Mobile app versus desktop site feature and component support
Key Takeaway
On the mobile app, records save to a local database on the device. So flows, Apex triggers, and other server-side automations run only after sync, while validation rules run on the device, online and offline, before the record is saved.
The Life Sciences Cloud mobile app and the Agentforce Life Sciences desktop (Lightning web) site support different sets of automations, platform features, and Lightning page components. The mobile app is built for field reps who work offline. As a result, some desktop features run later on the mobile app, some are replaced by Life Sciences-specific equivalents, and some are not supported. A consultant needs to know these differences to design pages, automations, and user access that work on both experiences.
When automations run on the mobile app
The mobile app uses an offline-first architecture, which is why its behavior differs from the desktop site. Saves happen in the local database on the device. Because of that, server-side automations do not run when a field rep saves a record on the device. Instead, they run on the Salesforce server when the app syncs. Transaction boundaries also occur at sync.
The following server-side automations run on the Salesforce server at sync:
- Apex triggers
- Before-save and after-save flows
- Platform events
- Change Data Capture
- MuleSoft-based automation
As a result, logic that users expect to run at save time on the desktop site runs only after a sync on the mobile app.
Validation rules are the exception. The mobile app supports validation rules online and offline. The validation message appears before the record is saved, with no sync required. So when a requirement needs immediate feedback on the device, use a validation rule. A flow or an Apex trigger can't give that feedback, because it runs only after sync.
One exception applies: Account Plan Relationship validation rules that include custom settings are not supported on the mobile app.
Agentforce Life Sciences Trigger Handlers are also supported online and offline. On the mobile app, they are not native Apex triggers. Instead, their logic is simulated in the iOS framework so it works on the local device.
Screen flows are not supported in the mobile app, online or offline.
An admin builds a before-save flow that fills in a custom Region field on Visit records. On the desktop site, the field is filled in when the user saves. Marco, a field rep, logs a Visit on the mobile app while he has no connection in a hospital basement. The Visit saves to the local database on his device, but the flow does not run. Later, Marco's app connects and syncs. The flow then runs on the Salesforce server and fills in the Region field.