Tech tip #35: Troubleshooting incorrect images in child repeater reports

If you’re having trouble displaying correct images when using a child repeater in your reports, don’t fret! Here’s how you can resolve issues where the same or an incorrect photo appears across multiple rows:

Steps by step:

• Add an annotation filter: Make sure you’ve applied a filter to the IMG:annotation field to accurately link images to their respective records. Without the filter, unrelated photos may appear in all rows.

• Use “Does Not Contain” operator: Instead of using “Does Not Equal” for filtering out subjects, use “Does Not Contain”. The latter ensures partial string matches are excluded, which is especially helpful when specific keywords are used in filenames.
• Switch to the filename field: If the unwanted images are appearing due to subject names being used for filtering, switch to the filename field instead.
• Replace OR with AND: If you’ve applied multiple filtering conditions using an OR statement, replace it with AND. This ensures only those images that match all criteria are shown.

Following these guidelines will help ensure that only the desired images are included in your child repeater report.

Tech tip #34: Stay updated with Resco Wiki changes using RSS/Atom feeds!

Keeping up with changes on the Resco Wiki is your best bet for staying informed of all our latest updates. However, whether it’s release notes, new features, or upcoming releases, it’s easy to get bogged down in any comprehensive list of recent changes.

Thankfully, tools like RSS and Atom feeds can make this whole process a lot easier – guaranteeing you receive only relevant information, delivered straight to your preferred feed reader.

Default wiki tools for change tracking:

• Recent changes

Located on the left menu, this tool displays all recent changes across every page in the wiki. It’s comprehensive but may be a little overwhelming if you’re only interested in specific topics.

• View history

Available at the top of each wiki page, this feature shows the edit history of that particular page, giving a detailed timeline of changes.

Simplify tracking with RSS and Atom feeds:

Following the recent changes or page histories manually can get exceedingly tedious. That’s where RSS and Atom feeds come to the rescue! 

• RSS feed example: The Resco Wiki has an RSS feed for every page. Here’s a sample RSS feed for tracking changes to the Release Notes page:

Release Notes RSS Feed

https://docs.resco.net/mediawiki/index.php?title=Release_notes&action=history&feed=rss

If we wanted to instead follow the page on deprecations, we might adjust this link to read:

Deprecations RSS Feed

https://docs.resco.net/mediawiki/index.php?title=Deprecations&action=history&feed=rss

• Atom feeds: On each history page, look for the “Atom” button (see screenshot). Clicking it will provide a personalized feed that you can follow in any Atom-compatible reader.

Additional tips and tools:

• More details are available on the Wikipedia Syndication page, which covers RSS/Atom feeds and watchlists. Be aware that when it comes to watchlists, these are only available for logged-in users and so are inaccessible to the general public.
• Readers: To optimize your tracking, consider popular feed readers like Feedly or Inoreader. These tools can help you organize feeds from various sources, including the Resco Wiki.

Pages worth following:

Make sure you follow pages like the general release notes, upcoming releases, deprecations and other key topics. This way, you’ll never miss an important update.

Tech tip #33: Disabling the CLEAR action in note attachments

When managing document actions within your application, it may sometimes be necessary to disable certain functionalities like the CLEAR action.

If you’ve tried disabling the delete rights in the configuration but the CLEAR action remains available, the solution involves adjusting the DocActions through the Note’s Form On Can Execute rule. Here’s how you can easily get this done.

Step-by-step guide:

1. Edit the note form: Edit the app project in Woodford. Scroll down to the Annotation/Note entity and edit its form.
2. Access the On Can Execute rule: Modify the ‘On Can Execute’ rule for the Note’s Form. This rule determines whether specific actions are permissible.
3. Modify the rule: If the CLEAR action is still visible after removing delete rights, explicitly disable it by setting the On Can Execute rule to return false for the CLEAR action.

4. Test the configuration: After applying these changes, test the document timeline to ensure that the CLEAR action no longer appears.

This configuration helps maintain control over document management by ensuring that users can only perform actions that are explicitly allowed.

For more detailed instructions on configuring document actions, check out our in-depth guide on the Command Editor in our Wiki!

Tech tip #32: Effortlessly display Power BI reports in Resco mobile app without hassles

Trying to integrate Power BI reports into your Resco mobile app but hitting a licensing roadblock?

By using the “Embed to website or portal” option, you can include public Power BI reports in your Mobile CRM or other Resco apps through simple iframe integration.

This method is great for sharing insights without the need for viewers to have a Power BI Pro or Premium license.

What’s the deal?

• Public or shared reports: This approach is designed for embedding publicly available Power BI reports or those shared within a controlled environment, such as an internal company portal.
• No Pro or Premium license required: Viewers can access and view the reports with just the Free license, which is available to any Microsoft account that has logged in to Power BI at least once.
• Simple and effective: While this method offers less in the way of customization, it’s incredibly straightforward and effective for deploying non-sensitive information across your organization.

The two-step process:

• In your Power BI report, go to File ->  Embed report -> Website or Portal and copy the link.
• In the application, add an iframe to a location from which you’d like to open the report. Insert the copied link and you are done. 

Key considerations:

• Security: Since this embedding option does not require viewer authentication, it’s best utilized for non-sensitive information. If you’re dealing with confidential data, ensure additional security measures are in place outside of Power BI to protect your information.
  
• Ease of deployment: If your goal is quick and easy deployment without compromising on sharing vital insights, this embedding method is the right choice for your organization.
  
• Administrator privileges required: The process of embedding reports into a website or portal, and subsequently into an iframe, must be performed by an administrator with a Power BI Pro or Premium license. This ensures that the reports being shared comply with Power BI’s licensing policies, even as they are made accessible to viewers without individual licenses.

For more information on Power BI in your Resco mobile applications and making the most out of your business intelligence tools, check out our documentation on the wiki.

Tech tip #31: Optimizing sync filters to reduce record cleanup delays

Encountering the dreaded “Many deletes in record cleanup” warning during synchronization can be a sign of inefficiency in your sync process. This will usually happen as a result of sync filters that aren’t properly configured, leading to the unnecessary download of records that are then deleted during the cleanup process. Here’s how you can tackle this issue and streamline your synchronization:

Review and Simplify Sync Filters: Start off by examining the sync filters for the entities that are causing delays. Simplifying these filters can prevent the system from downloading unnecessary records in the first place.

Ensure Consistency in Linked Entity Filters: When employing linked sync filters, such as connecting an account entity filter with a contact entity filter, it’s crucial to maintain consistent conditions across both filters to prevent discrepancies and unnecessary cleanup efforts.

Example: Imagine you manage a server with 1,000 accounts, 100 of which start with the letter ‘A’. Each of these ‘A’ accounts is linked to 10 specific contacts. You set your account sync filter to only include accounts starting with ‘A’. However, if your contact sync filter is configured to “get all” contacts without considering their linked account, you’ll end up with a mismatch.

This setup results in the system initially fetching all contacts, not just those tied to ‘A’ starting accounts. Consequently, a cleanup operation is needed to remove non-relevant contacts that don’t match the sync filters criteria, leading to unnecessary data handling.

To avoid this, ensure that the contact sync filter mirrors the account filter, for example, by setting it to only include contacts linked to accounts starting with ‘A’. This approach ensures data consistency from the outset, minimizing the need for cleanup and streamlining the sync process.

Monitor and Test Changes: Before rolling out changes to all users, test the updated sync filters and setup parameters with a small group. Monitor the synchronization performance closely to ensure that the changes are having the desired effect without causing additional strain on your server.

Use Diagnostic Tools: Utilize diagnostic logs and tools like the SyncStat Analyzer to gain insights into the sync process and identify areas for improvement. These tools can provide valuable information on how records are being handled during the sync process.

By taking these steps, you can significantly reduce the number of records being unnecessarily downloaded and deleted, leading to faster and more efficient synchronization. Remember, optimization is an ongoing process, so continue to monitor your system’s performance and change things up as needed.

For more detailed instructions and insights, don’t forget to consult our wiki and consider watching our online training sessions on synchronization optimization.

Tech tip #30: Navigating option set customizations in Resco Mobile CRM

In the world of mobile CRM, tailoring the user experience to fit specific business needs is essential. One common scenario involves customizing option sets – dropdown menus that present a predefined list of choices. These are used across various entities within the application, such as accounts, contacts, or custom entities designed to suit your business processes.  

On the backend, a large variety of statuses exist, and you most likely want to restrict mobile users to the use of only a specific subset. However, a lesser-known aspect of working with option sets in Resco Mobile CRM can lead to unexpected data changes if not handled with care. 

The Challenge: 

Imagine that an account’s relationship status needs to be categorized differently based on the project context within the same CRM system. You synchronize your mobile CRM app to reflect a specific relationship status for an account, say “Customer” in one context and “Consultant” in another. Upon switching contexts, you find that the account’s relationship status automatically adjusts to a new value without any manual input, potentially leading to confusion or data integrity issues. 

Under the Hood: 

This automatic adjustment is the result of the “Set Combo Items” function being triggered on form load, a feature designed to filter and potentially reset option set values based on predefined rules. While its primary intent is to streamline form customizations and ensure data consistency, it might inadvertently overwrite existing data if not configured carefully. 

Solution and Best Practices: 

• Understand Usage: It’s crucial to know that while the function is intended for filtering option set items, it can also reset values to a default or first alphabetical choice if the existing value doesn’t match the newly filtered set. 

• Implement Strategically: When leveraging the “Set Combo Items” rule, especially in forms associated with existing records, it’s essential to consider the impact on data already entered. If preserving existing data is crucial, developers must implement logic checks to prevent unintentional overwrites. 

• Test Thoroughly: Before deploying any changes involving option set customizations, conduct extensive testing across various scenarios and user roles. This ensures that the application behaves as expected and that data integrity is maintained across different project contexts. 

• Encourage Feedback:  get users to report any unexpected behaviors related to option set customizations. This feedback will prove invaluable in identifying and rectifying potential oversights in rule configurations. 

Conclusion: 

Option set customizations in Resco Mobile CRM offer powerful flexibility for tailoring application behavior to specific business needs. However, understanding and cautiously implementing features like the “Set Combo Items” function are critical to maintaining data integrity and ensuring a seamless user experience. 

If you’d like to learn more, don’t forget to check out our wiki! 

Tech tip #29: Reviving closed opportunities with ease

In the traditional sales process, we typically deal with standard entities like opportunities, leads, or orders, though the specifics will vary from one customer to another. It’s worth noting that Resco Mobile CRM, by default, doesn’t permit the reactivation of closed opportunities. If this functionality is critical for your operations, you’ll be pleased to learn that the solution is a lot simpler you’d think!

Solution:

• Identify the Issue: Users report the absence of the “Live” button on the form for closed opportunities, despite the command being active.
• Implement OnCanExecute Rule: The trick to solving this issue lies in configuring an OnCanExecute rule specifically for the “ChangeStatus” command. This adjustment allows the “Live” button to display correctly for closed opportunities, enabling them to be reactivated.

Takeaways:

• The Right Command: It’s crucial to use the correct command. A lot of the time you might find that it’s the “ChangeStatus” command, not “ChangeState”, that should be used to modify the status of closed opportunities.

• The Right Rule: On Can Execute rules control whether a command is displayed or hidden.

Additional insights:

• If you’d prefer to reactivate opportunities en masse, no worries! Just add the same command as a multi-select action.
• View Limitations: Although it’s not possible to hide buttons in views based on conditions (e.g., hiding the “Live” button for open opportunities), configuring OnCanExecute rules ensures commands are available under specific conditions, such as the opportunity being won.

By understanding and applying these tips, users can efficiently manage and reactivate closed opportunities, ensuring no sales potential is left untapped. Always remember to review command configurations and rules for optimal application performance!

Check out our Wiki for more detailed guides and tips on customizing your application’s behavior with OnCanExecute rules and other functionalities.

Tech tip #28: Create a gallery view for documents and images

Discover how to create a practical and appealing gallery view in just a few simple steps!

Here’s how:

• Set Up Columns: Start by configuring the columns in your view (Properties menu, under View). This foundational step allows you to organize and structure your content effectively.

• Customize Style: Create a new style based on the “ImageCellStyle”.
• Implement an “ImageQuery” within this new style. This is going to be crucial for fetching and displaying images in the gallery.

• Add an Image Cell: Once your style is ready, add an Image Cell to your view.
• Apply your newly created style to this cell. This will ensure that images are displayed according to your specifications.
• By following this procedure, you can create a gallery view that makes gaining an overview easy… and looks good doing it!

Tech tip #27: Streamlining Data Access with the “Not Older Than X Days” Operator

Have you ever found yourself sifting through a sea of outdated tasks, work orders, or bookings on your mobile app? Say goodbye to inefficiency with our latest feature: the “Not Older Than X Days” operator. This new addition to your toolkit allows you to easily filter and display only the most recent and relevant data, based on the date of record creation or change. This means you can now see tasks or work orders that are, for instance, no older than 10 days – ensuring that the information you access is always fresh and pertinent. 

How to Use This Feature: 

1. Select a Record: Choose any record, like a Task, that contains a specific time-related field (like the start date). 

2. Set Up the Sync Filter: Navigate to the sync filter and add a condition using the new operator. 

3. Input Time Frame: Simply type in the number of days (e.g., 10 days) to filter records that are not older than the specified duration. 

Benefits: 

• Ease of Setup: Configuring this operator is extremely straightforward 
• Sync Optimization: Improve the efficiency of your app’s synchronization, ensuring faster and more relevant data retrieval. 
• Enhanced Productivity: By focusing on recent data, users can work more efficiently, enhancing their daily productivity. 

For more details and in-depth guidance, don’t forget to keep an eye on the wiki. This feature will be available and fully documented in the Winter 2024 release. 

Tech tip #26: Streamlining report creation from questionnaires

In the wake of our recent update, have you noticed a change in the process of generating reports from questionnaires? You’re not alone! To adapt, remember that while the automatic reports in the Questionnaire Designer are handy, they might not cover all of your needs. For those instances, turn to the Report Designer to craft custom reports with ease:

1. Use the Designer for New Reports: The button for generating a report directly from the questionnaire has been retired. From now on you can initiate report creation in the Designer.
   
2. Select the Right Entity: When creating a new report, set the Entity field to “resco_questionnaire”. This step is crucial as it enables the option to generate a report from a template.
   
3. Choose from Templates: Select “From Template” and click on “Select Questionnaire Template”. Pick the questionnaire you want to use as a source for your report.
   
4. Reusability and Efficiency: Once created, your report, based on the questionnaire template, will be saved in the Report Designer for future use. This new method not only simplifies the process but can also boost efficiency in handling reports.

Learn more on Resco Wiki.

Tech tip #25: Enhance your global reach with questionnaire localization

By localizing your questionnaires, you’ll bridge communication gaps and deliver a user-friendly experience to all field service technicians, regardless of language barriers. This enables you to provide tailored content in multiple languages, ensuring clarity and accuracy across diverse user bases.

Implementing Localization:

• In the Questionnaire Designer, click ‘Localization’ to handle multiple language versions.
• Add a new language by clicking ‘Add’, select your desired language, and confirm with ‘OK’. This will show all strings available for translation.
• Translate necessary strings for questionnaires, questions, and groups, including names, descriptions, labels, and options.
• Set the questionnaire to default to the app’s language or enable ‘Language Selection’ for user-specific language choice.
• Save your changes and test the localized questionnaire within the app to ensure all translations appear correctly.

Learn more on Resco Wiki.

Tech tip #24: Optimize client engagement with ‘Select Form’ rule

Use the ‘Select Form’ rule to distinguish between existing customers and potential customers, presenting a tailored form for each group. This smart customization helps to deliver focused user interfaces for data entry and retrieval.

By dynamically adjusting the form view you ensure a streamlined and relevant experience for users, enhancing their ability to maintain existing relationships and develop new ones.

Learn how to set it up on Resco Wiki.

Tech tip #23: Improving advanced sync setups

It’s time to optimize your synchronization for maximum efficiency. Here are two tips we think might save you time and effort in the future.Advanced sync setup modifications:Update your settings to adjust DownloadPageSize. Doing so can dramatically reduce your latency. Keep in mind, this will use more memory.

Pro Tip: Different entities can have different page sizes. For smaller records, you can afford to set a higher page size without worrying about memory.

Tweak NumDownloadThreads. More threads can help you speed up downloads.Remember, “small records” refer to those with minimal data—not just the number of columns or size of text columns. Also, attachments like activitymimeattachment.body and annotation.documentbody are not counted, as they usually contain larger data and are downloaded separately.

Check out the deep dive on Resco Wiki.

Tech tip #22: Rename [Clear] option in option set questions

You now have the ability to rename the default null option, labeled as [Clear], in your option set questions. This feature allows for more personalized and intuitive questionnaires.

To take advantage of this feature, please ensure the following:

• Update both the Questionnaire Designer and the mobile app to version 16.1 or later.
• Open your questionnaire template and select the top-level element. Set the Feature Version to “2”.
• Once these steps are completed, the label for the “not answered” option within the option set becomes editable, allowing for a tailored user experience.

Remember, customization can make your questionnaires more user-friendly and context-specific!

Explore more new features from the Fall 2023 Release on Resco Wiki.

Do you need further technical assistance?

You can reach out to our support team via our Partner support page, Resco Support Portal or search our Wiki.

Príspevok Troubleshooting incorrect images in child repeater reports | Tech Tips archive zobrazený najskôr Resco.

It was great to host this year’s Resco Next in Vienna and discuss the direction our industry is taking with our fellow enterprise app professionals.  

Attendees were welcomed by Andrew Lorraine, who introduced key insights, opportunities and trends shaping our space. If you did not make it to Vienna this year, read this blog to get the main takeaways from his keynote.   

Only one-third of frontline professionals have sufficient apps for work

Frontline professionals are not experiencing productivity gains at the same rate as other sectors. Only about a third are satisfied with their tech tools and applications. If you dig into it, you will find that productivity for frontline workers is more than just efficiency and technology.  

“There’s a human factor that matters when you’re trying to help people become more productive, and it’s their experience with technology. Companies that understand this and prioritize and invest in their frontline technology end up being more productive,“ said Andrew.  

When frontline workers are provided with technological tools to support them in performing their jobs, productivity is estimated to increase on average by 22%, with an overall bottom-line growth of more than 20%.  

Mobile Solutions for verticals are a great opportunity for partners  

Given the significant gap in sufficient productivity tools for frontline workers, Resco’s solutions offer an important opportunity for partners. Resco provides the necessary tools to enhance frontline productivity and drive financial growth.

Both the Mobile App Development Toolkit and the Mobile Solutions are tools for partners to build their own industry verticals and build new income streams.   

The pre-built white-label solutions for property and energy industries can be used as a base for partners’ own solutions. “They come with a model-driven Power App that’s enhanced with Resco tools. This allows organizations or partners to take advantage of the great capabilities and innovations on the Power Platform,“ said Andrew.  

Some partners have already been successful in creating a strong income stream based on our solutions. Read more about Johnathan Taub and his FIELDBOSS solution for HVAC companies or Tom Moortgat’s Fearless Leader solution for pharma sales.  

We have added a new solution to our offering, Resco Property+, which allows users to schedule visits, inspect properties, gather data, report, and analyze field data.  

Power Platform is the next space for frontline enterprise apps and AI innovation 

Power Platform has evolved into a strategic tool for building enterprise apps, gaining interest from Resco Next attendees. From 100 of the enterprise app professionals asked, two-thirds of them expect to develop most of their apps on the Power Platform by 2025.* 

We are excited to contribute our expertise to it. “Thanks to our experience and the 1.2 million lines of code we have written for mobile CRM apps, we can add value to partners and customers building apps on it,” said Andrew.  

During the keynote, Andrew was joined on stage by Microsoft’s Principal Cloud Advocate, April Dunnam, who spoke more in-depth about how Power Platform can significantly decrease the time it takes to build a solution. She invited ISVs to contribute their expertise to the platform.  

“We really need ISVs in the Power Platform space to innovate and specialize. There are going to be gaps in the product where we need to be able to extend the out-of-the-box experiences, and that’s where ISVs are strategically placed to help,” said April. 

Resco Power Solutions enable partners to build faster 

Following April Dunnam’s insights about the growing opportunities on Power Platform, Resco is proud to be an early adopter of this innovative space. We offer Power Solutions and Power Components to help partners build business solutions more quickly and with less maintenance. 

Resco’s Power Solutions provide a comprehensive framework that includes essential functionalities for data collection or document generation, allowing app makers to focus on tailoring their applications to specific business needs without starting from scratch. This not only accelerates the development process but also ensures consistency and reliability. 

Our Power Components are pre-built modules that can be easily integrated into apps, offering capabilities such as image gallery, Kanban board, tree view, or file upload. These components reduce the development effort and time significantly, enabling partners to deliver robust solutions faster. 

A new class of software solutions  

We encourage our partners to leverage the full suite of Microsoft Business Applications and Resco technology to provide users with a great experience and seize opportunities.  

“We want to create a new class of software solutions for frontline workers and supply the booming market out there, and an opportunity for all of us,” said Andrew Lorraine.  

Curious to see how it all develops? Let’s talk about it in 2025 at the next Resco Next.  

Watch the full keynote

Príspevok Five takeaways from Andrew Lorraine’s keynote at Resco Next 2024 zobrazený najskôr Resco.

Licensing Microsoft Business Applications to external users is a commonly misunderstood area of the Microsoft Dynamics 365 and Power Apps licensing guide. Ben Vollmer, along with Jakub Bajla and Eduard Kesely from Resco, brings some common sense to this topic by guiding you through the core concepts and providing real-life examples.

The term “external user” has been part of the Microsoft vocabulary for about 20 years. Despite its longevity, it’s often misunderstood.

External users are individuals who interact with a system but are not part of the organization that operates the system. Examples include customers accessing a portal to view their account information or caretakers accessing a relative’s medical records online.

The webinar starts by breaking down the terminology. Ben explains the difference between an external user and an outsourced user and explains what it means to be working “for you” or “on your behalf”.

Do your users need licenses? Important points to consider

Ben encourages viewers not to skip the details when considering whether a user can take advantage of external user access to Microsoft Business Applications or not. The details draw the fine line between being in-compliance and out-of-compliance with the Microsoft licensing guide. He suggests considering:

• Who owns the license? 
• What is the external user doing?
• Multiplexing
• Access to graphical user interface (GUI)
• License reassignment rights

Good news: Resco supports all scenarios

If you use Resco, you can rest assured our products offer options to make sure you stay compliant with the Microsoft licensing guide – no matter which group your users fall into.

Ben Vollmer is joined by Eduard Kesely, Resco Head of Product. Eduard describes the three types of projects you can build with our Mobile App Development Toolkit:

1. Anonymous External Users: These users access the app without authentication, receiving the same content universally. Typically this is for marketing purposes involving publicly available information. Setup involves creating a common user in the backend and customizing specific projects in Woodford which will be used for these types of users. (Usage scenario is for customers who need to access common information of the company)
2. External (Portal) Users: These users log in to access CRM content tailored for them. This setup requires defining a security role in CRM and using Woodford to configure the project with authentication entities and registration methods. (Usage scenario is for suppliers of the company who are not part of the company and directly do not contribute to the business of the company)
3. Standard User Project: A project for authenticated users, with unique content for each logged in user based on security role and permissions.  (Usage scenario is for contractors, seasonal workers, and sales representatives directly working on behalf of the company)

For in-depth information about Resco and external users, please visit our Wiki: https://docs.resco.net/wiki/External_users

To discuss your specific scenario, please contact Resco at sales@resco.net.

Ben Vollmer, Strategic Advisor at Resco

With a distinguished 16-year career at Microsoft, Ben held several leadership positions within the Dynamics 365 business unit. His extensive background spans consulting, sales, product development, and product management, covering a diverse range of industries and markets. Ben is recognized as an industry veteran, known for his pragmatic approach to solving complex business challenges.

Príspevok External users demystified [takeaways from a webinar with Ben Vollmer] zobrazený najskôr Resco.

Whether you’re an integration partner, consultant, system admin, or a mobile worker, there’s something for you in the update.

The release is planned to be generally available in June.

Let’s look at an overview of what’s included in the latest release, divided into three main areas:

1. New mobile app development capabilities
   
   Explore the latest additions that make it easy to build exactly what you need and proactively enhance your apps, including new Resco Power Components for Power Platform, up to 6-time faster sync method, and other improvements.
   
2. UI enhancements
   
   Discover a polished and refined user interface that will enhance the experience for app makers and app users alike, including the new cell resizing feature, improved Questionnaire Designer, or form UI enhancements.
   
3. Mobile workflow improvements
   
   Embrace new features that focus on simplifying frontline processes, including optical character recognition (OCR) in Forms, support of QR codes in Power Apps, and Zebra integration on iPhones.

New mobile app development capabilities

Launch of Power Components

With the latest release, we are introducing a new product to our portfolio – Resco Power Components for the Power Platform.

Resco Power Components are designed to allow you make building business apps on the Power Platform faster and easier. They add a wide range of functionality to your apps immediately without needing to wait for and budget for custom code from developers.

Power Components are code components (PCF controls) that give app makers the ability to extend and customize applications built on Power Platform. They are downloaded once as a solution, installed in an app maker’s environment, and can be deployed across various projects.

Based on popular demand, we have selected the first batch of essential tools – an image gallery, Kanban board, multi-select dropdown list, advanced calendar picker and others. The first batch was released at Resco Next, our community conference, and will be generally available in June.

You can read the full announcement here.

New sync download method (preview/experimental feature)

Syncing large datasets impacts productivity if it takes too long. Therefore, we are working on a significantly faster way of accessing Dataverse data using the TDS endpoint. The new sync engine improves your sync speeds by up to 6 times while increasing reliability.

If you want to opt in and test the lightning-fast sync download, follow these steps:

1. Edit an app project in Woodford.
2. Go to Configuration > Offline Data Sync > Sync Advanced.
3. Enable the “Use TDS download method” option.

Alternatively, app users can enable this feature in the app’s setup. You can also disable TDS download for specific tables in Woodford if they show any issues.

Please note that this is an experimental feature, and it is recommended that you test it thoroughly before deployment in a production environment.

Field usage checker (preview feature)

Identifying where specific fields are used can be challenging in complex projects and can omit effective optimization of sync performance. The new field usage checker will help you identify where are the individual fields used much quicker.

The new functionality analyzes projects and shows you all elements where a field is being used, allowing admins to disable unused fields easily.

This simplifies project management by helping you optimize data fields without disrupting functionality, improving sync performance, and making data management more efficient.

Define score ranges for group results

Evaluating questionnaire responses can be much faster with clear categorization. You can now customize score ranges for each question group and assign distinct labels for different ranges.

This feature allows you to create more effective categorization and evaluation of responses, helping you draw better insights from the data.

UI enhancements

New cell resizing feature in View Designer

You are now able to take advantage of an important change to how cells resize within a row. Previously, you could sometimes experience overlaps of cells in rows, making the content unreadable due to misconfigured anchoring.

Now, newly added cells are set to be responsive by default, allowing you to avoid overlaps and makes scaling smoother.

This means as the row width increases, the cells will proportionally grow, maintaining gaps between cells and from the row edges. If an image needs to be fixed in size, you can turn off the responsiveness and set the anchoring to the left or right.

With these new options you’ll enjoy a smoother, more intuitive design process, ensuring that your layouts look great on all devices without overlaps or unreadable content.

You can learn more about these changes in our recent blog.

Form UI/UX improvements

These enhancements in forms improve experience for mobile workers by providing a more predictable and user-friendly interface, reducing confusion, and increasing efficiency.

Strict layout of cards: A new setting forces cards into their respective columns, avoiding unpredictable shifts, which enhances user experience by maintaining a consistent layout.

Required field markings: Required fields are now clearly marked with an asterisk in forms, reducing confusion and helping users quickly identify necessary inputs.

Confirmation toast: A toast notification confirms when a long questionnaire is saved, providing users with reassurance and reducing the risk of data loss.

Redesigned dropdowns: Improved dropdown navigation in iOS makes adding custom values and searching easier, making the interface more intuitive and user-friendly.

Questionnaire Designer improvements

The updated Questionnaire Designer features new icons and buttons for adding, deleting, and repositioning components. That makes the design process more intuitive and user-friendly for you.

Marking mandatory questions in questionnaires

Similarly to forms, mandatory questions in questionnaires are now clearly marked with an asterisk. Thanks to that, mobile users can identify required fields and ensure that critical information is not overlooked.

Mobile workflow improvements

Faster data entry with Optical Character Recognition (OCR) in forms

You can allow users now to populate text fields on forms using OCR, saving time and effort by capturing a photo or opening an image to fill out forms automatically. This will accelerate data entry for mobile workers, reducing manual input errors, and increasing productivity.

Geo-fencing functionality

Field service dispatchers often struggle without knowing exactly when technicians arrive or leave a location. With the new geo-fencing feature, you can get immediate updates when your front-line workers enter or leave predefined locations like offices or service sites.

This feature works reliably across a wide range of devices (iOS and Android) without draining the battery or compromising user privacy. Only the presence at pre-set locations is monitored, not the overall location.

You’ll enhance the efficiency of your field operations with real-time location updates, ensuring better coordination and faster response times.

Improved questionnaire integrity check

Working with incomplete templates or questionnaires can lead to inaccurate data collection from the field. The improved integrity check now detects incompleteness, preventing users from working with incomplete forms.

Ensuring the integrity of data collection enhances the reliability of your insights and decisions.

Resco Power solutions enhancements

These improvements enhance the usability and flexibility of Resco Forms+ solution on Power Platform, making the questionnaires easier to use in various scenarios.

Questionnaire Player – better support for images

Working with images and videos in Resco questionnaires within Microsoft Power Apps and Power Pages is now significantly smoother. You can easily incorporate components like tagged images and image galleries, enhancing the visual and interactive quality of your questionnaires.

This improvement makes it easier to collect and analyze visual data, enriching your data collection process.

Questionnaire Player – offline mode

In model-driven Power Apps, you can now use questionnaires offline. This means your team can continue working with questionnaires even without internet access, ensuring that data collection is uninterrupted.

QR codes in Power Apps

You can now scan QR codes to answer questions within Resco questionnaires in the Microsoft Power Apps app. This feature simplifies data entry and speeds up the process, making it more efficient for users in the field.

RFID scanning with Zebra devices

Resco mobile apps now support connecting to Zebra Technologies’ RFD4031 RFID scanner using Bluetooth. The functionality is available for iOS devices.

When a user scans RFID tags, the app can handle this event using JSBridge, providing a list of all nearby RFID tags for further processing.

Use case examples:

• Inventory management: Easily track and manage inventory in real-time by scanning multiple items at once. This is particularly useful in large warehouses or retail environments where speed and accuracy are crucial.
• Asset tracking: Quickly locate and identify assets in a facility, ensuring efficient use of resources and reducing the time spent searching for equipment.
• Field service: Technicians can scan RFID tags to verify equipment and parts during service, ensuring they have the correct items and reducing the likelihood of errors.

Stay informed with the Release Bulletin newsletter

Stay tuned for the official release at the end of May, and explore these powerful new features that will enable you to build mobile solutions faster and enhance the users’ experience.

For a comprehensive overview of all the new features, head to Resco’s Spring Update 2024 on the wiki. Dive in and explore the full spectrum of new possibilities.

Would you like to receive news about the Resco previews and releases directly into your inbox? Subscribe into the Release Bulletin newsletter and get notified about the new features first.

Príspevok Launch of Power Components, 6x faster sync, geo-fencing, and more: Discover Resco’s Spring Update 2024 zobrazený najskôr Resco.

We had the pleasure of sitting down with Peter Becher, the Process Area Owner at Krones, to delve into the remarkable journey of Krones with Resco.

Peter Becher, a key figure at Krones, shared insights into his role as the global responsible for the service system and process environment. Reflecting on his pivotal position, Peter states, “In the Resco and Salesforce environment, my role as a Process Area Owner is crucial in ensuring the seamless integration and efficiency of our service systems.”

The quest for a comprehensive field service management solution

As Krones embarked on a transition in their IT system environment, they found themselves in search of a robust solution for their field service management.

Krones explored various options. However, due to the specific need for advanced offline capabilities on certain operating systems, they opted to delve into the Resco and Salesforce combination.

Peter describes the turning point, stating, “The story of how we got to Resco was a bit strange, or mad, or surprising – that’s probably even better. Salesforce recommended us to talk to Resco about their offline capabilities on Windows devices.”

The mobility empowering over 1,500 technicians around the world

The journey, as Peter describes it, was “nothing short of spectacular”.

Within a span of four to five months, Krones delivered the pilot of subsidiary Salesforce Field Service in combination with Resco, setting the stage for a global rollout.

Commenting on the speed of implementation, he notes, “We changed a lot of things in the project approach, moving to a more agile environment.”

Currently, live on all continents, including North America, Krones boasts more than 1,500 service technicians using Resco Mobile CRM as their sole front end.

The success story of the rollout resonates not only in numbers but in the positive feedback received, emphasizing the solution’s usability for sales and service technicians alike.

“It’s really a big success story for our company,” Peter remarks.

Expanding horizons with Resco Inspections

Reflecting on the implementation journey, Peter highlights the flexibility and usability of the Resco solution. With an impressive 25 internal releases, the platform seamlessly integrated with Krones’ environment, proving to be a powerful tool for their service technicians.

The platform’s capability to minimize clicks and touches on smartphones aligns with the technicians’ preference for simplicity.

Recently, Krones expanded its Resco footprint by going live with Resco Inspections+. Peter describes this expansion as a strategic move to replace paper-based and report-based processes, “Resco, in the beginning, was a kind of solution for a challenge that we had – the offline capability for Windows devices. But the other possibility is moving more to that customer 360° view. That’s where we see a lot of possibilities around the Inspections.”

The inspections functionality, with its focus on condition assessment, guided procedures, and integrated processes aligns with Krones’ vision. Peter envisions leveraging checklists, assessments with scoring, automated workflows, and even generating leads or opportunities directly from Resco checklists, further improving their operational efficiency.

Looking to the future

As our conversation drew to a close, Peter expressed enthusiasm for the future collaboration between Krones and Resco. “The journey from our side has been amazing. We’re really looking forward to what we can do together,” he concludes.

The journey, marked by Resco’s continuous evolution from a solution for offline capability to a versatile development platform, exemplifies the tool’s adaptability to diverse business needs.

And Krones, a true hidden champion in the beverage industry, stands as a testament to the transformative power of mobile solutions for the frontline workers.

Príspevok How German manufacturing giant Krones uses mobility to empower 1,500+ technicians globally zobrazený najskôr Resco.

Secure your spot to view presentations, engage in discussions, and join our mission to make enterprise development both profitable and sustainable. 

Keynote: Productivity unleashed 

Resco CEO Andrew Lorraine and April Dunnam, Principal Cloud Advocate for the Power Platform, will kick off Resco Next with a keynote on this year’s theme: Productivity unleased.  

The rapid pace of technological change is dramatically impacting business and IT. The result is a radical shift in how we think about productivity – from implementations, development, and billable hours to partnerships, no-code, and results. 

Join us to learn how we are addressing these challenges and supporting our partners and customers by expanding our alliance with Microsoft. We’re delivering new products across the Power Platform in addition to continued investments in our flagship Resco Mobile product. 

Roadmap: Key product achievements and future focus 

Eduard Kesely, Head of Product, and Tomas Michalek, CTO, will join forces to present our roadmap from both a product and technical perspective. 

Since the last Resco Next in October, we have made significant advancements in UX/UI, productivity, and AI integrations. Now, we are laying the groundwork for future innovations in enterprise mobility and productivity solutions.  

We will reveal our roadmap plans, which aim to make our flagship functionality more interoperable, enhance productivity with Power Components and shine a spotlight on our renowned mobile app. 

Mobile App Development Toolkit: Breakthrough in sync 

Organizations with a frontline workforce need an app that guarantees speed and responsiveness under any conditions. Our Mobile App Development Toolkit allows for building enterprise mobile apps on Dynamics 365, Power Platform and Dataverse with an offline mode, thanks to a sync engine that keeps data accessible on the go. 

Watch our software developer, Matej Vanik, as he introduces a new generation of our sync engine, designed for even faster and more seamless data synchronization. Explore the pros and cons of connecting via WebAPI versus the new TDS endpoint, shedding light on the effectiveness of each approach. 

Mobile Solutions: built for industry verticals and use cases 

The Resco Mobile App Development Toolkit is utilized not only for building complex mobile applications for individual clients but also across entire industry verticals. We are taking this approach a step further, giving you an edge when deploying solutions for specific industries. 

Join Trevor Metcalfe, Marketing Manager, as he demonstrates how our new approach empowers you to create industry vertical and use-case specific solutions. Experience our latest innovation in action, with a walkthrough of Resco Property+ solution by Dusan Polach, Consultant. 

Power Components: Unleashing productivity on Power Platform

At last year’s Resco Next, we sparked considerable interest with the launch of our new Power Solutions. This year, we are taking productivity on Power Platform a step further with Power Components.  

Resco Power Components for the Power Platform are designed to empower app creators—consultants, developers, and solution architects—who craft both model-driven and canvas business apps for their clients. These components expand their toolkit and simplify no-code app development, making it faster and more efficient. 

Join Ben Vollmer, Strategic Advisor, and Michal Magnusek, Senior Product Manager, as they unveil first batch of Power Components. Discover how these components can speed up project delivery, save costs on developer hours and custom coding, and guarantee security, quality, and future compatibility of code.

Interested in taking part? There is still time to book your spot. Registrations close on May 23 — don’t miss out.  Contact your Business Development Manager or our team at events@resco.net to claim your spot. 

Príspevok What’s new in our product portfolio and how can it benefit your business? Come and see at Resco Next  zobrazený najskôr Resco.

Every business around the globe aspires to deliver value to its customers. At the most basic level, this means meeting customer expectations. Does our product work? Is it reliable? Does it fulfill its purpose? 

But beyond these basics, the best businesses measure and deliver what their customers want across a wider range of needs. They ask themselves questions like: do our products help our customers achieve their larger objectives? Do our customers feel great when they use them? 

Recognizing what matters to the people we serve 

When I started at Resco, my understanding of value was as simple as could be. I owe a large part of my personal development to obtaining a broader, more meaningful understanding of value. 

I used to think value meant discovering the right price for Mobile CRM licenses. When I started my career on the Resco sales team, I thought that if we met the basic functional requirements of our customers, the only remaining priority had to be securing a win-win price for Resco subscriptions. In most of my pursuits, I followed the same pattern of confirming our offline support for Dynamics 365 and listing off product features before going right to the price negotiations. Sure, I closed some deals, but I missed a big opportunity to understand the broader needs of our customers and what they truly value. 

More than “table stakes” 

Thankfully my perspective evolved as my role shifted towards serving our tremendous partners. I quickly learned that meeting basic requirements and having competitive pricing were “table stakes” value—a given part of doing business together. And that we had to aspire for more. 

Jonathan Taub was one of my mentors who helped me understand the bigger picture around value. He’s the president of FIELDBOSS, one of the top Resco partners and the recipient of our 2023 Global Partner of the Year Award. 

Thanks to Jonathan, my thinking about value expanded as we worked on growing the Fieldboss-Resco partnership. Throughout our frequent talks, I was able to improve my understanding of functional value—the kind of business impacts we can achieve for our customers through a Resco app—along with opening my eyes to operational and relationship value—improving the bottom line of our partner’s business and making it fulfilling to work together at the human level.  

It’s been awesome to see Johnathan and the entire FIELDBOSS team succeed with Resco and Microsoft in the elevator and HVAC space.  

In my current role as Resco CEO, I’ve come to embrace an even bigger perspective on value creation and delivery. My focus has expanded to topics like stability, community, exchanging know-how, aesthetics, UX, innovation, industry reputation, and social responsibility, helping me develop a nuanced understanding of what matters most to our customers and steering our organization towards achieving it. 

Supporting higher productivity with better technology 

At Resco Next 2024, we’ll be focusing on the value we aspire to create by helping our customers become more productive. In an era of rapid change, enabling productivity is the ultimate service we can provide – allowing our customers to become more efficient through simpler enterprise app development and better frontline worker experiences. 

Value has always been deeply ingrained in Resco’s DNA. But we also recognize that customer needs evolve over time, and so does what they value. This evolution is reflected in the things that we do moving forward, like continuous improvements to our sync, an overhauled onboarding experience, and sharing more valuable insights about the future of enterprise applications.  

Resco Next 2024 offers the best chance to participate in this valuable exchange with us – make sure to reserve your spot soon!  

As we continue this journey, it’s not just about meeting expectations; it’s about exceeding them by recognizing and valuing what truly matters to those we serve. 

Written by:  

Andrew Lorraine

Andrew leads Resco’s mission to help make CRM and low-code / no-code users instantly more productive. As CEO, he focuses on building teams and partnerships that can deliver technology solutions for our era’s key frontline workforce challenges.

Príspevok How focusing on value led us to productivity  zobrazený najskôr Resco.

As we approach the full release of Resco’s next update at the end of May 2024, we encourage you to test these new features and provide early feedback to ensure a seamless integration into your production environment.

Let’s dive into what’s new.

Mobile App Development Toolkit

Enhanced View Designer in Woodford

In the Mobile App Development Toolkit, the new View Designer boasts a modernized interface, making it easier to configure and manage your views.

Plus, you can now see all rows at once, simplifying workflow. Create flexible layouts with fields that automatically resize based on available space, improving readability on any device. You can learn more about this functionality in the explanation blog.

Also, map pins customization has been streamlined for better visual representation of your data points.

Location tracking with geofencing

Stay informed when the field workers enter or leave designated areas (offices, service locations, etc.).

Works reliably across devices with minimal battery drain and strong privacy controls.

Identify used fields in Woodford (Preview)

This new tool helps you optimize your synchronization by identifying which fields are used on mobile devices.

RFID scanning for iOS mobile apps (Zebra Technologies)

You can now connect to Zebra RFD4031 RFID scanners via Bluetooth for streamlined data collection.

Faster Woodford for Dataverse and Salesforce

Experience quicker download times for metadata-heavy actions, like opening an app project or filter editor, in Woodford and Report designer.

Mobile and Power Solutions

Faster data entry with OCR in forms

You can now use OCR to populate text fields on forms.

Capture a photo or open an image and populate form fields automatically, saving time and effort.

Streamlined image handling in Power Apps questionnaires

Work with images more efficiently using tagged images and image galleries.

Scan QR codes in Power Apps questionnaires

Leverage QR codes to answer questions within Power Apps questionnaires, boosting user experience.

Inspections and questionnaires

Mark mandatory questions

Easily identify required questions with an asterisk symbol.

Support for zero instances in repeatable groups

Create questionnaires with optional repeatable sections.

Define score ranges for groups

Set score ranges and labels for group results, providing clearer insights.

Improved questionnaire integrity check

Detect incompleteness and don’t allow user to work with incomplete templates or questionnaires.

New announcements

Power components (New product)

Introducing a new product – Resco Power Components for the Power Platform.

Available in June, these code components empower app makers to customize and extend their Power Platform applications. You can read the full announcement here.

The initial preview will include a Kanban board, image gallery component, and configurable calendar picker.

Guides for Salesforce

With the latest preview, Guides are now available also for Salesforce users, enabling you to manage and organize knowledge across organization.

For more detailed information and full list of the upcoming features, please refer to the developer release notes.

This blog is part of the Release Bulletin newsletter. Subscribe to get notified about the new features and release previews available.

Príspevok Release preview: Test the final release candidate for Resco 17.1 Update zobrazený najskôr Resco.

This change should not affect the old way of responsiveness, and all settings should be handled seamlessly. However, we would like to verify with you whether all your important projects will correctly represent the design in the mobile application.

It would be great if you could try out all the important customizations in the latest preview version of the mobile application.

Why the change?

Users sometimes experienced overlaps of cells in rows, making the content unreadable due to misconfigured anchoring. The anchoring tool was quite complicated, with some options having zero effect on the final layout, contributing to the confusion.

How we’re fixing it

Newly added cells are now set to responsive by default. This means that as the row width increases, the cells will proportionally increase as well, maintaining gaps between individual cells, but also distances from the row edges.

In the case of inserting images, such as avatars in contacts, you do not want them to be responsive, as they have a static size. In such a case, it is necessary to turn off the responsiveness and set the anchoring either on the right or left side. The new algorithm for cell responsiveness within the row will take care of everything else.

What you’ll see

In the design editor, when selecting a row, you will see not only cell boundaries but also an arrow either to the right or left according to the activated anchoring in the properties pane.

How does responsiveness work?

If responsiveness is set to “On,” a cell will stretch as the screen expands to avoid leaving empty space. If it is the only element in a row, it maintains consistent margins from its parent row, behaving as though its right and left sides are anchored to the edges.

If two responsive cells are adjacent, they keep a distance from both sides.

However, if an overlap occurs that wasn’t originally designed, it gets corrected according to the template pattern, preserving the proportion of widths and their mutual indentation.

Responsive is set to “Off”

When responsiveness is disabled, the cell will have a fixed width and will be anchored on the selected side. Consequently, when the width changes, the cell will maintain its fixed width and distance from the marked side of the row.

Tips for designing

Make sure your row width fits the smallest screen you’re designing for. This helps avoid overlaps and makes scaling smoother.

This means that if you want to use a view as part of a tree view, you must take into account the width of the row in this component. Otherwise, overlaps may occur.

Scaling works best from the proposed width upwards.

Font size matters

In the latest version, font sizes now look the same on the canvas as they do on devices. So you’ll see exactly how your text will look. We recommend setting cell height a bit bigger than the font size to avoid cutting off text.

Starting from version 17.1, the font size has been standardized to match the actual size on devices. As a result, the canvas preview will reflect the true appearance. This allows you to see, for instance, if text is getting cut off due to insufficient cell height. We recommend setting the cell height to about 15 to 20% greater than the font size. For example, for a font size of 15 dp, the minimum cell height should be 17 dp.

Give it a try

Before the official release in the end of May, we’d love for you to test out these changes in the preview version. Try your important customizations and let us know what you think!

Let us know if you have any questions or feedback.

Príspevok Test-drive new cell resizing feature before launch zobrazený najskôr Resco.

This year’s venue for the conference is the Courtyard by Mariott hotel, located next to the famous Prater park.

The best way to get to the hotel from Vienna International Airport is to take the Vienna Airport Lines Bus (Line VAL 3) from the international bus terminal. The bus arrives at a stop approximately 100 meters from the hotel.

If you are arriving by train at Hauptbahnhof, then take the metro U1 to Praterstern and change there to the U2 line and get off and Krieu.

Guests arriving by car can book hotel parking for the price of 32 EUR per day (hotel guest rate) or 50 EUR per day (public rate). There is another paid parking lot located next to the University of Vienna as well with a daily rate of approx. 25 EUR.

Pre-conference day transport from Bratislava to Vienna

The pre-conference day will be held at our Bratislava HQ which is located just one hour away from our venue in Vienna. The consultation sessions, Tech Deep Dive and the Partner Development workshop will take place in our offices.

After the day is done we will be taking a bus to our conference venue in Vienna. The busess will leave from Svatoplukova street, right next to our offices at 17:45. We will be crossing state borders and your Passport or travel ID will be required.

Relaxed evening with good food and good music

After the first day of the conference we invite you join us at the Rahofer Brau restaurant for our evening reception. The restaurant serves a fresh combination of traditional and modern Austrian food. It has a comfortable outdoor terrace, where you can spend the evening networking and catching up.

If you glimpse a dinosaur in the distance, do not be worried. There is a Dinopark right next to the restaurant. Have you ever played Wine casino? Perhaps now it’s the time to try it.

Best spots in Vienna

For anyone, who wants to see a little bit of Vienna, we recommend taking a walk trough the historic city center and make refreshment breaks at the elegant cafes and take in the views from the rooftop bars.

Best rooftop bars in Vienna, Traditional Coffeehouses in Vienna (with a map)

If you want to stop for a meal, Vienna really has everything. You can try the traditional Schnitzel, Tafelspitz or Knodel dishes in Gasthaus restaurants or stop by one of the favorite local Wurstelstands. If you are a fan of fine dining, check out the Michelin guide on Vienna. A favourite that lands in the middle is the famous Plachutta restaurant.

Download the conference app to have information on hand

Download our event app to have all conference information in your pocket. 

• Agenda and speaker information  
• Link to the Sli.do app for submitting questions for speakers 
• Evening reception transit info
• Resco run meeting point
  
  Download it from Google Play Store or App Store.

If you need additional information regarding the registration, accommodation, or anything else that comes to your mind, don’t hesitate to contact us at events@resco.net. 

We are looking forward to enjoying your company. 

Príspevok Know before you go – Resco Next Vienna – 2024 zobrazený najskôr Resco.