DesignOwl: Working Offline

DesignOwl: Working Offline



Using DesignOwl while connected to the internet provides real-time viewing and editing of Design and Installation Projects. However, in some working environments, you may find it's difficult or impossible to maintain a strong internet connection. In such cases, DesignOwl can be used offline when a few steps are taken to prepare in advance.

In this article, you'll learn the steps to download Buildings to your device while online, enabling you to view and update Devices and Tasks while offline. Changes will be saved locally while offline and synced later when your connection is back online. 

Online / Offline Status Indicator

DesignOwl's connection status bar at the bottom left of the screen  displays your current connection status  at all times, indicating when the device is Online or Offline . 




When the blue Online status indicator is shown, changes can be saved and synced at any time. Synced changes are immediately accessible to other SiteOwl users.

When the red Offline status indicator is shown, changes can be saved locally but can not be synced until the connection is again Online. 


If you find that your internet connection is unstable and can't be maintained with consistency, making a deliberate choice to work offline is highly recommended. You can force your device offline by setting the device to Airplane Mode.   

Preparing to Work Offline: Download Buildings to the Device

  1. While your device is Online, select the Account and view the list of available Projects (Design or Installation). 
    The Downloaded Buildings column indicates the number of buildings that are currently downloaded. 
    The download icon  is shown when the Building is not currently downloaded. 



  2. Click the download icon of the Building you wish to work with Offline. All Plans associated with the Building will be included in the download.
    A dialog box will show the progress of the download. You can either wait for the download to complete, or click the Minimize button to hide the message while you continue working in the app.
    Click the Cancel button to stop the download process. 



    A green check mark  is shown when the download is complete. The Building and its related Plans are now available for Offline edits. 




  3. To remove a download, click the green check mark again. The following message will display:



  4. Click the Remove Building button to confirm the action. Or click the Cancel button to stop the process. 
    The green check mark will revert to the download icon, indicating that the download has been removed and is no longer available for Offline edits.  
Learn more about Removing Downloads and best practices for ensuring downloads are kept up-to-date later in this article. 

Saving Changes While Offline

When the device is Offline, saved changes are stored locally until an internet connection is available and changes can be synced.
The connection status bar will indicate when there are Devices and Tasks waiting to be synced. The sync icon will be red    indicating that data can not be synced. 


 
When the device is  Online, the connection status bar will indicate the number of Devices and Tasks waiting to be synced. The sync icon will be green    indicating that data can be synced at any time.   Click the green sync icon to begin the process. 



The sync icon will also be shown on the Project Dashboard. Clicking the icon here will also begin the sync process.



A message will display indicating the sync process is underway. Allow the process to complete before closing the app.




If you choose the Sync Later button, the following message is shown, confirming your action. 




Refreshing and Removing Downloads

It's important to be aware that downloaded information provides a snapshot in time. Downloaded information is refreshed automatically when you sync changes made on the device. However, if you have not synced changes recently, you'll want to download a new version to ensure you are working with the latest information, including any changes made by others in the web application. 

To refresh a downloaded Building:
  1. Remove the existing download by clicking the green check mark
  2. Download a new version by clicking the download icon  
If you have not refreshed or removed a download after 30 days, it will be automatically removed from the device, unless there are changes waiting to be synced. 

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