Support - FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

General - FAQ

Export to Excel/Database/SQL - FAQ

Database Table Relationships in Intercue Mobility Suite Forms (PDF 121 kb)
Export to Excel (PDF 135 kb)
Why don't my fields show up in Excel?
How do I add new "fileds" to my Excel spreadsheet so that Desktop can append data to them?

Intercue Designer - FAQ

Can I transfer my form to the handheld from within Designer?
Can I copy from one document into another?
Do I have to set properties on my questions and responses?
What controls are supported?

Frequently Asked Questions - Intercue Desktop

Can I synchronize files without using desktop?
Can I synchronize with my server instead of my workstation?

Frequently Asked Questions - Intercue Presenter

What mobile devices do you support?
How is my data stored on the Palm device?
How is my data stored on Windows powered smart devices?

General FAQ- Answers

What is MobileDataforce’s Intercue™ Mobility Suite and what does it do?

The Intercue Mobility Suite provides the tools needed to easily create mobile business applications without programming expertise. Organizations can put the power of electronic forms in the hands of mobile employees who use Palm OS, Windows Mobile, or Tablet PC/Laptop devices in the field. Intercue Mobility Suite uses industry-standard XML (Extensible Markup Language) for data output, enabling organizations to easily integrate the data into their other applications and processes.

Who uses MobileDataforce’s Intercue Mobility Suite?

Intercue Mobility Suite was created to simplify the collection of business information, and minimize the costs of creating these business processes. Organizations that have limited resources and who need to collect data using inexpensive devices are able to create mobile forms without programming expertise. The Intercue Mobility Suite was developed for business professionals who need validated information from flexible electronic business forms.

Why should organizations use MobileDataforce’s Intercue Mobility Suite?

MobileDataforce’s solutions help small and large organizations collect and manage information in the field and in the office without the learning curve of other products. Organizations should consider MobileDataforce solutions for the following reasons:

Data validation ensures that the data arriving in your system or process is accurate and complete.
Data re-entry is expensive and error-prone. Intercue Mobility Suite allows users to collect data electronically in the field so you don’t have to re-enter it later.
Results are collected in XML format which can be transformed into other formats using XML Stylesheets.
Live data access means you can see results as they are collected instead of waiting for data to be entered.
As business needs change, Intercue Forms can be modified with minimal effort and complete compatibility of existing data.
Limited IT investment to get access to your data.

How are organizations using MobileDataforce’s Intercue Mobility Suite?

Here are a few examples of how MobileDataforce customers are using the Intercue Mobility Suite and handheld devices such as Palm OS, Pocket PC and Tablet PC.
Manufacturing facilities use inspection forms at the end of the line to ensure quality.
Medical rehabilitation service companies have employees complete assessments to discover needs of their patients.
Governmental service companies with heavy reporting requirements and large mobile staffs use MobileDataforce to keep workers in the field and on task.
Insurance inspectors enter their data directly instead of filling out paper forms, then turning them over for data-entry personnel to enter into the system.
Download/View Datasheet

What are MobileDataforce’s PointSync™ Services and what do they do?

PointSync Services provide a means of automating the movement of form data through a business process. These services make integrating your systems with a form process simple and affordable. PointSync Services are offered at three different levels: 1. File system, 2. Database, and 3. Web Services.

Who uses MobileDataforce’s PointSync Services?

Organizations that have mobile employees and centralized business form management use MobileDataforce’s PointSync Services to handle electronic form distribution and data aggregation. PointSync services provide powerful mechanisms to move data into database systems, file systems and business processes using web services.

Why should organizations use MobileDataforce’s PointSync Services?
PointSync™ Services help organizations keep their forms up to date on remote devices, and integrate results from the data collection process with business processes. PointSync makes managing forms and business documents simple, even across a disconnected, mobile work environment. If an organization has a disconnected work environment—known in the industry as an Occasionally Connected Computing (OCC) environment—it will still have control over document updates on mobile devices, and data synchronization will be as close to real time as possible.

How are organizations using MobileDataforce’s PointSync Services?

PointSync Services help organizations manage forms and integrate results. Some of the companies who use MobileDataforce’s Intercue Mobility products integrate their business documents using PointSync services in the following ways:

Create storage locations on a network file share, and allow PointSync to manage updating the share with current forms and documents. Results from the data collection process are aggregated for analysis and system integration requirements.
Store data and business documents in a relational database, and integrate Intercue forms directly into the system.
Use XML Web Services to communicate between locations, systems, and processes.

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When will MobileDataforce PointSync Services be available?

Customers are already using File Share PointSync Server. General Release of PointSync Services is planned for Q2, 2004.

What is XML and why is it used in MobileDataforce’s Intercue Mobility Suite?

XML is an open, industry-standard way of tagging data in text files. XML, or Extensible Markup Language, files can be transported and read by any system regardless of operating system, programming language or hardware platform.

MobileDataforce products use XML as a native file format. XML Schemas are used to describe the structure of data in the files, and XML Stylesheets can be used to transform and format the data for viewing.

What are web services, and how can I use them with MobileDataforce products?
XML Web Services are becoming an industry standard for transporting data between systems. For example, applications can execute code on another system using web services.

MobileDataforce’s Web Services PointSync Server will provide the capability to expose and consume web services to move business forms and result documents to and from Intercue Mobility components.

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How do I integrate my existing databases and servers with MobileDataforce products?

The current version of Intercue Mobility Suite provides a way to map tables and fields in a relational database to the questions and groups of an Intercue Form. You can also generate a form by picking fields in a relational database. While loading data in Intercue Mobility Suite is a manual process, PointSync services will make this integration automatic.

What are the system requirements to install and use MobileDataforce?

See the product data sheet for details on system requirements.

I just want to create a simple form for a business process. Where do I start?

Several forms used in industries such as healthcare, insurance and human resources are provided with the Intercue Mobility Suite. Use Intercue Quick Launch to open one of these forms for editing, or to load it to a device.

If you want to create your own form from scratch, use the Designer component of the Intercue Mobility Suite. You will find the icon for Designer on your desktop after installation, or you can use Intercue Quick Launch.

Export to Excel/Database/SQL - FAQ

Why don't my fields show up in Excel?

If the group that contains the field(s) in question was not displayed, those columns will not show up in your Excel spreadsheet, and they must be created manually.

To ensure that your fields get created in the target spreadsheet, move through your entire form on a test result set in Presenter. Once every field has been shown, all fields will then appear in the spreadsheet.

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How do I add new "fields" to my Excel spreadsheet so that Desktop can append data to them?

Open the workbook
Go to the worksheet to which you want to add fields
Add the column headers for the fields you wish to add, following the format used by the automated process
In the Insert menu select Name --> Define...
Select the name of the defined range (equivalent to a table name--and probably the same name as the worksheet in question. Note that the name of the named range is ultimately independent of the worksheet name.)
Click the "refers to" button in the bottom right of that window
Select your new range of cells to include the new column(s)
Press Enter
Click the OK button
To verify that it has been updated properly, select the named range from the Name box in the upper left corner

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Intercue Designer FAQ - Answers

Can I transfer my form to the handheld from within Designer?

Yes. Forms can be sent to the devices directly from the Designer application. To send a document, simply right-click on the document title in the Designer tree and choose one of the "Load to" options to publish your form to the device.

Can I copy from one document into another?

Yes. You can open multiple forms at the same time in Designer and use the familiar copy, cut and paste options. Additionally, you can create templates and scales from existing documents and use them in new documents.

Do I have to set properties on my questions and responses?

No. If you have not set a property on your form, Presenter will use the best default setting possible when displaying the document. Most forms do not require any modification of properties beyond those that the question wizard modifies.

What controls are supported?

We currently support text, multi-line text, numeric, integer, signed integer, multi-select list, single-select list, true/false, drop-down list, drop-down list with text (combo box), and buttons.

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Intercue Destkop FAQ - Answers

Can I synchronize files without using desktop?

Yes and No.
Intercue Desktop includes the software needed to publish and retrieve Intercue documents. Because of this, Intercue Desktop needs to be installed on any machine which will perform these tasks. However, after the conduit is installed, you can use any XML compatible document manager or viewer to work with your results.

Can I synchronize with my server instead of my workstation?

Yes. Our documents and conduit provide industry standard compatibility to third-party solutions for network and server based synchronization.

Intercue Presenter FAQ - Answers

What mobile devices do you support?

Palm, Pocket PC, and Tablet PC.
We are currently shipping our software with support for Palm compatible devices running Palm OS 4.0, Palm OS 5.0, Pocket PC, Tablet PC

How is my data stored on the Palm device?

Palm Database Format.
Result sets are stored in a compressed form using Palm's native PDB format.

How is my data stored on Windows powered smart devices?

XML.
Result sets are stored in XML format and are visible to other applications on the device.

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