Template Snapshots¶
FieldOps automatically creates a snapshot of the monitoring template when a visit is created.
This snapshot preserves the exact structure of the monitoring form used during that visit, ensuring historical records remain accurate even if the original monitoring template is updated later.
What Is a Template Snapshot?¶
A template snapshot is a read-only copy of the monitoring template at the time the visit is created.
The snapshot includes:
- Monitoring template information
- Sections
- Monitoring fields
- Field types
- Required and optional settings
- Available response options
Each visit keeps its own snapshot for the lifetime of the record.
Why Are Snapshots Important?¶
Without snapshots, changes to a monitoring template could affect historical visits.
For example:
- A question is renamed.
- A section is removed.
- New questions are added.
- Response options are changed.
If historical visits always referenced the live template, previously collected data could become difficult to interpret or even invalid.
FieldOps prevents this by preserving the original monitoring structure used during each visit.
Example¶
Imagine the following monitoring template.
Version 1¶
Health Facility Supervision
General Information
• Visit Date
• Facility Name
Infrastructure
• Water Available?
• Electricity Available?
A field officer creates a visit using this template.
One month later, the template is updated.
Version 2¶
Health Facility Supervision
General Information
• Visit Date
• Facility Name
• Facility Type
Infrastructure
• Water Available?
• Electricity Available?
• Internet Available?
When viewing the original visit, FieldOps continues to display Version 1 of the monitoring template.
New visits created after the update use Version 2.
Benefits¶
Using template snapshots provides several advantages.
- Historical visits always remain accurate.
- Reports continue to reflect the questions that were originally answered.
- Monitoring forms can evolve without affecting previous data.
- Audit trails remain reliable.
- Donor and compliance reporting remains consistent.
How FieldOps Uses Snapshots¶
When a field officer selects a monitoring template while creating a visit, FieldOps immediately stores a snapshot of that template.
The visit then uses the snapshot for:
- Displaying monitoring questions
- Recording responses
- Viewing completed visits
- Printing visit reports
- Exporting monitoring data
Future edits to the original monitoring template do not affect existing visits.
💡 Best Practices¶
To get the most from template snapshots:
- Review monitoring templates before they are used in production.
- Make changes to templates only when monitoring requirements change.
- Create new visits after updating a template to use the latest version.
- Keep template names clear and consistent over time.
Snapshots ensure your historical data remains trustworthy, even as your monitoring processes evolve.
➡️ Next Step¶
Your monitoring template is now ready to be used during field work.
Continue to Visits Overview to learn how field officers create visits, complete monitoring questions and upload evidence using monitoring templates.