User Guide

Words Used in FieldCam

• Tag: a saved label, such as a component ID like GA101. Tags are printed on the photo and can be searched in the Library. You can call them something else, such as Component or Asset, in Settings → Storage & Tagging → Name for Tags. The word is shared in a Team Template.
• Place: your own text for where a photo was taken, for example “Pump room 3”.
• Notes: a free description of the job or what the photo shows.
• Location: the GPS position, as coordinates and an address.
• Overlay: the information printed on the photo: time, date, location, place, tags, notes and logo.
• Library: FieldCam’s own collection of photos and videos. It is separate from the Photos app.

Take Photos and Video

Basics

• Switch between Photo and Video with the toggle at the top of the screen.
• The flip button next to the flash switches between the back and front camera.
• The button at the left of the zoom row switches between the normal picture and a square 1:1 picture.
• On iPhones with a Camera Control button, that button also takes the picture.

Zoom

• Tap 0.5, 1, 2 or 4 to jump to that zoom. Only the zoom levels your camera has are shown.
• Drag sideways over the zoom buttons to open the zoom ruler and zoom smoothly. The whole range is covered in less than one screen width.
• You can also pinch the picture to zoom.

Focus, flash and lock

• Tap the picture to focus.
• The padlock at the top right can lock the lens and the focus, so they stay put during a whole job.
• The flash menu at the top left offers Off, Auto, On and Torch (constant light), depending on your camera.
• A grid and a level can be switched on in Settings → Photo. They help you frame the shot and are never saved in the file.

Tags and Notes

The tag button

• The tag button next to the shutter opens Tags & Notes. A preview at the top shows how the overlay will look on the photo.
• Place: type where you are. Your recent places are offered as quick buttons.
• Tags: search your saved tags or type a new one. Tap a tag in the list to change it for this photo, and drag to reorder.
• Notes: type a description. Notes are printed on the photo and can be searched later.

Faster tagging

• Tap the scan button in the tag field to scan a QR code or barcode on a label. The code becomes the tag.
• Type just a number, such as 104, and FieldCam offers the next tag in the series you were using, for example GA104.
• Choose “Add a range” to create a whole run of tags at once, for example GA101 to GA115. They are added to your tag library, not to the current photo.
• “Clear all” empties the place, tags and notes for the next capture.

When to tag

• Settings → Storage & Tagging → Tag Photos decides the order: tag before taking the photo, after taking it, or automatically (ask only when no tag is selected).

Overlay and Logo

Settings → Watermark & Overlay

• Style: choose from samples drawn with your own colours, font and logo.
• Appearance: position, colours, text size and font.
• Time & Date: switch them on and choose the format.
• Location: Off, saved in the file only (searchable, not visible), or printed on the photo as coordinates, address, or both.
• Logo: choose one from Photos, from Files, or from a link. A logo from a link can be shared with your team in a Team Template.

Changing it afterwards

• Open a photo, tap ··· and choose Edit Tags & Notes to correct the place, tags or notes printed on it. Time, date and position can’t be changed.
• This needs “Allow Editing Tags Later” in Settings → Storage & Tagging, which keeps an untouched copy of each photo.

Video, Time-Lapse and Stopwatch

Settings → Video

• Resolution and frame rate: only frame rates your camera supports are listed.
• Record Audio: music from other apps keeps playing, and the microphone is only used while you record.
• Capture Photo While Recording adds a second shutter button for stills during a recording.

Time-lapse

• Time-lapse saves one frame per interval (1 to 60 seconds) and plays them back at 30 frames per second, without sound.
• Keep FieldCam open on screen while it records.

Stopwatch

• With the stopwatch on, Start/Stop, Lap and Reset buttons appear at the right edge, also before you start recording.
• The time and the laps are printed in the video.

Library

Find and view

• Open the Library with the album button at the bottom left of the camera.
• Search tags, place, address and notes, or filter by date and tag. “Untagged” shows photos without tags.
• Tap a picture to open it. Swipe to move between pictures. Tap a photo for full screen, and pinch to zoom. Turn the phone for landscape.

The ··· menu on a photo

• Info: camera details, position on a map and the tags and notes.
• Edit Tags & Notes: change place, notes and tags.
• Draw & Annotate: add lines, arrows, boxes, circles, drawings, text and marker.
• Crop & Rotate: reframe and straighten.
• Before & After, Share, Export PDF Report and Delete.

Several at once

• Tap Select, tick the pictures, then Share, Report or Delete.

Before & After

Make one

• Open the first photo, tap ···, then Before & After.
• Take After Photo opens the camera with this photo’s tags and a guide for matching the angle. Tap the eye in the banner to fade the before photo over the viewfinder.
• Choose From Library lets you pick the second photo. Photos with the same tags are listed first.

Adjust and save

• Change style, direction, labels and the info band under the preview. Touch and hold a photo to zoom and move it.
• Tap a photo to rename its label, for example Reference and Actual. Settings → Before & After → Labels has ready-made pairs and lets you save your own. In More Options, “Use These Settings as Default” keeps your wording for new images, and a Team Template carries it to your team.
• “Delete originals” removes the two source photos after saving. The image can then no longer be re-styled.
• Your default look is set in Settings → Before & After.

PDF Reports

Make a report

• In the Library, tap Select, choose the pictures and tap Report. Choose New Report, or Add to Existing Report.
• Fill in the title, project and who prepared it, and an introduction if you like. A title is suggested from the tags on the pictures.
• Choose paper size (A4, A3, A5, Letter or Legal), picture quality, one or two pictures per page, cover page and logo.
• Choose what is printed with each picture: date and time, tags, GPS position, address and place, file name.
• Write an explanation under each picture. If you leave it empty, nothing is printed. Tap Reorder to change the order, and swipe a picture to leave it out.
• Create makes the PDF and opens the share sheet, so you can send it straight away.

Come back to it

• Every report you create is saved. Open the Reports row at the top of the Library to change it and create a new PDF.
• “Save Report for Later” keeps your setup without creating a PDF.

Storage and Backup

Storage

• FieldCam keeps its own library inside the app. If the app is deleted, that library is deleted with it.
• Save to Photos also puts a copy in your Photos library, which stays. You can also save a copy without the overlay.

Backup

• Settings → Backup copies new photos and videos to iCloud or to any folder in the Files app, such as Dropbox, OneDrive or Google Drive.
• It is a one-way safety copy: it never deletes or changes anything at the destination. Use Back Up Now to catch up.

File names

• Settings → Storage & Tagging → File Names builds the file name from a prefix, date and time, a running number and the first tag or note.

Team Template

Share your setup

• Settings → Team Template → Save Current Settings as Template keeps your camera, overlay and logo layout settings so you can switch back to them.
• Share as QR Code gives your teammates the same look. You can include your saved tags, and a logo link so the logo downloads automatically.

Use a shared setup

• Open Settings → Team Template → Import Team Template and scan the QR code, or import a saved copy from Photos or Files.
• FieldCam shows what is included before you apply it. Applying replaces your current camera, overlay and logo layout settings.