[rt-users] some basic "getting started" questions

[Bob Goldstein]

>That would be fantastic, we're not likely to flip the switch on RT for a
>month or so yet, even though I'm pushing, so that would fit in very
>well.
>Sounds like I could set it up so a user could send a command like "list
>tickets" and get back a list of tickt ids, summaries and status too!
>

  That's not part of the functionality I'm working on,
  although you could enhance it.  I don't want to give you
  a false sense of what I can provide.

  Right now, the way RT works, a consultant does something
  to a ticket on the web (create, append, resolve, assign, etc)
  and RT then notifies requestors and watchers via email.
  The mail interface I'm working on lets a consultant "do
  something to a ticket" via email instead of the web,
  and then the normal RT processes notify the usual suspects
  by email. But there are no normal processes that email
  lists of ticket ids, summaries, and status in response
  to a query; rather only info about a transaction to a single ticket.

  The way we will use it here is this:

     1. Consultant A is a member of the systems group, which is
        a watcher of the systems queue.

     2. A ticket is created (or modified) in the systems queue,
        and notification is sent everyone in the systems group.

     3. Consultant A sees the email.  Instead of opening a browser
        and finding the ticket, he just hits "reply" to the email,
	types in "close\nThis is covered in the FAQ" and sends
	the reply.

     4. A mail pre-processor turns this into:
         "RT-status: resolved\n\nThis is covered in the FAQ"
	 and sends it on.

     5. The new RT funtions parse this, add the append and
        change the status to "resolved."

  However, if Consultant A wants to see a list of his open problems,
  or to take any other action on multiple tickets, he has to
  use the web.


  Our use of custom fields stem from the fact that other parts
  of the university use other ticket systems.  In order to
  transfer tickets from a "foreign" system to RT, I need to
  fish out the foreign ticket-id and store that in a custom field,
  by the same mechanism.

         
        bobg