Guide to submitting tickets

What we need from you

The version of CrossWorks you are using

No, not just "CrossWorks for MSP430", or "CrossWorks for ARM", but the specific version of CrossWorks.  You can get this information by choosing Help > About CrossWorks.  Also provide the CPU and board support package versions, if applicable, which you can get from Tools > Show Installed Packages.

Describe exactly what you are doing and observing

We regularly get tickets saying something like, "If I do this, it doesn't work" which doesn't help a lot in diagnosing the problem.

Please describe exactly what it is you are doing and what you are observing.

If you are getting an error message, please tell us the exact error message you are seeing.

A simple application that we can compile

It's best to provide a complete application that demonstrates the fault with all the project properties set to the correct values for us to recompile and test.  In CrossWorks 2, you can package up your project by right clicking the solution and choosing Create Package from Solution and mailing us the package file.

A concise set of instructions on how to replicate the fault

At least try.  We can use our intelligence for most things but sometimes replication comes down to following a specific set of steps.

The hardware you are using, if hardware is required

Please indicate which evaluation board you are using and its revision.  Yes, even its revision because some board revisions are very significant.  Mention which JTAG interface you are using because sometimes this is important too.

If you are using your own board, please tell us that as well. If you are bringing up a new board, that would also be really useful to know.

Tell us the things that work as well as the things that don't

It can help immensely in diagnosing a problem if you can describe the things that are actually working for you (if any) as well as the things that aren't as it can quickly rule out possibilities that we don't need to consider. For example, if you've been running your project on a board successfully and you've switched to a new board and it doesn't, it would be really useful to know about the working board as that would most probably indicate problems with the board rather than the project.

 Only one question per ticket

For the fastest possible response to a ticket, stick to just one question per ticket. This enables us to easily keep track of any unanswered issues, it also allows us to assign the ticket to the most suitable engineer to answer each question.