Adding Building Inspections in Staff Web Site

You can now use the Staff web interface to add new inspections to existing Building permits. This feature should allow inspectors to use the web site in the field to do their work if they do not have access to the ZP SQL Windows program. As part of this update a new Inspections Review screen has been added to the site that allows you to get details on all the inspections scheduled in ZP SQL. This new page can be reached from the Main screen and from all of the database screens that schedule inspections.

Contractor Sort Screen

I'm using a different technique now to keep track of the current sort used in the Contractor Screen of the Windows program. This affects the way the navigation options work (as noted in the previous post). It also allows us to add back in the Contractor Sort Screen that we had in ZonePro 32. You can use this screen to change the way the Contractor database is sorted at any time. This in turn affects the order in which records appear when you use the Browse button or the green navigation buttons.

Revised Navigation Buttons and Browsing

In the Property Screen, Contractor Screen, and Contact File Launch Screen there are some subtle differences to the way the green navigation buttons and the navigation browsing screen work. In prior version of the Windows program, the navigation buttons were only available after you had successfully used the navigation browse window. Now, the programs keeps track of the current sort choice and the navigation buttons are continuously available to move to the Next or Previous record. You may also note that the navigation buttons are reduced to just two (down from the original four). The First and Last buttons have been removed but their functionality remains. You can jump to the first record in the current sort by right-clicking on the Previous button. Likewise, you can jump to the last record by right-clicking on the Next button.

Contact File Launch Screen Added To Windows Interface

A new Contact File Launch Screen can be accessed from the Auxiliary Tab of the Main Screen in the ZonePro SQL Windows program. This new feature allows you to search for any name in the Contact File database and then navigate and browse through all of the names stored. This is in contrast to the Contact File Screen accessible from the Property Screen which only lets you browse through the names associated with the current property record. You can jump from the Contact File Launch Screen to the Property Screen by using the Show Property option to see all of the property links associated with the current name. This option displays a Related Property browse window where you can use the hot-key combo to jump to a selected property record. This jumping option is also available from the Related Rentals and Related Violations browse windows. The feature has also been added to those three functions in the original Contact File Screen. You can take a shortcut to the new Contact File Launch Screen by right-clicking on the Access Permit Databases button on the Main Screen.

Contact File Screens Expanded on Staff Web Site

Several new pages have been added to the ZP SQL Staff web site that enhance the options associated with the Contact File database. These changes all stem from the "Name Search" option that was added to the opening screen a little earlier. When you view a record in the Contact File Screen you can now use a "Contact Links" option to see all the Property links, Violation links, and Rental Links associated with that name. Another new option is the ability to manage relationships directly from the web site. With the correct security clearance, you can change the relationship a person has with any of the properties he or she is associated with. Another new option is the ability to navigate through the Contact File database. You can use "Prev" and "Next" buttons to move to the previous or next name stored in the database alphabetically. One final new addition is the "Match & Merge" option. This new page gives you an extra way to clean up your Contact File database by merging duplicate entries into one record. All of these features provide a different functionality than what is currently available in the Windows interface. This is just another example of how the two interfaces are complementary to each other.

Staff Web Site Shows Recent Blog Entries

The opening page of the ZP SQL Staff web site now has an option that will show the three most recent entries in this blog directly on the page. The idea is to help ZP SQL customers keep up to date with the latest developments in the program. There has long been a link on the main page that opens this blog but the new option pulls the actual text across for reading there. In fact, if you hurry, you can read this entry on the Staff web site.

Unknown Publisher Banished

Version 1.22 of the Base Module is now available for download. The main ZPSQL.EXE executable file has been amended to include a Digital Certificate. The lack of such a certificate is what leads to the "unknown publisher" alerts in Windows.

New Troubleshooting Option To Log Errors

We've added a new option to the Global Personalization Options screen in Maintenance. The new option is listed on the second tab and reads "Log SQL Errors to Text Files". This is an option that aids in troubleshooting problems by guaranteeing that all error messages are saved to text files in your main installation folder. Customers can then forward these text files to ZP Systems so that we can see the exact error message you saw. I would recommend that all customers should turn this option on, just in case. This new feature is available now for downloading.