📖 User Guide

Everything you need to know about using SimpleSupport — for customers and staff.

For Customers

Submitting a Request

You can submit a support request with or without an account.

As a guest (no account needed):

1. Click New Request in the navigation bar.
2. Enter your name and at least one contact method — email or phone number.
3. Select a category from the dropdown.
4. Optionally add a title, then type your message.
5. Click Send Message as Guest.

As a logged-in customer (recommended):

1. Log in to your account first (see Creating an Account below).
2. Click New Request. Your name and email are pre-filled.
3. Select a category, add a title (optional), and write your message.
4. Optionally link a Related Request — search your existing requests by #, category, or title (useful for follow-ups).
5. Attach any relevant files if needed.
6. Click Send Message.

Creating an Account

1. Click Login in the top navigation bar.
2. Select the Create Account tab.
3. Enter your name, email address, and a password (minimum 8 characters).
4. Confirm your password, then click Create Account.
5. You will be logged in automatically and taken to your requests.

Logging In

1. Click Login in the top navigation bar.
2. Select the Customer Login tab.
3. Enter your email and password, then click Login.

Tracking Your Requests (My Requests)

1. Log in and click My Requests in the navigation.
2. You will see a paginated list of all your submitted requests. Each row shows the date, request #, and a summary: Category: title on the first line; progress bar, percentage, and status on the second.
3. Use the search box or status filter to narrow the list. Change Per page (10 / 15 / 25) at the bottom if needed.
4. Click any row to open the full conversation.

Request Progress

For project-style work, staff may set a completion percentage on your request:

• You see a progress bar and % in your request list and in the header when you open a request.
• Progress is set by staff only — you cannot change it.
• When staff marks a request Completed, progress is automatically set to 100%.

Replying to a Thread

1. Open a request from My Requests.
2. Read the staff reply in the conversation area.
3. Type your follow-up message in the reply box at the bottom.
4. Click Send.

Attaching Files

Logged-in customers can attach files when submitting a new request or replying to a thread.

• Supported formats: JPG, PNG, GIF, WebP, HEIC, PDF
• Limits: Up to 5 files per message, max 5 MB each
• Click or drag files into the upload area to attach them.
• Click × on a file chip to remove it before sending.

Request Status Reference

Status	What it means
New	Your request has been submitted and is awaiting staff review.
Read	A staff member has viewed your request.
Planned	Your request has been accepted and scheduled for work.
In Progress	Staff is actively working on your request.
On Hold	Work is temporarily paused.
Blocked	Work is blocked — usually waiting on something or someone. Check the thread for details.
Completed	Your request has been completed. The thread is now closed.
Cancelled	The request has been cancelled. The thread is now closed.

Editing or Deleting Your Own Messages

Hover over your message to reveal action buttons:

• ✏️ Edit — Modify the message text. Only available on your most recent message, before staff has replied.
• 🗑️ Delete — Removes the message content (shows a deleted placeholder). Only available in the same conditions as Edit.

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For Staff

Logging In as Staff

1. Click Login in the navigation bar.
2. Select the Staff Login tab.
3. Enter your staff email address and password.
4. Click Login — you will be taken to the staff dashboard showing all requests.

The Dashboard — Viewing All Requests

After logging in, the dashboard displays all customer support requests in a table with:

• Date — when the request was submitted
• # — sequential request number (identifies requests even without a title)
• Contact — customer name, contact method, and whether they are a guest or registered customer
• Category — the topic category
• Title — the request title
• Related — link to another linked request (click to open it)
• Status — current status with a sender indicator (💬 = customer awaiting reply, 💁 = staff replied)

Searching and Filtering

• Search bar — search by request #, customer name, email, or title
• Category dropdown — filter to show only a specific category
• Status dropdown — filter by status, or choose Open to hide completed and cancelled threads
• Click Refresh to reload the latest data from the server

Opening a Thread

Click any row in the thread list to open the full conversation in a modal dialog. Opening a New thread automatically marks it as Read.

Replying to a Customer

1. Open a thread by clicking its row.
2. Type your reply in the message box at the bottom of the modal.
3. Click Send.

Adding an Internal Note

Internal notes are visible to staff only — customers cannot see them.

1. Open a thread.
2. Check the Internal note checkbox before sending.
3. Type your note and click Send.

Internal notes appear with a dashed yellow border and a 🔒 icon in the conversation.

Changing Thread Status

Use the status buttons inside an open thread to update the request status:

• Read — acknowledge you have seen the request
• Planned — accepted and scheduled for work
• In Progress — mark that work has started
• On Hold — work is temporarily paused
• Blocked — work cannot proceed (waiting on customer, vendor, etc.)
• Completed — mark the work as complete (closes the thread, sets progress to 100%)
• Cancelled — cancel the request (closes the thread)

Tracking Progress (%)

Each request has a completion percentage (0–100%), useful for project-style work:

• Set it with the Progress slider inside an open request (steps of 5%). Changes save automatically.
• The same progress bar appears in the modal header (visible to staff and customers) and in both the staff dashboard and customer My Requests list.
• Customers can view progress but cannot change it.
• Setting status to Completed automatically sets progress to 100%.

Changing the Category

Use the Change Category dropdown inside an open request to reassign it to a different category. The change saves automatically.

Linking a Related Request

Link one request to another (follow-up, duplicate, parent/child, etc.):

• On create — logged-in customers can optionally pick a related request on the Submit New Request form. Guests cannot.
• In the dashboard — use the searchable Related Request field below Change Category in an open request. Search by request #, category, title, customer name, or email. Choose No related request to clear the link. Selection saves automatically.
• Related column — the dashboard table shows a truncated link; hover for the full label, click to open that request.
• Open Related Request — inside a request that already has a link, click this button to jump to the related request.

When you open a related request from another open request, a 🔗 Related Request bar appears at the top:

• The related request opens in read-only mode — you can read messages but cannot reply or change status, progress, category, or links until you confirm editing.
• ← Back to original request returns to the request you came from.
• Edit asks for confirmation, then enables full editing on the related request.
• × Close closes the modal and returns you to the list.

Attaching Files (Staff Replies)

Staff can attach files when replying to a thread, the same way customers can. Staff with a full-privilege key can also delete individual attachments from any message.

Editing and Deleting Messages

• Hover over any staff message you sent to reveal ✏️ Edit and 🗑️ Delete buttons.
• Only the most recent message before a customer reply can be edited/deleted.
• Deleted messages show a placeholder. Staff can permanently delete soft-deleted messages by clicking 🗑️ Permanently Delete.

Logging Out

Click Account ▾ in the top navigation bar, then choose Logout.