Introduction to ReachLite¶
This section gives an introduction to ReachLite, including an overview and the terminology involved in the application.
Overview¶
ReachLite introduces the next generation of effortless information exchange and collaboration through a unique online experience focusing on people and their varying needs. ReachLite is Software as a Service platform which allows conversion of virtually any potential source of information into a structured electronic App such as highly configurable and dynamic electronic forms, surveys, and reports, with unlimited data extraction and manipulation. ReachLite is an end-to-end integrated solution for data management, data processing, and data delivery. An intuitive Graphical User Interface makes it easy for users to learn the system and quickly become productive.
Some of the features of ReachLite include:
- Intuitive App Page Editor: The Page Editor module is an easy to use solution allowing users to build an electronic App by constructing it from the ground up using an intuitive online designer.
- Entry Fields Recognition (EFR): EFR is a Document Converter module that allows the user to ‘digitize’ regular images or PDF’s with printed controls like textboxes, checkboxes, and fields into an electronic App. For example, if you scanned in a form your company is using and you want to extract the fields from it, ReachLite will allow you to do so quickly and quite accurately.
- Business Rules: The Business Rules module is an easy-to-use expression builder which allows the user to apply conditions that make your electronic Apps truly dynamic. When an event happens in an App, you have full control over how it reacts to it.
- App Distribution: Letting other users see your Apps and Submissions of those Apps is easy, and can be done simply by giving the user a secure URL.
- Data Handling: ReachLite handles data seamlessly, whether it comes from the user directly or from an external source such as a database. It allows you to use this data to create Apps that can dynamically change depending on your needs. Whether you have one small table of data or 50 database servers, ReachLite will handle and appropriately display the data you need.
- Versioning: ReachLite keeps track of all changes introduced to the App by the user. Each time you create a new App or save an existing one, the App’s snapshot will be taken and saved in the database until you mark it as Approved, at which point it cannot be edited anymore.
- Admin Module: ReachLite offers a comprehensive role-based security model. It allows the system administrator to restrict access to certain system functionality to defined groups of users according to their roles (assigned permissions in the system).
General Terminology¶
App¶
An ‘App’ is a dynamic user-created combination of electronic elements that can be distributed to allow data to be used, transferred, and manipulated to suit the needs of any virtual or physical environment. Apps are the core of ReachLite and are the principle method of inputting and extracting data in the application. Once an App is made, it can be distributed many times in the form of ‘Submissions’, which handle all of the data flow that the App is defined to handle. An App can be setup as an online fillable form, multi-step survey or even highly interactive online solution.
Apps can be quite dynamic, and can be customized extensively to fit the criteria you are looking for when handling data at any level.
Submission¶
A ‘Submission’ is the active state of an App. It is where the elements, rules, and visual appearance that you worked on when creating your App come to life. Submissions can be distributed in as many quantities as necessary for your needs. Many users can interact with submissions (for example, Fill in a form), and all of those interactions are recorded and can be used as well, creating a truly dynamic environment for data flow.
Page¶
A ‘Page is simply a logical module in an App. An App that you create can potentially be quite complex, but even simple Apps may need multiple Pages. Every Page has its own set of elements and controls (such as text boxes, buttons, etc.) that become active when a Submission of the App is made. A user can also move through Page while in a Submission, doing so in a way that the creator of the App defines.
When creating an App, one can have as much or as little control over how users interact with its Pages at the Submission level, and it’s easy to set up the rules and definitions that define this interaction.
Business Rule¶
‘Business Rules’ are the core of creating dynamic Apps and are the main way to control data in a Submission. Business Rules can be defined in a simple way: If a certain event occurs in a Submission -> Perform an action if all the conditions are right. It is not much more complicated than that. There are many events, functions, and actions that can occur in a Submission and it would be a good idea to explore and investigate them all. They are all explained in this manual.
Creating Business Rules brings your Apps to life, and, most importantly, takes seemingly complex tasks and streamlines them in a format that is easy to work with.
Data Source¶
A ‘Data Source’ is any electronic means of obtaining data and using it in your Apps. You can obtain data from external sources such as databases and web services, or you can use ReachLite’s Cloud Database and use that data in your Apps. You can obtain data from a Data Source and update the data in a Data Source directly from a Submission, allowing your Apps to be even more dynamic in their data handling.
Space¶
A ‘Space’ is the collection of Apps, Submissions, Data Sources, and other ReachLite elements, that belong to a certain groups of users. A user’s Space is where they house all the data they work with. Depending on your service plan, you have a certain number of Apps, Submissions, and other elements that you can have in your Space at a certain time. You can track your Space activity within ReachLite and manage all of your data seamlessly. Your Space also allows you to collaborate with other users of your space by exchanging Submissions of various Apps.
Everything that you do in ReachLite, you will do in your Space. Once you create an account for the first time, spend some time exploring the application and get a feel for what it is all about. Of course, everything you see in the application is explained in this manual.