| OfficeSync® FAQ |
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| 1. What is OfficeSync? |
| 2. What are the advantages? |
| 3. How does it work? |
| 4. Can I use my own cell phone with OfficeSync? |
| 5. What happens if I am out of cellular range? |
| 6. What can I do with OfficeSync? |
| 7. What are the system requirements? |
| 8. How do I start using OfficeSync? |
| 9. What kind of hand-held devices are supported? |
| 10. Who do I contact if I have a billing question? |
| 11. Is there a cost for the software? |
| 12. How many OfficeSync users can I have? |
| 13. What about Firewalls and Proxy Servers? |
| 14. What about drivers for the modem? |
| 15. I collect data On-Board the instrument or GPS. Can I use it? |
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| 1. What is OfficeSync®? - OfficeSync is a software and communication service for survey and engineering companies. It enables field crews to transmit data direct from their existing data collector to the office without leaving the job site, saving valuable time and greatly increasing productivity. OfficeSync eliminates unnecessary travel time and provides field crews, engineers and project managers with the information they need, when they need it, to do their jobs more effectively. |
| 2. What are the advantages? - The advantages of using OfficeSync® are numerous. The most significant advantage is how much time it saves and the flexibility convenience that it introduces to your work processes. |
| 3. How does it work? -OfficeSync® uses cellular networks and the Internet to communicate between office staff and field crews through a data server called the OfficeSync Gateway*. The Gateway is an Interagent that manages jobs and queues job files that are awaiting upload or download. |
| 4. Can I use my own cell phone with OfficeSync®? - Perhaps, provided that you have a data-ready cellular phone and have a service contract that includes data services. If you can browse the Web with your current phone, then chances are you may be able to use it with OfficeSync. You will also need to purchase a serial port adapter cable that connects your data collector to your particular type of phone. Many older cellular phones are not "internet ready". The most reliable option is the OfficeSync Field Kit which comes in a rugged weatherproof case with a fully activated and ready-to-go modem. Since we supply the hardware, we support the kit. Support cannot be provided for personal cellular connections, because there are too many models of cell phones and providers. |
| 5. What happens if I am out of cellular range? - OfficeSync® is designed to handle disruptions in cellular coverage. If you are out of range, you can set OfficeSync to automatically send or receive files as soon as service becomes available. If you are working in locations where you will never have any cellular coverage, you should be able to use OfficeSync with a satellite phone, but we have not yet tested this capability. |
| 6. What can I do with OfficeSync®? - With OfficeSync you can send electronic files of any type between the field and the office, so that your entire team is working together in real time. You eliminate the "down time" of your crews needing to personally deliver files. |
| 7. What are the system requirements? - OfficeSync® can run on many hand-held devices running Windows CE or Pocket PC and on any desktop PC, notebook or Tablet PC running Windows 98, ME, 2000, NT or XP. Office computers need access to the Internet via a local area network or dial up connection. OfficeSync includes a high-speed cellular modem (The Field Kit) that you can use to connect your devices to the Internet in the field, or anywhere cellular coverage is available. |
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| 8. How do I start using OfficeSync®? -Visit www.officesync.com or call MicroSurvey Software at (800) 668-3312. Choose the service plan that meets your needs and tell us how many survey crews will be using Field Connect concurrently, (you will need a field kit for each crew). |
| 9. What kind of hand-held devices are supported? - Many devices that run Windows CE or Pocket PC. See the list here. |
| 10. Who do I contact if I have a billing question? - Please call MicroSurvey Software at (800) 668-3312 |
| 11. Is there a cost for the software? - The OfficeSync® software is included with the service, and can be installed on as many devices and computers as you require. You will need to subscribe to one of four monthly plans in order to activate the OfficeSync service. |
| 12. How many OfficeSync® users can I have? - As many as you need, there are no "seat licenses", so you can install OfficeSync software on as many computers and hand-held devices as required for your operations. |
| 13. What about Firewalls and Proxy Servers? - We designed OfficeSync® so nothing is "pushed" from the Gateway to your local machine. Everything is pulled down from the Gateway to your machine. No external requests or pings are sent from out side of your office to an internal machine. The Job Monitor can be set to check for jobs on a regular basis by polling the Gateway. This is much safer than trying to push this information from an external site. We designed the system to work smoothly without having to make changes to most Firewalls or Proxy Servers. If you are using Microsoft ISA Server (Internet Security & Acceleration), then we have special instructions on how to set it up. |
| 14. What about drivers for the modem? - Field Connect with the Field Kit uses the standard "Hayes Modem on COM1:" driver that is available on all Windows CE and Pocket PC devices. No special drivers need to be installed on the devices to control the modem. |
| 15. I collect data On-Board the instrument or GPS. Can I use it? - Absolutely! Field Connect is a file transfer system. Many instruments or GPS receivers store data on Compact Flash cards. If you can insert the CF card into a PDA that is running Field Connect, you can send or receive data files. All you need is a standard Windows Pocket PC PDA that has a CF slot, and it would also help if it has a Secure Digital slot too. That way, we can install the Field Connect program onto the SD card so if the battery goes dead the program will still be Ok. The data to transfer can be sent from the CF card using our Field Kit package. A good example of a device with these capabilities is the HP iPAQ 2215. |
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