Back to Asset Essentials Main Menu

Tracking breadcrumbs

Breadcrumbs in Asset Essentials gives Account Administrators, Supervisors, and Site Administrators the ability to track a technician’s whereabouts when they are out on a job, provide quicker response times to citizen requests, increase safety precautions, reduce liability, boost day-to-day efficiency, and plan for future work. *Note: Only certain clients are eligible for this feature. To learn if you are eligible, contact Client Services. Your account also must be configured in order to utilize Breadcrumbs.

 

To access the map:

  • Click on the Map menu icon from the side navigation menu.

 

How to view and filter breadcrumbs

  • Click on the User Breadcrumbs button () at the top of the screen to open a panel of options that will allow you to view and filter your breadcrumbs on the map.
  • Click the Reset button () at the top of the panel to remove any selected filters.

Viewing latest known locations

  • Check the box next to Latest Known Locations.
  • Click User(s).
  • Check the box next to the user(s) to see their most recent breadcrumb. *Note: In order for a user to show in this list, they must have the Collect GPS Breadcrumbs option turned on in their user profile.

  • Click on the appropriate user pin on the map to bring up the detail window. *Note: If a user pin has an exclamation mark () on it, that means the mobile user's breadcrumbs have not been synced recently. As a result, the user pin may not represent the current location of the user.
  • This window will display the user's full name, the date and time their most recent breadcrumb was collected, the direction they were headed last, the speed they were going last, the latitude, longitude, and altitude of where they were last, and the closest address to them based on the geocode settings for your account.

Viewing breadcrumbs

  • Check the box next to Breadcrumbs.
  • A Date/Time section will appear. *Note: The times filtered in this section will be based on the administrative user's local time zone at the time of the mobile user's travel. For example, if the mobile user is doing their route at 8:00 AM and the administrative user needing to track their breadcrumbs is located in an office an hour ahead of the mobile user, they would need to set their filter for 9:00 AM, not 8:00 AM to get the correct route results.
    • Single Date: Select this option if you want to display one days worth of breadcrumbs and then click the arrow to select the date on the calendar. This option will default to today's date.
    • Date Range: Select this option if you want to display more than one days worth of breadcrumbs and then click the arrows next to Start Date and End Date to select the dates on the calendar.
    • All Day: Select this option if you want to display breadcrumbs for the hours of 12:00:00 AM to 11:59:59 PM on the selected day(s).
    • Time Range: Select this option if you want to display breadcrumbs for a specific Start Time and End Time on the selected day(s).
  • Check the box next to the user(s) who you would like to see breadcrumbs for during the date and time selected.
  • You will see lines with arrows populate on the map that match the color of the user(s) you selected. Each arrow represents the users individual breadcrumb that was collected. Breadcrumbs are collected at a certain time interval, which is determined in the settings configured during your implementation.
  • To refresh the map with the most current breadcrumbs, you have the following options: 
    • Select the appropriate map refresh frequency from the drop-down menu in the map Results panel to automatically refresh the map based on that frequency.
    • Click the Refresh button in the map Results panel to instantly refresh the map.
    • Click the refresh icon (Refresh Icon) in the tool bar to instantly refresh the map.

How to select breadcrumbs

  • Select Breadcrumbs from the drop-down menu in the map results panel on the left side of the map.
  • Turn on breadcrumbs to view them on the map.
  • Click the select tool () to select a group of breadcrumbs. You can also click on a single breadcrumb on the map to only view the details of that breadcrumb.
  • If you are using the select tool, draw a circle around the breadcrumbs you want to select. The selected items will highlight and populate in the results panel for you to view.
  • In the results panel, each group of breadcrumbs will be sorted by users and date/time with the most recent breadcrumb at the top of the list. *Note: If you refresh the map to show additional breadcrumbs, the map Results panel will not update the list of breadcrumbs within your selection. You will need to reselect the breadcrumbs to see the updated results.
  • Click the arrow next to the user that you want to see breadcrumb details for.
    • Each detail window will show the date and time that breadcrumb was collected, the direction they were headed, the speed they were going, and the latitude, longitude, and altitude of where they were located at that time. *Note: If there are multiple breadcrumbs listed with the same time stamp, this means each breadcrumb was synced based on an interval that was set in seconds.
    • If you hover over an individual detail window, it will highlight that specific breadcrumb on the map.
    • You can click the Zoom To button in the detail window to navigate to that breadcrumb on the map and see the closest address.
  • If you would like to clear the selected breadcrumbs, click on the clear selection icon () or click away from the selection on the map.
  • If you refresh the map to show additional breadcrumbs, the map Results panel will not update the list of breadcrumbs within your selection. You will need to reselect the breadcrumbs to see the results.

How to manage breadcrumb collection on your mobile device

Breadcrumbs are collected through your Asset Essentials mobile app and synced to the Asset Essentials account on the web, based on the interval that is set up in the account.

 

While you are working offline or in areas with poor connectivity, GPS and Location services are often still available. The mobile app will still attempt to collect your breadcrumbs and sync them based on the interval set up in the account settings. When you regain connectivity, the sync will occur based on the interval, beginning with the most recent breadcrumb, and including 250 breadcrumbs per interval.

Mobile app settings

  • Tap the menu icon ().
  • Tap Settings, and then tap Breadcrumbs.

  • If the Breadcrumb Collection field is set to Active, that means your user profile has been set up to collect breadcrumbs.
  • If your breadcrumbs have been synced successfully based on the interval set in the account, the Latest Coordinates Sent field will show your latest known location. If no successful sync has occurred, this field will be blank.
  • The Last Collection Time field tells you when the last breadcrumb was collected.
  • The When Breadcrumbs Were Last Sent field tells you the date and time that the most recent sync occurred.
  • The Collected Breadcrumbs that Need to be Synced field shows you how many breadcrumbs are waiting to be synced. To see more details about the data that has been collected, tap on this field.
    • Date: This will display the date and time the breadcrumb was captured.
    • Synced?: This will typically display a value of False since the panel only shows breadcrumbs that are not synced. If there is a sync failure, this value may be different. *Note: If you need assistance with analyzing a sync message, please contact Client Services.
    • InError?: This will display a value of either True or False. If it displays a value of True, the details of the error will be described in the Error Message field on this breadcrumb.
    • Lat. and Long.: This will display the latitude and longitude coordinates of the breadcrumb.

     

    Some Devices provide additional information that, when available, is captured along with the coordinates.

    • Speed: This will display the speed the user was traveling in meters per second, but this will be converted to miles per hour when viewed on the map.
    • Heading: This will display the direction the user was traveling in degrees relative to true north, but this will be converted to intercardinal directions when viewed on the map.
    • Altitude: This will display the altitude of the user when the breadcrumb was captured in meters, but this will be converted to feet when viewed on the map.
    • Error Message: If location settings are disabled on the device, or if a GPS signal is unavailable, an error message will appear in this area. *Note: If you need assistance with analyzing an Error Message, please contact Client Services.

  • Since the breadcrumbs settings screen will not refresh on its own, even though breadcrumbs may continue to be captured in the background, you will need to tap the Refresh Bread Crumbs button to refresh the screen.