Shortly before Christmas we published a minor update for portatour®. Below you will find a description of the new features.

Map: More colors for displaying customers

It was already possible to color customers on the map not only according to urgency, but also according to other criteria, e.g. industry.

As a reminder, here’s how to proceed:

• In the main menu, click Customers.
• Click the map icon.
• In the top right corner, click the cogwheel icon.
• In the color selection box, select the desired criterion according to which you want to set the colors.

The assignment of colors to the different crtieria occurs automatically, whereby the limit was previously 5 colors. With this update, the color palette has now been extended to 20 colors. Here is an example:

Map: Hide customers by color

Regardless of which criterion you used to color the customers on the map, you can now hide or show all customers of the same color with a single click.

This is useful if you want to focus on individual colors on the map and avoid them being concealed by others.

Proceed as follows:

• If the legend with the color overview is not yet open, click the legend icon at the bottom right.
• To hide or show the customers of a certain color, click the eye icon to the right. The icon toggles between gray and blue.
• To hide or show all customers, use the eye icon in the all row.

Edit customer reference of appointments and tasks

To edit the customer reference of an appointment or task retroactively, open the edit window. The current customer reference is displayed at the top.

Click the pencil icon to create, change or delete a customer reference. When changing the customer reference, the subject and address of the appointment can also be updated, if desired.

Typical use cases:

• The appointment was imported and does not have a customer reference yet.
• The appointment was mistakenly assigned to the wrong customer when it was created.

Note: If portatour® is connected to data sources in Salesforce, Dynamics CRM or Veeva CRM, the customer reference cannot be edited retroactively. Make the change in the source system or delete the appointment and recreate it with the correct customer reference.

New filters in the extended customer search

The following filters have been added to the extended customer search:

• Call block: not blocked today
• In “My Places”: any| no | yes
• Accommodation : any | no | yes

Now, during the Corona pandemic, many representatives have encountered some customers who may not be visited in person, whereby contact is only possible by telephone.

Such telephone calls are a forced substitute for a visit. The call interval should be reset upon conclusion. To log this in portatour® there is a new menu item By phone instead of in person, when you click New report on the customer detail page.

Now what are the differences compared to the normal call report? The report is of type “Other” with the subject “By phone instead of in person”. In addition, this report does not affect the departure point if the schedule is subsequently updated.

Analogous to the normal call report, the date of the last visit is updated for the customer, i.e. the call interval is reset. This telephone call has taken place in lieu of an in-person visit.

Here is a table summarizing the characteristics of the different reports:

Note: Which menu items are actually visible depends on the settings in the Options under “Reporting”.

With saved searches, each user can filter or sort their customer list differently depending on the purpose, and subsequently call them up again at any time at the push of a button.

As of this update, administrators can now create saved searches centrally, which can be employed by all users.

Here’s how it works:

1. 1. If you are an administrator and do not have customers of your own, first log in to a user account that has customers.
   2. Navigate to the customer list.
   3. Use the Advanced search to set the desired filters and sorting.
   4. Click Saved.

1. Click Save search organization-wide…
2. Enter a name.
3. Click Save.

This saved search is now available to all users.

Bear in mind:

• Only administrators can create and delete organization-wide saved searches.
• This functionality is available not only for the customer list but also for all other lists, i.e. also for appointments, tasks, reports and users. Just click the “Search” icon above the respective list.

One of the most frequently used functions in portatour® is the customer search. It is available as quick search, extended search and saved search.

As of now the same functionality is also available for appointments, tasks, reports and users. One difference: whereas in the customer list the search function is always displayed, in the other lists you have to switch to the search mode by clicking the magnifying glass symbol. Another click on the magnifying glass symbol ends the search mode; you will see the standard view of the respective list again.

What else is new in the search?

• The symbol for the extended search is now a filter symbol instead of the configuration wheel symbol.
• If an extended search or a saved search is currently active, this will be easily recognizable by the yellow color of the respective button. In addition, a new button with an X symbol is displayed to the right of it, with which you can end the search and return to the standard view.
• If an extended search or a saved search is currently active, you can also perform a quick search, which will narrow down the search result even further. Up to now, every quick search has ignored previous searches.

Hints for the quick search

For those of you who don’t already know, in the quick search, you can enter multiple search terms in the search field. For example, if you enter “Turner Oakland” in the search field, all customers containing “Turner” and “Oakland” will be found – in this example in the name and the city. The words do not have to be written out in full.

Additional information

• The search also affects the export button below the list. When a search is active, you can choose whether to export only the rows found or all rows.
• You can search for appointments by clicking the list symbol at the top right of the calendar and then the magnifying glass symbol for the search.
• In the reports list you will find the three well-known functions “Clock in”, “Clock out” and “Report day off” via the new button “Log working time”.

If you are planning routes with overnight stays on the way, the new function “Find hotel” can be helpful.

You will find this function in the following places in portatour®:

• In the schedule by clicking an overnight stay suggestion or overnight stay appointment
• Clicking an overnight stay suggestion or overnight stay appointment in the calendar
• In the appointment details view of an overnight stay appointment

When clicking “Find hotel”, you will be forwarded to the Booking.com website in a new window where hotels nearby your overnight stay location will be suggested. You will see the availabilities and prices for the date of the overnight stay. The room search uses the criteria “1 adult” and “business person”. You can set further filtering criteria on Booking.com.

After you have booked a hotel on Booking.com, use the function “Change overnight stay location” in portatour® to enter the hotel address. This will create a new overnight stay appointment that replaces the old overnight stay suggestion or overnight stay appointment.

Hint: If you would like to stay overnight at a hotel more often or if you want portatour® to suggest this hotel on its own for overnight tours, enter it in portatour® by clicking main menu > My Places > New accommodation. Up to 25 accommodations are possible.