Before You Begin
Before you begin collecting data with rCAPTURE, it is important to log in to the app on your device for the first time while cellular or Wi-Fi connection is available. This ensures you will have the latest forms that have been allocated to you, and that you can download the necessary lookup data for the forms to work. Subsequent logins on the app will work even if off-line, and you can collect data off-line as well. You will need a connection to sync your data to the central database.
Submitting a Form
Your form will not be completed and submitted until you hit the Submit button at the end of the form:
If you close your form before completing it (i.e. without hitting the Submit Button), you will be presented with the option to Save and Exit, or Exit Without Saving. Saving the form allows you to return to it later for further editing, before submitting it using the Submit Button.
A number will display on the Home Screen to indicate how many saved, unsubmitted forms you have:
Syncing with the Database
A WiFi or network connection is required to sync data with the central database. All content on the device is updated at pre-defined synchronization intervals that occur in the background when the app is running.
These intervals are:
- At user login on the app (or auto-login if using the “Remember Logins” option)
- On the app’s return to foreground from being in the background on the device.
- When the user hits the Upload button in a survey, completing it
- When the user manually hits the Force Sync button, found on the Settings Screen of the app.
The Force Sync button is purely there for manual checking, it is not required for synchronization to occur.
If you would like to force sync:
- Click on the Settings icon in the top-right corner of your home screen
- In the Settings screen, click Force Sync.
The app will display synchronization messages when synchronizations are in progress, completed and failed. Sync failures usually occur because there is no network connection – the app will keep retrying at the intervals above.
Media file uploads & downloads (e.g. photos, audio, video) are run separately in the background, so as not to block data sync, and thus are not reported as part of the sync messages. This is because such files are usually larger and thus take longer to upload. When any synchronization occurs, the app initiates uploads/downloads of any pending media files.
App users can track the progress of media file uploads via the “Pending Files” count in the Settings Screen of the app. If there are no files pending, then there will be no message in the Settings Screen.