You add an incident to the Community Log with the Report New Incident form. The form records the type of the incident, the location, the date and time, and the notes. You can also attach photos and files.
Incidents are part of the Community Log. In the app, the navigation item of the Community Log shows the name Reporting.
Before you start
- The Community Log must be on for your community.
- Your role needs Incident documentation set to Add & edit. By default, the Admin, Supervisor and Gate Attendant roles have this permission. A role with View only can open the incidents, but it does not show New incident.
Open the form
1. Select Reporting in the navigation.
2. Select the Incidents tab.
3. Select New incident. The Report New Incident form opens. On a phone, the form fills the screen.
You can also open the form from the Dashboard tab. Select the Report Incident card.
The form has four sections: Incident, Location, Details and Photos & Attachments.
Incident
Select the type of the incident in the Incident Type list. Your community sets the types in its settings. If your community has no types, the list shows a default set of types.
The list can end with Other. Select Other when no type fits. The Specify Incident Type field then shows, and you must fill it in. The incident gets the type "Other - " followed by your text. Other shows when the community turns on Allow 'Other' category. With the default set of types, Other always shows.
Some types are vehicle types. When you select a vehicle type, the License Plate field shows. The plate is optional. The app changes each letter to a capital letter. If the plate matches a vehicle in your community, the page of the incident links to that vehicle.
Location
Under Location, select Select Property or Drop Pin:
- Select Property: type 3 or more characters of the address in the Property (Optional) field. Then select the property in the list. The property is optional.
- Drop Pin: click a point on the map. The map opens at the location of your device, so your browser or phone can ask for permission to use your location. After you click, the coordinates show under the map. When you submit, the app adds an image of the map with the pin to the attachments of the incident.
If you refuse the location permission, the map does not show. The form shows "Location permission required to display map correctly." Retry loads the page again, and the form closes without saving.
The incident keeps the location of the option that is selected when you submit.
Details
The Date & Time field shows the current date and time. If the incident occurred earlier, change the value. This field is required.
Type a full description of the incident in the Notes field. Notes are optional, and they can have up to 10,000 characters. A clear description helps you find the incident later in a search or a report.
Photos & Attachments
Add files in the Photos & Attachments section:
- In a web browser, select Upload Files. You can select more than one file.
- In the MyWatchtower app on a phone, select Take Photo to use the camera, Gallery to select photos, or Attach File to add a different file.
Each file shows as a small preview. To remove a file before you submit, select the X on its preview.
The app makes each large photo smaller before it sends the photo. The longest edge of a photo becomes 2048 pixels or less. Other files do not change.
Submit the incident
1. Make sure that Incident Type and Date & Time have a value. Submit Report stays unavailable until you select a type.
2. Select Submit Report. The button shows Submitting... while the app sends the incident and its files.
3. The message "Incident reported successfully" shows, and the form closes.
The new incident has the status Active. It shows in the Incidents list and in the counts of the Dashboard tab. By default, the Incidents list shows the active incidents of the last 7 days. If the incident occurred before that, change Date range.
If Date & Time is empty, the message "Please fill in all required fields" shows. If Specify Incident Type is empty, the message "Please specify the incident type" shows. If the app cannot save the incident, the message "Failed to report incident" shows.
To close the form and save nothing, select Cancel or the X at the top of the form.
Communities in a group
Your organization can put several communities in a community group. If your role can add incidents in two or more communities of the group, the form shows a Community field at the top. The field starts with the community that you work in. To add the incident to a different community of the group, select that community. The property search then finds the properties of that community.
The combined Incidents list does not show an incident of a different community until the list loads again, for example after you reload the page.
Need help?
On a computer, select Help Center in the navigation. On a phone, select Help in the account menu. Each one opens the MyWatchtower support page. You can also speak to the management office of your community.