Software for Certs

[hightower]

So a little while ago I started a thread with a digitally fillable MIWC I created with a promise of creating an EIC and EICR too, however, I hit a stumbling block with the limitation of the Adobe Reader software and the needs of those forms.

I'm in the process of creating an app - primarily Android/Apple to do this, but just wondering if anyone would be interested in using this too.

There's already a couple of apps that I know of that can do this and much more advanced stuff than I plan, but those apps also charge. My plan is to create a free app that allows you to complete certificates and then email them as needed.

The app would be aimed at one-man bands who typically work in a domestic setting. It wouldn't have any sync abilities so the data is only available on, say, your iPad - if you open the app on your phone you can create a cert but the data wouldn't copy across from what you'd previously done on your iPad.

As I've said, I know there's apps out there that do this sort of stuff for a fee, but I'm mainly creating this for me, and wondered who else might be interested.

As for release date, I've no idea yet - it's early days.

 

[shanky887614]

Thanks for the comments. Unfortunately IT is soul less and I can't wait to be out

could be worse, you could have been a programmer.....

 

[hightower]

could be worse, you could have been a programmer.....

Cheers mate, that's about 70% of my job at the minute [emoji38]

 

[shanky887614]

Cheers mate, that's about 70% of my job at the minute [emoji38]

dont mention it, i bet you cant wait till you use these today

shutdown -f -s -t 2

or poweroff.


i started learning c++ and its not too bad but it helps writing instructions to thicko's.

XD

 

[hightower]

I quite enjoy my programming work as it's finding solutions to problems most of the time, and the results are fairly tangible. That's what I like about electrics too - problem solving and tangible results

 

[hightower]

Morning all, I've just uploaded to my server my current version. It's still lacking user login so beware any information you insert is public domain - in other words, don't create any real certs with it yet, just use test data to have a play.

So, what's changed? Well I now have a working version of the EIC on as well as the MIWC. I know the formatting of the PDFs aren't perfect yet so please bare with that.

The EIC was a bit of a slog, but I've made it so each EIC can have any number of Schedule of Test Results and Schedule of Inspections. I've tested quite extensively and seems to work well on computers and mobiles alike. The PDF generation might take a second or two as there is loads of data to process.

Appreciate any comments/feedback/suggestions. Got plenty of features still to implement so watch this space.

 

[happysteve]

Hey hightower,

Some feedback:

Looks cool! Have only tried it on a desktop, the layout is clear and simple and I'm sure it works fine on mobile. Great stuff!

On the Schedule of Inspection Results, I wasn't so keen on "only ticking things that apply, if you don't tick it, it'll insert N/A." It's not consistent with the rest of your form-filler. I personally would prefer a conscious decision about what to press. So a radio button that is initially not set to anything, then once something is selected it is either "tick" or "N/A". Ultimately, it's a house style decision, and it's up to you.

From a layout point of view (on the PDF forms that are created), I'm not keen on the use of both ticked boxes indicating "yes" and boxes with crosses in indicating "no." If every box needs something in it - and there are arguments for making this a requirement - then I would prefer "N/A." Or if the options are "only one" then there's an argument for leaving the non-selected options remain blank (e.g. earthing system).

Some bug-testing:

- clicked "TN-C-S" but PDF says "TT"
- EIC says "save MWC" etc (all forms)
- no option to fill the "time to next inspection" field (maybe because I was doing an addition?)
- two questions on inspection schedule ask: "No basic insulation of a conductor visible outside encl"
- managed to fill out circuit info that was somehow not saved. Probably user error, would be nice to have a "looks like you've entered some stuff, are you sure you want to leave this page without saving it?" popup
- not sure what "name" is - would this be your cert ref (e.g. invoice/job number)? Maybe a hint on the form-filler?

Wish-list: option to export/import data in plain text format. I can imagine either editing the data off-line to upload in one go, or using the data to create a prettier form (and also just to get hold of the data in the event you shut the website).

All super-cool, though, don't want to detract from the effort you've put in and your general "good karma" outlook of creating stuff and releasing it because you think others will find it useful.

 

[hightower]

Thanks for such in depth feedback Steve. Still early days but I will be making my way through your feedback point at a time and working on a solution/better setup.