TREC Tablet Inspection Software — iPad and Surface Workflow for Texas Inspectors

Why some inspectors prefer a tablet

A tablet sits in a different sweet spot from a phone:

• Bigger screen. You can see the whole TREC section at once instead of scrolling through items. Less mental load.
• Better photos. Larger preview for verifying the photo captured what you wanted before moving on.
• Stylus support. iPad Pro with Apple Pencil, Surface with stylus — annotate photos in real-time, draw circles around defects, add arrows.
• More writable area. Comment fields are big enough to actually read what you typed.
• Two-handed operation. Tablets sit on a clipboard, in a stand on the dashboard, or you hold them in one hand and write/tap with the other.

None of this is mandatory — the phone workflow finalizes a TREC report just as fast. But for inspectors who want a more visual, more deliberate workflow, the tablet is worth the upgrade.

How the tablet workflow runs

On the way to the property

Open the InspectorData PWA in Safari (iPad), Edge (Surface), or Chrome (Android tablet). The app installs to your home screen — no app store, no special install. The TREC REI 7-6 template loads automatically because the property is in Texas.

On the property

• Left sidebar: All 7 TREC sections with progress per section ('Section II Electrical · 5 of 11 rated').
• Main view: The current section's items, with I/NI/NP/D toggle pills and comment fields beside each.
• Photos panel: Tap any item to see its photos. Annotate with stylus or finger.
• Tap-to-jump: Tap a section in the sidebar to go directly there. No swiping.

Every rating, every comment, every photo writes to local storage immediately. Auto-save runs every 20 seconds.

Photo annotations that survive into the PDF

Draw a red circle around a cracked vent boot. Add an arrow pointing to a junction box without a cover. Type a label next to a defect. All annotations save with the photo and appear in the final PDF as visible markup.

This is a real differentiator from the typed-comment-only workflow. Inspectors who write annotated reports find their clients understand findings faster — a circle around the issue is worth a paragraph of description.

Sticky finalize button

The finalize button sits in the bottom-right of the screen, always visible. When you're ready, one tap runs all the TREC compliance gates and produces the PDF.

Tablet-specific features

iPad with Apple Pencil

• Pressure-sensitive annotation for sketching defect details on photos
• Hover preview before tapping (Pencil 2)
• Palm rejection so you can rest your hand on the screen while writing

Microsoft Surface

• Slim Pen annotation works the same as Apple Pencil
• Type Cover keyboard lets you switch between tablet-touch and laptop-typing in seconds
• Multi-task with Edge — pull up reference docs in a second window

Generic Android tablets

• Same PWA, same features
• Annotations work with finger or any stylus
• Auto-rotate and split-screen supported

All tablets

• Same offline-capable PWA architecture
• Same auto-save
• Same TREC compliance gates
• Same pixel-perfect REI 7-6 PDF output

Prefer a different workflow?

If a phone fits better for one-handed walkthroughs, see the Texas TREC Mobile App workflow.

If you'd rather not bring any device into the inspection itself, see the TREC Voice Dictation workflow — walk freely, talk into your truck, AI routes findings to the right sections.

For the underlying TREC compliance details, see the main TREC software page.

Try it free — no credit card

90-day free trial. No credit card required. Run real Texas inspections from your tablet. Annotate photos with your stylus. Generate the pixel-perfect REI 7-6 PDF. Email it to your client without leaving the home.

Start your free trial — installs to your iPad or Surface in under 60 seconds.