Customization Features:

There are a few customizable features in TAS Checklist Software.

There were .txt files created in your C:\ Review-It-Files directory when the program was installed.

1.   Standard Comments for reports.

2.   Your Company logo on your reports.

3.   Your Company name and address.

4.   The Plan Reviewer & Inspector.

5.   Reviewer and Inspector .jpg signature files.

6.   Vehicle and Mileage informaion.

7.   Project data information.

TAS Checklist Software draws information from what is called Dynamic Data which draws its data from a nominated text file (.txt) on the desktop PC or notebook when the project is opened; this is a convenient way to update and maintain large groups of information or comments. The information contained therein must be tab delimited text files on the Desktop/Notebook computer. When the TAS Checklist Software project is opened on a desktop PC or notebook, the UltraDrop point will be updated frequently by automatically referencing the source text file.

Standard Comments:

With TAS Checklist Software you can create your own Standard Comments (both Plan Review and Inspection) in a txt files.  See screen shot of C:\ Review-It-Files directory below showing it’s various files.

The files are named for their appropiate TAS sections.

If is easiest if you edit the txt file in a spreadsheet program i.e. Open Office.org© Spreadsheet that can save files as tab dilimited txt files, you will be informed later in this section as to why.  You can also open the file in Microsoft® Notepad but can be opened in any .txt file editor program, as long as you save it back in .txt file format.

For this example we will open “4.4-Std-Comments.txt” for editing.

Editing in a Spreadsheet Program:

You can open the txt file in one of 2 ways:

1.   By opening your spreadsheet program and go to the Open file menu.  In the file types dropdown in the lower right you will need to select Text File (txt) file types in order to see your txt files in the directory. (See screen shot below.)

2.   The other way is to right click on the file you wish to open and highlight “Open with” menu item and click on your spreadsheet program. (as shown in screen shot below)

In MS Excel the following screen pops up(step 1 of 3), make sure that “Delimited” is selected as shown with the arrow.

 

It step 2 of 3 make sure that the “Tab” box is checked as shown below with the arrow.

It step 3 of 3 make sure that the “General” button is selected as shown below with the arrow and click on the Finish button in the lower right of the window.

The file will open and look like the below screen shot image.  Note that the column width is too narrow to view the entire column. 

Select columns A and B and click on the “Format” drop down icon and click on “AutoFit Column Width”.  Your screen should look like the screen shot below.

Column A can be as many as 30 characters long (this may vary, depending on your mobile device screen width) to describe the any length Comment in column B.

Note: As seen above you can see that sections of data can be visually separated by a dash (-) in both columns.

When you have completed your text entry you can save your file by clicking on the save icon or going to the dropdown menu.  The following screen will pop up and just click on the Yes button to complete the process and exit the program.

If editing in Notepad:

If you are using Notepad as your editor you will need to turn off the “Word Wrap” option under the drop down menu, as shown below.

The program distingushes tabs as separate data fields, so it is important to follow these directions exactly or the rusults will not work properly.

The first (far left) set of characters will be what you will see on your mobile device to select which comment you wish to use, as shown in the left image below. The actual text that will be sent to the report, after selection(s) is made, as shown in the right image below. (Note that more than one selection can be made.)

 

Below is an example of how to enter text in the Standard Comments file:

“Wall Sconse” (tab) “There were wall sconses installed with its bottom edge lower than 80 inches and extends more than 4 inches from the wall it is mounted on.  Make modifications to be in compliance.”  (do not include the quotation marks in your data) 

Note: Do not use (“) quotation or inch marks or (‘) apostrophes or foot marks in any of your data entered either here or in your comments within the session.  Spell out inches and feet.  The reason is that within the program coding it reads as command prompts and  causes your html code to return errors.

If you wish to have a blank line between comment lines for organization of groups for say, Plan Review Comments vs. Inspection Comments, you can use the (-) minus sign (tab) (-) return/enter.

Note: You could also assist in the development of standard comments to be sold through Review It Software, LLC as an add-on feature and share in profits.  Contact us if you have any questions about this oportunity.

 

Company Logo:

You can also customize your reports with your company logo if you wish.

In the C:\ Review-It-Files directory is a file named “Co-Logo.jpg”.  You can use your own logo file as long as it is named “Co-Logo.jpg” and in the C:\Review-It-Files directory and it will show up in your reports.  The only limitation on the logo is that it will be centered and its size will print out to be about 3/4” tall by the width of the output page size (usually 7 inches or so).  You will need to experiment with the best visuallization when you print your report.

Entering Company Data:

You will need to set up your Company information in the C:\ Review-It-Files directory.  Open the file named “OurCompanyInfo.txt” in one of the 2 methods previously discussed methods for editing.  For this demonstration we will use MS Excel again.  Once open, it should look like the screen shot below.  Replace the information in Row 2 with your company information.  This information will be used in all areas of the report that requires that information.  When you have completed entering the data save the file as discussed earlier in the “Editing in a Spreadsheet Program” section.

 

Reviewer & Inspector Signature Images:

You can also customize your reports with your personal signature if you wish.

In the C:\ Review-It-Files directory is a file named “ReviewerInsp1.JPG” and “ReviewerInsp2.JPG”.  You can use your own scanned signature files as long as it is named “ReviewerInsp1.JPG” or “ReviewerInsp2.JPG” and is located in the C:\Review-It-Files directory and it will show up in your reports.  The only limitation on the signature is that it will print out to be about 3/8” tall by the length of the signature.  You will need to experiment with the best visuallization when you print your report.  Again, you can use MS Paint program to scan your signature at 300 psi resolution.  You could even leave it blank and hand sign the cover letter page.

 

Entering Reviewer & Inspector Data:

You will need to set up the Reviewer & Inspector information in the C:\ Review-It-Files directory.  You will need to open the file named “ReviewerList.txt” in one of the 2 methods previously discussed methods for editing.  For this demonstration we will use MS Excel again.  Once open, it should look like the screen shot below.  Replace the information in Rows 3 and 4 only with your information.  You may delete row 4 if there is only one Reviewer/Inspector.  The letters A and B in column E are important because that is what calls which reviewer/inspector is doing the report.  When you have completed entering the data save the file as discussed earlier in the “Editing in a Spreadsheet Program” section.

Entering Vehicle Data:

If you wish to use the Vehicle Mileage information during your Inspection travels you will need to set up the Vehicles information in the C:\ Review-It-Files directory.  You will need to open the file named “VehicleList.txt” in one of the 2 methods previously discussed methods for editing.  For this demonstration we will use MS Excel again.  Once open, it should look like the screen shot below.  Place the various vehicles you plan to use for your inspections in column A.  When you have completed entering the data save the file as discussed earlier in the “Editing in a Spreadsheet Program” section.

 

Entering Project Data:

You can enter project data in 2 ways: You can enter the data directly in your Project Session by clicking on the “Project Information” link on the TAS Checklist Software home page and then on the “Additional Project Information” link on that page. The disadvantage of entering it here is that you will need to make a copy the session as a blank in order to not have to re-enter the data during the Inspection phase.

The better way to enter the data is by entering it in the “Architectural Barriers Forms_data.txt” file in the C:\ Review-It-Files directory.  Use one of the 2 methods previously discussed methods for editing.  For this demonstration we will use MS Excel again.  Once open, it should look like the screen shot below.  Place the various pieces of project information in each of the row positions corresponding with the column heading.  Note, that some of the information is not required for the report and should be omitted.  They are selected and entered by other means within the TAS Checklist Software Project Session.  When you have completed entering the data, save the file as discussed earlier in the “Editing in a Spreadsheet Program” section.

Editing images in MS Paint Program:

You can edit a jpg file with a number of diferent software programs on the market today.  MS Paint is a program that is usually already loaded on your desktop or notebook computer running Windows operating system.  In this example we will use MS Paint to show how to modify your jpg images. To see if you have the program, click on your Start button and click on “All Programs” and then click on “Accessories” and finally on “Paint” and the program should open. (refer to screen shot below)

 

When the program opens you can scan your signature by following the the drop down menue in the upper left corner as shown below.  Click on “From scanner” option. 

Note: You need to have a scanner connected to your computer in order to perform this task.  This is another service that Review It Software, LLC can perform for a minimum of $50 USD.

The screen shot below shows the Scanner dialog window.  Click on the Black and white picture or text button and then click on “Adjust the quality of the scanned picture” link and the Advanced Properties dialog window will appear.  Change the default Resolution (DPI) number from 200 to 300 and click on the OK button.  Then back on the scanner dialog window click on the Preview button to have your scanner produce a sample image of your signature and so that the scanned image will only be the size of the signature rather than the entire letter size page.  Next click on the Scan button to create the scanned signature image.

You are now ready to save your signature as shown below.   Remember to save the file over one of the existing “ReviewerInsp1.JPG” and “ReviewerInsp2.JPG” in the C:\ Review-It-Files directory.  This would also hold true for your company logo as well.