Keeping Operacora up to date
How the phone app and the web app update themselves, what you see when there is a new version, and why your saved work is never lost.
On this page
Operacora keeps itself up to date. Most improvements arrive on their own, in the background, without you doing anything. Now and then the phone app asks you to tap Update now. Your sign-in and your saved work stay on the phone through every update.
The phone app#
Small updates arrive by themselves#
Most changes (fixes, new wording, new screens) are downloaded quietly while you use the app. You keep working on the version you have; the new one starts the next time the app opens from scratch.
If the app has been in the background for a while and you come back to it, it may use that moment to switch to the new version. You see the app start again for a second. It only does that when nothing can be lost:
- you are on one of the main tabs (Today, My Jobs, Inbox or Map), not in the middle of a job, a report, a scan or a form;
- nothing is waiting to be sent;
- you are not clocked in with location sharing on, and no clock-in or clock-out is on its way.
Otherwise it waits for the next time the app starts. Every update is checked before it is used: the phone only accepts updates signed by Operacora and refuses anything else.
"Update available"#
Some changes need a new version of the whole app (for example a new phone feature). Then a card on the Today tab says Update available.
- Tap Update now. The app downloads the new version from operacora.com and checks that it is the official file.
- Android's installer opens. Tap Update (or Install).
- The first time, Android may ask you to allow Operacora to install apps. Tap Settings, turn on Allow from this source, and go back.
- Open Operacora again. You are still signed in, and anything that was waiting to be sent goes out.
Tap Later to hide the card until the next version comes out. If you are clocked in, the app closes for a moment while it updates: open it again afterwards so it can keep sharing which building you are in.
"Please update Operacora": when a version is too old to keep working well, the card says so and stays on the main tabs until you update. It never covers a job or a form you are filling in, and your saved work is kept.
If the download does not finish, check your connection and tap Update now again. If the downloaded file does not match the official one, the app deletes it and asks you to try again; it never installs it.
If you installed Operacora from Google Play Coming, Play updates it instead and you will not see this card.
The web app#
The web app at app.operacora.com always opens the newest version. If you leave it open for a long time and a new version comes out, a small bar under the top bar says A new version of Operacora is ready.
- Press Reload when it suits you, or Later to hide the bar.
- If the tab is in the background and you have nothing open or typed in, it reloads by itself, so it is up to date when you come back.
- It never reloads by itself while a dialog is open or a box has text you typed.
Questions#
Do updates use much data?#
Small updates are usually a few megabytes. A full new app version is larger; the card shows the download size, so you can wait for Wi-Fi.
Can an update change my jobs or hours?#
No. Updates change the app, never your organization's data. Jobs, photos, hours and settings live on the server and in the phone's saved copy, and updates do not touch them.