VIA 2.0 · User Guide

Creating and Using Templates

Build a simple Manhole form, record an observation, then expand it as your work grows.

For VIA 2.0. Some controls are unavailable in earlier versions.

A template is a reusable recording form. If you regularly record manholes, trial pits, boreholes or inspection points, it saves you from typing the same headings for every observation. Start with a few fields; add detail when you need it.

1. Use an existing template

You need a survey and a working coordinate system for recording. In Survey, create or open a survey and tap Continue → Record Point.

1. Tap the Template selector. Browse All, search by name or use Categories.
2. Choose the form you need. General supplies Label and Notes if you have not created another form yet.
3. Complete the fields, check the point number and GPS accuracy, then tap Store Point.

VIA remembers your last selected recording template during the current application session. Check the selected form when starting again after an app restart. If you only have General, the next section creates your first custom form.

2. Create a simple Manhole form

For this first example, use three fields: Cover Type, Chamber Depth and Notes. You do not need a subscription to create or use these fields.

1. Open Settings → Survey Templates. You can also reach the library through Manage Templates in the recording template picker.
2. Tap New Template, enter Manhole and leave the category as Default.
3. Tap Create Template. In the library, open Manhole’s … menu and choose Edit Fields.

Add Notes

1. Tap + at the top of Edit Fields.
2. Enter Notes as the Field name and choose Multiline Text.
3. Tap Apply to return to the field list.

Add Cover Type

1. Tap + again. Enter Cover Type and choose the Option field type.
2. Tap Edit Options.
3. Use + to add Solid top, Recessed and Grated as separate entries.
4. Tap Done to finish the options, then Apply to add the field.

Add Chamber Depth

1. Tap +, name the field Chamber Depth and choose Dimension.
2. Enter m in Unit and tap Apply.

Arrange and save

The fields currently appear in the order you added them. Move Notes below the other two using its drag handle. Alternatively, open its … menu and use Move Down. Aim for Cover Type → Chamber Depth → Notes.

Tap Save at the top of Edit Fields. Apply finishes an individual field; Save keeps the complete form. If you leave without saving, VIA asks whether to discard your field changes.

3. Record your first Manhole

1. Create a demonstration survey named Drainage inspection — practice, or open the survey you need. Tap Continue → Record Point.
2. Choose Manhole from Template. Enter point number MH01.
3. Tap Cover Type and select Solid top. Enter 1.25 for Chamber Depth; the form shows m beside it.
4. Enter Cover intact. Access from footway. in Notes.
5. At the observation position, dismiss the keyboard, check GPS accuracy and tap Store Point.

These values are a worked example. Use your own observed values on a real survey. The depth field does not measure depth automatically.

You return to the recording session with an increased point count and the next point number. VIA does not currently reopen saved observations as editable forms.

4. Add more detail when useful

Return to Settings → Survey Templates → Manhole … → Edit Fields. Keep the existing fields and add:

• Cover Level: choose Number. This is a manually entered value, not an automatic GPS level.
• Condition: choose Option and add Good, Fair and Poor.

Arrange the fields as Cover Type → Cover Level → Chamber Depth → Condition → Notes, then Save.

For the next demonstration observation, use MH02, Solid top, Cover Level 52.340, Chamber Depth 1.25 m, Condition Good and the same example notes. Record at the actual observation position.

Choose a field type that fits the answer

Photographs have their own section on every recording form. You do not add an image field to a new template. Camera/library acquisition and template thumbnails require VIA Pro; the fields above do not.

5. Organise your templates

• Rename gives an existing template a clearer name.
• Clone creates a separate starting point, useful for a related feature without changing Manhole.
• Categories in the library lets you create a group such as Drainage. Use Manhole’s Move to Category action to put it there. Deleting a custom category moves its templates to Default.
• Edit Fields lets you reorder, edit or remove fields. Options can also be ordered by handles or their action menus.
• Archive removes a template from the active library without rewriting observations already recorded with it. General remains available as the recording fallback and cannot be archived.

6. Understand changes to an existing form

Saving field changes creates a new version for future recording. Previously stored observations keep the form version and answers they were recorded with. Renaming or removing a field does not rewrite those observations.

If you edit a template through Manage Templates while a Record Point form is open, VIA can adopt compatible changes and retain compatible answers. If adopting the updated form would clear entered answers, it shows Template has changed. Choose Keep Current Version to finish the observation with its existing form, or Use Updated Template to adopt the changes and clear the listed answers.

Changing a field’s type or a Dimension field’s unit replaces that field in the new version. Check the form before storing. Blank answers are different from a recorded zero or No; leave an unknown value unanswered rather than inventing a measurement.

If something does not look right

If Manhole is missing from the picker, clear search and check its category and whether it has been archived. If a field is missing, make sure you tapped both Apply and Save. If a numeric answer is rejected, enter a number without a unit in the value box; the Dimension field displays its configured unit separately.