Offline mode for mobile
Summarize
Summary of Offline mode for mobile
The Offline mode for mobile allows users to access and submit actions to records in ServiceNow mobile apps without an internet connection. Users can work on cached records, with changes tracked in an outbox, which syncs with the instance once internet access is restored.
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Key Features
- Enabling Offline Mode: Accessible through the Settings tab; users must download the offline cache to start.
- Navigation in Offline Mode: A banner indicating "Offline Mode" appears; certain actions may be restricted based on admin settings.
- Disabling Offline Mode: Users can toggle off Offline Mode to return online and sync changes from the outbox.
- Cache Expiration: The administrator sets a default expiration time for offline cache; unsynchronized changes will be lost after expiration.
- Resolving Synchronization Errors: Users can view and fix issues in their outbox if changes conflict with actions made by others while offline.
- Scheduled Offline Caching: Users can enable automatic cache downloads based on their work schedule, with an option to restrict downloads to Wi-Fi only.
Key Outcomes
Utilizing Offline mode helps ensure productivity in areas without internet access. Users must plan by downloading necessary data in advance and synchronize changes promptly to prevent data loss. Scheduled caching aids in seamless access, making it easier for users to manage their workload efficiently.
Access and submit actions to records in your mobile apps, even if you do not have an internet connection.
This video shows how offline mode works in your mobile apps. Learn how to download data, enable and disable offline mode, synchronize your outbox, and resolve synchronization errors.
Plan ahead when you use offline mode. If you will be working in an area with no internet access, download what you want to work on ahead of time while you are still connected to the internet.
When you are in offline mode, the changes that you make to your records are logged in your outbox. Your outbox tracks all the actions that you made on your cached records. After your device has internet access, you can synchronize your device with the instance. The cached changes in your outbox update to the instance.
Enable offline mode
Enable offline mode in your Settings tab. Tap Offline and then toggle on Offline Mode.
If you have not already downloaded the offline cache, you see a dialog box that asks you to download it. Tap Download and Go Offline.
Navigate the mobile app in offline mode
When you are in offline mode, a banner that reads "Offline Mode" appears across the top of all screens.
Depending on how your administrator configures the mobile app, you are unable to submit certain actions while you are in offline mode. These actions are grayed out on the user interface.
When you submit an action while you are in offline mode, the change gets marked with a patterned background. Changes remain marked until your device synchronize to the server.
Disable offline mode and synchronize outbox
To return online in the mobile app, navigate to . On the offline mode screen, toggle off Offline Mode.
- From the Offline Mode screen, toggle off the Offline Mode button.
- From the Outbox screen, tap Sync All.
Cache expiration
Your administrator configures a default length of time after which your offline cache expires.
When a cache expires, you lose all the data that you saved to the cache. If you do not synchronize the cache to an instance before the cache expires, none of your changes show on the instance.
Warning messages appear periodically to remind you to synchronize your cache before it expires. To avoid losing your data due to a cache expiration, always synchronize your cache before and after going offline.
Resolve synchronization errors
Problematic changes that you made in offline mode do not synchronize to the instance. They remain in the outbox until they are resolved.
You cannot synchronize changes that contradict changes made by other users while you were offline. For example, you may receive an error message if you try to synchronize changes to a record that another user closed while you were working in offline mode.
To view the errors in your cached changes, navigate to . Error messages indicate where errors occurred in your cached records while you were offline. You can resolve any of the listed issues directly from your outbox.
You can either tap Resolve to fix the error or tap Delete to remove the issue from the list.