Activity & Changelog
Track permit changes, view activity history, and understand the Plotwise Change Tracker system.
Plotwise automatically tracks every change detected on your permits. The Activity & Changelog features help you stay informed about permit progress and maintain an audit trail of all changes.
Understanding the Change Tracker
The Change Tracker is Plotwise's core feature for monitoring permit activity. It:
- Scrapes jurisdiction websites regularly (typically every few hours)
- Compares current data with previous scrape
- Detects and logs all changes
- Triggers notifications based on your preferences
Dashboard Change Tracker
The Dashboard displays the most recent changes across all your tracked permits:
Change Entry Format
Each change entry shows:
- Permit Number: Link to permit details
- Status Badge: Current permit status
- Change Description: What changed
- Timestamp: When change was detected
Grouped Changes
When a permit has multiple changes, they're grouped with a badge showing the count. Click to expand and see all changes.
Watchlist Activity View
Switch to Activity view in the Watchlist to see a chronological feed:
- Go to Watchlist
- Find the view toggle in the toolbar (above the table)
- Click the Activity icon ( pulse icon) to switch from the table view ( grid icon)
The Activity view displays a detailed timeline of all changes detected across your tracked permits. Each entry shows the change type (status, fees, inspections, processing), before/after values, and links to the affected permit.
Activity Feed Features
- Infinite scroll: Load more changes as you scroll
- Date separators: Changes grouped by day
- Permit context: Each change shows permit number and address
- Quick navigation: Click any entry to view permit
- Report bug: Hover over any row to reveal a bug icon—click to report data issues
Reporting Data Issues
If you notice incorrect or missing data in the activity feed, you can report it directly:
- Hover over the activity row with the issue
- Click the bug icon that appears on the right side
- Add optional notes describing the problem
- Click "Send Report"
Our team will investigate and fix any data issues. This helps us improve the accuracy of our change tracking system.
Change Types
Plotwise tracks these change categories:
Status Changes
Permit status transitions:
- "Pending" → "In Review"
- "In Review" → "Approved"
- "Approved" → "Issued"
Example: "Status changed from In Review to Approved"
Fee Changes
Fee-related updates:
- New fee added
- Fee amount changed
- Fee marked as paid
Example: "Invoice #792025 amount adjusted to $50.00 (previously $14.70)"
Inspection Updates
Inspection-related changes:
- Inspection scheduled
- Inspection completed
- Result posted (Pass/Fail)
- Inspection cancelled
Example: "New inspection added: 38826444"
Processing Status
Department review updates:
- Review started
- Comments added
- Review completed
- Status updated
Example: "Natural Resources Review marked Approved on 2026-01-23 by Joseph Cermak"
Party Changes
Contact/party updates:
- New party added
- Party removed
- Contact info updated
Example: "Contractor added: ABC Construction"
Document Updates
Attachment changes:
- Document uploaded
- Document removed
- Version updated
Example: "New attachment: Revised Plans Rev 3.pdf"
Related Records
Linked permit changes:
- Related permit added
- Related permit removed
- Parent/child relationship
Example: "Related record added: 842587"
Permit Change History
Each permit details page includes a complete change history:
Viewing History
- Open permit details
- Scroll to "Change History" section
- View chronological list of all changes
History Features
- Streaming load: History loads progressively
- Expandable entries: Click to see full details
- Before/After values: See previous and new values
- User attribution: Shows who made manual changes
Event Scopes
Changes are categorized into "scopes" for notification filtering:
| Scope | Changes Included |
|---|---|
| status | Permit status changes |
| processing | Department review updates |
| conditions | Conditions of approval changes |
| inspections | Inspection scheduling and results |
| fees | Fee additions, adjustments, payments |
| attachments | Document uploads and removals |
| related | Related permit links |
| alerts | Special alerts and warnings |
Configure which scopes trigger notifications in Notification Preferences.
Change Detection Timing
Scrape Frequency
- Active permits: Checked every 2-6 hours
- Permits needing attention: Priority checking
- Completed permits: Less frequent checks
Delay Factors
Changes may be delayed due to:
- Jurisdiction website updates (they control the data)
- Scraper queue processing
- Data normalization and comparison
Note: The "Last Checked" timestamp shows when we last successfully scraped a permit. This doesn't guarantee changes - the jurisdiction data may be unchanged.
Today's Events Widget
The Dashboard shows a summary of today's events:
- Total events: All changes detected today
- By type: Breakdown by change type
- Colored indicators: Visual categorization
Notification Integration
Changes trigger notifications based on your settings:
Email Notifications
- Immediate or digest format
- Configurable frequency
- Detailed change descriptions
SMS Notifications
- Brief change summary
- Status changes only (recommended)
- 320 character limit
See Notification Preferences for configuration.
Best Practices
Monitoring Strategy
- Morning check: Review overnight changes on Dashboard
- Filter by urgency: Focus on "Needs Attention" statuses
- Respond promptly: Address Awaiting Client Reply permits
- Document actions: Add notes after taking action
Change Investigation
When you see an unexpected change:
- View the permit details page
- Check the complete change history
- Compare with jurisdiction source (View Source link)
- Document findings in notes
Team Coordination
For organizations with multiple members:
- Assign permits to specific team members
- Use tasks to track follow-up actions
- Add notes to document who handled what
- Review activity feed in team meetings