Mobile Sync Files - Epi-Info/Epi-Info-Python-Package GitHub Wiki

Epi Info mobile apps for Android and iOS allow researchers to collect collect, store, and analyze study data using custom-designed data entry forms. Data may be exported and emailed in the form of an encrypted text file, or "sync" file. Sync files may be decrypted and consumed by the Epi Info mobile apps and by Epi Info for Windows.

The Epi Info iOS app gives the user the option of encrypting with one-time random encryption keys, and extracting those keys along with the encrypted sync file. The epiinfo Python package can then use those keys to decrypt the corresponding sync file and load it into a Python data object (a list of dictionaries).

This page shows the steps for creating a sync file and obtaining the keys.

The app's Main Menu:



Touch the 3-lines icon to open the app's settings menu.



Touch "Give Option for Custom Encryption". This will turn on the custom encryption keys feature and change the text to "Remove Option for Custom Encryption" so that it can be turned off is desired.

After opening a form for data entry/edit:



Touch the Upload Records icon.



Touch "Package and Email Data".



Type a password to protect the encrypted data file and touch "Package and Email Data".



Touch "Custom Keys".

The app will create two emails: one with the data file attached and a second email with the encryption keys.



Send the email with the data file and save it to a path accessible by Python code.



Send the email with the keys and copy and paste them into the Python program that is to import the data file. Then continue to follow the example in the README.