Adding Observations

Adding Observations

Observations are the individual findings or notes you record during an inspection. Each observation represents a specific issue, note, or point of interest that will be included in your final report.

Adding Observations from the Inspection Details Page

Opening the Observations List

1. Open the inspection: From the Inspections list, select the inspection where you want to add observations.
2. Scroll to Observations: On the inspection details page, find the Observations section.

Using the Add Observation and Bulk Upload buttons

• Add Observation button: Opens a comment search dialog so you can start from an existing library comment or create a new observation from scratch.
• Bulk Upload button: Opens the Bulk Upload interface, which lets you create multiple observations from a Google Drive folder of photos and videos. For full details, see Bulk Upload for Observations.

From the Observations section you can create individual observations as you work, or use Bulk Upload when you have a prepared media folder for that inspection.

Using the Add Observation Form

When you choose to add a single observation, SwiftReporter opens a dedicated form so you can review and customize all of the details before saving.

Classification

• Category: Choose the main inspection area (for example, Electrical, Plumbing, Roofing). The list comes from your active template.
• Subcategory: After you select a category, choose the specific component or system within that category. The subcategory determines where this observation appears in the final report.
• Severity (optional): If your template enables severity, you can select the priority or risk level for this observation.

Core Fields

• Title: A short summary of the finding that will appear in lists and report headings.
• Location: The specific location of the issue (for example, "Kitchen – north wall" or "Attic – near access hatch").
• Description: A detailed explanation of what you observed.
• Recommendation: Clear guidance on what should be done next (for example, "Recommend evaluation and repair by a licensed electrician").

Audio Notes

• Add Audio Note: Use the audio controls to record spoken notes directly in the browser.
• Automatic transcription: Recorded audio is sent to the backend for transcription so it can be used to help summarize or refine the observation.
• Playback and management: You can play, review, and delete individual audio clips associated with the observation.

Photos

• Photos section: Attach photos directly to the observation using the Photos tools.
• Multiple images: Add multiple images to fully document the condition.
• Report integration: Photos attached to an observation appear alongside that observation in the final report.

When you save the form, the observation is stored under the selected inspection and is available both in the inspection’s Observations list and in the Complete Report editor.

Using Quick Add in the Complete Report Editor

The Complete Report editor lets you add observations directly within the report structure while you review categories and subcategories.

Quick Add suggestions

• In subcategories that support observations, SwiftReporter shows a row of Quick Add cards based on your most-used defect comments for that category and subcategory.
• Each Quick Add card shows the comment title, a short description preview, and how many times you have used it (for example, "Used 12x").
• These suggestions are context-aware and filtered by your active template, the current category, and the current subcategory.

Adding an observation with one click

• Click a Quick Add card: SwiftReporter immediately creates a new observation based on that comment and opens it in the Add Observation form so you can review or fine-tune the details.
• Edit as needed: You can adjust the title, description, location, recommendation, severity, photos, and audio notes before saving.
• Save: The observation is added to that subcategory in the report and linked to the current inspection.

Opening full search from the report

• Alongside the Quick Add cards, an Add Observation button is available at the subcategory (and in some cases category) level.
• Clicking this button opens the full Comment Library search modal, where you can search across your entire library of defect comments and notes.
• If you do not see the comment you need in the Quick Add suggestions, use this button to find or create the right content, then continue in the Add Observation form.

Using Quick Add together with the full Add Observation form gives you a flexible workflow: you can insert your most common findings in a single click, or search and customize as needed, all while staying inside the Complete Report editor.