Newsletter 39: Web+Center’s New integrated PC Remote Control Session Utility

After researching several remote control products and working with 3rd party vendors that provide these products, we have licensed and integrated the remote control product from www.CrossLoop.com with the Web+Center Help Desk.

The CrossLoop utility fit our design requirements for integration with our Help Desk product which included:

• Small footprint for quick download
• Easy to install and launch
• Clients/Customers feel comfortable and secure and access is only available with both parties permission
• Intuitive interface and simple to run
• Some simple file sharing and transfer options
• Works on most networks and across firewall configurations using commonly open ports
• A reliable and industry tested utility

How it works with Web+Center Version 6.0
The CrossLoop Remote Control tool works by having customers and technicians install a small client program on each of their desktops and then launching and sharing Access codes to view and control the remote desktop. Once the application is installed by the customer or the technician, additional support sessions with remote control can be easily launched with a single click of the CrossLoop application icon on the desktop.
The Customer+Center portal now has Remote Control Session button option from the default customer page (See Figure #1 below) and Logged in users have an option in the customer options dropdown (See Figure #2) as well. Once users select either of these options, they are directed to a page with CrossLoop remote control utility download, installation and launch instructions. Typically, this utility can be downloaded and installed in a few minutes by the client.

Figure #1 – Customer+Center default page Remote Control Option

Figure #2 – Customer+Center Logged in user options menu with Remote Control Session
The Tech+Center now offers a similar feature for technicians to download and install the Remote Control utility on the technicians PC. The “Status” button has been renamed to “Status / Tools” and this page offers a link to this support tool and potentially other tools in the future. (See Figure #3 below)

Figure #3 – New Status/Tools Button and Link to launch Download 

The Remote Control Session Interface

When the remote control tool is launched, a small, simple interface will appear showing two tabs. (See Figure #4). Customers will have been instructed to click on the “Share” tab and obtain an Access code that is then shared with the Technician who is then ready to Access the customer’s remote computer desktop. The Technician clicks on the Access tab, enters their name and the Access code provided by the customer. A final confirming dialog window is displayed for the customer to acknowledge the technician’s sharing of the customer desktop (screen, mouse, keyboard) session.

Figure #4 – CrossLoop Interface window with Access/Share Options 

This feature does not require any database changes to your Version 6.0 system.

To install the Remote Control Upgrade Zip File, download the zip file, and unzip and place the Techcenter files into the techcenter directory, Customercenter files into the Customercenter directory and the language files into the language directory.

The table below shows information about the files in the Remote Control Upgrade Zip File and labels each file as a new or updated files in each of the Web+Center directories. This is helpful for users who have possibly made some customizations to their Web+Center installations and still want to add in this new feature. Before copying in any of the updated file, make a complete backup of your Web+Center application folders.