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Manage Sites

Only Administrator and Manager can create, edit, and delete sites.

Create a Site

Site Creation Options

Methods of Site Creation

There are two ways to create a site in evalink talos:

  • from scratch

  • from a template

Creating a site from a template is useful when you need to create multiple sites that share a common set of parameters – for example, use the same types of integrations, have the same working hours, monitor the same set of site statuses, forward alarms to a common monitoring station, etc.

All these settings can be applied to the site automatically during the site creation, with a possibility to edit them afterwards.

Site Templates are configured on a global level under Company > Settings > Sites. Only Administrator and Manager have the permissions to create and manage Site Templates.

Setting Site ID

When creating a site, there are the following options for specifying the Site ID (the name of the site):

  • typing the Site ID manually

    This option is always available when creating a site from scratch.

    When creating a site from a template, it is possible to manually enter the Site ID if the template:

    • provides the Site ID input Field
    • is not configured to create an auto-generated Side ID (see below)
  • setting an auto-generated Site ID

    You can have evalink talos generate the Site ID as a random-looking numeric value.

    The Site ID value is generated based on a sequence – a user-defined configuration that specifies the start value of the number (for example, 51500000) and the optional constant prefix and suffix that are added to the number (for example, VdS- or -ArmStatus).

    For each new created site, the last assigned value from the sequence is incremented by 1. For example, after a site with Site ID 51500000 is created, other sites that are created using the sequence will have Site IDs 51500001, 51500002, etc.

    Auto-generated Site IDs can be applied both to the sites created from scratch and to the sites created from a template.

    Site ID sequences are configured on a global level under Company > Settings > Sites. Same as with site templates, sequences can be created and managed by Administrator and Manager only.

coming soon

Working with Site Templates and sequences will be described in further documentation releases.

Create a Site from Scratch

To create a site from scratch:

  1. On the Sites page, click the Create Site button

  2. In the dialog that opens

    a. Select the Basic option

    Basic is the default option if no templates have been configured for the Company yet. If at least one Site Template is configured, the default option is From Template.

    b. In the Site ID field, type the site ID (the name of the site)

    The site name must be unique within the Company and can contain letters, digits, special symbols and emoji.

    To generate a Site ID automatically (see section Setting Site ID), click the notes Sequence button in the Site ID field and select the desired sequence from the list. The generated Site ID is populated into the field.

    info

    To be able to auto-generate a Site ID, you need to have at least one sequence configured under Company > Settings > Sites.

    c. If you want the site to be in Active status after creation, leave the Activate Site checkbox selected. Otherwise, clear the checkbox

    For details on Active and Inactive site statuses, see section Operations Available for a Site > Work with Overall Site Status.

    d. Click Create

  3. (Optional) On the site Settings subpage that opens, fill in the fields (see section Edit the Site Settings for details) and click Save

    To exit the Settings subpage and return to Overview, click on the <- Back link at the top of the page.

Create a Site from a Template

info

To be able to create a site from a template, you need to have at least one site template configured under Company > Settings > Sites.

To create a site from a template:

  1. On the Sites page, click the Create Site button

  2. In the dialog that opens

    a. Leave the From Template option selected

    This option is the default one if at least one Site Template is created for the Company.

    b. Select the desired Site Template from the list

  3. Fill in the fields that appear on the form

    The set of fields is customizable and can be specific for each particular template.

    tip

    Note that, if the Site ID field is present on the form (always mandatory), and the Site Template includes Site ID auto-generation (see section Setting Site ID), the auto-generated Site ID takes precedence over the manually entered one.

    During the site creation, there is no way to find out if Site ID auto-generation is included in the Site Template, but it is possible to edit the Site ID on the site Settings page afterwards.

  4. Click Create

    The creation procedure may take time, since evalink talos sometimes needs to create the objects and resources specified in the template.

  5. (Optional) On the site Settings subpage that opens, fill in the fields (see section Edit the Site Settings for details) and click Save

    If the Site ID was auto-generated, it appears populated in the Site ID field.

    To exit the Settings subpage and return to Overview, click on the <- Back link at the top of the page.

Edit the Site Settings

To edit the site settings:

  1. Go to the Sites page, select the site from the list

  2. On the Overview page that opens, scroll down to the middle of the page and click settings Settings

  3. On the Settings subpage that opens, enter or edit the following information:

  • In the Site pane, specify the Site ID and select a Site Group for the site

    When you edit the site settings, Site ID is the only required field. For more details about naming the site, see section Create a Site.

  • In the Address pane, specify the company details for the site

  • In the Time Zone pane, select the Time Zone for the site

    The Your time zone field displays your current time zone. Click the name of your time zone to set it as the site time zone. When your time zone is set as the site time zone, the Your time zone field is not displayed.

  • In the Custom Fields pane, specify the values for custom fields, or click Configure to setup a new custom field

    tip

    After you click Configure, you will be directed to another page. To prevent your changes from being lost, scroll down the Settings subpage and click Save.

    For more information about configuring custom fields, see section Custom Fields.

  • In the Code Word pane, specify the code word for the site

    You can change the existing code word or click addAdd Code Word to create a new one. For more information about configuring code words, see section Site Code Words.

    To delete a code word, click the delete delete button to the right of the code word that you want to delete.

  • In the Installer pane, provide information about the Installer

    You can do one of the following:

    • leave the Add info about installer option selected and manually enter information about the Installer

    • select Choose installer company option to assign the Installer to the site

      Administrator configures one or multiple Installers for the Company. For the site, you can choose one Installer from the list configured by Administrator.

      After you assigned the Installer to the site, use the Access toggle bar to grant or restrict Installer an access to the site record on the Installer portal:

      • the Access toggle is active (the default option) - Installer can view and edit the site properties within the permissions provided by Administrator
      • the Access toggle is inactive - Installer can only view the basic site details

      To set permissions for the Installer, click Permissions, select viewing permissions in the Share area and the editing permissions in the Manage area, then click Submit.

      Permissions granted on the site level are propagated to the global Installer record on the Company > Settings > Sites page.

  • In the Special Alarms pane, you can add the following alarms for the site:

    • Ignored Alarms

      Ignored alarms are not displayed to Operator. These alarms are closed automatically and logged as Events. Examples of ignored alarms are regular technical alarms informing on the connection status of an alarm panel.

    • Rejected Alarms

      Rejected Alarms are not displayed to Operator. These alarms are declined automatically and not logged. Examples of rejected alarms are automatic communication test reports.

      In evalink talos, alarms that are ignored and / or rejected by default are specified in the globally-configured list of ignored and rejected alarms.

      info

      To edit the list of alarms that are ignored and / or rejected by default, go to the Company > Settings and click edit Edit Special Alarms. After you made changes, click Submit.

      To stop ignoring / rejecting an alarm for the site, in the Ignored Alarms / Rejected Alarms field, enter ! immediately followed by the alarm code, for example: !302.

    • Alarm for activation

    • Alarm for deactivation

      You can use Special Alarms to activate / deactivate a site.

      When in Inactive state, a site rejects all alarms, except for the alarm specified in the Alarm for activation field.

    info

    To set a Special Alarm, use one of the following:

    • Alarm codes as provided by CID, SIA, VdS and Sitasys definitions

    • Alarm expressions

      For more information about alarm expressions, see section Alarm Expression Syntax.

  1. To save the settings configured above, click Save

To return to the Overview page, click the <- Back link at the top of the page.

Custom Fields

A custom field is a variable that stores information related to a site and used in workflows. Custom fields can also be created for site groups.

For example, for a company that monitors vehicles, you can create a License plate custom field. Then, you can specify a License plate number for each monitored vehicle and use it in your workflows.

Custom Fields are created on a global level. After a custom field is created, it appears on the Settings page of all sites (or site groups) created under the Company account.

To configure a custom field:

  1. Go to the Company > Settings > Sites

    You can go to this page directly from the Settings page of a particular site (or site group) by clicking on the open_in_new Configure shortcut in the Custom Fields area of the page.

  2. On the Company > Settings > Sites page, click addAdd Custom Field

  3. In the dialog that opens, specify:

  • Name – the custom field ID to be used by evalink talos internally

    The name can contain only letters and numbers. It is recommended to follow the best practices used for programming language variables, such as lowerCamelCase: testRecord, invoiceNumber, etc.

  • Type – determines what type of data is stored in the field

    You can the select one of the following:

    • Text – the value can contain any character, including letters, digits, and keyboard symbols

    • Number – the value can contain whole numbers – positive, negative, or zero

    • Select One – one value from the list can be selected

    • Select Multiple – multiple values from the list can be selected

      When you select an enumerated type (Select One or Select Multiple), an Option field appears at the bottom of the dialog. To add more options to the list, click the addAdd Option button.

  • Display – the custom field name to be displayed in evalink talos UI

  • Scope – determines if the custom field value is set for sites only or for site groups only

    • Sites (the default option)
      • the custom field is offered for filling on the Settings page of each site
      • the value of the custom field (if set) is displayed on the Overview page of the site
    • Site Groups
      • the custom field is offered for filling on the Settings page of each site group
      • the value of the custom field (if set) is displayed on the Overview page of each site that is included into the group and on the Overview page of the site group itself
  • (Optional) Validation pattern – an expression for user input validation

    The custom field value must match the validation pattern value. Validation pattern follows regular expressions syntax. For example, the ^[0-9]*$ expression allows entering only numbers in a custom field.

    Validation patterns can only be configured for Text and Number types of custom fields.

  • (Optional) select the Public checkbox to include custom field information in PDF and email reports

  • (Optional) select the Operator checkbox to display the custom field to the Operator

    Operator will see custom fields for a site on the operator Workflow page when processing an alarm

  • (Optional) select the Hidden checkbox to hide the custom field value from the Overview pages of the concerned sites or site groups

    This option is useful for storing sensitive information.

  1. Click Submit

By default, custom fields are displayed on the site / site group Settings and Overview pages in the order in which they were added. To reorder custom fields, go to Company > Settings > Sites page and move the custom fields as desired by clicking on arrow_drop_up and arrow_drop_down (arrow) buttons to the right of each custom field.

info

Name and Type of an existing custom field cannot be edited.

warning

To be able to delete a custom field on the Company > Settings > Sites page, first erase all the custom field values specified for all sites / site groups.

Site Code Words

Code word for a site is used for the call communication with a person belonging to the site when that person is not recorded as a site contact in evalink talos. For more information about site contacts, see section Work with Contacts.

Site code words are used for IN-CALL alarms, to allow many people to act as contacts on behalf of a site.

For example, for a site with many employees, such as a department store, you can configure one code word on a site level and share it with employees. This way you don’t need to add an excessive number of site contacts and create a code word for each contact.

You can have multiple code words for a site and assign them to different contact groups. Use 'Master' and 'General' name templates, or create a code word with an arbitrary name. For example, you can set a 'Master' code word for the site managers, and a 'General' code word for employees with less permissions.

When Operator receives a call from a person on behalf of a site, the phone number may be known or unknow to evalink talos.

  • If the phone number is registered in evalink talos, the site details including the code word, are displayed in the incoming call dialog box

  • If the phone number is not registered in evalink talos, Operator uses a Codeword Search to find the relevant site

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When Operator verifies the site and triggers an IN-CALL alarm, the alarm and associated workflow are automatically assigned to Operator.

Delete a Site

Before attempting to delete a site, make sure that none of enabled site receivers are in Connected status through ethernet or mobile.

The figure below shows an example of a connected receiver, configured for a site:

Active Receiver in a Connected State

To delete a site:

  1. On the Sites page, click on the site record in the list

  2. On the Overview page of the site that opens, scroll to the middle of the page and click the settings Settings button

  3. Scroll to the bottom of the Settings subpage and click the Delete button

  4. Enter the confirmation code and click Delete

warning

After a site is deleted, the contacts, workflows, and schedules configured for it are also deleted permanently. The records originating from the site disappear from the Events and Event Log pages.

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