IMAGE ELEMENT IMPROVEMENTS (draw on image, fewer presses, delete image)
Hi,
I have a couple of suggestions to improve the image element and or feature requests to expand the image taking capabilities of iformbuilder. Sorry for the long post everything here is linked together regarding images and I thought it best to only create one post rather than three separate posts. If you would like to discuss this further with me directly and go over some real world examples please let me know.
Many thanks
Gabe
DRAW ON IMAGE
My inspectors would like the ability to be able to draw on an image.
The problem we have with the drawing element is that it assumes you want to always draw something and maybe add an image to the drawing (multiple clicks/presses just to add an image). In most cases the inspectors only want to take a photo, sometimes during a site inspection they will discover an issue and would like to draw on the photo to highlight the specific issue within the photo taken. Because you never know where an issue will be discovered during a site inspection it's impossible to know where the drawing element would need to be placed on the form. Replacing all image elements with a drawing elements for the small chance when they need to highlight something for all the extra presses this element requires equals a lots of extra time and feels like over-kill just to make sure they have the ability wherever they require it. Additionally, the drawing element works different depending on whether you are using Android or iOS and we use both. on the iOS devices the number of presses increases because you can add foreground and background image, whereas on Android you can only add 1 image to a drawing.
FEWER PRESSES
Reduce number of presses to take photos
My forms contain a lot of image elements, the image elements are all on subforms and is a total 5 presses per image which equates to a lot of wasted time just to take a quick photo (my inspectors can take upwards of 50 photos per visit). It would be great if the option to insert from gallery could be made optional or tweaked so that when my inspectors presses on the image element in the form it opens the camera. If no image is taken and you use the back button that could then trigger the option to insert/replace camera image with something from the gallery. The option to insert from gallery is great it’s just that 95% of the time they just want to take a photo/series of photos and annotate them some times.
On another solution I have used in the past the number of clicks to take a picture was 3 steps (they didn’t have the option to insert from gallery)
- Press on image element, which automatically launches the camera
- Press the on-screen button to take the image
- Press OK / retake image, on pressing OK your back in the form ready for the next question/element
DELETE/UNDO IMAGE TAKE
It is not uncommon for an inspector to press buttons accidently while walking around conducting an inspection or to be in the wrong physical location when taking a photo (image element). It would be great if like on the drawing element there was the ability to "undo" rather than simply replace the image with a blank image to prevent anything showing up in the final report or requesting that I go into the backend and remove the photos for them. The way I am getting around this at the moment is to have all image elements in a subform so the record can be deleted by the inspector from the device directly.
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Hi Gabe,
I sincerely appreciate you taking the time to type up some of the deficiencies and suggestions on how to improve our image elements.
You bring up very valid flaws and I can definitely see how these can cause frustration for the users.
It looks like improving the image elements will be beneficial for many, if not all users and allow them to save a tremendous amount of time.
I will personally log your suggestions to be discussed with the team and plan to get these improvements in our application.
Also, I would like to send you a Zerion Gift Package in appreciation of you taking the time to write this post.
Lastly, please feel free to contact me directly at akang@zerionsoftware.com and we can try to a meeting set up to further understand your concerns and your real life examples more in detail.Best,
Antonio
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Good news Folks! We have started development on the updated drawing element. Head over to this community post to share your thoughts and I think you'll be happy to see we have incorporated some of the above requests into the new design.
Thanks!
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