The Journal

This article will walk you through the Journal, where users add notes, store documents and can view what has happened against a record. 

TABLE OF CONTENTS

• Journal Permissions
• How to access the Journal
• Using the Journal
• Adding notes and attachments to the Journal
• Search the Journal
• Filter the Journal
• Print the Journal
• Deleting Journal Entries 

Did you know: When we say "The Journal" this can actually apply to a variety of different journals, depending on the product you're using. However, the great thing about LocataPro is the consistency in how different modules work - so this guide might show you HPA2 but the guidance is applicable to all Journals.

Journal Permissions

As LocataPro is a modular platform, access to Journals is determined by roles and permissions - so you may have access to the HPA2 Journal, but not the HRS journal - dependent on service requirements. To gain access to the Journal for a specific product, ask a system administrator (e.g. your manager) to grant you the "View [product] Journal" permission. In the example below, we show the "View HPA Journal" permission.

Note: In most cases, this permission would be automatically granted by having the relevant "Role".

How to access the Journal

As mentioned previously, there are more than one "Journal". However, in most cases they are attached to relevant records - for example customers or properties. When on a record, the top header bar will appear similar to the below - with a Journal section. Click this to enter the journal.

Using the Journal

To get the most out of the Journal, its important to know what we can do with it. Within the Journal page are toolbar buttons, each with a purpose described below (right to left). In the following sections of this article, we'll work through these functions.

1. Add a Journal Entry.
2. Search the Journal.
3. Filter the Journal.
4. Print the Journal.

Adding notes and attachments to the Journal

Adding notes to the Journal is a very easy process, explained and demonstrated below:

1. Click the 'Add New Journal Entry' toolbar button.
2. At the top you can select to make your note 'Important' or add a 'Category' to add context and to help filtering in the future.
3. Enter your note.
4. If adding an attachment - click 'Browse' then choose your document to attach.
5. Click 'Upload'.
6. Click 'Save and Close'.

Note: You can edit your note after saving by clicking the pencil icon shown below.

Search the Journal

Searching the Journal is a quick and easy way to identify relevant journal entries. From within the Journal, follow the below steps to search all entries:

1. Click the 'Search for Journal Entries' button (Magnifying Glass).
2. Type in your search words.
3. Click 'Search'.

Note: The search function narrows down the Journal entries displayed to just those which match your search terms. 

Filter the Journal

Filtering the Journal is a quick and easy way to adjust your Journal view to more relevant entries. To apply filters, follow the below steps:

1. Click the 'Filter Journal Entries' button (Funnel).
2. Choose which filters to apply by checking/unchecking the boxes.
3. Click 'Close' to see your Journal in its filtered state.
   

Did you know: The difference between searching and filtering is that you can save your filtered view. The next time you visit the journal, your saved filters are applied!

To save any filters you apply to the Journal, ensure to leave the below box checked.

Print the Journal

In some circumstances you might find it useful to print the journal - perhaps as part of preparing a case file or to send to your manager. Follow the below steps:

1. Click the 'Print this Journal' button (Printer).
2. Choose your printer settings (for example save as PDF).
3. Click 'Print'.

Deleting Journal Entries 

Note: You cannot remove journal entry attachments. If you upload an attachment by mistake, you will need to delete the whole journal entry and start again. 

To delete a journal entry, follow the steps below:

1. Navigate to the journal entry you wish to delete.
2. Click on the bin icon within the entry. When you hover over the icon it will say "delete this journal entry".
3. Click 'Yes' in the confirmation pop up box.
4. A green box will appear on your screen confirming that the journal entry has been deleted. 
5. You can also delete a journal entry by clicking the pencil icon on the selected entry and then the 'Delete' button. 

However, the entry is not physically deleted. It will have had its category changed to 'deleted'. In order to conform with Data Protection legislation, there is no physical deletion of customer information, unless the customer instructs for that to happen.

By default, deleted journal entries are not displayed. In order to see deleted journal entries, the filter for 'Deleted' needs to be ticked (this is demonstrated under 'Filter the Journal' within this article). 

Note: '(Deleted)' will appear next to any deleted journal entries.  

You can view deleted journal entries alongside other entries by adding the category filters back into the record (as demonstrated below). 

Note: In the event that you, or a colleague have uploaded an attachment to a journal entry that doesn't belong to the customer you are currently working on, you will need to:
1. Obtain all of the correct attachments that do belong to the customer and save them on your system. 
2. Create a new journal entry and copy over the text from the previous journal entry and add the correct files as an attachment. 
3. Add a note explaining the situation on the new journal entry, for example "This journal entry is a replacement for one originally created on 29th September 2024 at 10:02am by Test Officer". 
4. Go back to the original journal entry and add a note to explain that it has had to be deleted due to incorrectly adding attachments that belong to another customer.
5. Finally, delete the original journal entry that has the incorrect files attached.

This will have removed the entry from view on the journal, however if the customer makes a Subject Access Request (SAR), the GDPR tools on the system will collate all of the information that is currently stored for the customer, this will include any attachments added in error. 

By completing Step 4 above, to include the reason behind the deletion of the journal note and more specifically the file names of the incorrect attachments, the person reviewing the data collated by the GDPR tool will be able to easily remove the offending files, therefore ensuring that no incorrect attachments are sent to customers. 

For data integrity reasons users cannot redact the incorrect journal note and attachments.