​The Menu button has more recently changed to 3-vertical-dots in the Google Chrome web browser.  It used to be, and is still in most apps, the 3-horizontal-lines (colloquially, the "hamburger" icon).  You can see the original icon is still what we use in MRSweb, right at the top of the web page.


Click the Menu button to show the menu.  Note 4 menu items that we are most interested in to get started:

1. Refresh
   The Refresh button is the arrow-in-a-circle icon.  Click this icon to refresh the web page.  It sometimes happens that a page in the web browser does not load fully (for various reasons), which is why the Refresh button is there to ask the page to load again.
   
   
2. Bookmark
   The Bookmark icon, the star, is for saving web page addresses that you visit to the Bookmarks area of the browser.  This allows the User to quickly return to a previously visited address without having to type in the address again.
   
   
3. Bookmarks
   To get a list of previously saved addresses after using the Bookmark button, press the Bookmarks menu.
   
   
4. Add to homescreen
   To create the app-icon on your device's Home page, press the Add to homescreen menu option.  This creates a shortcut to the website right on the main screen of your device, making it very easy to return to the page.

Tip Using Bookmarks


When you create a Bookmark in your web browser, it is a shortcut to return to the web page your created it from.  MRSweb is designed in such a way that you can save a bookmark to any specific view screen in the application and that is where the bookmark will return you to.


Here are a couple of examples of how you might apply this nice functionality:

• I have a Project that I am going to be working on for a while, and I would like to have a way to just go right to it without having to go through the main menu, then find it in the list.  Navigate to the project, save a bookmark.  That bookmark then opens directly to that project.
  
  
• I like to have the Calendar as my "home" screen when I start the app.  Go to the Calendar, use the Add to Home screen menu option to create an icon.  Name the icon "MRSweb Calendar".  Clicking on that icon will start the app right in the Calendar screen.

Having an app load in the web browser does provide some interesting and useful options.  Try some of the other menu options such as "Share" to send someone (in your company) a link to a particular contact, appointment, etc.; or use the "Print" button to print out a Contact's details before going to visit with them.

MRSware Sync has been around since 2006 or so, providing a way for phones, tablets, and Outlook to synchronize Contacts, Appointments, and Tasks.  MRSweb was originally released in 2013 and provides access to the MRSware system in a format that works well on touch-enabled and smaller-screen devices.

Sync is based on industry standard formats like iCal and vCard that have in them relatively few fields compared to what is provided in MRSware.  The standardization bodies that put together these formats are trying to provide a set of fields that are readily available across many types of devices with different capabilities.  Sync creates copies of your information from MRSware into your phone; it also takes copies of what is already in your phone and puts them into MRSware.  Users can control what goes down to the phone from MRSware, but are not able to control what goes up from the phone (everything in the phone goes to MRSware).

MRSweb is a mobile-optimized web app that allows users to login and access their MRSware data.  As compared to Sync, there are many more fields available and functions that can be performed.  The data that is accessed via MRSweb is coming directly from MRSware -- it is not synchronized or stored on the device, instead being live and the same that you see in MRSware Desktop at any given moment.

Following is a table showing a comparison and discussion of what each tool does and where it fits in your mobile access plans:

You might initially look at this table and ask yourself "what is the point of sync if it is limited in the fields that it exchanges between device and MRSware?"  Well, it does have its uses, the primary of which is that it copies information into the primary apps that ship with the device.  Those apps, created by the manufacturer of the device, are (hopefully) designed to be the best experience that the device has to offer.  For example, the calendar is formatted to fit the screen just right and provide the right touch areas to respond best to the user.

On the other hand, MRSweb is designed to work consistently (the same) across many different device types.  Since it is consistent we can do training and support once and that information applies equally well whether a user has a tablet or a phone, iOS or Android.  However, also because it is the same across devices it is unable to take advantage of any special features one particular device has that another may not...  Perhaps there is a particular style of navigation that a device uses or special settings area that it provides that adds value but would not be available to a MRSweb-type application.

​In summary, Sync copies data to your device's native apps; MRSweb provides fuller access to MRSware features on all devices.