Often you will want to make changes to an existing published screen. Our platform provides version control for your Screens, allowing you to rapidly and safely update them as needed.
The published version of a Screen is considered to be the current stable, production copy for all users, and the platform automatically pushes this version to your app users. This great Publishing functionality has some risks, though:
1) If you publish a new Form design every time you want to test out some Screen changes, you risk disrupting live users with a broken or incomplete Screen design.
2) Your users would also be capturing Form entries across many Form versions. This will make it difficult to track down entries in the Data Entries area of the secure website
3) If you do any integrations, you may have many different Form field configurations to accommodate
Thus we strongly recommend you use our Test mode for developing and testing changes to a Form design.
Test Mode
Test mode allows the designer to view and adjust Screen changes, within a version, while safely limiting access to designated testers. Instead of continuously publishing new versions to see the changes on your device, you simply save changes in the Screen Designer while in Test mode, and then Force Sync these changes to your device. Click the MANAGE TEST button in the designer to add any ACTIVE user who you want to participate in the change validation process. Commonly the form designer may be the only user in the Test initially, but more test users can be added at any time.
Note: The MANAGE TEST button is only available on Screens that are in Draft status.If a screen is Published, you must create a new draft version to edit and test. Click the NEW VERSION button to create a new version of your screen in Draft status, ready for your edits.
While a screen is put into Test mode, the Published version (if exists) will remain visible to everyone else. Feel confident to change the screen design as much as you like without risk to the stable Published version.
With this new version in Test Mode, you only need to be sure app synchronization occurs so the changed design downloads to the device. One may use the Quick Sync icon in the form you're testing, or navigate to App Settings then click Force Sync to see changes.
Once you are done with your testing and have finalized the design changes, you're ready to roll out the new version to all your users. In Form Designer, click the PUBLISH button to end the Test mode on the new version and set this as the current Published revision. Now all users can access the new version upon the next synchronization.
Rollback to a Previous Form Version
Sometimes it may be necessary to roll back a screen design to a previous version. We do this by replacing the current draft with an export and import of the preferred form design.
You can achieve this on the Settings Page of a form, where you can view the form's Version History on the right.
By selecting an archived, published, or draft version of the form, the context of the Settings page will change to that version.
Note, that the selected version will display after the form's title at the top left of the page.
After opening the version you want to revert back to, export that form's version (XLSX spreadsheet) and import it into the new version you are working on in draft status.
If you are unsure of the design of a particular version, while in the context of that version, you can select the option Design, at the top left of the screen, to view the form and make sure it is the version you want.
Disabling Required Fields for ease of testing
The ability to disable all required fields can come in handy during test, allowing you to swiftly navigate and test out specific functionality without completing already vetted required fields, and without altering fields' properties.
The Mange Test option Run Required Checks disables the required field value validation to allow for faster testing of large Form designs. This feature is only available in Test Mode; all checks will be run when the Form is Published.
