General structure
The actual visit report will be filled with values which are specific to each visit report. These values can be:
- Data of the visit. For example, the service order code and the various amounts of hours and materials used and the starting time of the visit.
- Labels. Text labels can be used if the text on the visit report is language dependent. The default language for the report is set to the language of the Sold-to Business Partner, or, if this is not defined in , the language as set in the Data Display Settings of the application. In the default templates no texts are used. Only labels are used, so these reports can be printed in every language supported by . When translation is not required, regular text can be used, and label place holders can be omitted.
- The signatures of the service engineer and customer. In Mobile Service both the engineer and customer can sign the visit report before finalizing it. These signatures can be added as images in the actual visit report.
In the template these values are represented by placeholders. When creating the actual visit report these placeholders are replaced by the data, labels, and signatures of the actual visit.
Besides document data, represented only once on a visit report, each visit can contain multiple activities and each activity can contain multiple labor costs, inspections, material costs, other costs, and notes. Therefore, in addition to placeholders, visit report templates contain data sets. Data sets within the template are sections which can be repeated for every occurrence of the data in the visit.
Placeholders
Placeholders are defined by using text within markers. The markers around the placeholders determine what kind of data is displayed. There are several types of placeholders, each identified by different markers. There are placeholders for data, data sets, labels, and signature images. For example, the data placeholder for the service order number is ##ServiceOrder##.
Data sets
The visit report data consists of several data sets. The template must be composed in such a way that it corresponds with these data sets. A visit report may contain the following data sets:
- Document data
- Activity data
- Material cost
- Labor cost
- Other cost
- Inspections
- External Notes
- Total Hours per Labor Type
- Total Hours per Task
While materials, labor, and other costs are linked to an activity and can be displayed as underlying datasets for an activity, it is also possible to display them as standalone cost lists for the entire visit. The same applies to Inspections and External Notes.
The datasets Total Hours per Labor Type and Total Hours per Task are to be used on document level, but it is also possible to use them as underlying datasets for an activity.
Document data set
This data set holds information about the visit and is available over the whole document. This set also contains images. The signature placeholders are the only supported image placeholders.
Activity data set
The activity data set identifier is ‘Activities’. This data set holds data for the activities which are selected by the user when generating the report.
Material cost data set
The material cost data set identifier is ‘MaterialCost’. This data set holds data of all material costs. These are the costs entered in the Material screen. The display of material costs of one or more activities is based on how the ‘MaterialCost’ data set is defined in the template. Material costs can be defined as underlying data set of an activity or as one material cost list for all activities.
Labor cost data set
The labor cost data set identifier is ‘LaborCost’. This data set holds data of all labor costs. These are the costs entered in the Task screen. The display of labor costs of one or more activities is based on how the ‘LaborCost’ data set is defined in the template. Labor costs can be defined as underlying data set of an activity or as one labor cost list for all activities.
Other cost data set
The other cost data set identifier is ‘OtherCost’. This data set holds data of all other costs. These are the costs entered in the Travel Time and Other Cost screen. Data for both Travel Time and Other Cost are displayed here. The display of other cost of one or more activities is based on how the ‘OtherCost’ data set is defined in the template. Other costs can be defined as underlying data set of an activity or as one other cost list for all activities.
Inspections data set
The Inspections identifier is ‘Inspections’. This data set holds the data of all inspections of an activity. These are the inspections specified in the Inspections screen.
External Notes data set
The External Notes identifier is ‘ExternalNotes’. This data set holds the data of all the external notes of an activity.
Total Hours per Labor Type data set
The Total Hours per Labor Type identifier is ‘TotalHoursPerLaborType’. This data set holds the information about the total hours spent per labor type. It must be used on the document level.
Total Hours per Task data set
The Total Hours per Task data set identifier is ‘TotalHoursPerTask’. This data set holds the information about the total hours spent per task (code). This includes labor tasks as well as travel time tasks. It must be used on the document level.
Photos
The photos identifier is 'Photos'. This data set holds all the pictures of an activity. These are the pictures that are added to the visit report before signing it off.