Verification and share links

Every issued PDF carries a QR code that leads to a public page: the record of the report as NDT Intact holds it, which anyone can read without an account and check a copy of the PDF against. Share links open a report, a folder or a file to someone by link alone, on your portal address. This topic covers both, and how they differ from the client portal.

The QR code

When a report is issued, a verification token is made for it and printed as a QR code on every edition. Scanning the code, or typing its address, opens the report's verification page. The page needs no sign-in: a client, an auditor or anyone handed a PDF reads it. Every revision of a report has its own page; a superseded one leads to the current one.

The PDF editions card of an issued report has Open the verification page, and so does the client's portal.

What the verification page shows

The page is headed Report verification and shows what the record says:

• Report number and Revision.
• Report: the template's name.
• Issued by: your company. If a company has since closed its account, the page says so, and the record still stands.
• Issue date.
• Editions: each language edition with its SHA-256 fingerprint, or "Being prepared" while the PDF is still being printed.
• Client acceptance: "Formally accepted by the client on …" once a client user has accepted the report in the portal, or "Not yet formally accepted by the client".

The page shows no result and no content of the report. It is the record of the document, not the document.

Current, superseded or withdrawn

One line at the top says where the revision stands:

• "Current: this is the latest revision of the report."
• "Superseded: a newer revision of this report exists.", with Open revision …, the current one.
• "Withdrawn: the issuing organisation has retracted this report." A withdrawal covers the whole number, so every revision's page says it. See issuing a report.

Checking a PDF against the record

Under Check a PDF, the visitor presses Choose the PDF and picks the file they were sent.

• The file is hashed in the visitor's own browser. Only the fingerprint is sent to NDT Intact, so the document never leaves their device.
• The answer is one of two: "This file is the … edition of this report, unchanged.", or "This file matches no edition of this report. It may have been changed, or it belongs to another report."

A PDF that was opened and saved again by some programs, stamped, or printed to a new PDF no longer has the fingerprint of the edition, and is reported as not matching. Ask for the original file.

Timesheets

A timesheet sent to a client from the Operations module has the same kind of page: its number, period and total, whether it is sent, signed, disputed, superseded or withdrawn, its fingerprint, and the same check of a copy in the browser. See operations.

Share links

A share link opens one thing to whoever holds the link, without an account, on your portal address. Owners, admins and technicians make them; every opening is recorded in the activity log.

• An issued report: from the Share links card on the report's page. Only an issued report can be shared by link.
• A folder or a file of a project: from the project's Files tab, on the folder or the file.

To make one, press Create share link. You may set a Password (optional) of at least six characters, which you tell the recipient another way, and an Expires on (optional) date. The link is shown once: press Copy and send it. The card lists every link with Password or No password, its expiry, who made it, and how often it was opened.

Revoke stops a link at once; anyone holding it can no longer open it. A link that has run out shows as Expired.

Opening a share link

The recipient sees a page headed Shared with you, in your branding, saying which company shared it.

• A report: its number, project, inspection date and issue date, each PDF edition to download, and Open the verification page.
• A folder: its folders and files, each to download. A file: the file to download.
• A protected link asks for the password first. A revoked or expired link says "This link no longer works".

Share links, the portal and the verification page

• The verification page is public and shows the record only. It never gives out the PDF.
• A share link gives one report, folder or file to one person or group, by link, with a password and an expiry if you choose, revoked at will. It suits a third party who should not have an account: an auditor, an end client's engineer, a contractor on one job.
• The client portal is for the client's own people, each with an account you invite, free and unlimited. They see every issued report and shared file of their projects, raise requests, comment and accept reports. See the client portal.

Both the portal and share links are reached on your portal address, so they carry your name, colour and logo. See files and sharing for what reaches the portal.

The sample report on the website

The product's website offers a sample report that was issued the way every report is: signed, locked and fingerprinted. It records no real inspection; everything else about it is real. Download the sample PDF, scan its QR code or Open its verification page, and drop the PDF on that page to see the check happen. Its page says that it is a sample.