Dispatching

Dispatching is how you send work to the field. You can send a record with some of the information prefilled to give field users what they need to start their work. This topic describes dispatching at a high level and lists the different ways you can send a record to your workforce.

Available on all tiers with more options on the Intelligent and Elite tiers:

Digital

Intelligent

Elite

Video demo

Learn from an expert! This video shows you the different ways you can send work to the field.

Key Concepts

Send jobs to your workforce by dispatching the work. You can:

Prefill and send forms manually using the Web Portal.
Integrate with your existing third-party systems to automate dispatching using the TrueContext API.
Include important job details like due date, location, and special instructions.
With any of the dispatching methods, you can send the record to a user, a group of users, or all groups in a FormSpace FormSpaces are where forms are stored and organized in the TrueContext Web Portal. A TrueContext Team may have multiple FormSpaces, depending on their needs. Admins can set FormSpace permissions to control which users have access to the forms in that FormSpace.. Intelligent Elite
Reassign the job if a technician is unavailable.
Send follow-up work when the initial work is completed using a Dispatch Data Destination A Data Destination specifies where to send data from a submitted form. You can use Data Destinations to automate data sharing and storage, routing data to a specific service (such as email or cloud storage) in several different formats.. Create a new record with its own identifier that follows a separate workflow from the initial work.
Create a record with its own identifier each time you dispatch a record.

Configuration

To send records:

Make sure your form can be dispatched. Open the form in edit mode and go to Settings > Workflow Settings > Form Initiation Methods. Select either Inbox or Inbox and Forms Box. By default, forms have Inbox and Forms Box selected.

To open records from the Group Inbox The Group Inbox on your mobile device is a list of records that were sent to a group or FormSpace. If you're available, you can claim a record to work on from the Group Inbox., the form must have Search enabled.
Make sure mobile users can access their Inbox. Go to Your username > Team Settings The Team Settings page is the page where an admin can manage their team's account and edit certain information, such as assigning a Problem Contact Email Address, toggling push notifications, and viewing the account's billing information. > Mobile Device > Device Configuration > Actions > Update Custom Configuration. Select the option to display the Inbox.
Make sure mobile users can access the Group Inbox. Go to Your username > Team Settings > Mobile Device > Device Configuration > Actions > Update Custom Configuration. Select the option to display the Group Inbox.

Recipients

With any of the dispatching methods, you can send the record to a user, a group of users, or all groups in a FormSpace. Intelligent Elite

If...	Then send the record to a...	The system...
You know which technician is available and has the skills to do the work You want a specific technician to pick up the work, regardless of their availability.	User	Assigns the record to the user. The user can open the record from their Inbox.
You have a group of technicians with the right skills for the job You want the next available technician to work on the record	Group	Makes the record available for any user in the group to claim. The user can claim the record from their Group Inbox. Note:A field technician must be online to claim a record from the Group Inbox.
Teams with different specialties or skills need access to the record to determine if they should claim it You have different groups with similar skill sets that could pick up the work	FormSpace	Makes the record available for users in a FormSpace to claim. Users must be in a group that has Can Submit FormSpace permissions. Users can claim the record from their Group Inbox. Note:A field technician must be online to claim a record from the Group Inbox.

If...

Then send the record to a...

The system...

You know which technician is available and has the skills to do the work
You want a specific technician to pick up the work, regardless of their availability.

User

Assigns the record to the user. The user can open the record from their Inbox.

You have a group of technicians with the right skills for the job
You want the next available technician to work on the record

Group

Makes the record available for any user in the group to claim. The user can claim the record from their Group Inbox.

Note:A field technician must be online to claim a record from the Group Inbox.

Teams with different specialties or skills need access to the record to determine if they should claim it

You have different groups with similar skill sets that could pick up the work

FormSpace

Makes the record available for users in a FormSpace to claim. Users must be in a group that has Can Submit FormSpace permissions. Users can claim the record from their Group Inbox.

Note:A field technician must be online to claim a record from the Group Inbox.

Dispatching Methods

The way you choose to send work depends on your business objectives or process. You can set up automated dispatches or manually dispatch forms from the Web Portal.

Tip:With any of the dispatching methods, you can send the record to a user, a group of users, or all groups in a FormSpace. Intelligent Elite

Automated Dispatching

Automated Dispatching enables you to trigger dispatches under certain conditions that you set up in your third-party system or within TrueContext.

If you need to...	Use...
Trigger automatic dispatches from your third-party system Prefill contents using data from your third-party system Automate sending multiple records at the same time	One of the following TrueContext API endpoints: POST /api/1.1/data/dispatch Dispatches a form to a user or a group POST /api/1.1/data/dispatch/bytag Dispatches forms that have the same tag to a user or group
Automatically trigger a follow-up job when initial work is completed. This creates a new record with its own identifier that follows a separate workflow from the initial work	A Dispatch Data Destination .

Manual Dispatching

Manual Dispatching gives you more control and granularity over when to send a record, who to send it to, and the information to prefill.

If you need to...	Use...
Control when to prefill and send a single record Choose when to send a record to specific people Make a single record available to groups Send a record to test a new form Manage work using the TrueContext platform rather than a third-party system	The Web Portal for a single-record dispatch.
Send multiple records at once Prefill multiple records using data already organized in a spreadsheet format Prepare multiple records in advance for simultaneous dispatch Send each record to either a user, a group, or the groups in a FormSpace.	A CSV file for a bulk dispatch.