Getting Help (How To Get Value Out of Technical Support)

CAPITAL Office comes equipped with a comprehensive on-line help system. This help system is context sensitive, so the help information will change, depending on where you are in the system. To access the help system press F1 or click on Help.

Problem Solving Guidelines

Often the most efficient way to solve problems is to fix them yourself! The guidelines will help you do that or will help you to make best use of CAPITAL Office's technical support services.

1. Think carefully about what you are doing.

Pay close attention to what you are trying to do and reconsider each step carefully. Consult the on-line help for more information, hints and tips. You can do this by pressing F1 or clicking on the Help button found on many CAPITAL dialogs.

It can also help to discuss what you are trying to do with someone else, even if that person is not familiar with what you are trying to do. The right answer might pop into your head.

2. Try to determine whether the problem is one of education. Is the answer in the documentation?

You should at least try to consult the instructional manuals that come with CAPITAL Office, or preferably the help file which is likely to be more up to date, before contacting technical support. If you can’t understand something in the manual CAPITAL support staff are interested in finding out what this is so that constant improvements can be made to the documentation. Don’t forget to consult the contents pages and the indexes, which are very comprehensive.

3. Before you try looking for complex solutions recheck all the obvious things.

This may sound obvious but even the most experienced users--perhaps the most experienced users are the most guilty--tend to fall into this trap. Simple reasons for a problem are more likely to be to blame then complex reasons.

For example, your software may not print properly because of a loose cable connection, rather than because of some esoteric network spooler time-out buffer reset configuration setting! The other advantage of checking the obvious is that is generally easy and fast to do.

4. If you have a bit of computer knowledge then you should try to determine if the problem is related to a conflict with some other hardware or software.

Many--some might say most--problems are caused by conflicts with programs that work fine independently of each other but can cause problems when they try to work together. Try to reduce your system to the simplest configuration possible (that will still operate). Remove (or change) device drivers, automated back-up programs, virus scanners, screen savers, etc., and see if the problem is resolved. If it is, try introducing each component one step at a time until you find the most likely suspect.

5. Try to isolate the cause of the problem or determine if the problem can be repeated.

This is very easy if you get a problem that always happens when you try to perform a specific task. However, if you get, say, an error message that appears to be randomly coming and going, there may well be a pattern to the problem. Once the pattern is determined you, or CAPITAL Office Technical Support, will be much closer to a solution. Carrying out this procedure can save everyone the most time and money.

Before Contacting CAPITAL Office Business Software

1. Fax out any print-outs, screen images, output from reports, etc., that you think may be relevant.

This can greatly assist CAPITAL Office Technical Support. Make sure you put your contact details on the documentation. It's not uncommon for Technical Support to be faxed a document with the words HELP! on it, and the description of a problem, yet have no contact names or numbers...

2. You are much better off asking for Technical Support rather than for a specific technical support person.

Especially if the problem you have is new. If you ask for a specific person, that person may not be available for some time and often questions can be answered by other technical support personnel.

Please keep in mind that CAPITAL Office's support center, like most software support centers, prefers to scale up its technical support queries depending on the difficulty of the question. Many problems and questions are easily resolved by basic support staff. Complex problems may have to be handled by the Development Team working in conjunction with Technical Support. Only the Technical Support department will be able to determine whether they can help you with your problems or not. The Development Team has very limited resources available for helping end-users, so all questions must first be directed to Technical Support.

3. Make sure you are able to present a concise description of the problem at the onset of the call.

You should always explain what is going wrong first.. You can then explain what lead you up to the problem. If the technical support person handling the call does not know what the problem is, then it will not be possible for that person to put the information you are providing into any kind of context. This will waste both your time and CAPITAL Office's time.

4. Make sure you are able to provide the following minimum additional information:

This includes the name of the product you are using and the version number of the product. This information is available on the About dialog box found on the Windows menu when you first start the program.

The operating system you are using, i.e., Windows 98, Windows NT 4, etc.

Whether you have a network, and if so, what version and brand.

5. If an error appears try to record it.

The error message is vital in helping CAPITAL Office determine the nature of the problem. If may also be helpful if you can remember what you did leading up to the problem and make a note of that as well.

Your software also has an in-built error reporting system that can print a technical description of the problem, that may help Technical Support or the Development Team. For this to work you must have a printer connected locally to your system. (CAPITAL does not attempt to send the information to a network printer in case the problem is in the network--because this runs the risk of generating a new error and confusing the original cause of the problem.)

It can be very helpful to fax such information to CAPITAL Office Technical Support before contacting us for support. If a problem occurs, and CAPITAL can print a description of the problem, it will prompt you to print a report. It is recommended you do so.

6. CAPITAL Office Technical Support may ask you to try different things on your computer.

You should try to ring within easy reach of your screen and keyboard.

7. Think about getting a Support Agreement.

Support Agreement holders automatically and periodically get upgrades sent to them that fix problems and introduce new features. We are always trying to improve the documentation and help files and make the program easier to use. As well, if technical support is very busy, Support Agreement Holders get priority access to support services.

8. Think about getting a Modem Service Agreement.

The agreement allows technical support staff to access your system during or after working hours from anywhere in Australia and even overseas. It’s often just as good as having an experienced technical expert sitting right in front of your computer screen. It’s a highly recommended insurance policy. Contact CAPITAL Office Business Software for the latest pricing on Modem Service Agreements.

9. The number one cause of frustration for technical support staff is not being provided with enough information to help you. Provide as much detail as you can!

If you ask a vague question you can, unfortunately, only expect to get a vague answer back. Always keep in mind that there are thousands of other users out there often doing entirely different things with the same software. It’s important not to assume that the way you are using the package is the norm. The more information you can provide about what you are doing and what you would like to do, the more likely you will be satisfied with the response you get from Technical Support. The better you can document your problem, the more likely someone will be able to resolve your problem quickly.