Annotation Training Video

I just published a Training Video for the new Photo Annotation feature I wrote about earlier this week. This is the first time I have tried making a video for web features and the video format is much larger than those I have used in the past. This will only be a problem if you have a particularly small monitor. The new Photo Annotation feature is fun to try and easy to figure out after watching the video: http://zoneprosoftware.com/support/videos/annotate.html

Photo Annotation Added

It's not often that you get to do something that is both fun and useful. The new Photo Annotation feature is just such beast though. This feature allows you to draw on photos that you have uploaded to your Staff web site. This allows you to easily highlight the salient objects in the photo with circles and arrows, etc.

You get to the photo annotation page by going to the Photo Edit page in your Staff site and then use the Photo Annotate menu option on the floating dashboard. As you can see from the above example this page presents you with a toolbar that lets you create rectangles, circles, lines or use a pencil. You can select line width, the fill color, and the stroke color. It is very easy to use. And its quite fun. Give it a try. I also added an option to the Building Inspection E-mail page that makes it really easy to add photo links to your emails. In conjunction, these two feature should improve your communications with contractors.

Processing Contractor Inspection Requests

For those customers using the web site that lets their contractors request inspections online, you can now process those requests directly from your Staff site. If you have requests "Pending" you can see those directly on the Main page and select a request to begin processing it. If not you can go to the Contractor Search page and check the Dashboard menu options for a new Inspection Requests choice. This option takes you to a page that shows all existing requests whether they are Pending, Accepted or Denied. The various options available to you here are the same as from the Windows program. You can process requests, send e-mails back to contractors, view the permits involved, manage the passwords assigned to the contractors, etc. To my mind, the web site is easier to use for reviewing requests because its easier to jump around to view different pages and to send e-mails. Try it out and let me know what you think.

Dashboard Control in Web Sites

I received feedback that some customers did not like the way the floating dashboard was triggered in the Staff and Public web sites. It was too easy to accidentally hover over the dashboard and have it spring out. So I have added a check box on the Main page that lets you switch the dashboard between it's default hover mode a new click mode. In click mode you have to click on the dashboard to make it open or close. Another user-friendly change is the addition of a street search option right from the Main page. Since this is one of the most frequently used actions in ZonePro, placing it on the Main page should prove handy. Let me know what you think about these changes and any other feedback you have about the web site's useability.

New Fields for Other Permits Database

Four fields were added to the Other Permits database so that it is now identical in structure to the Extra Permits database. The four fields are: Final Date, Status, Dimensions, and Description. The Windows interface has already been updated to show the new fields and the web pages will follow. Use the Installed Modules screen in Maintenance to download the updated screens. Note that the new Status field now provides a second way of adding Alert Messages to Other Permit records.

Contractor Web Site Revamped

The Contractor Inspection Request web site has been rewritten to match the style of the Staff site. If you receive any feedback of problems using the new site please let me know. For those customers that are unfamiliar: the Contractor Inspection Request site allows contractors to request inspections and check the status of inspections from their own web site.It is an add-on option for all existing ZP SQL customers who have the Contractor Module installed.

New Public Web Site

Every ZP SQL customer now has a new Public web site. The idea is the same as the previous Public web site but this one was rewritten to match the style used by the Staff web site. The purpose of the Public web site is to provide a convenient way for non-employees to see information housed in ZonePro. The new Public site is still limited in the information it shows (no fees, phone numbers, or notes, etc.) and still does not provide any editing. One major new feature from the previous version is that Public site now supports mapping. It also supports limiting reporting options. The idea of a Public web site always seems to spark some controversy as to what information should or should not be included. If you want changes made to your community's Public web site please let know. You can opt out altogether as well.

Jump Reports for Staff Site

One of the great unsung features of the Windows interface for ZonePro is the ability to use the report screens as search tools and then "jump" to the application record you were seeking. Now you can do that on the Staff web site too. It works a little different though. I've actually created several "Jump" reports which show up in the Report Choice drop-down box of various report screens. Rather than producing a report you can print however, these reports show the results in a grid that lets you "jump" to any of the included records. It's a great way to search for permits and the like when you don't know the permit number.

Alert Messages for Staff Web Site

The Alert Message feature of ZonePro has been added to the Staff web site. If you have the value "ALERT" typed into either the Status field or the User4 field of any of the major databases, an Alert message box will pop up to tell the viewer to look at the Notes field before proceeding. This function should work the same in the Staff web site as it does in the Windows interface. This is a great way to flag property records or permit records that need special attention before any other action is allowed.

Notekeeper for Staff Web Site

The Notekeeper feature of ZonePro has been added to the Staff web site. For those who need a refresher: the Notekeeper feature allows you to store pre-defined bits of text for any of the various application screens that can later be easily added to the Notes field of a given record. This features saves you having to retype commonly used phrases, etc. The text segments are defined in Maintenance Options and organized by topic. Special buttons near the Notes fields allow you to paste in these text segments when editing application records. This feature is great for inspections, for example, to pre-define the text that you like to use for common problems. Then instead of having to retype the text each time you come across one of these common infractions, you can simply select the text you want by topic name and have it automatically copied into the inspection Notes field. Give it a try on the web site and let me know what you think.

Planning and Miscellaneous Modules Combined

The Planning Module has been absorbed into the Miscellaneous Module in the latest update. You may have noticed that this change happened a while ago in the Staff web site. Now it has happened in the Windows program too. This means that every customer who owns the Miscellaneous Module will now have the Planning database and screens added to their system. There are a handful of cases of customers who only own the Planning Module and they will now have access to the Miscellaneous screens (Misc Fee, Other Permits, and Extra Permits). The annual fee for the two modules will simply be combined starting in 2015. Most customers will not have to do anything other than download the latest updates to get access to the new screens. Those few with just the Planning Module will receive an e-mail with an extra step required to transition smoothly to the new format.

No Time for Last Update

In the newest updates to the Windows modules and the web pages the Last Update field has been modified to remove the time portion of the value. The Last Update field appears on every database screen and is one of the few that cannot be edited manually because it is filled in by the host server. It tells the viewer when that particular record was last edited. Unfortunately, because it is filled in by the host server, it is subject to the time zone of that server and this caused undo confusion and consternation to several customers. Since the most important information was the date portion of that value, I decided to save everyone grief by only showing the date portion in all screens. This update does affect just about every module in ZP SQL. You can download the updates by using the Installed Modules screen in Maintenance. Your web site already has the changes.

PDF Generation from Staff Web Site

I am experimenting with a method for generating PDF versions of reports and documents from the Staff web site. Right now customers can try this out from the document and report pages associated with the Building, Zoning, and Violations databases. In each of these pages you'll find variants of the standard documents or reports that have a "pdf" tag. Viewing these documents you'll see the option to create either a "Saved" or "Temporary" PDF version of the document. The temporary version can be downloaded or printed. The saved version creates a PDF file that is stored in a special folder in your ZP SQL internet account. This file can be viewed from the Document or Report main page from that point on. One obvious next step is to make it easy to email these PDFs as links or attachments. I've also thought about making it possible to upload files directly to the special PDF folder. If you have any ideas about making this feature more useful please share them with me.

Document Editor for Staff Site

The Staff web site has a new Document Editor option. This option allows you to edit existing documents and create new ones by using a "Save As" option. Just like in the Windows interface the editor is a clunky tool that is difficult to use but offers great benefits. Unfortunately the skills required bear little resemblance to those needed in the Document Editor of the Windows program so there will be a new learning curve no matter what. I have disabled the save options in the Document Editor to start with until I have a better idea how this tool will be used. I'm happy to work with individual customers on using this option though if they wish to contact me.

Staff Site Adds Document Screens

Every ZP SQL customer just had their Staff web sites updated. The major new addition is document pages for all of the application databases. This was the last major piece of the puzzle in creating a web-based version of ZP SQL that can rival the Windows interface. I also redesigned the report pages. Both the report pages and the document pages work like the Windows interface in that they dynamically load the list of available reports and documents. Each report and document is saved as a separate file in the same fashion they are in the Windows program. This makes it possible to easily add new reports and documents to the system and to customize the existing documents. As always, please try out the new features and let me hear your suggestions for improvements!

New Custom Report Training Video

Yesterday I had a customer request that I create a custom report for them. Instead I posted a new Training Video that shows how to they could do it themselves in 5 minutes. You can watch the new video here!

Staff Site Redesign

Today I am posting another revision of the Staff web site for all ZP SQL customers. The new version has a redesigned Dashboard feature and numerous new pages. This site now has almost all of the main functionality of the Windows interface (with the major exception of document output options). Please let me know if you find it lacking any features from the Windows interface that are important to you. I would like any feedback on ways to make this site a really useful tool for ZP SQL customers.

Maintenance Fee Pages Added to Staff Site

Yesterday I posted a new Staff web site for all ZP SQL customers. There are numerous new features including the addition of Fee definition pages in the Maintenance section. This is a major step forward to providing a full featured web experience. I have devised a way to store and calculate formula based fees from the web site. The web formulas and Windows formulas are stored separately since the code has to be different but translating existing Windows formulas to their web equivalent is relatively straight forward. Any customer that wants help translating their formulas should contact me. As always, I'd love to get some feedback on the new features being added to the Staff web sites!

Email Options From Staff Web Site

I have just added several Email options to the Staff web site. You can launch an email screen from the Building Inspection page, the Contractor page, and the Contact File page. These screens are all designed so that you can copy in various chunks of field data easily and also add your own text. Before you use this feature you should probably go to the Email Setup page under the new Maintenance section to at least save your preferred return email address. You can send Emails without having to add your own SMTP server by using our built in default. If this doesn't work for you, the Setup page lets you enter your own SMTP server information. Try this feature out and give me your feedback!

Staff Site Adds Maintenance Section

A recent major addition to the Staff web site is a series of pages that are the equivalent of the Maintenance Options section in the Windows version of ZonePro. This is the first time I have added any of the Maintenance screens to a web site.Not all of the Maintenance options are available from the web yet (notably most of the screens dealing with fees are still absent) but a great deal of functionality is present. Please try this section out and give me your feedback as again fleshing out the web side of ZonePro is a major emphasis this year. Thanks!

Staff Sites Deployed

Every ZP SQL customer now has the new version of the Staff site available for them from their web root page. Please try this new site out and let me hear your suggestions. In almost every case, the new Staff site is accessed from the same link used to get to the old Staff site. If you wish to have access to your older Staff site for some reason, it is still there and I can easily add a link. If you have your old Staff site linked from another page (such as your main community web site) you may want to consider switching to the newer version. I'd be happy to advise based on how you currently make use of the system.

New Staff Web Page

I've posted the demo site version of the new Staff web page (www.zpdemo.zpuser.com/staff/). This is a complete rewrite of the previous Staff page. My goal this year is to continue to develop this web page until it can rival the Windows interface in functionality. The idea being that eventually users will be able to do everything they need to do from a web page. The new site differs from the old Staff site in that it requires a user log in. It has a fancier floating sidebar and some other changes that are designed to make it work for mobile devices as well as larger screens. The next step is to roll out this version of the site for existing ZP SQL customers and then return to enhancing. I am very interested in getting customer feedback on this new site. I need to know what features I should work on adding first and where the current weaknesses are. Any suggestions you have to share would be appreciated!

New Local Copy Setting in Global Options

Recently I have a rash of support calls where the culprit of problems turned out to be the "Create Local Copy" button. The "Create Local Copy" option was designed to give users a way to save various Maintenance databases locally so that ZP would not need to make an Internet call to get that data. In theory this would be a time saver but in reality the feature causes more trouble than it is worth. Now there is a new Global Personalization Options on the Two Tab of that screen that says "Allow Local Copy Option in Maintenance Screens." Keeping that option checked means the button will work as it always has. Unchecking that option means the buttons will be disabled for all users. For most customers I would recommend going ahead and turning this feature off. If you have a Maintenance Screen where the "Local Copy" button reads "Delete" instead of "Create", I would go ahead and delete the local copy before disabling the feature system wide.

New Max Rows Setting In Personalization Options

Every report screen in ZP SQL has a Max Rows option that is set at 100 records by default. This means that no matter what report criteria you use, ZP will return no more than 100 records for that query. This is basically a safety feature to prevent users from accidentally requesting a huge data set over the Internet and bogging down their connection. You can manually change this value any time you run a report but some users wanted a way to avoid this limitation all together. So now there is a new setting in the SQL Tab of the Local Personalization Options screen that lets you keep the default setting at 100 or change it to 0 which effectively turns the limitation off. The new option "Set Max Rows to 100 in Report Screens" will be turned on unless you go into the Personalization screen and uncheck it. This new feature affects just about every module in ZP SQL so you will have to download a full complement of upgrades to implement it.