Configuring Notes to Open Mandatory Actions Before Marking Stops as Visited and Departed
With Route4Me you can easily configure the Android Route Planner of your team members and drivers to perform certain mandatory actions before they can depart from any stop on any route. Enabling mandatory actions allows you to gain more control over the data gathered out in the field. You can ensure that all valuable information is properly collected and securely saved, eliminating the chance for human error. Mandatory actions can also be useful for your team members because the latter can get hints in case they forget to capture certain data before departing from a stop.
In the table below, you can find the list of available mandatory actions that can be activated through the Advanced Configuration Editor.
| Mandatory Action | Description |
|---|---|
| MANDATORY_IMAGE_NOTE_FOR_MARK_STOP | If set to “TRUE,” a user can mark a stop as visited or departed only after adding an image to the note associated with the corresponding stop. |
| MANDATORY_SIGNATURE_NOTE_FOR_MARK_STOP | If set to “TRUE,” a user can mark a stop as visited or departed only after adding a signature to the note associated with the corresponding stop. |
| MANDATORY_TEXT_NOTE_FOR_MARK_STOP | If set to “TRUE,” a user can mark a stop as visited or departed only after adding a text message to the note associated with the corresponding stop. |
| SCAN_BARCODES_AND_MARK_AS_RECONCILED | If set to “TRUE,” a progress bar and a barcode icon are displayed on each stop list item. The progress bar indicates how many attached barcodes were reconciled at the corresponding stop (i.e., 2 from 6 = 33%). The barcode icon is displayed in blue color when all scanned barcodes are reconciled at the corresponding stop, and in gray color when otherwise. |
| HIDE_CUSTOM_NOTE_TYPE_DROPDOWN | If set to “TRUE,” the default status drop-down list is removed from the note’s menu. This variable is only applicable when a user has configured additional custom note fields. |
Configuring Mandatory Actions Through the Advanced Configuration Editor
To configure mandatory actions, use the Advanced Configuration Editor that allows you to add advanced custom settings to your Route4Me account. To access the Advanced Configuration Editor, first, log into your Route4Me Web account and then either follow this link or paste the following string into the search bar of your web browser: “https://route4me.com/account/settings/config?expertmode=1”
To add a new mandatory action, once you open the Advanced Configuration Editor, click “New Variable” in the top left corner of the screen.
Next, fill out the “Key” and “Value” fields and click “Save” to activate the configuration. In the “Value” field, input “TRUE” if you want to enable the variable or “FALSE” to disable it. You can find the list of all available variables in the table above.
Once the variable is saved, you can view and edit it in the Advanced Configuration Editor. To do so, click on the gear icon next to the variable and select one of the options.
Repeat the process to add and activate more mandatory actions.
The mandatory barcode action adds the “Scan Barcodes” button to the “Stops” screen as well as progress bars and barcode icons next to particular stops. The progress bar indicates how many attached barcodes are reconciled at the corresponding stop. You can learn more about using the barcode scanner on your Android device here.
When you have mandatory actions enabled for adding images, text messages, and signatures, they are automatically activated at the same time in the form of the corresponding warning message. Depending on the enabled mandatory actions, the warning message displays what should be done to mark the stop as visited and departed.
When you enable the “HIDE_CUSTOM_NOTE_TYPE_DROPDOWN” variable, you can hide the default visitation status drop-down list from the note menu. This variable is especially useful when you want to customize your notes.
