Cartographer
Help topics

Working Offline

Fieldwork often takes you to places with weak mobile signal or none at all. Weak mobile signal can be worse than none: the app keeps trying to talk to our servers and everything feels slow. Work Offline tells the app to stop trying, so it runs entirely from the data stored on your device.

The usual routine is:

  1. At home or in the office, on wifi, install your project (see Installing a Project on Your Device).
  2. Before you head out, switch on Work Offline.
  3. In the field, record your surveys as normal. They're saved on your device.
  4. Back on wifi, switch off Work Offline and leave the app open until your surveys have uploaded.
  5. Check your surveys on the Cartographer web site.

Switching Work Offline On#

The Work Offline switch is at the bottom of the home screen, the project screen and the survey list. It's also on the Settings screen.

  1. Tap the Work Offline switch so it turns orange.
  2. The line of text under the title bar changes to Working offline.

If your workspace has offline background maps and you haven't downloaded any, the app asks Download map data?. Tap Download Now to choose an area, or Skip. See Installing a Project on Your Device.

While You're Working Offline#

  • You can add new surveys and edit surveys that are already on your device.
  • Everything you save is kept on your device and queued for upload. The text under the Work Offline switch tells you how many items are waiting, for example Switch off to upload 3 items. When nothing is waiting it reads Switch off to upload surveys.
  • The app doesn't upload or download anything.
  • Surveys that aren't on your device (shown with a crossed-out cloud icon in the survey list) can't be opened. You'll see Please go online to download this survey to your device.
  • You can't install new projects. On the home screen, projects you haven't installed show a crossed-out cloud icon.

If you lose mobile signal without switching on Work Offline, the app behaves the same way and the text under the title bar says No connection. It carries on automatically when mobile signal returns.

Switching Work Offline Off#

  1. When you're back on wifi or good mobile signal, tap the Work Offline switch so it turns grey.
  2. The app starts uploading straight away, oldest survey first. The text under the title bar says Uploading survey… or Uploading photo….
  3. Keep the app open on screen until the uploads are finished. The app doesn't upload anything while it's closed or in the background.
  4. When everything has gone, the upload line above the Work Offline switch disappears and the text under the title bar says Online.

Photos are uploaded separately after their survey, so a survey can appear on the web site a little before its photos.

See Checking Uploads and Sync Status for how to tell what's been uploaded and what to do if something fails.

⚠️
Remember to switch Work Offline off when you get back. Your surveys aren't on the Cartographer servers until you do. The first time you save a survey offline, the app asks whether it can send you notifications (Unsaved Survey Reminders, then your phone's own prompt). If you allow them and a survey still hasn't uploaded two hours later, the app sends you a reminder.

A Checklist for Field Trips#

Before you go:

  • Install your project on wifi and wait for the download to finish.
  • Open any existing surveys you'll need to look at in the field.
  • If your workspace has offline maps, download the area you'll be working in.
  • Switch on Work Offline.

When you get back:

  • Connect to wifi and switch off Work Offline.
  • Keep the app open until nothing is waiting to upload.
  • Check your surveys on the Cartographer web site.