Crisscott OnForce Client Desktop
I recently wrote a desktop application in PHP-GTK 2 that implements the OnForce web services API.
After a few hours of coding, I was able to create a desktop application that lets me put together a batch of work orders while I am offline and send them when I get connected again. Also, when I am online, I can pull down work order data, close work orders, increase the spend limit and get and add notes. And what’s best is that it is all organized in a way that make it easier for me to focus on one task or piece of data at a time.
I like the idea of taking something that is normally web based and putting it on the user’s desktop. This way things can be made a little more intuitive and comfortable for the user because the application
isn’t constrained by the web browser any more. Not having to connect to a server to change the current interface or display different data allows the application to organize things differently and break data down into more managable chunks.
If you’d like to see what the application looks like (or want to give it a try) you can find it here. I’d be interested to see what other tools you guys can create using the OnForce API. Who knows, maybe your new Ajax enabled way to organize work order data or your Java application to streamline the
importing or work orders may just spark some imagination here at OnForce and inspire the next version of our system. Check out the OnForce Developer’s area for more information on working with the OnForce API.
* Please note, this is not an OnForce application. It is an application
that I wrote and provide support for that uses the OnForce public API.
If you have questions about it, please don’t call OnForce, send me an email.
** Also note, this post is an excerpt from a blog post on the OnForce blog. Sorry if it seems out of place here.
October 20th, 2006 at 8:40 am
Excellent work. I’d be surprised if OnForce buyers didn’t start using this. Trackback
September 12th, 2007 at 8:05 pm
I like the desktop approach. Anything to help people put more jobs in the OnForce system is great. As you may guess, I am a provider of services to OnForce. Is there any hope of getting some helper apps for the provider side of the equation?
I have favorite buyers, and a range of services or skills I provide. What would help me is an app that could accept jobs from my “favorites” or scope of services while I am out on the road. A virtual assistant for the one-man shop. Any chance of seeing something like this?