Will Form Tab Work on a Tablet?

[thephaseusa]

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Fundraising Call Center

I’ve used the apple ipad for an agent station, works great. And it’s nice to be able to be mobile, not tied to a desktop and a chair. I can log in, make calls, enter disposition codes. But I can’t enter info on the form tab. Is it possible, and if so, how?

By the way, I just noticed Hotkeys is working on safari on ipad now. I could swear it didn’t work 6 months ago!

Thank you kindly,
John Merritt

[mflorell]

Have you tried the Chrome web browser on iOS for the Vicidial agent screen?

[thephaseusa]

I just tried chrome, safari, Firefox & dolphin. Chrome would let me edit the email field in the main vicidial tab, and the email field on the form tab. Strangely no other fields seem to be editable. I can log in enter dispositions, hotkeys works, and alt number check box works also. I couldn’t edit name address city state zip or other fields on the form tab or the main vicidial tab. Strange that i could edit email but not comments below it on the main tab.

[williamconley]

I just tried chrome, safari, Firefox & dolphin. Chrome would let me edit the email field in the main vicidial tab, and the email field on the form tab. Strangely no other fields seem to be editable. I can log in enter dispositions, hotkeys works, and alt number check box works also. I couldn’t edit name address city state zip or other fields on the form tab or the main vicidial tab. Strange that i could edit email but not comments below it on the main tab.

Honestly, I woudl think firefox would be the same on iOS as it is in other places. Are you sure it's not the user you are logged in as? You have verified this on a Windows/Linux workstation that this user has permission to edit and that it's also not customizations on your installation?

Not trying to insult your intelligence. Just wanted to point out what we'd try before continuing.

[thephaseusa]

Yes. I’m testing with the same user I use on a desktop.

[williamconley]

Yes. I’m testing with the same user I use on a desktop.

You "could" use a script in the script pane to mimic the form. Pain in the butt to code, but we've done it a few times for various reasons/clients. As a workaround for now until it gets resolved by accident or someone is paid to fix it.

[thephaseusa]

Good idea! I’ll give it a try, thank you.

[mflorell]

I just tested this on an iPad and confirmed the problem. Although I'm not really sure how to fix it because there is nothing wrong with the HTML and Javascript since it all works just fine in just about any web browser on any desktop OS system. Since this is the first request I've ever gotten for iOS support, I can't say it's really a popular feature request that would show I should spend a lot of time trying to fix the issue. If you have any suggestions for how to fix this, I'm all ears.

[williamconley]

I strongly suspect the iOS platform (regardless of browser, which is ... odd) is requiring a conforming input type with mobile notation. Probably complex, but not actually a lot of code to change.

But I have NOT actually looked.

I've seen some of these standards notations sneaking into the browsers recently, and Apple is one for "user experience is of the utmost importance, so you MUST use our standards", so I would not be shocked at all if they now require inputs to match precise specifications to be used.

The theory could probably be tested pretty easily.

[thephaseusa]

I’m sure there isn’t demand for it now. There may be in the future though. I could see a big call center using tablets as work stations. They are cheaper than desktops, and the headsets for them are cheaper. On a similar note, I had one guy working remotely who I thought had a tablet, but it turned out he had a cell phone. When I listened to recordings of his call, surprisingly they were as good as any other. I have called on an iPhone using vicidial. I was really shocked to see Vicidial worked on tablets and mobiles.

[williamconley]

Tablets as workstations is not unusual. Cost-effective, even. But why Apple? Those are the most expensive tablets. If you used a Dell tablet, for instance or perhaps an off-brand, your price per workstation could drop even more. They could practically become disposable.

[mflorell]

The Vicidial agent screen works great on Android tablets, and we have several clients that use them for agent workstations. As for iOS, it seems that they are ignoring the standards that everyone else uses, as usual, in order to deliver on their "user experience". My advice for now for those that would want to use an Apple tablet or phone with the Vicidial agent screen would be for them to buy a $50 Android tablet and use that instead.

[thephaseusa]

Absolutely. I just happen to have an ipad. In setting up my last call center, I ended up buying used desktops for $30 apiece, with monitors, keyboards and mouses. But if I had decided to buy new equipment I was leaning toward cheap tablets. I saw several for $100 apiece. If you can get a $50 android that would be great. I typically use the $35 Logitech usb headset for desktops. But the Logitech headset for tablets is only $15, and I’ve found it work fine. So, everything would be wireless, no cabling needed, $50 work stations, $15 headsets, so $65 per stations. Another plus is you can move tablets around easily and quickly, and your agents could even take them home with them and log in from home in a pinch, or issue them to remote agents.

Originally I didn’t use the form tab with vicidial. I had agents write sales on paper and I billed them from paper. And at that time, everything agents were doing on desktops could be done just the same on tablets. But when I learned the beauty of the script tab and the form tab and implemented them, I stopped thinking about tablets; I didn’t want to go backwards and start using paper again.

Matt, are you saying that with an android tablet you can edit fields in the vicidial tab and the form tab? And that all features work just like on a desktop?

John M

JM

[mflorell]

Yes, everything that I've tested, including the FORM tab fields, works just fine with Android. As for the $50 tablets, we have a client that bought a bunch of them new for that amount a couple years ago, and we bought a few as well to test with, and they work great for agent workstations. They are 7 inch tablets and you can buy them new all over the place, even on amazon.com.

[williamconley]

Anybody ever tried a Fire tablet? I think I have one around here somewhere ...

[mflorell]

I've tried a 2nd generation Fire tablet, it has a very limited web browser and doesn't allow you to install chrome. The Javascript is limited on it so the agent screen doesn't work. Of course that tablet is quite a few years old, so the newer ones might work.

[thephaseusa]

I just tried VICIdial on a samsung galaxy j 3 luna pro cell phone, ($59), and the form tab and everything works on it. I bet you are right Matt everything with android as the OS works perfectly. I'm curious if the 7th Generation Fire Tablet will work. If not there are plenty of android tablets for $50 or less.

More and more I'm thinking tablets is a good way to go, especially for new centers. Imagine the ease of bringing in a bunch of tablets and getting them going, compared to bringing in desktops, monitors, mice, keyboards, cabling, etc.

John

[mflorell]

Yes, the Samsung android tablets are great, and I've seem them in use at our client call centers as well.

[thephaseusa]

In the centers do the agents just hold the tablets, or do they attach keyboards or stands to them?

[mflorell]

There are usually stands for the agents, and at one center they had keyboards for all agents too.

[williamconley]

Imagine the ease of bringing in a bunch of tablets and getting them going, compared to bringing in desktops, monitors, mice, keyboards, cabling, etc.

Danger: Those are also very easy to "lose". On the lighter side, with bluetooth headsets, they could likely be all the agent needs. And not particularly expensive to replace.

[thephaseusa]

Yes I was thinking about that yesterday, very tempting to walk off with those tablets)) You’d have to issue them at the start of the shift and collect them at the end of the shift. Even then, on their last day of work some of them might accidentally take it with them. Maybe have a payroll deduction for “lost” equipment out of their last paycheck if they don’t turn it in.

$50 for the tablet, $15 for the headset, $25 for the case/keyboard, I think $100 would get you a nice tablet based work station.

John

[thephaseusa]

I picked up a Digiland DL8006 8 inch tablet today at Best Buy for $39. Installed zoiper, used chrome as the browser, used a Logitech $15 headset into the 3.5mm audio jack. Every feature of VICIdial works on it like a charm. Android 7.0 Nougat OS. That’s nice to know.

The 8 inch screen is small though. I think a 10 might be the smallest an agent could work on without squinting and having to press on the screen more than once to hit the right button))))

I had to log in again))) It’s really workable. I need a case/keyboard/stand then I can use hotkeys and type on the keyboard and this could work.

John

[williamconley]

Yes I was thinking about that yesterday, very tempting to walk off with those tablets)) You’d have to issue them at the start of the shift and collect them at the end of the shift.

More straight out theft of their neighbor's device. It's simple to pocket a tablet.

[thephaseusa]

This is a Digiland DL8006 Android Tablet that I picked up at Best Buy for $39.99, a Tsmile Stand/Keyboard I got for $15 on Amazon, and a Logitech headset I got at walmart for $15. So I have $70 in this little work station. I have tested it. All VICIial features work flawlessly. It’s a little small, 8 inch screen, but it’s cute and it works.

Thanks for helping me with this William Conley & Matt Florell.

www.thephaseusa.com/pics/VICItablet.jpg

John Merritt

[thephaseusa]

Gentlemen another update on tablets:

I just got the Amazon Fire 7 with Alexa working on vicidial. They had a soft phone called Mizu Soft Phone in their downloadable program store, it worked fine. Logged in to vicidial. The form tab and everything works just like on a computer. Again like that 8 inch tablet, this 7 inch is on the small side. But everything works fine.

JAM

[williamconley]

Gentlemen another update on tablets:

I just got the Amazon Fire 7 with Alexa working on vicidial. They had a soft phone called Mizu Soft Phone in their downloadable program store, it worked fine. Logged in to vicidial. The form tab and everything works just like on a computer. Again like that 8 inch tablet, this 7 inch is on the small side. But everything works fine.

JAM

Could be interesting for work-at-home people. No more remote assistance and cleaning up their PC (for an hour) before they can even log in. Ship it preconfigured, just hook up to the wifi and they're on the clock. Take it out of their first paycheck and give it back if they stay past 90 days.

[thephaseusa]

Yes sir good idea. Also one might train them in a call center for a few days, then issue them their tablet to take home and work there.