What information should I send when reporting a problem to Support?

Applies to

• WorldCat Discovery, WorldShare Acquisitions, WorldShare Admin, WorldShare Circulation, WorldShare Collection Evaluation, WorldShare Collection Manager, WorldShare Interlibrary Loan, WorldShare License Manager, WorldShare Record Manager, WorldShare Reports

Answer

When you report a problem to OCLC Support, please include as much of the information below as possible. This will help us understand and resolve your issue.

• What were you trying to do when you had the problem?
• Which module or product were you using? Is it just one module having problems, or is it everything?
• Can you send us a screenshot of the problem that includes your entire screen, including the URL, the clock, and any error message.
• What does the error message say (if there is one)? If the error message box has a 'Details' link, please click it, copy the details, and then email them to us.
• When did the problem start happening? When were you last able to work without seeing a problem?
• Who is having the problem? Is it all users, or only some?
• How widespread is the problem? Does the problem happen on all computers or only some? Can you still access other websites?
• What were the title, barcodes and OCLC numbers of any items you were working with when you had the problem (if relevant)?
• What were the patron names and barcodes  you were working with when you had the problem (if relevant)?
• Have you made any changes to your computers, software or network recently? Have you changed browser versions, Java versions, user accounts, firewall rules, SSL certificates, LDAP settings, or anything else?

Additional information

Check the Troubleshooting pages of the specific product to see if there's other information you should include.

Screenshots

There is a lot of information a full screenshot can provide so if you have been asked for a screenshot make sure you include the full page, including:

•    The title of the program
If you are working in a program other than an internet browser we can know what program to use to replicate the issue or let you know if that program has known issues

•    The tabs you have open
This shows us if there are multiple copies of the program open that could be interfering with each other

•    The URL bar at the top of the browser
This shows us the exact URL so we can replicate and advise if there is an error

•    The taskbar
This shows us which internet browser(s) you have the program open in so we can recreate in a similar environment

•    The clock
This tells us when the error occurred so we can check our system for that time. It could tell us that there was an outage at the time of trying to perform the action

•    Any error message
We can see what exact error is occurring on the system. The rest of the screen is even more important here as the error could be different depending on the page or module

•    Any clickable message with the error number or message
If there is expandable text it is important for us to see this because it can give us extra system information and codes
 

Page ID