Documentation forWeb Help Desk

WHD 12.6 release notes

Release date: September 12, 2018

These release notes describe the new features, improvements, and fixed issues in Web Help Desk 12.6. They also provide information about upgrades and describe workarounds for known issues.

Learn more

For information about hotfixes, see Web Help Desk Hotfixes.

For access to previous release notes, see the Previous Version documentation.

For information about requirements, see the Web Help Desk documentation.

For information about configuring your deployment, see the Web Help Desk Administrator Guide.

New features and improvements in WHD

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WHD 12.6 offers new features and improvements compared to previous releases of WHD.

Create ticket checklists and checklist templates

Techs can now add ad-hoc checklists to a ticket to ensure that all steps are completed before the ticket is closed.

To automate your ticketing process, administrators can create a checklist template and assign the template to new request types. This feature ensures that all techs have a consistent list of checklist items to complete for each request type, as well as reduce the overhead of child tickets that provide the same functionality.

>> Learn more about creating ticket checklists and checklist templates

Archive unused request types

Administrators can now flag an old request type as Archived in the Request Types window located at Setup > Tickets > Request Type. This process removes the request type and associated child request types from the Request Types drop-down menus in the tech and client interfaces.

Administrators can generate reports against the archived request type, but techs and clients cannot attach the archived request type to a ticket. When you generate a report, the archived request type is appended with [A] in the reports and dashboard widgets.

To remove a request type from the archive, uncheck the corresponding checkbox.

>> Learn more about archiving a request type

Generate a ticket statistics report for clients

The dashboard widgets and report detail options include new categories that allow you to generate the ticket statistics for your clients.

The dashboard widget includes two new options: Client Creator and Assigned Client. When you select one of these widget options, the widget graphs will generate pie and bar charts that display the ticket statistics for your clients. You can also generate reports that display the client ticket statistics.

Client view of Request types

The client account linked to a tech account will only be able to see the options in the dropdown for request types that are assigned to the tech account it is linked to.

Other improvements

  • Apache Tomcat updated to 7.0.90

New customer installation

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For information about installing Web Help Desk, see the Web Help Desk Installation Guide.

How to upgrade

If you are upgrading from WHD 12.3 or later, use the Web Help Desk Upgrade Guide.

Upgrading your Apache Tomcat software

The SolarWinds Web Help Desk software installer includes Apache Tomcat 7.0.90, which provides enhanced security and is required for this release. When you upgrade your Web Help Desk software, the upgrade procedure replaces the SolarWinds Web Help Desk software installer includes Apache Tomcat 7.0.90, which provides enhanced security and is required for this release. When you upgrade your Web Help Desk software, the upgrade procedure replaces the (WebHelpDesk)\conf\tomcat_web_template.xml file with an updated file that includes the Tomcat 7.0.90 settings.

Before you upgrade your Web Help Desk software, back up your current tomcat_web_template.xml file to an external directory. When the upgrade is completed, add your personal settings to the updated file from your backup file.


Fixed issues

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WHD 12.6 fixes the following issues.

Case Number Description
00104021 You can now create new dashboard widgets that include new techs in a selected category.

 

00036033 Clicking Save & Email no longer requires an extended amount of time to save the ticket and send a client email.

00048361

00066017

00146125

A ticket error no longer displays when you click one of several tickets created in a series.
1201533 Changing a Microsoft Active Directory or LDAP client name to upper- or lower-case characters no longer generates an error when synchronizing LDAP clients.
1362444 Web Help Desk now supports Transport Layer Security (TLS) 1.2 for POP and SMTP email server connections.
1224985 The Incoming Mail option for Microsoft Exchange and Microsoft Office 365 can now be set for a FIPS configuration.
00032785 Performing an asset discovery no longer fails when an asset returns more than 64K characters.
1173150 The dashboard widget data now displays the same data as an advanced query.
1159297 The Ticket Alert Level and Alert Condition categories in the dashboard widgets now display the correct data.
116493 The On Time Status category no longer displays a ticket as past due when the ticket is closed before the due date.

1139429

1171407

1234207

00071452

00146450

When you create an FAQ and click the Link button, the Link window displays and allows you to create a link.

1095761

00071452

You can now change the Request Timeout value in the Asset Discovery Engine.

976597

1065760

1357602

You can now add links to YouTube videos on ticket emails.

990697

00050542

The ticket Status Type no longer changes to NULL after you remove an orphaned approval process.

MySQL support

Web Help Desk 12.6 does not support MySQL 8.


End of life

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Version EoL Annoucement EoE Effective Date EoL Effective Date
12.3

September 12, 2018: End-of-Life (EOL) announcement: 
Customers on WHD 12.3 or earlier should begin transitioning to WHD 12.5 and above.

March 12, 2019: End-of-Engineering (EoE) service releases, bug fixes, workarounds, and service packs for WHD 12.3 or earlier are no longer actively supported by SolarWinds. September 12, 2019: End-of-Life (EoL): SolarWinds no longer provides technical support for WHD 12.3 or earlier.
12.2 November 14, 2017: End-of-Life (EOL) announcement: 
Customers on WHD 12.2 or earlier should begin transitioning to WHD 12.5 and above.
February 14, 2018: End-of-Engineering (EoE): Service releases, bug fixes, workarounds, and service packs for WHD 12.2 or earlier are no longer actively supported by SolarWinds. November 14, 2018: End-of-Life (EoL): SolarWinds no longer provides technical support for WHD 12.2 or earlier.

See the End of Life Policy for information about SolarWinds product lifecycle phases. For supported versions and EoL announcements for all SolarWinds products, see Currently supported software versions.


Deprecation notices

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This version of Web Help Desk deprecates the following platforms and features.

Deprecated platforms and features are still supported in the current release. However, they will be unsupported in a future release. Plan on upgrading deprecated platforms, and avoid using deprecated features. Customizations applied to a deprecated feature might not be migrated if a new feature replaces the deprecated one.

See End of Life Policy for information about SolarWinds product lifecycle phases. For supported versions and EOL announcements for all SolarWinds products, see Currently supported software versions.

Type Details
Windows Server 2012 (64-bit) SolarWinds strongly recommends that you upgrade to Microsoft Windows Server 2016 or later at your earliest convenience.
Windows Server 2012 R2 (64-bit)

Legal notices

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