Gate staff can scan a visitor's driver's license in two places: the License Scan page and Mission Control. This article is for gate staff. With the default roles, the Admin, Supervisor and Gate Attendant roles can use both.
The License Scan page
The License Scan page reads a license with a scanner that is connected to your gate computer. It shows the history of the license and the call list of the property, and it records the entry.
The page has no menu item. To open it, add /license-scan to the web address of MyWatchtower, for example mywatchtower.app/license-scan. Save a bookmark to open it again.
Scan a license
1. Look at the status at the top of the page. It must show Ready to scan. Please scan a license now.
2. Scan the barcode on the back of the license.
The page fills in Identification Information from the license and shows "License data successfully scanned". Select Advanced Details to see the birth date, the dates of the license and the physical description.
The status can also show these messages:
- Click anywhere to enable scanning.: click an empty area of the page once.
- Manual input mode active: you clicked in a field to type. Select Enable Scanning before the next scan.
If you have no scanner, select Scan License Photo. Take or choose a photo of the back of the license. MyWatchtower reads the barcode on your device and does not upload the photo. If the barcode cannot be read, make sure that it is in focus and well lit, then try again.
Check the license history
When the ID Number has 3 or more characters, License History lists the earlier entries of that license. Each row shows the date, the notes and Approved or Denied. The history is for reference only. It never fills in the form.
Choose the property and decide
1. Under Property Information, type at least 3 characters of the address in Search for a property, then select the property.
2. Read the Call List of the property. It shows the contacts of the property in their call order, with their phone numbers. Call a contact if you need to.
3. Type any notes in Notes.
4. Select Approve or Deny.
The Call List, Notes, Approve and Deny show only after you select a property. ID Number, State, First Name and Last Name are required. If one is empty, the page shows "Please complete all required fields".
When the entry saves, the page shows "License approved successfully" or "License denied successfully" and clears the form for the next visitor.
What MyWatchtower saves
- The entry, with the property, the decision and your notes.
- The name and the ID number of the license, stored encrypted. Staff cannot read the ID number back. MyWatchtower uses a coded form of the number only to find the license again at the next scan.
- On the first scan of a license, a guest record on the property. It holds the name, the street address from the license and your notes. The page makes this record when you select Approve or Deny. At the next scan of the same license, the page uses that guest record again.
The page does not save the other details of the license, such as the birth date, the dates of the license and the physical description. MyWatchtower deletes license records and entries after three years.
Scan a license in Mission Control
In Mission Control, select Scan License. When your community uses QR codes, the button is Scan License / QR Code.
On a gate computer, the Scan License dialog opens. Scan the barcode on the back of the license into the Scanned license box. The dialog reads it automatically. You can also type the scanned text and select Continue.
After the scan, Mission Control shows License scanned with the name on the license. It puts the name in the search, so the visitors with that name show. Select the visitor to record the entry.
If the visitor is not in the list, select New Visitor. The New guest dialog opens with the name from the license. You can add a photo of the visitor. MyWatchtower saves the visitor when you record the entry.
Mission Control shows only the name from a license. To see the scanned data, select Scanned Data. To remove it, select Clear Scanned Data. When no entry is recorded within 10 minutes, Mission Control clears the scan, and you scan the license again.
Scan with a phone or tablet
In the MyWatchtower app on a phone or tablet, Scan License opens the camera. Point the camera at the barcode on the back of the license.
- The flashlight is off at the start. When the light is low, select the flashlight button to turn it on. The app keeps your choice when the camera starts again.
- After a few seconds with no read, the app tells you to fill the box with the barcode and hold the phone level.
- When the camera cannot read the barcode, the app opens the dialog so that you can type the details.
- When the app has no access to the camera, it says so. Select Open Settings, allow the camera, then come back. The scan starts again.
- When the camera does not start, close other camera apps, then select Try Again.
If the scan does not work
If the status does not show Ready to scan, click an empty area of the page. If the scanner still does not fill the form, use Scan License Photo. If you cannot open the License Scan page, ask your community Admin about your role.