CAP LOCKS WORKAROUND #2

I think this is workaround #2. Anyway, I mentioned in the past that you can press FN+caps to turn off and on caps-lock. The idea is to use caps in a field on a VCE form, then turn it off so you can use the "envelope" key to tab. That's a few too many finger presses.

You may already know this, but pressing Caps/Shift two times is the same thing as FN+caps/shift. So, when you need info on a periodic or onhire form to be all caps, you press the Caps/Shift key twice, type your letters, then press Caps/Shift once again to turn it off, so that then you can use the "envelope" key to tab.

I'm still searching around for a more complete fix, but it hasn't happened yet.

Lock The Phone's Screen

This is a general setting for the phone. You can "lock" the screen so that you can't accidentally dial or press keys. Here are the steps:

Last updated: Oct 07, 2009

To lock the keys and screen of your HTC Touch Pro2:

1. Tap Start > Settings > All Settings
2. Then tap the Personal tab, Buttons and then tap the End Key tab
3. Tap to select Lock device, and then tap OK
4. Press and hold the End key to lock the keys and screen

To unlock, you click on the "unlock" menu at the bottom left of the screen, then press the unlock button that appears on the next screen.

This is optional to set up. You might like it, you might not. Did I say it was optional?

Online Periodic Form via The Phone

Just in case you needed to enter periodic data and your Visual CE Periodic 9.1 form wasn't working, you could go to the online periodic form. It's been around forever for contract surveyors. While the form on your phone is easier to use, it's nice to know there is another tool for you, if you need it.

www.tankcontainer.com/onlineforms/login.asp

New Periodic 9.1 Form Now Available

The new Periodic 9.1 form is available. It fixes the arrow key up and down issue. So now when you use arrow up or arrow down on the keyboard, it goes from record to record, instead of occasionally changing the value in a drop down list (e.g., customer). As of this post, only Roy has the current arrow key fixed version.

Flick Your Finger

Today I noticed on the "WEB" screen, that you don't have to use the tiny scroll bar to scroll through the page. You can just press your finger on the screen and flick up or down. You probably won't make the text smear like in my sample here, but you'll be able to scroll up and down without being tied to the tiny weeny scroll bar.

NOW FIXED: Arrow Down Can Change Customer By Accident

After a number of hours and going down one long dead end, I finally tracked down the cause of the arrow key issue with the Periodic 9.1 form. Turns out the nifty new "web page" screen showing pending macros and other reports sent was the cause of the arrow key problem. Definitely strange. I was able to fix the arrow key problem and retain the web page function. So now the Periodic 9.1 form will work the same, but the WEB button will take you to a separate form. As a surveyor you may not even notice a difference.

So, come on and get the newest Periodic 9.1 form. It's available for free!

Emails notifications are back

Email notifications to let you know PDFs were built are now working. For the past few weeks they were not working. This is the email with PDF attachments. It let's you know data was received and PDFs created. This is prior to the reports being approved (auto or manual approval).

With the new "web" button, I wonder how much we really need this notification email. What are your thoughts?

Pending Macros Count

There is now a little counter next to the heading "1. Pending Macros" when you use the "WEB" button on the periodic form. Just something to help you quickly count records.

Arrow Down Can Change Customer By Accident

Roy first reported this and Tony confirmed today that sometimes when you are using arrow up and arrow down on the keyboard to go thru records, that the customer code can accidentally change.

If/when you need to scroll thru records, you might want to move the cursor to another field. A non-drop down field like CSC.

The latest form fixes this problem by changing the first field on the M and V screens--be sure to ask for it from me. For the M screen the first field is the AAR600 box, instead of customer. The idea is that when you switch to that screen, AAR600 will "have focus", it will have the cursor, so if you then use arrow keys, customer won't be affected. The same goes for "surveyor name" field on the V screen. This will add an extra tab stop to your routine, but you'll adjust pretty easily. It is surely better than accidentally changing customer info.

Note, the switching values problem will (likely) still occur if your cursor is on another drop down, (e.g., location). My proposed fix is to reduce the chances of customer and valve mfg from changing when all you really want to do is cycle thru records.

Of course, if I find a better solution, I'll let you know. And you, should do the same.

Web button shows last 7 days

Note that the new WEB button (as showcased in Friday's Bigger is Better post) will show 1) Reports that are pending macros and in Part 2, it shows reports you sent from your phone for the last 7 days. Sorted by date, then unit number.