DHIS Mobile

Introduction + DHIS2 provides a range of options to allow data entry from mobile devices, including a dedicated GPRS/3G J2ME client, a SMS based client, and a version of DHIS2 which has been optimized specifically for mobile browsers. Each of these solutions will be described in detail in the following sections. Collection of data in the field can be technically challenging and expensive. Mobile phone solutions has the potential to significantly reduce the complexity of deploying a distributed - data collection system. Using a simple Java client installed on a mobile phone, field workers - can report directly to DHIS2 instance. + data collection system. Using a simple Java client installed on a mobile phone or a web browser which works on the mobile phone, field workers + can report directly to the DHIS2 database through their mobile device. While mobile phone solutions have a great potential, it is also an area that can be difficult to "get right". Phones lack processing power and have a small display, need to be charged and often makes the most sense in areas where mobile network coverage is weak and patchy. - There are currently two main mobile solutions for DHIS2, and we continue to evolve these + There are currently three main mobile solutions for DHIS2, and we continue to evolve these as well as look at other possible solutions: - New "generic" solution - A solution that allows for forms to be updated on the phone and also supports - community module reporting, but is relying on the phone having a data connection to the - web. + An mobile browser optimized data entry module + This module allows for data entry directly with the browser of the mobile device. A wide range of devices and mobile browsers are supported including: Opera mini 3 & 4 (basic and advanced) + - Opera mini 4, Nokia S40 mobiles ,Windows Phone 7, Window Mobile 6 + ,Palm Pre + ,Blackberry (v5 and v6) + , Firefox mobile, iOS devices (iPhone) + and Android devices. An active GPRS/3G connection is required. This solution is described in + + + A dedicated J2ME GPRS/3G client + This solution allows for forms to be updated on the phone and also supports + community module reporting. An active GPRS/3G connection is required in order to send data to the DHIS2 database, but data can be entered offline and transmitted when a connection is present. This client is intended primarily for low-end devices which support J2ME applications. This solution is described in SMS based solution - The SMS based solution is quite simple and has been used in a number of places. But it - requires a custom built mobile application + The SMS based solution is + requires a custom built J2MER mobile application and installation of a GSM modem and some manual - configuration on the server side. + configuration on the server side. It would be an appropriate solution where GPRS/3G is not available but GSM coverage is available. Updating of forms to the client is not supported at this point in time. This solution is described in

- SMS based solution - With the SMS solution, the forms filled in on the phone is - sent using SMS messages to a - central server. The SMS message is - decrypted and converted, and then imported into the DHIS2 - database. - - By default, DHIS2 does not ship with the DHIS SMS Mobile web - module. - You will need to build in these modules - yourself. You also need to modify the client side - application with your own data elements. - -

- Build DHIS2 with the dhis-web-mobile module - - - - Download the latest source code from - launchpad, i.e. the DHIS2 trunk source - code from - https://code.launchpad.net/~dhis2-devs-core/dhis2/trunk - - - - - Build - DHIS2 as normal, by running - mvn clean install - (to skip tests, use - mvn clean install -Dtest=false -DfailIfNoTests=false - ) in the dhis-2 and - dhis-2\dhis-web folders. - - - - - Build the mobile modules by - running - mvn clean install - in the dhis-mobile folder. - - - - Modify - the dhis-web-portal\pom.xml file, adding a dependency to dhis-web-mobile: - - - - <dependency> - <groupId>org.hisp.dhis</groupId> - <artifactId>dhis-web-mobile</artifactId> - <version>${version}</version> - <type>war</type> - </dependency> - - - - - Build the portal ( - mvn clean install - in the dhis-web-portal folder) - - - - Copy the dhis.war file from dhis-web-portal\target to the - tomcat\webapps folder. - Rename it if you - want. - - -

- Install the GSM modem - - - Driver for the GSM modem - Plug - in your modem and install the drivers. You might have to use the - manufacturer's - provided drivers from a CD or their web page. - You might need administrator privileges to do this. If you still can't do it, try starting Windows in Safe Mode. - - - - comm.jar - - Copy it to your - java\jreX\lib\ext - folder. If you've got multiple - installations of JRE, you can find the path to the - installation used by - DHIS 2 by right clicking the Monitor Tomcat icon in the system - tray, - then Configure -> Java. - - - - javax.comm.properties - - Copy it to your - java\jreX\lib - folder. - - - - win32com.dll - - Copy it to your - java\jreX\bin - folder. - - - Note: You might need administrator privileges to do this. If you still can't do it, try starting Windows in Safe Mode. - - - - SMSserver.conf - - Copy it to your - DHIS2_HOME - folder (the folder where hibernate.properties is located). The settings in this file - can - also be modified from the Settings page in the mobile module in DHIS 2. - - - In this file the manufacturer and the model of the GSM modem are specified. Also, - make - sure the PIN code for the SIM card in the GSM modem is turned off, and set - modem1.pin=0000 - in the SMSserver.conf, or use the Settings page in the mobile module in DHIS 2 to - set - the - pin to 0000. - - The port of the modem also needs to be specified in this file. After the drivers - are - successfully installed and the modem is installed in a usb port, you can find - the - port of - the modem by opening Device Manager, locate your modem and right click - on it, - click on - Properties and navigate to the Modem tab. There you'll see - which port is - assigned to - the modem. - - Important: Note that if you install the modem into another usb port another time, the port will change, and you will have to update the settings. If you for some reason need to take the modem out of your computer, make sure you'll install it in the same usb port as last time, or else you'll have to update the SMSserver.conf file. - - - - formIDLayout.csv - - Copy it to your - DHIS2_HOME\mi - folder. If you have not yet deployed your latest build of DHIS2, you'll have to - create the mi folder manually. - - This - file specifies which data elements are to be imported. There's one line for - each - different mobile application in use. The lines start with a mobile - application's - id, - then followed by comma separated data element ids and their - categoryoptioncombo - ids. The - lines will be on the form - - 1 = <data element id>.<categoryoptioncombo id>, - <data element id>.<categoryoptioncombo id>, ... , - <data element id>.<categoryoptioncombo id> - E.g. - 1 = 652.207, 652,208, 20485.271, 20485.272, 683.14 - - - Note: If the same mobile application is installed on several phones, the id for each application is the same! The formIDLayout.csv file should thus only have one line, starting with 1 = . - - - -

- Register users - - The phone numbers of the cell phones used for reporting with the - mobile application needs to - be registered in DHIS 2 in order for the data - to be imported and stored in the database. A - phone number has to be - registered for a user, and the user can - only - be associated with - one organisation unit! - - - The phone number must include the regular phone number as well as - the country code without - + or 00 - . E.g. for a - Norwegian number, having the country code - 47 - and phone number - 98765432 - , the phone number to store is - 4798765432 - . - -

- Install the mobile application on a phone - If - you've got a phone and a computer with Bluetooth, you will in the most cases be able - to - send the - .jar - file (the mobile application) via Bluetooth from the computer to the phone. When using a - cable, and also in some cases for phones with Bluetooth, you might have to install some - software to be able to communicate with the phone. E.g. Nokia PC Suite for Nokia phones. - - Once the mobile application is installed on the phone, open it and navigate to the - last - page in the application. Select settings, and enter the number of the SIM card in the GSM - modem. This works both with and without country code. - If there are several GSM modems installed on several computers running DHIS 2 and you - want to report to all of these, you can enter the numbers of the SIM cards installed in - these GSM modems as well in the remaining fields in your mobile application. When clicking - send, the application will now send the registered data to all the registered numbers at - the - same time. -

- Using the system - Navigate to the Mobile module via Services -> Mobiles -

- Start the SMS Service - To start the SMS Service, navigate to "Receive Data and Import" or - "Send SMS" in the left menu, and then press the Start button next to where - it - says: "SMS Service: Not Started". If everything works well, it should - now say: - "SMS Service: Started". -

- Receive Data and Import - To receive and import data, the SMS Service needs to be started. -

- Automated import of messages - When SMSs are sent from the phones while the SMS Service is running, the messages - will be processed automatically, and the data will automatically be imported and - stored - in the database. -

- Import pending messages - - If SMSs are sent from the phones to the SIM card in the GSM modem - while the SMS Service - is inactive, the messages will be stored as xml - files in the folder - DHIS2_HOME\mi\pending - short time after - the service is started. On the Receive Data and Import page it will say - how many SMSs are pending. These can be imported by pressing the "Import - All - Pending" button. - -

- Send SMS - - The mobile module can be used to send messages to one number at a - time. To send an SMS, the - SMS Service needs to be started. Use the local - phone number here - without - the country code. - -

Mobile data entry with DHIS2 - DHIS2 provides a range of options to allow data entry from mobile devices, including a dedicated GPRS/3G J2ME client, a SMS based client, and a version of DHIS2 which has been optimized specfically for mobile browsers. Each of these solutions will be described in detail in the following sections. -

+ Mobile browser based data entry + DHIS2 has been optimized for use browsers in mobile devices through a module known as DHIS2 Light. This module has been optimized to provide a small memory footprint and to be capable of working over relatively modest bandwidths. To access the module, you should go to <to do> +

+ Getting started with mobile browser data entry + Once you have entered in the URL of you DHIS2 instance, simply login with your username and password. Press the login button to continue, or the "Reset" button to clear all fields. + + + + + + + + Once you have logged in, Select the "Data entry" option. + + + + + + + + Then select from a list of available organisation units which the user is allowed to enter data on behalf of. + + + + + + + + Next, select a dataset to enter data for. + + + + + + + + Select from a list of available periods to enter data for from the next screen. + + + + + + + + Next, enter data for each data element. The category options for each data element are indicated in parentheses at the end of the name of the data element. + + + + + + + + Once you have finished entering all the data, you will be given the option to mark the dataset as complete and save it. + + + + + + + + Once you have finished entering data, you can logout by pressing the "Logout" link. +

J2ME GPRS/3G Client The DHIS2 GPRS/3G mobile module provides a mechanism for remote clients using mobile phones to enter data directly into the DHIS2 system. There are two functions of the client, namely: The solution relies on the mobile phone having a data connection available (i.e. @@ -26,7 +89,7 @@ Data connection availability Data connection availability can be a problem in many of the contexts where DHIS2 mobile reporting would otherwise be a good solution for getting data directly into DHIS2. If that is - the case for you, you might want to consider trying the SMS based solution described in a seperate document. + the case for you, you might want to consider trying the SMS based solution described in a separate document. Keep in mind that even though a data connection is currently required for communication between the server and the mobile phone, it is only required when initializing or updating the mobile application and when sending reports to the server. The phone stores all entered data locally, @@ -521,68 +584,4 @@

- Mobile browser based data entry - DHIS2 has been optimized for use browsers in mobile devices through a module known as DHIS2 Light. This module has been optimized to provide a small memory footprint and to be capable of working over relatively modest bandwidths. To access the module, you should go to <to do> -

- Getting started with mobile browser data entry - Once you have entered in the URL of you DHIS2 instance, simply login with your username and password. Press the login button to continue, or the "Reset" button to clear all fields. - - - - - - - - Once you have logged in, Select the "Data entry" option. - - - - - - - - Then select from a list of available organisation units which the user is allowed to enter data on behalf of. - - - - - - - - Next, select a dataset to enter data for. - - - - - - - - Select from a list of available periods to enter data for from the next screen. - - - - - - - - Next, enter data for each data element. The category options for each data element are indicated in parentheses at the end of the name of the data element. - - - - - - - - Once you have finished entering all the data, you will be given the option to mark the dataset as complete and save it. - - - - - - - - Once you have finished entering data, you can logout by pressing the "Logout" link. -