Addition to Software Suggestions

[Jody Satallante]

Some things that I would find very helpful.

When sending the report by uploading currently only one email address is allowed in the client box. Being able to add as many email addresses needed would be helpful.

The slideshow photos are great, but the it would be alot more efficient if the photos could be edited right there, instead of going to a different page. Its great the photos are there, but really don't help if I can't do anything to them (i.e add an arrow.)

Super Time Saver- Pre checked boxes and comments that are used on almost every report be part of the templete. I load up each inspection by checking the boxes and all the same comments and the change them as needed according to my findings. This would be as helpful as the drop down boxes, which are huge!

Thank you-

[Cameron Anderson]

I second the idea of editing photos from the slide show area.   I do most of my photo work in block:  load and catagorize, edit, and select captions.  But I do find myself jumping back to the photo page a few times to edit one I missed or designate something in the photo with an arrow, circle, etc. 

If you could just click the photo and the editing box would appear, that would definately save some time, especially during proof-reading/corrections.

[Dominic Maricic]

Already something that's in the plans. Getting the slideshow in was just the first step. The photo area itself will always remain in place though as it makes it the most efficient way to slot and edit photos out of any inspection program.

[David Macy]

This is a feature I would like to talk about.

I use a narrative style and I do not like the looks of the check lists as it moves all the text over that is selected. Seems like a waste of space and lenghtens the report. If the check list could be used with the text all the way to the left then it would be a useable feature. (For me)

Now I have a list of Conventions(Like Inspected, Safety, Repairs, Ect) that are described on what they mean and every area of the report starts off with this.

I would like to be able to have the option instead of ratings for checklists to have conventions for narratives. The list of conventions would be selected like the ratings.

Why do you ask why.

I like the look of the new line and bullet item seperator. I need to use the comma seperator at this time and the look is not as sharp.
I can use a list for my conventions but I would have to take every single line of text and start with my convention list.
And when doing this on my small hand held Q it often hides the comment when the list is first.

So I would like to be able to have my report look like this.

DRIVEWAY

Materials: Concrete
* FYI, HTML slab jack info

Observations:
* Repair or Replace, uneven surfaces, improperly sloped towards the foundation.
* Recommend review by a qualified professional.
(The convention would be preselected from within the program and the selected text would follow)

WALKWAYS

Materials: Brick * Concrete

Observations:
* Inspected, No defieciencies noted at the front entrance walkway.
* Safety Issue, tree uplifting, trip hazard located at the public walk.
* Repair or Replace, deteriorated, heavy cracking located at the side of the garage.
* Recommend review by a qualified professional to repair or replace as needed.
(Locations is another area of the software that could be improved on, and the location list works great but with new line and bullet it would be on its own line)



Do you see and understand what I am asking. This would be a great feature for me.

[Cameron Anderson]

David,

I worked through that same issue when I began designing my main template. I finally settled on something similar to what you are describing.  I posted a sample of the panel and the finished report.  About 75-80% of my panels have 2 selection (Condition & Description) and 1 damage(Observations).  They always have the same conventions and the damage panel, but sometimes I don't need a "Description" section. 

My "Description" panel has everything descriptive like Location, Type, Material, and all the system specific lists like BTU's, Amperage, etc.  My conventions are also written into whatever recommendation I give and these are 90% pre-written, but I am always making custom adjustments based on the house.  I really like the idea of more text formatting control within the panels so I could add color and bold to the conventions like you example. Currently I decided to tab the recommendations (I use the size of the comment editing box as a guide and each line starts with 7 spaces) and then all-caps the convention just before the recommendation to make it stand out. 

I admit I am not even close to being done with my damage comments and I've been typing them for over a month, but I really didn't care for most of what came with the template.  I've got about 1/3 of my comments and I really like the look, it is clean and uniform throughout the report.

Lastly, I use a system of footnotes as a "backup" for my recommendations. Illinois is a legal nightmare and I want to make sure everything I say in the report has a recommendation to do something, to take action, even if that action is just to monitor the item.  I found out that you can use four footnotes which are common to just about every font in the world, 1, 2, 3 & *.  One of those footnotes shows up after every comment I write.

So that's what I've come up with.  One question, couldn't you just write your convention into your comments the same way?  It seems they would remain the same from inspection to inspection, meaning, an "uneven surface, improperly sloped toward the foundation" could always have the convention "Repair or Replace". 

[David Macy]

One question, couldn't you just write your convention into your comments the same way?  It seems they would remain the same from inspection to inspection, meaning, an "uneven surface, improperly sloped toward the foundation" could always have the convention "Repair or Replace". 

Yes, but on my Q1, I would only see <<Conventions>> on the screen and not the comment if there are more than 2 rows of comments)

Also would need to add to so many lines of text it would take a long, long time.

Your format looks good, but should not the program work for me and me not be working for the program. (Like all that is needed to have the look I want but to steer around the program as the feature is not available)

DO NOT GET ME WRONG DOM/HIP is very good, but for me working on the template to get a look I cant because it is not available in the program.

Meaning that a list like In stated would save me and hopefully others a lot of time.

I have edited my template so many times with trying to speed up the process I just need the above as I posted and it would produce an awesome report in a quicker time.

[Dominic Maricic]

Dave, I have the same question as Cameron. I don't see why you need lists at all. What your asking for is really for lists to already be implemented into each of your narratives. It wouldn't work to just have the ratings merged into the narrative as ratings as one per item, not comment.

On the Q1 you should only have 1 column set to display. The screen is too small for 2 unless you've started to memorize comment locations.

Make your ACTUAL narrative: Safety Issue, tree uplifting, trip hazard located at the public walk.
No lists, no ratings, just ONE comment. This will ALWAYS be a safety issue, you will always have the same convection here. If you used a list or rating within this you'd be spending lots of time selecting them, which would be a waste.

Even if ratings were moved in line with the narrative you'd need to select a rating for EVERY comment where right now they're per section. That would add an enormous amount of extra work you'd be creating for yourself.

[David Macy]

Not always is the covention the same.

Monitor, defered cost, repair, safety, maintenance there is a fine line sometimes between them.

What I am looking for is the same things as the ratings but in a narrative format.

An upheaved walk can have no displacement from a tree and this would be a monitor situation instead of a safety issue.


What you are saying I would need top redo all my comments, to start with the convention.

[Cameron Anderson]

should not the program work for me and me not be working for the program. (Like all that is needed to have the look I want but to steer around the program as the feature is not available)

Yes, I would agree with that.  The checkboxes are not a feature I would use either unless there were a couple options for layout.  I think a couple options in the rating area could add to the flexiblity without too much, as DOM would say, feature bloat.

That being said, and I truly mean no offense by this, it sounds like you're dealing with a reporting issue brought about by professional choice more than a software issue.  What I mean is, your equipment seems like the one change which would make HIPs current features work the way you want it to.  I wasn't familiar with the Q1 so I had to go look it up, I understand now what you mean about not being able to see the comments if the list of conventions or just one convention were at the start of each comment.  At first I thought you could just write similar comments with different conventions for those times where there was that "fine line" between the issues.  But that would be a lot of comments to scroll through on the Q1.  I'm not flippantly saying "go buy a bigger screen", I'm just wondering if that were the case, would the features currently available in HIP work?   

I'm trying to get a better handle on the rating input you described earlier, how do you envision the ratings being connected with specific comments during input?  Dom mentioned the very thing I was wondering.  Re-writing your comments would be a bear, but wouldn't you have to do something similar to get the ratings/conventions into the comments anyway?  And would it work on the Q1 and similarly sized equipment without some of the issues of space you raised?

[David Macy]

I think a dialog would be able to open to add the pre selected comments in one line.

Same with locations.

Locations can be many like the walks. Front entrance, side, public, garage, ect.

With the current HIP set up, lists how do you have the convention, damage or selection comment and location all in one line?

It would need to be <<Convention>> damage (Need multiple selections) <<locations>>

How about a way to enter all in one line without the lists. Lists would be in the master dialog box.

So you enter, Repair or Replace from one dialog box

Repair or Replace

then you enter damaged concrete surfaces, tree uplifting from another dialog box

Now you have

Repair or Replace, damaged concrete surfaces, tree uplifiting

Then you add located at public walk from another dialog box

Line looks like this

Repair or Replace, damaged concrete surfaces, tree uplifting located at the public walk.

One more dialog box, Recommend repair or replace by a qualified professional

Finished comment

Repair or Replace, damaged concrete surfaces, tree uplifting located at the public walk. Recommend review for repair or replacement by a qualified professional.

In the current set up my report would look like

Repair or Replace
damaged concrete surfaces
tree uplifting
located at the public walk
recommend repair by a qualified professional

Report would be 250 pages.

I have the ideas but I am the farthest from a programmer that you will ever find.

[Cameron Anderson]

ahhhh...   I see what you are describing.  Almost like a "comment building system", you can select from several different lists but the program puts them together in a single line.  A assume this would not work for you with the current list feature because of the space issues you mentioned.  You're thinking the comment building would take place inside a universal dialog box which can tap into all the lists with just a click or two.  So you can get to your conventions, damage comments, location, etc. etc. all from one box and HIP sends it to your comment line.

Certainly the drop down lists can do this, I've read some posts on here where guys are putting entire comments into the lists, not just phrases.  You just wouldn't see enough of the comment on the Q1 without scrolling all over the place I assume.

I wonder if a template could be designed like that using the lists almost exclusively.  Each damage panel would have only one or two comments which each consisted of 3-5 lists.  Only one or two ofthe lists would need to be system specific, the rest could be very universal like conventions and general recommendations(i.e."Recommend review for repair or replacement by a qualified professional.").    hmmm...   now you got me thinkin...

[David Macy]

You are with me and not against me as an old teacher stated many times.

I have it set up on a test template.

<<Convections<< <<Sidewalk>> <<Sidewalk>> <<Locations>><<Recommendations>>

Works for the new line bullet but is a pain to set up and you need to click 5 lines, is slow in field.

And you do not need the recommendations, locations and extra damage at times so I set up other scenerios like

<<Convections>> <<Sidewalk>>
<<Convections>> <<Sidewalk>> <<Locations>>
<<Convections>> <<Sidewalk>> <<Locations>><<Recommendations>>

The way you are thinking is along what I am thinking.

What if when you inserted the line in the damage or selection panels then you could edit for the same line?

Karma for you young man!!

[Serge Delhoyo]

I worked through that same issue when I began designing my main template. I finally settled on something similar to what you are describing.  I posted a sample of the panel and the finished report.  About 75-80% of my panels have 2 selection (Condition & Description) and 1 damage(Observations).  They always have the same conventions and the damage panel, but sometimes I don't need a "Description" section. 

My "Description" panel has everything descriptive like Location, Type, Material, and all the system specific lists like BTU's, Amperage, etc.  My conventions are also written into whatever recommendation I give and these are 90% pre-written, but I am always making custom adjustments based on the house.  I really like the idea of more text formatting control within the panels so I could add color and bold to the conventions like you example. Currently I decided to tab the recommendations (I use the size of the comment editing box as a guide and each line starts with 7 spaces) and then all-caps the convention just before the recommendation to make it stand out. 

I admit I am not even close to being done with my damage comments and I've been typing them for over a month, but I really didn't care for most of what came with the template.  I've got about 1/3 of my comments and I really like the look, it is clean and uniform throughout the report.

Lastly, I use a system of footnotes as a "backup" for my recommendations. Illinois is a legal nightmare and I want to make sure everything I say in the report has a recommendation to do something, to take action.  I found out that you can use four footnotes which are common to just about every font in the world, 1, 2, 3 & *. "Repair or Replace". 

Cameron's post is one of the best I've read on this site for a while. It's easy to see that Cameron is committed to excellent content as well as a great looking report product. Well done on all your hard work in creating your HIP template!

I agree, what David would like, is to have a "comment building system" capability of writing a narrative with all the 'pieces' put together—in one sentence/comment/or line—with the proper separators (,/.) i.e. 1. Description of the condition. 2. Implication of the condition. 3. Recommended action.
 And have the software do this without creating a lot of  ‘workarounds’. And thus, facilitate/speed up report writing in the field.

I still use the KISS rule. If I enter a comment in the 'Red' damage panel—it is a repair or replace item, it's in RED text, and it goes in the Summary. Adding the words "Repair or Replace" is redundant because all my comments in RED text are repair or replace. I state this at the beginning of the report and also at the top of the Summary section intro. I also state, at the beginning of the Summary section, that all of these issues should be corrected/fixed/repaired whatever, by qualified/licensed professionals, etc., etc. etc.

If I enter a comment in the 'Black' damage panel—it is an "Attention Item" and it's in BLUE text. Attention items are issues that are LESS significant / or minor / or maintenance / or monitor / or upgrade to current safety standards, etc. I define the meaning in clear terms—at the beginning of the report.

I use the Selection panels for everything else, in BLACK text.

Bottom line: Whatever can be done to speed up the production of a quality report is the prime directive. And I believe Dominic is doing that with each new version.

[Cameron Anderson]

I really enjoy this forum, the discussion makes my brain bigger, and the affirmation makes my head swell up to fit it.

Dave, you read my mind.  Here's a quick one-tab template I also fiddled with (just a structural/foundation section) to see if it would work using a "list-heavy" approach. I abbreviated the list names so they could fit on a smaller resolution screen, and they are almost identical to what your last post described.  You're in my head man.

The only thing I noticed, which I hadn't yet come across before, is if you don't select something from a drop-down list the top item in your list and sometimes the title of the list gets inserted automatically into your comment.  Has anyone else had that happen?  I could correct it somewhat by inserting a one-space blank comment at the top of each list, but that puts an extra space in my comment which also looks a little awkward.

I think this style of template could really work for some guys, but you're right, it does involve a lot of clicks.  And the setup would be a big task.  If only you could cut and paste damage panel comments directly into lists...

What if when you inserted the line in the damage or selection panels then you could edit for the same line?

I don't follow this last part...  can you explain it more?  Do you mean when you click "Black" or "Red" it would automatically bring the comment up for editing without having to double click it?

[Dominic Maricic]

Great discussions guys I love seeing all the discussion back and forth as this is what makes Home Inspector Pro the best program out there. Lots of discussion which narrows down the best methods to implement into the program.

Dave, I don't see the difference in the number of clicks from clicking on 5 lists or clicking on 5 comments.

I could make an item separator that was just a space so that you could build your comments in line without lists. The problem is, what defines a new line if you're using the bullet feature? What I mean is, after you combine 5 comments into one narrative, how do you start a new narrative?

Cameron, by default the first item in a list get selected if you do nothing. This is made to speed things up and use less clicks. The assumption is that you move the most used list item to the top so no clicking is required when that is what you want to use.

David, you COULD use <<Convections>><<Sidewalk>><<Sidewalk>><<Locations>><<Recommendations>> as your narrative and it would work even if you don't use one of the sidewalks and you have no location. What you do is remove all the spaces like I did in the narrative itself and add the space INTO the list. So each item in the sidewalk starts with a space. That way the space is only included if you actually use the item in the list.

What Cameron mentioned about needing to add a blank though I'll have to check into. I'll need to allow an item in the list that's absolutely blank, no space included at all.

What Serge is talking about keeps things simple and looks great. I definitely think this is a model that everyone should at the very least consider.

[David Macy]

I don't follow this last part...  can you explain it more?  Do you mean when you click "Black" or "Red" it would automatically bring the comment up for editing without having to double click it?

Lets say I insert 3 red lines of damage

Repair or replace
uneven surfaces
located at the public walk.

If within the damage panel the lines could be edited then all could be in one line and look like

Repair or Replace, uneven surfaces located at the public walk.

Also in youir sample of the heating section.

In heating systems, your condition area. I feel ypu have to do this because the program is not cable of doing what you want it to and you have to do this to try to get the look you want.

Cameron, Serge, myself and I am sure there are others have a higher level of detail then the norm.


Great to here from Serge.

Cameron you are right on, great forum and people.

Dom, get with the program will you

Karma for Serge and Cameron.

Dom does not get another one until he gets with the program.

[David Macy]

I still use the KISS rule. If I enter a comment in the 'Red' damage panel—it is a repair or replace item, it's in RED text, and it goes in the Summary. Adding the words "Repair or Replace" is redundant because all my comments in RED text are repair or replace. I state this at the beginning of the report and also at the top of the Summary section intro. I also state, at the beginning of the Summary section, that all of these issues should be corrected/fixed/repaired whatever, by qualified/licensed professionals, etc., etc. etc.

I use Repair and Replace and Safety Issue, both are red text, how would I one know if it was a safety or repair unless I started with the convection?

[Serge Delhoyo]

David, Please refer to my email response to you.

Short answer is: Safety Issues must be repaired or replaced also, right? Otherwise why would you write it up?  So the fact that it IS a safety issue just adds a more important implication to the condition at issue. But it is still a Repair or Replace item with the added weight of being a safety issue that should give the client a clue that it should be corrected.

[Cameron Anderson]

Cameron, by default the first item in a list get selected if you do nothing. This is made to speed things up and use less clicks. The assumption is that you move the most used list item to the top so no clicking is required when that is what you want to use.

What Cameron mentioned about needing to add a blank though I'll have to check into. I'll need to allow an item in the list that's absolutely blank, no space included at all.

Dom, it would be great if there could be a blank item at the top of each list.  I create some of my lists, for example, like this:

<<LOCATION>>

 north
 south
 east
 west

, north
, south
, east
, west

 & north
 & south
 & east
 & west

Then I can make comments like:

     There is earth-to-wood contact at the<<LOCATION>><<LOCATION>><<LOCATION>> side of the house.

which can be used like so:

     There is earth-to-wood contact at the north side of the house.
     There is earth-to-wood contact at the south, east & north side of the house.
     There is earth-to-wood contact at the west & east side of the house.

Unfortunately I have to have that one space in the first blank item, so if I only use one of the lists I have to delete the extra spaces before moving on:

     There is earth-to-wood contact at the north   side of the house.
     There is earth-to-wood contact at the west  & east side of the house.

So yes, it would be great if the default when nothing was selected on a drop-down list was...   well...   nothing.  Because really, deleting a space is SO MUCH WORK.  

[Dominic Maricic]

David, do you have a way to hold the control key or another key when moving comments from red to black?