Hi Community!
In this week's post, I'd like to talk about an issue that, even though it's rare, could affect or disrupt the work in the field.
Admins regularly update forms, Data Sources, and Data Destinations to meet their needs and/or keep the most up-to-date data in their users' hands. Those updates are usually pushed to the devices when the users open and reconcile the App.
Sometimes, however, the synchronization process may get disrupted for various reasons; the most common being the lack of a strong and stable internet connection. As a result, some of the items that were updated on the portal don't get synced in the App. When this happens, the user will get the following error message: "missing some dependencies. Please reconcile".
If one of your users receives this error the first thing they should do is reconcile their app.
Reconciling the App
When reconciling the app, they will want to make sure that they have a strong and stable internet connection. If they receive this error it may indicate that their location doesn't have a strong and stable internet connection so they may need to move to a different location. It is also helpful to keep the app in the foreground so that processes from other apps don't accidentally get in the way.
To reconcile the app, follow these steps:
- From the ProntoForms App main screen, look for the Reconcile button (found in the bottom left corner).
- Click on the button and the app will let you know that it's syncing with the ProntoForms server, downloading any new forms and sending any submissions ready to be sent.
Once the app has been reconciled, open the form again. If they are still seeing this error then it might be time to perform a more advanced option, called "Reset Forms".
Reset Forms
It is especially important that you know that the Reset Forms action will remove all data sources and form definitions in your mobile device's local storage.
This action should never be performed in less-than-ideal circumstances, like when you have poor internet connection. You should also shut down any other apps you have running as well as keep this app running in the foreground during this process.
When you perform the Reset Forms action, the app will delete your current form definitions and data sources, download them again, fresh from our servers, and store them on your device.
There is another risk with performing this action. If your user is using an older form iteration and its dependencies, performing a Reset Forms could delete these dependencies permanently and there will be no way to restore them.
It is because of these risks that the Reset Forms action should be considered a last-resort option only.
The good news is, if you have a strong and stable internet connection when you do the Reset Forms you won't lose any information that you have already entered in a form, and you won't lose any data that you haven't submitted yet.
How to do a Reset Forms
The following steps will take you through the Reset Forms process:
- From the ProntoForms App main screen, go to the Settings screen by clicking on the gear icon
- On the Settings screen, scroll down and click on the Advanced settings option
- On Advanced settings, scroll down and click on the "Reset Forms" option
- A message will appear, click Yes
- The app will now download all form definitions and sources to your mobile device
Once the process is complete, the error should no longer appear, and you can continue to work on your forms.
You can learn more about all the settings available within the ProntoForms app by checking out our documentation.
iOS: https://docs.prontoforms.com/1374411/Content/Published/217498948_iOSClientSettings.html
Android: https://docs.prontoforms.com/1374411/Content/Published/217499268_AndroidClientSettings.html
Windows: https://docs.prontoforms.com/1374411/Content/Published/219485008.html
#TechTalkSupport
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Gustavo Rodriguez
Technical Lead, Customer Support
ProntoForms
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