01What is Ping?
Ping is a website where you can ask your IT help desk for help. You can send a support request, add screenshots or other files, see how your request is going, and tell us whether the problem was fixed. You don't need to send an email or make a phone call.
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Where is it? | The web address your help desk gave you (for example, helpdesk.pnw.com). Ping works in any web browser. |
| How do I sign in? | With your work email address and a one-time code that is emailed to you. There is no password. See Signing in. |
| What is it best for? | IT requests, questions and follow-ups that are not urgent. |
| What if it's urgent? | For a serious outage that can't wait, phone your help desk directly. |
02Signing in
You sign in with your work email address. There is no password to remember. Each time you sign in, Ping emails you a 6-digit code.
- Open Ping in your web browser, type your work email address and click Continue.
- Click Send One-Time Code. Within a minute you'll get an email from your help desk mailbox with a 6-digit code.
- Type the code and click Verify Code. A code works for 10 minutes. If it has run out, click Resend code.
Once you're in, you stay signed in for 8 hours in that browser.
When you're done, click your name at the top right and choose Sign out.
Who can sign in
Anyone with an email address at a company your help desk supports, and anyone who has sent the help desk a support request before. If your email address isn't recognized, no code is sent. Email or phone your help desk and they will add you.
No code? Look in your junk or spam folder, and add your help desk's email address to your safe senders list.
Help desk staff will never ask you for your code or a password. Don't share your code with anyone.
03The message banner
Sometimes a banner appears at the top of Ping with a helpful message, such as a holiday notice, a service reminder or an IT tip. It's for information only. Click ✕ to close it.
04Sending a new request
- On the home screen, click + Submit a New Request.
- In Subject, type a short description of the problem.
- Choose a Priority: Low, Normal, High or Urgent.
- In Details, tell us as much as you can: what happened, when it started, and what you've already tried.
- If you like, add files such as screenshots, photos or error logs. See Adding files.
- Click Submit. A confirmation email is sent to the address you signed in with.
The more detail you give, the faster a technician can fix the problem without having to come back to you with questions.
05Adding files
You can add screenshots, photos, documents or log files to a request. Files help the technician understand the problem, often without needing to connect to your computer.
Adding files to a new request
- In the new request form, drag your files onto the attachment area, or click the attachment area to pick files from your computer. You can add several files at once.
- Each file appears in a list under the attachment area. Click its × button if you want to remove it.
- Click Submit. Your files are uploaded with the request.
Adding files to a request you've already sent
- Open the ticket from your ticket list.
- Scroll to the Attachments section.
- Drag files onto the upload area, or click Browse. The files are uploaded straight away and added to the ticket.
Your files are stored securely. Only your help desk's technicians can open them.
06Checking on your requests
After you sign in, the home screen lists your company's tickets, including requests sent by your colleagues. Each ticket has a number (for example, TK-0042) and a colored label showing its status.
Filtering the list
Use the tabs at the top of the list to choose what you see:
- Open shows every active ticket: Open, In Progress and On Hold together.
- In Progress, On Hold and Closed show only tickets with that status.
- All Tickets shows everything.
What each status means
| Status | What it means |
|---|---|
| Open | Your request has arrived and is waiting for a technician to pick it up. |
| In Progress | A technician has taken your ticket and is working on it. You'll get an email when this happens. |
| On Hold | Work is paused while we wait for more information, a part, or another company. |
| Closed | The problem has been fixed. You'll get an email and a short survey. |
Your Servers
If your help desk looks after a server for your company and your email address is listed as a contact for that server, you'll see a Your Servers panel. It shows the server's health, its backups and recent alerts. Other people at your company don't see server details. To be added or removed as a server contact, email your help desk.
07Email updates
You'll get an automatic email when your ticket changes to In Progress and when it changes to Closed. These emails come from your help desk mailbox and include your ticket number and a short summary of the change.
You don't need to sign back in to Ping to see these updates. The email has the key information.
Not getting these emails? Look in your spam or junk folder and add your help desk's email address to your safe senders list.
08Telling us how we did
When a ticket is closed, a one-question survey appears at the bottom of the ticket: "Was your issue fully resolved?"
- Click 👍 Yes — Issue resolved if the problem is fixed.
- Click 👎 No — Still have issues if the problem is still there or wasn't fully fixed.
Your answer is saved straight away. If you choose No, please phone your help desk or reopen the request so we can put it right.
Your answers help your help desk keep an eye on the quality of its service. Every response is read by a manager.
09Questions and answers
I sent a request but can't see it
Refresh the page. A new request turns into a ticket within a few minutes. If it still isn't there, sign out, sign in again, and make sure the tab at the top of the list is set to Open or All Tickets.
Can I change my ticket after sending it?
You can add more files at any time from the ticket's page. To change the description or anything else, reply to the update email or phone your help desk, and the technician will update the ticket.
Who can see my ticket?
Your help desk's technicians, and the people at your own company who sign in to Ping. Other companies never see your company's tickets.
Can someone else sign in as me?
Only someone who can read your email. Each code is sent to your mailbox, works for 10 minutes and allows 5 tries. If you get a code you didn't ask for, you can ignore it.
What kinds of files can I add?
Any kind: screenshots (PNG, JPG), documents (PDF, DOCX, XLSX), logs (TXT, CSV) and photos. Very large files (over 100 MB) may time out. If you need to send something that big, ask your help desk for another way to send it.
10For help desk staff
A few points to keep in mind when supporting people who use Ping:
- Adding people. Anyone at a client company, or anyone who has sent a request before, can sign in. If someone's address isn't recognized, they won't get a code and will contact you to be added.
- Status changes send email. Setting a ticket to In Progress or Closed emails the requester automatically. Closing a ticket also shows them the satisfaction survey.
- Follow up on "No" answers. Users who answer No to the survey are asked to phone you or reopen the request.
- Server contacts. The Your Servers panel is shown only to people listed as contacts for a monitored server. Users email you to be added or removed.
- Ticket edits. Users can add files themselves, but changes to the description or other fields come to you by reply or phone, and a technician updates the ticket.
- Never ask for codes. Users are told that staff will never ask for their sign-in code or a password.
Tell your users the address of your Ping site, your help desk email address and your phone number, so they know who the sign-in emails come from and whom to call for urgent issues.
11Getting help
Questions, bug reports or feature requests: email info@taucher.llc. You'll reach the people who wrote the software.