Wally Whitley
CertNet Mobile has two different modes - online and occasionally connected (offline). Whenever possible, it is better to use online, as this provides the most up-to-date data and remove the additional time and resources to copy the data to the device. However, if you do not have a stable internet connection, offline may be required. With CertNet Mobile, we've added Connectivity checks within the Login Options and the Synchronize Offline Data menus.
This article will cover CertNet Mobile Occasionally Connected mode. For Online mode, click here.
Occasionally Connected mode will store your data adds/changes locally to the device. This means that nobody else sees those changes, and you don't see changes from others, until you sync.
Initial Setup
The first thing that we have to do is get the data downloaded onto your device so you can make changes to it. This REQUIRES a stable internet connection.
1. Open the TESSALink CertNet mobile application
2. Do you want to switch to Occasionally Connected Mode? Select "Yes"
3. Click "Create" to create a new Offline Profile
4. LOGIN using your username and password. This is the same one that you use for the web and desktop applications.
5. Choose and confirm a PIN. This can be any number that you want. In the future, instead of having to log in with your username and password each time, you will just choose your profile and enter your PIN. Do not forget this PIN - it cannot be reset later.
7. Choose your sync settings (explained below). Each of these settings affects only this local account. It does not affect other accounts on this device or other people in any way.
Best Practice - press Select All/Unselect All prior to selecting owners/locations to clear any prior owner/locations selections for your profile.
A. Choose the cutoff date of completed forms that you want to sync. By default (blank), it will sync every form regardless of date. This does not affect the assets. So for instance, if I choose 7/1/2021, it will sync every asset from the customers I choose (see part B below), as well as all completed forms between 7/1/2021 and today.
This can be a great way to cut down on sync time. If you know that you will not need to see any completed work, you can choose todays date. If you only might need the past year, choose one year ago. For accounts with a large amount of history, downloading one year of data instead of ten years can dramatically reduce the sync time.
B. Choose the customers that you want to sync. TESSALink CertNet allows you to sync specific customers and locations if you so choose. Any customer that has the green slider next to them will be synced, while any customer with a grey slider will not be synced.
If a customer is selected, you can also specify that you only want certain locations. By default, every location will be synced for that customer (even though the sliders are grey on the locations). If there are any locations that have a blue slider, those are the only ones that will be synced for that customer. If they are all grey, then all the locations will be synced. For customers that have sublocations, this works the same way (if any sublocations are green, they will be the only ones synced, but if they are all grey then all the sublocations for that location will be synced).
In this captured example, only the Assets for Atlas Construction, location JOB 123 will be synced to the local device. Completed forms 7/1/2021 and after will be included for that location, only.
Note: currently there is not a way to add new customers to your synced data other than to start this entire process over. However, the more customers you download, the longer it will take to do searches for assets.
8. Click Confirm - If you are unsure of your mobile device connection status, use the Check button on this screen to verify. Once verified (Wi-Fi strongly recommended), click Confirm.
Note: You will need to keep the screen on, and keep the app open as much as possible during this step. Closing or minimizing the app, or turning off the screen can sometimes cause the initial sync to fail. If it fails, you might need to restart the process. We recommend setting the device to never turn the screen off, connecting to Wi-Fi, plugging in the device. After it finishes, you can change the settings back and use the device as normal.
9. The sync can take anywhere from 60 seconds to multiple hours. The Elapsed Time will depend on internet speed, number of customers synced, specifications of the device, forms, attachments, and other factors. Note - the "Items to Update" are Metadata, and do not represent the number of Assets or Forms.
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