How do I lock an appointment?

Mobileforce FSM provides a tool called Lock Appointment, which is available from the Schedule & Dispatch page. This tool allows dispatchers to ensure that the scheduled time for the appointment is not rescheduled or modified (for example, change a 3 hour appointment to a 2 hour appointment).

Locking appointments can be useful in the following scenarios:

• Premiere clients who you want to prioritize.
• Appointments that have already been rescheduled on one or more occassions.
• Clients who have specific time windows which cannot be altered.
• Service tasks that are time sensitive. (For example, work that must take place between shifts or during off hours).

Locking is especially useful if you use the Smart Route tool, which automatically optimizes a technician's schedule based on geography and schedule. Smart Route will not modify any locked appointment.

To lock an appointment, do one of the following:

• Select the appointment in the Calendar pane to open the Appointment pop-up window, and click the Lock button.
  
• Select the Service Task in the Tasks pane, and click the Lock button.
  

To unlock an appointment, select the task in the Tasks pane, and click the Unlock button.