Smartphone App

TrackAbout Module
Module Name:	Smartphone App
Short Description	TrackAbout's smartphone app for iOS and Android enables users to perform a variety of asset tracking operations.
Supported In:	TAMobile Android, TAMobile iOS
Business Process:	Asset Management, Production, Distribution, Supply Chain
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Overview

TrackAbout's smartphone app for iOS and Android enables users to perform a variety of asset tracking operations.

Requirements

The app is intended only for existing customers of TrackAbout. Call your sales contact for more details.

Smartphone operating system requirements

• iOS Version Support Policy (Apple)
• Android Version Support Policy

Features

General

• Geolocation - capture device GPS information during scanning. This GPS data will be displayed in a map view on the website when reviewing Record details.

Smartphone Compatible Actions

• Add New/Register Asset - initialize new assets or edit existing assets in TrackAbout
• Add New/Register Container/Pallet - initialize new containers/pallets in TrackAbout
• Add New/Register Bulk Tank - initialize new bulk tanks in TrackAbout
• Asset Search - search for assets by tag and view asset details and history
• Collect Many Signatures/Sign Later - allows collecting signatures for multiple deliveries to the same location at once, after the last delivery.
• Create Order - order creation, with the ability to add line items to the order by scanning existing assets (to look up their product code)
• Customer Audit - count all assets found on customer premise
• Delivery - delivery of assets, including not-scanned and hard good/consumable support
• Dynamic forms - collect custom data on any record*
• Fill - record the filling of assets
• Find Inventory - lookup assets on the go by product code or location
• Load and Unload Truck - track assets loaded onto and unload off trucks, including not-scanned and hard good/consumable support
• Locate - set location of assets to internal branch locations
• Maintenance - record maintenance on assets
• Receive from Vendor - record assets obtained from a vendor
• Reclassify Assets - change service of assets
• Replace Barcode - replace worn or missing barcodes while retaining asset history and traceability
• Reserve for Order - assign specific assets to an order
• Return Assets - similar to Delivery action, but allows returns only
• Sort Container/Build Pallet - add assets to a container/pallet in preparation for Filling, Delivery, Maintenance and Interbranch Transfer
• Sort Trip Load (Picking) - prepare an order for delivery

Follow On Tracking (FOT) Users

The app supports several Follow-On Tracking mobile actions:

• Asset Search - search for assets by tag and view asset details and history
• Move Asset - tracks customer movement of assets between their internal locations
• Record Weight/Volume - sets an asset volume or weight depending on asset type

Setup

The Smartphone app needs to be enabled in your instance. Call your sales contact for more pricing and details.

1. The Support Team will enable the Smartphone in your instance.
2. Mobile Roles Setup: Create and setup Mobile roles. Be sure to select the correct role purpose. The new role MUST select "Smartphone and Tablet"
3. Setup Internal Users
   1. For each user requiring access, check the box TAMobile Android/iOS
   2. Also assign the TAMobile Rugged and TAMobile Desktop role and save

Apple iOS Devices

iOS App Download

Can't Find TrackAbout using iPad?

On an iPad, when searching for "TrackAbout" in the App Store, TrackAbout may not appear in the search results. This is because the results are being filtered for iPad-only apps (as opposed to iPhone apps). TrackAbout is built as an iPhone app, but works on iPad.

You must search specifically for iPhone applications from iPad to find the TrackAbout application (pictured below)

Click the Toggle in the upper right hand corner to change to include iPhone applications in the search

Follow these steps on iPad:

• Launch the App Store
• Search for "TrackAbout"
• In the top left, tap "iPad only" and select "iPhone only"

iOS Version Support Policy

Updated September 23rd, 2020. This policy is reviewed quarterly.

Supported iOS Versions

WARNING: Beginning in Fall 2020, TrackAbout app updates will require iOS 12.4 or higher and we will drop support for iOS 11.x devices. All devices capable of running iOS 11 can upgrade to iOS 12.4

Current Policy:

• iOS version 11.4 or higher, including iOS 12, iOS 13, iOS 14
• Support for iOS 10 was discontinued in April 2019

Devices with non-supported OS versions will cease to get new updates of TrackAbout from their respective stores. They will always be able to uninstall and reinstall the last supported version from the App Store, but TrackAbout will only support the current application release.

See Apple's Find the software version page

Supported iPhones

• iPhone 11 series (11, 11 Pro, 11 Pro Max)
• iPhone X series (X, XR, XS, XS Max)
• iPhone 8 series (8, 8 Plus)
• iPhone 7 series (7, 7 Plus)
• iPhone 6 series (6, 6 Plus, 6S, 6S Plus)
• iPhone 5 series (5, 5C, 5S)
• iPhone SE series

See Identifying iPhone Models

Supported iPads

NOTE: Non-cellular iPads (WiFi only) do not have a GPS chip and geolocation of assets and records may be inaccurate.

• iPad (5th and 6th generation, 2017 and newer models)
• iPad Air series (iPad Air, iPad Air 2, 2019 and newer models)
• iPad mini series (2, 3, and 4 series, 2019 and newer model)
• iPad Pro series (1st, 2nd, and 3rd gen including 9.7 inch, 10.5 inch, 11 inch, and 12.9 inch models)

See Identifying iPad Models

The TrackAbout application will work on iPad, but the design is not currently optimized to take advantage of the larger tablet screen.

Supported iPod Touches

NOTE: iPod Touches do not have a GPS chip and geolocation of assets and records may be inaccurate.

• iPod Touch (7th generation)

See Identifying iPod Models

Support Policy Explained

Apple releases new major versions of iOS (e.g. iOS 11 to iOS 12) each year. See Wikipedia History of iOS for the exact schedule.

TrackAbout must choose how far back to support major versions of iOS. As time passes, it becomes increasingly expensive and eventually impossible to continue supporting apps on old versions of iOS. Apple forces the hand of developers by dropping support for older versions of iOS from their developer tools.

iPhones and iPads are consumer technology, and the pace of change in the consumer space is rapid. Whereas rugged enterprise devices are typically expected to have a useful service life of 5 years, consumer technology generally has a life-span of 2-3 years.

TrackAbout is sensitive to the needs of its customers and does not wish to unduly prohibit use of the app by paying customers who haven't yet or cannot update their devices to the latest version of iOS.

Therefore, TrackAbout's iOS Version Support Policy balances these competing realities by:

• Supporting the last two major releases (back to the most recent dot version of the older OS). For example, if iOS 11.3 is the latest version, TrackAbout supports iOS 11.X and iOS 10.3, which was the highest version in the 10.x series.
• Prompting users periodically to upgrade from within the TrackAbout app when a newer iOS version is available.
• Increasing TrackAbout's minimum requirements 6 months after Apple releases a new OS. New versions of iOS typically reach greater than 80% adoption within 6 months of release.

Android Devices

Android App Download

Download from the Google Play Store

Android Version Support Policy

Updated September 23rd, 2020. This policy is reviewed quarterly.

Operating System

Currently Supporting:

• Android version 5.1 or higher

Devices with non-supported OS versions will cease to get new updates of TrackAbout from their respective stores. They will always be able to uninstall and reinstall the last supported version from stores, but TrackAbout will only support the current application release.
See How to check what Android version you have

Hardware requirements

• A rear-facing camera with 2 megapixels or greater
• Minimum 1 GB RAM
• Bluetooth (for printing)

Choosing an Android Device

There are a great many consumer-grade Android devices on the market at all price points. TrackAbout does not recommend specific models. So how do you choose? Here's what's important:

Android OS Version

You must make sure the device meets TrackAbout's requirements (above) for minimum OS version. The higher the version number, the better.

Monthly Android OS Security Updates

Google releases monthly operating system security patches. It's important for your security and the security of your company that you choose a phone that will receive these updates. Bargain devices tend to not receive the updates. Some carrier-sold devices do not regularly receive updates. devices sold directly by Google in their Store will always receive timely updates. Flagship devices (Samsung Galaxy, some LG) sold by network carriers will likely receive updates. Ask when buying or do some Googling to find out.

CPU + Camera

Scanning QR and barcodes using the smartphone's camera requires a powerful CPU. A bargain phone will likely have a poor camera and a sub-par CPU. Most mid-tier devices made in 2017 and later will probably have acceptable camera and CPU performance, but you should buy one phone and test it, and return it if it doesn't perform well enough. Compare the performance to a high-end Android or iPhone running TrackAbout.

Battery

Most Android devices get 3 to 4 hours of screen on time (SoT) under typical usage scenarios before needing a recharge. Barcode scanning makes heavy use of the camera to take rapid images of the target barcodes. Those images are fed to the CPU for image recognition processing (finding the barcodes). Barcode scanning can therefore drain a battery faster. Opt for a phone with an over-sized battery when possible. A phone with replaceable batteries could be a good choice, or provide workers with car chargers or portable battery recharge packs for use in the field so they can keep going all day. Be aware of Quick Charge technology and buy compliant Quick Charge chargers.

Buy One and Test

What kind of environment are your workers in? Outdoors? Indoors in low-light? Some cameras do not perform well in low-light, they may have auto-focus problems which impacts scanning. It's important that you try out a phone in your environment before purchasing in quantity.

Safe Bets

The current generation Samsung Galaxy devices are typically safe bets because they meet all the above criteria. They are flagship (top of the line) products with great specs and a great camera, which makes for excellent scanning.

Devices sold directly in the Google Store are generally safe bets, although as of this writing (April 2017) they tend to be expensive, flagship devices.

TrackAbout does not routinely test Android devices, so we can't make other more specific recommendations here.

Supported Rugged Android Devices

See the list of certified devices on the Featured Rugged Android Devices section of the Certified Devices wiki page.

Known-Bad Devices

Samsung Galaxy Note 4 - Our test device had severe camera auto-focus problems that made scanning very frustrating. There are widely reported problems with auto-focus on the Note 4. We attempted modifying "Metering Modes" under camera settings, trying Matrix or Spot settings, but it did not help.

Useful Service Life

Consumer-grade smartphones have a useful service life of about 2 years. After 2 years, one of two things will happen. (1) The battery will age and fail to hold a reasonable charge. Batteries can sometimes be replaced, but it may not be cost-effective. (2) The device will no longer receive security updates. In either case, the device should be replaced.

Rugged-grade Android devices may have a longer service life of 4-5 years. However, they will likely not receive security updates.

Android Support Policy Explained

See Wikipedia's Android Version History for detailed timeline of Android's version history.

Google increments the major version number of Android (e.g. Android 7.0 to Android 8.0) once a year.

Google increments the minor version number of Android (e.g. 7.0 to 7.1) occasionally. and with no set schedule. Google does issue monthly security patches that typically don't change the minor version number. However, not all phone manufacturers or cell phone carriers deliver the Google security updates monthly, if at all.

Google has an unwritten policy that states that its manufacturers should provide Android updates up to 18 months from a device's introduction date. However, manufacturers are not required to not follow this policy.

Different device manufacturers (Samsung, HTC, LG, etc) update their devices at different speeds. Traditionally, manufacturers have been slow to update devices, and have been known to abandon specific devices before 18 months have elapsed. This leads to a large number of simultaneously active versions of Android in the wild.

Android phones and tablets are generally a consumer technology, and the pace of change in the consumer space is rapid. Whereas rugged enterprise devices are typically expected to have a useful service life of 4-5 years, consumer technology generally has a life-span of 2 years.

There are a rugged Android devices available, and the version of Android OS installed on rugged devices tends to lag behind the latest consumer devices.

TrackAbout is sensitive to the needs of its customers and does not wish to unduly prohibit use of the app by paying customers who haven't yet or cannot update their devices to the latest version of Android. On the other hand, supporting so many different versions of the Android operating system adds complexity and maintenance costs to the software development process.

TrackAbout's Android Version Support Policy balances the competing realities by:

• Supporting Android versions that have 10% or greater market share according to Google's monthly statistics.
• Supporting rugged Android devices on a case-by-case basis and for as long as we reasonably can. Rugged device Android versions tend to lag consumer device versions and do not generally receive updates. It has been our experience that Android software development tools change to keep up with the latest versions of the OS, and sometimes we do not have a choice to support older operating systems. This can make it prohibitively expensive to support older versions of Android.

App Settings

On the main screen of the app tap "Settings"

Server

Environment

For production environment (www.trackabout.com), select: Production

For test environment (test.trackabout.com), select: Test

Feedback

If your device allows vibration you can choose to enable or disable this setting.

About

Make sure that you have the latest version of the app downloaded from the iTunes or Google Play stores depending on your device. Updating to the latest version of the app may resolve any issues or problems you may be experiencing with the app.

FAQ

Searching in the TAM7 app

There are many screens in the TAM7 app in which we try to assist the user in finding the option they're looking for. Here's an example of what the product code search looks like:

Here's the logic build into the dynamic search functionality in TAM7:

• If there are 200 items or less, we show them on the screen when it loads. Otherwise you have to search to get results
• A dynamic search starts once you have 2 or more characters type
• The way search suggestions are displayed can differ per data type, but the general logic is:

 * Search results contain all items whose Name (and sometimes Description) are contained in the search terms. We also do a fuzzy match, so if the letters of the search terms appear in order, we match that. OX100 would match "Oxygen 100". OX100 would also match "One Box of 10 screws and 50 bolts" (because O X 1 0 0 shows up in that order in that phrase).
 * First, we show items whose Number ("MId" in teckie terms) starts with the search term, sorted alphabetically. These are things like Customer Number, Location ID, Product Code Name. 
 * Then we show items with display names (Customer Name, Location Name, etc) that contain the search term, sorted alphabetically.

Offline Mode

The App handles off-line connectivity transparently. If the App does not have WiFi or cellular access, it saves the record(s) until the device is back online. The user will notice an App notification that unsaved records are saved locally until they can be pushed. Once the device is back on-line, the Apps retries automatically and saves the records without any user intervention.

Hardware scanning: Zebra TC55, TC56 and similar devices

Data Wedge Setup

In order for the hardware scanner to function in the TrackAbout app, the program DataWedge needs to be configured. Steps:

• Ensure TrackAbout app is installed
• Open DataWedge
• Click the menu button a (third button on the bottom on the phone, next to Home)
• Choose "New profile"
• Enter "TrackAbout" and press OK
• Tap on the TrackAbout entry
• Set the following settings:
  • Profile enabled: checked
  • Associated apps: click and press the menu button, then "New app/activity". Select com.trackabout.mono (look for the TrackAbout icon), then select the first item, *
  • Enabled under Barcode Input: checked
  • Scan Params (Possibly under Scanner Configuration) - Decode Audio Feedback: Silent (it may read Silent, go in and set it to Silent or None again)
  • Scan Params (Possibly under Scanner Configuration) - Decode Haptic Feedback: unchecked
  • Enabled under Keystroke Output: unchecked
  • Enabled under Intent Output: checked
  • Intent action: com.trackabout.motoscan
  • Intent category: scan
  • Intent delivery: Broadcast intent
  • Enabled under IP Output: unchecked

Once the Data Wedge profile has been configured, the TAM7 app needs to be configured to use the hardware scanner. To do this, see: Enabling the hardware barcode scanner in the TrackAbout app

Hardware scanning: Honeywell EDA50 and similar devices

Data Wedge Setup

In order for the hardware scanner to function in the TrackAbout app, the program DataWedge needs to be configured. Steps:

• Ensure TrackAbout app is installed
• Open Settings, then Click on Scan Settings.
• Click on Internal Scanner
• Click the "+" icon at the top left of the screen to add a new profile.
• In the Add Profile screen that comes up, click on "Select an Application". Select TrackAbout from the list.
• A new entry called "TrackAbout Profile" will be created. Click on that entry.
• Click on "Data Processing Settings"
• Uncheck the checkboxes for Launch Browser, Scan to Intent, and Launch EZ Config.
• Check the Data Intent checkbox
• Click on Data Intent
• Click on Action, and type in "com.trackabout.scanwedge" , and click Ok.
• Click on Category, and type in "TrackAboutScan", and click Ok.
• Exit from Settings.
• Now open and log into the TrackAbout app.
• Go to Settings from the left menu.
• Click on Data Wedge settings
• Click on Intent Data Key, and type in "data"
• The Intent Name and Intent Category should already be set to "com.trackabout.scanwedge", and "TrackAboutScan"
• Click on Done.
• Click "Check barcode scanning" under "Scan Check"
• When you see "Use this screen to test the scanning capability of your device," scan a barcode using the hardware scanner (don't select orange scan box to bring up camera). The barcode scanned will appear on the screen.
• Click back and a new option appears, "Preferred Scan Method".
• Ensure "Preferred Scan Method" is set to "Hardware (Internal)"

Troubleshooting DataWedge

Issue: DataWedge Demo app appears when scanning in some screens in TAM7

Solution: Remove TAM7 associations from the DataWedge Demo profile

• Tap the menu button in the demo app (three dots on the bottom right hand side of the screen)
• Choose Settings
• Tap on Associated Apps
• Tap and hold to delete any app that says TrackAbout
• Return to TAM7 and try scanning again

Hardware scanning: Cognex MX-1000 and MX-1502 devices

• Make sure the Cognex device is on the latest firmware and configured to scan for either iOS or Android. Please consult your Cognex vendor and device documentation.
• If using Android, install the Cognex MX helper app on Google Play

If scanning stops working, swipe away the TrackAbout app and try again. If that does not work, restart the smartphone device.

Hardware scanning: Zebra TC20 / RFD2000 and RFD8500 devices

• Make sure the device(s) are using the latest OS and/or firmware. Please consult your Zebra vendor and device documentation.
• Consult your Zebra vendor and device documentation to connect with and test your device using the applicable Zebra scanning application.
• If you're using the TC20, please follow the Data Wedge Setup section above.

Enabling the hardware barcode scanner in the TrackAbout app

We use a passive check to determine if a hardware barcode scanner is available on the device. The user has to do a "Scan Check" and use the hardware scanner successfully.

• Log into TrackAbout
• Go to Settings
• Click "Check barcode scanning" under 'Scan Check'
• When you see "Use this screen to test the scanning capability of your device," scan a barcode using the hardware scanner (don't select orange scan box to bring up camera). The barcode scanned will appear on the screen.
• Click back and a new option appears, "Preferred Scan Method".
• Ensure "Preferred Scan Method" is set to "Hardware Scanner"

Enabling the hardware RFID scanner in the TrackAbout app

• TrackAbout has to first enable RFID functionality
• Log into TrackAbout
• Go to Settings
• Click "RFID settings"
• Click "RFID device"
• Select your RFID device from the list and click on "Save"
• Test scanning an RFID tag, and set the global power level
• If your device also has an integrated hardware barcode scanner please ensure you follow the steps above to setup the hardware barcode scanner as well

Upgrade Nag

Once a new version of the App has been released to the stores, the App will prompt users to upgrade. One week after release to the app stores, users will receive a message once a day reminding them to upgrade.

Session Duration

Once logged into the iOS or Android application, the user can remained logged in for 30 days without logging in again. After 30 days the user will be logged out and asked to re-enter their credentials.

Printing with TAMobile 7

Customers using TrackAbout's POD can pair their devices with a TrackAbout certified printer. Check our Certified devices page to see what printers can be used and contact support@trackabout.com to get set up.

Tips & Tricks

iOS

Screen capture

• To capture screen in iOS device, hold the Home and Power buttons simultaneously. The snapshot will be saved in the Pictures.

Android

Screen capture

Screen capture depends on the device manufacture

• Samsung Galaxy S3: Press and hold the Power button and the Home button at the same time
• Most others: Simultaneously press Volume Down + Power for 1 second