property_management_softwarThe iPad has become a popular device in just a few short weeks since it’s launch.  Rentec Direct staff has confirmed compatibility with our application and the iPad.  Yes, Rentec Direct can be used on the iPad (or virtually any other mobile platform) for access to your tenant information anywhere! You are no longer limited by the bounds of your desktop.

As with any new device the iPad has it’s exciting new features and drawbacks.  There are some bugs Apple still has to work out on the iPad, and once they do it will make using the iPad work better for not only Rentec Direct’s online property management software, but websites across the web.

Here are the items which we’ve noticed affect Rentec Direct users.

  1. Apple removed scrollbars from their browser for in-browser divisions.   I believe because iPad users use their finger rather than a mouse, Apple unanimously decided for all their users that they are better off without scrollbars within web pages.   A search on Google finds over 1.5million results of the term “ipad scrollbars“.  At the top of the list are many complaints about Apple changing this common-sense browser functionality, and various suggested workarounds.

    Workaround: Within the scrollable frame, place two fingers on the screen and drag.  This will scroll the window within Rentec Direct.  If two fingers does not work, try three fingers.

  2. No Flash Support.  Apple and Adobe (the creators of Flash) currently have bad blood, and as a result Apple chose to exclude Flash support from the iPad.  Apple is unlikely to overturn this decision anytime soon despite nearly 80% of the web currently using Flash.  It means very little however for Rentec Direct users.  The only flash component of the site is the file upload status bar.  Generally file uploads are going to come from your desktop machine anyways which does contain full Flash support, so this will affect very few.   File downloads should still work fine within the iPad.

We anticipate Apple will address both of these issues (and other bugs still part of the iPad platform); however, in the meantime we’re publishing these workarounds to assist you in using Rentec Direct with the iPad.  If you have any questions or comments about mobile access to Rentec Direct, please let us know.