Definition
Connect Offline is a legacy Salesforce desktop application that allowed users to access and modify a subset of their Salesforce data while disconnected from the internet. Users could sync records to their local machine, work offline, and then synchronize changes back to Salesforce when they reconnected. This feature has been retired and replaced by the Salesforce Mobile App's offline capabilities.
Real-World Example
a sales rep at Pinnacle Corp uses Connect Offline to manage and organize customer data more effectively. They configure Connect Offline to ensure the sales and service teams have a unified view of every customer interaction, from initial contact through ongoing support. This setup reduces duplicate data entry and improves cross-team collaboration.
Why Connect Offline Matters
Connect Offline was a Windows desktop application that allowed Salesforce users to download a subset of their CRM data to their local machine, work with it disconnected from the internet, and synchronize changes back to Salesforce when they reconnected. It supported a limited set of objects and actions and was designed for sales reps who travelled to client sites without reliable connectivity. The user defined a 'briefcase' of records to include, and Connect Offline kept those records cached locally until the next sync.
Connect Offline has been retired by Salesforce and is no longer supported. The modern equivalent is the Salesforce Mobile App's offline capabilities, which use Briefcase Builder to define what data is available offline on mobile devices. The mobile-first approach makes more sense today than a Windows desktop app because most field workers carry phones and tablets rather than laptops, and the mobile experience is significantly better than the legacy Connect Offline UI ever was.
How Organizations Use Connect Offline
- •Pinnacle Corp — Used Connect Offline years ago when their sales team travelled extensively to client sites with unreliable internet. After Connect Offline was retired, they migrated to the Salesforce Mobile App with Briefcases configured for each rep.
- •NovaScale — Documented their old Connect Offline configuration during a modernization audit. The audit confirmed that the modern mobile-based offline approach covered every use case the desktop tool used to handle.
- •BrightEdge Solutions — Trained their field reps to use the Salesforce Mobile App's offline mode after they realized some reps were still trying to find ways to install the long-retired Connect Offline. The training cleared up confusion about which tool to use today.