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Offline forms

The mobile app is offline-first. You can complete a work order, capture a form, take photos, and queue everything for upload without a network connection. The app syncs when signal returns.

What works offline​

  • Open any work order assigned to you.
  • Open any form template you have permission to use.
  • Fill in form fields.
  • Take photos (auto-tagged with GPS coordinates).
  • Save a draft.
  • Submit a form (queued locally; uploads on next sync).
  • Mark a work order complete (queued locally).

What needs a connection​

  • Initial sign-in (and any subsequent re-sign-in).
  • Downloading new work orders or form templates not yet cached.
  • Viewing the live activity feed.
  • Approving a work order (sync-required so concurrent approvers race correctly).

Capture a form against a work order​

  1. Open Work orders in the bottom nav.
  2. Tap the work order.
  3. Tap + Capture form in the actions.
  4. Pick the form template. Required forms for this work order appear first.
  5. Fill in the form. Required fields are marked.
  6. Tap Take photo to attach images. Each photo is compressed before upload and tagged with the device's current GPS coordinate.
  7. Tap Save draft to preserve progress without submitting.
  8. Tap Submit when complete.

If you are online, the submission uploads immediately. If you are offline, the submission queues and uploads on next sync.

Capture a form without a work order​

For free-form field captures (an ad-hoc inspection, an unplanned observation):

  1. Open Forms in the bottom nav.
  2. Pick a form template.
  3. Fill in the form and submit as above.

These submissions arrive without a project anchor, so they roll up under your organisation rather than under a specific project.

Resume a draft​

Drafts persist across app restarts and device reboots until you delete them or submit them.

  1. Open Drafts in the bottom nav.
  2. Tap the draft.
  3. Continue editing.
  4. Tap Submit or Save draft as before.

Sync status​

The app's top status bar shows the sync state:

  • Synced: everything submitted has uploaded successfully.
  • Pending (N): N submissions are queued and waiting for signal.
  • Syncing: actively uploading queued submissions.
  • Sync error: at least one queued submission failed permanently. Tap the bar to see which one and why.

Pull-to-refresh on any list page forces a sync attempt.

Image upload behaviour​

Photos are compressed on-device before upload to save mobile data:

  • Original resolution: typically 12 MP.
  • Uploaded resolution: 1600 px on the long edge, ~80% JPEG quality.
  • The original photo stays on the device's gallery (not in the app's storage).

If your captures require full-resolution photos (forensic or legal evidence), capture via the device's native camera app and upload from your desktop instead.

What next?​