Notes For Building Inspections

In ZP 32 the Building Inspection Details Screen displays a Note field, but is actually just borrowing the Notes field from the main permit. In ZP SQL each Inspection Detail has its own Note field. When you print the Inspection Details or the Building Ticket any notes associated with a particular Inspection Detail print directly under that detail item. This new approach has been very well received by the customers using ZP SQL. In fact they'd like to see this feature extended to the detail screens for Housing and Fire. We'll see...

Alert Messaging Changes Slightly

I'm trying to add a post a day about the differences between ZonePro 32 and ZonePro SQL. It's getting late so I'm doing an easy one. There are few minor changes to the way alert messages work in ZP SQL. The biggest change is that I eliminated the Alert Message option from the Region Code field in the Property Screen. I'm okay with that because the User4/Status field alert option is more flexible. Besides, as noted in an earlier post, the name fields were eliminated from the Property database and that gave us room for more fields. So now the Property Screen has a Status field as well as the ubiquitous User4 field, so you have two options for alert messages in the Property Screen. The final change is you no longer need to type in the # sign. Just typing "ALERT" gets the job done. That's a change I'll probably extend back to ZP 32 as well.

No More Two Step Deletions

In ZonePro 32 there are a number of screens where you have to be the only user of the database in order to proceed. The SQL database used by ZonePro SQL don't have that limitation. This is perhaps most noticeable in the deletion process. In ZP 32, deleting is a two-step process. Clicking on a Delete button only marks a record for deletion. To permanently remove it you have to go to Maintenance and use the Finalize Deletions option, for which you have to be the only current user. In ZP SQL it is quite different. When you click on the Delete button and say OK, the record is deleted right then and there. This has the benefit of being more intuitive than the two-step approach, but it takes away that safety net. I think ZP SQL compensates for that in two ways. One, in ZP SQL you always have security in place so you can easily limit who even has the ability to hit a Delete button. Two, I added and option where any deletes are logged to a special file. The deletes are logged with a command that can potential replicated the deleted record. In Maintenance there is a Deletion Log screen where you can review any deletions made. The next logical step would be to have a way to reinsert errantly deleted records but I haven't gotten quite that far yet.

Fixed Fees Not So Fixed

I don't know why I even call it the Fixed Fees Screen anymore. In ZP SQL all of the databases in the Fixed Fees Screen can now have multiple fee entries. Each entry can have a flat fee or a formula. This brings this screen more in line with the way ZP handles zoning or building fee schedules. The extensive changes mean that this is one of the few databases that does not convert over when existing ZP 32 customers move to ZP SQL. Those fees have to be setup again. I think this is a small price to pay for the increased flexibility the new design brings.

Contact File Repurposed

In ZonePro 32 the Contact File Module is a rather seldom used add-on. It is somewhat cumbersome to use because the info tracked in Contact File is duplicated in the Property name fields, which means changes have to be passed between the two databases. The most radical change in ZonePro SQL is that the name fields have been removed from the Property database and now all the names are tracked in a redesigned Contact File database. The Contact File is no longer an add-on but an integral part of the program. Now you are able to link as many names to a Property record as you wish. We still maintain the "Owner", "Occupant" and "Extra" name designations that exist in ZP 32 so that the Applicant Type option works the same and the ability to reference these deginations in documents and reports remains. This redesign creates a challenge for existing customers because you no longer edit names directly in the Property Screen like ZP 32 users are used to doing. Now you have to to the Contact File Screeen to edit information. This takes some getting used to.

Toolbox Folded In

Like the Security Module and the Contact File, ZP Toolbox has also been folded into the ZonePro SQL Base Module. I did that because a) everybody needs the Document Editor option and b) a lot of the other tools may not survive the transition. In the initial release of the Toolbox Module for SQL I gutted most of the database manipulation tools. Just recently I began adding some of those tools back in. The first is called SQL Sweeper which, of course, is a version of Street Sweeper that works with the SQL databases. I also have a SQL version of the Field Case tool. Other tools, like the workhorse Database Browser, don't work well with remote data and probably will never appear in ZP SQL except for working with local copies of the databases.

Security Included

In ZonePro SQL the Security Module is included with the Base Module. Security is built into ZP SQL. You have no choice but to log in with a password. Why? Because your data is now on the internet! Security is vital. The security in ZP SQL functions identically to ZonePro 32 in that you assign Access Levels to each password to determine what functions each user is allowed to access within ZP. At the moment the conversion process I have does not convert existing passwords from ZP 32 to ZP SQL so you have to re-establish that info in ZP SQL. A security issue I am wrestling with at the moment is what to do with web pages that access ZP SQL data. The web development language I am using has an elaborate security setup of its own which is not especially compatible with the existing security files used by ZP SQL. I may go with two different security systems: one for use the traditional ZP SQL interface and one for use with web pages.

Variable Fees Vanish

I may have mentioned before that the program interface for ZonePro SQL is very similar to ZonePro 32. There are, however, some differences. Some are due to the switch to remote data storage and some are due to design decisions. I plan to enter a series of posts outlining these differences. For example, ZP SQL no longer supports variable fees. This change affects the fee screens for Zoning Permits and Building Permits. In ZP 32 you can have 3 types of fees in your permit fee schedules: flat fees, formulas, and variable fee lists. In ZP SQL we have scuttled the variable fee lists. This was purely a design decision. Several years back the formula option for fees was expanded to include scripts. This scripting option has proved to be a much more flexible way of storing lists of fees if needed, thereby paving the way for the variable fee options obsolescence. This change will only affect existing customer who are considering ZP SQL. Any existing variable fee lists need to be changed to formula scripts before converting to ZP SQL.

Mind The Gap

Okay, it's been a long time since my last entry. Here is the update: ZonePro SQL is now an functioning product. It has been installed at three locales. Two of those are existing users who converted to the new platform, and one is new install. The early reports are positive. The software is working well. For the existing customer there was not much of a learning curve to get used to ZonePro SQL. We're still cleaning up the minor bugs that you expect on such an extensive rewrite but our new automatic download option makes the update process a lot easier.