I appreciate your patience with my ignorance...
No worries. Check out some of my early posts...been there, done that....
Before I discuss being disconnected, remember that if you can setup a VPN, often you don't need to be disconnected, as you can just VPN and connect that way. Depending on our VPN, you might have to setup another connection to the StrataFrame db (e.g. you need to access the server via IP rather than name).
I often go remote and am not connected to the StrataFrame database, so this is very doable. As to what you loose, lets start by talking about what it is used for:
- Meta data used by BO Mapper
- Meta data used by localization
- Meta data used by DDT
Thus, if you are not connected to the StrataFrame you won't be able to use the BO Mapper to update/add BOs (there are ways around this, but they aren't fun). And you won't be able to work in the DDT either. Usually, with a smidge of planning, these aren't horrible limitations.
Localization actually causes the biggest issue. While it is obvious that you can't work in the localization tool to enter localizations while disconnected (as the definitions are stored in the StrataFrame db), it is less obvious that anytime you open a designer, any localized SF controls will attempt to connect to the StrataFrame db and get the appropriate localized value for the property that is localized. This happens even if you don't use localization at all. The result of this is that working in the UI can be very, very, very slow (because it keeps trying to connect to a database that isn't there...which has to time out). No errors are shown, it's just slow.
There are two solutions: don't work on any forms and/or do have a StrataFrame database installed on the local laptop.
The StrataFrame db on the laptop will not have any actual metadata in it! When you go remote, you'll change the connection to point local, and then change it back when you can connect again. This allows you to edit Forms with no delay.
Note that if you do this (this is what I do), even though the BO mapper/DDT/Localization tools will all work, none of your projects will be there (because the data is actually in another StrataFrame database that you all share).
What I actually do is have my desktop setup to connect to the actual StrataFrame db and my laptop setup to connect locally. That way I'm all setup to go remote by just using my laptop. Then all I have to do is update either machine using source control (I use SVN) to keep them in synch.
Hope that explains how to work remotely!