GPS Trace Tag 1.4. User Guide. date: November 22, 2016

Transcription

1 date: November 22, 2016

2 Table of Contents Overview 3 Registration 4 Getting Started 5 Settings 6 Unit Settings 6 Server Connection 7 Location 7 Messages Settings 8 Notification Center 8 Custom Status 9 Other 10 Additional Options 10 Statistics and Status 11 Current Status 12 Latest Data 12 Messages Sent/Lost 13 Custom Status 14 Messages 15 Viewing Messages 15 Sending Text Messages 16 Sending Images 16 Other Operations 17 Map 18 Position and Route

3 O ver view GPS Trace Tag is an application that helps to determine your geographical location and track your movements. It can be installed on ios based portable devices (such as iphone, ipod touch, ipad), which have GPS receiver. GPS Trace Tag is compatible with GPS tracking system GPS Trace. Positional information (geographical coordinates, course, speed, etc.) is sent from a device to the server of a tracking system where it is stored. Apart from positional data, you can send text messages, images, SOS messages and your custom status to the server. Data received from the device can be processed by the tracking system and then presented to you in different forms (routes of movements on the map, registered events, etc.). Location of a mobile device user can be visualized on Google Maps or OpenStreetMap. Moreover, you can carry on a conversation with an operator/dispatcher

4 Regist r at ion As GPS Trace Tag is designed to work with the tracking system GPS Trace, registration in this system is required to make full use of the application. GPS Trace Tag collects data and sends it to the tracking system. Then in the tracking system you can request your tracks of movements for any period, adjust receiving notifications about different kinds of activity and send messages and coordinates to the device. When you first open GPS Trace Tag on your portable device, you are offered either to connect to the tracking system or carry out a registration. Choose the first option if you already have an account on GPS Trace, enter your login and password and press Connect. If you are new to the system, press Registration. Enter desired login name, your address, password, and press the Registration button. If everything is correct, an account will be created for you and connection will be made automatically. However, remember your account details because you will need them to log in to the tracking system. You can also choose Skip and perform connection procedure later

5 G et t ing S t ar t ed When you launch the application, you first get to the Main page, which contains the Start/Stop button and the main menu. Opening the application does not mean it starts working immediately. To make GPS Trace Tag gather data and perform other tasks, switch the top menu item ( Start/Stop ) to the ON position. Use the same switch button when you need to stop the service. When the service is started, its further activity depends on program settings, GPS receiver availability, connection to the Internet and server. If GPS receiver is on, the service starts generating messages with location. Otherwise, the service waits for GPS availability. If there are messages in the clipboard or in the black box and the Internet connection is established, the service connects to the server and sends messages. H i n t. To estimate service performance and its current status, go to the Statistics section. To quickly send an alarm message, use the SOS button on the top. Apart from that, you can send any custom parameters like busy/free, private/business (see Custom Status for details). To get a detailed description of the application, its features and adjustments, press Help and load user documentation. At the bottom of the screen, you will find the navigation panel with three buttons: Main page (Start/Stop, Settings, Statistics, Track, Custom status, Help); of the tracking system); Messages (send images and text messages to the server, hold a conversation with a dispatcher Map (observe your current location on the map)

6 S et t ings Unit Settings 6 Server Connection 7 Location 7 Messages Settings 8 Notification Center 8 Custom Status 9 Other 10 Additional Options 10 The Settings menu allows you to configure different parameters of the program and service operation. U n i t S e t t i n g s U I D UID is unit unique ID, or an identification code used to recognize your mobile device in the tracking system. It can be the same as IMEI code of the mobile device or some other code. A t t e n t i o n! UID set here should be the same as in unit properties in the tracking system. P a s s w o r d This setting is optional. If it is required to use access password for the unit, enable this checkbox, and type the password below. In addition, the same password should be duplicated in the tracking system, in the unit properties dialog. Otherwise, data coming from the unit will not be registered on the database

7 S e r v e r C o n n e c t i o n GPS Trace Tag is compatible only with GPS tracking system GPS Trace. The server port is indicated automatically and cannot be edited. L o c a t i o n F i l t r a t i o n o f M e s s a g e s If you activate this option, parameters listed below will be applied to messages as they are prepared to be sent to the server. Below, the conditions of filtration are set up. Note that the operation of logical OR is applied to these parameters, so that a new message is generated if any of conditions is met. This does not concern Max accuracy and Max speed as they are provided to exclude messages with unlikely large values (potentially invalid messages). M i n t i m e Minimum time interval between messages (in seconds). That is a new positional message is generated when the indicated time has passed since the previous message. M i n d i s t a n c e Minimum distance between messages (in meters or feet). That is a new message is generated if the unit has travelled the indicated distance since the previous message. C h a n g e i n c o u r s e Indicate change in course angle to send a new message (in degrees). C h a n g e i n s p e e d Indicate change in speed (difference in speed between previous and current messages) that will be considered as significant enough to send a new message. M a x a c c u r a c y Maximum value of accuracy (in meters or feet). If exceeded, such message is considered invalid and not sent to the server. M a x s p e e d - 7 -

8 Maximum value of speed (in kilometers per hour or miles per hour). If exceeded, such message is considered invalid and not sent to the server. B y d e f a u l t Press this button to restore all settings on this page to their default values. M e s s a g e s S e t t i n g s A d d p a r a m e t e r s If this flag is enabled, contents of a positional message sent to the server can be extended with advanced parameters chosen below: A c c u r a c y If this option is chosen, positional messages will contain the a parameter with information about accuracy of detected location (stored in meters). B a t t e r y l e v e l The parameter will be called b in messages and will indicate battery charge level at the moment of message (percentage). N o t i f i c a t i o n C e n t e r N o t i f i c a t i o n s Even when GPS Trace Tag is not open, you can still stay aware of its work getting onscreen notifications and messages. Activate this option and specify types of notifications below: M e s s a g e s p r e v i e w Show incoming text messages sent from the tracking system. E v e n t s Events are usually connected with a server: established or lost connection to the server, errors (like invalid UID or password), etc

9 C u s t o m S t a t u s Here you can create and configure custom statuses. Choose a custom status to view or modify its properties or press the plus button above to create new set of custom parameters. A custom status has the following settings: N a m e Name for your custom status. V a l u e s A custom status can obtain any number of values depending on what you configure here. Adjust an intelligible text for each numeric value, for example, 0 Free, 1 Busy, 2 Away. Attention! When deleting values from the middle of the list, lower lines shift up (that means they change their numeric value). M e s s a g e f o r m a t Numeric, textual or both values of a custom status can be sent in a message. If you need to save traffic, choose only numeric value. Textual value comes in messages as ptn, where N is the index which is applied to the status automatically. Numeric value comes as pnn. A l w a y s s e n d l a s t Set this flag to receive the value of this custom status in each positional message (similar to provider name, accuracy, and battery level). This option is available only if the option Add parameters is enabled. D e l e t e s t a t u s Push this button to delete a custom status with its configuration

10 O t h e r I m a g e p a c k e t s i z e This parameter is used when sending images. The value depends on the outgoing Internet connection speed. For example, image packet size of is good for speed of 512 kbps (upload). Q u a l i t y o f r e s u l t i n g J P E G i m a g e Sending compressed images is preferable for saving Internet traffic. The level of compression is set in this parameter. M e t r i c s Distances can be measured either in kilometers (and meters) or in miles (and feet). Correspondingly, speed will be in kph or mph. Choose one or another option. If you select Automatic, unit of measurement will be defined according to region set in device settings. A d d i t i o n a l O p t i o n s Below the settings, there are the following buttons: C l e a r m a p c a c h e This is a button to delete previously loaded map tiles in order to clear space on the device. The volume of currently cached maps is shown when you press the button. However, remember that having maps in the cache will save you considerable amount of Internet traffic. C l e a r b l a c k b o x With this button, you can delete the contents of your black box (the number of messages is shown when you press the button). S e n d l o g f i l e s This button is to send log files of GPS Tag to the developers. address, message theme and text are filled in automatically, and log files are attached to the letter. You only press Send. N o t e. To send log files successfully, the standard mail client (Mail) should be adjusted properly. L o g o u t This option can be used to log out of the GPS Trace tracking system (for example, to log in to the other account). Option is not available without connection

11 S t at ist ics and S t at us Current Status 12 Latest Data 12 Messages Sent/Lost 13 This section provides latest data, current statuses, and different statistical information such as messages sent/lost/queued/total. Press the Reset button to clear all values in statistics

12 C u r r e n t S t a t u s G P S C o n n e c t i o n Shows whether GPS receiver of a mobile device is switched on. I n t e r n e t C o n n e c t i o n Shows whether there is the Internet connection at the moment. S e r v i c e S t a t u s Shows whether the service is started or stopped at the moment. To start/stop the service, go to the main page. S e r v e r c o n n e c t i o n Shows whether the connection to the server is established. That means that the server is available and data from the unit is successfully received. B l a c k B o x Shows the number of messages in the black box, that is queued messages ready to be sent to the server. Messages can be temporary stored in the black box in case there is no connection to the server or no Internet at the moment. Once the connection is restored, messages form the black box will be sent. T o t a l M e s s a g e s Shows the total number of messages with position (coordinates) that have been generated by GPS or wireless networks. Text messages and sent images are not included there. The success in sending messages is neither taken into account. L a t e s t D a t a Present data about unit location is displayed here. It is updated dynamically upon receiving new data. T i m e Date and time of the message from which the latest data is taken

13 L a t i t u d e Geographical latitude of the last position (in degrees). L o n g i t u d e Geographical longitude of the last position (in degrees). A l t i t u d e Elevation above sea level (in meters or feet). C o u r s e Course is a direction of movement. It can take on the values from 0 to 360 degrees, where 0 is a course strictly northward, and then the value increases clockwise. S p e e d Speed of movement in kilometers per hour (kph) or miles per hour (mph). It is calculated by GPS receiver mathematically considering position in the previous message. A c c u r a c y Measure of possible inaccuracy (in meters or feet). Knowing number of satellites and accuracy, you can judge whether the data is reliable enough. M e s s a g e s S e n t / L o s t L o c a t i o n Number of messages with position (coordinates) successfully sent to the server (before slash) and messages that were not sent for some reason (after slash). T e x t Number of sent and lost text messages. I m a g e s Number of sent and lost images

14 Cust om S t at us Here you can send messages containing special parameters. These parameters are adjusted in Settings => Custom Status. You can create any number of custom status sets, for example, free/busy/away, public/private, in office/traveling/with client, etc.this is either an alarm or a custom status such as busy/free, etc. To establish a status, choose a set and its value. The last selected value is checked on the list. Alarm message (SOS) is a special case of a custom status. It can be sent in an emergency. For quick access, the SOS button is placed on the top panel and available in the Main menu as well as in messages. User can create any number of custom statuses, for example, Status 1 can obtain values Free, Busy, Away ; Status 2 can obtain values Private, Business, and so on. To apply a status, choose it from the list and set the appropriate value for it. The status which is active at the moment is bold and underlined on the list. Custom statuses and alarms are regarded as outgoing messages and therefore are displayed on the Messages page. Custom statuses appear in data messages in the tracking system with parameters ptn (textual value of custom status) and pnn (numeric value of custom status). Alarms are seen as SOS=1. Alarms and status messages are sent usually along with coordinates. If there is no access to fresh positional data at the moment, then the last known coordinates are used. Sometimes it may mean that such position is not up-to-date and maybe it does not refer to the actual location of an alarm or status at all. That is why messages with custom statuses and alarms contain an additional parameter rt, which holds real time of generated position (the UTC time of this fix, in milliseconds since January 1, 1970). Sent parameters (both alarms and custom statuses) can be used in the tracking system to adjust notifications (notification type should be Message parameter control ). You can be notified about alarms and custom statuses by , SMS, online popup message, or you can register such events in unit s database and generate reports on them

15 M essages Viewing Messages 15 Sending Text Messages 16 Sending Images 16 Other Operations 17 On the Messages page, you can see all incoming and outgoing messages as well as send a text message and images to the server. If there any unread messages, their number is shown in red circle near the Messages button. N o t e. Automatically generated positional messages are not displayed here. They can be viewed only in the tracking system. V i e w i n g M e s s a g e s Messages, incoming and outgoing, are displayed in the chronological order. Above each messages, its date and time is indicated. If there is text or image in a message, they are displayed, too. If an incoming message contains coordinates, it is followed by the link Show on map (a click on this link will transfer you to the Map section where a route to this point can be offered). To indicate messages status and type (incoming / outgoing, delivered / not delivered), highlighting with color is used. Outgoing messages are those which are sent by the holder of the device. This can be text messages, images, SOS, or a custom status. Outgoing messages have a orange background, and the background is pale if the message is still in queue for sending. After three unsuccessful attempts to send the message, it acquires a red border, which indicates that the message has not been sent and, furthermore, it is removed from the queue. Alarm messages (SOS) are highlighted with red

16 N o t e. Text messages can be sent to GPS Trace Tag from the tracking system with the help of the commands Send message to driver or Send position. Incoming messages have a white background in GPS Trace Tag. S e n d i n g T e x t M e s s a g e s You can send text messages from GPS Trace Tag to the server. Sent messages are displayed in a special window in the tracking system, so that an operator (or other user who has access to this unit) could read this message. They also can reply to the message from the interface of the tracking system. To send a text message, type it in the input below the list of messages and press Send. Apart from usual messages, you can send custom statuses (from the main page) and alarms (use the SOS button on top). S e n d i n g I m a g e s Not only a text message but also an image can be sent to the server. It is also stored in the database and can be used for different tracking purposes. To send an image, press the camera icon on the left of the text field and choose an option. T a k e a p i c t u r e This option allows sending on spot images captured with the camera of the mobile device. L o a d f r o m c a m e r a r o l l This option allows sending any image stored in the camera roll. To exit this mode without sending any image, choose Cancel

17 O t h e r O p e r a t i o n s Several operations can be performed over messages of any type. Click on a message and choose one: C o p y Message contents can be copied to the clipboard and afterwards pasted somewhere, for example, into another message. D e l e t e Use this to delete a single message. S e l e c t Choose this option to delete several or all messages at once. A check mark will appear against each message in the chat. Mark messages you would like to delete and then press Delete below (on the button itself, the number of selected messages is indicated). To remove all messages without checking them, press the bin icon on the top. A t t e n t i o n! Messages are removed from the Messages page of GPS Trace Tag, however, they still remain in the tracking system and can be completely deleted only there. H i n t. In the tracking system, messages can be observed through the Messages panel (data messages, sent commands) and in several types or reports (Chat, Executed commands, Statistics => Images)

18 M ap To see your current position on the map, go to the Map page. Google Maps and OpenStreetMap can be used to visualize your location. To change a cartographic layer, pull the bottom right edge of the map to the left and choose another map source. Current position is highlighted with a blue marker. A semitransparent blue circle around the marker shows position accuracy. It means that you might be not exactly at the point of the marker, but somewhere inside this area. You can move the map in any direction and zoom it in and out. To move the map, simply drag it in the desired direction. To change map scale, apply multi-touch. No matter how you move or zoom the map, you can go back to your current location at any time. To do this, press the button with an arrow in the bottom right-hand corner of the map

19 P o s i t i o n a n d R o u t e You can get to the map from Messages, too, if an incoming message contains coordinates. In this case, you click the Show on map link, and the map will be displayed with two markers on it your current position (blue) and position from the message (green). To see a possible route to the destination point, press the button above. If you press the same button again, the route will be removed. Routes are built along roads. Additional markers are set in turning points of the route. In a marker s tooltip you can see more information about this point: distance, estimated time (both are calculated from the previous point), and directions