Florida Wind Mitigation, Four Point, WDO, Electrical

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FAQ

Reports must be flattened before they can be distributed to recipients. Flattening is also sometimes referred to as Distilling or Printing to File. There are several comon methods for flattening PDFs. There are step-by-step instructions in these three videos: 

Method 1   Method 2  Method 3

The Windows and Mac editions use XFA technology. The Adobe Readers and Adobe Acrobat for Windows and Mac fully support XFA. Most PDF third-party PDF applications do not support PDF XFA technology.  Adobe Acrobat Reader DC is free. That is what you should use for Windows or Mac. Macs require a third-party PDF print driver that is capable of flattening (publishing) encrypted XFA PDFs. PDF print drivers are available in the Mac App Store.

Android and iOS versions of our software require third-party PDF support that is not otherwise available on those platforms. For Android, we recommend QPDF Notes and for iOS, we recommend PDF Expert.  

Yes. There are several ways to insert signatures into reports. Click on the signature line is an image field. The recommended method is to click or tap above the signature line and a browse window will open. Browse to the image of your signature. Select the signature image. You can also use Adobe Reader's "Sign Document" feature on a report that has already been flattened. Refer to the WindSurance User Manual for detailed instructions. 


PDF Expert on iOS and QPDF Notes on Android offer additional signing options.

Yes. Use the PRINT button on the report or use PRINT from the FILE drop down menu.

WindSurance and Four-Point reports can be used on Windows, Mac OS X, macOS, iOS, and Android. Purchase the version for your specific operating system. There are differences in caabilities because of differences in the operating systems. Apple iOS (iPad, etc) requires a third-party PDF editor such as PDF Expert. Android requires a third-party PDF editor such as QPDF Notes.

For optimum performance photos should be VGA at 72 dpi with maximum compression. The photo attributes are determined by the camera, not by the WindSurance software. If your camera does not have a VGA mode (most do), select the smallest physical photo size (expressed in megapixels).  

Most consumer and semi-professional cameras combine pixel density (expressed in dots per inch) and compression into a single setting, often labeled as the photo quality. Consumer and semi-professional cameras usually have either three or four quality settings. Use the lowest setting. 

A common misconception is that larger megapixel ratings result in better quality photos. The megapixel rating is mainly an indication of the photo's physical size when printed. Pixel density and compression have a greater influence on photo quality than the number of pixels. High pixel density and large megapixel photos will be a lower quality than lower megapixel and lower pixel density photos when printed on standard paper. Anything larger than VGA is not necessary and will result in a larger finished file size.  Different PDF print drivers and print driver settings will also result in different file sizes. 

WindSurance is designed for landscape photos. Landscape orientation is the defacto standard in the insurance industry. Many newer consumer and semi-professional photo cameras no longer support true portrait mode. Instead, they use EXIF data to identiify orientation.

Different manufacturers use different EXIF codes for portrait mode. WindSurance uses the Adobe standards and does not post-process photos. If you want to post-process photos, you can use a third party application such as Irvanview (free).

The iOS and Android versions are very easy to use. The entire report can be completed, flattened, and delivered right from your mobile device. This video, recorded on an iPad Mini, shows how easy it is to work on a mobile device. https://bestinspectors.net/video/iPad-4Pt/iPad-4Pt.html.

File size depends on the number and size of photos. Large photos are not necessary and do not improve photo quality. The recommended photo size is VGA at 72 dpi. A 20 megapixel photo, for example, is equal to approximately 60 VGA photos