Read events let you find out when an event was recorded for a Spot, which user information is associated with it and what location information was saved. An event may originate from a tag read in the mobile app or an automatic device integration. A read event alone therefore does not prove that a tag was physically read.
Open and filter the event list
Open History → Read events from the browser's side menu. You will see the events your permissions allow you to access. If you cannot find the events for the Spot you need, ask an administrator to check your permissions for the Spot's folder.
- Above the Read events tab, select Read event created at. The default is 1 Month: events from the date one month ago through today. A previous viewing setting may be restored in the view.
- If needed, select Filter by specific time range and enter the start and end dates in the adjacent Date range field. The table's filter includes the selected days. Get all removes this time filter.
- Enter the Spot's name in the search field below the Spot column heading. Filter the User column by name only if you want to view events associated with a particular user. Leave the user search empty to include events without a user.
- Check the Spot, user and Timestamp on the row, along with any coordinates and address information. Timestamp is the time the event was created in Spotilla. It is not the device's measurement time for an automatic event.
The time filter at the top and the filters below the column headings work together. The Timestamp column's own date filter can further narrow the data already retrieved. Check all filters if an expected event is missing.
Open an individual location
Select Open map in the event row's Map link column. The map window's title shows the Spot's name and the event time. Check that you opened the correct row.
A map point requires latitude and longitude saved with the event. A missing map point alone does not mean that no read event was recorded. Address information may also be missing even when coordinates exist: automatic GSFleet and KIHO events save coordinates without address information.
View events on the map timeline
- Open the Map tab on the same page.
- Open the settings button with the settings icon at the left end of the timeline below the map.
- Select the Spot you want to view in the Choose a spot field. This selection is required.
- Select a period in the Select timeframe field. An empty date range retrieves the Spot's events without a time filter. If you select only a start date, the view covers that day.
- Leave Select a user empty to include automatic events and events without a user. Select Start.
The map's end date differs from the table's: when you select two dates, the map's range ends at the beginning of the end date. For example, to include all events on 5 October, select 6 October as the end date. The table's time filters are not transferred to the timeline settings.
The timeline uses events in chronological order and excludes events without coordinates. Hover over an event marker to see the time and user information. Check the table for missing events as well.
The timeline's triangular play button starts the animation; the button changes to a pause button. The square button stops playback and returns it to the beginning. The back and forward buttons move between event points. The x10 button lets you adjust the animation's speed multiplier from 1 to 100; the default is 10.
The animation connects the saved location points. It does not show measured driving speed, actual travel times between events or a route known to have been travelled. The speed multiplier changes the presentation, not the event data. Clear in the settings resets the selections and removes the timeline from the map; it does not delete read events.
What do the user and location tell you?
Reading a tag in the mobile app: reading a Spot's tag associates the logged-in user with the event. The location comes from the phone if it is available. Allow Spotilla to access location in your phone's settings if you need location information. On Android, the location is supplemented through a separate request after about ten seconds, so check the information again after a short wait. Reading a tag associated with a folder or storage location does not create a Spot read event in this list. Reading tags is described in Opening a Spot with an NFC or QR tag.
GSFleet: synchronization can create an event with the device's coordinates, without a user and without a tag read. The first accepted location initializes the reference point without creating an event. Subsequently, a distance of more than 50 metres from the reference point creates an event and moves the reference point to that location. Smaller location updates may change the Spot's location without creating an event.
KIHO: synchronization can create an event when a valid location is more than 50 metres from the previous location saved for the connection. The first location alone does not create a movement-based event. The reference location is also updated when a smaller location change is saved. Previewing does not save events.
The distance is calculated between coordinate points, taking the Earth's curvature into account, rather than as distance travelled. The threshold is checked without rounding the distance: exactly 50 metres is not enough. For example, two 30-metre movements in the same direction take the device 60 metres from its starting point. In GSFleet, this can create an event on the second update. In KIHO, neither movement may create an event because the reference point changes between them.
KIHO associates the event with the user from the Spot's most recent read event that has a user, if that user can still be found. Otherwise, it uses the first active user. If neither can be found, event creation fails and the changes for that update are rolled back. A user's name alone therefore does not prove that the person read the tag or was at the event's location.
Deleted user on the map means that no user is available for the event. The same text appears for an automatic GSFleet event without a user, so it does not prove that a user account was deleted. In the table, a missing user name appears as an empty field.
A read event's location describes the location saved with that particular event. An earlier event does not confirm the device's current location. The Spot's saved location is separate information and may change through an integration without a new read event. See also Setting a Spot's location.
Check an unclear or missing event
First check that you have the correct Spot, period and permissions. Remove the user filter from both the table and the timeline settings. Compare the event's coordinates and time with other events before concluding that someone read the tag or that the device travelled a particular route.
If the Spot has a device integration, ask the connection administrator to check its connection, synchronization setting and actual synchronization run. In the browser, connections are under Settings → Integrations → GSFleet or KIHO. In the same Integrations section, the Change log tab shows the integration log. Check the result of the relevant synchronization, not just a successful connection test.
Detailed prerequisites, information that is skipped and synchronization rules are described in GSFleet connection settings and KIHO connection settings. For help interpreting the log, see Reading integration logs.
Read events on mobile
On Android, open the Spot's details and select Read Events. The list shows the event's creation time and user; a missing user name is shown as a dash. A dash alone does not identify the event's origin. Click to see in Maps on the row opens the saved location on a map.
On iOS, the Spot's Read Events opens a separate list. Each row shows the event's most recent update time, which may differ from the browser's Timestamp based on creation time. You can open the location using the information button on the right side of the row when it is visible. Check automatic events without a user in the browser even if the iOS list does not open or appears empty.
Save the view or delete an event
Above the table, Save view preserves viewing settings for later use. Export view to Excel exports the table's data to Excel. Wait for the data to load and check the rows, columns and period in the file. A saved view is not an unchanging copy of the events. More information: Saving views and exporting to Excel.
If you have permission to delete the event, the trash icon on the right side of the table row deletes it after confirmation. Deletion removes that history event and its location information; it does not delete the Spot or change the Spot's saved location. The timeline's Clear function and changes to filters only change the view.