The next-generation Traverse mobile app lets you collect case content on your phone or tablet when you're in the field. Here are some of the key features to get you set up.
If you used the legacy Traverse mobile app, please work with the Northwoods Support Center to upgrade to the next-generation Traverse mobile app as soon as possible. Northwoods will only provide limited support on the legacy mobile app, for non-Windows devices, until July 1, 2024. For Windows devices, the legacy mobile app will no longer be supported after August 1, 2025.
Logging in
When you first launch the app, you'll be prompted to enter your organization name. Your organization name is the first part of the URL in the Traverse web app, as in organization.northwoodstraverse.com.
If you don't know your organization name, try your county and state abbreviation.
Phone
Tablet
Once you enter your organization name, you'll be prompted to enter your Traverse username and password. These are the same credentials you use to log in to web.
Cases
From the Cases section of the home screen, you can access case information while online, so there's no need to download cases beforehand.
You'll find cases in the Find a Case tab and save any cases you want to view for offline with the Save for Offline toggle in the image below, to be able to access that information and content without a data connection.
Tap the menu on the side of the list item to reveal the toggle. To see all the case information, tap Show Details. You can see all the information for people and organizations this way, too. Within a case or person, you'll see a panel of details that you can additionally tap to see all the information.
When you view a case offline, you can see:
Connected people and organizations (entities).
Those entities' content item lists, but you must explicitly save each content item in the list for offline to see it.
To save a content item or multiple content items: Inside a case, in the Content Items list, tap the menu on the side of a list item and toggle on Save for Offline. Or tap Select in the top right of the list, check the boxes next to the list items, then tap the menu below the list and toggle on Save for Offline.
Those entities' in-progress item lists and the in-progress items within the list. You can manage those in-progress items for the next sync, but not manage connections.
In-progress items you created, which can be accessed from the home screen, can also be managed offline. The items' connections still cannot be managed.
Tip: When you've saved cases or content for offline successfully, you'll see a checkmark icon next to those list items.
Content
You can add photos, auto-cropped photos of documents, forms, audio, and video from the app to connect to your cases, and the people and organizations within those cases. Plus, you can see the content items you've added in web and filter case/person/organization content lists by date, content type, redacted content, and saved for offline status.
Any content you add while you view a case will be connected to that case. Content you add while you view people or organizations from a case will be connected to them, plus the connected case.
If you add a content item outside a case/person/organization, you can find it on the home screen, in the Unconnected Items section.
See how you'll add each content item in the sections below.
To add a photo
To add a photo
Tap the plus icon at the bottom of any screen. Then tap Take a Photo.
Select a content type and take your photo.
Tip: You can tap Retake to retake the photo.Tap Use Photo.
You'll be able to add or delete photos from the plus icon/thumbnails, add captions from the thumbnails, change the content type, and (while online) add connections before you finish and submit the photo as a content item.
If you don't finish the content item now, it'll show up as an in-progress item where you've connected it or in the In-Progress Items section of the home screen, within the Media tab. You can delete the in-progress item from the top right menu.
Home screen
Top right menu
Finished content items will show up where you've connected them or in the Unconnected Items section of the home screen, within the Finished tab. Within the top right menu of finished content items, you'll see more options for sharing and editing item details, such as connections.
To add a document capture
To add a document capture
Tap the plus icon at the bottom of any screen. Then tap Capture a Document.
Select a content type and capture your document.
Tip: The icons on the preview allow you to change the filters, straighten the image, adjust the crop, and rotate the image. You can also tap Retry to retry the capture.Tap Done.
You'll be able to add or delete document pages from the plus icon/thumbnails, change the content type, and (while online) add connections before you finish and submit the document as a content item.
If you don't finish the content item now, it'll show up as an in-progress item where you've connected it or in the In-Progress Items section of the home screen, within the Media tab. You can delete the in-progress item from the top right menu.
Home screen
Top right menu
Finished content items will show up where you've connected them or in the Unconnected Items section of the home screen, within the Finished tab. Within the top right menu of finished content items, you'll see more options for sharing and editing item details, such as connections.
To add a form
To add a form
Tap the plus icon at the bottom of any screen. Then tap Fill out a Form.
Select a form template and fill out the fields just like in web (see Adding and completing a form).
Set up the form as needed:
You can @mention coworkers in form notes (if you're online and if they have access to the form) from the top right menu > Notes. Notes are NOT saved when someone finishes the form.
If the form is designed to mimic the paper version of the form in its finished state, and you're online, you can preview that finished state from the top right menu > Preview PDF.
If you're online, you can take or release edit control of relevant forms with the pencil icons at the bottom right corner of the form. These actions work the same as in web, but the related notifications will only appear in web (see Sharing a form).
If you're online, changes you've made to the form will be synced to web when you close the form. Otherwise, changes you've made to the form will be included in the next sync.
To finish the form, tap the top right menu > Finish Form. (You can also tap Delete This Form if you want to delete it instead.) You can confirm the date/comment/content type, manage connections, then tap Finish. If you don't finish the form now, it'll show up as an in-progress item where you've connected it or in the In-Progress Items section of the home screen, within the My Forms tab.
Finished forms will show up as content items where you've connected them or in the Unconnected Items section of the home screen, within the Finished tab. Within the top right menu, you'll see more options for sharing and editing item details, such as connections.
Top right menu
You can copy and create new in-progress forms from either in-progress or finished forms, just like in web, from the menu > Copy & Create a New Form.
Caution! If you cancel syncing of a form, all changes you made since the last sync will be gone for good.
To add an audio recording
To add an audio recording
Tap the plus icon at the bottom of any screen. Then tap Record Audio.
Select a content type.
The audio automatically starts recording, indicated by a red banner at the top of your screen.
You can pause or delete the recording at the bottom of your screen. To finish the recording, tap Finish.
If you've navigated to another part of the app, tap the red banner to resurface these buttons.
If you're online, you can add connections before you finish and submit the recording as a content item. You'll need to finish and submit the recording to not delete it.
The finished content item will show up where you've connected it or in the Unconnected Items section of the home screen, within the Finished tab. Within the top right menu of the finished content item, you'll see more options for sharing and editing item details, such as connections.
Home screen
Top right menu
Caution! If you cancel syncing of a finished audio recording, it'll be gone for good.
To add a video recording
To add a video recording
Tap the plus icon at the bottom of any screen. Then tap Record Video.
Select a content type to open the video recorder.
To start the recording, tap the red record button. To stop the recording, tap the red record button again.
Red record button
You'll be able to review your recording, retake it if needed, then tap Use Video.
If you're online, you can add connections before you finish and submit the recording as a content item. You'll need to finish and submit the recording to not delete it.
The finished content item will show up where you've connected it or in the Unconnected Items section of the home screen, within the Finished tab. Within the top right menu of the finished content item, you'll see more options for sharing and editing item details, such as connections.
Home screen
Top right menu
Caution! If you cancel syncing of a finished video recording, it'll be gone for good.
To upload a photo or video
To upload a photo or video
To upload a photo or video from your device to the mobile app, tap the plus icon at the bottom of any screen. Then tap Upload Photos or Upload Video.
Select a content type, then select a photo or video from your device's library.
You can add connections before you finish and submit the photo/video as a content item (if you're online). You can also change the content type. For photos, you can add or delete photos from the plus icon/thumbnails, and add captions from the thumbnails.
Photos you don't finish will show up as in-progress items where you've connected them or in the In-Progress Items section of the home screen, within the Media tab. For videos, you'll need to finish and submit the video to not lose your progress.
The finished content item will show up where you've connected it or in the Unconnected Items section of the home screen, within the Finished tab. Within the top right menu of the finished content item, you'll see more options for sharing and editing item details, such as connections.
Home screen
Top right menu
Creating work items
You can create work items from forms and finished content on mobile. Just tap Manage Work Item as you finish the form/content, or Create Work Item from the top right menu within an in-progress form or finished content item.
Top right menu
The work item will appear on web once it has synced. Note that your personal workspace only exists on web. See All about work items for more information.
Caution! If your agency configured default work item values for a form/content type that included a custom workflow, you won't see the workflow when finishing the form or content, but the work item will appear in the workflow on web once it has synced. To have all the default values populated, create the work item with the Create Work Item button.
Sharing or emailing content outside the app
To share a copy of a single finished content item outside the app, tap the top right menu for the content item (either in a content list or within the item), then tap Share.
Top right menu
To share copies of multiple finished content items, navigate to a case/person/organization content list and tap Select in the top right of the list. Check the boxes for the content items you want to share, then either tap the share icon or the menu below the list > Share.
Share icon
Open menu
Follow the prompts on your device to share via email or another method.
Traverse Connect
You can also use Traverse Connect to collaborate with external users, just like in web. To manage your collaborators while online, navigate to a case > Collaborators > Manage Collaborators.
To share an in-progress form, navigate to the form's menu (either in a form list or within the form) > Share with Collaborator. You'll need to have edit control of the form first.
To share a single content item, navigate to a case, then the content item's menu (either in a content list or within the item) > Share with Collaborator.
Note that you need to be in a case to share content with collaborators.
To share multiple content items, navigate to a case content list and tap Select in the top right of the list. Check the boxes for the content items you want to share, then tap the menu below the list > Share with Collaborator.
Note that you can only share content with one collaborator at a time, not multiple. You also can't take back forms or content that you share from mobile; you'll need to do that in the web app (see Sharing content with a collaborator).
Syncing
Traverse will sync new or updated information for your cases at a predetermined interval, so everything will be up to date on web and mobile. This process happens while the app is open.
To see the sync status, tap Sync in the bottom right corner of the home screen.
On the screen that appears, you can tap the Sync Now button (while online) if you need to sync instantly.
Note: If your agency adds or removes features on web, or sets up workflows, users will need to close and reopen the mobile app to see those changes.