Terms and Definitions

Incident – An ITIL term used to describe an unplanned interruption to an IT Service or a reduction in the quality of an IT Service.

Service Request – An ITIL term used to describe a request from a user for information, advice, a standard change, or access to a service.

For more TDX terms and definitions, please refer to the Glossary.

TDNext is an application suite within TeamDynamix (TDX) where the ticketing, asset, and project management applications are housed. As a technician who manages tickets, the TDNext ticketing application is where you will spend much of your time in TeamDynamix.

This job aid provides an overview of the following features in TDNext:

• About Desktops
• Logging in to TDNext
• Setting Up the Main TDNext Desktop
• Changing Between Multiple Desktops
• Additional Resources

About Desktops

There are two types of desktops within TDNext.

The first is the main TDNext Dashboard tab which is a customizable dashboard that functions as a homepage for TDNext and helps you organize your work. The main Dashboard can contain information from multiple modules and applications within TDNext, such as Tickets, Projects, My Work, and others. The items that are available to you in the main dashbaord depend on what applications and modules your unit has access to. The main dashbaord tab also allows you to create multiple defined dashboards, allowing you to customize each dashboard with specific items for your various roles and responsibilities within TDNext. For example, you may create one main dashboard to contain information related to your projects and a second dashboard to contain information related to managing customer requests.

The second type of dashboard is the application-specific dashboard (accessed by clicking on the tab for that application, for example, U of I Training - Tickets). This desktop can only contain information and items from that specific application, and there can be only one defined dashboard for each application. See the Setting Up the Tickets Desktop job aid for more information.

When you log into TDNext for the first time, you may see a blank main dashboard and may be required to set up a new dashboard there. However, some units may implement a prepopulated main dashboard option as the default for your unit. You may still create additional dashboards in the main TDNext dashboard even if your unit has a default dashboard. When you create a new main dashboard, you can select any options from the items presented in the TDNext Dashboard set up process.

Below is a quick reference on the major differences between the two types of dashboards:

Logging in to TDNext

1. Navigate to your TDNext account page or go to https://help.uillinois.edu/TDNext and skip step 2.

   NOTE: TDX recommends using the latest version of either Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox web browsers.

2. Click the link that says Log in to the Technician Portal (TDNEXT).

   

3. Follow the prompts to log in using your NetID, password, and the 2FA process.

   NOTE: The first time you log into TDX, you may see a welcome message appear. You may close the window by clicking the X in the upper right corner or select for that message not to be shown again by clicking the check box at the bottom of the welcome message window.

   

   

Setting Up the Main TDNext Desktop

You can customize the main TDNext Desktop landing page with a variety of items from many different modules to which you have access in TDNext, such as Ticket reports, Service Requests, My Work and People. You may also create and save multiple desktop configurations in the main TDNext Desktop page. Follow the steps below to set up the main TDNext desktop.

1. To create your first desktop, click the Get started creating your first desktop link in the welcome window.

   

   OR to create a new dashboard on the TDNext landing page, click on the HOUSE icon (top left) then click  New Dashboard at the top of the page.

   

2. Type in a name for your dashboard in the Name field. In this example, the name is "Ticket Dashboard"..

   

3. Click the Save button.

   

   NOTE: Clicking the Save button opens the Widget tab which allows you to select the items you want to appear in this desktop.

4. Click the Edit Layout button to the right of the Add Widget to change the layout from the default option.

   

5. Choose a layout from the options presented by clicking on the option. In this example, the 50%|50% option is selected.

   

6. Click on the Add Widget button Under the available content section on the left side, click one of the content options to see what items are available to add to your dashboard.

   

7. To select a widget you want to appear in your dashboard, click the item and the widget will appear on your dashboard.
   

   

8. When you are finished selecting your widgets, click the Save button.

   

9. To set this dashboard as your default, click the Options button, then click the Make this my default dashboard.. Then click the Save button.
   

   

10. To create and save additional desktops, repeat steps 1 through 8.
    
    
11. Optional: For each dashboard, "Auto-refresh" can be set under the "Details" screen. Note: refresh is set to 300 seconds, and the browser tab must be active for it to take effect.
    
    
    
    
12. Click the X in the upper right corner to close the window and return to the TDNext Dashboard.

    

Changing Between Multiple Desktops

1. To switch from your current TDNext Dashboard to another dashboard, click the home icon in the upper left corner of the screen next to the current dashboard In this example, the current dashboard shown is 'U of I-Main'.

   

2. Click on the Manage Dashboards button.
   

   

3. Select the dashboard you want to use from the screen. That dashboard will become your current dashboard.

Additional Resources

• TDNext Overview of TDNext Desktop