Your workers out in the field may not always be working in an area with a strong internet connection. In these situations the risk of forms failing to submit increases. Here are some best practices to share with your field workers to help ensure their forms get submitted successfully.
Save a Draft
While the TrueContext mobile app automatically saves your work as you fill out a form, it's important to note that this should not be considered a replacement to properly saving a draft of the form you are working on. There are times, like when working in conditions with a poor internet connection, or if it will take more than one shift to complete the form, that saving your progress as a draft in the mobile app is the recommended way to ensure you don't lose any data.
Our product documentation walks through the process of saving a draft in the mobile app for iOS, Android, and Windows users, as well as the instructions on how to open that saved form back up to complete it: https://docs.truecontext.com/1374411/Content/Use%20the%20Mobile%20App/SaveWorkOnMobileApp.htm
When working in an area with a poor connection it may make more sense to save the form as a draft in the mobile app rather than trying to submit it. Complete the form as usual but, instead of submitting it, save it on the mobile app using the instructions in our product documentation. Once you are in an area with a strong connection, open the form up and submit it at that time.
Form Submission Fails Due To A Poor Connection
If you submit your form and it fails because you don't have a strong connection, you can try to resubmit the form once you have a stronger connection. This is easily be done by opening the app up when you have a strong connection and reconciling the app.
Our product documentation walks through the process of doing a manual reconcile in your mobile app for iOS, Android, and Windows users: https://docs.truecontext.com/1374411/Content/Published/217499188_ReconcileSendReceive.html
Remember, a strong and stable internet connection is required for a reconcile to be successfully completed. Additionally, keeping the app open in the foreground and not having other apps running at the same time until the reconcile is complete is the best way to ensure you will minimize any difficulties when you reconcile.
How To Know If Your Form Didn't Submit
Anytime you submit a form the mobile app sends it to the Outbox. The Outbox is a temporary queue for the submitted form before it uploads to the TrueContext Web Portal. Once the submitted form successfully uploads, it will move from the Outbox to the Sent list.
If you are concerned that a form didn't submit properly, the first thing you should do is check the Outbox in your mobile app. If the form hasn't submitted, you will find it there. If you see a form in your Outbox and you would like to submit it, make sure you are in a location with a strong connection and reconcile your mobile app. If the form has submitted successfully it will move from the Outbox to the Sent list.
The Outbox and Sent tiles can be seen from the home screen of the TrueContext. From the home screen you can see immediately if there are any forms in the Outbox waiting to be submitted.
Between TrueContext's auto save capabilities as well as submitted forms being queued in the outbox until the app can safely send them back to the TrueContext Web Portal means that in just about any situation where your team is working in conditions with poor internet connection the data they are collecting will not be lost. I hope the tips above will help your field workers if they do encounter any issues while doing their work in these conditions.
If you or your team are still having issues with submitting your forms due to working in locations with a poor internet connection, please contact Support and log a ticket, we'll be happy to help you out.
#TechTalkSupport
#BestPractice
------------------------------
Ravneet Kaur
Customer Support Manager
ProntoForms
------------------------------