FAQs ABOUT QUESTIONPOINT

This page is for the librarians who are participating in the Chasing the Sun project. It is a compilation of questions which have been asked about the QuestionPoint software during training or practice sessions. If you have a question about the software which is not covered, please contact either Mary Peterson or Sue Rockliff.

I've launched Flash Chat - now what? Be sure to choose both queues to monitor and click save. You need to do this every time you log on.
I'm logged on - where is everybody? Go to your browser's Tool - Internet Options - Settings.
You need to have the "Every visit to the page" option selected.
You may need to get your IT department to change this form you if it's greyed out.
If a question is asked when no-one's available, what happens? The user gets a message that Chat is currently unavailable.
Can attachments be sent in Chat? Yes - go to the chat transcript window where you'll find the option to insert an attachment which will be emailed.
What's the limit of text that can be put into a box? We haven't been told that there is one.
How often should I send a message to a user? As often as you can! Think of it as a phone conversation. The user can't see or hear you and needs to know that you're there, so if you need to spend some time on a request, send frequent messages confirming that you're still working on it and will be back with the answer asap.
Why don't I have an IM icon next to my name? You don't because you can't Instant Message yourself.
I don't get a popup box when a new chat user arrives Ensure that your chat window is minimised. If you leave it open, a new window will open in the program bar and will flash, but you won't have the popup box appear in front of all your other windows.
How do I add my own scripted messages? 1. From your QP home page - the one you sign on to each day (not the CHAT page ) Click on the Active questions button under the Question Lists heading on the left hand side of the page.
2. From here select "Settings" from the top menu bar (Note you must be in the Questions tab to see this settings option)
3. Select "My scripts" from the second menu bar (the menu bar beneath the grey Questions one)
4. From here you can add as many of your own personal scripts you want. I suggest you add one to introduce yourself by name to the user such as Hello and welcome to Chasing the Sun. My name is [your name] and I will be helping you with your query today. Please stand by for further information from me.
Why does my Chasing the Sun chat screen go blank or come up with error messages? We think this comes down to your server’s response speed. Each of the 3 windows on the Chat screen refreshes every 20 seconds. The time outs occur when your network server is a bit slow in responding to the QP server when it asks if your computer is still there to do a refresh. When the QP server doesn't get a response inside a specified time, the link times out as it thinks you are no longer there. Usually a “refresh screen” will solve the problem. Whilst your screen is not refreshed properly you are effectively off line. This is quite an issue in South Australia, but seems to be only an occasional problem in the UK, New South Wales, Victoria and Western Australia.
Why is logging off properly so important? If you don't log off properly, the QP system thinks that you're still logged on. This can affect the routing of the questions - in fact it can stop the questions going to the next time zone. Always remember to log off Chat first, then Exit from the QP page.

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