Some Hints for Getting Good Technical Support

Include Version and License Information
Unless this information does not apply to you (e.g., if you don't yet have a Mathematica license number), always include your Mathematica license number (available from $LicenseID in Versions 3.0 and later) in messages to Technical Support and tell us the version of Mathematica that you are using. You should also evaluate $Version and $ReleaseNumber.

Provide Specific Examples
Try to include specific examples to illustrate your question. If necessary, provide a step-by-step description of exactly what you did, exactly what happened, and exactly what you were expecting. Even if the problem is obvious, it is useful to include a specific example so that we can be sure that we are looking at the same problem at which you are looking.

Provide Complete Information about the Problem
Try to provide enough information to enable us to reproduce the problem. In simple examples, you may need to send only a few lines of Mathematica input. In other examples, we may need a complete copy of your inputs and outputs, or we may need detailed information about your computer system, such as hardware specifications, or information about other software on your computer. If you are not sure what information will be needed, just send the information that you think is relevant, and we will contact you if we have additional questions.

Look for Simple Examples
If your question can be illustrated with a short, self-contained example, that is almost always preferable to a large example or to an example that is difficult to set up. Remove from your examples everything that is not directly relevant to describing the problem. Avoid examples that depend on external files or require lots of special definitions.

Look for Reproducible Examples
Problems that can be reproduced in a simple, systematic way are much easier to fix than intermittent problems or problems that come up only under loosely specified conditions. In fact, unless we can reproduce a problem on our computers, it is usually not possible to fix it. Problems that cannot be easily reproduced tend to get fixed when a reproducible example shows up in other testing.

Separate the Problem from Background Information
Separate the description of the problem from a discussion of the situation in which the problem came up and from speculation about possible causes of the problem. Your speculations about a problem are often very helpful, and there are many problems for which background information about the problem can be very valuable in coming up with a solution. We also very much enjoy reading about applications of Mathematica. Nevertheless, for the purpose of answering questions, it is useful to keep that information separate from a description of the problem itself.

Describe the Problem in Generic Terms
Try to describe your question in language that will be meaningful to someone with a general background in mathematics and computers. Avoid terminology that is specific to your area of application or that requires specialized knowledge of software other than Mathematica.

Check Your Work
Before reporting a problem, try to verify that the problem is in Mathematica and not in your own programming or elsewhere on your computer system. Some problems, of course, are obvious. If Mathematica gives a conspicuously wrong result or crashes for no apparent reason, then we certainly want to know about it. Also, if the documentation leaves the intended behavior unclear, we would like to know about that too. On the other hand, if the problem is not in Mathematica, then you may need to look to other resources for assistance.

Avoid Specially Encoded Files
You are welcome to send us your questions in any form that you find convenient. We can decode nearly all common file formats and will try to advise you promptly of any difficulties. Nevertheless, to avoid delays associated with finding and invoking the necessary decoding tools, we prefer to receive messages as plain-text files without any encoding. Most mail and file-transfer programs can be configured to send files as plain text. Mathematica notebooks are plain-text files, and nearly all questions about Mathematica can be described without the use of specialized file formats.

Include Only One Topic in Each Message
For organizational purposes, we recommend that you include only one question in each message. This makes it easier to send different questions to different experts and avoids any confusion in keeping track of which response goes with which part of your message.

Identify Your Questions Clearly
If your message involves a question or other remarks for which you are expecting a response, be sure to make your questions explicit. If you simply send us a large file, for example, or ask us to look at a program, then we may not know if you are asking a question or if you are just making an observation about the software.

Look to Other Experts
Although we have here at Wolfram Research the world's experts on Mathematica, we do not have the world's experts on other aspects of your computer system. If your question is not strictly confined to Mathematica but instead involves other hardware or software (such as a printer or the operating system), then you may want to look to other experts for help. This is true even if the problem turns out to be in Mathematica. Here at Wolfram Research we very often track down problems in other software, and, as a practical matter, experts outside of Wolfram Research are sometimes in a better position to help you than we are.