Create a Visitor Invitation

Overview

How to Log Into Visitor Invitation

You can go directly to the Visitor Invitation creation screen, or to the Visitor List screen - and then on to the Visitor Invitation creation screen.  

1. Always Start at the BluSKY Home screen - you can get to it by clicking the BluB0X icon.
2. To go directly to the Visitor Invitation screen, Click the blue Visitor Invitation button.  
   • Note:  If you do not see the blue button on your Home Screen, ask your Administrator whether you have permissions to invite visitors.
3. To go to the Visitor List screen: click Requests on the Main menu, and then -> Visitor Invitation:
   1. The Visitor List screen displays your current Invitations. You can view/edit/modify or delete any of them.
   2. To go on to the Visitor Invitation screen, click the Create icon    on the lower left side of the list.

Quick-Create a Visitor Invitation 

This article deals with the quick creation of a Visitor Invitation.  The next article, provides an explanation for every field of the Invitation. 

1. First and Last Names (Mandatory) - Enter the visitor’s names.
2. Visit Date/Time. (is pre-populated with the current date and time).  You can change this if necessary: Click the calendar icon. Also, check out the guide for creating recurring Visitor Invitations here. 
   • Time Zones: The time zone of the request is always based on the location of the Facility being visited. So, if you are on the east coast, and you are creating an invitation to a west coast property, you need to express the expected time of arrival in Pacific Time  (i.e. 3 hours earlier than your local time). 
3. The following fields appear only if your Facility's system supports the corresponding function:
   1. Access (it is pre-populated with the default Access Level for your visitors).  Specifies the Access Level that shall be granted to your visitor.  You can change this if more than one is available.  See the detailed instructions below.
      • Note: An Access Level is a list of doors or turnstiles that shall be accessible with the credential that is issued to your visitor.
   2. Floor Access (also pre-populated with the floor(s) to which your visitors normally come).  Specifies the Floor(s) that can be accessed by your visitor.  You can change this if necessary.  See the detailed instructions below.
4. Click at the bottom of the screen to save your new invitation.

More than one visitor?  You can save work by clicking Visitor Invitation and adding the next visitor before you click Save.  Proceed as follows: 

1. Click  Visitor Invitation to open a new Invitation Form.  Its fields shall be pre-populated to match the previous Invitation: simply enter your second visitor's First and Last Name.  Make any other desired field edits. Then click to save both invitations at once, OR
2. Click Visitor Invitation again to add a third Invitation.  fill in that invitation form, AND  
3. Repeat until you have created an invitation form for all your visitors, then click  to save all the invitations at once. 

Note: Security Officers can complete Visitor Invitation Forms from the Visitor Administration window, usually when an arriving visitor has not been pre-registered).  If the expected Date/Time of the visit is within one hour, the Visitor Edit screen will be automatically displayed after the Invitation Form is completd so the visitor can be checked-in on the spot.  Otherwise, the system returns to the Visitor Administration page. 

Detailed Explanation of the Visitor Invitation Fields

Many fields of the Visitor Information form are pre-populated so you don't have to deal with them; others are optional.  This  article describes each field so you can use it properly if you have to.

1. Host (Pre-populated) - The user, if he/she has the proper permission, can name a "Host" other than him/herself for the visitor.  Click the looking glass to see a list of potential hosts. Click to see information on the Person Picker
   • Enter search criteria as needed.
   • Select each Person and click the  button to move them from the unselected list to the selected list or use the  button to move everyone from the unselected list ot the selected list.
     • Note: Some features will only allow you to select a single Person.
     • The  button will deselect everyone selected so far and the  button allows you to deselect them individually.
     • The  button will undo your last action and the  button will reverse the undo action.
   • When finished, click the  button to select the People and close the Person selector.
2. Notification Toggle - This field determines whether a notification should be sent to the Host at Check-In.
3. Guest First Name (Mandatory) - This field captures the Visitor's first name.  It can be entered manually or if you have a license scanner will populated when the license is scanned.
4. Guest Last Names (Mandatory) - These fields capture the Visitor's last name. It can be entered manually or if you have a license scanner will populated when the license is scanned.
5. Guest Email / Guest Phone (Optional) - Some systems are programmed to send an e-mail or a text message to the Guest if a valid e-mail address or phone number is entered.  The message is sent immediately after the invitation is completed; it confirms the invitation and provides instructions on how to proceed upon arrival.
6. Affiliation (Optional) - This field records the Visitor’s Company Affiliation.
7. Group (Optional) - It is sometimes practical to associate visitors with a certain Group.  The default is NONE.  You can click New to enter a new Group Name (like “Sales Seminar”). You can click Existing to associate this visitor with a Group that has already been defined. 
8. Visit Date/Time (Pre-populated) specifies the anticipated date/time of arrival of the visitor.  By default, this is set to NOW.  The content can be modified by clicking the calendar  icon if the visitor is anticipated at a later date/time.  If you click the  calendar item:
   1. Start Date (Pre-populated with today's date) - Is the visitor's expected date of arrival.  The date can be modified by clicking the calendar  icon.
   2. Time (Pre-populated with the current time) - Choose a time from the pull-down menu.  The arrival time does not need to be exact.
   3. Repeat (Pre-populated with None) - This pull-down menu gives you a recurrence option: when you choose one, a window appears with a series of questions that must be answered to specify the recurrence.  This allows you to create more than one invitation at once for your visitor. We have put together an entire article on the Visitor Repeat Options. 

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TIP: The policy in some Facilities is that the visitor must obtain a new credential for every visit that you have specified (because credentials are valid only for  the day of  the visit).  In other Facilities, the credential that is issued on the first visit is valid for all the visits that you have specified in the invitation.  Check with your Administrator if you need to know your Facility's policy on this matter.

8. Message (Optional) - Any text that you enter into this field will be shown to the Visitor Admissions Staff in the lobby when the invitation is pulled onto their screen.
9. Access (Appears only in systems that feature access control for visitors) - (Pre-populated with the "default access level" that is specified for your visitors) - An "Access Level" indicates what doors or turnstiles can be accessed with a credential and at what time of day.  Some organizations define more than one such access level for their visitors.  If such is the this case, you  can replace the pre-populated default access level with another from the pull down menu.
10. Visitor Type (Pre-Populated with "Visitor") -  It is desirable to indicate the type of visitor being invited.  Common types are:  “Visitor”,  “Vendor/Contractor”, "Delivery", Visitor VIP, or “Visiting Employee”… 
11. Floor Assignments - Basic /  Advanced – (appears only in systems that feature floor access control for visitors)

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• Basic - Simply select the Floor for the Visitor from the Floor drop down menu.
• Advanced - Click the (Show Advanced) to expand the Floor options.
  1. Select the Facility from the Floor drop down menu to populate the Floor options.
  2. Click the Floors and assign them using the selection commands.
  3. Un-select unneeded Floors using the deselect commands.

12. Visitor Invitation (Optional) - This option will create another Visitor information form on the current screen. 
13. Import from Spreadsheet (Optional) - See the article below.
14. Download Spreadsheet template (Optional) -  See the article below.
15.  - Clicking the  button will save the Visitor Request. You can click Cancel  or Back to List instead, but will discard all your current work.

Import From Spreadsheet

You may need to  create Invitations for a large number of visitors.  Of course, you could use the  Visitor Invitation technique explained in the previous paragraph, but there is a better way.  It is very likely that the visitors needing invitations are or can be listed in an Excel worksheet.  Such a worksheet can be easily uploaded to BluSKY.  Proceed as follows:

1. Display a blank Visitor Invitation form.  You can do this in two ways from the BluSKY Home Screen:
   1. Click the blue Visitor Invitation button, OR
   2. On the Main Menu: select Requests-> Visitor Invitation and click the  icon in the lower left side of screen
2. Download the Excel template by clicking  Download Spreadsheet Template.  (Bottom right hand corner of the Invitation screen)
   • Tip: You can store the blank template on your device for later use.
3. Open the blank spreadsheet, and transfer the Visitor information to it. 
   • Tip: Only columns A, B and G are mandatory.  The others can be left blank.

4. When you are finished, give the spreadsheet a name and store it somewhere convenient on your device.  
5. Import the spreadsheet by clicking Import from Spreadsheet... and selecting the newly-created file.
6. When the Visitors are added, use the Access drop down menu to indicate the Access Level that is to be given to the visitors.

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7. Click the  button to finish.