To prevent users from overwriting each other's work, Mapistry does not allow form submissions to be edited by more than one user at the same time. To prevent this, a form is ‘locked’ when it is edited by a user, preventing changes from being made by anyone else that may overwrite the current user’s changes. This lock will be in place for 45 minutes and will reset each time you save or move to a new section of the form. The lock will be released if either:
- The user exits the form (ex: they are done editing the form submission) or
- The user stays in the same section for more than 45 minutes.
Other users can open and edit the form submission when the lock is released. The following user who opens the form submission will hold the lock until it is released.
When you are editing a form, you will see a message at the top of your screen letting you know that no one else can make changes to the form while you are editing it. To allow others the ability to edit the form, you will need to click ‘save’ and exit the form.
You can see how long you hold the lock to a form by hovering over the information icon. Moving to a new section of the form or saving will refresh the timer and give an updated estimate of how long the lock will be held.
💡Note: If you exit the tab completely without exiting the form first, no one else will be able to make changes to that form for 45 minutes, and any changes you have made may be lost if you have not saved all your edits. Remember to save before exiting to preserve the changes you have made.
If you cannot edit a form, this might be because someone else is currently doing so. If this is the case, you will see a message at the top of your screen letting you know.
Once they are done and have exited the form, you can reload the page and see the more recent changes. You will then hold the lock to the form, and no one else will be able to make changes while you are actively editing the form or for 45 minutes.
💡Note: The 45-minute timer will restart every time you click into a new form section.
💡Tip: When you are done editing the form, remember to save and close the form in Mapistry before closing any browsers or tabs to ensure the lock is released.
Mobile
When completing forms in the mobile app, you will still be able to place a lock, preventing others from making changes to the form until you save and exit it. If you open a form submission on the mobile app and see a message like the one below, that means another user is holding the lock, and you will not be able to edit the form submission until the lock is released.
💡Note: The lock will be released when the form or app is exited.
Offline Mode
While working in offline mode, the lock placed on a form will not automatically extend as you move through the different form sections. This means you’ll hold the lock and prevent anyone else from making changes to the form for exactly 45-minutes, starting from when you open the form in online mode.
If you’d like to complete a form in offline mode, follow the steps below to ensure you’ll hold the lock and prevent others from making changes until your edits have been saved:
- Once you have downloaded offline access to the site, go to your settings while still online and make sure “Force offline mode” is turned off.
- Make sure the last sync is up-to-date. If it’s not, sync manually to the most up-to-date version.
- Open the form you’d like to edit on mobile while still online. If you see a message like the one in the screenshot above, that means someone else is currently holding the lock, and you won’t be able to make any changes to the form. If you do not see the message, you are currently holding the lock on the form.
- Without exiting the form, click on the menu bar at the bottom left of the screen to go to your settings and activate offline mode.
- Complete your inspection.
- Return to online mode and sync your changes as soon as the inspection has been completed and you have access to the internet.
💡Note: If you don’t sync your data immediately and someone else makes changes to the form, you may overwrite the changes made when syncing changes made while in offline mode.
If you would like to edit a form while in offline mode and worry that 45-minutes might not be enough time to keep the form locked, we recommend communicating this with your team to prevent data loss.
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Support
If you have any questions or need further assistance, please e-mail help@mapistry.com or call (510) 313-1422.