What is Staff Orbit Offline Mode?

‘Staff Orbit Offline Mode’ is an accessibility mode within the Staff Orbit app that allows users to download Event and Payment details and Custom Rolls for offline access. In Offline Mode, staff can complete tasks, even without internet connectivity.  

To enable this feature, app users must have the ‘Staff Orbit Offline Mode’ permission assigned in TASS.web Student Admin > Users > Portal Security Permissions for ‘Staff Kiosk’. Each app user must also have defined a PIN / Biometric authentication to initiate the download option.

This authentication can be enabled for all or specific Staff Orbit app users.

• For all Staff Orbit app users: Activation is done in TASS.web System Admin > Utilities > API Gateway Maintenance on the ‘OAuth2 API Applications’ tab.  From there, select ‘Metadata’ in the Action column for ORBITSTAFF, then check the ‘Mandatory PIN Code / Biometric Authentication’ box.

• For individual Staff Orbit app users: When the ‘Metadata’ option mentioned above is disabled, individual staff members can still set up a PIN in the Staff Orbit app’s side menu under ‘Settings’, or the PIN setup screen will automatically appear when they first attempt a download.

 When this feature is enabled Staff Orbit app users can click on an ‘Event & Payment’ and select ‘Download’ to securely save all details related to the event and payment and any associated custom rolls locally.   The ‘Download’ option is also available for ‘Custom Rolls’ (including those associated with Extra Curricular Activities).  The download process can only be completed when the user has an internet connection. 

Downloaded data is then available to the user in the Offline Mode section of the homepage. Two buttons appear for ‘Custom Rolls’ and ‘Events & Payments’, along with the student search bar, which only shows a list of students stored locally on the app.

This offline data is only accessible through the Staff Orbit app; files are rendered within the app and cannot be saved to the device itself.   

All downloaded data is deleted 7 days after the Custom Roll or after the Event end date. 

If user permissions are removed, the user's session access is revoked, or the app is uninstalled, offline data will also be deleted. 

Events and Payments in Offline Mode

When accessing Events & Payments in offline mode, app users will be able to view the associated students' alerts, special conditions, general details, other school information, and parent contacts (name, label, phone number, email).

Custom Rolls in Offline Mode

When accessing Custom Rolls in offline mode, the app user can also select a custom roll to see its details and related students' information. Any changes made to students' roll call status and comments will be saved offline. These can later be synced with Staff Kiosk when their device reconnects to the internet using the ‘Sync’ option in the app.

During the Custom Roll synchronisation process, the system will check whether the custom roll has been marked in Staff Kiosk. If it has not, the sync will proceed seamlessly. However, if it has already been marked on Staff Kiosk, the app user can choose which status to apply to each student before syncing.

For more information, please get in touch with the Orbit team via a TASS Support ticket.