Hello community,
We are developing a training app in AppSheet where users will be able to view videos and other content even when they do not have an internet connection.
In the app settings, we found this specific option:
Store content for offline use “Make all images and files available offline.”
This is exactly the option we are evaluating, but before enabling it, we want to understand exactly how it works with videos and other files.
Our main questions are:
1. When are the files downloaded? When enabling Store content for offline use, at what exact moment does AppSheet download the images and files? For example:
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Are all files downloaded automatically during the app sync?
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Are they downloaded only when the user tries to open or view a file for the first time?
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Does the download happen in the background while the user has an internet connection?
2. What happens after the first download? Let’s say we have a training video and the user opens it for the first time while connected to the internet. If the video downloads to the device:
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If the user views it again the next day, does AppSheet use the locally stored copy?
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If they view it again after a week or two, does it still use that local copy?
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If the user opens the same video every day, does it redownload every time or only the first time?
That is, we want to confirm if the behavior would be something like: First download → local storage → future viewings use the local file.
3. How does it relate to synchronization? We would also like to know what happens when the app performs a new sync:
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If the file was already downloaded and hasn’t changed, does AppSheet keep the local copy?
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Is the file redownloaded on every sync?
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If the original file changes or is replaced, does AppSheet detect the new version and redownload it?
4. What file types does this option cover? The description says: “Make all images and files available offline.” Does this functionality also apply to MP4 videos, in addition to images, PDFs, and other files? Our main use case is training videos, so we are especially interested in knowing how this option behaves with large video files.
5. Local storage Finally, do the files downloaded via Store content for offline use remain stored on the device until they are updated/deleted, or can AppSheet automatically delete them after a certain period?
In summary, we want to confirm if by enabling Store content for offline use we can expect the following behavior: User has internet → AppSheet downloads content → file is stored locally → user can view it offline → future viewings use the local copy and it is not redownloaded as long as the file hasn’t changed.
Could anyone confirm if this is actually how Store content for offline use behaves, and especially how it works with videos?
Thank you very much for any information or experience you can share!