· First Look Pro Preferences
First Look Pro contains a number of options that can be configured by the user, customizing how the program functions. Only users with authority to go into Edit Mode can set First Look Pro Preferences. To access the Preferences window, go into Edit Mode and select Preferences from the File Menu. The preferences dialog is split into four sections: General, Users, Screen Text, and Dispatch.
General Settings
General Settings is where you set preferences for file paths, default department information, and default program prompts.
Fire Department Name: Displays the Department ID that you entered upon initial installation of First Look Pro.
Default City: The default city information that you want to be automatically added to each new record. If this field is left blank, the city field will not be automatically filled in when you create a new record.
Default State: The default state information that you want to be automatically added to each new record. If this field is left blank, the state field will not be automatically filled in when you create a new record.
Default Zip/Postal Code: The default Zip/Postal Code information you want to be automatically added to each new record. If this field is left blank, the zip code field will not be automatically filled in when you create a new record.
Default Sort: Sets the default method on the Sort dialog box; you can select from Preplan ID, Occupant, or Address from the drop-down menu. This is only the initial sort method, the sort method can always be changed from the Sort dialog box.
Use Image Compression: Check-mark this option to automatically compress all images imported into First Look Pro.
Fire Flow Method: You can select the desired Fire Flow method – either the Iowa State University method or the National Fire Academy method. For more information, refer to the Fire Flow GPM Calculator topic.
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Startup Preferences: For users who have Administrator authority, you can select whether the Fire or Police screens will display when you first launch First Look Pro.
Prompting Options: Under some circumstances, First Look Pro will issue the user a warning, such as if you try to create a record with a PrePlan ID that has already been used on another record. Here you can check-mark these options to turn prevent these warning boxes from appearing.
Save: Click Save to save and apply any changes you have made to the General First Look Pro Preferences.
User Settings
The User Settings screen is where you add and manage your First Look Pro users. All users are allowed to view First Look Pro records, but they must have been given Administrator authority before they can edit records. Administrator authority is assigned on this screen.
User Name: The first time you enter this screen, it is ready for you to create a new user. To create a user:
1) Click in the User Name box and enter the name of the first user. Names can be between 4 and 20 letters long. User names are not case sensitive.
2) Enter that user’s password and confirm it in the second password box. Passwords are case sensitive.
3) Select whether that user is a Fire or Police user.
4) Select whether that user has Administrator privileges. Only Administrators can edit First Look Pro data and can use the Database Management tools. Administrators can also switch between the fire and police screens.
5) Click Save to save this user.
6) Click New to add another user.
Login Mode: Marking these options determines when users must enter their login user name and password.
The “All users must log-in” option requires that every user enter their User Name and Password when first opening First Look Pro. This means you must log in before you can even view your preplans. For security reasons, you may want to use this option if your First Look Pro database contains sensitive information.
The “View Mode ALWAYS accessible…” option allows anyone to open First Look Pro and view the records without logging in. This means even people who are not entered as a First Look Pro user can view your pre-plans. This mode has been requested for use on mobile computers where it may be desirable for all personnel to be able to view the information contained in your pre-plans. If someone viewing records tries to enter Edit Mode, they are prompted to enter the User Name and Password of someone with First Look Pro Administrator privileges before they can continue.
There are also Login and Logout commands on the Help Menu.
Screen Text Settings
The Screen Text options allow you to edit many of the labels and Tool Tips that are displayed on the First Look Pro screens. For example, if you didn’t like the label “Occupant” on the main screen you could change it to be “Building” instead.
All of the Screen Text values that you can change are divided into individual tabs related to the different areas of the program screen. Click one of the tabs to see all that you can change for that category. Descriptions that start with “btn” are buttons and only their Tool Tips can be changed. Descriptions that start with “lbl” are labels for fields.
Many of the buttons in First Look Pro are graphical images and the text on them can not be changed, like the Access, Structure, H20 buttons along the left side of the screen. You can, however, use this Screen Text window to change the Tool Tips on most graphical buttons. Tool Tips are the small help bubbles that appear when you place your mouse over a button, showing a description of that button.
To change a screen label, such as the word “Occupant” on the main screen:
1.
Click the tab that
corresponds to the area of the program with the screen text you want to
change.
2. Scroll through the description labels until you find the label you want to change.
3. Click in the Text field for that label and type the text you want to be displayed on the screen, in this case, the word Building.
4. Click the Save button to save the changes made to the screen text.
5. You can use this method to continue changing other labels. When you are finished making your changes, click the Save & Exit button at the upper-left of the screen. This will exit the Preferences screen and return to the main First Look Pro screen where you should see your new labels.
You use this same method to change one of the Tool Tips associated with a button, except you edit the text in the ToolTip column. Tool Tips are the help bubbles that show up when you place your mouse.
Dispatch Settings
If your department uses a wireless dispatch system to send call information to the mobile computers in your vehicles, you may be able to take advantage of the remote dispatch feature in First Look Pro. This feature allows the First Look Pro in your vehicles to automatically navigate to a specific occupancy record that is read from a file sent by the dispatch software.
The dispatch settings are found on the First Look Pro Preferences screen. There is a pull-down list of certain dispatch vendors, such as Northrop-Grumman and Motorola, for which First Look Pro is already configured. If you do not see your dispatch vendor listed here, have them contact The CAD Zone to learn how they can work with First Look Pro.
Remote Dispatch
To use the First Look Pro Remote Dispatch option:
1) From the File pull-down menu, select Preferences.
2) Click the Dispatch button.
3) Check the box beside Enable Remote Dispatch to turn it on.
4) Select your dispatch vendor from the drop-down list.
5) Browse to the target file (defined below) provided by your dispatch vendor which First Look Pro will need to read.
6) Enter the TCP/IP port being used, if required.
7) Select whether to activate (display) First Look Pro or First Look Pro Map first whenever an address is received from dispatch.
8) Click the Save icon at the upper-left of the Preferences window to save the settings and exit Preferences.
Here are more details on the various options on this screen.
Target File: A file supplied by the dispatch company which lists the exact address of the location for the call. You need to know where the dispatch software is writing this file on the mobile computer’s hard disk. Use the browse (folder) icon to navigate to the location of this file.
Dispatch System: Choose your dispatch system from the drop-down menu. If you do not see your dispatch company displayed in the list, have your dispatch vendor contact The CAD Zone find out how they can become compatible with First Look Pro.
TCP/IP Port: The port that is being used to receive data from your dispatch software. Not all dispatch vendors use this method of providing data to First Look Pro, so this information may not apply to you.
Activate FLP/ Activate Map: Click the radio button to choose which application is displayed (remains “on top”) whenever an address is received from dispatch.
Warn if dispatch address not found: When your dispatch system sends an address, First Look Pro searches the database and tries to display that occupant record. If the occupant is not found in the First Look Pro database, a message is displayed telling you the record could not be found. You then have the chance to search for it manually, based on the address that First Look Pro received. You can choose to turn this message off, but then you will not know when First Look Pro was unable to find an address.
Export FLP Record
The Export FLP Record option is essentially the opposite of Remote Dispatch. In this case, First Look Pro is exporting it’s current address record information out to a file which is being read by some other program. For example, the Incident Command program, FIT-Notes, reads occupant information from a file created by First Look Pro. To create this integration with FIT-Notes, you must set it up here.
To tell First Look Pro to create an export file:
1) From the File pull-down menu, select Preferences.
2) Click the Dispatch button.
3) Check the box beside Enable Output File Creation to turn it on.
4) Select your Receiving Application from the drop-down list.
5) Browse to the directory (folder) provided by your vendor where First Look Pro should place the file being exported.
6) Enter the filename, or select it from the drop-down list.
7) Click the Save icon at the upper-left of the Preferences window.
Enable Output File Creation: Check this option to create an output file in an .XML format. The .XML file can be used by other applications (such as FIT Notes) to import information supplied by First Look Pro.
Receiving Application: Choose the desired application from the drop-down menu. If you do not see your software displayed in the list, have your vendor contact The CAD Zone to see how they become compatible with First Look Pro.
Directory: Specify the directory (folder) where the file First Look Pro exports is to be saved. Use the browse (folder) icon to navigate to the desired location on your hard disk.
Export File Name: Type the file name of the .XML file being exported by First Look Pro, or select it from the drop-down list.
Save: Click Save to save and apply any changes you have made to the General First Look Pro Preferences.
