Data Sheets Overview

This article is an introduction to CommTrak's Data Sheets feature. We recommend reading this article prior to configuring and using Data Sheets in CommTrak.

For more detailed information about the customer's Data screen, please refer to the following Support Centre links:

Data sheets are customisable data-entry forms that can be used to collect information in a specified format. Examples of data sheet use-cases include:

  • Surveys (e.g. post-sale satisfaction)
  • Customer product usage information (e.g. phone system used, types of equipment, software licenses, etc.)
  • Purchasing specifications (e.g. customer requirements for a specific order)

Data Sheets can be added in the following modules in CommTrak:

  • Customer Screen (Data tab)
  • CallBacks
  • Jobs
  • Leads
  • Telesales
  • Tickets
  • Workflows

From a CommTrak user's point of view, a new Data Sheet can be added and populated by selecting the required Data Sheet Template from the drop-down list in the relevant module, and completing the required fields:

In the above image, the Data Sheet Template named System has been selected, and the Data Sheet will be presented as shown:

The above example, is of a Data Sheet with seven fields. All Data Sheets have a mandatory Description field which, by default, is pre-populated with the name of the Data Sheet and the date and time at which the Data Sheet was added.

Fields with a red asterisk adjacent to the field name are mandatory; the record cannot be saved until mandatory fields are populated.

There are two types of Data Sheet:

  • Inline Data Sheets
  • Template Data Sheets

Inline Data Sheets

Inline data sheets are not associated with an HTML template and, when selected for editing, are presented on-screen, within CommTrak:

If a URL link is used to access an inline data sheet, it is presented in the browser as a plain web page:

Template Data Sheets

When an HTML template is associated with a data sheet, it will displayed as a web page, based on the formatting in the HTML template.

Accessing Data Sheets

Accessing Data Sheets in a Lead, Workflow or Telesales Opportunity

The Data Sheets section is presented below the main information area (and immediately below the Custom Fields section, if any).

For further information about working with Data Sheets in a Lead, Workflow or Telesales opportunity, refer to the Data Screen article.

Accessing Data Sheets in a Ticket or Job

Data Sheets as a single field when viewing a Job or Ticket. The following image shows the Data Sheet field in a Job:

If no Data Sheets have been created for a Ticket, the Data Sheets field is located in the Hidden Fields section. When the hidden field section is expanded, the Data Sheets field is displayed as a single field as shown in the in the previous image.

To create a data sheet, select the required data template from the drop down list and press the + (plus) icon. A blank data sheet will be created, and is displayed as a clickable link:

Pressing the link will open the data sheet for editing.

Multiple data sheets can be added to a Ticket or Job:

To delete a data sheet, press the delete (trash can) icon. You will prompted to confirm the deletion.

To access the advanced data sheet features (e.g. creating shareable links, downloading, History, etc), access the Data Sheet via the Data Screen.

Data Sheet Design

The fields in a data sheet can be configured to collect types of data such as:

  • Text field
  • Text area
  • Drop-down (selection of an item from a predefined list)
  • Date (using CommTrak's standard date-entry icons)
  • File-upload (ability to attach a file, such as a PDF or image, to a data sheet)
  • Tick-box

For a comprehensive list of Data Sheet fields types, refer to the article Data Sheet Template Item Reference.

Please see the Data Sheets & CT-Sign Settings category in the Support Centre, for information pertaining to the configuration of Data Sheets.

Completing a Data Sheet

In the Add new data sheet section, select the required data sheet from the drop-down list.

Enter data into the presented fields and press the Add button to save the data sheet.

All data sheets have a Description field, which is mandatory.

Viewing a Data Sheet

In the Data sheets section, click the heading of the data sheet to display; the data sheet will expand to show all fields.

In addition to being able to view data sheets on-screen, clicking the download icon will download the data sheet as a CSV file which can be opened in a desktop application (for example, Excel) for further analysis. With appropriate permissions, data sheets can be edited (pencil icon), or deleted (trash-can icon).

Note: Please see the Reports, Data Sheet Report section of the User Guide, for information pertaining to data sheet reporting.