Reopening inspections
Once an inspection is completed, its data is locked - the inspector cannot change any answers anymore and the final reports have been created and sent. Sometimes, however, an inspection has to be touched again: a wrong value was entered, a picture is missing, or the customer complains about the report.
For those cases, an inspection can be reopened. It is set back to the in progress state and can be edited and completed again.
Reopening is available in iCL Filler and in iCL Portal, and it is configured per iWorkbook in iCL Designer.
What happens when an inspection is reopened
Regardless of where the reopen is triggered, the same things happen:
- the completed and sent dates are cleared, so the inspection is in progress again
- all final reports of the inspection are deleted. They are created and sent again once the inspection is completed the next time
- if the inspection belongs to a task, that task is set back to the state
active - the reopen counter of the inspection is raised
- all data that was collected (answers, pictures, signatures, defects, ...) is kept
Completing a reopened inspection overwrites the inspection data in iCL Portal and recreates all reports. Reports that were already downloaded or sent by e-mail are not recalled - the recipients keep the old document while iCL Portal only knows the new one. Also, the date of completion changes.
When an inspection is reopened in iCL Filler, it is assigned to the user who reopened it, and the corresponding task is assigned to that user as well.
The reopen counter
Every inspection carries a reopen count and the list of reopen dates. Both start out empty and are raised every time the inspection is reopened - no matter whether that happened in iCL Filler or in iCL Portal. The values are synchronized between the app and iCL Portal, so both sides always show the same number.
The counter is what makes reopening auditable. You can use it to
- see how often an inspection had to be corrected (in the iCL Portal inspection list)
- make a checklist react to a reopen, e.g. ask the inspector for a reason (using a script)
- evaluate it in your own system (using the API)
When the counter is not raised
Reopening an inspection just to fix a typo and completing it again a minute later should usually not count as a "real" reopen. For that reason a workbook can define a reopen count grace window.
The grace window starts with the first reopen of an inspection. As long as it has not elapsed, further reopens still reopen the inspection but do not raise the counter.
Example: the grace window is 01:00:00 (one hour).
| Time | Action | Reopen count |
|---|---|---|
| 09:00 | inspection is completed | 0 |
| 10:00 | inspection is reopened - the grace window starts | 1 |
| 10:20 | inspection is completed and reopened again - still inside the grace window | 1 |
| 10:50 | inspection is completed and reopened again - still inside the grace window | 1 |
| 13:00 | inspection is completed and reopened again - the grace window has elapsed | 2 |
If no grace window is configured, every reopen raises the counter.
The window is measured from the first reopen of an inspection, not from the most recent one. It therefore limits how long the "free" corrections after the first reopen last - it does not restart with every reopen.
Administrators and developers can bypass the grace window, see who may reopen what.
Limiting how long an inspection may be reopened
A workbook can also define a reopen window: the period - measured from the moment the inspection was completed - during which it may be reopened at all.
- inside the window, reopening works as usual
- once the window has elapsed, the Reopen option is no longer available in iCL Filler
- in iCL Portal, administrators and developers can still reopen the inspection after confirming a warning; all other users get an error
If no reopen window is configured, an inspection can be reopened as long as it exists.
Configuring reopening in iCL Designer
Reopening is configured in the iWorkbook properties.
| Setting | Description |
|---|---|
| Can reopen | Allows the inspector to reopen a completed inspection of this iWorkbook in iCL Filler. The two settings below only appear when this is enabled. |
| Reopen count grace window | The grace window after the first reopen during which further reopens do not raise the reopen counter. Leave it empty to always raise the counter. |
| Reopen window | The period after the completion during which the inspection may be reopened. Leave it empty to allow reopening indefinitely. |
Both times are entered as hh:mm:ss, for example 00:30:00 for 30 minutes. For longer periods use d.hh:mm:ss, for example 7.00:00:00 for one week.
When you uncheck Can reopen, the grace window and the reopen window are reset, so they cannot silently reappear when you enable reopening again later.
Using the reopen count in scripts
The of inspection block gives your scripts access to the reopen counter:
| Dropdown value | Type | Content |
|---|---|---|
| reopen count | Number | How often this inspection has been reopened. 0 for an inspection that was never reopened. |
| reopen dates | List of dates | The timestamps of all reopens that raised the counter, oldest first. |
A typical use case is asking the inspector why an inspection had to be reopened. Add a text field Reason for reopening to the checklist and script two of its properties:
- Exists (or Hidden) - so the field only shows up once the inspection was reopened
- Mandatory - so the inspection cannot be completed again without a reason
Both scripts look the same - they return true as soon as the inspection has been reopened at least once:
Fields that use these blocks are re-evaluated immediately after a reopen - the inspector sees the new mandatory field as soon as the inspection is open again, without having to touch any other answer first.
The reopen count and reopen dates are not supported by iCL Filler 2. As soon as you use them in a script, you have to switch the iWorkbook setting Filler 2 compatibility off - otherwise iCL Designer reports an error when you save the iWorkbook.
Who may reopen what
| Where | Who | Conditions |
|---|---|---|
| iCL Filler | the inspector who owns the inspection | The iWorkbook must have Can reopen enabled and the reopen window must not have elapsed. |
| iCL Filler | users with the Tester role, in test mode | Can reopen inspections of iWorkbooks that do not allow reopening at all. |
| iCL Portal | users with the Reopen task permission | Only completed inspections. The iWorkbook setting Can reopen is not evaluated here - it only governs iCL Filler. |
| iCL Portal | administrators and developers | May additionally reopen after the reopen window has elapsed and decide explicitly whether the reopen counter is raised. |
| API | integrations calling the reopen endpoint | Ignores the reopen window and always raises the reopen counter. |
Out of the box, the Reopen task permission is granted to team administrators. Other roles can be given the permission in the iCL Portal role settings.
Users with the Developer role can enable developer mode in the iCL Filler settings. In developer mode, iCL Filler asks on every reopen whether the reopen counter should be raised - which overrides the grace window in both directions.