Inventory (Equipment & Calibration)

What is it?

Inventory manages measurement and auxiliary equipment (e.g., multimeters, oscilloscopes, reference sensors) needed for testing — separate from stations and test objects. Every piece of equipment has a status (available, in use, calibration due, out of service) and a calibration history. Equipment can optionally be assigned an equipment type, which brings additional, freely defined fields (properties) — similar to station and test object types.

How to use it

• Creating equipment types: Settings → Equipment Types → "Add type". This opens a two-step dialog: first just the type's name (e.g., "Multimeter", "Oscilloscope"), and only after "Next" does the second step with the type's own fields (properties) follow — a progress bar at the top of the dialog shows both steps. You can also define "Global properties" there, which apply to every piece of equipment regardless of type.
• Adjusting the built-in "Location" field: In the "Global properties" section of the equipment type settings, the "Location" field can be renamed and hidden if it isn't needed in your lab — the same mechanism used for test object types (see pruefling-typen). The equipment name always stays visible since it identifies the equipment.
• Table columns: Besides device, status, type, location, and calibration dates, the inventory table automatically shows one column per global property. The "Columns" button lets you additionally show any type property — the selection only applies to your own account, missing values show "–".
• Creating equipment: Inventory → New equipment. The equipment type is optional; if one is chosen, its fields appear directly in the form. A new type can also be created directly from the form.
• Recording calibration right when creating: The same form has a "Record calibration now" toggle — if enabled, the equipment is created together with its first calibration in one step, without having to add a calibration separately afterwards.
• Photo: Upload a photo of the equipment in the create/edit form — e.g. to recognize it in the lab. On the detail page it appears to the left of the device data once one is set; without a photo the view is unchanged. PNG and JPG are allowed, up to 2 MB; a new photo replaces the previous one, and "Remove" in the form clears it again.
• Further calibrations: On the equipment detail page via "Add calibration". The status automatically jumps from Calibration due to Available as soon as a valid calibration is recorded.
• The "Calibration due" status is set automatically: This status can't be chosen manually from the status menu — a daily check (6:00 AM) sets it automatically once an available piece of equipment's calibration expires within the widest configured reminder stage or has already expired. Only "Available" and "Out of service" remain manually selectable.
• Configuring the calibration reminder: Under Settings → General → "Calibration reminder" you can maintain several reminder stages as "days before due" (e.g. 14, 7, and 1 day — the default) plus a repeat interval for after expiry (e.g. remind again every 7 days, 0 = only once). Each stage notifies owners/admins exactly once; only moving to a more urgent stage triggers the next notification. A new calibration resets all stages.
• Filtering: Use the status and type filters above the list to narrow it down (combinable with search). The "X devices require calibration" notice has a "Show" link that sets the status filter to "Calibration due" directly.
• CSV/Excel import and export: "Export" at the top of the page delivers every piece of equipment as CSV or Excel (.xlsx), including type, latest calibration, and every defined property (type and global properties, one property_<key> column each). "Import" reads the same layout back in; a type name that isn't found produces a warning, and the equipment is still created without a type. A calibration is only applied if both the calibration date and the valid-until date are given and valid — if either is missing or unreadable, the import reports that row as imported without calibration instead of silently dropping it. Rows without a name are skipped.
• Import preview: After selecting a file, a preview opens first — nothing is saved yet. It shows, per row, whether a new equipment item will be created or an existing one updated (or the row skipped), plus any issues such as invalid status, unknown type, invalid property values, an unknown ID, or incomplete calibration data. For an update, the preview additionally lists every field that will actually change, one by one (old value → new value, including properties and calibration) — fields with no change don't appear. For very large files, the preview shows only the first 200 rows in detail; the summary counts above still cover every row. Only clicking "Import entries" writes the data; "Cancel" discards the file without any changes.
• Editing via export → import (no duplicates): The exported file's first column is each equipment's ID. An edited export file (values changed, new rows appended with the ID column left blank) can be re-imported safely: rows with a known ID update the existing equipment instead of creating a second one, only rows with no (or an unknown) ID create new equipment. Unchanged calibration data in a re-imported row doesn't create another, identical calibration entry — only genuinely changed or new calibration data creates one.

Common issues

• "An equipment type can't be deleted while still in use." It can — the deletion confirmation shows beforehand how many pieces of equipment currently use the type. Deleting only removes the type assignment; the equipment itself remains.

• "The calibration fields are missing from the creation form." The "Record calibration now" toggle must be enabled; without it, the equipment is created without a calibration (which can be added later at any time).

• "Status stays at Calibration due." Check whether the valid-until date of the most recent calibration is really in the future.

• "I can't set the status to Calibration due." That's by design — this status is only ever set automatically based on the calibration due date (daily check), not manually from the status menu.

• "A device is missing its calibration after import." Both the calibration date and the valid-until date must be given and valid — if either is missing, the import reports the row under "incomplete or invalid calibration data"; the equipment is created without a calibration and can be added later.

• "A property from my import file is missing on the imported equipment." Either the value was invalid for the field type ("invalid property values"), or the column isn't a known property of that type or a global property ("unrecognized columns ignored").

• "The file could not be read." Either the file is corrupt or, despite the .xlsx extension, not a real Excel file, or it contains invalid characters — in both cases nothing is imported.

• "After re-importing, the equipment exists twice." Check whether the ID column survived in the edited file — if it was deleted or cleared, the import treats the row as new equipment.

• "A type with this name already exists." Equipment type names are unique within the organization, regardless of capitalization. Either use the existing type or pick a distinguishing name.