The Trimble Access workspace

This topic provides some tips on finding your way around the Trimble Access workspace and interacting with the software.

Once you have opened a project and job, the Trimble Access workspace is centered around the map. To start work, select an item from the menu or tap and hold in the map and select the required action. The actions shown in the map tap and hold menu depend on the number and type of items already selected in the map.

Selecting a menu item or action opens a new screen that appears over the map, or a form that appears alongside the map.

Softkeys at the bottom of the screen show actions and items relevant to the open screen or form.

Occasionally in landscape mode, and more commonly in portrait mode, the icon appears in the softkey row to indicate there are more softkeys available. To view more softkeys, tap or swipe right to left (or left to right) along the row of softkeys.

In most software screens you can tap to view the menu. From the menu, select:

  • Project to view the Projects screen.
  • Job to view the Jobs screen.

  • Favorites to view shortcuts to your favorite screens. From this screen you can also return to screens that are already open in the software, shown in the Return to list. In landscape mode, the menu always opens with the Favorites item selected, and the Favorites list is shown alongside the menu. For more information, see Favorite screens and functions.

    The Favorites menu item is available only when a job is open.

  • Job data to access the Job data menu and open the Review job, Point manager or other job data screens.

    The Job data menu item is available only when a job is open.

  • General Survey to switch to a different application if you have more than one Trimble Access app installed.

    When a job is open, the items that appear below the application name provide access to the menus within that app.

  • Instrument to access the Instrument or Receiver menu.
  • Settings to configure settings and survey styles.
  • Help to view the installed help files.
  • About to view information about the software.
  • Exit to exit the software.

Swipe up in the menu to view all items. To use the controller keypad to select a menu item, press the key corresponding to the first letter of the menu item, for example press H to open the help, or press I to view the Instrument menu. You can use the keypad to navigate any menu in this way.

The Trimble Access UI operates in a similar way to the smartphone and tablet applications you already use. Use gestures to zoom and pan on the map. To scroll through a menu or list, simply swipe up. Where you might be viewing a large amount of data, for example in the Review job or Point manager screens, there software provides more traditional scroll bars which you can tap and drag to move up and down the screen.

The Trimble TSC7 and T7 include a Touch panel utility for selecting Finger, Glove, or Stylus mode. You can use any mode, but if you are working in the rain, Trimble recommends selecting Finger mode. For more information on the Touch panel utility, refer to the documentation for your controller.

On the TSC7 and T7, the operating system is set to display at 125% by default, and so Trimble Access is optimized to be viewed at 125% scale on these controllers.

The TSC7 includes a Touch panel utility for selecting Finger, Glove, or Stylus mode. You can use any mode, but if you are working in the rain, Trimble recommends selecting Finger mode. For more information on the Touch panel utility, refer to the documentation for your controller.

On the TSC7, the operating system is set to display at 125% by default, and so Trimble Access is optimized to be viewed at 125% scale on these controllers.

When copying text from one field to another in Trimble Access, you can cut, copy, or paste text using the Text tap and hold menu:

  • To select text, tap and hold on the word to select, or tap and drag across the field to select more text. The Text menu appears.
  • To select all of the text in the field, double-tap in the field, or tap and hold on a word and then tap Select All in the Text menu.
  • To cut or copy the selected text, tap Cut or Copy in the Text menu.

  • To paste text into an empty field, or to paste at the end of a field, tap and hold in the field and tap Paste.

    To paste text within existing text in the field, tap the insertion point in the text and tap Paste.

On Windows controllers you can also use Ctrl key combination shortcuts to select all Ctrl + A, cut Ctrl + X, copy Ctrl + C, and paste Ctrl + V text.

Tap items on the status bar to quickly navigate to the Instrument functions or Receiver functions screen and change settings or enable/disable functions. For more information, see Status bar.

The TCU5 always operates in Landscape mode.

If the controller is a Windows device, Trimble Access is designed to be used in Landscape mode but will rotate to Portrait mode if the controller is rotated and does not have a keypad.

In landscape mode, when a form is open alongside the map:

  • To view more of the form, tap and swipe left. The form will resize to the closest preset position.
  • To make any from full-screen, tap and swipe across to the very left of the screen.
  • To decrease the size of a form and view more of the map, tap and swipe right.

To lock the device orientation, do one of the following:

  • From the Windows desktop, swipe in from the right to access the Action center. Tap Rotation lock to enable it. The Rotation lock tile changes to blue.
  • Press the Windows  + O keys on the controller keypad.

On the TDC600 handheld, Trimble Access is designed to be used in Portrait mode or in Landscape mode.

In portrait mode:

  • When a form is open alongside the map, tap and swipe down to view more of the form, or tapand swipe up to view more of the map.
  • To view more softkeys, tap or swipe right to left (or left to right) along the row of softkeys.
  • There is no Esc softkey when Trimble Access is running in portrait mode. To exit a screen without saving any changes, press the Back key on the device.

To lock the device orientation, do one of the following:

  • From the Android Home screen, swipe up from the bottom of the screen and tap Settings. Select Display / Advanced / Device rotation and then select Stay in Portrait view.
  • Swipe down twice from the top of the screen to view the Android status bar and then tap the Auto-rotate icon.

On the TSC7 and T7, the Trimble Access software always runs in full screen mode, that is without showing the Windows title bar or task bar.

On other controllers, the software runs in full screen mode if the device is in Tablet mode. Trimble recommends turning off Tablet mode in the Windows operating system, because the operating system and virtual keyboard are more accessible when Tablet mode is turned off.

If the controller has a physical keypad, or if you have connected an external keyboard, you can use the appropriate key-press combination to quickly access a different software program or to configure Windows system settings when you are in the Trimble Access software:

  • Press the Windows key on the keypad to view the Windows Start menu and taskbar.
  • Press the Windows key + D keys on the keypad to view the Windows desktop.
  • Press Ctrl + Q to exit Trimble Access.

For other useful shortcuts, see Keypad shortcuts.

When running Trimble Access on an Android device:

  • Trimble Installation Manager for Android must remain installed on the controller for the Trimble Access software to run.
  • You can use a USB cable to transfer files between the controller and a Windows computer. See File transfer.

  • The controller can connect to all supported GNSS receivers and most conventional instruments using Bluetooth.

    To perform a robotic survey when Trimble Access is running on the TDC600 handheld, you will need to connect the TDC600 to the TDL2.4 Radio Bridge or EDB10 Data Bridge.

  • The Trimble Access software offers the same features as when running on a Windows device, except for the following:
    • You can connect to a Trimble SX10 or SX12 scanning total station from the TSC5 controller and the TDC600 model 2 handheld. However, connections to a Trimble SX10 or SX12 scanning total station are not supported when using the TCU5 controller or the TDC600 model 1 handheld.
    • BIM models and IFC files are not supported.
    • Surface inspections are not supported.
    • The map Limit box is not supported.
    • The GNSS emulator and Simulate controller functions are not supported. For this reason, the About screen does not include the Support softkey.
    • The Android operating system does not support an Internet network connection to an external modem or cellular phone that requires Bluetooth DUN (dial-up networking). Instead, create network connections using Wi-Fi or the internal cellular modem.