E-Groupware

12.1 Introduction

Rainmail Intranet has a multi-user web-based groupware suite for Intranet. It is a modular web application for coordination of group activities, sharing of informations and documents. It offers Email, Calendar, Addressbook, Infolog (Notes, Todo, Phone Calls), Forum, FileManger, Projects, Polls, Bookmarks, Comics, Knowledgebase, Trouble Ticket System, Wiki and Chat modules.

Components of egroupware are:

12.2 Rainmail Intranet login:

Only an authorised user of Rainmail Intranet Server can login through Rainmail Intranet page.

  1. In the Intranet page, enter the username in the Account field.
  2. Enter the password in the Password field.
  3. Click on the Login button.


12.3 Home Page

After you login successfully the Homepage appears. You will see the following:

  1. Main Screen

    By default , the main screen displays Calendar, Infolog, Trouble ticket System and the Comics.

    • Calendar Depending on the Preferences, the default view can be day or week or month or year or group planner by category or group planner by user views. All the events will be listed. Notes linked with the Calendaer events will be listed.





    • Infolog Displays the list of unfisnished tasks. Advanced search functions for the infolgo data result from a combination of ACL settings , filters (-- no filter, done, own, open, overdue, upcoming, own open, own overdue, own upcoming), categories and pattern search functions.





    • Trouble Ticket System Displays all the tickets assigned to you. A Ticket contains all the information regarding a request, including who requested it, date and time of creation, and the details of the request. Click on the hyperlink with the header Subject to edit the ticket.


    • Comics Comics are displayed for the purpose of having a little relief from the weary mind due to busy work.





  2. Navigation Bar: Navigation Bar has tabs for each application, each accessible by a click.





  3. General Menu: General Menu has links to switch to Home Page, to set user preferences, and to Logout.





12.4 Administrator

The System distinguishes competencies as follows:

  1. Administrator
  2. Users with password controlled access.

Administrator

An user who is designated as Mail administrator in the Rainmail Configuration program is the administrator of eGoupWare. Administrator is the person who has sole access to certain parameters to which other users do not. Administrator configures the system wide settings, module specific settings and creates global categories .

  1. Preferences:Admins can give defaults and force preferences to certain values (the users can't change and does not get shown).


  2. Global Categories: Can create global level and module level (only specific modules ) categories and sub categories.


  3. Infolog: CSV import:To import existing data. It allows to interactively assign fields, customize the values with regular expressions and direct calls to php-functions (e.g. to link the phone calls (again) to the addressbook entries).


  4. Forum administration: Can create, edit and delete forum categories and create actual forums.


  5. Projects: Designates an user as the Administrator and as the Bookeeper. Admin creates the bookable activities. An user designated as a Project Administrator manages team members and their activities to complete the project on time. Project Admin assign tasks to team members with priorities and due dates. Projects will automatically notify team members of new projects, inform about change of tasks and even send out reminders of milestones past-due dates through email.


  6. Voting Booth Administration: Can create Votes, answers to votes ,View questions and answers, Select Current Poll, Option to vote more than once.


  7. Knowledgebase: Admin activates(enables) or deletes the questions and answers submitted by the user.


  8. Trouble Ticket System: Admin en(dis)ables email notifications for tickets.


  9. Wiki:Admin can lock or unlock pages and and can block IP addressess.


    Admin Menu:



12.5 Preferences Menu

Before you can use egroupware, it is necessary to configure egroupware settings. In the General Menu, Click Preferences. Preferences has links for setting Preferences, creating Categories , granting Access Rights and additional module specific links.

  1. Preferences

    User Preferences can be set for each of the following modules:

    • Change your settings - global settings
    • Calendar
    • Addressbook
    • Infolog
    • Forum
    • Projects
    • Comics
    • Trouble Ticket System


    • Click Save to save your preferences.
    • Click Help to show help messages on request.


  2. Categories


    Categories are a way to classify egroupware modules (Calendar, Addressbook, Infolog, Projects, Bookmarks and Trouble Ticket System). Admin can create global categories and sub-categories. You can create a category tree with as many sub-categories as you want. The user will be able to use a category browser--navigating the category tree with links to the module in the category. This can be used to let the users, find all the information during search operations.


    Preferences has links for creating Categories for the following modules:
    • Calendar
    • AddressBook
    • Infolog
    • Projects
    • Bookmarks
    • Trouble Ticket System

  3. Access Control Rights

    Users can assign modules based read, add, edit, delete or private access to other users. Preferences has links for granting Access Rights for the following modules:

    • Calendar - Read, Add, Edit, Delete and Private
    • Address Book - Read, Edit and Delete
    • Infolog - Read, Add, Edit, Delete and Private
    • Projects - Read, Add, Edit, Delete and Private
    • Bookmarks -Read, Edit and Delete

      Read privilege - User can view the other users public data.
      Add privilege - User can add entries.
      Edit privilege - User can modify entries.
      Delete privilege - User can delete entries
      Private privilege - User can read private data
    • Access Rights enable team members to share schedules, Addressbook,Infolog, Projects, and Bookmarks on a network.


12.5.1.1 Preferences In the following section , let us take a closer look at the user-level preferences.





12.5.1.1 Change your Settings

The hyperlink Change your Settings lets the user select all the user-level preferences for the groupware: time zone, theme, language, etc.

  1. In the Preferences Menu click Change your Settings to set preferences for the entire egroupware.





  2. You can set a number of options like Time format, Date format, Display name, Curency Symbol, Theme selection, No. of entries per page, show Help messages by default and display user accounts etc. Click Save.


    Preferences
    Max matches per page: Specifies the number of entries that are listed per page. Default is 15.
    Interface/Template Selection: A template defines the layout of eGroupWare and it contains icons for each application.Changes the style of the icons/buttons.
    Theme(color/fonts) Selection: A theme defines the colors and fonts used by the template.Changes the colour scheme of your account.
    Show navigation bar as: Show application as icons only, application name only or as both.
    Time zone offset: Sets the time zone difference from Greenwich time.
    Date format: Specifies the preferred date format. Default is Y/m/d
    Time format: Sets your hour format to 12 or 24 hour time. Default is 24
    Country: Select the Country you are in. This is used to set certain defaults.
    Language: Changes the displayed language of eGroupWare. Select the language of texts and messages within eGroupWare.
    Default application: The default application will be started when you enter eGroupWare or click on the homepage icon.You can also have more than one application showing up on the homepage, if you don't choose a specific application here (has to be configured in the preferences of each application.)
    Currency: Which currency symbol or name should be used in eGroupWare.
    How do you like to select accounts: The selectbox shows all available users (can be very slow on big installs with many users). The popup can search users by name or group.
    How do you like to display accounts: Set this display name to your convenience. For security reasons, you might not want to show your Loginname in public.
    Show helpmessages by default: Should this help messages shown up always, when you enter the preferences or only on request.






12.5.1.2 Calendar

Before you can use Calendar, choose the settings you want for all these categories:

You can set a number of options like Time formats, Weeks starts on, Time interval, Work Hours etc. You can choose to send or not send email reminders about event addition , removal, updation and rejection etc.


Calendar Preferences
Default calendar view: Which of calendar view do you want to see, when you start calendar ? Specifies the default view (Day, Week, Month, or Year)
Receive email updates: Do you want to be notified about new or changed appointments? You be notified about changes you make yourself.
You can limit the notifications to certain changes only. Each item includes all the notification listed above it. All modifications include changes of title, description, participants, but no participant responses. If the owner of an event requested any notifcations, he will always get the participant responses like acceptions and rejections too.
Format of event updates: Extended updates always include the complete event-details.
Notification messages for added events: Include weekends when viewing a week.This message is sent to every participant of events you own, who has requested notifcations about new events.
You can use certain variables which get substituted with the data of the event. The first line is the subject of the email.
Notification messages for cancelled events: This message is sent for canceled or deleted events.
Notification messages for modified events: This message is sent for modified or moved events.
Notification messages for your responses: This message is sent when you accept, tentative accept or reject an event..
Notification messages for your alarms: Should invitations you rejected still be shown in your calendar ?
You can only accept them later (eg. when your scheduling conflict is removed), if they are still shown in your calendar!
Show invitations you rejected: Should the status of the event-participants (accept, reject, ...) be shown in brakets after each participants name ?
Display Status of Events: Should the status of the event-participants (accept, reject, ...) be shown in brakets after each participants name ?
Week day starts on: This day is shown as first day in the week or month viewSpecifies whether the week starts on Sunday or Monday. If Monday is specified, then week numbers will be ISO week numbers.
Work day starts on: This defines the start of your dayview. Events before this time, are shown above the dayview.
This time is also used as a default starttime for new events.
Work day ends on: This defines the end of your dayview. Events after this time, are shown below the dayview.
Intervals in day view: Defines the size in minutes of the lines in the day view.Specifies the time range to display for the day view.
default appointment length(in minutes): Default length of newly created events. The length is in minutes, eg. 60 for 1 hour.
Preselected group for entering the planner: This group that is preselected when you enter the planner. You can change it in the planner anytime you want.
Intervals per day in planner view: Specifies the the number of intervals shown in the planner view.
Default calendar filter: Which events do you want to see when you enter the calendar.
Set new events to private: Should new events be created as private by default ?
Print the mini calendars: Should the mini calendars by printed / displayed in the printer friendly views ?
Print calendars in black & white: Should the printer friendly view be in black & white or in color (as in normal view)?






12.5.1.3 Address Book

  1. Before you can use Address Book , select the fields that should appear in the addressbook main screen.
  2. Check boxes indicate whether the particular field is selected or not for display.
  3. Mark the relevant check boxes.
  4. You can create categories like official, personal, clients etc., and select an default category for display on the main screen.
  5. For example you can mark the fields 'Full Name' , 'Business Phone',' Business E-mail', 'Home Phone' and 'Show birthday reminders on main screen'.
  6. Click Submit to save your preferences.




12.5.1.4 InfoLog

You can set /change Default filter, show/hide links & file-attachments, view subtasks in the normal view and Show unfinished tasks, phonecalls and notes on the main screen.

Infolog Preferences
Show open entries: Tasks / Calls / Notes on main screen: Should InfoLog display your open entries - not finised tasks, phonecalls or notes - on the main screen. Works only if you have not selected an application for the main screen (in your preferences).
Default Filter for Infolog: This is the filter InfoLog uses when you enter the application. Filters limit the entries to show in the actual view. There are filters to show only finished, still open or futures entries of yourself or all users
List no Subs/Childs: Should InfoLog show Subtasks, -calls or -notes in the normal view or not. You can always view the Subs via there parent.
Show in the InfoLog list: Should InfoLog show the links to other applications and/or the
file-attachments in the InfoLog list (normal view when u enter InfoLog).




12.5.1.5 Forum

You can set the default view to threaded or collapsed to view the threads in the forum screen.




12.5.1.6 Projects

You can choose to receive email reminders when you get assigned to a project, changes of tasks and for any changes in milestones due date.




12.5.1.7 Bookmarks


User bookmarks let users bookmark internal or external pages, create categories and organize their personal bookmarks in categories. Bookmarks let the users see their bookmarks, navigate through them, and add new bookmarks. Users can export and import bookmarks from Netscape and Mozilla.


12.5.1.8 Comics

You can set the Display layout, Display options - No. of comics per page -Front Page comic (appears in the Home Page) - Censorship level and Comics - choose comics from a list.





You can change your comic preferences daily.

  1. Click Submit to save your preferences or Reset to retain the preferences.
  2. You will see the message "Comic preferences updated".
  3. Click Done to return to the Preferences Menu.

12.5.1.9 Trouble Ticket System

For each new ticket you create you can set the default settings; Assign the ticket to a particular user, set the ticket proirity to l (lowest) or 5 (medium) or 10 (highest) and so on, specify whether to show new/updated tickets on main screen or not and the refresh rate in seconds for tickets .





12.5.2 Grant Access


Rainmail Users who can can grant Access rights Read, Add, Edit, Delete and Private to other users for the following modules:

  1. To grant Access Control Rights to other users for Calendar application (see Figure Calendar preferences -ACL :uma)



     
  2. Mark the relevant checkboxes and click Save.

  3. To search for an user, enter the username in the text box and click Search.

  4. Use the right and left green arrows for navigation (moving to next and previous pages.)


12.5.3 Edit Categories


Categories are very efficient and timesaving. You can group appointments, contacts, Notes, phonecalls, To do lists, projects ,bookmarks for easy organisation and maintenance by creating categories. Users can create, edit and delete categories & add, edit and delete subcategories for each of the following modules:

  1. Categories facilitate easy filtering of records in Search operations. To add a sub category click the Addsub hyperlink corresponding to the category .To create a user Category (application Calendar) click on the Add button.




  2. In the edit category page that appears,
    1. Select a Parent Category (in this case None).
    2. Give a name to the category (in this case Personal).

    3. Enter an description for the category(in this case Personal events)

    4. Mark the checkbox if the category is private.

    5. Click Save.







12.5.4 Import Bookmarks

  1. Select the Nestcape Bookmark file ( in this case "C:\Program Files\Netscape\Users\uma\bookmark.htm").

  2. Select the Category to which you want to import the bookmark file( in this case General).

  3. Click on the Import Bookmarks button.





  4. You can see the imported categories ( in this case Best of the Web , Inside Netscape ) under the Category General.






12.5.5 Export Bookmarks

  1. Select the Category of the bookmark file to export ( in this case linux).

  2. Select the file Netscape/Mozilla in the list box.

  3. Click on the Export Bookmarks button.



  4. The file download appears. Click Save to save the file.




  5. Select a directory where you want to save the file ( in this case C:\ My Documents \ Mybookmarks\bookmarks.html).





  6. Open the file "bookmarks.html". Click on the link to access the URL.





12.6 Logout

  1. Click the hyperlink 'logout' from the General Menu to close the application.
  2. All your data are stored on a central computer.
  3. That way you can access them, from the very location that is connected to the Internet.

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