With the introduction of Home Inspector Pro version 2.7.7 (beta, 2.8 public), the new feature of drop-down "Lists" have been introduced.
Lists allow you to add pre-defined text to your comments when entering information on damage panels. These pre-defined Lists appear as a drop-down box within your comment. This allows you to select the text from a List where you would have previously typed in the text. The text you have selected from the drop-down will then appear on your report as if you had typed it in. This allows you to merge multiple comments you previously had with only slight variations, into a single comment with drop down lists within it to provide the variations (for example, to choose a manufacturer).
How Lists Work:
Lists work by having the List drop-down embedded within your comments. Each List describes a set of entries that apply to a specific item. The Lists can be used for any set of items you'd like such as manufacturers (G.E., Frigidaire, Kenmore, etc), or roof types (Asphalt, Cedar, Slate, Tile, etc). How you define these Lists is up to you. A List can be re-used in as many comments as you want, and each comment can have multiple Lists within.
Lists are template specific (for now at least), so if you add a List to one template it will not appear in others.
How to add new Lists:
1. Make sure you've opened the template you want to use.
2. Go to the page item (i.e. Refrigerator) you want to add the List to.
3. Double-click on the comment you want to add the List to.
4. At the top of the window, you will have the buttons 'Add List' and 'Edit List'. To create a new List, click 'Edit List'.
5. You will now be prompted with a 2 pane window for editing your Lists.
- In the left pane, all your existing Lists appear. To see the existing List entries, click on a List. The available entries will appear in the right pane.
6. To add a new List, click 'Add List' at the top of the window.
7. Give the List a title. This title should be a description of the entries that it contains (i.e. Refrigerator Manufacturers). Click 'OK'
- You don't need to add < > as the program will add them automatically.
8. Your new List will now appear on the left side, click on it then click on Add List Entry. Enter the text of your first entry, then click 'OK'. The text entered for each entry is the text that will appear on your inspection report when generated. Follow the same procedure to add in each entry for this List.
9. To remove a List Entry, highlight that entry and click 'Delete List Entry'.
10. To change the text of an entry, double-click on the entry in the List. Change the text of the entry, then click 'OK' to save your change.
11. To change the order of the List Entries, highlight one of the entries. Click on 'Move {up arrow}' or 'Move {down arrow}' to change the order of that item in the List. Follow the same procedure to change the order of other entries in the List.
- The first entry in the List will be the default value when adding your comments to the damage panel.
12. Once you have completed your List, click OK.
How to add a List to a comment:
1. Find the damage panel comment you'd like to edit and double-click on that comment.
2. In the text of the comment, click your mouse where you would like your new text to appear (so the cursor is where you want it).
3. Click 'Insert List' at the top of the window.
4. You will be prompted with a drop-down of available Lists. Select the List to insert into your comment text.
5. Click 'OK'. You will now see a drop-down List containing all the List Entries. You can add additional text before or after the List. The List is treated as though it were a word that is typed in.
6. Click 'OK' on the comment editor. You will now see the contents of your comment with your List name appearring in brackets (ie Roof Type: << Roof Types >>)
How to use Lists in Damage Panels:
1. Find a damage panel you'd like to add a comment to.
2. Highlight a comment that contains a List in the comment text (identified by the List title surrounded by << >>'s).
- You can highlight multiple comments by single-clicking on each comment to be added for a specific damage panel.
3. Click on Black or Red to add the highlighted comments to the damage panel area selected. You should now see your comment with the embedded List on the right side.
4. Double-click on a comment that contains a List.
5. From the List drop-down, select the List entry to appear in this comment. Click 'OK'. Your comment text will now appear in the damage panel along with the text of your List entry.
- If you double-click again on the Damage Panel comment, you will now see the the text of your entry is now in the comment. You can now edit the text from the List entry if need be.
- If you need to select a different entry from the List after you've clicked 'OK', you will need to remove the Entry from the damage panel, then re-add that comment to the panel (following steps 2-5).
- You must double-click on your comment containing the List in the damage panel after adding it before you move to a different page. If you add the comment to the damage panel, but do not specify the List entry, you will be prompted with a message reminding you to select your List entry before moving to a different page.
The text of your List Entry will now appear on your report as though you typed in the text.
