Offline Support for Mobile Devices

Using your mobile device, whether Android or iOS, typically requires an active data connection via WiFi, Direct Connect, or Cellular Network. Sometimes you may be unable to connect to a data source or perhaps need to turn off your signal - we'll help manage your local data so you're able to continue working without interruption.

How it Works

As you're visiting locations around your local area, it's very likely there are times when your data connection on a given mobile device will lose the ability to send or receive information. In those cases we'll help provide access to data locally on your device and streamline the process for sending of data at times when your connection is 'offline' or too weak.

Offline Settings

By default, your offline setting is enabled along with the option to download photos over wifi.

If you’d like to be able to save photos to the job while you are offline and sync these when you regain cell signal, then you should toggle ‘Offline Photos Enabled’ to ON.

To check your offline settings: Tap on the settings gear icon in your mobile app, then tap Offline Settings.

Check your settings in this menu:

Please keep in mind that when you toggle Download Photos Over WiFi to 'ON'-- this can be a large request in terms of data usage.

If 'Offline Enabled' is toggled to 'ON' (shown in the image above) you will be able to sync your photos, notes, pdfs, and any labels added to the job once you regain connectivity.

Refreshing or reloading your app, as shown below will push any sync through, but that is not necessary as the sync will begin automatically once you regain connection.

In the video above, the app is refreshed and the new appointment loads into the technicians schedule.

Behind the Scenes

1. Apps will intelligently store job, appointment and customer information locally to your device
2. Accessing the locally stored information only requires to you have loaded the information once recently
3. Actions such as adding photos and notes will create a backlog "queue" when your device is considered offline
4. Data will automatically upload from the queue, in order, upon your device reconnecting (getting online)

Locally Stored Entities

• Job Customers
• Job Notes
• Job Photos/PDFs
• Job Details
• Appointments
• Estimates
• Invoices
• Signatures

Offline Alert

When your device is recognized as offline or not connected to a data signal, we'll display a warning message when it initially occurs and whenever an action takes place that could effectively make a difference to the data you're trying to create or update.

Accessing Data

As you're navigating the mobile apps, data is stored locally for convenient access...for cases where a data connection is intentionally or unintentionally severed. Typically without offline storage it would result in the inability to view today's appointments, job locations and important notes for the work that will be performed.

Behind the scenes we'll intelligently load pieces of data that are most important in case you lose a data connection. There are some basics to understand to make sure you have a great experience.

Pre-load

• List of Appointments for the Day in View
• Job Title, Description, Location, Notes and Photos
• Job Estimates and Invoices
• Job Customer Information

Pre-load when you have connectivity to ensure all information is synced and available to view, even if you lose connection.

Tip: Pre-load at the start of each day and right before you head to an area where connectivity is an issue.

User Actions when Offline

Throughout a typical day you're taking dozens or possibly hundreds of actions. A list of activities you perform will be saved locally and updated with our services once a data connection is restored. Actions such as creating an appointment or editing a job form can occur at any time when offline - we'll save the data locally to your device and upload to our servers once reconnected.

Creating

• Note
• Photo
• Non-Credit Card Payment
• Job Labels

Editing

• Job Details
• Appointment Date/Time
• Estimate
• Invoice
• Job Form
• Job Labels

Offline Actions Queue

During times when a device is not connected, a list of activities will be created (what we call a 'offline actions') that can be processed at a later time - once the device is reconnected to a data signal. The queue will be stored automatically and accessible from within the 'settings' area of the mobile app.

In most cases actions when offline will be handled without your need to be aware but if you're ever curious, you can view a list of queued actions.

Items Offline

Using the app without a data connection will conveniently display previous mentioned items where the contents have been stored locally and not yet uploaded. Actions such as create a note or creating an Invoice will visually display within the apps while interacting. 

You'll notice highlighted entities which have been added to our Offline Actions queue to be processed as soon as a data connection is available again.

Action Queue

1. Tap on the Settings (gear) button at the bottom right
2. Select the Offline Actions item

Items will be shown with a Queued status within the list. On occasion you may see them stating Uploading for a brief moment, which occurs automatically upon an active data connection.

Sync Status

You'll noticed items queued and uploading, and once all items have been processed, a friendly screen will be shown. In most cases this screen will present itself unless frequent data connections are a reality.

Common Questions

We've provided answers to some popular concerns that you may find helpful.

1. Does the data stored locally ever clear from my device?
   Yes, your device will only store data up-to the past 30 days. After a job or appointment is more than 30-days old, your device will automatically clear itself from the data you've stored.
2. How can I clear my device from local storage?
   Deleting the mobile apps from a device will effectively remove all locally stored data.
3. How many actions can I take while offline?
   There isn't a quantity of actions, rather there is a limitation on how much space can be used for local offline storage depending on your device. Generally, this will not be an issue unless you're offline for extended amounts of time.