Updated Optional Documents

I have finally finished the process of updating all of the optional documents available from the Downloads page of our Customer Support Web Site to make sure that there are versions that work with both ZonePro SQL and ZonePro 32. You're bound to find something of interest so check them out.

Extra Document Screen for Contractor Fees

In the most recent update I have added an extra document screen to the Contractor Module. There is now a document screen available off of the new Contractor Fees Screen. The regular document screen, which is off of the Contractor Screen, can print fee information but I decided that it would only access the current Active Fee. That led to this extra document screen from the Contractor Fees Screen that gives access to all of the fees stored for the current contractor. The standard document that will ship with this screen is called "Fee History." Of course, it also supports unlimited custom documents.

Staff Web Pages Updated

Everyone's Staff web pages have been updated to work with the new Contractor Fees database, as well as the new fields in the regular Contractor database. Also tweaked Contractor Report page and added a report page for the Extra Permit database.

Contractor Module Adds Fee Database

In a major redesign of the Contractor Module we have now added a separate database for tracking fees. This allows you to have multiple fees attached to a single contractor record. In prior versions only one fee could be stored in the contractor record and we had a Reset button to copy old fee information into the Notes field before new fee information was added. The flaw with that design is that there is no good way to report on the old fee information. Now you will always be able to report on both the current active fee and any past fees collected from contractors. Existing ZP SQL customers will automatically have the new database added and their existing contractor fees moved. In addition to that major change we have also added a third Phone field to the contractor database as well  as a Notes2 field. We have also expanded the size of the Company field. You will need to download the new program files to take advantage of the new features. A training video has been posted detailing the new fee option.

Photo Module Supports Adds from Main Screen

A new version of the Photo Module is available for download that allows users to add new entries from the Photo Screen off of the Main Screen. Previously you could only view photos from this screen and had to go to the Photo Screen off of the Property Screen to add anything. You can also now use the Batch Loader from both Photo Screens. Users who converted from ZP 32 will recognize that this is more like the way the Photo Module works in that version.

Faster Inspection Processing on Staff Web Site

Had a great idea from a customer for a faster way to handle most building inspections on the Staff web site. On the Inspection Review page (click the Inspections button from the main page) there is new Building Inspections list that shows any scheduled inspections due within a certain number of days. You can also filter the list by inspector. This new list has an extra column that you only see when logged in with the proper security clearance. The extra column adds a "Pass" option to each inspection listed. Clicking on the "Pass" option clears the Next Inspection Date and Next Time fields, fills in the Last Inspect date with today's date, and fills in the Result field with "PASSED." This is an incredibly quick way to clear the majority of inspections that require no further input. For those that do require more input you can still click on the "Select" option but now you go straight to the Inspection Details screen for that permit so that you can edit the detail item and add notes as needed. This should be a great new option for building inspectors using the web site in the field. One further note, there is a special feature to this page that lets each customer define their preferred verbiage if, for example, they would rather fill in "APPROVED" instead of "PASSED."

Bracket Change for Custom Alert Messages

You can create your own custom message to insert in the Alert Message Option in ZonePro. In prior versions this was done by putting your message in the Notes field and book-ending your message with the tags: and . Because the angled brackets are associated with HTML web coding I decided it best to switch to curly brackets instead for ZonePro SQL. The feature still works the same as always except now the framing tags should be: {BeginAlert} and {EndAlert}. If you need any assistance finding and converting your existing custom messages please let me know.