Publish feature - data questions

Hi All,

I am using v3.527 and the Publish feature. This is working fine in my tests. Before I roll it out to the field, I have three questions:

  1. Can I keep the data on the phone after sending? In Database Properties → Transfer settings, if i uncheck ‘clear data after send’ it immediately rechecks the box after I close the window, and the data disappears from the phone on send.
  2. When I download the data into my database, am I downloading a .ctx file? If so, where does it go?
  3. Once the data are downloaded from the server, does a copy remain on the server?

I am a little nervous that there is no back up anywhere of the data (either on the phone, or a downloaded .ctx file (which I like to have to reconstruct a raw database if need be, since edits are made on the working database).

Many thanks,

Nic

Hi Nic,

  1. I have never seen that before. If you click around after checking the box and then press Ok, does it come back after re-opening the dialog?
  2. Yes, you are downloading a CTX. The CTX also gets copied to the Backup folder.
  3. No, the data is permanently deleted from the server once the client has retrieved it.

Cheers,

-Justin

Hi!
Point 1 happens to me too on v3.529.

Hi!
Did you fix the “clear data after send” issue?

Cheers,

Hi Justin,
I have the same problem as Nic: when I uncheck “clear data after send” the box is automatically checked again just after publishing the app. I am therefore looking for a solution to secure my data in addition to sending it to the server. Is it possible to make a manual copy of the data on the mobile or a sending by email which allows an import of the data on the desktop?
Many thanks !
Joseph

In addition, can you confirm that the updates of the app systematically delete data present on the mobile (whether via publish or web udtade)? Is there a way to make updates without deleting the data being entered?
Thanks
Joseph

Hi Joseph,

When using Publish, the data will be deleted from the device after upload. This is by design.

The send must be confirmed, i.e. the data is definitely on the server.

Are you concerned that the data will be lost somehow?

Cheers,
-Justin

Thank you Justin,
I haven’t had any problem with the server so far but I’ve been trying this function for a short time and I admit that I will be more reassured to have a copy of the data elsewhere (on the device or sent elsewhere). If there is no risk of data loss, there is no problem.
Cheers,
joseph

Hi Joseph,

I would say the risk is low.

Once the data is downloaded onto your PC, it is placed into the “Documents\Cybertracker\System\Backup” folder. On modern machines, this (by default) backed up on OneDrive.

Also, when you download the data from the server to the desktop app, it is “soft-deleted”. This means that I can still recover it on the server for 90 days. This is not super convenient, because you cannot do this on your own, but it is a fail-safe.

Cheers,
-Justin

Hi Justin,
Thank you for the clarification.
Joseph

Hi,
I published my application on the CyberTracker server and sometimes I see a problem sending the data. Indeed, when the device has a bad connection and I still send the data, the sending sometimes fails but the data is deleted from the device even though it is not on the server. Are they moved on the device in the meantime and if so where? This also happens if the user sends the data while their device is simply not connected via mobile data. Wouldn’t it be possible to secure the sending of data: if the device is not connected, the data remains in the application until the next effective connection?
Thanks for your feedback
Joseph

Hi Joseph,

When you click “Send data”, the data is packaged up and placed in a queue. Queued items are only deleted when they have been successfully uploaded. As you have noticed, the data is not visible in the application, but it will get sent on the next send event.

Cheers,
-Justin

Hi Justin,
Thank you for these explanations. It works well.
Cheers,
Joseph