Saving Printed R.O.s as PDFs

[GUTHTIRE]

From time to time we have a customer whose repair requires some additional documentation beyond what's stored in the ShopKey...where/how are folks storing such information?

Example: Customer comes in and needs multiple front end parts. Some parts are from the dealer and require pictures and possibly dealer quotes to be sure we're getting exactly what we expect. Then the customer says "I need to think about, just wrap-up the vehicle as is".

Now we have the printouts, possibly hand written quotes, dealer quotes, etc. yet the vehicle has left the shop and may/may not be back.

We've been scanning this documentation and storing the PDF's on our server however I don't see where you can add UNC in ShopKey to point to and launch the PDF. As a workaround we use one of the Revision Tabs and rename it to "Saved RO" then add a labor line e.g. T:\RO\<date>\<name of the PDF>. Unfortunately that's straight text and not using UNC. Haven't tried \\<srvname\<directory>\<filename>...guess I'll do that next. Is there a better way of handling such a situation?

BTW, if this has been discussed previously in the forum I apologize as I'm not sure what I would use as a search argument.

[Silky7]

Dan,

That's interesting. Though obviously I can't say what other shops are doing, I can recommend you use the UNC path. Then it wouldn't matter what station you were on or if the mapped drive letter changes, you should be able to just copy the text, hit Windows+R, Paste and Enter. Really fairly quick to pull up that way.

[GUTHTIRE]

Dan,

That's interesting. Though obviously I can't say what other shops are doing, I can recommend you use the UNC path. Then it wouldn't matter what station you were on or if the mapped drive letter changes, you should be able to just copy the text, hit Windows+R, Paste and Enter. Really fairly quick to pull up that way.

Just tried UNC in a labor line, no dice. ShopKey just takes it as straight text and it's not launch-able. Perhaps an attach file capability could be added somewhere in ShopKey, the database wouldn't necessarily need to store the BLOB but the app should be able to properly store the UNC or URL.

[ricmorin]

ALL our Invoices and associated paperwork are scanned and stored on a NAS by invoice number. Everything from pictures, hand written notes and the tech worksheets are included. It's a simple matter of going to the folder and typing the invoice number.

invoicespdf.png (35.62 KiB) Viewed 8906 times

[GUTHTIRE]

ALL our Invoices and associated paperwork are scanned and stored on a NAS by invoice number. Everything from pictures, hand written notes and the tech worksheets are included. It's a simple matter of going to the folder and typing the invoice number.

invoicespdf.png

Ric, thanks for the post. Either way, there should be a link from Shopkey to the data on your NAS. For that matter the technology exists to store that information directly in the database, not necessarily suggesting that but the capability is there.

[ricmorin]

I absolutely agree. It's been a request for quite some time now. Linking documents directly to orders like pictures, reports, etc. would be real nice. I've found this to be the best interim solution.

Mobile Manager from Bolt-On can link pictures with specific labor lines and notes, as well as store a default picture for the vehicle. They are not available through Manager's desktop, though. They are not stored locally, either. Not exactly user-friendly yet but certainly a step in the right direction. I've been shaking down Mobile Manager for some month's now and it's a good product; well worth looking into.

We need to advance from paper. It's 2017 and we're still using clipboards and file folders? We've got to challenge the norms to innovate.

[murraymotive]

Perhaps an attach file capability could be added somewhere in ShopKey, the database wouldn't necessarily need to store the BLOB but the app should be able to properly store the UNC or URL.

This is the dream. It has been requested so much but gets thrown into the "Power User" category from what they've said before aka we'll get to it in 4 years. (I kid, I kid.)

For us, we store on our server using lastname-invoicenumber. We find that referencing all docs that need to be stored (as you mentioned diagrams, part pics) are easier found with the customer last name. When they call or come back in, we don't always remember the invoicenumber and it saves a step in having to flip to History to find it. If your machine has Search 4.0+, pulling up indexed files is a breeze. WinKey + lastname FTW.

[GUTHTIRE]

I find ShopKey to be a good place to store all of the needed information for the business but lacking in making the job easier. Where's the automation. I'm still confused as to why daily tasks aren't a click of the button. The same example keeps coming to mind of the oil change. Why isn't there a button for LOF, when clicked it puts the pertinent LOF info right on the RO using the last oil change stored in the database. I tried looking up LOF from the last time the customer was in as well as storing the info in a Revision. Both, in my opinion are a PITA. Add a button that does a database lookup and the system populates the RO.

If everyone using ShopKey is doing the same mundane tasks and it can be automated then by gosh AUTOMATE it!

[GUTHTIRE]

Has there been anything from Mitchell's perspective on this? Is linking directly to pdf's either within the database or on an external device being evaluated for a near term release?

[Pauls Automotive]

I find ShopKey to be a good place to store all of the needed information for the business but lacking in making the job easier. Where's the automation. I'm still confused as to why daily tasks are a click of the button. The same example keeps coming to mind of the oil change. Why isn't there a button for LOF, when clicked it puts the pertinent LOF info right on the RO using the last oil change stored in the database. I tried looking up LOF from the last time the customer was in as well as storing the info in a Revision. Both, in my opinion are a PITA. Add a button that does a database lookup and the system populates the RO.

If everyone using ShopKey is doing the same mundane tasks and it can be automated then by gosh AUTOMATE it!

I couldn't agree more with this idea. I would love it. In the meantime have you tried to leave a LOF job in your #9 revision and just copy and paste it into the order each time the vehicle comes back. This work around saves me a lot of time

[GUTHTIRE]

I've tried the Rev#9 work-a-round and also manually looking in history for last LOF, Rev.#9 saves a bit of effort but you have to put the Rev.#9 in there to begin with. I believe there's another thread in the forum with this as well. The database lookup could do this for you with a click of button...would eliminate the need for manual copy/paste and Rev.#9 altogether. Thanks!