Remote Access Via Internet
Central One Dealer Access via InterNet:
Before you use the remote terminal for the first time on a new computer you must download the Citrix ICA client software. Go to www.centralone.com/remote.htm and follow the instructions on the screen.
To use the remote terminal:
Use the web browser of your choice to visit www.centralone.com. Select “Dealer Access” from the options on our home page and then select the “Remote Terminal” button.
After you click the “Remote Terminal” button a login screen will appear. Enter your dealer number, employee number and password to complete the login process. After you log in a menu will appear with the following options:
F1 – Display Account Information
F2 – Edit Account Information
F3 – Display Dealer Information
F4 – Edit Dealer Information
F5 – Dispatch Agency Database
F6 – Account Block Administration
F7 – Alarm History Reports
F8 – Display Live Alarm Traffic
F9 – Retrieve Telephone Messages
F10 – Reports Menu
When you select the display (F1) or edit (F2) account option a prompt window will appear. You may enter the account number, subscriber name, alarm cancel code, alarm permit number or the main or communicator telephone number. When entering a telephone number you may enter ten, seven or the last four digits of the number. The next screen will display all of your subscribers that match what you entered and a new prompt will appear for the account number. If the screen is full of matching accounts you may press the “enter” key to display the next screen.
If you selected the “Display” menu option and entered an account number the screen will display all of the information in the central station database that comprises that subscriber’s record. All of the information is displayed to you the same way it is displayed to a central station operator viewing a subscriber account. It is also identical to the format used by Fax Back. For a description of this format please see bulletin 5040, available on the web or via Fax Back.
The “Display Account” option has the following sub-menu options:
F1 – Subscriber Information (default)
F2 – Alarm History
F3 – Alert Message
F4 – Last Signal Data
F5 – Print Display
When you select the alarm history (F2) option you will see up to ten days of alarm history. If an alarm is pending you will see what has been done so far and what time the alarm is scheduled for follow-up activity. Central station operators use a number of two letter codes, such as NA for no answer or CW for person called gave cancel code. A complete listing of these abbreviations is given in bulletin 5010.
When you select the alert message (F3) option you are accessing an option that is shared with central station operators. There can only be one alert message for each subscriber account. Alert messages are primarily used to place accounts on test or to put particular alarm types and/or zones on no response for short time periods. It is up to you to recognize whether an alert message is already in place on the account and not to make changes that will thwart the purpose of the pending message. When no alert message is pending the “Message” field will be empty. The date and time fields will default to ten minutes from the present time. If you wish to automatically cancel alarms you must enter “Y” for yes in the cancel alarms field and provide a proper code in the code word field. To use a code word on file from the subscriber’s account you must put “/CW” somewhere in the “Message” field and enter the code in the “Code” field. To use a dealer code you must put “/EM” somewhere in the “Message” field and enter your dealer number, a dash, and a dealer pin code into the “Code” field (example: 10-1234 for dealer ten, pin code 1234). If you leave the “Signals” field blank then all signals will be cancelled and logged. You may enter alarm types, zone numbers, or a combination of both into the “Signals” field (example: BUR 3,7-10 will cancel burglary signals from zone three and zones seven through ten). If you use an alert message to cancel alarm signals for more than one day the account will appear on the daily subscriber trouble report. If you place a fire alarm system on test for more than eight hours you may be required by code to notify the local authority having jurisdiction. Central One personnel will report fire systems our operators place on no response. It is up to you to report systems that you place on no response via the internet.
When you select the last signal data (F4) option you will see the date of the last logged signal (this signal could have been generated by the central station computer, such as a late to close or fail to test), the date and time of the last signal received (this signal was received from a communicator), and the date, time and identification of the last employee to test the system using Fax Back.
When you select the print display (F5) option you will print either the subscriber data or alarm history depending upon which of the two is showing on your screen. You must have printing rights in your user profile to be able to print subscriber data. Anyone who can log on can print history.
This option may not be available to all of a dealer’s employees. It allows editing a subscriber’s record using the same screens that Central One’s data entry professionals use. Read our documentation, Remote Access for Dealers, prior to using this feature. It is generally safe to edit fields such as callout names and telephone numbers or to update a subscriber telephone number field. It is generally not safe to modify fields that pertain to signal processing or to add special instructions to the database unless and until you have been trained to do so by Central One. Any mistakes made in the entry of signal handling procedure can result in the failure of an alarm signal to produce the desired central station response. Special instructions can be ignored under many circumstances and are usually not the best way to accomplish a subscriber’s goals. Most alarm handling procedures, including exceptions, can be set up without the use of textual special instructions. All changes are in real time and affect alarm handling immediately.
Many dealers have chosen the contact id alarm reporting format or have established templates to define standardized alarm signals for new installations. Either of these elections make it simple and safe for the dealer to add new accounts in real time, twenty four hours seven days, without faxes, delays or other hassles, with a minimum amount of training by Central One.
This option may not be available to all of a dealer’s employees. If you have multiple offices with separate dealer numbers when you select this option a prompt appears for the dealer number to edit. Most dealers have only one dealer number and skip this prompt.
It will display the information in Central One’s dealer database in the same format that operators see it and in the same format it is down loaded to you in a DHC file or printed using the “F5 Print Daily Reports” option after an update. The information will include your company’s name, address and telephone numbers, hours of operation, instructions for handing telephone calls not related to monitoring, your employees who are on call including home and pager numbers, your options for down loading and trouble reports, and your handling procedure for invalid pulse format signals. This screen will not display employee’s remote access information.
This option should not be available to all of a dealer’s employees. It allows editing your company’s record including passwords and pin number using the same screens that Central One’s data entry professionals use. You can change the order of employees on call using this option or by using Fax Back.
If you have multiple offices with separate dealer numbers when you select this option a prompt appears for the dealer number to edit. Most dealers have only one dealer number and skip this prompt.
Instructions for handling telephone messages must be entered by Central One’s management or data entry department. Instructions that conflict with central station policy could be ignored or could result in your messages not being handled the way you intended.
This option also allows you to edit the remote access list and to control which main menu functions are accessible by each employee. Access to this option includes access to all of the passwords and pin numbers for the company and is usually granted to the owner or chief operations officer and not to all employees.
It is important for someone who has access to this option to change the business hours schedule whenever the office hours will differ or the office will be closed, such as for a holiday. It is equally important to restore the schedule after the date has passed. This practice is necessary to restrict access from those employees who are only permitted to log in to remote access during normal business hours. It is also helpful to central station operators in connection with message taking operations.
Central One gathers an extensive database of information about police departments, licensing laws, permit requirements and other crucial data in many of the jurisdictions where we monitor alarms. This option allows you to view and share that knowledge. Dispatch agencies such as police and fire departments can be found by name, telephone number or any other text stored in the record. It is very important for dealers to submit correct dispatch agency information when creating a new account. A telephone call to each public agency (police and fire department) should be made to confirm jurisdiction before the dealer puts a new account on line.
When Central One begins monitoring your accounts you are assigned receiver telephone numbers and blocks of account numbers that you must assign for new installations, take-overs, etc. This menu option allows you to view the status of account blocks and numbers and print usage maps and statistics. You can determine whether account numbers are in use or have ever been used and whether signals have been received using this option.
This option allows you to print alarm signal history for a single account or for multiple accounts as far back as one year ago. Single account reports are indexed and fast. Multiple account reports require a search and take a bit longer. Reports can include all signals or be limited to open/close, priority (operator handled), dispatches, or trouble signals.
This option allows you to see alarm signals the instant they are processed by the central station computer. The display includes the code, zone, pin status and area number received plus the alarm type and textual description from the subscriber database. If caller id or ANI is available it is also displayed. Each signal indicates whether an operator must respond or the reason the signal is automatically logged.
Central One operators take telephone messages, such as service calls, sales leads and administrative (other) messages for dealers with more than three hundred accounts. These messages are instantly and automatically faxed or emailed to the dealer’s office but may also require paging or more urgent delivery. This option allows you to collect your messages over the internet. When you select this option a list of your messages are displayed. A column running down the right of the screen indicates whether each message is pending. If you view (highlight and press enter) a pending message it will be automatically updated to show delivery is complete. You should use this option only when you are willing to accept delivery of the message. For additional information about this service, see bulletin 1000.
When you select this option a new menu appears with the following options:
F1 – Print Subscriber Listing
F2 – Hard Copy Subscriber Records
F3 – Data Entry Progress Report
F4 – Email Spreadsheet to Office
F5 – Print Daily Reports
F6 – Last Signal Report
F7 – Excessive Dispatch List
F8 – (reserved for future)
F9 – Close Window and Exit Program
F10 – Return to Main Menu
This option requires print access in your user profile and prints a listing of all of your subscribers using the following options:
This option requires print access and allows you to print complete information about each of your subscribers including signal definitions, schedules and callout lists. You may print all or modified records. This report typically produces between two and five pages per subscriber.
This report is based on the data entry progress screen (first screen of a subscriber record). The report will list all accounts that are missing information and will identify the type of information that is missing. If you use this report regularly you may turn off the “Data Entry Status?” option on your trouble reports. This allows larger dealers to produce a trouble report tailored for the service department while this report is handled by administrative personnel. All users will be able to print this report.
This report requires print access and will only be available if an email address appears instead of a fax phone number in the administrative message fax phone field of your dealer record. You may request this report only once per day. A file will be created and emailed immediately. You must keep the terminal screen open while the report is prepared. Exiting will terminate the report and nothing will be emailed.
The file is in CSV (comma separated values) format and can be opened with Excel, Lotus or any other spreadsheet or database program. It may also be opened with a text editor or word processor but this is not recommended unless you are preparing a mail merge.
Columns on this report include account number, subscriber name, complete address, telephone numbers, account type, contract date, permit number, panel type and last signal date.
This option does not require print access and allows you to print your daily trouble report (bulletin 5020), employee log report (bulletin 5050), and other reports that are prepared as text files on a daily basis by the central station. For a complete listing and description of the reports that can be prepared see bulletin 5000.
You may already be receiving these reports by fax, email or web access. This is simply one more way that you can receive these reports at your convenience. Please be aware that printing these reports marks them as delivered. Once a report is printed it will not later be faxed or emailed to you. If you have a printer error or other problem you must report it the same day so that we can reset the “delivered” flag to preserve the file so that it may be printed again.
This option requires print access and allows you to print a report of your subscribers showing the date of the last signal that was received from the panel. You may include all subscribers or limit the report to those that have not signaled for a specified number of days (zero days causes all accounts to be included on the report). Inactive accounts are excluded from this report.
This very import option lets you print a listing of those subscribers who have had excessive police dispatches. You may specify how many dispatches, from one to six, it takes to include a subscriber on this report. You may also specify how far back to check up to one year. Periodically using this report and following up on the results can lead to a reduction in false police dispatches and can avoid the conflicts that inevitably arise when subscribers are fined for excessive false alarms.
Remote access is accomplished using a Citrix plug-in for your web browser that allows a window in your browser to emulate a remote computer terminal. Due to licensing restrictions there is a four minute inactivity timer that will close the connection if no keystroke occurs. This time is suspended during the production of reports so that there will be no timeout while a lengthy report is printed. Ten seconds prior to disconnect your terminal will beep once per second to warn you that a time out is about to occur. Simply press a valid key to preserve your session. If you fail to press a key the session will close and any changes that were not saved will be lost. It is therefore important not to leave the terminal or allow a time out during an edit session (main menu F2 or F4).
When editing a record (main menu F2 or F4) it is important to exit the record using the escape key and answer “Y” for yes or “N” for no to the save changes prompt. Do not use the “X” box in the upper right corner of the window unless you are at the main menu. When you begin to edit a record it is locked so that others cannot also edit at the same time. When you exit improperly this lock remains in effect and prevents anyone from editing the record until it is manually released by the data entry department.