Locking Inspection Notes

A feature that carried over from ZonePro 32 to ZP SQL is the option to Lock Notes in the Global Personalization section. This option locks the second Notes field in the selected database screens. The idea being that inspectors could move their notes to the second Notes field without worrying that they could be altered by someone else. The problem with this feature in ZP SQL is that the Building databases no longer store inspection notes in the main Notes fields. Each inspection detail entry has its own Notes field. So now I have extended the Lock Notes option for the Building databases. It now locks the Notes field in the Building Inspection Details screen, but only if the current user does not match up with the initials of the Inspector field for that detail. The original inspector can continue to make changes to that Notes field. The Result field and Inspector field are also locked, but only if the fields already have a valued entered in them, and again, only if the current user is not the original inspector.

Mobile Web Site Available For Testing

Let us know if you would like to test the new mobile web site for ZonePro SQL. We're trying to format this site to work better with mobile devices such as smart phones and tablets. Right now we are adding it to customer's ZP SQL internet accounts on request. If you have an I-Pad or Android tablet you can also use ZP SQL via the Staff web site which you can access from the internet browser on the devices.

Exploring the Android Tablet World

I recently purchased an Android tablet (Toshiba Thrive) to experiment on in the office. My first concern is making sure the Staff web site works well in the native browser. I am also starting to work on a mobile version of the Staff site which will be formatted better for smart phones.

Quick Result For Building Inspection Web Page

We had a request from a ZP SQL customer who uses the Staff web site in the field to update building inspections. Their idea was to add a way to quickly fill in most of the inspection detail field. To implement it we added a drop-down box on the web page where you can select the desired result (from a list of past result values used). Then you click on the "Quick Result" button and it automatically fills in the Result, Last Inspection date, and Inspector fields. This information is saved and the Notes field is opened in Edit mode waiting for input. This options save quite a few steps for busy building inspectors.

Better Navigation

I posted updates today for most of the application databases. The primary change is that now the Navigation buttons are available immediately upon entering any application database for moving to the next or previous record, etc. Previously you did not see the Navigation buttons until after you had used the Browse button at least once. Just a reminder, you can right-click on the Next button to go the Last record in a series. Likewise you can right-click on the Previous button to jump to the First record. Also, if you are not editing you can type "N" for the Next record or "P" for the Previous record.

Viewing Photos Linked to Permits on the Web

A new section has been added to each of the permit database screens in the Staff web site. The new "Linked Photos" drop-down section will show any photos that have linked back to that specific permit record. This means that when you added the photo to a property in ZonePro you used the Linked ID option to further link it to an existing permit (or violation, etc.). As this is a web page option, you can only view JPGs and PDFs that have been copied to the web. You can view an example on the sample ZPDEMO web pages by looking up the property at 1400 Main Street and looking at the Zoning Module results.

New Photo Resize Option

I have added a right-click option to the Resize button in the Image Viewer Screen that will always downsize the displayed photo 25%. I decided there was a need for this kind of incremental resizing when playing with the crop tool. The crop tool only works if you can see the full area you wish to crop on your screen. Sometimes you need to resize the image a little to make everything fit.