Journyx Timesheet v5.5 provides your organization with the ability to allow users who are not connected to the internet or your company intranet to track their time, mileage and expenses. Additionally, users whose roles allow them to create projects may create projects while in a disconnected state as well.
The ability to use Timesheet while not directly connected to the Timesheet server is provided by the Disconnected Client module. The setup and use of this module is discussed fully in this section. Certain settings must be implemented on the server side before this module can be implemented. These configuration issue will be covered first. This document will then describe the disconnected client functionality from the client side, discussing the procedures for using the Disconnected Client module to create projects and track time, mileage and expenses while actually disconnected.
Please Note: For the Disconnected Client module to function properly, an email account capable of sending and receiving emails must be created in your organization's email system for Timesheet. Timesheet uses this account to send outbound DC forms emails and to process incoming DC forms emails. This account must be created and in place before you begin to configure and use the Disconnected Client module. Journyx recommends creating a new mail account named Discon in your organization's email system for this purpose. The password for this account may be anything your organization chooses. The mail account name and password must be entered in the Disconnected Client Basic section of the Global Preferences of Timesheet.
Timesheet Server Configuration
Before the Disconnected Client module can be used, you must access and modify the Disconnected Client portion of Timesheet's Global Preferences to specify the outbound and incoming mail server names and ports. Additionally, you should ensure that each user who will be using the disconnected client features has an email address assigned to him via the User Modification feature of Timesheet. Without an assigned email address, users will be required to enter a valid email address each time they request offline forms.
Global Preferences: Disconnected Client Basic
The Disconnected Client Basic portion of the Global Preferences modification screen provides access to the following settings for the Disconnected Client module:
- Disconnected Client Basic Settings, including:
- Address for DC Forms to be submitted to
- Minutes between submission checks
- Project form first toggle
- Email address validator toggle
- Disconnected Client Mail Text settings, including:
- Subject line prefix for DC form emails
- Body text for DC form emails
- Disconnected Client Mail Sending settings, including:
- DC Form sender name and email
- SMTP server name
- SMTP port
- Form encoding method
- Outgoing mail user agent
- Disconnected Client Mail Receiving settings, including:
- Incoming mail server type
- Incoming mail account name
- Incoming mail account password
- Incoming mail server name
- Incoming mail port
- Incoming mail folder
Each of these settings is explained in detail below.
Disconnected Client Basic Settings
- User DC forms are submitted to this address
This option allows you to specify the address to which all Disconnected Client forms will be sent. You may modify this text as required by your organization; however, please note that the mailto: tag must remain part of this field or the DC functions in Timesheet v5.5 will not function properly. The default value for this option, mailto:changeme@yourhost, must be changed before your user will be able to work with the Disconnected Client features of Timesheet.
- How many minutes between new submission checks
This option allows you to specify the number of minutes that Timesheet waits between checks for newly submitted DC Forms. You may modify this option as required by your organization. The default value for this option is 2 minutes.
- Force Project Form To Be Submitted First
This option allows you to specify whether or not a DC User must submit any outstanding Project Creation Forms before submitting any outstanding Time, Expense or Mileage Entry forms. Journyx recommends that this option always be left set to "yes" to ensure that no errors occur due to Time, Expense or Mileage records being submitted and logged against a newly created DC Project that has not yet be logged into the Timesheet database. The default value for this field is yes.
- Force Email Addresses To Pass Validator
This option allows you to configure Timesheet to check each incoming DC Form's "From" address to confirm that it is a valid email address. This option serves as an additional level of security for the Disconnected Client process. You may change the status of this option as required by your organization. The default value for this option is yes.
Disconnected Client Mail Text Settings
- Subject line prefix for DC form emails
This option allows you to specify the text that will appear in the Subject line of each email Timesheet sends that contains a disconnected client form. You may modify this text as required by your organization. The default text for this field is: JTime DC.
- Body text for DC form emails
This option allows you to specify the text that will appear in the Body of each email Timesheet sends that contains a disconnected client form. You may modify this text as required by your organization. The default text for this field is: Please open these HTML attachments in your web browser by double-clicking on them. This is a multi-part message in MIME format with base64 encodings. (Your mail reader should be able to figure this out automatically.)
Please Note: If you change the encoding method (see below), you should change the information on the encoding method used contained within this text.
Disconnected Client Mail Sending Settings
- DC Form sender name and email
This option allows you to specify the name and email address that will be displayed in the From line of each email Timesheet sends that is related to the disconnected client module. You may change modify this text as required by your organization. The default text for this field is: Journyx Timesheets <discon@journyx.com>
- SMTP server name
This option allows you to specify the name of the SMTP (outgoing) mail server that Timesheet will use when sending emails related to the disconnected client module. You may modify this text as required by your organization. The default value for this field is: smtp
- SMTP port
This option allows you to specify the port used by the SMTP (outgoing) mail server that Timesheet will use when sending emails related to the disconnected client module. You may modify this text as required by your organization. The default value for this field is: 25
- Form encoding method
This option allows you to specify which encoding method Timesheet will use when sending emails related to the disconnected client module. While future versions of Timesheet will support alternate encoding methods, Timesheet supports only one encoding method: base64. More information on the base64 encoding method can be found at the following URL: ftp://ftp.isi.edu/in-notes/rfc1421.txt
- Outgoing mail user agent
This option allows you to specify which mail client is shown as the sender of outbound Disconnected Client forms emails. The default value is Journyx Disconnected Client Mailer
Disconnected Client Mail Receiving Settings
- Incoming mail server type
This option allows you to specify which type of incoming mail server Timesheet will use to receive incoming disconnected client emails. The two options are:
- Incoming mail account name
This option allows you to specify the name for the incoming mail account that Timesheet will use to receive incoming disconnected client emails. You may change modify this text as required by your organization. The default text for this field is: discon
- Incoming mail account password
This option allows you to specify the password for the incoming mail account that Timesheet will use to receive incoming disconnected client emails. You may change modify this text as required by your organization. The default text for this field is: discon1
- Incoming mail server name
This option allows you to specify the name of the incoming (POP or IMAP) mail server that Timesheet will use when receiving emails related to the disconnected client module. You may modify this text as required by your organization. The default value for this field is: mail
- Incoming mail port
This option allows you to specify the port used by the incoming (POP or IMAP) mail server that Timesheet will use when receiving emails related to the disconnected client module. You may modify this text as required by your organization. The standard port for a POP server is 110. The standard port for an IMAP server is 143. The default value for this field is: 143
- Incoming mail folder
This option, required for IMAP servers only, allows you to specify the mail folder where Timesheet will look for incoming emails related to the disconnected client module. You may modify this text as required by your organization. The default value for this field is: INBOX
After you have made any desired changes to the settings for these options, click the Modify Preference Values button at the bottom of this screen. Timesheet will refresh the Global Preferences/Disconnected Client Basic screen and your changes will now be shown for the values affected.
Global Preferences: Disconnected Client Advanced
The Disconnected Client Advanced portion of the Global Preferences modification screen provides access to the following settings for the Disconnected Client module:
- Disconnected Client User Visible Text Settings, including:
- Request Submit button text
- Retire requests button text
- Instructions that appear at the top of each DC form
- Text to show in front of Approval checkbox
- Time format specifier
- Disconnected Client Advanced Settings, including:
- Number of days after the final period to expire outstanding requests
- Maximum number of messages to be processed per check
- Maximum number of time periods in advance that user can select
- Number of entry slots on DC Timesheet
- Number of entry slots on DC Expense sheet
- Number of entry slots on DC Project sheet
- Number of entry slots on DC Mileage sheet
Each of these settings is explained in detail below.
Disconnected Client User Visible Text Settings
- Request Submit button text
This option allows you to specify the text that will appear within the button that users click to request Disconnected Client forms. You may modify this text as required by your organization. The default value for this field is: Request Forms
- Retire requests button text
This option allows you to specify the text that will appear within the button that users click to retire Disconnected Client forms. You may modify this text as required by your organization. The default value for this field is: Retire these DC requests
- Instructions that appear at the top of each DC form
This option allows you to specify the text that will appear at the top of each Disconnected Client form. You may modify this text as required by your organization. The default value for this field is: Journyx Time Disconnected Client. Please see your Journyx documentation for instructions.
- Text to show in front of Approval checkbox
This option allows you to specify the text that will appear at the to the left of the approval submission checkbox on each Disconnected Client form. You may modify this text as required by your organization. The default value for this field is: Check to submit this form for approval
- Time format specifier
This option allows you to specify the format that Timesheet will use for storing the times associated with each Disconnected Client form. You may modify this format as required by your organization. The default value for this field is: %m/%d/%Y %H:%M:%S. These characters translate as follows:
- %m = month
- %d = day
- %Y = year
- %H = hours
- %M = minutes
- %S = seconds
These characters are simply used to delimit the time and date strings. Therefore, to change the general time format specifier to HH:MM Year/Month/Day, you would change this option to the following: %H:%M %Y/%m/%d.
Disconnected Client Advanced Settings
- Expire requests this many days after the final period
This option allows you specify the number of days that forms remain valid. You may modify this time period as required by your organization. The default number of days for this option is: 28
- Process at most this many mail messages per check
This option allows you to specify a maximum number of Disconnected Client forms that Timesheet will process at any given mail check. You may modify this time period as required by your organization. The default number of days for this option is: 10
- Max number of time periods in advance that user can select
This option allows you to control how far in advance users can request Disconnected Client forms. This option is based on the time period assigned to the user in question. Therefore, if your organization uses several radically different time periods, you may need to consider this option carefully to ensure that users who have longer time periods do not have access to forms that are multiple months out. You may modify this time period as required by your organization. The default number of days for this option is: 8
- Number of entry slots on DC Timesheet
This option allows you to specify the number of blank rows that will be available for time entry on each Disconnected Client Time Entry form. You may modify this number as required by your organization. The default number of lines for this option is: 8
- Number of entry slots on DC Expense sheet
This option allows you to specify the number of blank rows that will be available for expense entry on each Disconnected Client Expense Entry form. You may modify this number as required by your organization. The default number of lines for this option is: 8
- Number of entry slots on DC Project sheet
This option allows you to specify the number of blank rows that will be available for project creation on each Disconnected Client Project form. You may modify this number as required by your organization. The default number of lines for this option is: 8
- Number of entry slots on DC Mileage sheet
This option allows you to specify the number of blank rows that will be available for mileage entry on each Disconnected Client mileage Entry form. You may modify this number as required by your organization. The default number of lines for this option is: 8
Users
For the Disconnected Client module to function properly, each user who is expected to have access to Disconnected Client features must meet three requirements:
- The mail client used by each of these users must be configured to handle HTML attachments via a web browser. Please see the documentation for the mail client used by your organization to ensure that each mail client is properly configured.
- Each user must have an email address configured in the extra user fields portion of user modification. Detailed information on user modification can be found in the Users section of this manual. A brief overview of the process of assigning an email address to a user is outlined below.
- Each user who will access the Disconnected Client features in Timesheet v5.5 must have the DC Access role assigned to him in addition to any other role that he is already assigned.
Assigning An Email Address To A User
- Access the user modification screen by clicking the Users link under the User Management header on the main admin screen
- Select the user(s) in question
- Click the Modify button
- On the Global User Modification screen, click the Go To Extra User Fields button
- On the Extended User Information Entry and Modification screen, enter the users' email address
- Click the Save Changes button
- The Extended User Information Entry and Modification screen will refresh, displaying a green text message confirming the modification of records
- Repeat as necessary to assign an email address to each user who will be accessing the Disconnected Client features of Timesheet.
Disconnected Client User Management
Once all users who will be accessing the Disconnected Client features of Timesheet v5.5 have been configured to function as DC Users, you will need to access the Disconnected Client User Management Screen via the Disconnected Users Management link at the top of the main admin screen.
The DC User Screen provides the Timesheet Administrator with access to all the controls required to effectively implement and manage a successful Disconnected Client environment in Timesheet v5.5. This screen lists each user who has access to the DC functions of Timesheet and provides the following information for each user:
- Login ID
- DC Roles
- Period Length
- Next Period Start Date
- Email Address
- Email Validation Status
- Email Validation enabled?
- Send Forms Now toggle
Using The Disconnected Client Module
The Disconnected Client Module for Journyx Timesheet uses emailed HTML forms to provide users the ability to track time, mileage and expenses while not connected to your organizations' Timesheet server. Additionally, users whose roles allow them to create projects are also able to create projects while disconnected through the use of forms specifically designed for project creation. This section will discuss the process of requesting, working with, and submitting the Disconnected Client forms for each of the four possible disconnected functions.
Please Note: Before the Disconnected Client module will allow users to request forms, each user must access their preference settings via the Preferences button located within the navigation bar that runs across the top and bottom of each screen within Timesheet. Additionally, each user who will be accessing the disconnected client feature must have at least one time record entered into Timesheet before he will be allowed to request disconnected client forms.
The Disconnected Client Form Management Screen
To request Disconnected Client forms, users should follow the Disconnected Client Access link, located under at the top of their admin screen. Timesheet will then display the Disconnected Client Form Management screen, which is used to request Disconnected Client forms, or to monitor open requests and to retire requested forms. Additionally, this screen can be used to make a temporary change to a user's email address for forms mailing purposes.
Outstanding Disconnected Client Requests
The top portion of the Disconnected Client Form Management screen will display information on the outstanding forms associated with each available time period. Each row of the Outstanding Disconnected Client Requests display provides the following information:
- Date Requested
- Number of Outstanding Forms
- Status of this batch (active?)
- Number of replies received
- Have projects been accepted
- Have time/mileage/expense records been accepted
- Have any forms been rejected
- Date of last modification
- Expiration date of forms in this batch
The last column in each row of this display may be used to retire the batch of forms in that row. Retiring a batch of forms tells Timesheet not to accept any further emails from that batch. Please Note: A batch of forms that has been retired will still be displayed under Outstanding Disconnected Client Requests until the system automatically expires old batches. The exact length of time until Timesheet expires old requests is one of the DC Advanced preferences. The default is 28 days after the last period in the request ends. At that time all requests will be deleted from
the system, and no record of the request will be kept. Of course, any actual data submitted by the user from the forms before the expiration time will be kept permanently.
To retire a batch of disconnected client forms, simply select the batch(es) in question and click the Retire These DC Requests button at the bottom of this section.
Choosing Offline Time/Expense/Mileage Forms
The bottom portion of the Disconnected Client Form Management screen provides users the controls needed to request disconnected client forms for time, expense and mileage entry as well as the offline project creation form. Additionally, this section allows the user to specify a different email address for Timesheet to use when sending these forms.
The process of requesting offline forms is outlined below:
- Enter an email address for these forms to be mailed to
Please Note: Entering an email address is only required if the address is different from the address that has been assigned to the user in the extra user fields portion of Timesheet.
- Select each form/time period combination for which you would like to receive disconnected client forms
Please Note: The number of available time periods is determined by your administrator during the Timesheet Disconnected Client Server configuration as discussed above.
- Indicate if you would like to receive the offline project creation form in addition to the offline forms for time, expense and mileage
Please Note: If a user's role does not permit the creation of projects, and your organization has purchased the 'user subprojects' option, requesting a project form will provide them with a form that will allow only the creation of subprojects
- Click the Request Forms button at the bottom of this page
- Timesheet will display the Building Disconnected Client Email page.
This page provides information regarding the email that has been sent. The information provided by this page includes:
- The email address that the Disconnected Client email has been sent to
- The presence or absence of a new projects attachment
- The actual number of attachments contained in the Disconnected Client email
- Confirmation of success on sending the Disconnected Client email
- Click one of the main button bar buttons to return to Timesheet
Working With Disconnected Client Forms
Disconnected Client forms are sent to each requesting user as attachments to a single email message. The forms themselves are HTML files that simulate actual Timesheet pages. Each form's data is stored in a unique cookie that is saved on the computer to which they are sent. Once the email that contains the offline forms has been received, the user can open each form in the web browser of his choice and begin to enter data.
Please Note: While it is perfectly acceptable to launch the forms directly from an email client, Journyx recommends saving each form attachment to your hard drive and working with the forms from that location. This process prevents possible data loss due to unanticipated loss of email. Further, if your organization uses the IMAP mail protocol, saving the email directly to the user's computer guarantees that the attachments will be available when offline rather than remaining on the mail server and thereby defeating the Disconnect Client module's true purpose.
Each of the offline forms functions in almost exactly the same manner as their online counterparts; however, there are just enough differences to warrant a full discussion of how to use them. Each form is discussed in detail below.
Time
The Disconnected Client Time Entry Form appears quite similar to the standard online Timesheet time entry screen. This form remains true to the user's time period and will display only those projects, tasks, pay types and bill types that the requesting user is allowed to see based upon group membership. The process of entering time into this form follows standard time entry procedures exactly.
Any time entries that were in place for the time period that is shown by this form are displayed when this form is viewed. Therefore, if forms are requested at some point during a time period, the time already logged is not lost. It will be logged in Timesheet when the entire form is submitted.
The process of time entry for the Disconnected Client Time Entry Form is exactly the same as the process that the user would follow for entering time when using the standard online Timesheet.
Once time entries have been made for this open session, the user should simply click the Save Work In Progress button at the bottom of this form. Clicking this button saves all time entries and stores them locally in a cookie that will continue to hold this form's data until the form is submitted. Users do not need to be connected to the internet to save time entries. After clicking the Save Work In Progress button, the Disconnected Client will display a popup window confirming the data as saved.
Once all time entry has been completed for the time period covered by this form and the user is certain that no changes will need to be made, the user should connect to the internet and click the Email Completed Timesheet button at the bottom of this form. The Disconnected Client will then prepare to send the form back to the main Timesheet installation. The Disconnected Client will display a popup window asking the user to confirm that they wish to submit this form. The user may confirm this transmission by clicking the OK button in this window. Additionally, most web browsers will display a second message asking the user to confirm that they wish to submit a form via email. After confirming the transmission of this form, the Disconnected Client will submit the hours contained in this form to Timesheet, which will then record this time in the time entry screen for this user for the appropriate time period.
If a user attempts to submit an offline time form after it has already been submitted, the Disconnected Client module will display a popup window reminding him that the form in question has already been submitted.
Please Note: Despite the warning provided by Timesheet when a user attempts to submit an already submitted offline form, users can submit these forms multiple times. Multiple submissions will result in faulty records. Please stress the importance of proper form submission practices to all users who will be working with the Disconnected Client module.
Mileage
The Disconnected Client Mileage Entry Form appears quite similar to the standard online Timesheet Mileage entry screen. This form remains true to the user's time period and will display only those projects, measurements, vehicles and reasons that the requesting user is allowed to see based upon group membership. The process of entering mileage into this form follows standard mileage entry procedures exactly.
Any mileage entries that were in place for the time period that is shown by this form are displayed when this form is viewed. Therefore, if forms are requested at some point during a time period, the mileage already logged is not lost. It will be logged in Timesheet when the entire form is submitted.
The process of mileage entry for the Disconnected Client Mileage Entry Form is exactly the same as the process that the user would follow for entering mileage when using the standard online Timesheet.
Once mileage entries have been made for this open session, the user should simply click the Save Work In Progress button at the bottom of this form. Clicking this button saves all mileage entries and stores them locally in a cookie that will continue to hold this form's data until the form is submitted. Users do not need to be connected to the internet to save mileage entries. After clicking the Save Work In Progress button, the Disconnected Client will display a popup window confirming the data as saved.
Once all mileage entry has been completed for the time period covered by this form and the user is certain that no changes will need to be made, the user should connect to the internet and click the Email Completed Timesheet button at the bottom of this form. The Disconnected Client will then prepare to send the form back to the main Timesheet installation. The Disconnected Client will display a popup window asking the user to confirm that they wish to submit this form. The user may confirm this transmission by clicking the OK button in this window. Additionally, most web browsers will display a second message asking the user to confirm that they wish to submit a form via email. After confirming the transmission of this form, the Disconnected Client will submit the mileage contained in this form to Timesheet, which will then record this mileage in the mileage entry screen for this user for the appropriate time period.
If a user attempts to submit an offline mileage form after it has already been submitted, the Disconnected Client module will display a popup window reminding him that the form in question has already been submitted.
Please Note: Despite the warning provided by Timesheet when a user attempts to submit an already submitted offline form, users can submit these forms multiple times. Multiple submissions will result in faulty records. Please stress the importance of proper form submission practices to all users who will be working with the Disconnected Client module.
Expenses
The Disconnected Client Expense Entry Form appears quite similar to the standard online Timesheet expense entry screen. This form remains true to the user's time period and will display only those projects, expense codes, sources and currencies that the requesting user is allowed to see based upon group membership. The process of entering expense into this form follows standard expense entry procedures exactly.
Any expense entries that were in place for the expense period that is shown by this form are displayed when this form is viewed. Therefore, if forms are requested at some point during a time period, the expenses already logged is not lost. It will be logged in Timesheet when the entire form is submitted.
The process of expense entry for the Disconnected Client expense Entry Form is exactly the same as the process that the user would follow for entering expense when using the standard online Timesheet.
Once expense entries have been made for this open session, the user should simply click the Save Work In Progress button at the bottom of this form. Clicking this button saves all expense entries and stores them locally in a cookie that will continue to hold this form's data until the form is submitted. Users do not need to be connected to the internet to save expense entries. After clicking the Save Work In Progress button, the Disconnected Client will display a popup window confirming the data as saved.
Once all expense entry has been completed for the time period covered by this form and the user is certain that no changes will need to be made, the user should connect to the internet and click the Email Completed Timesheet button at the bottom of this form. The Disconnected Client will then prepare to send the form back to the main Timesheet installation. The Disconnected Client will display a popup window asking the user to confirm that they wish to submit this form. The user may confirm this transmission by clicking the OK button in this window. Additionally, most web browsers will display a second message asking the user to confirm that they wish to submit a form via email. After confirming the transmission of this form, the Disconnected Client will submit the expenses contained in this form to Timesheet, which will then record this expense in the expense entry screen for this user for the appropriate time period.
If a user attempts to submit an offline expense form after it has already been submitted, the Disconnected Client module will display a popup window reminding him that the form in question has already been submitted.
Please Note: Despite the warning provided by Timesheet when a user attempts to submit an already submitted offline form, users can submit these forms multiple times. Multiple submissions will result in doubled records for time, mileage or expense entries. Multiple submissions of project forms will not cause any errors. Please stress the importance of proper form submission practices to all users who will be working with the Disconnected Client module.
Projects
The Disconnected Client Project Creation Form appears quite similar to the standard online Timesheet project creation screen. The process of creating projects using this form follows standard online project creation procedures exactly.
The existing viewable project hierarchy is displayed at the top of this form, providing users with a complete picture of the existing project tree structure. This view is limited to the projects that are viewable by this user based on group membership.
Please Note: Projects created using the offline project creation form will be available for time, mileage and expense tracking immediately, including use by the creating user in his open offline time, mileage and expense forms. However, these projects will not appear as part of the project hierarchy in the currently active project creation form. Further, these projects will not be available in your organization's online Timesheet installation until this project creation form has been submitted and processed. Finally, these projects will not appear in any other users currently open offline forms. These projects will be available to other users only after this project creation form has been submitted and processed by Timesheet.
Once all offline project creation has been completed and the user is certain that no further projects will need to be created, the user should connect to the internet and click the Submit New Projects Email button at the bottom of this form. The Disconnected Client will then prepare to send the form back to the main Timesheet installation. The Disconnected Client will display a popup window asking the user to confirm that they wish to submit this form. The user may confirm this transmission by clicking the OK button in this window. Additionally, most web browsers will display a second message asking the user to confirm that they wish to submit a form via email. After confirming the transmission of this form, the Disconnected Client will submit the projects contained in this form to Timesheet, which will then record these projects in the projects screen of the online Timesheet installation.
If a user attempts to submit an offline project creation form after it has already been submitted, the Disconnected Client module will display a popup window reminding him that the form in question has already been submitted.
Please Note: Despite the warning provided by Timesheet when a user attempts to submit an already submitted offline form, users can submit these forms multiple times. Multiple submissions will result in faulty records. Please stress the importance of proper form submission practices to all users who will be working with the Disconnected Client module.