Idea to speed up photos even more!

[Cameron Anderson]

Hey Dom,

I just had an idea to eliminate 1/4 of the clicks involved in assigning photos to certain categories and maybe even eliminate 1/2 of them.  What if, after you click on the first major category dropdown and scroll down the list, the sub-categories pop-up to the side when you click or hover over the initial main category?(like menu items do) 

Or you could just leave the drop-down lists the way they are but have the sub-category list open automatically once you select the initial category.  That would get rid of 1/4 of the clicks right away.

Either way, it might speed up that one little part of the report writing. Every click helps.



Okay, one more idea. Along the same lines, you could make the drop-down lists we insert in our comments automatically open when we select the comment from the black/red section. So when we open a comment to begin selecting our drop-down items we would click on the first list and make our selection (the first list would be done manually). When a selection is made, the next drop-down list in the comment will automatically open and so on. Even if you don't select something or if you are going back through your drop-down lists and making changes, the lists opening automatically won't add any clicks since you can click on whatever list you want without changing that list's current selection.  That would save a ton of extra clicks during report writing.

[Dominic Maricic]

Wow Cameron. Such a SMART idea! I can't think of a single reason not to do it. I've actually already completed the idea in the photo section and it's SWEET. One line of code and your idea just eliminated 25% of the clicks involved in inserting a photo. Just when I had told everyone when there was NO WAY to make it faster. You rock

I'll have to work on the 2nd idea in the next few days as it'll involve a little more creativity to get it working but I do like it!

[Cameron Anderson]

Great! My mouse thanks you. 

[Bob Elliott]

I agree that would be nice .
I like doing the ctrl > first letter to eliminate clicks and that would make it even faster so perhaps it could go further and automatically jump to the next picture after that in addition.

[Dominic Maricic]

Good idea Bob. The only problem with that would be how to stop it once you started. For example if you needed to go back a few pics it would try to keep going again. I could create a certain keystroke to make it stop, hmm.

[Bob Elliott]

Yep
Listing and manual.

[Dan Musielski]

I use a Lenovo tablet. While in tablet mode Lenovo's(maybe HP too) have a couple buttons the you can designate to perform any keyboard function...ie; you can use the button as a tab, enter, backspace...etc (whatever you wish).

So..If you could TAB from panel to panel(Driveway to Grading to Vegetation to Gates..etc)with your left thumb(never having to move it)...then "comments" can be picked-off with your digital pen in your right hand.

Obviously this only work with tablets that have programable buttons on the screen side...but it's also effective on a Desktop to go from panel to panel with the TabKey, and then click off comments with your mouse in your right hand.

[Cameron Anderson]

I like the idea Bob had of the auto-list-opening feature continuing on to the next photo, but there is one change which would need to be made to make it work. The list which opens is REALLY wide, so wide it actually covers up the photo. I can't tell you how many times I'm on a role clicking the lists and categorizing...  and then I realize I just opened the main category list without even looking to see what the photo is. If the list-opening were to jump from photo to photo within a tab of four photos, you would have to look at the photo you are about to do before you even click the sub-category of the photo you are on.

Unless...

Dom would shrink the width of the category drop-downs a little so at least half of the photo is visible.  ehh?  ehh? 

And while I'm thinking about clicks, you could eliminate 2 more clicks for every report (for me at least) if you just lengthen the "State" drop-down list on the Client Info page like you did the comment drop-downs. 

[Dominic Maricic]

Are you inspecting in more than IL?

[Cameron Anderson]

No I'm just on a "click reduction" kick now, and I have to click down twice to get to IL on the State list. it's not as good an idea as my last one.

[Dominic Maricic]

It should always say IL though. Hmm. Do you have IL set under your Company Information page?

[Cameron Anderson]

Yep, that did it. Didn't know that connection was there.    I didn't have my company info in there because I don't use the contract...    annnnnd I never really noticed it.

That actually reminded me of something I was going to ask you about. I've always thought the two menu items at the top "Edit" and "Report Settings" could be...   maybe better organized. They're just not really intuitive.  For instance the "Edit Template" is not in the "Edit" menu, and the signatures aren't really part of the report but they are under the "Report Settings".  I haven't really considered a better way to organize it, but when I am looking to change something, I am always stopped for a minute to try and remember where I need to go to find that feature.  Maybe this is another topic for another post, but the connection between the Company Info and the state dropdown for client info brought the thought to the surface.

[Dominic Maricic]

I agree, I'm always trying to keep those two areas organized but I'm never satisfied with the results!

[David A. Andersen]

Dominic- I made a post about the changes you made in a photo section drop down assignment blocks (but I can't find it).

To refresh your memory; I use keyboard shortcuts to assign a photograph to a section in the report by typing the first letter in the drop-down. If it's not the correct one because there is another section with the same letter, striking the first letter again moves down the list.

Currently as soon as you select a section it jumps over to the subsection. I have to go back and click on the section scroll down find it and click on it. Depending on the template there can be a lot to scroll through.

As you know I hate to" hunt and pick"!

The greatest asset that this reporting program provides to me is the ability to handle photographs.

Currently the way things are, it is taking me forever to process my photographs. There are way too many keystrokes and too much reading to my liking.

As far as I'm concerned you can get rid of the second sub section and just use the report section tab and print all of the pictures in chronological order at the bottom of the report section.

For example: if I select "interior section" I have a tab named "comment". I assign all of my photographs to the "comment tab". They print at the bottom of each section.

The keystrokes are as follows: left click on the picture section drop down, type "I", then "C"; move on to the next picture.

The subcategory drop-down allows you to type multiple "same first letters" but by the time I have to use my mouse and read down the list, I may as well continue using my mouse. Another list to go through to find "comment".

Just putting it back the way it was would make me perfectly happy.

[David A. Andersen]

I have a touch screen on my desktop computer and even that is unbearably slow!

[Cameron Anderson]

It can make using the first letter of a section the selection keystroke a headache, and going from mouse to keyboard is a major pain.  But there are a couple work arounds to this problem.

1. When the sub section automatically opens striking "Shift-Tab" takes you back into the first category dropdown and striking the letter again goes down the list of categories one more step. It still adds keystrokes, but they are fast ones and it eliminates going back to the mouse or the touch-pad. If you have a hotkey it could be set up to do this.
2. Re-name the main categories so they all start with different letters.  Not an attractive idea but it would solve it. Might be a bit difficult to come up with names.
3. Dom could make it an option which can be switched on or off.
4. Not sure if this can be done or not, but maybe Dom could set up the main category to only select when Enter is struck. So striking a letter just jumps through the list until Enter is struck and then the subcategory opens. It adds one keystroke but it is a common and intuitive one for guys categorizing photos this way.

Dom, about David's other idea with the photos just printing at the bottom of a main section instead of after sub-sections. Could the photo categories be set up to do just that if a main category is selected but the subcategory is left blank?

[David A. Andersen]

Thanks Cameron, I did #2.
Am using "Space-Bar" as Electrical...

Changes the others. Exterior to "outside" didn't fly...

I always found those drop downs to be a pain, but the keyboard option worked fine, but not that's gone.

I don't like "working for computer programs". That is why I'm here.
but this has been a big step back for me this last Qtr. Seems like I'm chasing photos all over the place now.

[Cameron Anderson]

I have "Grounds" and "Facade" sections for all the exterior stuff. It's nearly impossible to have all of them different and have them also be intuitive.

[Dominic Maricic]

Hi David,

Sorry, I remember that post now. I'll add it in as an option to turn on/off. That's actually one of the new features I've gotten the most positive responses about as most inspectors use the mouse more than the keyboard. I know there's exceptions though and I'd be one of them too!

[David A. Andersen]

If you could type "Ctl-(the letter) after the first try, it would be great.

Turning it off would be fine with me as well.
I use the mouse in the right hand and the keyboard with the left.
It's nice that it jumps to the next drop down but having to read and select on a bunch of pic's is very slow for me.

Thanks!