Mobile application overview
NOTE: This lesson plan is designed for use in our Tutorial system where hands-on exercises and datasets can be created without affecting your Production Idencia system. If you are viewing this lesson plan from within your production Idencia site, please contact your customer liaison for access to our Tutorial site for hands-on learning.
The Idencia Home Screen
The Idencia home screen will be displayed in one of two forms.
- If you have the Free-form serial numbers Setting turned off, you will see the Home screen shown on the right. To create a new Item, use the Create Item button. To continue working with an existing Item, use the View Items button.
- If you have the Free-form serial numbers Setting turned on (the most common setting), you will see the Home screen shown on the left. To create a new Item or continue working on an existing tagged Item, use the Scan Tag button. To create a new Group of Items, use the Create Group button. To continue working with an existing Item, use the View Items button.
At the bottom of the Home screen, the name of the currently logged in User will be displayed along with the date and time the device last synchronized with the Idencia server.
The Home Screen Menu
By selecting the Menu icon at the top-right corner of the Home screen, you will see additional commands.
- Selecting the View Items command will display a list of existing Items synced to the mobile device.
- Selecting the Sync command will perform a Synchronization between the device and the Idencia server. You would use this command if you made changes in the Idencia Management Portal that you want to sync down to the device.
- Selecting the Log Out command will log the current User out of Idencia so you can log in a new User for this device.
- Selecting the Settings command will display additional settings for Idencia. See the Idencia 101-26: Mobile Application Setup and Options lesson for more information.
Idencia and Users
The Idencia Mobile App was designed to be used on a one User per device basis. A User can only be logged into Idencia on one device at a time. You cannot have more than one User logged onto a single device, or a single User logged onto more than one device at the same time.
The benefit of this is that once a User is logged into Idencia on a device, that User will remain logged in on that device. Even if Idencia is stopped or the device is turned off, the User does not need to log in again the next time the Idencia application is opened.
Logging Out of Idencia
There may be times, however, where you wish to change the User who will be using a device. To do this, you simply need to log the current user out of Idencia, then log in the new User.
To log out of Idencia, select the Menu icon at the top right corner of the Home screen. From the Menu, select the 'Log Out' option. The current User will be logged out, and you will be presented with the Log In screen.
Logging Into Idencia
To log back into Idencia, simply enter the new User's email address and password and press the Log In button. All new information recorded on this device will now be done by the new user.
How The Idencia App Communicates with the Server
Internet Requirements
The Idencia Mobile app uses an internet connection to synchronize data to the Idencia server. Even so, it is designed to work with or without an internet connection for most operations. There is only one time where an internet connection is required, that is when you are logging a User into Idencia. In all other operations, the information recorded will be stored on the device. Once an internet connection is established, the information will be sent to the Idencia server and then distributed back to all the devices.
It is important to note that any information you record while you are not connected to the internet will not be visible by any other devices or on the Idencia Management Portal. This can potentially lead to data conflicts. We recommend an internet connection while you are using the Idencia Mobile app so the information is immediately synchronized and available to everyone.
Synchronization
When the Idencia Mobile app is installed and configured on a device, the synchronization of data will be continuous as long as there is an internet connection. There are 4 levels of synchronization that will happen.
- A synchronization will happen every time the user returns to the Idencia Home screen after an Item is created or modified.
- A synchronization will happen when the device "wakes up" and Idencia is displayed on the screen.
- A synchronization will happen whenever the Idencia icon is selected and Idencia is started.
- A synchronization will happen every 15 minutes while the device is "sleeping".
With these 4 levels of synchronization, you can be assured that while you are using Idencia on your mobile device, you are working with the latest data.
See the Understanding the Syncing Process article for additional details about the syncing process and configuration options that affect the volume of data synced to the mobile device.
Data Conflicts
Because Idencia can work with or without an internet connection, it is possible to have multiple Users record the same information. This results in a data conflict. Idencia handles this situation using the rule, the latest update wins. This means that it will compare the dates of the conflicting updates and use the update with the later date.
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