Mapping Mania

Okay, one more post about mapping. I've already discussed how the ZP SQL web interface provides a way to include maps as part of the Property page. The really exciting part for me, however, are the mapping options that involve multiple properties. I've implemented a few of these options already. From the opening page you can view a list of recent permit activity or upcoming inspections. Both of these lists also have a mapping option. These maps plot a point for each record in the list. So, if in the last week you had issued five permits, your map would show five flags pinpointing where the activity occurred in your community. (Just like with the Property page, when you call the mapping option it will automatically geocode any properties listed that don't yet have their latitude and longitude defined.) Clicking on the individual markers on the map even displays some brief information about the record it represents. This is very cool stuff. If you have ZP SQL I definitely suggest you go to your web site and try this feature out. If you don't have ZP SQL you can still go to our demo web site and see how it works. In addition to the opening screen the option is implemented for several of the Recent Activity buttons. Just look for the "Show Map" map on any screen.

Adjusting Geocoding

In my last post I mentioned how the ZP SQL web interface will automatically geocode a property prior to showing it on a map. Again this is done by passing a street address to the Google Mapping Server and getting back the latitude and longitude. It turns out that is not a very precise science. In other words, the geographic point that the latitude and longitude represent is not always exactly where you may think it should be when placed on the map. My understanding of this process is that the Mapping Server does not have an address to point database that it uses to return the geocode. Rather there is some estimating that occurs based on the address number and the range of addresses on the street. Of course, there are also issues where you don't have a complete address (a vacant lot perhaps) and therefor can't expect a very precise returned geocode. And of course there is also the issue of coming up with a single point to represent a much larger polygon of some kind. All of this led me to seek out an easy way to allow users to adjust the geocode setting for any given property. This option is now available from the Property page of the ZP SQL web interface. It opens a new page that shows a larger map of the property in satellite view so that you can see buildings and structures. You can then move the marker that represents the property to a new location on the map and then save that point as then new geocode representation for that property.

Automatic Geocoding With Google Maps

When we rewrote the Property Screen for ZP SQL we added a couple of new fields for Latitude and Longitude. Last month we started putting these fields to use. The web-based interface for ZP SQL now has the ability to automatically geocode a property record using Google Maps server. Geocoding is the process of determining the latitude and longitude of a given point or, in our case, address. We've added logic to the web pages that passes the street address of a property to Google Maps and gets the latitude and longitude in return. We then store these values in the database. This happens each time you request a map of a given property. (Did I mention that you can now display maps as part of the Property Screen in the ZP SQL web interface? It's very cool.) This geocoding process happens behind the scenes, automatically. Of course, it only needs to do this for properties that don't yet have geocode values. It is self-populating the database and eventually, your latitude and longitude fields will be completed filled. How cool is that?

Online Photo Storage Beta

One of the trade-offs with the anywhere availability of ZP SQL is that it doesn't always work very well with the Photo Module. The problem is that the Photo Module works by storing the file path to the desired photo or document. But once you are no longer connected to your office network, that file path isn't valid. One solution to this issue is to allow customers to store photos on the internet. These photos would then be accessible through ZP SQL regardless of where the user is. To that end we are beta testing a new service we are calling WebAlbum. This service allows ZP SQL customers to store JPGs and PDFs as part of their ZP SQL internet account. As of now this service is only accessible through a web page interface. You can try this for yourself by going to the Property Screen at the ZP SQL web demo site and clicking on the "Photos & PDFs" button.

Sliding Expire Date Tutorial

I just added a second "Sliding Expiration Date" tutorial to our web site (on the Tutorial page, of course). Although the process is exactly the same in both ZP 32 and ZP SQL, the scripts are different. This will true anytime you have a script that pulls data from some database other than the currently active one. For the main Sliding Expiration Date script data is pulled from the inspection database to compare the latest inspection date with the Expire Date. As a side note, I'm mulling over several options that would build the Sliding Expiration Date option into ZP SQL so that you wouldn't need scripts at all. We'll see...

Contractor Inspection Request Beta

We are currently beta testing a new web service that will allow registered contractors to view any permits they are linked to and submit requests for inspections. New screens have been added to ZonePro SQL to review the inspection requests and accept or reject them. Contractors can see the responses to their request from the original web site. You can view a demo of this site at www.zpsql.com by choosing the Contractor site option. Try logging in with the ID "CT001003" and the password "zpdemo". This new web service will be available to all ZP SQL users who have the Contractor Module installed.

Old ZP SQL Demo Is Defunct

This past weekend all our SQL databases were moved to a new server. This means that any ZonePro SQL demo created before today won't work because it won't find the databases. I have just updated the demo file on our web page and the new version works fine.