Please visit our new TrackAbout Knowledge Base at https://supportkb.trackabout.com for the most-up-to-date documentation on TrackAbout and TrackAbout Mobile.
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 |
| ← Back to list | |
Overview
The smartphone app is also known as TAMobile 7.
Hardware Purchasing Recommendations
See Smartphone Hardware Purchasing Recommendations
Features
Geolocation
- Capture device GPS information during scanning. This GPS data will be displayed in a map view on the website when reviewing Record details. Location Services should be enabled on the device.
- See Smartphone Geolocation
Action Types Supported
- 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
- Analyze - record measurements of individual gas components
- Asset Search - search for assets by tag and view asset details and history
- Branch Transfer Send/Receive - transfer assets between locations in two steps
- Close Product Lot - update the status of product lots to closed
- 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*
- Empty Container/Pallet - removes all items from a container/pallet
- Fill - record the filling of assets
- Fill for Customer - fills assets at a customer's site, without bringing the assets back in-house
- Find Inventory - lookup assets on the go by product code or location
- Generic Action - part of the Dynamic Workflow module, this action allows clients to create custom workflows
- 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
- Make Pack - combine several assets together into a single "pack" and begin tracking the pack by a new barcode, preserving information about the combined assets
- Material Consolidation - record materials used for filling a container
- Move Asset - part of the Follow On Tracking, allows customer users to move assets between FOT locations
- Receive from Vendor - record assets obtained from a vendor
- Reclassify Assets - change service of assets
- Register Bundle - combine several assets together into a single "bundle" and begin tracking the bundle by a new barcode, without recording information about the combined assets
- Remove from Lot - clear the lot number from 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
- Set Volume - part of the Follow On Tracking, allows customer users to set assets' volume
- 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
- Unmake Pack - dissociate uniquely tracked assets from a pack
Follow On Tracking (FOT) Action Types Supported
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
Provisioning the Smartphone Module
The Smartphone module needs to be provisioned and enabled in your instance. Contact TrackAbout Sales for pricing and details.
Once provisioned, the Support Team will enable and configure the module for your instance.
Roles, Permissions and User Setup for Smartphone
- Mobile Roles Setup
- Mobile Roles must be configured in your environment before the app can be used. The new role MUST have "Smartphone and Tablet" checked or selected.
- Setup Internal Users
- For each new smartphone user, check the box TAMobile Android/iOS
- Also assign the TAMobile Rugged and TAMobile Desktop role and save the page.
Where To Download the App
Apple iOS - App Store Download
Click to see the TrackAbout app in the Apple App Store
iPad Users - Can't Find TrackAbout in the App Store?
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"
Google Play Store - Android App Download
Click to see the TrackAbout app in the Google Play Store
TrackAbout APK Download Site
For those customers deploying the TrackAbout app using a Mobile Device Management solution, you can download the latest version of the Android app from this site.
In-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
- For production environment (www.trackabout.com), select:
- 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 Apple App Store 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.
Smartphone Vendor-Specific Help
See the page Smartphone Vendor-Specific Help for notes about configuring smartphone devices from specific hardware vendors.
Things To Know about the Smartphone App
Searching within Lists
Several screens contain long lists of information. When a search box is offered, here's how it works:
- If there are 200 items or less, we show them all.
- If there are more than 200 items in the list, you have to search to get results
- The search starts after typing 2 or more characters
- The way results are displayed can differ by type of data, but the general logic is:
- Search results contain all items whose Name 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. Searching for "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).
- Some searches, such as Customer, and Location, search additional fields, such as ID/Number, Name, or Description. Priority is given to the primary identifier, usually Name or ID/Number and the additional fields are secondary in priority.
- First, we show items whose Number ("MId" in techie 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.
- Product code searches use a slightly different logic:
- Whole terms are matched,
- All fields are searched, including Product Code name, description, Asset Category name, Asset Group name, and Asset Type name.
- Terms may be in any order
- For example, searching for "ox med" would match "oxygen medical" in the name (or any field) as well as "medical oxygen" in any field. It would also match a product whose Category name is "medical" and Product Code name contains "ox".
Offline Mode
Field workers often lose network connectivity due to lack of signal. The app handles this transparently to the user.
If the app does not have network connectivity, it saves records locally until the device is back online. The user will be shown a notification that unsaved records are being retained locally.
Once the device is back online, the app sends data automatically without user intervention.
Enabling Integrated Scanning Hardware
Some rugged devices have dedicated, integrated scanning hardware. Enabling these is usually a two-step process.
Step 1 is to configure the scanning hardware using the vendor's built-in app. See Smartphone Vendor-Specific Help for details
Step 2 is to teach the app that a dedicated scanner should be used instead of using the built-in camera for scanning.
The user must do a "Scan Check" and use the hardware scanner successfully. These are the steps.
- Log into the TrackAbout app
- 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
- Log into the TrackAbout app
- 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
App Upgrade Reminder
When a new version of the app is published in the app stores, the TrackAbout app will prompt users to upgrade.
One week after release, users will receive a message once every day reminding them to upgrade.
We always encourage ensuring users are using the very latest version of the app.
Login Session Duration
Users will remain logged in for 30 days.
After 30 days, the user will be logged out and asked to re-enter their credentials.
Printing
Customers using TrackAbout's POD can pair their devices with a TrackAbout certified printer. Check our certified devices page to see which printers are supported and contact support@trackabout.com to get set up.