doForms Dispatch provides enables a dispatcher (a web user with dispatch rights) to prepopulate a form with information and then send that form to a user.
The dispatcher is provided real-time status feedback throughout the process. In addition, form builders can incorporate actions into forms that can send additional status updates while the form is being filled out. Dispatch customers may also enable GPS tracking on mobile devices that allows location data to be plotted on a map.
Send a Dispatch
Click New to send a new dispatch:
The form will open and any questions that are answered by the dispatcher will be prepopulated for the user. When the form is ready, select Send to send the dispatch or Pending to save the changes:
A Pending dispatch will not be delivered to the user until it is Edited by a dispatcher and sent.
Send to
There are three ways to deliver a dispatch:
- Mobile: Send to a mobile user with the doForms app
- Email: Send to an email address
- SMS: Send to an SMS number
Deliver
The dispatch can be delivered Immediately, or it can be delivered at a Later time:
Schedule
The dispatch can be displayed on the Dispatch Scheduler calendar by checking Schedule and choosing the Date, Time and Duration the user will work on the dispatched job:
Repeat
The same prepopulated dispatch can be sent to the user on a repeating schedule by checking Repeat and selecting the schedule options:
View Dispatches
To view forms that have been dispatched, select a Project from the drop-down list and then select a Form. Next, enter a Date range and then click on one of the two View buttons.
View and View by record name
View will display every data field in the form that has been checked in the Settings options. View by record name will only display the fields defined as the Record Name when the form was published. For large forms, this option may be faster. Note: It is recommended that a Record Name be defined for every form that will be dispatched because because the app will display the Record Name when a dispatch is received.
Filter and Sort
Sort the dispatches by clicking the column header. Filter the dispatches by clicking Filter or Data > Filter. Enter the filter criteria and click Apply. Click Clear to clear the filter criteria.
Auto Refresh
Check Auto-refresh display to automatically update the list of dispatches as completed records are received and as status changes happen.
Menu Options
File
- New: Add a new dispatch.
- Export to: Export all selected dispatches to a single file.
- CSV
- Excel
- Google Sheets
- HTML
- OpenOffice
- Text
- Import from: Import dispatches from a file.
- CSV
- Excel
- Print: Print the grid of dispatches.
Settings
- View: Select the columns to display and the column headers to use.
- Export: Select the options to use when exporting multiple records to a single Excel or CSV file.
- Map: Select the questions to display on the map.
- Report: Select the options to use when exporting individual records to PDF or Excel files.
- Status: Select the colors to use for each Status value.
Data
- Bulk dispatch: Send multiple forms to a mobile unit at one time based common elements in each form. Example: A company uses five different forms for a single job, and each form has fields that are common to all the forms.
- Delete: Delete the selected dispatches.
- Filter: Show the filter controls.
- Schedule pending: Schedule the delivery of pending dispatches.
- Send pending: Send pending dispatches.
- Excel report: Export each selected dispatch to an Excel file.
- PDF report: Export each selected dispatch to a PDF file.
View
- List: View dispatches in a list.
- Map: View dispatches on a map.
Row Menu
Hover over the ... in a dispatch row to access the row menu:
- Copy: Copy the dispatch and open the copy.
- Edit: Edit a Pending or Completed dispatch.
- Delete: Delete the dispatch. Completed dispatches will still appear under View data.
- Schedule: Schedule a dispatch to be delivered later. If the dispatch has already been sent, it will be re-sent.
- Send: Send the dispatch to the user.
- Excel report: Export the dispatch to an Excel file based on the Report settings.
- PDF report: Export the dispatch to a PDF file based on the Report settings.
Dispatch requires doForms Advanced.