TOPIC: Green tabs don't stay green

I posted this in another topic thread, but thought other guys should pick the idea apart too.

One issue I wanted to address was that the tabs which turn green lose that designation when you close and later re-open the report(which happens often when starting onsite & finishing a report at the office, getting interrupted, etc.). I just find I have to re-look at all those tabs to remember where I was in the reporting. It's not terribly time consuming, but it is more time spent NOT doing the actual reporting.

First, it would be more helpful if those tabs remained green since they really don't designate that you are finished with the section. It really only helps you know which sections you have NOT been too yet.

Second, some kind of system for marking a section as "Finished" would really help. It could be something simple like a checkbox next to the tab name. If an inspector wanted to use the system he can by checking the box when he has finished the section to his liking. If he doesn't want to use the "Finished" system, he can ignore the box. It's only one additional click for that tab and it is visible if he is on that tab or not. You could also have the menus at the top automatically add a checkmark next to any section which had all it's tabs marked "finished". Then the inspector can see if he has completed that section without even going to it. I attached a pic of what this could look like.

Yes, this is all inspector driven, but it shouldn't lead to sections not being completed since there are several other "review" processes (photo review, proof-reading, etc.) which an inspector should be using anyway to verify the completeness of his report. This would just help reduce redundant reviewing of completed sections during the initial report making.

The tabs turning green are helpful, but they only can only be considered a “finished” indicator if the inspector wills himself(beyond all forces of nature) to never leave a tab once he has entered until it is absolutely finished. I don't see that happening ever in my lifetime.  

Both are in the works. Changing the tab color was actually only added a few months ago. It's gone over well and having it save between opens is something on the to-do list as well as adding a color change for the page being done.

Here's a mockup of what I was imagining.

Looks good Cameron. Not sure how many would use it. Anyone else have a comment on the check boxes?

Like the idea of check boxes.  If this could also be used to indicate the sections to be printed would eliminate the need to edit the templates.  You would be able to tick the tabs that you wanted printed. If no tabs were selected then that section would item in the menu would not be included in the printed report. Am I simplifying things too much?

Brian,

Under Report Settings-Options and you can set the report to ONLY print items that have comments selected, check boxes marked, or photos added. There's no need for the checkboxes for that reason.