Frequently Asked Questions

Getting Started Jobs Manager Tasks Manager Schedule Manager Work Orders Manager Plans Manager Selections Manager Contacts Manager Reports Manager Documents Preferences Problems
Getting Started	Overview Assign Job #1 Tasks View Schedule Preferences How Help Works
Jobs Manager, Tab 1	How Do I Modify Job details? How Do I Display an Image? Why should I update "Upgrades"? How do I import a Job? How do I delete a Job?
Tasks Manager, Tab 2	Task overview How do I modify a task? What do color changes mean? How do I import tasks? How do I add a task? How do I delete a task? How do I display part of the tasks? What is the importance of Done dates?
Schedule Manager, Tab 3	Schedule overview Calendar Overview
Work Orders Manager, Tab 4	Overview
Plans Manager, Tab 5	Plans overview
Selections Manager, Tab 6	Selections overview What displays on Guest pages?
Contacts Manager, Tab 7	Contacts overview How do I add a contact? How do I delete a contact? How do I set guest privileges? How do I send guest login? How do I import contacts?
Reports Manager, Tab 8	Reports overview Costs Take Off Actual Costs Soon & Past Due Tasks Current Tasks in Progress Task Completion Times Task Completion Exceptions Guest Visits Legal Descriptions Task Templates
Documents, Tab 9	Documents overview
Preferences, Tab 10	Create Tasks Template Set Reminders Modify Contact Classes Set Buyer Reminders Modify Selections Categories Guest Login Page Import From Free Trial
Problems	Can't go back from Help How do I give a guest access to more than one job? How do I recalculate Percent Finished?

Getting Started
Topic	Explanation
Overview Go to top Go to bottom	Online Coordinator can help you with three major functions: Scheduling; Communications; and Reports. To do this it uses ten sections which are accessed by the tabs at the top of all screens. Except for the One Job Free Trial subscription, one of your jobs must be selected before accessing any but the first section. This is because each section is specific to the selected job. These sections allow you to design the system to fit your particular needs.
Assign Job #1	The first screen displayed is Job Manager and all jobs for your subscription (1, 10, 20 or 50) are shown as blank. Select the first job and click the Select button. This displays "Job 1 Display". Fill out as much detail as you can because this can easily be transferred to other jobs, saving you time. Click Save button to save this data.
Tasks	Click the Tasks tab to display Task Manager. This and most screens display the Job #, Address, and Start Date to help keep you oriented with selected Job. Default tasks are already loaded to give you a starting point. You can modify these tasks or create your own by making a task template in Preferences section. Since tasks are easily modified, enter a Start Date on several so you can see them in Schedule section.
View Schedule	Click the Schedule tab to display Schedule Manager. This displays only Tasks that have been assigned a Start Date (or an error message if none are assigned). Display starts with either the first Start Date or your entered "Display From" date. There are two other ways to view scheduled tasks, Calendar and Overview, accessed from this page.
Preferences	Click the Preferences tab to display Preferences Manager. This page gives you several ways to design your system specifics. It will be helpful to get familiar with these options.
How Help Works	The "Help" button in the upper right hand corner of all pages opens the FAQ topic of that page. Use your back button to return to the previous page. If it doesn't go back, see Problems.
Back to Getting Started
Jobs Manager
Topic	Explanation
How Do I Start? Go to top Go to bottom	If you haven't yet done so, please read the above Getting Started.
How do I modify a job?	On the first page of Job Manager section, select the desired Job with the radio buttion, then click Select button. This displays "Job Display" showing the job number. Fields shown in white are inputs and any of them can be changed. Changes are saved to file when you click Save Button, and the page is re-displayed. At the top of the gray box, the blue entry "% Finished" is calculated as the percentage of the number of completed tasks to total tasks. It is re-calculated every time you view Schedule. This figure also displays on the first page of Job Manager. Inputs marked with asterik* are used in your Guest pages. Your company name and phone display in the Summary section of Guest pages. "Your Email" is used in a link so your guests can easily send you a message. See below for instructions about displaying an image. The first "Address" is that of the Job. The other address entries are of the buyers' current and future addresses. Date entries will only be accepted in the format MM/DD/YY. If entered, "Start Date" appears at the top of all pages, with Job # and "Address". There are no required fields. You can enter as much or as little detail as you wish.
How Do I Display an Image?	If available, you will probably want to show a photo of the model you are building, on the Guest Summary page. This image and several other images and documents used by Online Coordinator can be displayed in your Guest pages in either of two ways. First, if you have your own web site, upload the image or document to your site, then enter the web location in the input. For example, "http://www.yourdomain.com/images/filename". OC uses this to build links that call and display the images and documents. Second, if you don't have a web site or don't want to bother with maintaining links, we can host and insert the files for you for a small monthly fee. Send email to sales@onlinecoordinator.net for details.
Why should I update "Upgrades"?	"Contract Price" plus "Upgrades" is used to calculate "Total Price". These figures and "Payments Made" and "Deposit" are displayed on the homebuyer's Guest Summary page. On that page, "Total Price" is inserted in the Mortgage Calculator for the homebuyer's convenience. If you and your buyer have agreed on upgrades, you maximize good communication with your buyer by keeping these figures current.
How do I import a Job?	On the first page of Job Manager section, select the Job# you wish to import data to and click Select button. On the Job Display page, insert the Job# you wish to duplicate in "Import from Job #". When you click the Import button, all data is duplicated in this selected Job. Obviously, every job is different but many of the fields are the same. This is a fast way to populate a new job, then you can easily modify it.
How do I delete a Job?	The job files are created when you first register your subscription and cannot be removed. However, they begin with all fields empty and are available for use. When a job is completed and you wish to remove it, simply import data from a blank job. If you no longer have any blank jobs, delete all fields or purchase another subscription. One can have multiple subscriptions as long as they all have the same username (your email used when buying) and different passwords.
Back to Jobs Manager
Tasks Manager
Topic	Explanation
Task overview Go to top Go to bottom	Any kind of work consists of a number of related projects which we call tasks. The Task Manager allows you to display and manipulate these tasks so you can not only schedule more accurately, but also build historical data which helps future planning. You can modify the default tasks, import tasks from another job, build a task template in Preferences Manager, or start over with the default tasks.
How do I modify a task?	Select the radio button of the task you wish to modify then click Select button. This displays that task with inputs above all tasks. To remove a task, delete the task number and click Save button. Modify the next input "Description" as you wish. "Start" is the date you plan to begin this task. "Days" is the number of work days you estimate this task will take, enter 0 to 30. "End" is calculated as the date of "Start" plus "Days" and cannot be entered. "<" is the parent of this child task. "Done" is the date the task was completed. ">" is the number of work days betweeen "Start" and "Done". If a task has a 'parent' entry, when the parent's start or done dates are changed and saved, the child's dates are modified accordingly. The child's "Start" is calculated as one work day past either the parent's end or done date. "Subcontractor" is the name of the sub doing this task. "Buyer Cal" means this task will display on the buyer's Guest pages. See Contacts Manager for more details about Guest pages. "Work days" means the program skips weekends and major holidays. Click Save button to save changes or recalculate downstream dates.
What do color changes mean?	Each task is assigned to a class, such as Preparation, Excavation, Foundation, etc., to show like kinds together. When listing the tasks in Task Manager section, if class changes, color changes. You can assign class when creating a task template.
How do I import tasks?	(Not available in Free Trial.) Since many jobs will have similar tasks, it is convenient to import tasks from another job. Enter the Job# of the job to duplicate in "Import tasks from Job #" and click Import button. Or, click Default button to load the original default tasks. Or, enter the name of a task template you have created in "Import Your Tasks Template" and click Template button. A list of your templates is available in Reports Section.
Caution: Adding or deleting tasks may affect downsteam tasks
How do I add a task?	Choose the place in the task list you wish to insert a new task and enter the number of the task you want the new task to follow in "Add a task after Task #" and click Add button. This displays the preceding task and blank inputs for the new task. When you click Save button, the new task is entered following the preceding and all downstream tasks are re-numbered. Downstream pre-task (parent) entries are not changed, so you may need to modify them. The new task will be of the same class as the preceding.
How do I delete a task?	Check the radio button of the task you wish to delete and click Select button. Remove the task number and click Save button. All downstream tasks are renumbered. If this task is the parent of other tasks, you will need to modify those tasks because they will now point to the task after the deleted one.
How do I display part of the tasks?	Most jobs will have many tasks. If you wish to display only part of them, enter the job # to start from in "Display from Task#" and click the Tasks tab. This displays from the start number entered to the end.
What is the importance of Done dates?	Entering "Done" date serves three purposes. First, if the task is a 'parent', downstream dates are re-calculated. Second, completion time is calculated and reports in Reports Section use this historical data to help you with future planning. Third, this task is marked as completed with a strike-through wherever shown.
Back to Tasks Manager
Schedule Manager
Topic	Explanation
Schedule overview Go to top Go to bottom	Schedule Manager will not display unless at least one task has a start date. When opened, the field "% finish" is recalculated in the job record. If start dates have been entered for any tasks, Schedule Manager section shows 45 calendar days beginning with the first start date. The top and bottom two rows show the calendar months and the days of the month. Tasks with start date are displayed in task# order, horizontally under the corresponding date, in the range from first start date to 45 days later. Completed tasks are shown with strike-through. To start the display later, enter the desired date to begin in "Display from MM/DD/YY" and click Schedule tab.
Calendar	Calendar display can be accessed from Schedule Manager section and from Overview. The popup in both shows the range of our calendar is initially from November 2004 to December 2005. Approximately every three months the calendar range will be extended another three months. Select a month from the popup and click Calendar button. This displays that month in calendar format and any unfinished tasks with start dates on the corresponding date.
Overview	In Schedule section, click Overview button. This displays all tasks with start dates starting with the first for the next 45 weeks. Tasks are shown horizontally under the corresponding week.
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Work Orders Manager
Topic	Explanation
Overview Go to top Go to bottom	Work Orders section offers several printable forms. For best printing results, set your printer's page setup without header or footer. Select the form and print it. Future forms will be added as we learn from our customers what is desired. Send email to tech@onlinecoordinator.net with any suggestions.
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Plans Manager
Topic	Explanation
Plans overview Go to top Go to bottom	Plans Links section is where you enter the "Description" and "Link" of any plans you want displayed to your guests, for example your subs or your banker. These are normally detailed architect's drawings with construction details. Make sure the file is in web displayable format, such as pdf. If you have a web site, upload the files to your site, then enter the web location of the link. For example, "http://www.domain.com/filename". If you don't have a web site or don't want to bother with maintaining links, we can host and insert the files for you for a small monthly fee. Send email to sales@onlinecoordinator.net for details. To add a link, enter it in the blank line at the bottom. This page also allows you to import links from another job (except in Free Trial).
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Selections Manager
Topic	Explanation
Selections overview Go to top Go to bottom	Set Selections page is where you enter the upgrade selections you want to display to your homebuyer in guest pages. "Decide by-date" is the deadline for approving the selection, beyond which construction has progressed too far to change. "Category" is a popup showing defaults which range from Accessories to Roofing. These can be modified in Preferences Section. "Upgrade Amount" is the cost of the upgrade. This might be zero if the choice is between several items within standard budget. "Modification" is the description of the upgrade. "Image Link" is the web location of an image or web page you want to display. See How to display an image for more details. "Date OK'd" is the date the upgrade has been approved by the homebuyer. Enter a new selection by entering the inputs and click Save button. All are sorted by "Decide by-date" and re-displayed with a new blank line at the bottom. To remove a selection, remove its "Category" and save. Since many jobs will have the same or similar selections, they can be imported from another job (except in Free Trial).
What displays on the Guest pages?	Guest viewing privileges are set in Contacts Section (see for more details). If the privilege "Buyer Calendar" is checked, that person is assumed to be the homebuyer. When the Summary page is displayed, that person sees extra tables, including one with all unapproved modifications (selections). That is, those without entry in "Date OK'd". Normally, you would grant the homebuyer "Selections" privilege, which lists all selections for this job. Here, the description of the modification is a link, whatever you entered in "Image Link". Clicking this link leads the viewer to either an image or a web page which can contain much more detail.
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Contacts Manager
Topic	Explanation
Contacts overview Go to top Go to bottom	Contacts Manager section lists all contacts for the selected job in a table with enough information for you to select the one you want to modify. This table also includes the contact's email link, which simplifies sending email to this person. Just click the link. Modify a contact record by checking its radio button then click Select button.
How do I add a contact?	On Contacts Manager section, click Add button. This displays Add Contact page for the selected job. The only required field is "Class" a popup which begins with a blank entry. To save this new record, you must select a class, since removing class is the way to delete a contact record. Otherwise, enter as much or as little detail as you wish.
How do I delete a contact?	Select it and remove its "Class" and click Save button.
How do I set guest privileges?	In either Modify Contact or Add Contact pages you can assign guest privileges. Guests will be anyone you want to view guest pages for the selected job, and may include homebuyers, subcontractors, real estate agents, bankers, etc. Guest pages may have these tab sections: Summary, Tasks, Schedule, Plans, Selections, Documents and Calendar. Use the guest's email as username and assign a password of 4 to 10 alphanumeric characters. The selected job# is saved with this record. A guest may have access to more than one job. If you want to do this, use the same username but a different password for each job. This is how OC will find the right files. All guests will see the Summary page, but only those with "Buyer Calendar" marked will see the homebuyer extras. This field also determines that only tasks so marked will appear in Tasks, Schedule and Calendar sections of the guest pages. Tasks are marked with buyer calendar in Tasks section. Marking the other privileges means those tab sections will appear for this guest.
How do I send guest login?	With Modify Contact page displayed for this guest, and desired entries in Guest Section, click Password button. This displays an email form ready to send, above the Modify Contact page. Your company name and email (entered in Job Display), address of this job, your guest's email address, and the assigned password are shown. "Message" input is empty should you wish to include a message. Before sending the message, we recommend you test it. Replace the guests's email with your own and send it to yourself. The message contains a link to our login page for guests. Go to this web address and use the username and password and login to see what your guest will see. When satisfied, send the message to your guest. After sending the message, you will see a confirmation message showing what you sent. Use your back button to return to the Modify Contact page.
How do I import contacts?	(Not available in Free Trial.) On Contacts Manager page, enter the job# of the contact records to be added in "Import Contacts from Job #" and click Import button. This operation appends the imported contact records to existing records.
Back to Contacts
Reports Manager
Topic	Explanation
Reports overview Go to top Go to bottom	Reports Manager section shows buttons to call several reports, which are explained below. More reports will be added in the future as requested by our customers. Send email to tech@onlinecoordinator.net with suggestions.
Costs Take Off	Clicking this button displays Estimated Construction Costs page. To add an item, enter the description in "Item" and "Vendor". Then decide how you want this "Item Estimate" calculated, either by bid price or calculated. If you enter a figure in "Bid Price" the rest of the line will display but will not be used in calculation. If there is no entry in "Bid Price" "Price/Unit" is multiplied by "Qty" to yield the estimate. Click the Save button to save the record and re-display with "Total Esitmate To Date" summed. To remove an item, delete its "Item" entry and save. To import costs from another job, enter the job# of the costs to be duplicated in "Import Costs from Job #" and click Import button (except in Free Trial). Use the next report to show final costs.
Actual Costs	Clicking this button displays Actual Construction Costs page and shows all items entered in Estimated Construction Costs page. To show an item is completed, enter "x" in "Done". Then, "Item Actual" is calculated either by entry in "Bid Final" or "Qty" times "Price/Unit". Click Save button to save and re-display with "Total Actual To Date" summed. The same datafile is used for both estimated and actual costs. Removing an item in one, removes it also in the other.
Soon & Past Due Tasks	Clicking this report displays Soon & Past Due Tasks page. The table displays unfinished tasks with start date, and with end date either prior to today's date or within the next 10 days.
Current Tasks in Progress	Clicking this report displays Current Tasks in Progress page. The table displays unfinished tasks with start date, and with end date either prior to today's date or within the next 30 days.
Task Completion Times	Clicking this report displays Task Completion Times page. The table displays all completed tasks with start date, with the number of work days between start and end days shown in ">".
Task Completion Exceptions	Clicking this report displays Task Completion Exceptions page. The table displays all completed tasks with start date, and with completion time greater than estimated (">" greater than "Days").
Guest Visits	Clicking this report displays Your Guests page. The table displays all of your guests recorded for the selected job. This file is created and modified when a contact record with guest information is saved. Check the radio button of the desired guest and click Select button to view a report of this guest's visits to the Guest pages.
Legal Descriptions	Clicking this report displays Legal Descriptions page. This is one of the few page displays that is not job specific. It displays Lot, Block, Addition, County, Address, Building Permit# and Job # for all jobs with entry in either "Lot", "Block", or "Addition".
Task Templates	Clicking this report displays Tasks Templates page which lists the filenames of the templates you have created.
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Documents
Topic	Explanation
Documents overview Go to top Go to bottom	Set Documents Links page is where you enter the "Description" and "Link" of any documents or web pages you want displayed to your guests, for example your homebuyer. These are normally Homeowner's Manual, Warranty Documents, etc. Make sure the file is in web displayable format, such as pdf. If you have a web site, upload the files to your site, then enter the web location of the link. For example, "http://www.domain.com/filename". If you don't have a web site or don't want to bother with maintaining links, we can host and insert the files for you for a small monthly fee. Send email to sales@onlinecoordinator.net for details. To add a link, enter it in the blank line at the bottom. This page also allows you to import document links from another job (except in Free Trial).
Back to Documents Manager
Preferences
Topic	Explanation
Create Tasks Template Go to top Go to bottom	This may be the first of your operations, to prepare your own tasks. Instructions on the page explain how to choose a filename. After entering a filename, click Create button. If this file has already been created, the tasks are displayed. Otherwise, click Add button to create your first task. Check the radio button of any task to be modified and click Select button. Either a blank line (Add) or the selected task (Select) is displayed above the table. This is the only place you can change class such as Preparation, Excavation, Foundation. As in Tasks Manager, you can remove a task by deleting its Task#. "Pre-Task" is the 'parent' of this task which must be completed before this task starts. Changing the Start or Done dates in the parent will change Start date of this task, 'child' of the parent. This relationship is set in the child task. That is, several tasks may be time dependent on the same upstream task. These template files are available for any of your jobs, and a list of them is available in Reports Section.
Set Reminders	Modify Reminders For All Jobs page is where you set reminders for yourself. Enter reminders as desired. If "Date Due" is past today's date, the number of days is calculated and shown in "Past Due". This page lists all reminders you have set. When you log in, only those past due reminders are shown on the first page you see. Add a new reminder in the blank line at the bottom. Delete a reminder by removing its "Date Due". Click Save button to save changes and additions; revised list is displayed with a new blank line at the bottom.
Modify Contact Classes	Modify Contact Classes page allows you to modify the default list of contact classes, such as architect, cabinetry, homebuyer, etc., used in Contacts Section. The list is job specific so you could have different classes for different jobs. Add a new class in the blank line at the bottom. Delete a class by removing its contents. When you click Save button, changes, additions and deletions are saved, the list is sorted alphabetically and re-displayed with another blank line at the bottom. You can also import classes from another job by entering the job# of the classes to duplicate and click Import button (except in Free Trial).
Set Buyer Reminders	Set Buyer Reminders page is where you create reminders to display to your homebuyer on their Guest Summary page. They display only to guests with "Buyer Calendar" privilege marked. Be sure the "Guest Username" is exactly as entered in the contact record. We recommend copy and paste and use all lower case in both places.
Modify Selections Categories	Modify Selections Categories allows you to change the default categories, such as Accessories, Appliances, Cabinetry, etc., used in Selections Manager. These are job specific so you can have different categories for each job. You can also import (except in Free Trial) by entering the job# of the categories you wish to duplicate in "Import Categories from Job #" and clicking Import button. Add a new category in the bottom blank line. Remove a category by deleting its contents. Change any category as you wish. When you click Save button, changes, additions and deletions are saved, the list is sorted alphabetically and re-displayed with another blank line at the bottom.
Guest Login Page	Calling Guest Login Page creates the html code for you to insert in your own page on your web site. When you send a password message to a guest from Modify Contact, that email message includes the web address of our guest login page. If you wish to place the login page on your own web site, copy the html generated into your web page, then email us the web address of that page. We will modify your Send Password form so your guests will see your page instead of ours (at no charge). This html code is designed to be inserted into a valid html page. It is not a page by itself. A valid web page must begin and end with at least minimum html tags, which are not included here. In order to work properly, the tags (all between < and >) must be used exactly as generated. The top two paragraphs of text, beginning with "We value communication ..." and "This convenient ..." can be modified as you wish.
Import From Free Trial	This option is not shown on Free Trial Preferences. It is available only in a subscription for 10, 20 or 50 jobs and is designed for the user who wants to transfer work already done into this larger subscription. There is only one job in Free Trial and this operation duplicates those files into Job # 1 in the new subscription, regardless of which job is selected when it is called. Guest records created in the Free Trial are changed to point to the new job in the larger subscription.
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Problems
Topic	Explanation
Can't go back from Help Go to top Go to bottom	When you go to Help from a section page, your browser should treat this as another page in your history, so you can simply hit the back button to return. However, some browser/computer platform combinations don't. For example, Internet Explorer Version 5.1 on the Macintosh will not go back to the page you left. This is because the page you left is program generated, not a web page. If this happens to you, open another browser window and login. When you want to view the Help (FAQ) page, instead of clicking the Help button, switch to the window with Help page open, go to the top, and select the subject desired, they correspond to the ten tab sections.
How do I give a guest access to more than one job?	A guest enters the username and password you assigned in Contacts section. This combination points to a specific job. To allow a guest access to another job, select the job desired and create an additional contact record, with the same username and a different password. Repeat for other jobs.
How do I recalculate Percent Finished?	Percent Finished, shown in the job record, is the percentage of completed tasks to total tasks. It is calculated and stored in the job record when Schedule section is opened. However, Schedule section will not display unless at least one task has a start date. When you import a job into a new blank, the tasks are not imported with it and the default tasks have no dates. You can import tasks from job to job, and the best time to do this is before adding dates to the first. Because, when you import tasks, all of the data is imported, including dates entered on the first job. Tasks in the new job may be very similar to the first, but it is not likely the dates are the same. Thus, you would have a lot of extra work.
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