ZP NEWS ZONEPRO CUSTOMER SUPPORT NEWSLETTER August 2010 Volume 14, Number 2 HOPPING ON THE GO-TO-MEETING BANDWAGON Maybe you've seen the commercials or read the ads. GoToMeeting.com is everywhere these days. At any rate, they count ZP Systems as one of their subscribers. We can now host on-line meeting with our customers whenever we want. This has proven to be a great tool for training. We can host a meeting where customers can log on and see our computer screens as we walk through various features of ZonePro. It also is great for troubleshooting. There is a feature that lets us give you control of the meeting which means that we can see what is on your computer screen. Eventually I plan to organize a series of scheduled training meetings that any customer can sign on to if they have that time slot free, but so far most of our meeting have been ad hoc. If you have a specific ZonePro issue you want training on or want to try remote troubleshooting, give us a call and give it a whirl. YET ANOTHER DOCUMENT EDITOR SHORTCUT [ZP32/ZPSQL] I was working on changes to the Image Viewer screen in the Photo Module when I realized there was no easy way to open the documents for that screen in the Document Editor. That screen does not have an Output drop-down box with its "Document Editor" option. I decided to just add a shortcut for the mouse middle-click button to the Print button on the screen. Middle-click on that button and the selected document automatically opens in the Document Editor. It worked great. So great in fact that I decided to add that shortcut to every document and report screen in ZonePro. The middle-click mouse option can now be used to launch the Document Editor throughout ZonePro. This function works exactly the same as the right-click shortcut that makes it easy to "Preview" documents. Not every mouse has a middle-click button but many do these days. Usually it doubles as a scroll wheel or ball. This new option is also great for the various System Report screens that have bar and pie chart options, because previously there was no quick way to open those reports in the Document Editor. NEW ACTIVITY OPTION FOR CONTRACTOR MODULE [ZP32/ZPSQL] There is a new control button along the bottom of the Contractor screen named Activity. Clicking on this button takes you to a screen that lists all the permits the currently selected contractor is linked to. This is the easiest way yet to see what any given contractor has been up to in your community. The new screen also has a Jump button that can be used to jump to any of the listed permit records. Contractor activity information has always been available in ZonePro by using the Contractor Activity Report screen. This is still the best tool for getting that kind of information on multiple contractors at Page 1
once. But if you just want to view the activity of one specific contractor the new Activity button is the fastest way to do it. PHOTO SELECTION SHORTCUT IN BATCH LOADER [ZP32/ZPSQL] While working with the Batch Loader screen in the Photo Module I found that the Preview Pane option was stymied by the fact that I had to exit preview mode in order to move a photo I liked from the Source column over to the Images To Move column. Rather than bouncing in and out of preview mode I decided to add a right-click option to each column list box. Right-clicking on a image name moves that item from one column to the other. This option works whether you are in preview mode or not. IMAGE VIEWER SUPPORTS HTTP PATHS [ZP32/ZPSQL] The Image Viewer in the Photo Module will now directly display images stored on the internet. If you add a photo record that has an "HTTP" file path you no longer have to use the rocket Launch button to view the image in a browser. Beginning your path with "HTTP" means you are entering an internet URL as opposed to the path of a file stored on your own network. In the past you had to mark the Not An Image option to view JPG files stored on the internet. Now you can uncheck the Not An Image option and view such images directly in the Viewer just like any other image file. PHOTO MODULE ADDS ON-LINE STORAGE OPTION [ZPSQL] The greatest advantage of ZonePro SQL is that customers can access their ZonePro data from anywhere. And that advantage holds true for every module except one: the Photo Module. The Photo Module allows you link any third-party file to a ZonePro property record, but it only stores the path to the file. Once you leave your local network, that path is no longer valid. That means you can link a JPG photo to a property in the office and it will work fine. But when you later log into ZP SQL from Starbucks, that photo is no longer accessible. One solution to this dilemma is to save more than just the path in the database; save a copy of the photo itself in the database. If you do that, then the photo is available from anywhere just like all of the other ZonePro data. The downside is you can quickly create a monster-sized database which introduces a whole new set of problems. My solution is to compromise. The Photo Module has been enhanced so that it gives you multiple storage options. You can continue to use it to store just the path and it will work the way it always has. Or, you can use a new option that lets you store a copy of the file in an on-line SQL database. A new field has been added to the Photo database that keeps track of which files are stored on the web. When you use the Image Viewer screen, ZonePro checks to see if the path is valid first. If it is, it pulls up the picture the same as it always has. If it isn't and a copy is stored on-line, it pulls the picture from the SQL database. In other words, when you view a file on your local network the Photo Module works like it did before, but when you access ZP SQL remotely you can still view any picture that has been copied to the on-line database. There are some limitations we are imposing to keep the internet storage option from getting bogged down. You can only copy JPG images and PDF non-image files to the internet database. Of course, you can continue to store any type of file for locally linked items. Also, all JPG images are resized to no larger than 1024 x 768. But, again, you can have both local and internet copies so your local copy retains Page 2
its original size. For now we are allotting each customer 1,000 free photo records stored on the internet. Beyond that we will charge extra. NEW FIELDS FOR PHOTO DATABASE [ZPSQL] To keep track of whether a copy of a photo is stored online we added a new field to the photo database. The "Web Store" field is set to either true or false and its value cannot be edited by the user. Another new field is "Folder Link" which is also a true or false field. There was already an option to mark a record as a Folder Link when adding a new record, but previously that bit of information was not saved. This field determines whether the Path listed points to a folder instead of an individual file. And finally we have added a new field called "Album." This field was added for organization purposes. It gives you a way of creating subgroups of photo records within a given property. The idea is that any given property can have multiple photo "Albums" and you can easily view just the album you are interested in. When you click on the Camera icon on the Property Screen you are now prompted to choose the "Album" you wish to view. This should make it easier to find what you are looking for when a property has accumulated lots of photo links. BATCH LOADER REDESIGN IN PHOTO MODULE [ZPSQL] I wanted to make sure the Photo Batch Loader also had the option to upload copies to the SQL database online. And I wanted to add the new Album field to group of global fields that could be defined for all the photos added in the batch. These additions made an already cluttered Batch Loader Screen look really chaotic so I redesigned the screen. Now the Batch Loader in ZonePro SQL is divided into a series of four tabs that you progress through in order. This wizard-style interface makes it easier to accommodate the new additions without overwhelming users with too many choices on one screen. On the first tab called "Setup" you'll find a new option to Save Images In SQL Database On The Web. You can use this option to save a copy of each photo on the internet so that the photo can be viewed remotely. The third tab is the "Batch Fields" section and there you will find the new Album field. A special drop-down box accompanies this field that will list any Albums already created for the current property. Selecting a name from this list automatically copies it to the Album field. PHOTO MODULE PAGES FOR STAFF WEB SITES [ZPSQL] Previously our Staff web page interface for ZonePro SQL did not have any Photo Module pages because there was no way to view images remotely. Now that we have a solution to that issue we are adding a Photo Module section to the Staff pages. You can browse through the records for all of the items stored in the photo database, but you can only view those photos and PDFs that have been copied to the online SQL database. I have made these pages some of the first ones that you can also Add and Delete from using the web interface. This means you can upload PDFs and photos into ZonePro SQL directly from the Staff web site. In this case, of course, you won't have a local copy of the item on your office network. The other limitation, at least for the moment, is that there is no Batch Loader option for the web. You have to add photos one at a time. Page 3
NEW TICKLER MESSAGE CHECKING OPTION [ZPSQL] The Tickler Message option is more useful in ZonePro SQL than in ZonePro 32 because you can use it to easily communicate with coworkers who are not in the office. The problem though is that remote users have to manually check for messages in ZonePro. It's true you can turn on a Personalization Option that performs an automatic check when you first log in but it doesn't help after that point. The solution was to add another Personalization Option that tells ZP to check for new messages each time a user returns to the Main Screen. On the Functionality tab of the Local Personalization Screen there is a new check box that reads "Always Check Message Center at Main Screen". When you mark this option ZP SQL will look to see if there are any unread messages in your Message Center queue and display a message telling you how many there are whenever you return to the Main Screen. To make it easier to launch the View Messages screen I added right-click code to the Daily Schedule button in the lower left corner of the Main Screen. I am in the process now of adding a message checking feature to the opening page of the Staff web site interface. This will make it easy to check for ZP messages from anywhere at any time. MORE SQL VERSIONS OF TOOLBOX UTILITIES [ZPSQL] Many of the utilities that are part of the traditional ZonePro 32 Toolbox Module perform database manipulations. Most of these utilities were left out of the initial version of ZonePro SQL but we are creating SQL versions of these tools as needed. Below are three tools that now have a SQL equivalent. SQL Browser Although the Database Browser tool was carried over from ZP 32 to ZP SQL, it is of limited use in the ZP SQL environment because it cannot browse SQL databases. Now we have added a SQL Browser tool that gives you a way to directly view the contents of SQL databases in your account. This tool can be very useful for troubleshooting purposes. Like the Database Browser, it also includes an option for printing the file layouts of databases. This is a great resource for learning the field names you need when customizing documents and reports in ZonePro SQL. One of the major differences between the SQL Browser and the Database Browser tool is that the SQL Browser does not allow any editing of the data. SQL Archive Utility The SQL Archive Utility gives users an easy way to archive unused records from the Building Inspection Details database and Building Fee Details database. Because of the way lists from the maintenance databases are copied over when new Building permits are created, it is easy to accumulate inspection and fee detail records that are never actually used. Removing these excess records, especially if there are thousands of them, can help increase the response speed of the Building Module. The SQL Archive Utility automates the removal process while still providing a way to retain the records until you are ready to permanently delete them. SQL Permit Mover The SQL Permit Mover tool allows you to easily move a permit that was entered under the wrong property record to a new property record. Without it, your only recourse is to delete the errant record and re-enter the permit under the correct property. With this tool you only have to supply the ID Code of the Page 4
permit you wish to move and the Property ID of the new property you wish to move it to and it takes care of the rest. EXTRA NOTE VIEWING OPTION FOR BUILDING INSPECTIONS DETAILS [ZPSQL] One of the learning curves for customers moving from ZonePro 32 to ZonePro SQL is getting used to the new Notes fields that are now available on the Inspection Detail screen for each inspection detail item. In ZP 32 all of the inspection notes are stored in the permit Notes fields because the inspection details do not have their own inspection notes fields. This has created some confusion during the transition for customers who go to the Inspection Detail screen and don't find their notes where they expected them. To help with this issue we have added a View All Notes button to the Inspection Details screen. Leftclicking on this button brings up a screen showing all the accumulated inspection notes for all of the inspection detail items for the current permit. Right-clicking on the button also includes the two notes fields from the primary permit screen. This makes it easy to see all the potential notes for the permit in one place. NEW USER SCRIPT BLOG A new addition to our customer support web site is the ZP Users Scripts blog. Previously I had several text documents that I had posted to show examples of user scripts that various customers used to solve different problems. Those text documents are still there under the regular Scripts page of our site. The problem is there was no easy way to search through the scripts when I was trying to find an old example that matched up well with a new customer request. By transferring that information to a blog format it makes it much easier to search using the Labels options. It also makes it easier to add new examples. NOTHING NEW UNDER THE SUN Hopefully there are few customers out there who read this newsletter and think to themselves "I already knew this." That's because most of this information has already been published on our product blogs. With the automated update options for ZonePro 32 and ZonePro SQL we no longer have to wait for big accumulated releases a couple of times of years. Now we can release and publicize updates as we create them. Likewise, you the customer can download these updates as soon as they are published. To keep up with the latest news read the "ZP 32 Journal" blog or the "ZP SQL Project." To download updates, use the Installed Modules screen on the System Tab of Maintenance Options. You can also check new module version information at the "Version Info" link from our customer support web page: www.zoneprosoftware.com. If your Base Module is older than 4.35 then the Automated Update option is not available to you yet. You will have to contact us to receive an upgrade via e-mail or CD before you can begin taking advantage of the convenience of automated updates. Page 5