The RefTracker Widget

The RefTracker widget is an attractive invitation to request assistance, that can be inserted at the point/s in your web pages where your end users may discover that they need assistance.  

This additional way to request assistance can be used to let more users know about your services and to offer a “Quick assist” type service option that can optionally be used with desktop sharing for online assistance (a “Quick Meet” service).   It is not a direct replacement for a chat service, but you can use it as an alternative, to deliver a quick response service, but without the overhead of always having to have chat operators online!!  We encourage you to think of the widget as a great way to put a reminder that you can provide help, in front of your users, rather than a way for them to submit simple questions – you should have answers to your most common questions easily found in your web pages so they don’t have to ask simple questions.
 
This is a very exciting set of features that we hope you take advantage of.  Read on to discover more about it!

Because of its small size the RefTracker widget can be presented in many ways in your web pages.  It is delivered with easy ways to select it from a button that sticks to the bottom of your browser window, embedded in a page without taking a lot of room, or proactively displayed x seconds after your web page displays – just a few lines of code to paste in, with Altarama’s assistance always available should you need it to do or plan your use of this feature. 
The RefTracker widget has been created using the RefTracker API and demonstrates a simple way the API can be used.

Here’s how an end user uses the widget:
The above screen print is an example of the widget inserted in association with a button (a custom method of insertion – standard methods are embedded, popup and auto display).  In this example, the end user can click the button and the widget displays:
– When the widget displays (in all but embedded mode where it sits in a fixed location in the page) you can scroll the page up and down and the widget will stay on the screen.  In that way it doesn’t block you from seeing anything on the page. You can also click the X in the top right corner to close down the widget display.
– To submit a request, just fill in all the provided boxes with the requested information (maximum number of characters in the Request text box is 1 million characters).  Your widget can have up to five fields (Name, Email address, Meeting room URL, Subject and Question) but yours may only have some of them (minimum is email address and your request description – Question), and they may have different labels in your system.  
All fields displaying in the widget are mandatory fields!
– For privacy reasons, after a specified period of time (3 minutes after you stop typing, by default) the widget will automatically clear any content.
– When you click Submit the system will check that you have completed all of the required information, and are not submitting anything that might be an attempt at spam, and then submit your request.  You cannot submit your request until all fields are completed. 
– A request confirmation number will then be displayed (usually for 60 seconds), showing the RefTracker question number that has been created, to confirm that the request has been sent. Your organisation might have the system set to immediately send you a confirmation of receipt email, but it might not as it is usual that Widget requests are responded to quickly by staff.

What happens when the request arrives in RefTracker:
The data entered into the widget creates a question in RefTracker with the question number that was provided by the confirmation number provided in the widget. 

Your RefTracker System administrator will have configured how this widget works using the qqform text template, and how the question is to be handled in RefTracker using the associated Quick Question Widget Request form. The response method will be set to email if an email address has been provided and meeting room app only if the meeting room link field has been provided and the email address field has not.  A confirmation email can be sent to the client’s email address, if an email address has been collected. Dynamic lookups can be applied to the form to add more client contact details, and known facts and default values can be included (for example the Priority can be set as High to alert staff that these are simple requests that should get a quick response), and usually an Item Summary will be set to make it obvious that this is a Widget question. 

Importantly the IP address of the requester and the URL of the page the client used the widget from, are collected when a question comes in through the widget so staff can easily see what page the end user was looking at when they used the widget, and address any issues that might be related to IP access.

The request form design also sets the Request type and Target response date as it does for all other types of questions.  The Target date will usually be set for a shorter period than your normal requests, but in all other ways, responding to these Widget requests is the same for RefTracker operators, as it is for any other type of request.
If a complicated request comes in through this interface, we recommend that staff use the Change screen to change the request to a more appropriate Request form.

So, if you don’t already have a chat service, give it a go! Its an easy way to be more visible to your end users when they are using your web pages!  Click here for full widget implementation instructions!

You can only have one widget in your RefTracker system so think about the type of service that you want to offer with it.  For example:

• A Quick Assist service where requests arrive in RefTracker clearly indicated as needing a quick response.  Place the widget in pages in your web pages that remind your end users that you are there to provide assistance with the services provided in those web pages.
• A Quick Meet service where the widget includes the Meeting URL field.  Place the widget in places where your end users might need online assistance and include the Meeting room link field. Requesters can request assistance and provide their online meeting room address or just specify their favourite online meeting product.  You can suggest a time to meet online, that is convenient to you both.

Want to give the widget a try without having to implement it in your web pages?  Just go to System>Request form summary>Requester service>Quick Question Widget and then, in the top right corner, select Preview.  Click that link to the embedded widget test page that appears at the top of the form in that page.  You’ll also find links to the other example widget implementations in the page that displays.  If the widget does not display in that page, you will need to set parameter 9.50 to “Enabled” (ticked), and try again.

For more instructions about testing and implementing the RefTracker widget see this help page.

Questions you submit using these widget test pages will arrive in your RefTracker system, so this link provides a way to familiarise yourself and your staff with the process before going live with it in your web pages.