The task form guides the checks and records required for the work. It may contain several sections with text, numbers, dates or choices. Fill in the information based on the work performed. Saving a section and completing the entire task are separate actions.
Before you begin
A task form must be attached to the task. You also need the appropriate permissions to perform the task: being able to see a task does not guarantee permission to save or complete it. If the form is missing or its actions are disabled, ask your organisation’s administrator to check the form, the task’s status and your permissions.
In the browser, you must first start processing an active or overdue task. Form fields are locked for tasks that are being planned or have been completed. On mobile, the form may already be available to fill in for an active or overdue task; the browser’s processing requirement does not apply in the same way. On Android, the form button may be locked when another user is processing the task. iOS opens the form of a completed task in a view-only mode.
Answers, required fields and comments
Read the section description and field headings before answering. Enter an observation in a text field, a number in the unit specified by the number field, select a date in a date field and choose the appropriate option from a drop-down list. A numeric answer on the form is not itself a time entry for the task or a Machine hours reading.
A required field needs an actual answer. Spaces alone are not enough. A required checkbox or switch must be selected or switched on. Leaving it unselected therefore does not count as a required negative answer. Do not change a negative observation to a positive one just to save the form: ask the form administrator to use a field type suited to the question, such as a selection list.
On Android, number fields use a decimal point, for example 12.5. Validation of a required number rejects an empty or invalid number and negative zero, such as -0. The service limits field values to 2,048 characters.
A field comment explains the answer but does not replace a required value. In the browser, enter your comment in the Field comments field below the answer field, next to the speech bubble icon. On mobile, tap the field’s speech bubble button, enter a comment and save it in the comment window. Then save the section itself as well.
Fill in and save in the browser
- Open Tasks and click the task name in the list. Check that you have the correct task and Spot.
- If the task is active or overdue, select Start to process at the bottom of the task window, or Continue processing for work started earlier. This records you as the person processing the work. For more information about using the responsible party, see the instructions for opening and processing a task.
- Open the Task form tab in the task window and click the heading of the section you want to fill in. Enter the answers and any necessary comments.
- Select Save as draft at the bottom of the section to keep incomplete answers and continue later. This does not mark a new section as completed and does not require all required fields to be filled in.
- When the section is fully filled in, select Mark the section as completed in the same place. Provide any missing required answers and wait for the save to succeed.
- Go through the other sections in the same way.
A saved, completed section displays the Completed section button. You can correct its fields when the task’s status and your permissions allow editing. A change resets the button text to Mark the section as completed; click it again to save the correction. Simply changing a field or closing the section does not save the answer.
Fill in and save on Android
Open Tasks in the app, select a task from the list and tap Fill task form in the task details. When the app shows the form as completed, the same button reads Form ready.
Fill in the section shown and select Save at the bottom. Saving checks the required answers and marks the section as completed. This is not equivalent to saving a draft in the browser. The fields in a saved section are locked; unlock them with the section’s Edit button, make the correction and tap Save again.
Move between sections using the left and right arrows on either side of the section heading at the top of the view.
Fill in and save on iOS
Open Tasks in the app, select a task and tap Fill task form in the task details. The view for filling in the form opens for an active task, a task being processed or an overdue task.
Fill in the section and select Save at the bottom. The app checks the required answers and saves the section as completed. Unlock the fields of a saved section with its Edit button and save your corrections again. Move between sections using the section navigation arrows in the form view.
Attachments and repeating a section
You can add attachments to a section only if the form administrator has allowed them. An attachment belongs to that section or instance of the section; it is not automatically added to the task’s general attachments.
In the browser, the section’s attachment area has a Select files button. On Android, Add image at the bottom of the section opens the image picker or camera; the image picker adds one image at a time. On iOS, the attachment button at the bottom of the section may appear in English as Add Attachment. The task form’s attachment selection uses the image picker or camera, and the app indicates a limit of ten images. Allow camera access when your device asks for it.
If a section is configured to be filled in multiple times, create a separate instance, for example for each part to be inspected:
- In the browser, select Repeat section in the section and switch between instances using the section’s numbered tabs.
- On Android, save the previous instance before using the Duplicate section button at the end of the section.
- On iOS, save the previous instance and tap the plus button in the upper-right corner of the form view.
Enter separate answers for the new instance. Each instance also has its own comments and attachments. Fill in and save every required instance as completed.
To delete an unnecessary extra instance in the browser, select its numbered tab and Delete section. The delete button for the first instance is hidden in the browser. On mobile, use the Delete button at the bottom of the instance and accept any confirmation only after checking what you are deleting.
Deleting an instance removes its answers, comments and attachments. It does not remove the section’s definition from the shared task form. If you delete the only filled-in instance of a section, you must fill in that section again before the form can be completed.
Check that the form is saved and completed
If the mobile app displays an Unsaved Changes prompt when you move to another section or leave the form, select Yes to save. Missing required answers may prevent saving or moving on. No continues without saving the changes. Preferably, save corrections using the section’s own button before moving on; do not rely on being prompted separately for every change.
Wait for the save to succeed. Reopen the form and check the answers, comments and completion of every instance. Also check that attachments open: server processing of attachments sent from mobile may continue in the background after the section has been saved. If saving fails, check your network connection, the error message and any information already saved before trying again.
If an administrator adds a section to the form or changes required fields while work is underway, an earlier completion indicator alone does not prove that the current form has been filled in. Check new fields and sections in previously saved instances as well. The browser’s completion check takes account of the current required fields and all saved instances; missing information may prevent completion of the task. After a form change, do not use the mobile app’s Form ready text as your only check.
A completed form does not finish the task on its own. The task may also require time entries, a Machine Hours reading, signatures or an inspection. Return to the task details and complete the task separately when the work and all required entries are finished. See the instructions for completing a task. Maintaining the form’s structure is covered in the instructions for defining sections and fields.