What's new in version 16.0 - May 2015

This topic lists the additions and improvements incorporated in InfoAsset Mobile version 16.0 which were not available in previous versions.

Please note that this new version also includes various enhancements and bug fixes that are not described in detail here.

General

GPS coordinate conversion utility

The new GPS coordinate conversion utility allows users without a tethered GPS unit to enter latitude/longitude values from another GPS enabled device and obtain converted coordinates in the current map projection. These values are automatically inserted into the current report. Please note that this functionality applies to geographically-enabled or map-aware reports.

To achieve this, the Enter coordinates option has been added to the Map toolbar and the View menu. See User Coordinates dialog and Entering User Coordinates for Conversion for further details.

Warning when there are no networks being monitored

A warning is now provided if an administrator attempts to open an application which has no InfoAsset Manager networks currently being monitored. After the warning is displayed, the user is provided with a list of possible networks to be monitored. This prevents the user receiving confusing error messages during other operations. See Server Management dialog for further details.

Warning when editing forms assigned to non-existent network

When editing an application or form, the user is now informed if the associated network is no longer being monitored.

Application

Notification of dynamic data update completion

When the user requests an update of the application's dynamic data, a notification message is now displayed once the update in complete. The user may then carry out the refresh dynamic data operation successfully. See Options dialog - Application Page for more information.

Ability to hide Zoom map to full extents button

The Zoom map to full extents button () of the Map toolbar and the Zoom map to full extent option available on the View menu may now be disabled (hidden) within an application. This can be useful for tablet devices where accidentally invoking the function is easy and produces inconvenient results.

The availability of the button and the menu item is controlled via the ShowFullExtentOption property of the Application dialog and the default behaviour is to have both the button and the menu item hidden (option set to False).

Reports

View report on map function works for multiple reports

The View report on map context menu for items in the Saved or Completed tab has been extended to allow the selection of multiple reports. The map will then be zoomed to show all selected reports.

User level control over field edit status

It is now possible to control the read-only status of report fields, so that different users have read-only permission for some fields. This is achieved using the ReadOnlyUserLevel property that has been implemented for most controls in a form. This property is set to None by default (corresponding field not read-only) and may be set to the following user levels Engineer, Supervisor and Administrator. Enabling this property and setting it to one of these three user levels means that users with these roles or below will not be able to edit that field when filling in reports.

New application setting allowing Administrators to restrict report moving on the Scheduler

This feature allows specified users to be prevented from moving reports on the task scheduler view.

ScheduleMoveReports is a new property of the application that has been added to the Application dialog. When this property is enabled, it prevents users at the specified user role or below from moving reports on the Scheduler. Its default value is None, which indicates that no restriction is applied.

Maps and Layers

MapXtreme replaces DotSpatial for Map display

InfoAsset Mobile version 2021.5 introduces a significant upgrade to the capabilities of the Mobile Mapping functionality. To make these changes, the MapXtreme Mapping component used by InfoAsset Manager Desktop has been incorporated into the Mobile field client. This allows new data types to be visualised in the field client and makes huge performance improvements, giving both increased drawing speed and reduced memory footprint. This will allow visualisation of much larger datasets in the field, when compared to previous versions.

The data types supported as static layers are now as follows:

• ESRI Shape files
• MapInfo Tab files
• Raster Datasets – including TIF, ECW, MrSid, JPG and bitmap formats
• Web Mapping Services (WMS)

Note that use of WMS layers will require an internet connection on the client. The creation of local pyramid files is no longer required for the display of hierarchical/compressed raster datasets (ECW/MrSid).

The following dialogs have been updated to take these map display changes into account:

• Configure Map Layer dialog
• Manage Map Layers dialog
• Map Layer Info dialog
• Map Layer Search dialog
• Measure Distance dialog
• Select Network dialog

The dialogs below have been introduced in this version of InfoAsset Mobile:

• Choose Coordinate System dialog
• Label Visibility dialog
• Layer Visibility dialog
• Map Layer Properties dialog
• Theme Visibility dialog
• WMS Layer Properties dialog

Display a scale on the map

Applications which use maps now display a scale bar so that users can easily estimate distances on the Map View. Please note this applies to MapXtreme implementations only.

Map and layer history

In previous releases of InfoAsset Mobile, there was no record kept of previous map and layer configurations. This configuration information is now version controlled, allowing changes to be rolled back to earlier versions, if required:

• The History... button has been added to the Manage Maps dialog and the Manage Map Layers dialog. Clicking on this button displays the Map History dialog and the Map Layer History dialog respectively, where the different map / layer versions are displayed, along with related information.
• The Rollback... button has been added to the Manage Maps dialog and the Manage Map Layers dialog, allowing users to roll back to previous map / layer versions.

Copying known data when creating a task from the map

When creating a task from an existing object on a map, there is new functionality to allow more data from the map object to be automatically copied to the task report information. This reduces the chance of error and the time it takes to complete a report. As an example if a new customer complaint associated to an existing property is created, it is likely that the contact name, address, phone number, property type and associated assets would already be known from the map. It is possible to configure InfoAsset Mobile so that these fields are automatically copied to the customer complaint report.

This functionality is available via the Map toolbar (Use map layer information in a report button [ ] and Use map layer information in a report button [] ) and the View (Use map item option) or the Reports menu (Create report on map option). The Use Map Information dialog gets displayed in the process, allowing users to specify the fields to be copied from the source object onto specific fields of the target report.

The UseMapInformationDefaults and ShowUseMapInformationOnMapCreate properties have been added to forms. These allow defaults for creating a report from a map layer to be set and define whether the Use Map Information dialog is displayed when reports are filled in, respectively.

Improvements to Themes

Configuration of map layer display and theme is implemented in the Map Layer Properties dialog. Previously only a colour could be applied to a theme. Now users are able to override, if the All attributes option is selected, all elements of the default or Override styles.

Translucency (or transparency) has also been enabled to allow the user to make elements of the theme transparent. Previously, all layers were drawn as solid colours. Note that this will visually hide the item on the map but this will not hide the item from the various selection tools.

The new Copy to theme helper button allows users to copy the Override styles settings (but not the colour or translucency) to each item (row) of the theme to quickly apply changes to all items.

Finally, the Apply to border button can be used to apply the theme to borders (outline) rather than to the polygon fill for area or zone objects, such as work packages.

Support for custom internet maps

In this release of InfoAsset Mobile the unofficial support for map sources other than Open Street Map has been removed.

For clients who require access to compatible internet mapping the InternalInternetMap property has been added to the Application dialog.

For users requiring access to non supported internet sources such as Google Maps for example, the ExternalInternetMap property of the application should be used in conjunction with the View online functionality of the map (available via right-click or the View menu). This will launch these sources in an external browser at the correct location. This will also allow the full use of the functionality provided by the web map. Users could then use the View coordinates... menu item of the map to sync the map to the internet URL.

Enhancements to WMS layer configuration

Users have now got more control over the way WMS layers are presented in InfoAsset Mobile. In earlier versions of the software, the projection system, image type, background colour and transparency of WMS layers were defaulted to the first setting in the list. In the new WMS Layer Properties dialog, it is now possible to customise these settings. Please note that a warning message will be displayed if the projection system that is selected for the WMS layer is not supported by MapXtreme.

Server

InfoAsset Mobile Licence setup can configure InfoAsset Manager Exchange licence settings

It is now possible to configure the InfoAsset Manager Exchange licence key settings using the InfoAsset Mobile Licence Key Setup program, simplifying the initial configuration process for the server.

Client licence times shown in local format

Client licence times displayed in the Field Licence Management dialog were previously expressed in UTC format, which caused confusion for users. Time display now uses the local time format.