The wait for Bugs Online is over. By the time you read this, you should be able to log into the Support Center, perform a search, and see items marked as "Bugs Online" in the results. You'll also see a filter at the top of the search results for Bugs Online. I've blogged about Bugs Online in previous posts, but this is the post to read if you have questions... because we've prepared a set of FAQs in anticipation of your queries and wonderings. We'll put these FAQs up on the Support Center in an appropriate location soon, but once again, the Support Center News blog has the info hot off the electronic press:
Bugs Online: FAQs
Q: What is Bugs Online?A: Bugs Online is a public, searchable database containing known ESRI software issues.
Q: How do I access Bugs Online?A: To access Bugs Online, follow these steps:
- Go to the ESRI Support Center web site (http://support.esri.com).
- Log in using your ESRI Global Account. If you think you have an account but aren't sure of your username or password, click here. If you don’t have an ESRI Global Account yet, click here to create one.
- Enter keywords or a bug ID number into the Search box near the top of the page, then click Go.
- The search results will include items from Bugs Online, if any were found.
Tip: You can use the hyperlinks at the top of the results to filter on a particular type of result, and “Bugs Online” is one of the available filters. Q: Is there a way to browse the Bugs Online database directly?A: At this time, the only way to access Bugs Online is by performing a search on the Support Center web site as described above.
Q: Can I search Bugs Online from other ESRI web sites?A: At this time, the only way to access Bugs Online is by performing a search on the Support Center web site as described above.
Q: How can I find a bug in Bugs Online when I don't have the bug number?A. In addition to searching by bug number, you also have the option to search for the bug by a keyword or phrase.
Q: When I search for a bug by keywords or phrases, the search results includes bugs that don’t have those keywords or phrases in their Synopsis. Why does this happen?A: This happens because the search looks not only at the Synopsis, but also at the rest of the notes in the bug.
Q: Why isn’t ESRI publishing the full notes for each bug?A: There are several reasons, but a big one is customer confidentiality: Many bug reports include specific information about our customers and their projects, and ESRI is committed to keeping that information confidential.
Q: Why can’t I find a particular item in Bugs Online?A: There are two main reasons why a particular item may not appear in Bugs Online:
- The item may have been marked as an enhancement. For the time being, we have decided to exclude enhancements from Bugs Online. We’ve done this because enhancements represent potential improvements to future versions of ESRI software, whereas bugs represent known issues in the existing, released versions of our software.
- The item may still be under review. When a new bug is submitted, it gets reviewed to confirm the details of the issue. We also review to make sure the issue is described in a way that should make sense to users (and not just our development teams).
Q: What do I do if I think I’ve encountered a bug but I can’t find it in Bugs Online?A: You may have encountered a new bug! Call ESRI Support Services at 1.877.377.4575 or submit a request via the Contact Support Form (available
here) and provide the details of the issue you are encountering.
Q: Why is ESRI publishing Bugs Online?A: We want to do everything we can to help you be successful with our software. By publishing Bugs Online, we’re making it possible for you to research potential issues before beginning a project. Also, if you encounter issues during a project, you can research to see whether the issue is already known to ESRI or not, and save considerable time when contacting ESRI Support by quickly identifying the issue.
Q: What are the different bug severities and what do they mean?A: The bug severities are defined as:
- Low - Failure or error with minor functionality.
- Medium: - Failure or error with major functionality.
- High: - Crash, data corruption or loss of data.
- Critical: - Showstopper issue.
Q: What are the different bug statuses and what do they mean?A: The bug statuses are defined as:
- New - The bug has been logged by ESRI Support Services and is in the process of being reviewed.
- Open - The bug has been assigned to a programming lead, who is responsible for its continued evaluation and resolution.
- Deferred - The bug will be considered for a future release.
- Contact Support - Please contact ESRI Support Services for additional details.
- As Designed - The software is behaving in a manner consistent with ESRI's intent.
- Documented - The specific behavior referenced in the bug is documented by ESRI.
- Non-reproducible - The behavior specified in the bug could not be reproduced given the current information included in the bug report.
- Known Limit - The bug cannot be resolved due to a limit in the specified application or environment.
- Duplicate - The bug is a duplicate of another bug.
- Resolved - The bug has been addressed for the next software release.
Q: How can I find more information about a bug listed?A: Call ESRI Support Services at 1.877.377.4575 or submit a request via the Contact Support Form (available
here) and provide the bug number (for example, NIM001234) in the request.
Again, these FAQs will soon be posted somewhere a bit more accessible on the Support Center. If you have other questions about Bugs Online, leave me a comment, and I'll do my best to respond.