Using Driver Attributes

Attributes allow you to add custom, descriptive properties to your drivers. You can then use attributes as labels on reports and filters on maps and dashlets.

Example
Company XYZ keeps a record of its drivers’ Commercial Driver’s Licenses (CDL) endorsements. Each driver is assigned a “CDL Endorsement” attribute with values for “A, F, H, N, P, S, T, V, X.” The owner uses this information when exporting driver information.

To create and assign driver attributes:

  1. From the portal, click the Account menu, click Manage Drivers, and click Describe with attributes.

The Manage Attributes page opens in a new browser tab.

  1. At the bottom of the Attribute Definitions grid, click Attribute next to Create New.

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The Add New Attribute screen window appears.

  1. Set the different properties for the attribute:
    • Attribute Name: Enter the user-friendly identifier for the attribute (e.g., CDL Endorsements).
    • Attribute Type: Select the check box(es) for each type this attribute supports (e.g., Users, Vehicles, Drivers, Landmarks, Hierarchy). For example, an ice cream company may add a “Flavor” attribute that applies to 1) the vehicles that transport certain flavors and 2) the ice cream factories (landmarks) that produce certain flavors.
    • Value Type: Choose the data type that is allowed for this attribute. In the Company XYZ example, we chose Alphanumeric so that we can use free-form text to describe the available values (A, F, H, N, P, S, T, V, X).

    The Alerts, Emails, and Timezone value types are typically used with the Hierarchy attribute type.

    • Treat as Category: Select this box if you want to create a list of values from which to choose when applying this attribute to drivers. In the Company XYZ example, there are a limited number of CDL endorsements, so we set this up as a category.

      The following figures show the result of setting up an attribute compared with an attribute treated as a category (a pre-defined list of values) when assigning it to a vehicle:


      VS

      Using a pre-defined list makes it less likely for typos or other errors when adding an attribute to a query.

    • Account Visibility: Select the check box(es) if you want other portal users on your account to see and use this attribute and/or edit this attribute.
  1. Click Save Attribute.

  1. From the Attribute Definitions grid, click the green check mark icon(s) (e.g., Driver) to assign values.

  1. From the Assign Driver Attributes grid, set the attribute value for each driver that you want to assign. Values are automatically saved when you either make a selection (for pre-defined lists) or click/tab outside of the field (for text entry).

The attribute is now available to use on applicable reports and dashlets: