Handheld Information & Troubleshooting

• Locate Application Version (OPSCOM Enforce App)
• Ionic - Handheld Training (Coming Soon)
• Plate Capture using Hand Held
• Handheld App Log
• Replication Status (Enforce)

Locate Application Version (OPSCOM Enforce App)

The Locate OPSCOM Enforce App Version guide details how to easily find the current software version and unique handheld identifier for your mobile enforcement device. Its primary purpose is to help administrators and enforcement staff quickly verify that their handhelds are running the most up-to-date software, which is critical for troubleshooting and system compatibility. This article is intended for OPS-COM administrators and enforcement personnel.

Setup and Configuration

To ensure your enforcement device is running correctly, staff must download and maintain the application via official app stores.

User Side (Enforcement Staff):

1. Open the Apple App Store or Google Play Store on your handheld device.

2. Search for the OPSCOM Enforce application.

3. Tap the application to view its store details.

4. Tap the Update button if it is visible. If the button displays as Install or Open, you are either installing it for the first time or already running the latest available store version.

Using this Feature

Finding the version details does not require logging into the application, making it easily accessible for quick reference.

Locating the Version Details

1. Open the OPSCOM Enforce app on your handheld device.

2. Remain on the initial Login Screen.

3. Look directly below the LOGIN button and the username/password fields to find the system details block.

Key Information Displayed

• Handheld Identifier: A unique alphanumeric string (e.g., cfc6e8847133ab9e) located immediately below the LOGIN button that identifies your specific physical device.

• Application Version: The current build of the app installed on the device (e.g., 13.7.291222).

• Database Version (DB): The current version of the local database schema (e.g., v240610).

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Best Practices and Considerations

• Keep devices updated: Regularly check the app store to ensure enforcement handhelds are running the latest version of the application. Running outdated versions can lead to synchronization errors, connectivity drops, or missing features in the field.

• Provide details for support: Always provide the Application Version and Handheld Identifier when submitting support tickets. This specific information allows the OPS-COM support team to accurately diagnose device-specific issues much more efficiently.

This administrative article is currently slated to be combined with a broader handheld troubleshooting guide in a future documentation update to centralize enforcement app resources.

Ionic - Handheld Training (Coming Soon)

This article will provide comprehensive training materials, including slide presentations and video tutorials, for the OPS-COM Ionic handheld application. These resources are designed to help OPS-COM administrators and enforcement personnel effectively navigate, configure, and utilize the new handheld interface in the field.

Setup and Configuration

The training materials are currently added here. This section provides instructions on how administrators can access, download, and distribute the slideshows and video content to their enforcement teams.

Using this Feature

When new training resources are made available, they will be organized below:

Training Videos: Video tutorials demonstrating key actions within the application are linked here below. These videos provide visual guidance on standard handheld interactions, such as how to Tap to select items, Double Tap to trigger specific actions, and Tap and Hold to reveal drop-down menus or popup information boxes.

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Best Practices and Considerations

• Check Back Regularly: We recommend bookmarking this page or tracking its revisions to stay informed when the new training slideshows and videos are uploaded.

• Familiarize with Hardware: Ensure your enforcement staff is familiar with the basic operation of the handheld devices themselves.

• Verify Device Readiness: Ensure all field devices are fully updated and meet the necessary requirements to run the Ionic application prior to beginning formal training.

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Related Videos

Access the full playlist here: Handheld Training

Plate Capture using Hand Held

The Plate Capture feature utilizes Optical Character Recognition (OCR) to allow parking enforcement officers to search vehicle license plates using the camera on their mobile device. Its primary purpose is to expedite the vehicle lookup process in the field, reducing manual entry errors and streamlining ticketing workflows. This guide is intended for OPS-COM administrators and field enforcement personnel.

Setup and Configuration

The plate capture functionality is built natively into the OPS-COM enforcement application and requires minimal initial setup.

Admin Side: 

1. Open the OPS-COM Enforce app on your handheld device.

2. Tap Search Vehicles.

3. Tap the camera icon.

4. Grant the requested device permissions to allow the application access to your camera (this notification will only pop up during the initial use).

Using this Feature

Enforcement personnel can use the OCR scanner to quickly look up vehicles instead of typing out plate numbers on the digital keypad.

Capturing a License Plate

1. Open the Vehicle Search page in the handheld application.

2. Tap the camera icon to activate the scanner.

3. Position the device so the license plate is aligned directly within the green box located in the middle of the screen's field of view.

4. Tap and Hold the screen for 3 seconds to capture the image and save the read.

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Best Practices and Considerations

• Isolate the primary plate characters: Ensure only the core plate number is captured within the alignment box. Avoid capturing extraneous text on the license plate, such as the state, province, or jurisdictional mottos. If the camera captures header text (e.g., "Indiana" or "Ontario"), the read will likely be unsuccessful or inaccurate.

• Provide appropriate camera permissions: Make sure to allow access to the device's camera when prompted. If permissions are accidentally denied, the OCR feature will fail to launch, and field personnel will be forced to use manual text entry until permissions are restored in the device settings.

• Maintain optimal lighting and distance: For the most accurate reads, hold the device steady, avoid severe glare, and ensure the entire plate cleanly fills the green bounding box without cutting off any alphanumeric characters.

Check your scan results: If the search returns an incorrect plate or a "Not Found" error due to dirt, shadows, or a complex plate background, simply reposition your camera to exclude any small text and Tap and Hold to try the scan again.

Handheld App Log

The Handheld Operation Log feature allows the mobile device to record and store data regarding the operations and functions performed on the enforcement unit. Its primary purpose is to help identify and troubleshoot technical issues by providing detailed diagnostic information directly to the support team. This article is intended for OPS-COM administrators and field enforcement personnel using the Enforce application.

Setup and Configuration

The operation logging feature runs automatically in the background of the handheld application and requires no specialized backend configuration.

Admin Side: Ensure the handheld device is connected to a network and synchronizing regularly to allow for automatic log uploads.

Using this Feature

When technical issues arise, OPS-COM Support personnel may request that you manually send a log file to them. Administrators and field staff can send, view, or extract these logs using the following methods.

Viewing Logs via the Troubleshooting Panel

If you need to quickly review the recent log entries without sending them:

1. Navigate to the main menu.

2. Tap Troubleshooting which brings you to select a tool

3. Select App Logs to view data

Once in the App Logs page you can scroll through recent logs and changes as well as a few other options. 

Available Actions: At the top of the page there are three buttons: Copy, Refresh and Exit(X). Below the X there is the option to "Upload Now" and to the right is a notice of when the data was last uploaded. The last available action is the drop-down menu to select what data to show/search through by date, time and upload. 

Extracting Logs via USB

If the device is completely offline and cannot transmit the log via the application, it can be extracted manually.

1. Connect the handheld device to a computer using a USB cable or a wireless file transfer application.

2. Navigate the internal storage to locate the OPS-COM application folder.

3. Copy the specific log file to your computer.

4. Attach the copied file to an email and send it directly to your support representative.

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Best Practices and Considerations

• Coordinate with support: Only manually push logs or extract them via USB when explicitly requested by OPS-COM Support personnel. Unsolicited log files without an associated support ticket may not be reviewed.

• Maintain device connectivity: Ensure field devices are brought online and synchronized regularly. Regular synchronization prevents the local storage from filling up and ensures support has access to recent data if an issue occurs.

Automatic Log Uploads Log files are natively designed to automatically upload to the OPS-COM server for review once they are more than one day old. For example, logs created on Monday will automatically upload to the server on Tuesday around midnight, assuming the handheld is online and performs a successful synchronization at some point after the 24-hour mark.

Replication Status (Enforce)

The Replication Status screen within the OPSCOM Enforce App displays the synchronization state of all local database tables against the central server. Its primary purpose is to help identify connectivity issues and allow users to manually manage data synchronization when necessary. This article is intended for OPS-COM administrators and field enforcement staff.

Setup and Configuration

The Replication Status feature is built natively into the application and does not require backend configuration.

Admin Side: Staff must have the OPSCOM Enforce app installed on their handheld device and be logged in to view the local database tables.

Using this Feature

Enforcement personnel can use this feature to check the health of their connection and manually force data pushes if records are failing to upload automatically.

Viewing System Status

1. Tap the Replication Status option from the main application menu.

2. Review the list of database tables on the Record Counts and Data Table Tools screen.

Visual Cues and Status Indicators

The following icons are used to clearly indicate the synchronization status of each individual table:

• Green Checkmark: Table data is successfully synchronized with the server.

• Red X: Table data is NOT synchronized with the server.

• Blue Exclamation Point: There is currently no table data that needs to be synchronized between the handheld and the server.

During normal use (i.e., when actively issuing violations), it is completely expected that tables like VehicleTransfer and ViolationsTransfer may temporarily display a Red X. This simply indicates that new data has been captured on your local device and is waiting in the queue to be synced to the server.

Replication Actions (Table-Specific)

You can perform targeted actions on individual tables if they are stuck or experiencing issues.

1. Tap and Hold an individual table to open a pop-up message with additional options.

2. Tap one of the following actions:

   • Push table data to the server: This will attempt to manually upload the local device's table data to the server. This is generally safe to do, as nothing is overwritten or removed.

   • Rebuild and retrieve table data: This option will permanently delete the local table data and retrieve the newest available data from the server.

   • Delete local table data: This will permanently delete the local table data but has no effect on the server.

   • Email debug details to Tomahawk: This will send an email log file to OPS-COM support containing helpful information for troubleshooting issues.

Never select the rebuild or delete functions unless explicitly instructed by OPSCOM Support. Doing so can result in the permanent loss of violations or vehicle data that has not yet been synchronized to the server.

Replication Options (System-Wide)

There are additional system-wide options available to manage the entire database at once.

1. Tap the Options icon (menu button) located in the top right-hand corner of the screen.

2. Tap one of the following actions:

   • Rebuild database: This will delete ALL local table data across the entire device.

   • Synchronize all: The device will attempt to safely synchronize ALL table data with the server.

   • Send config to Tomahawk: This will send a comprehensive email log file to support for debugging.

   • Download new config: The device will re-download all relevant system settings (e.g., organization details, device name, ticket footer) on the next startup.

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Best Practices and Considerations

• Rely on standard login for synchronization: If your unit is working correctly, none of these manual options should be necessary. We highly recommend simply logging out and logging back into the application as needed, which acts as a safe, natural trigger for proper synchronization.

• Communicate before sending logs: If you need to use the Email debug details option, please notify the OPS-COM support team first if possible, or only select it when actively requested by a support technician.

• Verify synchronization before any rebuilds: If you are instructed to rebuild your database, always ensure you have attempted to push table data to the server first. Verify that all tables marked with a Red X are cleared to prevent catastrophic data loss.