ISG Blog

Last Saturday Nic Roser, our ISG service desk analyst, did the shave off, and as promised we now attach the before and after photos.  If you would like to support Nic's cause, CanTeen, you can still do this by making a donation via Givealittle (www.givealittle.co.nz/cause/scshaveoff).  This event has donor validation and all donations made go to CanTeen Wellington division.  So far Nic has raised close to $1,000.  Well done Nic.

And now as promised the Before and after pics.

On Saturday 22nd March Nic Roser, our ISG service desk analyst, will be doing the shave off.  We know some around the territory have already been involved in this (Well done Major Suzanne Stevenson), but if you would like to support Nic's cause, CanTeen, you can do the following:

1. Make a donation via Givealittle (www.givealittle.co.nz/cause/scshaveoff), this event has donor validation and all donations made go to CanTeen Wellington division.

2. Support Nic at The Great Shave Off by cheering Nic on! If you happen to be in Wellington tomorrow, come along and watch the afternoon unfold… you can even join in and also shave off your beard and/or hair too, but no pressure.

More Info: March 22 at 2pm Watch Nic shave off his mighty beard and luscious, luscious locks! The Great Shave Off is being hosted by Southern Cross (located just around the corner from THQ, on Abel Smith Street) and the event raises funds for the local members of CanTeen as well as providing the opportunity of raising awareness of young people aged 13 – 24 living with cancer. 

This is the BEFORE pic and we'll upload an AFTER next week.

Thank You (in advance) for your support.

If you are wanting someone to have access for the first time to any database that you may use at your centre, then this is a very easy process and may not require you to contact ISG for action.

It pays to note that some of TSA Lotus Notes applications/databases are open to any staff member, and some are set up with security access that requires prior approval by the relevant line managers, so you will need to ensure that the person has access to this and if not, a request is sent through to ISG.  

However, giving them the link to the application is a simple process and you can do this yourself by emailing them a link for their workspace. 

Go to your workspace and select the required application.  Then right click on it, and highlight 'Application' , then 'Copy as Link'.

You can now paste the copied link into an email and send it to the appropriate person. The link will look like a small book icon.

They simply need to click on the icon and the link will be automatically added to their workspace.  If they have not been granted access, then when they click on the link Notes will give them an error message stating they are not authorised access.  If this happens, then get the centre manager to send through a request for access to ISG.

Did you know you can search My Details for any TSA employee who has a Lotus Notes account?  And when you find them you will find all the information you need on them.  Full name, the centre they work at, their line manager, relevant phone numbers and address.

And all this is at your finger tips.  We have posted about how to find this through a smart phone (see Searching for a number?).  Today we show you how to find it using your web browser.

Log in to My Details on the QuickLink menu.  On the top far right corner of the window you will see a search field as per the picture below:

Simply search by first name, or surname, or centre name, or job title and My Details will provide you with a list of whomever matches your search criteria.  By selecting the name (highlighted in blue) this will open up the individual's details and give you all the information you are looking for.

I use this all the time, and I would encourage you to do the same.

All TSA users who need a mobile phone in their employed position are eligible for a $299 credit from Vodafone (by taking advantage of this subsidy the request defaults to a 2 year contract).  In addition to this, users can claim additional TSA funds to be used in purchasing a handset (the amount depends on the position - this is explained further on the mobile phone request form).

All subsidies must be approved by both the relevant manager and Management Board prior to being actioned by ISG.

Any costs above the relevant TSA funds available are a personal cost and must be paid prior to the phone being ordered.  When you apply for a new connection/upgrade using the subsidy, this automatically becomes a 2 year contract plan.

When a user has spent personal money on obtaining a handset, they can take the handset with them when they leave the employment/officership within TSA.  The rules that apply are:

·         If the handset is less than 6 months old then all 50% of the Vodafone subsidy and 50% of TSA funds must be reimbursed as a personal cost.

·         Should the handset be more than 6 months old then there will be no financial cost to the user taking the handset.

The SIM card and the mobile phone number remains the property of The Salvation Army and may not be taken by any departing employee or officer.  However, if a departing employee or officer wishes to keep the number associated with the SIM then they will be personally responsible for any/all costs associated with disconnecting the SIM (and phone number) from the TSA contract.

It’s important for us to remember that a lot of the organisation’s funding comes from the public and so we need to be wise in how we go about spending this, and understand the perception of how we go about spending these funds may be viewed by the general public.

We all know about the "Out of Office" function in Lotus Notes, and how useful a function it is to use when you are away either on holiday, at a conference, on sick leave etc.  It helps those who have sent you an email to know when to expect a response from you.

But did you know that you can send different messages to different people with this functionality? For example, you may be away at a course or conference, and you want the generic emails to simply be told you are out of the office, and that you are unable to check on emails, but you want those in your team to know in urgent cases they can text you.  Or you are on holiday and again generic users just need to be notified when you will be back, but you can send a response to your team that says "Haha I'm on holiday and you're not" :-) or maybe something a little more professional.

To do this is very simple.  Simply follow these steps:

1. Go to your Inbox, and select 'More' > 'Out of Office..'

2.  The window that opens allows you to set your out of office for all incoming emails.  Set the date you are 'Leaving', 'Returning' and the 'Additional Body text:' is for what you want the reply email to say.  If you don't want to set a separate message to a select few, then just click on 'Enable and Close' and your out of office is now set.

3.  However, if you do need to have a separate message for the select few, then before "Enabling" select the 'Alternate Notification' tab, and in 'To' field enter the group, or individual email address to whom the message will relate to, and under  'Additional Body text' type the relevant information necessary. then 'Enable and Close'.

4.  A third option is to stop the out of office email being sent to specific groups or emails. This would be used for the likes of ISG Job Track notifications etc.  In the 'Sent by' field, enter the email address(es) which you do not want notified of your leave, as shown below.  Once done 'Enable and Close'.

Hope you have found this useful, and remember its common courtesy to let people know you are away and give them options of who to contact while you are away, or that you will respond to them on your return.

If your computer has recently upgraded itself to the latest version of Internet Explorer (IE11) then the webmail page may not display correctly.

If it looks similar to below - fear not there is an easy fix!

We need to tell Internet Explorer to "pretend" to be an older version of itself for this website to display properly.  This function is known as Compatibility View.

To do this, you need to go into the Tools menu (cog icon in the top right-hand corner, or ALT>Tools), then choose Compatibility View settings

You should see a screen like this:

Note how that window already has "sarmy.net.nz" in the "Add this website" box.

Click the [Add] button.

(if by chance that box is empty, then manually type 'sarmy.net.nz' into the top box then click the [Add] button).

Now that the website "sarmy.net.nz" is in the larger middle box in that window click the [Close] button.  That will make Internet Explorer automatically refresh the webmail page, and presto! Your webmail should now display correctly.

Note that this list of websites to display in "Compatibility View" is a per user & per computer setting.

SO you may well have to repeat these steps for YOURSELF if you use other computers.

And other people who use the same computer as you may also have to repeat this procedure.

Or you could use Google's Chrome as an alternative web browser to Internet Explorer.

Does your Inbox fill up with emails that you don't want to see (junk) or that you file in a specific folder to be read later (i.e. newsletters etc).  Then Quick Rule is what you need.

Create rules more quickly by basing them on the characteristics of a selected message.  Use them to trap junk mail or to assign high importance to messages.

The following steps will help you create it.  First go to your Inbox, then:

1. Select a message that has the characteristics you wish to use in the rule (eg. sender, subject, etc)
2. [Click] 'More' and choose 'Create QuickRule...'
3. Select and set the conditions for the rule. Choose whether one or all conditions must be met.
4. Choose the action to perform, such as 'Move to folder','Change importance to High' or 'Do not accept message'. Complete information as per screen request then [Click] Ok.

These rules are visible in the Tools > Rules view.  This is found on the left hand side of the Inbox screen, below the list of folders. To modify any rule, simply double click on the rule and make the necessary changes.

If your Inbox is anything like mine, its is constantly full  and I will often file emails into various folders I have created as I work through the various requests.

The problem with this is that occasionally I want to go back and find that one particular email that has some information I often refer to, or that I need to regularly get the information in it to pass on to others, or I need to find the email that I needed to follow up on and it can take me a while to remember who sent it, where I stored it or how to go about finding it.

There are two options:

Option 1 is DO A SEARCH.

In Folders pane, you will see listed "All Documents".  Select this, then on the top toolbar select 'View', then 'Search this view'.  A search field will appear at the top of your email listing.  Simply type in the name of the person, the subject, or any other keyword that you believe the email contains, and Lotus Notes will then present you with its findings.  The All Documents view, is really helpful as it will search through your Inbox, Sent, Draft, and any other folders you may have created.  If you were to run the search just in the Inbox, this would limit the search capability.

Option 2 is FLAG A MESSAGE FOR FOLLOW UP.

Select the email(s) you wish to flag.  Click on the Flag icon  and choose 'Quick Flag' to set a default flag based on your existing preferences.  To set custom flag options, choose 'Add or Edit Flag...' then set options and click OK.

The selected flagged items will now appear in the follow up View, which is usually located on bottom left hand corner of LN window in either the Inbox or Calendar view.

To view the email message simply double click on this list.

Over the next few weeks, the blog will be focusing on a few pointers on how to best use Lotus Notes. If you have been using Lotus Notes for a while, you may already know some of the aspects shown. Refreshers are never a bad thing though.  So we hope this series is helpful to you.

During the first part of this series we will be focusing on Lotus Notes Mail.

Today's tip and trick is on creating 'Stationery'.

As part of your role, do you have certain emails that need to be sent out on a regular basis, where only some minor changes are required, or where you constantly look for the one email you sent out last week, and then copy and paste into the new email to save you typing it all over again?

Well, Lotus Notes has the ability for you to create what they call 'stationery' which is basically a template for any email you send out regularly, ie. a monthly report, Team meeting minutes, etc.

CREATING STATIONERY

To create stationery, simply create a new email message (shortcut key Ctrl+M).  Type up the regular information into the email body, including recipients, i.e. Leadership team members, subject line and body text information.  As much or as little information as you want.

Note that this can be either the full email you would normally send, or just the 'bones' of the email for you to add information to when you are ready to send it, i.e. attach the Minutes as a document to the email once they have been completed.

Once you are happy with this, click on More and select "Save as Stationery..."

You will be asked to name the stationery, so just give it a name that makes sense to you what its for.

USING STATIONERY

To use the Stationery, you go to your Inbox, select 'More' and choose "New Message with Stationery..."

Choose the desired stationery (should you have a number of them) and click 'OK'.

Complete your message and send in the usual way.  The original Stationery will stay in the list of Stationery.

VIEWING STATIONERY LIST

To view all created stationery, go to the Folder pane and click on "Tools" then "Stationery".  This will show all the stationery you have created, where you can manage these, and delete them if no longer necessary.

We have had a few requests recently from some of our users asking for various printers to be connected to their machines.

Did you know the Salvation Army currently has a nationwide Service and Rental Agreement with FujiXerox for all our printing needs?

We understand that a $100 printer from the local IT store can look attractively cheap while on the shelf, but when you calculate all the ongoing costs of such a machine plus take into consideration the quality of printing etc, you will find it very hard to beat the competitiveness of a FujiXerox machine.

All you need to do is complete the FujiXerox - Printer Request form found on the intranet under ISG Forms, and then submit this through your relevant Divisional or Nationally Managed Management Board.  We will then submit to FX who will find the 'best fit' machine according to your need and volume.  There is no cost to getting the machine, and the agreement is for payment on a per copy/print basis.

This is 3 cents ($0.0345) per A4 black, and 15 cents ($0.15) per A4 colour copy.  This includes the service agreement which means when your machine needs to be looked at, it just involves a call from you direct to FX to send their technician out to you.  The only other cost is the cost of the paper you use.

It couldn't be simpler, so next time you are needing a new printer for your Corps/Centre... think FujiXerox !!

There are times when you will need to provide access to your mail file to others in the office (eg.  your assistant, when you are on leave for an extended period and someone is looking after your role, etc).

So this blog entry is to assist you with doing exactly this.  Often we will receive a request for this in ISG, and we thought it may be easier if you learned how to do this yourself, which would then make the process quicker for you, and ISG is then given more time to work on the various other jobs we get.

So here are the steps to follow to do just that:

First you need to open your mailbox. Once there select ‘Preferences’ from the More options button. 

Click the ‘Access and Delegation’ tab. 

This allows you to add/remove users who can access your mail, and change what access they have. 

If you are giving someone access for the first time they will need a link to access your mailbox. The easiest way to do this is to email them a link for their workspace. 

To do this simply right click your mailbox (on your workspace) and select application – copy as link. 

You can now paste the copied link into an email and send it to the appropriate person. 

They simply need to click on the icon and the link will be automatically added to their workspace and it will also open the Inbox/Calendar on their screen.

Congratulations to all officers who have recently moved to new appointments.  We pray God's richest blessings on you as you prepare to serve Him in a new appointment.

We thought it appropriate to bring your attention to some things that would be good to be told or reminded of, specially, but not specifically, as you move to a new Corps/centre.  So here's a condensed list below:

Access to Lotus Notes Applications and Server Drives

ISG don't have a list of how every appointment works, so unfortunately we don't always know what access you need. After you've familiarised yourself with your brief (where it should say what you need) if you don't know how to access things, or don't seem to have permission simply contact ISG. We'd like to be able to do this automatically as part of the COA (change of appointment) process, so a project is in place to gather this information.  However it's a long process!

Contacting ISG

ISG can be contacted in a variety of ways. You can either log a job using MyDetails, email ISG or phone the help desk on (04) 802 6262.  If you use these methods then you can be sure the ISG team will see your job.  If you email a service desk member direct, you may not get the prompt action required as they may be away, and only the individual will look into their Inbox.  Following the above process ensures a job is logged and anyone in the ISG team can see and action your request.

We would recommend any password issues be looked at by calling the help desk on (04)802 6262.

ISG Rental Machines

ISG rental machines (laptops, desktops) are replaced before the warranty expires. This means that if you're warranty expires 1/1/2015, your machine will be replaced sometime during 2014. This is done with a number machines around the territory to take advantage of specials and allow us to bulk buy machines where possible. 

If you have a machine on site, and are NOT using this machine, you can send it back to ISG at any time to stop the monthly rental charges! Just email ISG to confirm how to go about this. 

Getting a new rental machine is done through your local DHQ, as they require sign off. However the forms are available on the Intranet, under Departments & Services > ISG Forms.

Data Locations

For those of you in a rental site which has a rental server, the following information ensures everything is backed up in the correct location here is a brief look at what each drive is for. 

Shared Drives

G Drive - Group drive. Anything shared within your department (or specific roles) should be saved in here. Access is limited to the folders. If you require a new folder setup or a report of who has access to a particular folder this can be arranged.

H Drive - Home drive. This is your personal drive for your work files. Everything on your H: is stored on the server. Whilst some personal documents are allowed to be stored here we ask you keep these to a minimum. 

P Drive - Public drive - Everything on this drive is accessible by everyone. Do not store secure or confidential data here. 

M Drive - Media drive.  All media (videos, audio files, large amounts of photos or pictures) should be stored on this drive. 

Local Drives

C Drive - System Drive. Anything stored on this drive is NOT backed up on the server. This drive is primarily for storing application Data. (this is where your programs are installed)

D Drive - Data Drive. This is a local 'data' drive. If you save things here they are NOT backed up on the server. 
* Not all of you will have a D Drive. Also if you have a laptop a copy of your 'H Drive' data is stored here so you can access it off site. 

Remember, the backups can only work as intended if data is stored in the correct drives. 

In regards to personal media (specifically music or videos)...

Due to legal reasons any personal media cannot be stored on Salvation Army infrastructure. You cannot store your personal music or videos on your Home Drive or the Media Drive due to copy right laws. Even though this music has been purchased by you as an individual the Salvation Army cannot risk being seen as partaking in unintentional Piracy.   If you believe you need to (or really want to) have music on your computer for listening to at work this can be placed locally on your machine. 

Other personal media

Personal data can be stored on your machines BUT we'd ask you save them somewhere other then your H: Drive. (ie create a personal folder on the D: drive for best use of this). 

This is basically so personal data doesn't get backed up (causing a bunch of intellectual property dilemmas and possible copyright infringement).

It also stops the servers getting clogged!

 If you have any queries about the backup system, or where you should be saving data please contact ISG on 04 802 6262 or email us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

We trust this is useful information for you.  

Following on from yesterday's blog on creating a Wi-Fi hotspot, today we focus on doing this on a Galaxy S3 mini.  As you all know, The Salvation Army is no longer making data sticks available to users as all mobile phone plans include a 1.5GB data bundle.  This is more than enough data to keep you going while away from your desk, or away from your Wi-fi connections, then you can connect your laptop to a phone data plan to be able to use it.

The following are the steps to follow to create and connect a Galaxy S3 mini portable Wi-Fi hotspot to your 'portable' device, i.e. tablet, ipad, or laptop.

1. On your mobile phone, go to 'Settings'
   
   
2. Under 'DataUsage', select '... More settings'
   
   
3. Select 'Tethering and portable hotspots'
   
   
4. Select 'Portable Wi-Fi hotspot settings'
   
5. Select 'Configure'
   
6. Either leave the default settings or rename the Network SSID and select a password.  In this example the network SSID has been set as 'My Samsung Hotspot' and password as 'myS3h0tsp0t'.  Then select 'Save'.
   
   
7. On your mobile device (laptop, ipad) ensure your Wi-Fi connection is on. Then select the newly set up Wi-Fi hotspot (in this case 'My Samsung Hotspot')  
   
8. Type in your password.  If you have left the default password in your mobile phone, then go back to step 5. and select 'Show password' and type the data shown into your laptop. 
   
   

The connection will then become live and you are now ready to use your internet connection on your device.

ISG intends to provide several tips, tricks and how to's in the blog throughout 2014 so why not subscribe to the ISG blog so that you don't miss the blog entries in this coming year.  Just scroll to the top of the screen and click on 'Subscribe to blog'.

As you all know, The Salvation Army is no longer making data sticks available to users as all mobile phone plans include a 1.5GB data bundle.  This is more than enough data to keep you going while away from your desk, or away from your Wi-fi connections, then you can connect your laptop to a phone data plan to be able to use it.

This requires you to set up the name and password on your phone, and then connect it to your laptop, and after it has been done, your laptop should remember the connection, and every time you turn your Wi-Fi hot spot on, it will recognise the connection and you simply have to select it.

The following are the steps to follow to create and connect a HTC Desire X portable Wi-Fi hotspot to your 'portable' device, i.e. tablet, ipad, or laptop.

1. On your mobile phone, go to 'Settings'
   
   
2. Under 'Mobile Data', Select '... More'
   
   
3. Select 'Mobile network sharing'
   
   
4. Select 'Portable Wi-Fi hotspot settings'
   
   
5. Either leave the default settings or rename the Router name (SSID) and select a password.  In this example the Router name has been set as 'My HTC Hotspot' and password as 'myHTCh0tsp0t'.
   
   
6. On your mobile device (laptop, ipad) ensure your Wi-Fi connection is on. Then select the newly set up Wi-Fi hotspot (in this case 'My HTC hotspot') and type in your password.  If you have left the default password in your mobile phone, then go back to step 5. and select 'Show password' and type the data shown into your laptop.  
   
   

The connection will then become live and you are now ready to use your internet connection on your device.

Our next blog entry will show you how to connect a Samsung Galaxy SIII to a personal Wi-Fi hotspot, so subscribe to the ISG blog so that you don't miss the blog entries in this coming year.

Through the Christmas and New Year period there will be limited support. There are the statutory holidays that we won't be working, then some days where there are a limited number of people available. This doesn't mean you can't get support, just that there will be significantly less of us here to help.

Tuesday 24 December - Limited coverage due to THQ Christmas event

CHRISTMAS & BOXING DAYS - Closed

Friday 27th, Monday 30th, and Tuesday 31st December - Limited coverage available between 9am and 4:30pm

NEW YEARS & day after New Years day - Closed

Friday 3rd January - Limited coverage available between 9am and 4:30pm

From Monday the 6th of January things will progressively return to normal and you will be able to contact us during normal business hours. 

Remember the online version of Job Track (accessed via the Intranet) is a great way to log jobs and post your own updates into any request that you have open. 

Many of you have recently discovered that when typing a new email address within Lotus Notes, it no longer auto populates the field as it once did.  

Recent issues with email addresses has meant that we needed to make changes to how the auto populate works so that emails were not sent to incorrect email addresses.  We have heard plenty of news items on sensitive information being emailed to incorrect email addresses and the issues this can cause to an organisation, and we did not want The Salvation Army to be another headline.

So when typing an email, it is imperative that the email address is checked before sending it.  

If the email is being sent to a Salvation Army email address then you can follow the following steps to assist you in getting the right email address:

1. Create a new email (memo) and start typing the email address.  A list will appear with some options.  This list is collated from your own contacts (and recent contacts) list.
   
   
   
2. You will note the last item on the list is Search Directory for "xxx", where xxx is the characters you have typed in the field above.  By selecting this, the list will amend itself to only show what is in the Territorial Address book and will show as this:
   
   
   
3. Locate the right email address and select it.
   
   
4. The go ahead and finish typing your email.

As per usual, if you're experiencing any other difficulties please use the normal channels to advise us (MyDetails/Job Track Quicklink from the Intranet or for critical matters phone 04 802 6262). Thanks. 

I recently received a copy of an article came from Firefox  that I thought might very useful to the territory users who are requested to put in a new password every 90 days.  You may find it useful too...

Passwords Dos and Don'ts

There’s a saying when it comes to online passwords: they’re like a toothbrush. That’s because you want a good toothbrush (just like a password), you should change it often (just like a password) and you should never share it (just like a password!).

There are some key dos and don’ts that can help:

DON’T

·         use personal information that could be easily guessed or accessed, like your birthday (which happens more often than you might think) — it’s easy for you to remember, but easy for someone shady to find

·         use actual words that you can find in actual language (any language)

·         use the same password for all of your accounts

DO

·         use a different password for each account

·         combine capital letters, numbers and special characters

·         change your password once every three months or so — and immediately if a site notifies you of a security breach

By now you’re probably thinking, “I can’t remember my keys in the morning. How am I supposed to remember all these new passwords all the time?”

Here are a few steps to creating easy-to-remember passwords that are still secure.

1.    Choose a phrase — let’s try “The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.”

2.    Use the first letter in each word and capitalize the first one: Tqbfjotld

3.    Make it stronger by adding a special character: Tqbfjotld!

4.    Now, associate it with each website you log in to. For example, you could use YT for YouTube, FB for Facebook, your bank’s initials — you get the point. So your password would now look like this:

YTTqbfjotld! (for YouTube)
FBTqbfjotld! (for Facebook)
and so on, and so on…

Choosing secure passwords will go a long way to keeping you safe online.

A new area has been added to the intranet under ISG, and this is the Tip Sheets area, which can be found under Department and Services; ISG Help Desk; ISG Tip Sheets.

The Tip Sheets have been designed with the end user in mind, and they range from how to load Lotus Traveler on your smart phone, and how to get help from ISG, to how to use the intranet.  Some are tip and tricks you can use when operating Lotus Notes or Microsoft Office products.

Don't forget to first log in to the intranet for full access.

We are hopeful that there will be a lot more tip sheets that will be added to this area, and it will be useful to periodically check this area from time to time.  It might even be useful to download these and add then to your induction packs for new staff.

If you have any ideas of what might be helpful, then let Peter Hennessey know.  We may be able to assist and create a new tip sheet which w3ill be made available to all in the territory.

You still won’t get everyone to read your messages, but you can increase the percentage, which is only good for you and your organization.

From 10 WAYS TO MAKE PEOPLE ACTUALLY READ YOUR EMAILS (By Erik Sherman, business and tech writer for Inc, The New York Times Magazine, Fortune, and more.)