Shoflo is a cloud based application, that means is that you don't have to download any software and all information and changes are saved on the internet. This also means that the only way to make changes and use many of its features is by having an active internet connection.
What happens when a user loses their internet connection?
When a user loses their internet connection an alert will show at the top of application. The data will continue to show on the page however, they are no longer able to access the Shoflo web servers and thus cannot make any edits, load up new content, or use real time functionality like Showcaller Tracking. The app will continue trying to connect with the web servers until the internet connection is restored. At which point, all functionality will resume and a green success alert will show at the top of the screen.
What happens if an edit is made while the user does not have an internet connection?
Shoflo will alert the user that their change could not be sent to the web servers and give the user the option to try again or dismiss the change.
What happens when the show caller loses his/her internet connection?
If the showcaller loses their internet connection they will lose their ability to broadcast their location in a show. If loss of internet occurs while tracking an item, the current item will continue to be tracked but they will be unable to track to the next item. Anyone following along with the showcaller will continue to see the active item & item runtime clock.
Can the crew still view / scroll / change shows and add private notes? Can they still make edits?
Additions and edits are not possible if the user does not have internet. Viewing the content that has already been loaded is possible, and scrolling to already loaded content is also possible. However, if the user tries to scroll to a portion of the show that was not already loaded on the browser they will be unable to retrieve that content.
Does Shoflo work offline does it upload edits made while offline once the internet comes back?
Shoflo does not have an offline edit mode. All content is hosted on web servers and changes can only be made when the user has access to those servers via the internet.
What preparations should I take?
Like any critical information, backups are always suggested. In Shoflo any user can quickly generate a PDF Export. Another option is Shoflo's Guest Pass feature, which does not need an active internet connection due to it being a read-only display of the content in your Show. Thus, you can load up the Guest Pass in one of your tabs and as long as you don't reload that tab when the internet is down, the tab will contain all of the content that was originally loaded. In addition, Shoflo's PDF export is formatted and ready for a quick printed copy.
What is minimum bandwidth required for Shoflo to run smoothly?
Shoflo is a very lightweight application and runs efficiently with minimal bandwidth requirements but, show files can vary in size based on the user's needs. The longer your show files are & the more embedded content your show files have the more your bandwidth requirements will be. We recommend a dedicated WiFi network connected to broadband internet (4 Mbps downstream and 1 Mbps upstream) for all devices involved in show operations.
That being said, we have tested scenarios where an entire show is run off of a cell phone's wifi hotspot.
How do I know if I am connected to internet or not?
Shoflo will display a yellow banner at the top of the browser if a user loses internet connection. This banner goes away as soon as internet is restored.
How do I know if my edits are being saved?
Shoflo automatically saves changes. As soon as the user finishes editing, a green saved notification pops up at the bottom of the screen.