Installing the Plugin

With user authentication in place, you can now add the helpdesk functionality. The Responsiv Support plugin provides a ticketing system with ticket types, conversation threads, file attachments, staff assignment, and email notifications.

# Installing the Plugin

Navigate to Settings > Updates & Plugins > Install Packages and search for "Responsiv.Support". Click Install to add it to your project.

Alternatively, install via the command line:

php artisan plugin:install Responsiv.Support

The Support plugin depends on RainLab.User, which you already installed when setting up authentication. After installation, you will see a new Support section in the backend navigation with links to manage tickets and ticket types.

# Creating Ticket Types

Ticket types categorize incoming requests so your team can prioritize and route them. Navigate to Support > Ticket Types and create a few types:

Each type can optionally auto-assign tickets to a specific staff member. You can configure this later as your team grows.

# Updating the Navigation

Add a "Support" link to your layout navigation so logged-in users can access the helpdesk. Update the nav section in your default layout:

<div class="flex items-center gap-4">
    <a href="{{ 'forum/index'|page }}" class="text-sm text-gray-600 hover:text-gray-900">
        Forum
    </a>
    {% if user %}
        <a href="{{ 'support/tickets'|page }}" class="text-sm text-gray-600 hover:text-gray-900">
            Support
        </a>
        <a href="{{ 'forum/member'|page }}" class="text-sm text-gray-600 hover:text-gray-900">
            Account
        </a>
        <a
            href="javascript:;"
            data-request="onLogout"
            data-request-data="redirect: '/'"
            class="text-sm text-gray-600 hover:text-gray-900"
        >
            Sign out
        </a>
    {% else %}
        <a href="{{ 'account/login'|page }}" class="text-sm text-gray-600 hover:text-gray-900">
            Sign in
        </a>
    {% endif %}
</div>

The "Support" link is inside the {% if user %} block because only logged-in users can submit and view tickets.

# Next Steps

Continue to Ticket List to create the page where users browse their submitted tickets.