When a visitor arrives at the gate, find the property that the visitor wants to go to. Then find the person at that property. This article is for community staff who work the gate.
To open Mission Control, your role needs Gates set to Add & edit. By default, the Admin, Supervisor and Gate Attendant roles have it. Your community can change these permissions.
Open Mission Control
If your role can open gates, MyWatchtower opens Mission Control when you sign in. To open it again, do one of these steps:
- Select Dashboard in the navigation.
- Select Mission Control in the selector at the top right of the page. The selector also shows Dashboard, and Analytics when your role can see reports.
- On the staff dashboard, select the Mission Control card.
Mission Control has three steps: Find, Visitor and Entry. The step bar at the top left shows where you are. After you complete a step, the bar shows your choice, for example the street of the property.
- To go back to a step, select it in the step bar.
- To clear a choice, select the X next to it.
- To clear all your choices, select Start over.
Step 1: Find the property
1. Type at least 3 characters in the search field. The field reads Search an address or a name. You can type a house number, a street name or the name of a person.
2. Read the list. Properties show first, then visitors. The line above the list tells you how many properties and visitors match.
3. Select the property. Step 2, Visitor, opens.
Before you type, the list shows the first properties and visitors of the community. Each property row shows the street and the number of residents. A property with notes for the gate shows Gate notes.
You can also select a person in step 1. MyWatchtower then selects the property of that person and opens step 3. Some people need one more choice:
- A resident with more than one property: MyWatchtower shows the properties of the resident. Select the property that the resident wants to go to.
- A community-wide guest or vendor: this person has no property. Select the property that they want to go to first, then select the person.
If nothing matches, check the spelling. Try part of the street name, or the last name of the visitor.
If the list does not load, select Try again. MyWatchtower keeps your search.
Search a community group
Your community can be part of a group. If you can see more than one community of the group, the search covers all of them. Each row then shows the name of its community. Read the community name before you select a row.
Step 2: Find the person
Step 2 lists the residents, guests and vendors of the property. It also lists the guests and vendors that apply to the whole community. Their rows show Community-wide.
1. Type the name of the person in Visitor Search. The field reads Search names at and the street. The list gets shorter as you type.
2. To show one kind of person, select All, Residents, Guests or Vendors under Show. Each choice shows how many people it holds. When the property has a restricted person, Restricted shows too.
3. Read the status of the person in the Status column.
4. Select the person. Step 3, Entry, opens.
Each person has one status:
| Status | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Resident | A resident with no MyWatchtower account. |
| Resident Account | A resident with a MyWatchtower account. |
| Permanent, Active, Upcoming, Expired | The access dates of a guest or a vendor. |
| Restricted | The person is on the deny list of the property. The initials show on a red tile. |
| Outside schedule | A guest or a vendor with an entry schedule, at a time outside that schedule. |
To read the reason for a restriction, point to Restricted. The reason shows when one is recorded. You can only deny the entry of a restricted person.
A person who is outside their entry schedule shows in gray. You cannot select the row, so you cannot record an entry for that person now. Point to the row to see the days and the hours of the schedule. See *Setting a Guest's Entry Schedule*.
If the person is not on the list, check the property first. To add a person, select Create visitor. When a search finds nobody, you can also select Create new visitor. See *Create a Visitor at the Gate*. To open the page of the property, select View property.
To fit more rows on the screen, use the two density buttons next to the list: Compact and Comfortable. MyWatchtower keeps your choice in this browser.
Step 3: Check the contacts
Step 3 shows Contacts for and the street at the left. Record entry shows at the right.
- Call in priority order lists the contacts of the property. Call them in that order. To call from this device, select Call.
- Notes show above the contacts: Gate attendant notes, Property notes and the notes of the guest or vendor. A red note tells you that the property is vacant.
- The Record entry card shows the property and the person. If the person has a photo, select it to make it larger. Compare the photo with the person at the gate.
If your role can add profile photos, a small button shows on the corner of the photo tile. Its tooltip reads Manage profile photo. Use it to add or change the photo of the person. By default, the Admin, Supervisor and Gate Attendant roles can do this.
To record the entry, see *Record an Entry in Mission Control*.
Offline mode
In offline mode, Mission Control searches the data that you downloaded to this device. The search covers only the current community, not the community group. A banner tells you what still works. You can still record entries. MyWatchtower keeps them on the device and sends them when the server is available again. You cannot add a new visitor, process QR codes or scan a license in offline mode.
Tips for a fast search
- If a full name finds nobody, MyWatchtower searches again with the last word of the name. A search for "Jon Smith" can find "Jonathan Smith".
- To fill in the search from a driver's license, select the scan button at the top right. It reads Scan license, or Scan license / QR code when your community uses QR codes. MyWatchtower puts the name on the license in the search field. See *Scanning Driver's Licenses*.
- For a condominium or another building with units, check the unit number. Each unit is a separate property.
- Read the notes in step 3. Residents often leave instructions for the gate there.