Understanding Pega Mobile

Pega Mobile is an add-on product for PRPC 6.2 SP2 and later releases, offering mobile device users the capability to participate, collaborate, and monitor PRPC work from most major mobile devices, including tablets, phones, and iPods.

Access
Access your application on a mobile device using a WebKit-based browser and the same URL and login as the desktop version of an application. You can also access the application using the free Pega Mobile app, available at on-line app stores, which delivers your PRPC application to your mobile device while giving you convenient access to native device features, such as the camera. The app also allows you to save multiple application configurations, including URLs, logins, and passwords.

Portal and navigation
The Pega-Mobile RuleSet delivers an extensible portal, based closely on the Case Manager portal, that provides mobile device users with access to the PRPC application. Customizable navigation rules define how users move about the application. Navigation is controlled by main and toolbar navigation rules, and the list of items, actions, labels, and icons is completely configurable. You can even prevent display of navigation rules on phones and tablets.

Layouts and controls
Use a set of layouts and controls that are supported for use in sections and harnesses that render on mobile devices. Over 100 PRPC controls are mapped to mobile versions of those controls to facilitate the mobile rendering of existing applications.

Specialization and circumstancing
Most existing harnesses and sections render on mobile devices with no additional work. However, if your application includes features not yet optimized for mobile devices, you may create a specialized version of the section rule that includes features that are optimized for mobile devices.
You can also circumstance your entire UI experience based on the device type. Use Save As to save the portal rule to a new name, and for the circumstance, enter property pxRequestor.PxDeviceTypeand the value phoneor tablet. When you log in using this portal, the application determines the User Agent, and displays the portal, sections, harnesses, and flow actions with a user interface for the specified device type.

Testing and debugging
To test and debug your mobile application, use a physical mobile device when possible. Additionally, configure Apple's Safari or Google's Chrome with a specific User Agent, such as iPad or iPhone, so that you can run the mobile application on your desktop as it would appear on the tablet or phone device. The Mobile Clipboard is useful for examining property values, rule types, and identifying the Remote Tracer Session ID.

Other resourcesThese PDN articles are relevant:

• About Pega Mobile
• How to create a mobile portal
• How to configure section rules for a mobile device
• How to configure navigation for a mobile portal
• Pega Mobile — Frequently Asked Questions
• Testing and debugging a mobile application
• How to specialize your user interface for mobile devices
• Matrix of supported browsers and devices for Pega Mobile
• Installing Pega Mobile
• How to access your mobile application
• How to take and attach a photo with Pega Mobile
• How to use mobile geographic controls
• Guardrails for developing mobile applications
• Configuring the color scheme of your Pega Mobile application
• How to localize your Pega Mobile application
• Button and link controls in Pega Mobile applications
• Customizing button and link controls in Pega Mobile applications
• Create an image navigation grid in a Pega Mobile application
• Create a map of assignments for Pega Mobile users
• View Pega Mobile features and configurations in the Mobile Gallery
• Signature capture with Pega Mobile
• Inspect your Pega Mobile application with the Mobile Clipboard
• Configure QR/Barcode Scanning from your Pega Mobile application
• Display a read-only navigation rule using the MenuBar control in your Pega Mobile application
• Create a badge for item counts on the toolbar navigation menu in your Pega Mobile application
• Maximize screen space on small mobile devices
• Adding custom JavaScript and HTML headers to your Pega Mobile application
• Pega Mobile Mashup and Pega Mobile SnapStart
• Query String Construction in Pega Mobile Mashup

Note: If your application was developed in 6.2SP2 and uses RuleSets ending in _mobile, and you want to operate in ABA mode for best performance, note that _mobile RuleSets appear higher in the RuleSet list in ABA mode than in rules assembly mode. While it is unlikely that this change affects results of your application, some analysis and testing is recommended.