One practical way to use the requests catalog is to define templates by service area. With this setting, you ensure that requests are submitted according to a specific focus (service area), and for each service area, you can assign a different assignee or group of assignees, different deadlines, services from the configuration database that are covered by an SLA, and other available request parameter settings. You can also configure service areas at the company level, thereby limiting a company’s access to only specific, designated services.
You can define service areas from several perspectives:
- Globally for the entire CDESK system under Global Settings → Requests → Service Types, Categories, and Areas
- For a specific company in the company details on the tab CDESK Settings
All defined service areas, whether in the global settings section or for a specific company, are accessible via Central Directory.
Central Service Area Directory
The Central Code List is available under Global Settings → Requests → Types, Categories, and Service Areas, in the section Service Areas for Requests. If the button Central Code List is not displayed, set the value in the field Service Area Selection to Optional or Mandatory.
The central directory serves as a so-called Repository of defined service areas. Clicking on it opens a window where you can create new first- and second-level service areas or hide them from the service area selection menus by toggling the switch to the “off” position (
).
Practical tip: We recommend defining service areas directly in the Central Master List and then selecting from these defined areas in the settings. The selection will only offer service areas that you have not yet selected. This procedure ensures that no duplicates are created; instead, you will create a clear list of service areas in one place.
To define a new service area, click the button + Add at the end of the list. After clicking, a new row will appear where you must enter the name of the service area (it is not mandatory to fill in all language versions). If 2nd-level, is enabled, individual second-level entries are added by clicking the icon + at the beginning of each first-level service area row. The method for adding and creating records for second-level service areas is identical to that for the first level. Changes are saved by clicking the button Save.
After defining the service areas, you can specify in the global settings which service areas will be enabled for use within requests. To select a service area, click the + Add button in the Request Service Areas section. After clicking, a modal window will appear with a list of service areas that have been defined in the central directory and that have not yet been selected within the service area settings for requests. At the end of the list, a row appears for defining a new service area, which you can add by entering its name and clicking the + Add button in the row with the new service area. The service area created in this way is automatically added to the Central Directory of service areas. Service areas that should not be offered when creating or editing a request can be removed from the list of service areas by clicking on 
. Removed service areas remain available in the central directory, from where you can add them again.
Restrictions on the scope of services for the company
Service areas can also be restricted directly in the company record on the CDESK settings tab. If you do not want to use the service area settings for requests from the global settings, change the setting Used settings to Custom settings. You can then add existing service areas from the central directory or create new service areas. When entering a request for this company, only the listed service areas will be offered for selection. We covered the procedure for defining new service areas earlier in the section Central directory of service areas.
Using service areas in the request template
To define and use service areas in request templates, the following conditions must be met:
1. Service areas enabled for the request in the section Global Settings → Requests → Types, Categories, and Service Areas, in the section Request Service Areas. If the setting Service Area Selection is set to “off,” it is not possible to create or assign a request to a service area. To enable this functionality, select the value “optional” or “mandatory” (with the mandatory value, every request must be assigned to a specific service area). The same settings are available for the second level of the service area. At the same time, it is not mandatory to use both service levels simultaneously; it is sufficient to define only the first level, and you can leave the second level disabled.
2. Defined service areas, which you can select when creating a request template. We have covered this topic and the procedure for defining new service areas in the following sections: CCentral service area directory and Restrictions on service areas for the company.
After defining the service areas, when creating a request template, you can choose whether to restrict to listed service areas or leave the selection without restrictions. If you choose to limit the request to the listed service areas, you must select which of the available service areas will be available on the request created using this template. You can select areas for Level 1 and the corresponding Level 2 areas. If you do not select any Level 2 service areas, all defined Level 2 areas belonging to the selected Level 1 will be automatically offered in the request. The template also allows you to set a Default Service Area, which will be automatically preset when the form is loaded.
Practical tip: If you do not see the expected service areas in the service area selection field of the request, first check the service area settings directly in the company record on the CDESK Settings tab. The selected settings can affect service areas in two ways:
- If global settings are used, verify that the given service area is accessible in the global settings (Global Settings → Requests → Types, Categories, and Service Areas).
- If custom settings are used, verify the availability of the service in the central service area directory