Clarity

  • 1.  How to access the KB articles?

    Posted May 13, 2019 03:56 PM

    Can you access the KB articles if you do not have support access?

    The link in

    Clarity PPM Support and Services - CA PPM - 15.6 - CA Technologies Documentation 

    Clarity PPM Support Information

    Knowledge Base (KB) Articles

    Updated Clarity PPM KB Articles are available to help you identify workarounds to popular issues with your implementation.

    gives Page not Found

    Is that also because of access rights?

    When I try to report that as a comment there is an error saving the comment.

    Why might that be CA-TECH-INFO-DAMON 

    Or is this just one of those days?



  • 2.  Re: How to access the KB articles?
    Best Answer

    Broadcom Employee
    Posted May 14, 2019 08:49 AM

    Thank you urmas ! You do a great job speaking for others who might not have time to post but nevertheless may be experiencing these same issues. Let me know (community) and Marti after you reset your cookies or try incognito mode or another PC... if you continue to experience issues, not much we can do this side of June 6, but after June 6, we will be "back in business" so to speak and ready to make any adjustments.

     

    Comments:Response:

    Can you access the KB articles if you do not have support access?

    Depends how they were configured, here is one that requires no login 

    Installation of MSP interface on 14.2 results in a - CA Knowledge 

    The link in

    Clarity PPM Support and Services - CA PPM - 15.6 - CA Technologies Documentation

    Clarity PPM Support Information
    Knowledge Base (KB) Articles
    Updated Clarity PPM KB Articles are available to help you identify workarounds to popular issues with your implementation.

    1. Gives Page not Found
    2. Is that also because of access rights?

     

    When I click KB Articles, I see this landing page:

    For any website, when you see Sign In for more results it tells you they are using restrictions/security to show mixed content; both public anonymous content and "more" that requires a login to view.

    When I try to report that as a comment there is an error saving the comment.

    Why might that be CA-TECH-INFO-DAMON

    Or is this just one of those days?

    Advanced users with multiple accounts, multiple windows open, multiple or mixed sessions (you sign in on Chrome, but just signed out in a different tab or browser), maybe you use multiple browsers, can confuse the cookies trying to do their job (who is this current user, how long has this session been active, what account and access do I need to grant when this user clicks x, y, or z?). is this just one of those days? I know what you mean. The Bridge of San Luis Rey was "one of those days"... today, we (hope that we) have a very structured set of conditions in place. If you can clear your browser cache periodically, it can help (but use caution, I clear mine routinely but just wiped out a cookie Microsoft needed and when they called me to set it again, my phone number changed and that took 6 days to resolve). I tried a test comment on that docops page -- it works; however, after tomorrow May 15, I am advising our community not to enter them for several reasons. I will post that in a separate advisory.

    Let us know if you clear browser cache and restart and try again, if the behavior improves. For all customers, one more tip, your browser itself as an app might also need a new install or update. We know some admins block users from updating Chrome for example, and it can be several months out-of-date in terms of cookie handling and other fixes.

     

    Hope this helps!!

    Damon



  • 3.  Re: How to access the KB articles?

    Posted May 15, 2019 03:01 AM

    Thank you CA-TECH-INFO-DAMON 

    That certainly helps and that is what I call an Answer.

    The first part sounds like there are different types of KB articles some you can access without "support access" and some you cannot.

     

    Today and yesterday in the same Firefox session after relogging in to the communities both days when I click (KB) Articles in the left column I get the same what you have in the right column. Also when I click the Docops link on the left and the same (KB) Articles  there I get the same Product information page.

    On the other hand when I click Download Center I get

    Regarding the comments I still got

    Did not try new session, clear cache and new log in. But got the my message through here much better.

     

    CONCLUSION

    Yes you can access at least some KB articles without Support access right.

    If you cannot access the Product information page through the links try clearing browser cache, new log in - maybe a different ID

    If you cannot submit comments try another way.



  • 4.  Re: How to access the KB articles?

    Broadcom Employee
    Posted May 15, 2019 10:31 AM

    Can you give me that exact docops page where you see error submitting comment? We will definitely test that page.

     

    I knew you were on to something with the KB Articles link... /external-link.jspa?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ca.com%2Fus%2Fservices-support%2Fca-support%2Fca-support-online%2Fsupport-by-product%2Fca-ppm.html%3Fd%3Dt%26type%3DKnowledge%26sortby%3Ddaten%26page%3D1%26typeofcontent%3DKnowledge%2520Base%2520Articles 

     

    ... so I tried from a different Windows 10 PC with the latest OS and Edge... cleared cookies... separate domain from ca.com or broadcom.com...

     

    • If I click that link, I get what you got: it goes to Support but says Page Not Found.
    • If I go back to that page and link and click it a second time, then I get the screen shown above with Sign-in for more.

     

    So it must be dynamically updating the cookie to try to "help" the user login. The behavior seems benign, akin to "show me as much info as I am permitted to see." 


    CA used 4 account types: basic, education, partner, and support. DocOps permits anonymous viewing but is capable of fencing content, requiring a basic account or higher to view. Similar for the Communities, where anonymous users can view but posting requires a basic login. So it could be that you are logged into docops with a basic account, but logged into Support with a support account. I know if you are logged into docops with a basic account and click Download Center you will get that Not Authorized. Support pages typically fence content so that access requires a Support account.



  • 5.  Re: How to access the KB articles?

    Posted May 15, 2019 12:56 PM

    I get the error from

    Clarity PPM Support and Services - CA PPM - 15.6 - CA Technologies Documentation 

    I had to relog in, but still get the error.

    Don't put too much effort in this. I am happy with the answer



  • 6.  Re: How to access the KB articles?

    Broadcom Employee
    Posted May 16, 2019 04:25 PM

    I updated the permissions; commenting requires a basic CA account and the feature should work as expected now. Try without clearing your browser cache first, if that doesn't work, clear cache -- when you attempt to comment as an anonymous user you see LOG IN TO COMMENT and then can sign in and enter a new comment. Thanks for spotting that and letting us know.



  • 7.  Re: How to access the KB articles?

    Posted May 16, 2019 04:34 PM

    In the same browser session I had to login to get to the page. Now I can post comments.

    However, after I post the comment the Save button stays there as well as the comment texts. So I can save the same comment easily over and over. Is that the way it should work?



  • 8.  Re: How to access the KB articles?

    Broadcom Employee
    Posted May 16, 2019 04:57 PM

    I was able to reply. When I leave a new comment it refreshes and collapses the existing comments. I see your comments now, so we'll declare victory (for now)... thanks again Martti. 

    Cheers,
    Damon