Create pane
• Search
• Alphabetical Search
• Custom Views
• Change Owner
• Delete
• Page Navigation

You can perform the following operations in Solutions module:

• Navigate Solutions
• Search Solutions
• Create List views
• Create solutions
• View solutions list
• Attach documents to the solution
• Import solutions
• Export solutions
• Print solution details
• Change solutions Owners (individually or in bulk)
• Delete solutions (individually or in bulk)
• Customize Solutions

Navigating Solution

(Access Privilege: Read permission)

You can navigate cases available in the Solution List.

To navigate solutions

1. Click the Solution tab.
2. In the Solution Home page, go to the Solution List section and select one of the views from Select View drop-down list to display the list of Solution according to the priority of the Case (For example, Low, Medium, High, and others).  
3. In the Solution List section, click the Start, Previous, Next, or End link to access the respective list of solutions. 

Searching Solution

(Access Privilege: Read permission)

You can search the solutions alphabetically or filling the required information in Search box.

To search solutions

1. Click the Solution tab.
2. In the Solution Home page, under Solution Search section, do one of the following:
3. • Specify the search criteria in Search box and click the Go button. Or
   • Select one of the alphabetical search links.
3. In the Solution List page, a list of solutions is displayed as per search criteria.

Creating List Views

(Access Privilege: Read/Write permission)

In the Solution List you can create/modify/delete the custom views, sort columns in the list view (ascending/descending order), search the records available in the current list view. In addition, you can modify some of the columns in standard list views. By default, the following standard list views are available in the Solutions module:

• All Solutions
• My Solutions
• Published Solutions

Note: User created list views are displayed under User Created Views category in View drop-down list.

To create custom views

1. Click the Solutions tab.
2. In the Solutions Home page, under Solution List section, click the Create View link.
   
   

   Note: Under the Solution List section some of the standard list views are displayed. You can only rearrange the order of columns and more columns.

   
   
3. In the Create New View page, do the following:
   • In the View Information section, specify name of the custom view in the View Name (mandatory) field. The custom view name appears in the View drop-down list. You can also set the custom view as a default list view by selecting the Set as Default View check box.
     
   • In the Specify Criteria section, specify the filter criteria. For more details refer to the Specifying List View Criteria section.
   • In the Choose Columns section, select the columns to be displayed in the List View. For more details refer to the Selecting List View Columns section.
   • In the Accessibility Details section, select the users to whom custom list view has to be enabled. For more details refer to the Enabling View Access section.
4. Click Save. The custom list view is displayed in the View drop-down list.

Creating Solutions

(Access Privilege: Read/Write/Delete permission)

In the Solutions: Edit form, you need to specify the Solutions-related information. The following table provides descriptions of the various fields in the form.

List of Standard Solutions Fields

To create Solutions

1. Click the Solutions tab.
2. In the Solutions: page, specify the solution details.
   Note: Solution Title, Question, and Answer are mandatory fields.
3. Click Save.

To create solutions instantly

1. Click the Solutions tab.
2. In left hand-side under the New Solution section, specify the mandatory details, such as Solution Title, Question and Answer.
3. Click Save. Solution details are displayed in the Solution: < Solution Name> page where you can update the additional details or perform the additional operations.

To create duplicate solutions

1. Click the Solutions tab.
2. In the Solution List view page, select the Solution to be duplicated.
3. In the Solution: < Solution Name> page, click the Clone button.
4. In the Edit: < Solution Name> page, modify some of the Solution-related details.
5. Click Save. Solution details are displayed in the Solution: <Solution Name> page where you can perform the additional operations.

Importing Solutions

(Access Privilege: Data import permission)

Administrator can import the solutions from other Help Desk and Knowledge Base applications.

To import solution from external sources

1. Click the Solutions tab.
2. In the Solutions: Home page under Solution Tools section, click the Import My Solutions button.
3. In the Import My Solutions Wizard page, browse the solutions-related data (CSV/XLS format and then click the Next button.
4. In the Fields Mapping page, map the CSV/XLS column header with solution fields in Zoho CRM.
5. Click the Import button. It will take a few seconds to complete the importation.
6. In the Solutions: Home page, imported solutions are displayed under the Solutions List section. You can continue the importation further or complete the operation.

Viewing Solutions

(Access Privilege: Read permission)

Before replying to the cases, you may refer to the existing solutions. If the required solution is already available, you can save a lot of time and enhance the productivity. If the solution is not available, you can add a new solution item so that all the customer support persons can use it in future while encountering a similar problem.

To view solutions

1. Click the Solutions tab.
2. In the Solutions Home page, under the Solutions List section list of Solutions select the required Solutions.
3. In the Solutions: <Solutions> page the answer for the question is displayed.

Attaching Documents to the Solution

(Access Privilege: Read/Write/Delete permission)

You can attach additional documents to the solution.

To attach documents with solution

1. Click the Solutions tab.
2. In the Solutions Home page, under the Solution List section, select the required Solution.
3. In the Solution: <Solution Name> page, attach the documents.
4. Close the Solution page once all the required information is updated.

Exporting Solutions

(Access Privilege: Export permission)

Occasionally it is very useful to export the solutions from Zoho CRM to Spreadsheet programs, such as Microsoft Excel, OpenOffice, and others for further data analysis.

To export solutions to spreadsheets

1. Click the Solutions tab.
2. In the Solutions: Home page under the Solution Tools section, click the Export All Solutions button.
3. In the File Download pop-up dialog, Click Save to save the solutions details in *.CSV file format.

Changing Solution Owner

(Access Privilege: Read/Write permission)

It may be very useful to change the owner of some of the solutions when there is changes in support organization. You can change the owner of a single solution or multiple solutions.

To change owner of solutions individually

1. Click the Solutions tab.
2. In the Solutions: Home page, select the solution.
3. In the Solution: <solution Name> page, click the Edit button.
4. In the solution: <solution Name> page, change the solution owner from the Solution Owner lookup field.
5. Click Save to update the solution owner.

To change owner of solutions in bulk

1. Click the solutions tab.
2. In the Solutions: Home page, go to the Solution List section and select the check boxes corresponding to the solutions. You can also select all the solutions.
3. Click the Change Owner button.
4. In the solutions: Change Owner page, select the user from the Select New Owner pick list and click the Update Owner button to change the owner of the solutions permanently.
   
   

   Warning: Solutions ownership will be changed to another user, irrespective of its existing owner. Use this operation carefully, otherwise solutions belonging to different users will be changed to new user. To overcome this problem, first you may search the solutions with a required owner name then change the owner in bulk.

Printing Solution Details

(Access Privilege: Read permission)

You can view a printable form and print the Solution details using Web browser's Print function.

To print solution details

1. Click the Solutions tab.
2. In the Solutions: Home page, under the Solution List section, select the required Solution.
3. In the Solution: <Name> page, click the Printable View link.
4. In the Solution: <Solution Name> page, click the Print Page button to print the document.

Deleting Solutions

(Access Privilege: Read/Write/Delete permission)

Occasionally you may need to remove some of the unnecessary solutions from the Zoho CRM system for a better user experience. You may consider removing solutions that are not useful for future reference.

Note: The deleted solutions are temporarily stored in Recycle Bin. If required you can restore the deleted again. But if you delete solutions from Recycle Bin, you cannot restore again.

To delete solutions individually

1. Click the Solutions tab.
2. In the Solutions: Home page, select the Solution.
3. In the Solution: <Solution Name> page, click the Delete button.
4. In the Confirmation dialog, click OK to remove the Solution permanently.

To delete solutions in bulk

1. Click the Solutions tab.
2. In the Solutions: Home page, go to the Solution List section and select the check boxes corresponding to the solutions to be removed.
3. Click the Delete button.
4. In the Confirmation dialog, click OK to remove the selected solutions permanently.

Customizing Solutions

(Access Privilege: Customize ZohoCRM.com permission)

Customization of the solutions module includes, renaming the tab name, modifying the pick list values in standard fields, adding new custom fields, modifying solutions page layout, and show/hide the related list views according to your Customer Support management process requirements.

For more details, refer to Chapter 24: Customizing Zoho CRM