Introduction
CRM.pad is the existing ACRM interface for use with Apple iPad and which is offered as an App available on the App Store. It also contains a powerful offline mode that allows for accessing certain records, as well as creating new records, when a connection to the internet has not been established.
Using CRM.pad
Similar to CRM.web, CRM.pad is a super-customizable interface that interacts with the same Data Model and environment back-end, with a dedicated configuration tool in CRM.designer. Unlike CRM.web, CRM.pad will require that the server is first registered from the local iPad device.
Connecting to ACRM
In order for users to log onto CRM.pad, assuming a fully working ACRM environment has been deployed and prerequisites are met, the following will be required:
- The latest version of the CRM.pad app, available on the App Store.
- Registering the Server in the client machine.
- User credentials for which a CRM.pad configuration has been assigned in CRM.designer.
To use CRM.pad for one of your deployed environments, you will need to install the CRM.pad app on your iPad, and then register the server making the following request in Safari (you can use any reference for <IDENT> and <NAME>, and the full public URL for <URL>):
crmpad://configureserver?identification=<IDENT>&name=<NAME>&url=<URL>&authenticationType=username&useragent=ipad
The app will then open and credentials will be requested.
<supportagent>
Note to agents: In order to troubleshoot CRM.pad issues, you may require access to a testing platform like Browserstack. Currently, the following ACRM Browserstack account sheet exists, but access to the environment is limited to L2.
Note that you may need to Force Local testing in order for the App to work (including checking “Resolve all URLs through my network”). Additionally, you will have to select “Enable for specific domains” under Devtools > Network, and input your instance’s IP.
Finally, be aware that any deployment from the QA environment can be used to launch CRM.pad if a correctly formatted string is used, for example:
crmpad://configureserver?identification=crmqa.aurea.local&name=crmqa.aurea.local&url=https://crmqa.aurea.local/master-ent-mss-ISI-13.2.0&authenticationType=username&useragent=ipad
</supportagent>
Offline Pad
As a final note, it is worth mentioning that many customers using CRM.pad heavily rely on its offline mode. Essentially, this allows you to select a set of records to be maintained and which are accessible when the user goes offline, and enables the creation of new records that will later get synchronized with the online stations.
To switch between online and offline modes, you will need to open the Control Center by clicking on the spanner icon on the top-right (by default). Once there, a small icon on the bottom-left of the window will inform you as to whether you are on online (green) or offline (blue) mode:
To synchronize the records and Data Model with the live ACRM server, it will be necessary to click on the relevant buttons on the SYNC panel of the same window. Note that this process occurs automatically, based on a certain interval, even when not actively working with an offline dataset, so that the records created on a local client may be uploaded to the server.
Additionally, it is possible to visualize those records which are stored locally and available when offline when viewing most lists in the system, unless the option has been disabled. A small cloud icon to the side of the search bar will allow you to toggle between all records (filled icon), and offline-only (empty icon).
Finally, while Offline mode comes enabled by default for CRM.pad, it will be necessary to define a set of records to be stored for offline mode. This can be configured in CRM.designer, under Tablet > Offline Data Sets. Please refer to Offline Record Set / Offline Data Set for more information.
Additional Information
To find more about CRM.pad and all its features, you can refer to the existing admin and user guides in the online documentation, or get the manuals specific to your version from the WORX portal.