Contents

Overview

Field users will install and use the QESTField app on their mobile device so that they can access QESTField.

Installation

If there is a mobile device management system (MDM) in use to deploy the application, then the deployment and installation should not require any action from the end user. Otherwise, a manual installation will need to be undertaken per the below instructions.

Logging In

A field user will be presented with the login page when first using of the app, after logging out or after their login has been revoked.

Connection URL

The URL for the company's QEST Web API instance will need to be provided to the field user so that it can be entered. This will allow the app to connect to QESTField.

The address will be validated as it is typed in.

• If there is currently no internet connection available, the status message will say "Internet disconnected"
• If an address is entered that cannot be reached, the status message will say "Endpoint unavailable"
• If an address is entered that appears to be malformed (i.e. contains invalid characters, or doesn't look like a URL), the status message will say "Invalid URL"
• If a valid URL is entered, the status message will say "Connected"

Username & password

The username and password required in the QESTField app are the same as used to log in to QESTField. Once a user has logged in to the app once, the user will be remembered. It is not necessary to log in and log out of the app each time it is used.

If the user's password has expired or does not meet minimum password requirements, the password will need to be changed before they are able to proceed.

Account Settings

To open account settings, first open the menu, then tap the person icon in the top card which displays the name and username of the logged in user.

Change password

Upon changing a password, the same user using other QEST products such as QESTLab will not be logged out, however will have to use the new password next time that they log in.

See User Password Requirements for password requirements.

To change a password:

1. Enter the old password
2. Enter a new password
3. Enter the new password again
4. Press the CHANGE PASSWORD button

Logging out

To log out press down on the LOGOUT button. This is usually only necessary if there are multiple users sharing the same device.

Device Settings

To open device settings, first open the menu, then select Settings.

Download/upload using Wi-Fi only

When enabled, forms will only be downloaded onto the device when a Wi-Fi connection is available. This is mostly useful when concerned about bandwidth usage on a device's mobile data plan i.e. forms will not be downloaded or uploaded from the device when only mobile data is available.

Store forms for

Forms are stored on the mobile device for the given number of days before they are removed from the device to free up space. Forms are only removed once any local changes have been synced to the server. The default setting is 30 days. It is not recommended to choose a long span such as "365 days" or "Forever" if forms are being heavily used. A large amount of space will be taken up on the mobile device and the Forms list will take longer to load.

The number of days is determined based on the work date of the assigned work order or the last time the form was requested from the Work Orders page via Create/Edit Form.

Developer Mode

Under normal circumstances, Developer Mode should be turned off. It is intended for troubleshooting purposes. Additional status information will be shown on some pages and logging from the app can be setup. 

The logging options on the Settings page will not be visible until Developer Mode is enabled.

Log to local file

When this option is enabled, logs will be written to the file system on the device. These logs can then be accessed either by file explorer apps, or by tethering the device to a machine which has the appropriate tools to browse the device file system.

One file will be logged per day, to the following location, depending on device:

Log to Seq

When this option is enabled, logs will be written to a Seq server over HTTP. As this may result in the device making a lot of HTTP calls, this is only recommended if the device is connected to the same local network as the Seq server.

The address of the Seq logging server can be entered - usually Seq servers listen on port 5341.

Help

To open help pages, first open the menu, then select Help.

Clearing App Data

Clearing Data on Android

Like all Android apps, all local data for the app can be deleted, which will restore the app to its original state. 

From the Android menu (i.e. not within the QESTField app), go to Settings → Apps → QESTField → Storage → Clear Data, as shown below.

This will:

• Delete all forms downloaded to the device
• Clear login credentials (i.e. the app will need to be logged into again)

Clearing Data on iOS

To restore the app to its original state on iOS devices, the app must be uninstalled and re-installed.

QESTField Forms Specific Functionality 

This section explains specific requirements that only applies to organisations that will be using QESTField Forms. 

PDF Viewer Installation

Android PDF Editors

A third-party PDF editing app is required to be installed on the mobile device for filling out forms. Some apps will have a better workflow with the QESTField app than others. Certain PDF editors may not work correctly with the QESTField app based on how they save PDFs.

The following PDF editors are recommended (please note that the features list is not exhaustive):

iOS PDF Editors

A third-party PDF editing app is required to be installed on the mobile device for filling out forms. Some apps will have a better workflow with the QESTField app than others. Certain PDF editors may not work correctly with the QESTField app based on how they save PDFs.

The following PDF editors are recommended (please note that the features list is not exhaustive):

Enabling JavaScript in Third Party Editors

Some forms will contain calculations or other functionality reliant on JavaScript being enabled in the third party editor. JavaScript must often be enabled in editors in order to make use of this more advanced functionality. The ability to enable JavaScript is usually located in the Settings of the third party PDF editor app.

An example of an option to enable JavaScript is shown from the settings page of Xodo below as an example.

Working Offline

If the mobile device loses internet connection then this will be identified in the application on the following pages:

Forms are still editable when there is no connection to the internet. If the user is currently logged into the Forms application and internet connection is lost, forms can still be filled out through the Forms page. However, certain processes and actions are not available when internet connection is lost. These actions will be grayed out or hidden until an internet connection is restored.

1. The Work Orders & Tests page and functionality cannot be accessed
2. Forms cannot be synchronized with the server
3. Forms cannot be signed or unsigned
4. Forms cannot be published
5. Forms cannot have their fields refreshed, distribution changed or be deleted
   
   

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