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 Desktop tab (accessed by clicking the Desktop tab) which is a customizable dashboard that functions as a homepage for TDNext and helps you organize your work. The main Desktop 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 desktop depend on what applications and modules your unit has access to. The main desktop tab also allows you to create multiple defined desktops, allowing you to customize each desktop with specific items for your various roles and responsibilities within TDNext. For example, you may create one main desktop to contain information related to your projects and a second desktop to contain information related to managing customer requests.

The second type of desktop is the application-specific desktop (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 desktop 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 desktop and may be required to set up a new desktop there. However, some units may implement a prepopulated main desktop option as the default for your unit. You may still create additional desktops in the main TDNext desktop even if your unit has a default desktop. When you create a new main desktop, you can select any options from the items presented in the TDNext Desktop set up process.

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

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 desktop on the TDNext Desktop landing page, click +New Desktop at the top of the page.

   

2. Type in a name for your desktop in the Name field. In this example, the name is “Training Desktop.

   

3. Click the Save button.

   

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

   

4. Click the Edit Layout button 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 33-33-33%/100% option is selected.

   

6. Under the Available Content section on the left side, click one of the module options to see what items are available to add to your desktop.

   

7. To select an item you want to appear in your desktop, click the item and drag it to the column where you want it to appear.

   

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

   

   NOTE: A note appears next to the Save button at the top of the screen indicating Changes saved.

9. To set this desktop as your default, click the Details tab, then click the Set as Default button.

   

10. To create and save additional desktops, repeat steps 1 through 8.
    
    
11. Optional: For each desktop, "Auto-refresh" can be set under the "Details" tab. 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 Desktop.

    

Changing Between Multiple Desktops

1. To switch from your current TDNext Desktop to another desktop, click the arrow in the upper right corner of the screen next to the current desktop name. In this example, the current desktop shown is “Help Desk Technician.

   

2. Select from the list the desktop you want to switch to, which activates the new desktop.

   

   NOTE: The new desktop title will show in the desktop list viewer window. In this example, the “Training Desktop” is now the active desktop.

   

Additional Resources

• TDNext Overview of TDNext Desktop