Common Locations
Executive Summary
Common Locations is the setup screen for the shared list of named places (for example clinics, pharmacies, or day programs) that can be reused when planning trips and transportation. Each location has a type, a File As name, an address, a time zone, and map coordinates. Administrators add, edit, and delete locations one at a time, geocode addresses to obtain coordinates, import many locations at once from an Excel template, and export the full list to Excel. A location must be geocoded before it can be used, so the list can be filtered to show locations that still need geocoding.
Key Features
- List all common locations with their type, address, discontinued and geocoded flags, and coordinates
- Filter by File As text, by status (All, Active, Not Geocoded, Discontinued), and by location type
- Add and edit a location, with address, time zone, phone number, notes, and a Discontinued? option
- Look up the latitude and longitude of an address with GEO Code
- Import locations and location types from the Common Locations Import Template Excel workbook
- Export the full list of locations to Excel
- Delete a location after confirming
Typical Workflow
- Click Add (when permitted), choose the Type, and enter the File As name and the address.
- Click GEO Code to fill in the Longitude and Latitude, then click Save.
- Use the filters and click Apply Filter to find locations. The Not Geocoded status lists locations that still need coordinates.
- To change a location, click the edit icon on its row (or right-click and choose Edit), update the details, and click Save.
- To load many locations at once, click Import Locations, choose the completed template workbook, and click Process.
- Click Export to save the full list to Excel.
Available Permissions
The following permissions are available to be assigned to AlayaCare Roles:
| Attribute | What It Controls |
|---|---|
| View | Open the page |
| Add | Show the Add button |
Main Grid
The grid lists the common locations that match the filters (14 rows per page). The first four columns stay in place when you scroll sideways.
| Column | Description |
|---|---|
| ID | Location number. |
| Type | Location type. |
| File As | Name the location is filed under. |
| Discontinued | Checked when the location has been discontinued. |
| Geocoded | Checked when the location has latitude and longitude. |
| Address | Street address. |
| Address 2 | Second address line. |
| City | City. |
| Province | Province or state. |
| Postal Code | Postal or zip code. |
| Country | Country. |
| Latitude | Latitude. |
| Longitude | Longitude. |
| Added | Date and time the location was added, shown in your local time. |
| Added By | User who added the location. |
| Manage Records | Edit and delete icons for the row. |
Main Grid Filters
| Filter | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Filter Fileas | Shows only locations whose File As contains the text entered (not case-sensitive). |
| Filter Status | All (the default), Active (geocoded and not discontinued), Not Geocoded, or Discontinued. |
| Location Types | Multi-select list of types, with Select All. Shows only locations of the types chosen. Leave empty to show every type. |
Click Apply Filter to refresh the list. Use Clear Filter to reset the filters.
Actions
| Button | Description |
|---|---|
| Add | Opens the Common Location dialog to add a location. Shown only with the Add permission. |
| Export | Exports the locations to Excel. A warning "Nothing to export" is shown if there are none. |
| Import Locations | Opens the Import Locations dialog. |
| Apply Filter | Applies the filters. |
| Clear Filter | Clears the filters and shows every location. |
| Edit (right-click a row, or the edit icon) | Opens the Common Location dialog for the row. |
| Delete (right-click a row, or the delete icon) | Deletes the location after you confirm "Are you sure you want to delete this location?". A "Location Deleted" message is shown afterwards. |
Dialog Components
Common Location
Opens from Add and from edit.
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| ID | Shown when editing. Read-only. |
| Type | Dropdown of location types (shown by their File As value). Chosen when adding; read-only when editing. |
| File As | Name the location is filed under. Required and must be unique. |
| Address | Street address. Required. |
| Address 2 | Second address line. |
| City | City. Required. |
| Province or state | Dropdown of the provinces or states configured for your organization. The label follows your organization's setting. Required. It is locked when only one value is allowed. |
| Postal or zip code | Entry box whose label and format follow your organization's setting. A postal code uses the pattern A1A 1A1, a zip code accepts 5 or 9 digits, and a post code accepts 4 digits. Optional, but must be valid when entered. |
| Country | Set automatically from your organization's setting. Read-only. |
| Longitude and Latitude | Map coordinates. Filled in by GEO Code or typed in. |
| GEO Code | Looks up the coordinates of the address using the mapping service and fills in Longitude and Latitude. A warning is shown if no address was entered or the address could not be found. |
| Select A Timezone | Dropdown of the time zones configured for your organization. Required. It is locked when only one value is allowed. |
| Phone Number | Phone number. |
| Notes | Notes. |
| Discontinued? | Check to mark the location as discontinued. |
When adding a location, Country, the province or state, and the time zone start with your organization's defaults.
When you click Save, the system checks that a time zone, type, File As, address, city, and province or state are entered, that the File As is not already used by another location, and that any postal or zip code is valid. If no coordinates are entered, you are asked "The location will not be available until the address has been geocoded. Are you sure you want to Save and exit?". Confirming saves the location as not geocoded. If coordinates are entered, the location is saved as geocoded. Coordinates that are not numbers give the warning "Address Location invalid".
Import Locations
Opens from Import Locations. Choose the Excel workbook (.xlsx or .xls, up to 100 MB). The dialog states that the system expects version 1.09 of the Common Locations Import Template Excel workbook.
| Button | Description |
|---|---|
| Process | Starts the import. |
| Clear | Removes the chosen file. |
| Close | Closes the dialog without importing. |
Dependencies
The following tables must be configured for lookups on this view to work:
| Table | Description |
|---|---|
| CommonLocationTypes | Location types offered in the Type dropdown and the Location Types filter (maintained on the Common Location Types screen). |
Processing Overviews
This section describes what happens after you confirm a processing action.
Process (Import Locations)
- Closes the dialog and shows an "Importing File" progress panel.
- Checks the workbook: the first sheet must be named Version and contain version 1.09.1024 in cell B4, the second sheet must be named LocationTypes with the columns Type and FileAs, and the third sheet must be named Locations with the 18 columns ExternalID, FileAs, Address1, UnitNumber, Address2, City, Province, PostalCode, PhoneAreaCode, PhoneExchange, PhoneNumber, PhoneExtension, LocationType, Latitude, Longitude, Notes, TimeZone, and IsDiscontinued. A warning is shown and the import stops if a check fails.
- Reads the LocationTypes sheet from the third row down. A row with a blank Type or FileAs is skipped. A type that does not exist is added; a type that already exists has its File As updated.
- Reads the Locations sheet from the third row down. For each row, the phone number is built from the four phone columns, the country is set to CA, and the location is marked discontinued only when IsDiscontinued is TRUE. The location is marked geocoded only when both Latitude and Longitude are valid, non-zero numbers.
- If a location with the same File As already exists, it is deleted and replaced by the row from the workbook.
- If the row's location type does not exist, it is added, using the type as its File As.
- A row that cannot be saved is reported as "Invalid Data in row n" and the import continues with the next row.
- When all rows are processed, "Import Finished" is shown and the list is refreshed.
Export
- Requires at least one location.
- Builds an Excel workbook with one sheet, Common Location Types, listing every location (not only those shown by the filters) with the columns Id, Type, File As, Address, Address 2, Unit Number, City, State, Zip, Country, Phone, Geocoded, Longitude, Latitude, Timezone, Notes, Add Method, Last Update On, Last Update User, Discontinued, and Discontinued On.
- Downloads the file, named commonlocations_{date}.xlsx, and shows "Exported Successfully".