Overview
Every Checklist has settings that control how it behaves in the mobile app and how it's organized in the Backend: its languages, whether it must be downloaded for offline use, the default attachment, comment and assignment options for new questions, and its Categories and Folders. You choose them when you create the Checklist and change them later in the editor's Settings panel.
Most settings can be changed at any time. The Primary Language is the exception: it's fixed when the Checklist is created and changed with a separate action on the Checklists page.
At a glance |
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Who can do this | Super Users, a Role with Checklists › Modify (or Create, for Checklists you created), or an Administrator or Editor of the Checklist's permission folder |
Where | Checklists › select a Checklist › Edit › Settings |
Works on | Backend (web). The settings take effect in the mobile app. |
Availability | All organizations |
💡 Why this matters: A few settings, like Require downloading the entire checklist for offline use and the attachment defaults, decide what field Users can and can't do. Setting them before you add questions avoids surprises in the mobile app.
Open the checklist settings
1. Open the Checklist in the editor
Go to Checklists, select the Checklist and click Edit.
2. Click Settings
Click Settings in the editor header. The settings panel has the sections Information, Languages, Organization and Configuration. If the Checklist is used by any Schedules, a Usages section lists them, and Activities shows who created and changed the Checklist.
3. Save the Checklist
Click Save in the editor. Changes apply to the live Checklist straight away; there's no separate publish step.
Title, description and languages
Setting | What it controls |
Title | The Checklist name Users see in the mobile app and in reporting (up to 500 characters). |
Description | A short description of the Checklist. In the mobile app, Users see it when they long-press the Checklist to open its details, and the app's Checklist search also matches it. |
Primary Language | The language you build the Checklist in. It's also the fallback when there's no translation in a User's language. Locked after creation (see below). |
Secondary Languages | Other languages the Checklist can be shown in, based on each User's language. See Translate a checklist. |
If you remove a secondary language and save, Mobaro warns Secondary languages were removed!: any translations saved for that language are deleted.
Change the primary language
The Primary Language field can't be edited in Settings after the Checklist is created. To change it:
Go to Checklists and select one Checklist.
Click Change primary language in the toolbar.
Under Choose a new primary language, pick the language and click Change Primary Language.
Any text that is missing in the new primary language is copied from the old one, so review the Checklist afterwards. Changing the primary language needs the same permission as editing the Checklist.
Offline download
Require downloading the entire checklist for offline use makes the mobile app download the Checklist and all its files, such as reference images and documents, before a User can start it. The content is then also available offline. Use it for areas with poor signal or Checklists with large manuals. See Working online versus offline with Mobaro.
Question defaults
The Configuration section has four defaults. Each one sets the starting value for new questions you add to the Checklist:
Enable “Allow attachments from device gallery” when creating new questions: Users can attach existing photos from their device.
Enable “Allow attachments from camera” when creating new questions: Users can take a new photo and attach it.
Enable “Allow comments” when creating new questions: Users can add a comment to their answer.
Enable “Allow assignments” when creating new questions: Users can create an Assignment from the question in the app.
Every question keeps its own Allow attachments from device gallery, Allow attachments from the camera, Allow comments and Allow assignments options, which you can change per question in the editor.
⚠️ Heads-up: When you tick or untick a default, Mobaro asks Update all existing questions. Choose Yes, change them all (or Yes when unticking) to apply it to the questions already in the Checklist. Choose No and only questions you add from now on get the new value.
To change these options for several Checklists at once, select them on the Checklists page and click Edit to open Edit multiple checklists. For each option choose Enable, Disable or Do not change. The change applies to the Checklists and all their questions and can't be undone.
Categories and Folders
The Organization section has two optional label lists:
Categories: Checklist Categories, used to filter the Checklists list in the mobile app and to filter Results, Missing Results and dashboards by type of Checklist.
Folders: Checklist Folders, used to group Checklists in the mobile app when a User chooses Group By › Folder in the Checklists list filter.
Both lists are shared across your organization and are managed in Configuration › Checklists (the Checklist Categories and Checklist Folders tables) by Super Users or a Role with Organization › Administrate. The Categories or Folders field only appears in Settings once the list has at least one entry. To change them for many Checklists at once, select the Checklists and click Bulk edit categories and folders.
ℹ️ Note: Checklist Folders aren't permission folders and don't control access. Permission folders decide who can view, edit and translate Checklists; you manage them with Toggle Permission Folders and Move on the Checklists page. See Utilizing checklist permission folders.
Best practices
Set the four question defaults before you add questions, so new questions start with the right attachment, comment and assignment options.
Turn on Require downloading the entire checklist for offline use for Checklists completed in areas with weak signal, or with large reference files.
Keep the Checklist Folders list short and based on how staff look for work, so Group By › Folder stays easy to scan in the app.
Use Categories for the groupings you report on, such as Daily or Safety, so you can filter the app's Checklists list, Results and dashboards by them.
Frequently asked questions
How do I organize checklists into folders in the mobile app?
Use Checklist Folders: create them in Configuration › Checklists, add each Checklist in Settings › Folders, and Users choose Group By › Folder in the app's Checklists filter. Permission folders don't appear in the app. See Completing a checklist in the Mobaro mobile app.
What's the difference between a checklist folder and a category?
Folders group Checklists in the mobile app; Categories filter the app's Checklists list and Results, Missing Results and dashboards. Neither controls access: that's done with permission folders. See Utilizing checklist permission folders.
How do I change the language a checklist was built in?
Select the Checklist on the Checklists page and click Change primary language. The Primary Language field in Settings is locked after creation. Text missing in the new language is copied from the old one.
I turned on Allow comments, but my existing questions still don't allow comments. Why?
The checklist setting is a default for new questions. When you tick it, choose Yes, change them all at the Update all existing questions prompt, or turn on Allow comments on each question in the editor.