Managing journals

You need journal management permission to create or edit journal items.

Journal items

A journal is built from items, grouped in categories. Each item is one reading or check that is filled in every time a day log is made. Users with journal management permission can add or edit items in the journal setup.

Creating a journal item

Open the journal setup and choose Create journal item in the correct category.

Field	Description
Category	The group the item belongs to.
Item type	Value, Counter or Check (see below).
Item title	The name shown in the journal.
Instruction	Optional hint for the person filling in the item.
Related asset	Optional asset the item belongs to.
Unit	Shown behind the value, for example °C, bar or hrs. Not used for checks.
Input mask	Controls how the value can be typed. See Input masks.
Minimum / Maximum allowed value	Limits for the entered value.
Minimum / Maximum allowed difference with previous	Limits for the change compared to the previous reading.
Default value	Optional value that is pre-filled when a day log is created.

Item types

• Value: a reading such as a temperature or pressure.
• Counter: a reading that only goes up, such as running hours. A lower value than the previous reading is rejected, unless the counter is reset with Reset counter.
• Check: a simple on/off tick. Checks have no unit, mask or limits.

Input masks

The input mask is entered per item and decides what the user can type when filling in the journal. It also decides how many decimals the difference with the previous reading is rounded to.

When filling in the journal, the mask is shown as placeholder in the empty field. Characters that do not fit the mask are ignored while typing, and fixed characters such as the decimal point are added automatically.

Mask characters

Character	Meaning
_	One digit (0–9), optional.
-	A minus sign, optional. Use it at the start of the mask to allow negative values.
#	One digit (0–9), required.
.	Decimal point, added automatically while typing.

Examples

Mask	Accepts	Example input
___	Whole numbers up to 3 digits	85
___.__	Up to 3 digits and 2 decimals	12.50
-__.__	As above, also negative values	-4.25
_____.__	Large counters with 2 decimals, for example running hours	12345.50
##.#	Exactly 2 digits, a point and 1 decimal	37.5

Tips

• Use _ when a digit may be left out and # when it must be filled in. For journal readings _ is usually the best choice.
• Count the digits: the number of _ before the point is the maximum number of whole digits, the number after the point is the number of decimals.
• The number of decimals in the mask is also used for the difference shown next to the previous reading. Use ___.__ rather than ___ if readings have decimals.
• Leave the mask empty to allow free input. The value must still be a plain number, for example 12.5 (use a point, not a comma).
• The mask does not set limits. Use Minimum / Maximum allowed value for that. A value outside the limits is rejected on saving.
• Changing the mask does not change readings that have already been saved.