DCCSS User Guide

Steffen Macke

<Steffen_Macke@dorsch.com.jo>

Copyright © 2005 DORSCH Consult

Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.2 or any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no Invariant Sections, no Front-Cover Texts, and no Back-Cover Texts. A copy of the license is available from the Free Software Foundation (http://www.gnu.org).

$Date: 2005/08/10 04:40:08 $

Table of Contents

1. Introduction
1.1. What's New?
1.1.1. Version 0.0.1
2. Requirements
3. User Interface
3.1. Navigation
3.2. Languages
3.3. Find
3.4. Field Descriptions
3.5. Pager Navigation
3.6. Context Sensitive Help
4. Quick Start
4.1. Logon
5. Procedures
6. Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
7. Main Page
8. Zoom Page
9. Map
10. Reports
11. Miscellaneous
11.1. About the DC Maintenance Management System
12. Troubleshooting
12.1. Common Problems
12.1.1. The Page Cannot be Displayed
12.2. DCCSS Administrator
12.3. DCCSS Devel Mailing List
12.3.1. Subscribe
12.4. Support Tracker
12.5. Bug Reports
13. Feedback


1. Introduction

1.1. What's New?
1.1.1. Version 0.0.1

This document describes how to use the DC Comprehensive Subscriber Survey (DCCSS) application version 0.0.1.

DCCSS is a web-based application that allows to record and analyze detailed subscriber data for water utilities.

DCCSS is available from http://dccss.sourceforge.net.


1.1. What's New?

1.1.1. Version 0.0.1

Changes introduced by different DCCSS versions.


1.1.1. Version 0.0.1

Started the development.


2. Requirements

In order to run the DCCSS you need a web browser like Internet Explorer or Mozilla Firefox and the address (URL) of a DCCSS server. Contact your DCCSS administrator if you need help.

If you are running DCCSS on a standalone system, you should be able to start the DCCSS application from the Start Menu or with a Shortcut on your Desktop.


3. User Interface

3.1. Navigation
3.2. Languages
3.3. Find
3.4. Field Descriptions
3.5. Pager Navigation
3.6. Context Sensitive Help

This section introduces important concepts of the DCCSS user interface.


3.1. Navigation

A consistent navigation structure guides through the application. Through the "DCCSS" link in the navigation bar at the top it is always possible to return back to the main menu.

Logoff, workorder search and help functions are available at the top of each page.


3.2. Languages

The DCCSS application is fully internationalized. You can switch to the language of your choice using the select box at the top of the page.

DCCSS is currently available in the following languages:

  • Arabic

  • English

Additional languages can be easily added. If the language you are looking for is missing, please contact the DCCSS developers.


3.3. Find

The find tool in the navigation bar allows to search for delivery points by sequence and GeoCode.

Delivery point sequence or GeoCode have to be entered to the text field. Pressing Enter or clicking on the Find button next to the data entry field will start the search for the delivery point.


3.4. Field Descriptions

The DCCSS application helps you to fill in the forms correctly by providing an intuitive help: If you leave the mouse cursor without movement over a field, a help message will be displayed.


3.5. Pager Navigation

Where database queries return too many results to display on the screen, DCCSS will offer a pager navigation that allows to browse through all the records. This concept is used for example in the zoom (Section 8, “Zoom Page”) page.

Elements of the pager are links like the following: << Previous, Next >>,1, 2, 3...


3.6. Context Sensitive Help

Context sensitive help is available on every page by clicking on Help link in the navigation bar.

The user guide will be opened in the language that is currently selected in the DCCSS application.

[Note] Note

If no documentation is available in the language that is selected in the application, an error message might be displayed by the browser.

The chapter describing the current page will be opened in the DCCSS user guide.


4. Quick Start

4.1. Logon

This section gives you a short introduction into the main features of DCCSS. Nevertheless it is recommended to read the whole user guide.


4.1. Logon

Open the DCCSS logon page in your browser. This can be done by

  • Double-clicking on the DCCSS link on your desktop

  • If you don't have a DCCSS link on your desktop, open your web browser (Mozilla Firefox or Internet Explorer) and enter the URL provided by your DCCSS administrator. If you are using a stand-alone installation, the URL is most probably http://localhost/DCCSS/

On the logon page you have to enter your username and password in the respective fields.

Username and password should have been provided by your DCCSS administrator.

[Tip] Tip

Ask your DCCSS administrator to create a bookmark for the logon page of the DCCSS application.


5. Procedures

The following procedures should be followed in order to operate DCCSS successfully.


6. Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

This section tries to answer to frequently asked questions regarding the usage of DCCSS.


7. Main Page

The main page contains the main menu of the DCCSS application.

This page can be reached from any page in the application by clicking on the DCCSS link in the navigation bar (Section 3.1, “Navigation”).

The following links are displayed:

Zoom You can zoom to landmarks here (Section 8, “Zoom Page”).

Map Allows you to explore the map.

Reports Reports generated from the maintenance data.

About DCCSS DCCSS copyright information.

If you are logged on to the DCCSS application as an administrator, additional administration tools will be available.


8. Zoom Page

The zoom page contains several options to zoom to various locations on the map.


9. Map

The map page allows to edit delivery points.

This page can be reached from the main page (Section 7, “Main Page”) and the zoom page (Section 8, “Zoom Page”) as well as some of the reports.

Legend The legend allows to hide some layers from being displayed on the map. Removing the checkmark next to the layer will remove the layer from the map the next time the map is redrawn.

Quick View A dropdown list that allows to quickly display a certain area or the full extent.

Keymap You can use the keymap to pan the map.

Map Size Use this dropdown list to select the size of the map.

The following map tools are available:

Zoom In Use this tool to zoom in the map

Zoom Out Use this tool to zoom out the map

Pan Use this tool to pan the map

Identify use this tool to see information about features on the map. Your administrator might use plug-ins to deliver custom information (e.g. images) for the identified features.


10. Reports

This is the main page for the reports, all DCCSS reports are accessible through this page.


11. Miscellaneous

11.1. About the DC Maintenance Management System

Miscellaneous DCCSS functions.


11.1. About the DC Maintenance Management System

Copyright information for DCCSS and the software packages used by the application.


12. Troubleshooting

12.1. Common Problems
12.1.1. The Page Cannot be Displayed
12.2. DCCSS Administrator
12.3. DCCSS Devel Mailing List
12.3.1. Subscribe
12.4. Support Tracker
12.5. Bug Reports

This section shows ways to get support for the DCCSS problems.


12.1. Common Problems

12.1.1. The Page Cannot be Displayed

The most common problems when using DCCSS.


12.1.1. The Page Cannot be Displayed

If you encounter an error like in Figure 1, “The Page Cannot be Displayed”, the network connection to the server might be lost. Check that the network cable is connected properly to your computer. If the problem is not related to the network cable, contact your DCCSS administrator.

The Page Cannot be Displayed

Figure 1. The Page Cannot be Displayed


12.2. DCCSS Administrator

Contact your DCCSS administrator if you have any problems.


12.3. DCCSS Devel Mailing List

12.3.1. Subscribe

The DCCSS devel mailing list may provide help to solve problems, either through the archives which are available under http://sourceforge.net/mailarchive/forum.php?forum=dccss-devel or by sending an email to <dccss-devel@lists.sourceforge.net>.


12.3.1. Subscribe

How to subscribe to the dccss-devel mailing list.

  1. Browse to http://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/dccss-devel.

  2. Locate the section "Subscribing to Dccss-devel"

  3. Enter your email address to the field "Your email address:"

  4. Enter a new password, but not a valuable one to the field "Pick a password:".

  5. Repeat the password in the field "Reenter password to confirm"

  6. Leave the setting "Would you like to receive list mail batched in a daily digest?" as "No".

  7. Wait until you receive the confirmation email.

  8. Answer the confirmation email. Don't change the subject of the confirmation email.

  9. You will receive a mail welcoming you to the list.

  10. You can communicate with the other dccss-devel subscribers now by sending email to dccss-devel@lists.sourceforge.net.


12.4. Support Tracker

The bug and support trackers are available through the DCCSS website, http://dccss.sourceforge.net .

[Caution] Caution

Please make sure that you look at all support requests, not only the open ones.


12.5. Bug Reports

When submitting bug reports or support requests, try to be verbose. This will allow the administrators or developers to reproduce the problem quickly and resolve it.

There are a few parameters that should always be included when submitting a bug report or support request:

  • The DCCSS version. The version number can be found in the top line of the application, along with the main menu link. Example: DCCSS 0.0.1

  • The user name used to log on to the application. The user name can be found in the top line of the application in the Log off link.

  • Error messages. If the system is issuing any error messages, please include these messages in your report. Try to insert the error messages as text, not as screenshots because text can be found in search engines.

  • Give a short description of what you were trying to do and how you expect the application to react. Describe what the application is doing wrong.


13. Feedback

The DCCSS application needs your ideas for improvement. Please submit your comments to the developers, either by email of through the RFE (Request For Enhancement) tracker on the project website.