Occasionally, we get a question about the FormConnect app not functioning properly when exporting lots of records (hundreds/thousands). The issue isn’t specific to the app itself. It’s a function of whether the size of the exported file has become too large to process.
A large file typically contains lots of photos and requires a large amount of memory (RAM) to process. The bigger the file, the more memory (RAM) is required to export it. Below are the memory configurations for various iPad models:
1. iPad 1 – 256 MB
2. iPad 2 – 512 MB
3. iPad 3 / iPad 4 / iPad Air – 1 GB
4. iPad Air 2 – 2 GB
Newer iPads can process and export files almost eight times as fast as older models. The reason is because newer models have more RAM (e.g., the iPad Air 2 has 2 GB versus an iPad 1 that has 256 MB). As the number of records and photos increases, the size of the exported file also grows.
If you find that your iPad is having problems processing all of your records, you might want to consider upgrading to a newer iPad with more RAM.