Android Control Center

Overview

This document describes how to use the LabTech Android application (Android App) to allow Android devices to interface with a valid LabTech installation. The LabTech Android Application requires version 2.1 of the Android operating system.

This document assumes a reasonable understanding of the Android operating system, including entering text into forms, using standard gestures, and determining the connectivity of the hosting device.

Key Terms

Throughout this document, the following key terms may be used:

Android Device/Device - The physical device on which the LabTech Android application is installed.
Back Button - The standard interface back button.
FQDN - Fully Qualified Domain Name - name of the server which is hosting a valid instance of the LabTech server to which the LabTech App will connect.
Gesture - A movement made by the user involving one or more fingers (or appropriate pointing devices) which is interpreted by the Android device as a pre-defined command.
LabTech App/Android App/App - Application written for the Android operating system to interface with LabTech systems.
Option Button – The Android device option button. Depending on the device this may also be called the Home or Menu button.
Server - The server which is hosting the installation of the LabTech system, as well as the database which stores all pertinent information about LabTech clients, locations, computers, etc.

Installing the Android Application

The best way to install the LabTech Android mobile application is through the Google Play. The easiest way to find the app is to open Google Play, and search applications for the word 'LabTech'. The Android app is free to download.

When installing the app, you will be informed that the phone requires access to certain features. These warnings include:

Storage – Modify/delete SD card contents. This allows an application to write to the SD card.
Services that cost you money – Directly call phone numbers. This allows the application to call phone numbers without your intervention.
Network communication – Full internet access. This allows the application to create network sockets.
Your personal information – Read and write contact data. This allows the application to read and modify the contact (address) data stored on your phone.
Network communication – View network state. This allows an application to view the state of all networks.
System tools – Automatically start at boot. This allows an application to start as soon as the system has finished booting.

Once you have reviewed the warnings, tap the Accept and Download button. Installation time will depend on the connection speed of the device (the Android App is approximately 1.33MB).

Connecting to LabTech with your Android Device

Using the LabTech Android app requires a server with a valid installation of LabTech and at least one account that has been granted web permissions. When the app is started, the user is presented with the login screen, which allows the user to connect to the LabTech server. Follow the steps listed below to connect to the server.

NOTE: The user must have 'Allow Web Access' in order to log in to the Android Control Center. It is highly recommended that you do not give Super Admin 'Allow Web Access' permission. Refer to the User Access documentation for more information, if necessary.

To access LabTech from your Android device:

To start the LabTech Android Control Center, simply tab the LabTech icon from your selection of available applications.

Figure 1: LabTech Android Control Center
Enter the FQDN (fully qualified domain name) or IP address of your LabTech server in the FQDN field.
Enter a valid user Name.
Enter the Password associated with the user name.
Select the Secure Connection checkbox to connect to a secure server; otherwise, if connecting to an unsecure server (not recommended) then leave this checkbox unchecked.

Tap the Login button. If the app is able to connect to the server, you will receive a 'Login Successful' message and the Home Menu will display. Otherwise, you will receive an 'Unable to Login' message.

NOTE: After logging in for the first time, you should synchronize the app with the LabTech server database. Synchronizing the app will download the basic information and store it locally on the device, allowing for faster use of the app. For more information on synchronization, refer to the Database Sync section of this document.

Figure 2: Home Menu

The Home Menu is the primary menu screen of the LabTech Android Control Center. Each option is shown in bold text. A right arrow to the right of each option indicates that the menu option leads to another window.

LabTech Mobile Options

Once logged in, the Home Menu displays seven different options:

Timers: Displays a list of timers assigned to you and allows you to start the timer, stop the timer, finish the timer and view the timer information.
My Tickets: Displays a list of tickets that are assigned to you, and allows you to re-assign them to other LabTech users.
Unassigned Tickets: Displays a list of tickets in your LabTech system that are currently not assigned to a user and will allow you to assign them.
Clients: Displays a list of ALL clients in your LabTech system, regardless of the permissions set in LabTech for the user. For example, if John Technician only has access to client A in LabTech, they will have access to all clients using the mobile application.
Create Ticket: This option allows you to create a new ticket in LabTech for a selected client.
Search: This option allows you to search for clients, contacts, etc. The searches can also be filtered by clients, contacts or computers.
Database: This option allows you to synchronize your LabTech app with the LabTech server. You can synchronize clients, scripts, users, and reports form this menu.
Settings: This option allows you to set the preferences of your LabTech app. The AndroidVNC and Data Retrieval settings can be adjusted form this menu.

Each option will be discussed in further detail in the following sections.

Timers

The Timers view will a list of active timers assigned to you and allows you to start the timer, stop the timer, finish the timer and view the timer information.

Tap the Timers option from the Home Menu to open your active timers.
Figure 3: Timers – All Active Timers

TIP: To refresh the list of timers from the Timers view, simply press the Menu button on your Android device and tap Refresh.
Tap the timer you want to view. A green symbol to the left of the timer indicates an active timer and a red symbol indicates that the timer is currently stopped.
Tap the Optionbutton on your Android device to display menu options to stop/start the timer, finish timer or delete the timer.
1. Stop Timer will only be available if the timer is currently started. If you choose Stop Timer, you will be prompted to confirm. Tap Yes to stop the timer or No to return to the Timer Summary.
2. Start Timer will only be available if the timer is currently stopped. If you choose Start Timer, you will be prompted to confirm. Tap Yes to start the timer or No to return to the Timer Summary.
3. Tap Finish Timer to finish the timer. Complete each of the fields and tap Finish Timer.
  Figure 4: Finish a Timer
4. Tap Category and tap the appropriate category (e.g., Remote Billable).
5. Tap Notes to enter any pertinent notes.
6. Tap Signature to open the signature pad to sign. Click Accept to accept the signature, Clear to erase or Cancel to return to the previous screen. Once signed, the signature will appear on the main Finish Timer screen.
7. Tap Send Response to send a response to the ticket creator. A checkmark will display to indicate that you want a response sent to the ticket requestor.
8. Tap Finish Ticket to finish the ticket. A checkmark will display to indicate that you are finishing the ticket.
Tap Delete Timer to delete the selected timer. If you choose Delete Timer, you will be prompted to confirm. Tap Yes to delete or No to cancel.

My Tickets

The My Tickets menu will list all tickets that have been assigned to you. This list is cached upon login; however, you can manually update the list by tapping the Home button on your device and tapping Refresh.

Tap the My Tickets option from the Home Menu to open a list of tickets that have been assigned to you.
Figure 5: My Tickets

TIP: To refresh the list of timers from the Tickets list, simply press the Option button on your Android device and tap Refresh.
Tap the ticket you want to view. Any correspondence, notes or requests that have been entered on the ticket will be displayed. Tap each to view complete information. If there are any attachments included with the correspondence, you can tap the attachment to download the attachment.
Additional actions can be performed from the My Ticket Information screen by tapping the Option button on your Android device. Refer to the following sections of this document for more information.

Adding a New Timer

From the Ticket Information screen, press the Option button on your Android device and then tap the Add Timer button.
Figure 6: Add a New Timer
Enter any notes and select the Currently On-Site checkbox, if appropriate.
Tap Submit.

Reassigning the Ticket

From the Ticket Information screen, press the Option button on your Android device and then tap the Reassign button. This will bring up a list of available users.
Figure 7: Reassign Ticket
Tap one the user you want to reassign the ticket to.

Requesting Parts

From the Ticket Information screen, press the Option button on your Android device and then tap the Request Part button.
Figure 8: Add Parts Request
Enter the part that you wish to request.
Tap Submit.

Requesting Quotes

From the Ticket Information screen, press the Option button on your Android device and then tap the Request Quote button.
Figure 9: Request Quote
Enter the nature of the quote you wish to request.
Tap Submit.

Finishing Tickets

From the Ticket Information screen, press the Option button on your Android device and then tap the Finish Ticket button.
Figure 10: Finish a Ticket
Enter any pertinent details, if necessary.
Enter the amount of time worked on the ticket (in minutes).
Select Notify ticket Author if you wish for the ticket requestor to receive an email regarding the ticket being finished.
Tap Complete Ticket.

Unassigned Tickets

The Unassigned Tickets section will display any tickets that are currently not assigned to an owner. This list is cached upon login; however, you can manually update the list by tapping the Option button on your device and tapping Refresh. This option works similar to the My Tickets option; however, the only option available is to assign a user.

To access the Unassigned Tickets section:

Tap the Unassigned Tickets option from the Home Menu to open a list of tickets that have not been assigned to an owner.
Tap the unassigned ticket you want to view and the ticket's information will appear.
To assign the ticket to a user:
1. Press the Option button on your Android device and tap Assign User.
2. Tap a user from the list.

Clients

The Clients section will display a list off all clients that have been synchronized to the mobile application. You can view the client information, contacts, product keys, passwords, machines and reports. This list is updated upon login; however, you can manually update the list by tapping your Option button and then tapping Refresh.

NOTE: The client list displays a list of ALL clients in your LabTech system, regardless of the permissions set in LabTech for the user.

To access the Clientssection:

Tap the Clients option from the Home Menu to display the list of clients.
Figure 11: Clients - All Clients

NOTE: At this time, the option to add clients to 'Favorites' is not available.
Tap on the desired client.
Figure 12: Client Menu

Once a client has been selected, you will be given several options to choose from: Contacts, Locations, Product Keys, Passwords, Computers and Reports. Each of the options are discussed further in the following sections.

Contacts

This view shows a list of all contacts associated with the selected client. Tapping the contact will open additional details for this contact. The Contact Information screen allows you to call or email the contact, locate their address or add them to your personal contact information.

Once a client has been selected, tap Contacts. Any contacts associated with the client will display.
Figure 13: Contacts—Client Contacts
Tap the contact to view complete details for the contact. From this screen, you can locate the address in Google Maps, call the contact, email the contact or add the contact to your personal contacts.
1. Address: Tap Address to open the address in Google Maps.
2. Phone: Tap Phone to dial the contact's phone number.
3. Email: Tap Email to send an email to the contact. You may be prompted to select from various apps on your device to complete the action. Select an appropriate app to send the email.
4. Add to Contacts: Tap the device' Option button and then tap Add to Contacts to add this contact to your personal contact list.

Locations

Once a client has been selected, tap Locations. Any locations associated with the client will display.
Figure 14: Locations—Client Locations
Tap the location to view all computers for that location. Tap a computer to view the Computer Home screen where you can view additional information, run a script, send a wakeup command or run VNC to access the computer. For more information on the actions that can be performed from the Computer Home screen refer to the Computers section of this document.

Product Keys

Once a client has been selected, tap Product Keys. Any product keys for licensed software associated with the client will display.
Figure 15: Product Keys—Client Product Keys
Tap a product key to show additional product key information (e.g., license number, computer associated with the product key and serial number.

Passwords

Once a client has been selected, tap Passwords. For any passwords that have been entered for the client, the associated user names will display.
Figure 16: Passwords—Client Passwords
Tap the user name to display the password information.

Computers

Once a client has been selected, tap Computers. All computers associated with the client will display.

TIP: If you have a large list of computers, it may be easier to filter the list of computers by using the Locations option.

Figure 17: Computers—Client Computers
Tap a computer to view the Computer Home screen where you can view additional information, run a script, send a wakeup command or run VNC to access the computer. Each option is explained below in the following sections.

Viewing Computer Information

From the list of computers, tap the computer for available options.
Figure 18: Computer Options—View Information
Tap View Information to view additional the computer's system information (e.g., computer name, OS, Version, Last Contact, etc.)

Running Scripts

From the list of computers, tap the computer for available options.
Figure 19: Computer Options—Run Script
Tap Run Script to view a list of scripts. The scripts are sorted in alphabetical order and will display the first 50 characters of the script summary. If you added any scripts to your favorites, tap the Option button on your Android device to select a script from your favorites.
Tap the script you want to run and then tap Run Now or tap Run At…to select a later time for this script to run. Enter the desired time and tap Set.

TIP: Once you select a script to run, tap your Option button on your Android device to add the script to your Favorites.
Tap Run Script (you may need to scroll down). You will be asked to confirm running the script. If the script is correct with the desired settings, tap Yes to upload the script command to the LabTech server to be carried out. Tap No to return to the Run Script Page.

Wake on LAN

From the list of computers, tap the computer for available options.
Figure 20: Computer Options—Wake On LAN
Tap Wake on LAN. You will be prompted to confirm sending the Wake on LAN command to the computer. Tap Yes to continue or No to cancel. This will only work if Wake On Lan is available and enabled on the computer.

Using Lab VNC

From the list of computers, tap the computer for available options.
Figure 21: Computer Options—LabVNC

Tap Lab VNC. This will immediately attempt a VNC connection. The app will check if the machine is in FasTalk and if it is not, it will issue the command. This could take up to five minutes while it waits for the agent to check-in. The app will check FasTalk 100 times, about once per second and will stop if the machine is not in FasTalk by this time. Once the machine is in FasTalk, your Android device will issue the command to start VNC.

NOTE: If you do not have the Android VNC Viewer installed on your Android Device, you will be prompted to install the app. Tap Yes to install the VNC Viewer. This will take you to Google Play to the Android-VNC-Viewer. Tap Install and then Accept & Download to accept the terms.

Tap Cancel Connection to end the connection.

Reports

Once a client has been selected, tap Reports.
Figure 22: Reports

Tap Select Report to view a list of reports, these will be sorted in alphabetical order. If you previously added any scripts to your favorites, tap the Report button to select a report from your favorites.

TIP: To add a report to your favorites, tap Select Report and from the list of reports tap the desired report. Tap your Option button on your Android device and tap Add to Favorites. You can also remove reports from your favorites using the same method.

Tap the report you want to run from the drop-down list.
Enter an email address to associate with this report or tap the Email button to select an email from your client contacts or personal contacts.
Tap the Run Report button.

Create Ticket

The Create Ticket option can be used to create a new ticket.

Tap the Create Ticket option from the Home Menu to open the New Ticket screen.
Figure 23: Create Ticket - New Ticket
Select a client from the drop-down menu.

NOTE: At this time, client favorites are not available.
Enter a subject for the new ticket.
Enter an email to be associated with this ticket or tap the Email button to select an email from your client contacts or personal contacts.
Select a technician to own the ticket from the Owner drop-down menu.
Select the Automatically Start Timer checkbox if you want a timer to begin as soon as the ticket is created.
Select the Currently On-Site checkbox if you are currently at the client's location.
Tap Submit.

Search

The Search section will display a search box that you can use to search through the mobile application for clients, contacts, locations, etc.

Tap the Search option from the Home Menu to open the search box.
Figure 24: Search - Search Box

TIP: You can enter partial keywords or letters to return results and then use the filter to filter to limit the results to clients, computer or contacts.
Enter any relevant search terms and tap the magnifying glass or Go button.

Database Sync

After logging in for the first time, you should synchronize the app with the LabTech server database. Synchronizing the app will download the basic information and store it locally on the device, allowing for faster use of the app. Database synchronization is a manual process (e.g., if a new client is added to the system, the database must be resynchronized). It is recommended that basic users should synchronize the database every two weeks. Advanced users that have a full understanding of the workings of LabTech should only synchronize when necessary.

To synchronize the database, select the Database option from the Home Menu. This will open the Database Options window, shown below:
Figure 25: Database—Database Options

Each option displays the current number of items that the device is aware of, as well as the last synchronization date and time. The following items can be synchronized: clients, scripts, users and reports.
To synchronize any of the items, tap that option. For large downloads (e.g., scripts) this process may take some time. Once all of items have been synchronized, the app is ready for use.

Settings

The Settings section will display a list of settings you can modify to better utilize your LabTech mobile application.

Tap the Settings option from the Home Menu to open the system settings.
Table 1: Android App Settings

Option	Description
Color Resolution	This option sets the resolution that the Android VNC uses. However, the higher the resolutions are set, the slower the VNC will become.
Data Delimiter	This option allows you to select what delimiter to use during data retrieval. It is recommend that the default pipe (\|) symbol is used.
Data Fetch Count	This option can be used to set the maximum number of records that can be queried per server request.
Mobile Usage Statistics	This option, when selected, will allow LabTech to collect anonymous mobile usage data.