The MGSi App (Device) is a native device implementation of the MGSi Web application
for iOS, Android and UWP (Universal Windows Program).
The primary benefit of using the MGSi App over MGSi Web is that you can stay "logged on".
MGSi Web is session based and you will time-out due to inactivity.
The primary benefit of using MGSi Web over the MGSi App is that MGSi Web has all administrator user
functionality that is used for defining and configuring the document types and workflows.
Additionally, web updates are available immediately. You don't have to wait for the "stores"
to approve the app updates.
The user id is the most important data field in the MGSi system. The user id is used for logging on to
the MGSi system and its value is used throughout the system. The value of your user id is displayed in
orange-red.
The menu options in the help topics are hyperlinked allowing you to get familiar with what happens when you tap/click
an option.
Administrator users
Administrator user only items are displayed in purple.
For example, the Override switch and the Shared Files Query option on the Home page.
Date Fields
Uninitialized ("empty") date/time fields are displayed in orange with a date value of January 1, 2000 and a
time value of midnight.
Section Toggles
The and
icons displayed in the right portion of a page indicates that the section can be expanded/collapsed to show/hide
additional information. Tap on the caption (this provides a larger tap area) or the glyph to toggle the display.
For pages with the Notes toggle, after you tap to close, then tap to re-open, you may need to swipe up to see the notes.
Toast Messages
Toast messages are 'popup' messages that disappears (closes) after 2-3 seconds. The toast message displayed is also
displayed in a label at the top of the page. You must wait for the toast to close before proceeding.
Device Differences
This section describes various differences between devices.
Layout
Menu items in Android and UWP are accessed from the 'pancake' (the 3 dots in the upper right) on each page.
iOS devices display selected options at the top of the page, and the remaining menu items are accessed from the
three dots (...) in the upper right.
Borders (Visual clue for fields that can be edited)
iOS and UWP devices have borders on all sides of the UI controls (edit boxes,
drop down lists, date/time pickers, etc.). Android devices only have borders
on the bottom of the UI control.
When you tap on one of these controls in Android devices, the
bottom border changes color to red. Also, label (read only) controls do not have
any bottom borders.
iOS Back Arrow
Pressing and holding the Back arrow will display a list of the pages to go back to, similar to how most
browsers work.
Android Gestures
Using the Settings | System | Gestures | System navigation | Gesture navigation option interferes
with swiping in the MGSi (MGSi Detail) and MGSi Share (MGSi File) apps.
The swipe from right to left gesture is processed like
a Back arrow operation and not the intended Next operation. Use the Previous menu item to display the
prior file/work item. Note that the swipe from left to right works as designed: a Next operation.
Selecting the 3-button navigation option avoids these gesture issues.
Changing the gestures will terminate any open MGSi apps.
UWP display of UTF-16 LE Files
UWP cannot display UTF-16 LE encoded files in the browser control if there isn't an explicit charset defined -
for example, a TXT file. As an alternative, save the file in UTF 8 format before uploading or use the Browser
menu option.
Gray menu items in UWP
If the menu items in UWP 'turn' gray, especially after a Windows Defender update, you may need to restart your machine.
Device Suggestions
When you tap a 'suggestion' when you are editing a text field, a blank is often appended.
This may not be desired, especially on the Logon, Search and data entry pages.
App Updates
If the 'stores' (Apple, Google, and Microsoft) are slow to update the MGSi app, use the MGSi website!
For iOS users, you can use the Apple TestFlight app. Send to us your email address.
For Android users, you can install an APK version of the MGSi app.
For UWP users, you can install the MGSi app using a MSIX file and PowerShell.
UWP
If you use the Store option from the MGSi Logon (Device) page, you must close
the MGSi app so that the download starts from the Microsoft Store app.
Temporary Files
The MGSi Preview (Device) page option saves files on your device.
Use the Clear Cache option from MGSi Cache (Device) page or
MGSi Logon (Device) page to delete the temporary files. These files are
also accessible if you attach your device to a Windows machine using a USB connection.
The MGSi New File (Device)Take Photo and Take Video options store the
image/movie on your device before being uploaded. These files are deleted when you logoff or when you initially logon.
These files are not accessible from the devices Files app or from a Windows machine.
All temporary data is deleted when you uninstall the app.
If you were USB attached to a Windows machine from Android and you uninstalled the MGSi app;
detach the device, then re-attach to verify the MGSi directory is gone.
FAQ
1. Why is the MGSi New File dialog missing the Photo option?
The photo (or video) option is not added to the list if there is no camera or if there is no
permission to access the camera.
Was a camera permission prompt displayed and did you decline? From the
MGSi Home or MGSi Share Home page, tap the About menu item
(the MGSi About page is displayed),
then select the Settings menu item to display the App Info screen (for Android) or the MGSi Settings
(for iOS) and check your permissions.
2. Can I add more pictures to a shared item?
No. The MGSi Share app has a one file per Share ID architecture. You can just add another file to your shared list.
Note that the MGSi app/web allows multiple files for the same work item.
There is no ‘concept’ of a work item for the share app/web.
3. I shared some files previously, but now I don't see them?
Only non-expired shared files are displayed in the MGSi Share app
and MGSi Share web. Use the MGSi app or MGSi web to see all files you shared – if you are an admin user.
4. Is there a field on the MGSi Share Home page that lets me know if I shared this file?
Currently, there is no explicit field. If you added the file, from the MGSi File
page, tap the Share menu item. The MGSi Share page is displayed. Users who you
have already shared the file with are disabled.
An alternative is to use the MGSi Web - Documents - Shared Files option for a work item to
view all shared files.
5. What does the Viewed field on the MGSi Share Home page mean?
You have/not tapped on (viewed) the file. This is most meaningful when someone shares a file with you.
Note that after you add a new file, the file is marked as "viewed".
Getting Started with the MGSi Share app - Taps and Keystrokes
This topic details the taps and keystrokes for getting started with the MGSi Share app once it has been installed.
The MGSi Share app is a simplified version of the MGSi system and is designed for sharing documents
with "external"/partner/client users in a secure manner without providing access to the
MGSi Web, MGSi Web Light, or the MGSi App applications.
The MGSi Logon page is displayed when you launch the MGSi app,
and from the 'Logoff' menu item on each page.
Type your user id in the 'User ID' edit box.
Type your password in the 'Password' edit box.
Tap the 'Save Password' switch to save the values. If this field is left off, you will need to enter your
credentials each time you launch the MGSi app.
For iOS devices, tap the 'Select an App to connect to' picker, and then tap the 'MGSi Share' item, and then tap Done.
The 'MGSi Share' item is the default option for Android and UWP devices.
Tap 'Connect'. If you are connected to the internet and you typed valid credentials,
the MGSi Home page is displayed
MGSi Home page
The MGSi Home page is displayed when you logon, and from the 'Home' menu item on most pages.
The toast message "There are no shared files for your user id" is displayed if you haven't inserted
a file or if no one has shared a file with you. See the "Add a file" section below.
Verify permissions
To check/accept the permissions used by MGSi and to display information about your device,
from the Home page, tap the 'About' menu option.
The MGSi About page is displayed. Accept all of the prompts for using the camera.
Geo-location data is used when saving files, and is also embedded in the photos when you use the camera.
Tap the back arrow option in the upper left to return to the 'Home' page.
Verify Profile
To verify and edit the initial profile data configured for your user id, from the 'Home' page,
tap the 'Profile' menu option. The MGSi Profile page is displayed.
Review and fill the fields. In particular, complete the 'Security Question' and 'Security Answer' fields.
When finished, tap 'Save'.
A confirmation message is displayed to stay on the Profile page or display the 'Home' page. If you tap 'stay',
tap the back arrow option in the upper left to return to the 'Home' page.
Add a file
From the Home page, tap the 'New File' option. The New File dialog is displayed.
Tap the 'Photo' option. The camera is displayed.
Take a photo, and then tap the 'Use Photo' option (iOS) or the checkmark (Android) to upload the photo,
create a shared file record, and display the MGSi File page with the photo you just took.
MGSi File page
The 'MGSi File' page is displayed when you tap on an item in the Home page, or after you added a file from
the Upload, Photo, or Video options.
Double tap the photo to enlarge it. Double tap the photo again to restore to the original size.
Pinching and panning is not supported from this page. See below for using the 'Display' menu option.
Tap the 'Properties' menu option. The MGSi Properties page is displayed.
Tap the 'Clear' button to clear the default description. Type a description for the photo you just took.
Tap 'Save'. A toast (notification) message is displayed that your changes were saved.
Tap the back arrow option in the upper left to return to the 'File' page.
Tap the 'Notes' menu option. The MGSi Notes page is displayed.
In the 'Enter a note and tap Submit' edit box, type a note about the photo you just took, then tap 'Save'.
The note is added and the File page is displayed with the note viewable at the bottom of the page.
Notes are different than the Description field. The Description field is displayed in the Home page for the
file. Notes are displayed at the bottom of the File page.
Tap the back arrow option in the upper left to return to the Home page. The photo you took has been added
to the top of the list.
Display option
From the 'Home' page, tap on the photo file you just added. The 'File' page is displayed.
Tap the 'Display' option. The MGSi Image page is displayed.
If the file had been a video or audio file, the MGSi Media page would
have been displayed. Use the Video option from the Home page to make a video.
If the file had been a web file, the MGSi Web page would
have been displayed.
There are multiple menu items for sizing the image, including 25%, 50%, flip, rotate right, rotate left,
and others. The Image page also supports pinching and panning.
Note for Android users: tapping and panning works better than pinching and panning.
Tap the Home menu option to go directly to the 'Home' page. You could have clicked the back arrow twice to
accomplish the same thing.
Share a file
To avoid security violations and also to avoid emailing large files, use the Share option.
From the 'Home' page, tap on the photo file you just added. The 'File' page is displayed.
Tap the 'Share' option. The MGSi Share page is displayed.
Tap to select a user(s) you want to share the file with, and then tap 'Submit' when completed.
The file is shared with the selected user(s), a note is added to the file, and the 'File' page is displayed with a toast message.
Tap the Home menu option to go to the 'Home' page.
MGSi Preview page
The Preview menu option is available if you have more than one shared file.
From the 'Home' page, tap the Preview menu option.
The MGSi Preview page is displayed
showing all of the files from the Home page that have the Preview = True attribute.
The Preview attribute is false for the following conditions:
The file is really big.
The file is not found (404).
What's displayed in the Home page for each file?
The first line displays a glyph for the file type (a camera for the photo we just took) and the
Description you entered.
The second line displays:
The base name of the file stored on the server.
The file extension.
The size of the file in K bytes.
Whether or not the file will be displayed if you tap the Preview menu option. See above.
The third line displays:
Shared by user name (your user name).
The time stamp of when the file was shared (when you took the photo).
When access to the file expires, the Expiration date. The default is 6 months from the date the file was shared.
The fourth line displays:
The Viewed glyph. A blue oval with a white dot in the middle means that you have opened the file
(viewed the file) in the File page.
A blue oval with a red dot in the middle means that you have not opened the file
(viewed the file) in the File page.
A label indicating the file type. For your photo, Image is displayed.
The 'notes' glyph. A glyph with 'writing' is displayed if the file has notes.
An empty glyph is displayed if there are no notes for the file.
If the file has geo-location data, a geo-location glyph is displayed.
The insert type glyph. This corresponds to the insert type displayed in MGSi Web.
For the share app, it is typically the "embedded file" glyph.
The sequence number. This number is displayed in the File and Preview page and is useful when you have multiple
files that are similar to each other.
What's next?
Hopefully this guide has gotten you familiar with using the MGSi Share app. There a lot of other options
for the app - give them a try! We recommend reviewing the substantial amount of documentation for
the MGSi Share App and for the MGSi Share Web application.
Getting Started with the MGSi app - Taps and Keystrokes
This topic details the taps and keystrokes for getting started with the MGSi app once it has been installed.
The MGSi app is a device-based interface to the MGSi system, a workflow and document management system
that provides HTTP/S access to the MGSi databases from desktops, tablets and mobile devices.
The MGSi app is a full-featured application with the configuration of what is displayed being defined in the
MGSi Web application. Access to the MGSi app is restricted to users who have been defined for the workflow(s).
The MGSi Logon page is displayed when you launch the MGSi app,
and from the 'Logoff' menu item on each page.
Type your user id in the 'User ID' edit box.
Type your password in the 'Password' edit box.
Tap the 'Save Password' switch to save the values. If this field is left off, you will need to enter your
credentials each time you launch the MGSi app.
For Android and UWP devices, tap the 'Select an App to connect to' picker and tap the 'MGSi' item.
The 'MGSi' item is the default option for iOS devices.
Tap 'Connect'. If you are connected to the internet and you typed valid credentials,
the MGSi Home page is displayed
MGSi Home page
The MGSi Home page is the portal for the MGSi app and is displayed when you logon,
and from the 'Home' menu item on most pages.
Verify permissions
To check/accept the permissions used by MGSi and to display information about your device,
from the Home page, tap the 'About' menu option.
The MGSi About page is displayed. Accept all of the prompts for using the camera.
Geo-location data is used when saving files, and is also embedded in the photos when you use the camera.
Tap the back arrow option in the upper left to return to the 'Home' page.
Verify Profile
To verify and edit the initial profile data configured for your user id, from the 'Home' page,
tap the 'Profile' menu option. The MGSi Profile page is displayed.
Review and fill the fields. In particular, complete the 'Security Question' and 'Security Answer' fields.
When finished, tap 'Save'.
A confirmation message is displayed to stay on the Profile page or display the 'Home' page. If you tap 'stay',
tap the back arrow option in the upper left to return to the 'Home' page.
Create a work item
From the 'Home' page, for Android devices, tap the 'New Work Item' menu option and for iOS devices,
tap the 'New' option.
The MGSi New page is displayed listing the workflow steps that your user id is configured for.
Tap the 'Workflow Step' picker, and select the 'Apple - Apple - Step_1' item.
In the 'Description' field, type a description for the work item.
E.g., "My first MGSi work item".
Tap 'Submit'.
The work item is created, and the MGSi Detail page is displayed.
Make a note of the work item # created that is displayed at the top of the page. We'll use that
number in the next section.
Tap the back arrow option in the upper left to return to the 'Home' page.
MGSi Detail page
The 'MGSi Detail' page is displayed when you enter a work item number in the 'Search' edit box from the 'Home' page,
when you create a new work item, and from the multitude of search results options.
Open an existing work item, and add a file.
In the 'Search term' edit box of the 'Home' page, type the work item # from the section above, and then tap 'Submit'.
The MGSi Detail page is displayed.
The fields displayed in the 'Detail' page are based on the configuration of the document type.
Tap the 'Photo' option. The camera is displayed.
Take a photo, and then tap the 'Use Photo' option (iOS) or the checkmark (Android) to upload the photo,
create a file record, and display the MGSi Files page with the
first item in the list being the photo you just took.
Tap the first item in the list to display the file. The MGSi Image page is displayed.
There are multiple menu items for sizing the image, including 25%, 50%, flip, rotate right, rotate left,
and others. The 'Image' page also supports pinching and panning.
Note for Android users: tapping and panning works better than pinching and panning.
Tap the 'Clear' button to clear the default description. Type a description for the photo you just took.
Tap 'Save'. A toast (notification) message is displayed that your changes were saved.
Tap the back arrow option in the upper left to return to the 'Image' page.
Tap the back arrow option in the upper left to return to the 'Files' page.
Tap the 'Refresh' menu option or flick down from the top of the list to update the description
for the photo in the 'Files' page.
Tap the back arrow option in the upper left to return to the 'Detail' page.
Tap the back arrow option in the upper left to return to the 'Home' page.
MGSi Preview page
The Preview menu option is available if you have more than one file.
From the 'Files' page, tap the 'Preview' menu option.
The MGSi Preview page is displayed
showing all of the files from the 'Files' page that have the Preview = True attribute.
The Preview attribute is false for the following conditions:
The file is really big.
The file is not found (404).
MGSi Print Preview page
The Print Preview option displays the data from the 'Details' page and the image files (if any)
from the 'Files' page with any notes specified, in a HTML file. The HTML file generated can then be shared with external
share options, typically your browser, messaging, etc.
From the 'Detail' page, scroll/flick to the bottom of the page (or use the 'Bottom' menu option),
and tap the 'Print Preview' button. The MGSi Print Preview page is displayed.
Tap the 'Browser' option'. The default browser for your device is launched and the HTML file is displayed.
For Android devices, if Chrome is your default browser, you can use the Print options to print the HTML page
and/or save the HTML page as a PDF.
Tap the back option for the device (or flick away) to close the browser and return to MGSi.
For iOS devices, if Safari is your default browser, you can use the Share - Print options to print the HTML page.
Use the Markup option to save the HTML page as a PDF file.
Tap the MGSi item in the upper left to close the browser and return to MGSi.
What's displayed in the Files page for each file?
The first line displays a glyph for the file type (a camera for the photo we just took) and the
Description you entered.
The second line displays:
The base name of the file stored on the server.
The URL type.
The file extension.
The insert type name and glyph. This corresponds to the insert type displayed in MGSi Web.
The third line displays:
File ID #
The user id and user name of the person who inserted the file.
The 'notes' glyph. A glyph with 'writing' is displayed if the file has notes.
An empty glyph is displayed if there are no notes for the file.
The fourth line displays:
The size of the file in K bytes.
The time stamp of when the file was inserted (when you took the photo).
Whether or not the file will be displayed if you tap the 'Preview' menu option. See above.
The sequence number. This number is displayed in the 'Files' and 'Preview' page and is useful when you have multiple
files that are similar to each other.
The fifth line displays the Category and Sub Category for the file.
What's next?
Hopefully this guide has gotten you familiar with using the MGSi app. There a lot of other options
for the app - give them a try! We recommend reviewing the substantial amount of documentation for
the MGSi App and for the MGSi Web application.
Getting Started with the MGSi Time Record app - Taps and Keystrokes
This topic details the taps and keystrokes for getting started with the MGSi Time Record app once it has been installed.
The MGSi Time Record app is an app for clocking in and out. The items displayed are based
on the configuration in the MGSi FacturaBook web application.
The MGSi Time Record Logon page is displayed when you launch the MGSi app,
and from the 'Logoff' menu item.
Type your user id in the 'User ID' edit box.
Type your password in the 'Password' edit box.
Tap the 'Save Password' switch to save the values. If this field is left off, you will need to enter your
credentials each time you launch the MGSi app.
Tap the 'Select an App to connect to' picker and tap the 'MGSi Time Record' item.
Tap 'Connect'. If you are connected to the internet and you typed valid credentials,
the MGSi Home page is displayed
and 
icons displayed in the right portion of a page indicates that the section can be expanded/collapsed to show/hide
additional information. Tap on the caption (this provides a larger tap area) or the glyph to toggle the display.
For pages with the Notes toggle, after you tap to close, then tap to re-open, you may need to swipe up to see the notes.