Custom Reporting for Incident Response by SDE

In this article, we'll explore how to create and utilise PowerShell scripts to generate daily email reports of open tickets within a Software Desk Express (SDE) database. The process involves SQL queries, PowerShell functions, and necessary modules.

SQL Queries to Extract Open Tickets Data

To begin, write an SQL query to select all open tickets from the SDE database. This query will depend on your database schema but typically involves filtering by ticket status.

For example:

This query will be run inside the PowerShell script to retrieve the required data.

PowerShell Modules to Use

Use the module or classes in PowerShell to connect and execute SQL queries against the database. Also, use the cmdlet or a library like for sending emails. Advanced email capabilities (e.g., HTML formatting, attachments) can be handled with scripting or third-party modules.

PowerShell Script Functions

A function to connect to the SQL database and execute the query, returning the open tickets dataset.
A function to format the result into an email-friendly format — typically an HTML table for readability.
A function to send the email report using SMTP or an Exchange server.

Scheduling the Script

Use Windows Task Scheduler to run the script daily at the desired time automatically.

Detailed Example Flow

Connect to the database with a connection string.
Run the SQL query and store results in a PowerShell object.
Convert these results into an HTML email body.
Send the email to the intended recipients.

Additional Tools and Considerations

From the search results, Visual CUT software is mentioned as a tool that can email Crystal Reports with SQL data, including HTML tables embedded in messages and scheduling capabilities. If you already use Visual CUT or similar software integrated with Software Desk Express, it might simplify the process by avoiding custom PowerShell scripting.
Ensure your PowerShell environment allows script execution (you might need to set Execution Policy with ).
For complex email authentication or features, modern solutions support Exchange Online with modern authentication.
Handle errors and empty datasets gracefully in your script as improved in recent Automate tool versions.

Example Conceptual PowerShell Script Outline

```powershell

Import-Module SqlServer

$server = "YourSQLServer" $database = "SoftwareDeskExpressDB" $query = "SELECT TicketID, Title, Status, AssignedTo, CreatedDate FROM Tickets WHERE Status = 'Open';" $connectionString = "Server=$server;Database=$database;Integrated Security=True;"

function Get-OpenTickets { param($connectionString, $query) $connection = New-Object System.Data.SqlClient.SqlConnection $connectionString $command = New-Object System.Data.SqlClient.SqlCommand $query, $connection $dataAdapter = New-Object System.Data.SqlClient.SqlDataAdapter $command $dataSet = New-Object System.Data.DataSet $dataAdapter.Fill($dataSet) | Out-Null return $dataSet.Tables[0] }

function Convert-ToHtmlTable { param($dataTable) $html = $dataTable | ConvertTo-Html -Fragment -Property TicketID, Title, Status, AssignedTo, CreatedDate return $html }

function Send-EmailReport { param($htmlBody, $toAddress, $subject) $smtpServer = "smtp.yourdomain.com" $smtpPort = 587 $from = "[email protected]"

}

$tickets = Get-OpenTickets -connectionString $connectionString -query $query if ($tickets.Rows.Count -gt 0) { $htmlReport = Convert-ToHtmlTable -dataTable $tickets Send-EmailReport -htmlBody $htmlReport -toAddress "[email protected]" -subject "Daily Open Tickets Report" } else { Write-Output "No open tickets today." } ```

You would then schedule this script via Task Scheduler to run daily.

Summary of key components involved:

| Component | Role | Notes | |------------------|-------------------------------------|-------------------------------------------------| | SQL Query | Extract open tickets | Filters tickets by status = 'Open' | | SqlServer Module | DB connection and query execution | Or use System.Data.SqlClient alternatively | | PowerShell Functions | Encapsulate querying, formatting, emailing | For modular scripting and reuse | | Send-MailMessage | Email delivery | Supports SMTP, HTML email body | | Task Scheduler | Automate daily execution | Runs the PowerShell script on schedule | | Visual CUT (optional) | Crystal Reports email and scheduling | Integrates report generation and email with UI |

If your Software Desk Express environment involves Crystal Reports, Visual CUT may already provide a feature-rich method for sending such reports automatically by email without much scripting effort.

No direct specific scripting samples for Software Desk Express were found, but the above pattern is industry standard for SQL-based report emailing with PowerShell.

If you want, I can help build a more detailed script tailored to your database schema or explore Visual CUT usage for your needs.

The PowerShell script utilizes the SqlServer Module to connect and execute SQL queries against the Software Desk Express database, specifically, to retrieve the open tickets data.
To format the open tickets data into an email-friendly HTML format, the PowerShell script uses a function called Convert-ToHtmlTable, which converts the PowerShell object containing the query results into an HTML table.