Summary features let you mark or flag inspection data to merge into a document attachment. One or more summary “areas” may be set up and used, different methods may be used for marking or flagging comments, and various options for what information imports or merges along with the summary text.

Before using the summary feature, you may wish to consider or adjust how many summary areas you want to use, the method to use for marking summary comments, and how you want them to import. You also should make sure your summary document template contains appropriate merge fields to merge the summary areas you wish to use.

SUMMARY SETUP

Using Ratings to flag report comments containing information for your summary is the easiest method and most automatic, and works great in both desktop and mobile.  If you use Ratings as automatic summary areas, then simply use Modify > Ratings in the report writer, Summary tab to specify the summary categories or areas to assign them to.

If you use Ratings for summary, you avoid needing to set up other summary preference options and may simply adjust the Print Styles for your items and your summary template document wording as desired and that’s it.  Watch the VIDEO AND STEPS outlined in our article “Use Ratings for Summary“

When ratings are used for flagging information for summary you may optionally choose to merge information from different ratings (e.g. Safety items and Defects or any other criteria) into one summary area, something not possible with the other methods.

SUMMARY PREFERENCES

If you are not using ratings in your report and need to set up the more manual method of marking information for summary, use the report writer Summary > Preferences areas to set desired options on the various tabs.  If you are using Ratings for summary, you only need to optionally adjust options on the Print Styles tab.

Behavior: Depending on your reporting style or needs, you may use up to 8 different summary categories or areas, but you do not have to use all of them. Most inspectors only use one main area for anything they want to summarize for clients to keep reports simple and clear.  So you may want to use only one summary areas for anything considered to be a deficiency needing attention.  However additional summary areas could optionally be used for other categories (i.e. maintenance, safety hazards, etc.) For convenience, enter Name of Summary descriptions for the areas you decide to use. These labels display on the Summary menu for marking items, but do not print in final summary documents unless you include them there as text.

Summary Method: Determines how items are marked or flagged for summary while inspecting. Marked summary field method simply flags the entire inspection field for summary using a little number flag, whereas Styles lets you specifically mark comments for summary by applying a particular text style to the comment. See Help screen for further details about specific differences between the methods. Changes to the summary method or styles only affect NEW inspections created after these items are adjusted, so after making any adjustments, we suggest you create a test report to try them out

Print Styles: Determines how summary information formats when merged into your final document. See Adjust How Report Information Imports into Summaries

Customizing Your Summary Document Template

Next make sure your Summary document template is set as desired. Your Actions pane may already contain summary templates set up and provided by your vendor.  See also Action shortcuts for document attachments

You may open the master document template to make sure [Sum?] merge fields are included for each summary area you wish to include or merge, along with any appropriate introduction or labels to describe them.  If needed, use Insert > Summary Area to include additional merge fields where desired.  Other merge fields may be included to import other job and contact information- See Add Merge Fields to Master Standard Document Attachments

When your summary document is attached to an inspection, the [Sum?] fields are replaced with the items you marked for summary, and other merge fields are replaced by their respective job information.

CREATING YOUR FINAL SUMMARY

Once your summary preferences and template with merge fields are set as desired, you can easily create summaries for specific inspections very easily.  First make sure all the desired information in your report you want included has been marked or flagged to go to summary:

If you use the easiest option to assign Ratings to go to your summary areas, then selecting a rating set to summary area automatically marks those item comments for summary. Any Ratings set up in inspection forms automatically appear in mobile for easy tapping.

Otherwise, if you use one of the other manual summary marking methods, in mobile one may tap to edit the selected narratives and then select the desired summary area for the comments there.  In desktop, one may use the Summary Area menu in the toolbar to select the desired summary area.  If using the Marked Fields method, the summary number is displayed to the right of the field. If using Summary Styles, the selected information will automatically format the text to the applicable style.

All inspection items marked for a particular summary area group together for merging into your final summary document.  In the mobile app, use the menu to view Summary items at any time.  In desktop, use Summary > View Summary.

Then after retrieving your mobile inspection, or in your desktop software once all items have been marked as desired, simply attach the summary document to your inspection.  Usually you would have an Action set up as a shortcut to do so in one tap.

Once created and merged, the attached document may be edited further, but no future automatic merging occurs unless new merge fields are inserted. After saving and exiting the document, you may re-open it from the Attached Documents tab in the lower view pane should you need to access it again for any further direct editing

When you print or preview your inspection, your attached documents like report summaries and other items are automatically included along with your report.