Configure the general options

Use General Options screen to define how Web Help Desk presents information to clients and techs. You can define how much information a client or tech can view, but you cannot filter dashboard data for administrators.

A basic Web Help Desk deployment does not require any changes to the default settings. However, you can customize the general options for your environment. For example, you can force your deployment to use a secure HTTPS port or include direct contact information in your client emails. You can also limit uploads by file type.

Limiting the amount of data displayed in search results or the dashboard can increase your system performance.

See the following sections:

Configure

1. Log in to Web Help Desk as an administrator.

2. Click Setup > General > Options.

3. In the Server DNS Name field, enter the server name as it should appear in URLs generated for Web Help Desk.

   If Web Help Desk is not running on port 80, enter the specified port.

   For example:

   yourcompany.com:8081

   When using a fully-qualified domain name (FQDN), make sure that the DNS configured in the Web Help Desk server is configured to resolve the FQDN to the server's IP address. In the Web Help Desk configuration, specify this FQDN as the Server DNS name. This will help prevent re-authenticating users when they try to open an attachment or FAQ from a customer ticket.

   This setting does not set the listening port, but the port used in URLs that access Web Help Desk. To change the listening port, modify the DEFAULT_PORT setting in the <WebHelpDesk>/conf/whd.conf file and restart the application.

4. Select an option next to Force HTTPS to determine how HTTPS is used in the application:

   • Select Never to restrict HTTPS in all URLs.

   • Select Always to use HTTPS for all requests.

   For standard deployments, the insecure and SSL port are set in the <WebHelpDesk>/conf/whd.conf file. For other deployments, these settings determine how the application generates URLs that point back to itself, but does not determine which port the application actually listens on.

5. In the Web Help Desk Name box, enter a name that identifies the application. This name is displayed in the web browser title bar and may be displayed in email messages sent to clients.

6. In the Max Search Results box, enter the maximum number of rows a ticket, client, or asset search can return. Leave the field empty for no restrictions.

   Depending on your search requirements, a safe value is between 1000 and 5000.

7. In the Max Items Per Page drop-down, select the maximum option available in the batch size popup for ticket, client, asset, and FAQ searches.

8. In the Max Attachment Size drop-down, select the maximum size (in MB) for file uploads.

9. To restrict specific file types from being uploaded, enter the file types that you don’t want to allow in the Blocked File Types box. Separate all extensions with a comma and without a space. For example:

   pdf,zip,exe

   When a user tries to upload a file, the file type is verified against the blocked file types. If the file type is blocked, the user sees the warning message This file type is not accepted.

10. In the Max Weeks of Data in Dashboard drop-down, select the maximum number of weeks that data is displayed in dashboard widgets.

11. Select the Show Icons for Referenceable URLs checkbox to allow icons with referenceable URLs for accessing tickets, FAQs, and so on to be displayed in detail pages.

12. In the Web Help Desk Direct Contact Info box, enter details on how to directly contact Web Help Desk.

    This information is displayed for clients when personal assistance from a Web Help Desk tech is required, for example, when you submit a ticket for a blocked or deleted account.

13. (Optional) Select the checkbox to participate in the SolarWinds improvement program.

14. Click Save.