Creating ‘Location-based Forms’ Using Fluix Deep Links
Picture this: One of your users walking up to a QR code, scanning it with the camera on their iOS device, and instantly accessing a checklist to complete and turn in.
If you have dozens or even hundreds of documents you share with your team, this would make yet another aspect of their jobs that much faster and frustration-free. It would also make accuracy even more certain, as you ensure that users access the right document for the job. Where would this come in handy? For any form or reference material you want your team to have instant, offline access to when working in a specific area — whether it’s a cockpit, on a remote wind turbine, inside a manufacturing facility, on at an outdoor job site.
- First, Let’s Talk About Deep Links
Each PDF in your Fluix account that is shared as a ‘Templates’ workflow can be turned into a link. We’ve got a help article on it here.
Deep links are special links that open a native app on your smartphone or tablet. In the case of Fluix, they’re a little different from traditional links because they’re meant to open a PDF within the Fluix app, without needing to be online to use the link. If you were to see one, they don’t start with “https://” like you’re used to seeing at the beginning of a link. They start with “pdfexfile://“ instead. For now, Fluix deep links can only be shared with other users within your Fluix account. With Fluix deep links, you can share one-click access for your users to open PDFs that are already in your Fluix account with a workflow associated. While the help article I linked above outlines how to manually create them, we’re testing out a slightly more automated way to do that here.
Creating your custom deep link is the first step in the process.
2. Turn Your Deep Link into a QR Code
Now that you’ve got your deep link created (and you’ve tested it on an iPhone or iPad to make sure it works properly), you’ll want to turn it into a QR code, so your user doesn’t need to remember or save the unique link.
Use this super simple QR code generator by pasting your deep link into the proper spot on that website. We like this QR code generator because not all QR code generators support creating deep link QR codes.
You’ll notice that on the right side of the page the QR code image will be updated after you’ve pasted your link in. You can then download that PNG file.
3. Print and Post Your QR Code
Now, simply print and post your QR code wherever you want your employees to access it and begin using. Your users will point their iOS camera at the QR code. A popup notification will ask them if it’s okay to open the link in Fluix (this is a security precaution Apple has built into iOS). Your user confirms, and the PDF will instantly open up for them to use in the Fluix app.
Got questions about this?
Let us know at sales@fluix.io.