Mobile Forms User Guide

Mobile Forms User Guide

Overview

The Field2Base Mobile Forms™ application allows a User to easily capture and securely send field data to the office from a Device such as an Android Tablet, Android Phone, iPad, or iPhone. The Mobile Forms™ application offers a slightly different experience depending on the type of device used, but the main functionality is the same. See the article Field2Base Compatibility and Supported Platforms/Browsers for more information on platform and operating systems supported for the Mobile Forms™ application. If you have not installed the Mobile Forms application on your Device, you can find Install Guides for each type of Device in the Using the Mobile Apps section of the Field2Base Help Center.


Accessing Mobile Forms

Once you have installed the Mobile Forms™ application on your Device, you can access the application by single-tapping the Apps menu button in the lower right-hand corner of your screen and then single-tapping the Field2Base Mobile Forms™ application icon.

      

The application icon may display a numerical indicator in the upper right corner if there are pending Work Orders from the home office.

Note: You can place the Field2Base Mobile Forms™ application icon on your Home Screen like any other application. Consult your Device’s user manual for more information on organizing your applications.

The Mobile Forms™ application employs the following gestures to navigate throughout the application.



Single Tap

Using your index finger, simply tap (or touch) the area you wish to interact with.


Press and Hold

Using your index finger, press an area of the screen and maintain pressure for 2 or more seconds.


Spread (zoom in)

Using your index finger and your thumb, touch an area of the screen and spread your fingers to zoom in.


Pinch (zoom out)

Using your index finger and your thumb, touch an area of the screen and pinch your fingers together to zoom out.


Scroll

Using your index finger, press an area of the screen, and while maintaining pressure, slide your finger up or down to drag the screen.


Swipe

Using your index finger, press an area of the screen, and while maintaining pressure, move your finger left or right quickly in a “flicking motion”.

 


The Main Menu displays all of the primary functions for the applications. There are four major areas: Blank, Drafts, My Work, and Sent.
You can view only Forms for a specific Folder by choosing that Folder from the drop-down at the top of the list.  You can sort each list by clicking on the Sort button in the lower right-hand corner.

       

Settings

You can access the Settings for Mobile Forms™ from the Settings icon in the bottom left corner of the screen. From Settings, you are able to view your About Mobile Form information, manage your Address Book contacts, change your Default Pen Options, and set your Default Start Screen.

             

About Mobile Forms

In this section, you are able to view the following information:
  1. the software version of Mobile Forms™ that you are currently running on your Device
  2. your Mobile Forms Activation ID
  3. the Field2Base Username this Device is assigned to
  4. your Company Name
  5. your Company ID
  6. the Build you are using: this can include "App Store" or "Production" Note: the Production build is also referred to as the Enterprise build


Address Book

Tap on the add contact icon in the bottom right corner to add a new contact.
Single tap any contact to open the Edit Contact dialog box. From there, you can edit the information for a contact. 
To delete a contact, left swipe on the contact and click the Delete button.


Default Pen Options

You are able to change the default pen color, pen size, or eraser size when using ink in Pen Regions by single tapping any of the options. These options are also accessible in Pen Regions within a Form by long pressing on the Region.

Note: If you change your default pen color to white, you will not be able to see signatures against a white background.
    

Default Start Screen

    You are able to change which set of Forms Templates are displayed when the Mobile Forms™ application is launched. By default, the application will always display Blank Forms. 

Data Synchronization

Field2Base is synchronizing data from your Mobile Device to the Field2Base cloud as it finds connectivity. In the upper left-hand corner of the Main Menu, you will see the last time the Mobile Forms™ application synchronized with the Field2Base cloud. You can tap on the  icon to sync your device if your device is currently connected.

Note:  If you are sending Forms from the Device and they are not being received, you should check the Last Sync time on the Main Menu to ensure that your Device is communicating with the Field2Base cloud.

Log Out

If allowed by your administrator, you may have the option to log out of the Mobile Forms™ application and log back in (or allow a different User to log in). You can accomplish this by clicking on the   icon in the left hand menu bar.

Once logged out, you must know your Field2Base Username and Password to log back in.
You can easily search for a specific Form Template by using the Search field in the upper right hand corner of each list view.


Sort 

There is a sort icon in each list view that allows you to quickly sort your Forms. 
  1. In the Blank Forms section, you can sort by Name (ascending or descending), Publish Date (newest or oldest), or Most Recently Used.
  2. In the Drafts section, you can sort by Name (ascending or descending) or Last Modified (newest or oldest).
  3. In the My Work section you can sort by  Name (alphabetically), Newest (by time received), Oldest (by time received) or Priority.
  4. In the Sent Forms section, you can sort by Name (ascending or descending) or Sent Date (newest or oldest).




Blank Forms

Selecting the Blank icon on the Side Menu displays blank digital Forms created by your Company and assigned to a Folder the assigned User has access to. 

 

Opening a Form

To open a Form, single tap the Form you wish to complete. You can tap on the arrow to the left of a Form name to see the Folder for that Form and the last date the Form was published. 


Note: You can hold your Device in Landscape or Portrait orientation. The Mobile Forms™ application will automatically resize your Form to fit your preferred screen orientation. If your screen does not rotate, consult your Device manual to enable screen rotation in the Device settings. Field2Base recommends using the Landscape orientation for most Forms as it typically allows the Regions to be larger and easier to interact with.

Entering Information

Single tap a Region on the Form to begin entering information. Select the Done button on the keyboard, use the back arrow on your Device, or tap off the highlighted Region to complete your data entry. See the section on Region Options Available in this article for further options available for specific types of Regions.

Editing a Region Value

Single tap on the Region that you need to edit and make your changes. Tap off the highlighted Region or select the Done button on the keyboard (if available) to complete your data entry. 

Note: The Done button can replace the Return button on your keyboard if it is set up in your Company Configurations.

Erasing a Region Value

Press and hold on the Region you wish to erase until you see a second command to Erase region value (Android) or Erase (iOS) then single tap.


Changing Pages 

Use the left swipe gesture on the screen as though you are turning the page of book to go to the next Page. Swipe your finger to the right to return to the previous Page. Some Forms may have page navigation disabled as part of the form design so you will need to use buttons built in to the Form to navigate through pages. 

Note: If the Form only has one Page, the Page will simply “bounce” back into its original position when using the swipe gesture.


Sending a Form

Single tap on Menu (iOS) or the three ellipses (Android) in the upper right-hand corner of the screen then select the Send option.

Form Validation

Your Form may contain required Regions applied in Forms Designer during Form design. These Regions need to be filled before the Form can be sent. If any of these Regions are empty, the Mobile Forms™ application will alert you when you attempt to send the Form and show you all of the Regions that need to be filled in still. You can tap on a specific Region in the list and the application will highlight that Region on the Form. Once you have filled out all of the required Regions, you will be able to send the Form.



Selecting Recipients

You can select one or more Recipients for your sent Form from the optional Recipients list. The list of Optional Recipients includes all enabled Recipients for the Folder that the Form belongs to. Optional Recipients are set through User and Recipient settings in the Field2Base Portal. See the article, Managing Users and Recipients, for more information on managing your optional Recipients list using the Field2Base Admin Portal.

  1. Select a Recipient from the list by single tapping their name. (This will place a blue checkmark next to their name indicating the individual email recipient has been selected.)
  2. Deselect the Recipient by single tapping their name a second time.
     

Manually Adding Recipients not in the list 

If a Recipient is not in the list, you can add a new Recipient manually. 

  1. Type the email address in the email address field.
  2. Select the Add button.
  3. You can check the add to address book checkbox if you want to add this email address to your list of Recipients for future form submissions. Your Address Book is local to your device. See the section on Settings in this article for more information on managing your Address Book.



Region Options Available

Audio Region

An Audio Region embeds audio recordings into your digital Form. The Audio Region can record up to 30 seconds of sound into your Form.

  1. Single tap the Record button (red circle) to begin your recording, then press the same button (now a Pause button) to end your recording.
  2. Single tap the Play button (black triangle) to play back your recording.
  3. To re-record your audio, single tap the Record button again to replace your audio file.
      

       

Camera Region

To take a photo in the Camera Region, single tap on the region to open your device's camera. For other Camera Region options, press and hold on the region to reveal the options menu. 

Options:
  1. Select"Take Photo" to open your device's camera.
  2. Select "Choose Image" to load an existing image or photo.
  3. Select "Clear Image" to delete the image currently in the region.
  4. Select "Clear All Ink" to remove any ink or drawings on top of the image.
  5. Select "Create Drawing" to add drawings, shapes, and annotations (available in Mobile Form 7.0 and higher). See the article How to Use the Drawing Tool for more information.


Document Scan Region 

(available in Mobile Form 7.0 and higher)
A Document Scan Region can be used to easily add and crop pictures of paper documents. 
1. Single tap on the region to open the camera.
2. Hover the camera over the document and, once aligned, the image will be automatically captured.
3. Press and hold the corners of the document to crop. To retake the image, press the Back button on the top left. If you are satisfied with the image, press Next.
4. On the second screen, your document will appear aligned, per the previous cropping. To re-crop, press the Edit Scan button at the top left.
5. To toggle between black and white or a full-color image, tap the icon on the bottom left.
6. To rotate the document 90 degrees, tap the icon on the bottom right.
7. If you are satisfied with the image, press the Done button on the top right.

     

Pen Region

A Pen Region can be used to capture data such as signatures or drawings. Pen Regions are available in two formats. The format is set in Forms Designer during the design process.

  1. Standard Format: The Pen Region will begin recording your ink strokes as soon as you single tap it.
  2. Full Canvas Format:  (Recommended for signatures) You will get a full screen popup canvas when you single tap the Region, giving you a much broader area to create ink strokes. 
  1. Press and hold on the canvas Pen Region to view the options. 
  2. Single tap Clear all ink to clear the entire Region.
  3. Single tap Pen and Eraser Options to view the pen and eraser options. These options allow you to change how the ink strokes appear for this Region or to erase only specific parts of the ink.

      

      

GPS Region 

You can map or start navigation for a location by pressing and holding on the GPS region.



Voice to Text in a Text Region 

You can use Voice to Text recognition to dictate sentences into a Text Region. Simply tap on the microphone button on the keyboard and start talking.

      



My Work

The My Work area displays Work Orders that have been dispatched to you with prefilled information. For example, a field technician can receive a Work Order with the customer’s name, phone number, and address already filled by the home office. The technician can use that information to complete the job then finish the Form as needed and send it in. To find out how to create a Work Orders from the Admin Portal, see the article on Dispatching Work Orders from the Portal. You can click on the arrow to the left of the Work Order name to view when it was created and the address (if available).


Opening a Work Order

To open a Work Order, single tap the item you wish to complete in the My Work listYou can then complete the rest of the Form as needed.

You can also single tap on the Folder dropdown and select a specific Folder to narrow down your list of Work Orders to view only those associated with a specific Folder rather than showing Work Orders from all Folders available to you.

Address Options for Work Orders

If the Work Order includes an address,  you can get turn-by-turn navigation to that address using the default mapping app on their Device by clicking on the Navigation icon next to the Work Order title or by long-pressing on the Work Order title If you click and hold on the icon, you will get the options to Map this location or Start navigation.





Note: If no Address has been defined for the Work Order, these functions will not be available.
       

Saved Drafts

The Drafts area of the Main Menu contains any Form you started and saved as a Draft to complete later. You can click on the arrow to the left of the Draft name to view the Form Template, Folder Name, the date and time when the Draft was last modified and the date and time when the Draft was created.

Warning: Drafts are saved to your local Device only. If your Device is lost or damaged or if you need to uninstall the Mobile Forms app, you will lose your Drafts since they have not yet been submitted to the Field2Base system. We recommend not keeping Drafts for extended periods of time.




Opening a Draft

To open a saved Draft, single tap the Form you wish to completeYou can then complete the Form as needed. 

Deleting a Draft

If you no longer need a saved Draft, swipe left on the Draft you want to delete then tap the Delete button that appears on the right.


Sent Forms

The Sent area of the Main Menu contains all the Forms you have sent from your Device. The default length of time to keep Sent Form history is 90 days but it can be customized to be shorter or longer company-wide or by specific user. The status of each sent Form is displayed so that you can view if the form has been uploaded to the Field2Base system. You can easily see if the submitted Form has been successfully transmitted from your Device. If successful, you will see the  icon to the right of the Sent Form. You will also see a status of “Uploaded” underneath the Sent Form. Forms that have not been successfully submitted yet will have an   icon to the right with a status of “Uploading”You can click on the arrow to left of the Form name to view the Form Template, the Folder Name, the date and time your Form was sent and the date and time your Form was created.

Note: You can only view a Sent Form, you can no longer modify it once it has been completed and sent.
Note: If your device is not connected when you send a form, it should automatically upload once it has service again. This typically happens in the background even if you have the Mobile Forms app closed but there are instances where you will need to open the app. Once you have service, we recommend opening the Mobile Forms app for the best possible conditions for upload and to verify that your form has been sent.



Opening a Sent Form

To view a Sent Form, single tap the form that you wish to view from the list

Quick Copy   

The Quick Copy feature allows the user to create a new Draft and import the Region values from a previously Sent Form. For example, a User who visits the same location on multiple days can use Quick Copy to automatically populate the location data from a previously Sent Form. The Regions available for Quick Copy are determined during Form design in Forms Designer.

1. Click on the   icon to the right of the Sent Form. This will open a new Draft with the available Regions already filled with the data from the Sent Form.
OR
1. Press and hold to select a Sent Form.
2. Select Quick Copy from the options dialog box that appears. This will open a new Draft with the available Regions already filled with the data from the Sent Form.

Note: If an updated version of the Form has been downloaded to your Device, that version of the Form will be used for Quick Copy and may cause unexpected behavior if Regions have been added or removed. For example, if new page(s) are inserted, no Region values starting at the new page will be quick copied.
We recommend starting a new Blank Form instead of using Quick Copy if a Form has recently been updated to ensure there are no data inconsistencies.



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