Usage guide: Outlook assisted troubleshooting
This page outlines various ways to use the pack, including use case examples.
Administrators can refer to the Configuration guide: Outlook assisted troubleshooting to set up and customize the installed content.
The Outlook assisted troubleshooting library pack enables EUC teams to:
Simplify and accelerate the Outlook troubleshooting process for the Service Desk agent by reducing the steps they need to perform to investigate and/or resolve the issue.
Speed up Service Desk ticket resolution by automating common repetitive remediation steps.
Provide an automated, guided process for recreating an Outlook profile on macOS devices.
In addition, this library pack contains remote actions and campaigns to ask permission to make changes and to check for problem resolution.
Library pack uses
Jump to Use cases on this page to see relevant scenario applications.
Use the library pack content for the following purposes.
Visibility
This library pack focuses on the Outlook assisted troubleshooting workflow. It gathers information on the local Outlook installation and provides remediation where required, then asks for user confirmation whether the issue is resolved or not before proceeding.
An ITSM ticket is updated at each step of this process.
Workflow triggering
This workflow is intended to be launched on a specific device during a call with an employee or in response to an issue raised by an employee experiencing Outlook stability issues. This can be achieved using Device View (as shown below) or from Amplify.
An ITSM ticket should be raised before launching the workflow, as it will be updated during its operation.
Workflow parameter: This workflow has one parameter, "sys_id." This ITSM ticket reference will be used throughout the workflow as information is added. It should be entered manually when the workflow is executed.
Collecting the incident sys_id from ServiceNow
To retrieve the 'sys_id' reference from ServiceNow:
Open the ticket.
Click on the menu button in the top left of the screen.
Select
Copy sys_idfrom the drop-down list.
The sys_id can now be pasted directly into the workflow parameter.
The workflow operates differently on Windows and macOS devices. On Windows, the employee is guided through multiple stages of Outlook troubleshooting terminating with the opportunity to recreate the Outlook profile. On macOS, the workflow is dedicated to the Outlook profile recreation process.
Use cases (Windows)
In addition to the relevant use cases covered below, you may uncover other troubleshooting scenarios specific to your environment.
Checking Outlook status
A campaign informs the employee that troubleshooting is available, and requests permission to proceed.
A remote action checks whether Outlook is running online or offline. If Outlook is offline, a second remote action is automatically run to set Outlook online. If this fails, the ITSM ticket is updated, and the workflow is terminated. Once Outlook is confirmed as being online, the workflow continues.
A remote action installs the corporate-approved COM add-ins to Outlook.
A campaign prompts the user to confirm whether or not their issue has been resolved.
If the remediation process is successful, the ITSM ticket is updated, and the workflow is terminated.
If any issues remain, check for recent Outlook crashes on the device. Issues are reported through an ITSM ticket update, and the workflow continues.
Repairing Office
The next stage in the process is run a 'Quick repair' on the Office365 installation, which detects and then replaces corrupted files. This should take about 5 minutes.
A campaign asks the user for permission. If refused, the workflow continues. If granted, a remote action launches the repair process.
The workflow checks if the remote action was successful and then continues. In either case, the user is asked if their issue has been resolved.
If the Office repair is successful, the ITSM ticket is updated and the workflow is terminated. If not, the workflow continues.
Investigating Outlook storage
To perform the recreation process, the device must undergo a number of checks.
If the Outlook profile is configured with a PST file, it cannot be recreated automatically.
The existence of a PST file on a network drive is not supported.
If the Outlook profile is configured with two OST files, this implies the existence of two email addresses, which will also require the profile to be manually recreated.
In either case, the ITSM ticket is updated, and the workflow is terminated.
The final check is for an OST file that has exceeded the size threshold. This may be resolved when the profile is recreated, so the workflow continues but with a note added to the ITSM ticket for reference.
Recreating Outlook profiles
A remote action records the configuration of the current profile.
The user is asked to confirm that their profile can be recreated.
A remote action removes the Outlook profile from the device and renames its OST storage file.
The user is asked to open Outlook and complete the profile set up.
The workflow checks the campaign's status. If the user reports a problem, the ITSM ticket is updated and the workflow terminates.
The Outlook profile should now have been recreated.
The profile recreation remote action runs again in validation mode and checks whether or not an Outlook profile is present.
The ITSM ticket is updated and the workflow is terminated. The L1 agent has the opportunity to analyze the process for any underlying issues or close the ticket.
Use cases (macOS)
Recreating Outlook profiles
On macOS devices this workflow will guide the user through the process of recreating their Outlook profile.
The user is asked to confirm that their profile can be recreated
The remote action launches the application 'Outlook profile manager' on the device
The profile recreation walkthrough campaign is launched on the device
The workflow checks the campaign's status. If the user reports a problem, the ITSM ticket is updated and the workflow terminates.
The Outlook profile should now have been recreated.
The profile recreation remote action runs again in validation mode and checks whether or not an Outlook profile is present.
The ITSM ticket is updated and the workflow is terminated. The L1 agent has the opportunity to analyze the process for any underlying issues or close the ticket.
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