TraCS Web Services Environment Overview

This document serves as a general overview of a Badger TraCS Web Services Environment.

An agency using a TraCS Web Services Environment has three types of TraCS installs:

• TraCS Web Client

• TraCS Workstation

• TraCS Server (TraCS Master Computer)

TraCS Web Client

The TraCS Web Client is usually installed on portable, laptop computers. A TraCS Web Client provides all the general TraCS Features that a user out in the field may need, including but not limited to:

• Creating/editing forms

• Running external searches

• Amending forms

A TraCS Web Client connects to TraCS databases directly using TraCS Web Services. For this connection to be successful and maintained, the TraCS Web Client must have internet access. TraCS Web Services connectivity can be verified by glancing at the following symbol located on the top-right hand corner of the TraCS screen:

Open

This ‘online’ symbol means that the TraCS Web Client is connected to TraCS Web Services and the user has access to all forms in the TraCS Database they would normally have access to, considering their user permissions.

This also means as soon as a form is created and closed on a TraCS Web Client in ‘online’ mode, it will be accessible on all workstations to all users that would normally have access to that form, considering user permissions (e.g. supervisors, etc.).

A TraCS Web Client with no internet access would be in ‘offline’ mode, which would still provide the user virtually all capabilities available in online mode, aside from the connection to the TraCS Database. All TraCS Forms created while in offline mode will be saved locally and automatically uploaded to the TraCS Database upon reestablishing internet connection.

This means that consistent internet access is not required to use a TraCS Web Client – The application is still useable in offline mode and the application will simply upload all changes/new forms created once internet access is reestablished.

Forms are not end-shifted into the office because when the TraCS Web Client is ‘online’ all closed forms are automatically sent to the office.

From a TraCS Web Client, users will be able to see all their non-archived forms saved to the SQL database.

TraCS Workstation

In a Web Services Environment, as noted above, users’ computers are considered either a TraCS Web Client or a TraCS Workstation, both of which have largely the same capabilities, including the ability to create forms, edit forms, accept/reject forms, etc. In addition to all features offered by a TraCS Web Client, the TraCS Workstation has further capabilities, including but not limited to:

• Transmitting forms

• Creating/running Ad Hoc Reports

Unlike a TraCS Web Client, a TraCS Workstation must have consistent connection to the TraCS Databases and TraCS Server as a TraCS Workstation does not use TraCS Web Services and instead relies on the TraCS Databases and files on the TraCS Server to perform virtually all actions in TraCS, including logging in, searching for forms, etc.

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Given that forms from Web Clients are consistently being written to TraCS Databases and therefore readily available on TraCS Workstations, agencies may want to make use of optional form statuses offered in TraCS, including ‘Complete,’ ‘Accepted,’ and ‘Rejected (shown below):’

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Best Practices

Best Practices in a Web Services Environment makes use of the optional statuses of ‘Accepted,’ ‘Completed,’ and ‘Rejected’ as mentioned above. It is important to make use of these statuses as, as soon as a form in closed on a Web Client, TraCS Web Services attempts to upload the form to the TraCS Databases, making it viewable and able to be manipulated by all users that can use that form.

Therefore, TraCS Users must be able to signal to other uses in the Web Services Environment that the form is ready to be for review, it is ready to be transmitted, or if it needs to be edited/amended in some way. This will avoid incomplete citations/forms from being transmitted erroneously, etc.

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TraCS Server (Master Computer)

The TraCS Server in a TraCS Web Services environment doubles as the TraCS Master Computer. This is the server on which Internet Information Services (IIS) has been enabled and which houses the TraCS Network files that other TraCS computers in the TraCS Web Services Environment (primarily TraCS Workstations) use. The TraCS Master Computer will be the first computer at your agency to update.

The TraCS Server Installation is a separate baseline installer from which is used to install the TraCS software on TraCS Workstations/TraCS Web Clients. The TraCS Server Application has all the same capabilities as a TraCS Workstation.