While not a comprehensive guide, this short video should give you a good sense of where to find most of the major components that you can utilize within your Drive Axle account. Please note that there have been some changes to they way Drive Axle looks since the video has been recorded.


Resources Mentioned in the Video


Managing Your App

We have created the "Managing Your App" guide  based on documentation provided by Eleos, to which we added up to date information and links to all of our relevant documentation for additional guidance. This document will provide an overview of how to configure and administer different features of your Mobile App. Below you will also find the "Managing Your App" guide attached.  


Overview and Table of Contents

This document will provide an overview on how to configure and administer different features of your Mobile App from the App Manager and Document Hub in Drive Axle. Those features consist of:

Environments

As the project gets underway, there are two key environments: Sandbox and Live. Sandbox will be used for development and testing, and this is the environment the project will start with. The Live environment is a production environment that will be used for the pilot and launch of your app. This two-environment approach will be very helpful once you start your pilot and then launch as you will then have access to a development/test environment without impacting your drivers.  Keep in mind that not all companies will have a sandbox environment, sometimes there is only the production environment. It is also possible for companies to have multiple environments for different divisions, as well as sandbox environments for each division. You can see what environment you are currently in on the banner at the top of the page and what environments are available by clicking on the downward facing arrow next to the environment name (highlighted below): 


App Manager

The App Manager section of Drive Axle is where some of the app content lives and is where different aspects of the application are configured.  


Home

Under the Home tab, you are able view usage metrics for your Eleos Platform mobile applications. Note that viewing the metrics in the Home page requires the “App Configuration” or “Content Management” permission level that can be granted by visiting Document Hub > Users.  App usage metrics include users logged in, users who have scanned, users navigating, and users trip planning. The “Users Navigating” metric represents drivers using turn-by-turn navigation, while “Users Trip Planning” represents drivers accessing Trip Planner. Scanning metrics include # of documents scanned and # of pages scanned. 

 


You can adjust the Aggregation and DateRange for the graphs by clicking the black triangle to the right of the “FILTERS” menu item, select new option(s), and click “APPLY”.

 

Other metrics that are available to you are in the Detailed User Activity table, which lists each active user, their OS version, mobile app version, last time logged in, etc. Finally, the Eleos Platform metrics also shows user engagement for videos and news items.  


App Content

News

Under the News section, you're able to create news items for propagation to the mobile device as well as create multiple news feeds if needed. News feed items can appear in the application under the News section of the Menu, or on a Dashboard Placard titled news. A News placard on the Dashboard syncs to the news feed that the placard is defined with, so a feed must be linked in order for it to show in the app. We have documentation available in our Knowledge Base if you want to learn more about adding news items to your application: Drive Axle - Adding a News Item.


You can create a new News Feed by clicking the “+ Add a News Feed” option above the “Default News Feed” beneath the search pane, give it a Name, and then click “Save”:

 


You can also copy any News Item from one feed to another feed easily. To do so, find the News Item you want copied and click “Copy”, select the feed you want it copied to (Prospective Driver in the example below), and then click the “Copy” button


*The purpose of multiple News Feeds is to provide different news items to the various types of application users. To employ additional News Feeds on the phone for a given user, please visit Eleos' Development Documentation that covers Authentication: http://dev.eleostech.com/platform/. It is worth noting that each user can ONLY see ONE news feed at a time. Therefore, if a News Item should be viewable by ALL users, the News Item would have to be created and then copied into each subsequent News Feed. 


Media Libraries

For instructions on how to add a media library, please see our article: Drive Axle - Creating and Adding a Media Library to a Menu.


Messages

If the messaging feature is turned on for your environment, you can see past messages that drivers have received and can send a message to individual drivers that are using the app.  


Once you search for a driver/user and select one, you will have the option to start a new threaded conversation by clicking “Start a new conversation” or participate in one that has already been started by clicking on it:

 


 


For more information on how to message drivers in Drive Axle or by using email, please see our article, Eleos - Using the ASR Email Messaging Feature. 


Agreement Logs

Drivers can confirm they are not driving a vehicle by tapping "I am not driving a vehicle." This will record their confirmation and allow access to the app. Under App Content > Agreement Logs, you can download a record of these overrides from the App Manager.


App Configuration

Actions

Under the App Configuration > Actions tab, you can create and manage Actions which can be placed in an info card on the app dashboard, or can be on loads as workflow actions, for example.  An Action is a button that the driver presses to signify that an activity has been completed. There are many distinct types of Actions, which can have the capability of opening a form to fill out and submit, opening different applications, opening web browsers, opening a new screen, scanning a document, or calling a phone number. 


The layout of Actions editor is comprised of 3 sections:

1.    List of Actions - this lists all Actions available to use in app with the ability to “+Add an action”.

2.    Action Preview - this reveals the preview for the selected Action.

3.    Action Definition - this reveals the definition of the selected Action.


List of Actions
Action Preview 
Action Definition

       

In the Action Definition, you also can copy an action so that you can use the action in other Drive Axle environments without starting over. To Copy an Action, click the copy button, then choose from the drop-down list which environment you would like to copy the action to. The action will be available to use in the selected environment. There is also a button to Archive the action if needed, which can be found at the top of the Action Definition, above the Save button.


Custom Screens

Under the App Configuration > Custom Screens tab, you can create and manage Custom Screens which can be placed in app.  Custom screens can be embedded in the Menu, for direct access, or can be defined within an Action so that the custom screen opens when the Action button is clicked. Custom Screens are a way to link multiple forms, or interactions together to be accessed within a single button click. Custom Screens include, but are not limited to, the following general use cases:


  1. Display static text for the user to read and understand
  2. Call a specific phone number - launches the phone dialer and dials a number
  3. Send pictures - launches the phone camera to take pictures (or select from camera roll)
  4. Scan document - launches the scan document camera to scan document. 
  5. Open a form (aka message or macro) that the user fills out and submits (can be sent to your system via web service integration or in body of email)
  6. Open a specific webpage in the embedded browser

The layout of Custom Screens is comprised of 3 sections:

  1. List of Screens - this lists all Screens available to the app with the ability to “+Add a screen”.
  2. Screen Definition - this reveals the definition for the selected Screen and the ability to “Add an action”.
  3. Action Definition – this reveals the definition of the selected Action.

        

List of Screens
Screen Definition
Action Definition


Custom Screens can also be archived using the Archive button above the Action Definition and Save button. For more information about creating custom screens, see our article, Drive Axle - Creating and Linking to Custom Screens.


Dashboards

Under the App Configuration > Dashboards tab, you can create and edit the App Dashboard that show up for your users of the App, as an alternative to defining these in your Integration Project code. Examples of cards that you can add, remove, or rearrange are Info, News, HOS, Loads, Messages, My Truck, and ToDos. Adding/editing a Dashboard in Drive Axle requires the App Configuration permissions (which is the same permissions which are required for Forms and Screens). Dashboards can also be Archived using the Archive button located above the Save button.


The layout of the Dashboard editor is comprised of 3 sections: 

  1. List of Dashboards – this lists all Dashboards available which you can employ in your mobile app.
  2. Dashboard Definition – this reveals the definition for the selected Dashboard.
  3. Card Configuration – this reveals the configuration of the selected card for the selected Dashboard.


List of Dashboards
Dashboard Definition
 Card Configuration

Cards on the dashboard can be reordered by clicking on the dots next to the name of the card, and then dragging up or down. You can also reorder the cards by clicking “Move Up” or “Move Down” in the card definition.  This will change the order of how the placards appear in the application. If the device shows 2 columns of placards on the driver’s dashboard, the cards, starting at the top of the screen, will appear in order from left to right in the same order they are listed in the dashboard definition.  The below screenshot shows how the cards will appear on the dashboard that is defined in the above screenshots:

 


For more information about creating and customizing Dashboards, see our article, Drive Axle - How To Add A Dashboard, and the Eleos – Dashboard Interpreter Feature.  


Your authentication response can either specify a dashboard defined using the editor, or it can specify a user-specific dashboard. For example, your services can return an editable dashboard for most users, but a specific, programmatically defined dashboard for a select group of users. 


Doc Types

Under the App Configuration > Doc Types tab, you can create and edit document types that can be added to metadata forms which can then be associated with scan flows. This means you can create document types that will specify the characteristics of the documents your drivers will send. 


There are 5 columns that define the characteristics of each document type:

  1. Name - The name of the document type (“Bill of Lading”, “Fuel Receipt”, etc.)
  2. Page Limit - The maximum number of pages that can be scanned for the document.  By setting the Page Limit to “1”, the drivers will not see the button to “Add Page” for that document type when scanning.
  3. Image Type - can be set to either “Black & White” or “Color”
  4. Hide Thumbnail - if this is set, when a document of this type is sent, in the sent documents list the document’s thumbnail will just be an image of a lock (mostly used for secure documents)
  5. Deactivated - if this is set, the document type will not be an option available in a metadata form, meaning it should not appear in the app when choosing a document type for a scan

There are three main components that go into implementing the document types:

  1. The document type(s)
  2. The metadata form (which contains the desired document type(s))
  3. The scan flow (which is associated with the metadata form)

The first step to utilizing the document types is to create a document type. From the Doc Types page, scroll down to the bottom, there should be an empty name field allowing you to enter the name of the new document type. Be careful when entering the name of the document type and double-check before saving, because once created, document types can only be archived and cannot be deleted. 


Fill the Page Limit, Image Type, and Hide Thumbnail fields as desired. The Image Type configuration and lower drop-down toggles for API Integration File Formats also allows you to customize how the image will be received by the integration. For Image Type there is Color or Black and White. The API Integration File Formats are typically setup by your implementor and should not be changed without consulting first since changing it will change the way we receive the documents and how the Document Poller processes them.


Now you need to create the metadata form, which will contain the document type (and any other available types you desire). To do this, go to the App Configuration > Forms tab, and create a new form. Click Add a Field and make the Type of this field Document Type (When you do this, if a red error appears below the box, simply click “Fix This”). Then you should see all the document types (that are not marked as Deactivated) that appear in Doc Types tab previously visited, including the new document type that was just created. Check the box next to the document types that you wish to include in the metadata form. Give the form a memorable name and code, then save the changes. For drivers to access this form and complete the scan, the form must be associated with an Action or a Menu item.


Finally, you need to create a new Scan Flow item (or you can use one that is already created) that will utilize the metadata form. Go to the App Configuration > Menus tab and click Add a Menu or use an existing one. Then click “Add a menu item” and set the Type to Scan Flow. Then use the drop down under Metadata Form and select the metadata form you had created earlier. 


After doing all this, when a driver is in the app, and they select the scan flow you had modified/created they should be prompted to select a document type from the available document type(s) you selected in the metadata form. Whenever you add a new document type in the Doc Types tab or if you mark one deactivated, you will need to update these changes in the metadata form for the changes to be reflected within the app.


Forms

Under the App Configuration > Forms tab, you are able to create and manage mobile message forms. Forms can be placed in many places throughout the app: the Main Menu, from a Load, from an Activity Screen, and can be called by an action.


The layout of the Forms editor is comprised of 3 sections: 

  1. List of Forms – this lists all forms available in your mobile app.
  2. Form Definition – this reveals the definition for the selected form.
  3. Field Definition – this reveals the definition of the selected field from the selected form.
     
List of Forms
Form Definition
Field Definition

           

Fields in the form definition can be reordered by clicking on the dots next to the field name and dragging it up or down. You can also reorder the fields by clicking “Move Up” or “Move Down” in the field definition.  If a form field has a type of “Option List” you can reorder the options in that list by clicking on the dots next to an option and dragging it up or down, in the same way that the form fields can be reordered:



 Drive Axle will also show if the form is referenced by Actions, Custom Screens, or Menus and will show specifically which item is referencing the form, as shown in the screenshot to the right. Above the Field Definition for forms, users have the ability to Archive the form if needed, or to Copy the form, as can be done with Actions. To Copy a Form, click the copy button, then choose from the drop-down list which environment you would like to copy the action to, then the form will be available to use in that environment.  

The following field types are available to use in your form definition:

  1. Currency – this is a numeric currency text field. This should be used on forms that allow a driver to enter a dollar figure (e.g. $150.56).
  2. Current Location – this captures Latitude and Longitude from the device (if available), displays a mandatory disclaimer text (e.g. “Your current location may be included when you tap Send.”), and passes the Lat/Long data with the message. Use this to capture the location of your driver’s device.
  3. Date – this provides the user a date-picker field (e.g. March 21 2016).
  4. Date & Time – this provides the user a date and time-picker field (e.g. Tue Mar 22 4:30pm).
  5. Number – this provides the user the ability to enter a numeric value. Use this to capture any numeric value needed from the driver (e.g. number of gallons, policy number, age, zip, trailer number, temperature, miles, hours, etc.).
  6. Option List - this provides the user a list of options where only 1 option can be selected.
  7. Option List (multi choice) - this provides the user a list of options where multiple options can be selected.
  8. Static Text – this displays static text on the form as information or instruction to the user. This is not an editable field.
  9. Telephone – this gives the user a formatted field to enter a ten-digit numeric phone number.
  10. Text – this gives the user a single field to enter a single line of text.
  11. Text (multi line) – this gives the user a field that extends to multiple lines to enter text

To create a new form, following these steps:

  1. Click “Add a form” in the List of Forms
  2. Give the new form a Code that will be referenced in the Integration to place the form in the app
  3. Give the new form a Name to display in the app
  4. Select whether the form should show up in the “New Message” list or not (NOTE: a form will show up in the app very soon after creating a new form and having it appear in the “New Message” list. With this selected, saving the form will immediately make it available in the app.)
  5. Add fields to the new form for the user to populate and send with the form.
  6. Click Save periodically to ensure changes are not lost.

For more information about how forms can be configured, please see our Knowledge Base articles:


Under the App Configuration > Menus tab, you can create and edit the app menu that shows up for your users of the App, as an alternative to defining these in your Integration Project code.


The layout of the Menu editor is comprised of 3 sections: 

  1. List of Menus – this lists all Menus available which you can employ in your mobile app.
  2. Menu Definition – this reveals the definition for the selected Menu.
  3. Menu Item Configuration – this reveals the configuration of the selected Menu Item for the selected Menu.

           

List of Menus
Menu Definition
Menu Item Configuration

Menu items can be nested like the Training item shown above, so that drivers can click on it, and it will expand to show each individual training item available in the menu for the driver to select. Menu items in the Menu definition can be reordered by clicking on the dots next to the field name and dragging it up or down. You can also reorder the fields by clicking “Move Up” or “Move Down” in the field definition. Menu items can also be Archived by using the “Archive” button above the Menu Configuration. 


Menu Items that you can add, remove, rearrange, and edit are: 

  • Document List 
  • Home 
  • Hours of Service 
  • Load List
  • Media Library

  • Message Editor
  • Messages
  • News
  • Payroll
  • Scan Flow
  • Screen
  • Telephone
  • To Do
  • Video Library
  • Web Browser


You can affect the following on each Menu item:

  • Type
  • Label
  • Icon
  • Position
  • News Feed (for News)
  • Form (for Message Editor)
  • Library (for Media Library and Video Library)
  • URL & Authentication (for Web Browser)
  • Scan Type & Metadata Form (for Scan Flow)
  • Screen (for Screen)
  • Telephone Number (for Telephone)


For more information on how to add a menu item, our article Drive Axle - Creating and Adding a Media Library to a Menu  may be helpful.


Workflows

Under the App Configuration > Workflows tab, you can choose what actions appear for a load or a stop in a particular status without programming.  For instance, in Workflows in Drive Axle you could configure your app so loads in the “Pre-plan” status show an Accept and a Reject action, both of which send a form.  The workflow defines how offline works by defining what status the stop/load is changed to after an action is complete while the driver is offline.  But it's also possible to have floating statuses, which do not connect to other statuses with arrows and actions in-between them, for example, the “COMPLETED” load status shown in the screenshot below. These floating statuses are used when the integration is Online. If the corresponding status is returned from the integration you can still reach those status icons that seem like they would never be touched.  This is because workflow statuses can be changed through code, and not only by the driver completing workflow actions in the application. 


In Drive Axle you can set the actions that will be available for each load status and stop status. Below, blue boxes show possible load statuses and then the yellow boxes show all of the possible stop statuses, so workflow actions can appear at either the load level or the stop level in the application. Typically, load level Workflow is only used to start or acknowledge the trip, and to end the trip when stop level workflow is completed.  The load is completed once the last stop is completed with the END TRIP button / action.


By clicking the status, you can see the action that is available and what happens when the load status is performed offline, which includes what the load/stop status will change to after the workflow action is performed by the driver. Here you can also add another action to the status if needed.


For more information on how to create workflows, Eleos has the following instructional video: Creating a Load Workflow.  Please note that there have been some changes to Drive Axle since the video was first recorded.


Service Config.

Under the API Settings sub-section of the App configuration drop-down, there is the Service Config. which shows the Eleos Platform Key and includes the configuration for each service.  The Eleos Platform Key is included in requests that Eleos’ systems make to the client’s systems to authenticate Eleos’ systems when Eleos contact the client system to fetch information about users, loads, driver status, etc. It allows you to confirm that the request has originated from Eleos and only Eleos.


The URLs determine the location of the integration that the request will be sent to. Please note that you should not change any URL in the Service Config. without consulting your integrator first. 


At the bottom of the Service Config. section is the current API keys that are active.  It is important to know that when creating a new API Key, the API Key should be recorded somewhere secure. Once the key is created and finalized, there is no way to see the full key again after obfuscation. 


An active API key must be included in requests the client systems make to Eleos’ API.  If there are several systems that interact with Eleos’ API, you can generate a separate key for each system to ease deployment. If you believe a key has been compromised, you can disable a key to prevent it from being used.  Requests from the Eleos Mobile Platform cloud can and may come from anywhere on the public internet due to the HA nature of our environment. Ideally, the enterprise firewall should be configured using a wildcard DNS entry; however, some (most) organizations do not have firewalls that can support this level of configuration. Therefore, Eleos’ recommendation is to reject any request that does not include the expected Eleos Platform Key in the inbound request header. This is a check that is normally performed at the Load Balancer level but could also be done within the web services as well.Note that only your integrator will establish the specific endpoint URLs for the services you are exposing as well as assign the value of the Eleos-Platform-Key.


Under the Service Configuration section, there is the Geotab Configuration section, where you can change and set your Geotab federation, database name, and login credentials. You have the ability to set the name of the database you are using by entering it into the Database. If you do not know the name of your database, simply login to your Geotab environment and check the upper right corner of the page. In the Geotab Configuration, you can also set the Username and Password, which will be used to create accounts for your drivers in Geotab when they use the Platform app. The username can be an alphanumeric string or an email address. The credentials must also have administrative security clearance in order for the integration to function.


For more information about Eleos and to view their API Documentation, check out: https://dev.eleostech.com/platform/


Error Log Console

Under the App Configuration > Error Console tab, you are able to view API errors that have occurred. 

 


This will aid with troubleshooting and resolving issues that arise as a result of system integration. If the error console loads for a period of time which seems too long, please click “Error Console” tab again from the App Configuration Drop-Down, which should lead to the page successfully being refreshed. 


For more information about the Error Console, how to use it, and how to identify errors and issues, please view our Eleos - Eleos Error Console Guide.


Trip Planner Studio

Trip Planner Studio allows you to look at trip plans by driver and/or load number. Trip Planner Studio will display trips available within your retention policy so that you can see the routes that were suggested to the driver during the trip, when the driver was re-routed, etc.  We have a guide that goes into detail on how to use Trip Planer Studio as a troubleshooting tool, Eleos - Troubleshooting Navigation Issues Using Trip Planner Studio. 


Document Hub

Document Hub provides a portal for the purpose of managing different aspects of the scanning process.


When you first log into your Drive Axle account, it typically defaults to your Document Hub page. Here you'll see a live stream of data and recently scanned documents, which includes information such as uploaded by, load details, document type, and confirmation information.  Using the search feature, you can search for a particular document using any of the information previously listed, including document type, date, etc. When searching by document type, the drop-down list includes all available document types you can search for.  You can also download, share, archive or delete these images. The Share feature, however, is a legacy feature, so you can only share documents with emails registered already within the platform, and you will not be able to share it with a personal email that isn't recognized, for example.


Our article, Eleos - Determining if Document Scans Reach an Imaging Folder or Email,  demonstrates how the document search can be used to find if a document exists.


Scanning from the Mobile App

For steps on how to scan from the mobile application, please see our Knowledge Base article, Eleos – Scanning Documentation. 


Image Quality Control

For documents, Image Quality Control is a two-step process to perform quality review to ensure the image is readable and acceptable. 


  1. Eleos Mobile Quality Review – the phone will detect quality and catch 95% of issues
  2. Drive Axle Review Queue - office personnel will manually review and result in some images needing to be rescanned.

In the Review tab in the Document Hub it will show the number of documents that need to be reviewed for quality issues.  After reviewing the image can be accepted, or you can request a rescan, at which point the driver would be notified that they need to rescan the document. Drivers can choose to rescan or deny the rescan request.


Users

The Document Hub also has a tab where you can manage users. Once inside the User section of Drive Axle, you should see the subheading users along with Name, Last Login, Permissions, Status, and Edit.  At the top of the Users section is a toggle button to show or hide disabled users from the list.  The below screenshot indicates that Disabled users are hidden from the list.  

 


If Disabled users were showing in the list, you would see the disabled users greyed out in the list, and the toggle button will look like the below screenshot: 


The permissions options for users include Imaging Content management, App configuration, App development, User administration, account administration, and Division Administration. To be able to view users and make changes, you must have the User Administration permission enabled.  Division Administrators have the ability to toggle between the production and sandbox environments and can also be granted certain permissions like Hub Users can in order to limit their access in Drive Axle.    The User Administration permission gives the user access to the Users tab in the Document Hub. Having the User Administration permission enabled allows a user to invite new users and modify other users’ permissions.  


To edit an existing user, use the Edit button to edit their permissions using the toggle switch next to each permission to grant or deny access for their user account. Next to each permission option is a description of the permission and what it gives the user access to.  You can also use the Status toggle to Activate/Disable the user.  After editing a user’s permissions, it may take a minute to refresh or may require a logout for the changes to reflect in that User’s account. Note that users cannot use the toggle to enable/enable the User Administration permission for their own user.


To add a user to Drive Axle, click on the blue “Add a User…” button. Then input their e-mail, first name, last name, and make sure to toggle on the permissions that they need for this account. When you click invite, Eleos will send them an e-mail to sign up with a password that they've created to start using their account. Please make sure the account information is accurate when adding a user to drive axle, and that the user accepts the invitation to Drive Axle within 24 hours. You cannot delete users, and each e-mail can only be used once on the platform. 


Update Drive Axle Profile

Update Your Drive Axle Password:

To change your password for your Drive Axle account, click on the account username/email address in the top right of the screen.  

In the My Profile, screen, type in a new password, confirm the new password, and click update to save the changes. 

Change Division Name:

With division admin permission, it is also possible to change the division name since it's only a vanity name, and is not the same as the client key environment name that is only seen on Eleos's side. When in the Document Hub, click on the email name on the top right of the screen, same as in the previous section for changing/updating the password. Every admin is different but this is ASR's login as an example for a Drive Axle account.   


It takes you to the edit screen and you will be able to change the Company Name and click Update to save.