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Getting Set Up with MadCap Feedback

Getting set up to use MadCap Feedback involves the following basic steps.

1. Install MadCap Feedback Server This step needs to be completed only if you have purchased the MadCap Feedback Server (as opposed to the MadCap Feedback Hosting Service). Provide your system administrator with the instructions that are necessary for installing the software and other components. See Installing MadCap Feedback Server.
2. Configure Feedback Server Admin This step needs to be completed only if you have purchased the MadCap Feedback Server (as opposed to the MadCap Feedback Hosting Service). Provide your system administrator with the instructions that are necessary for configuring the MadCap Feedback Server Admin. This includes the ability to require a password for Feedback Explorer access, test settings, set up an SMTP server for email notifications, specify redirection Web pages for end users who register, and schedule automatic backups of the database and transaction log. See Configuring the MadCap Feedback Server Admin.
3. Install Feedback Explorer Each user on your team who plans to use Feedback Explorer to view user comments and statistics should install this software locally. This includes managers who do not use Flare but want to be kept informed about user activity on the published output.
4. Obtain Feedback license(s) You need a separate Feedback license for each Flare target that you want to track. After you purchase the MadCap Feedback Server or Service, you will be issued the appropriate Feedback license(s) from MadCap Software.

   example

   Let's say you have three authors and a manager on your team. You have a total of five different Flare projects, and from each of those projects, you and the other authors are generating two online targets. So as a team, you are producing a total of ten online outputs (two targets each from five projects). How many Feedback licenses are needed so that the authors and manager can track the user activity for all of those targets? In this case, you would need ten licenses (one for each output that you want to track).

   Note: It is possible to use the same Feedback license for different Flare targets. However, you must keep in mind that the statistics for the various targets will then become merged when you view them in Feedback Explorer. You will not be able to determine which statistics resulted from which targets.

5. Enable Feedback in Flare targetsAfter obtaining the necessary Feedback license(s), you need to enable the Feedback functionality in Flare. This is done on the Feedback tab in the appropriate targets. For more information see the Flare online Help.

6. Configure Flare target with Feedback Explorer One of the first tasks that must be performed in Feedback Explorer is to create or open a file that is configured with a target in MadCap Flare. You can initialize this task from Feedback Explorer or from within Flare. It is easiest to create and open the initial Feedback file from within Flare. The reason for this is that you only need to enter your Feedback license once. After entering the license key in Flare's Target Editor, simply click the button labeled Configure with Feedback Explorer Application.

   However, some individuals may want to perform this task from Feedback Explorer. For example, some people (such as managers) may not work in MadCap Flare, but want to track user activity in the author's online documentation files. See Creating a Configured Feedback File.

   example

   As the author, let's say you want to track user activity for a particular Flare target. Therefore, you would enter that license in that Flare target. You can then click the button in the Target Editor labeled Configure with Feedback Explorer Application. The Feedback Explorer will then launch and open a file that is configured with the Flare target. This file is used to display the user activity for that target.

   However, because the manager on your team will not be using Flare, he can create a Feedback file in Feedback Explorer, entering the same license that you entered in Flare. For each target that the manager wants to track, he would create a new Feedback file in Feedback Explorer and enter the appropriate license.

7. Enable comments in the skin If you want end users to be able to enter Feedback comments in the online output, you need to enable comments. This is done by opening the skin in Flare that is associated with the target, selecting the Feedback tab, and clicking Display topic comments at the end of each topic. For more information, see the online Help in Flare.

Tip: If you want to test the Feedback Server or Service against your output, you can easily do so by first using a Feedback license in an unpublished target. After testing Feedback for that output, you can clear the Feedback database and remove the license from your test target. All Feedback data (including all comments, topic ratings, and search queries) will be removed from the database. Then you can add the license to the target that you intend to publish and distribute the output to end users. (It is also a good idea to clear the cookies from your Internet browser.) See Clearing the Feedback Database.

After you are set up, you can publish Flare output and begin taking advantage of the many features in Feedback Explorer. See Key Features.

See Also

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