Add and edit entries

Most apps are built around a form: someone enters information, and the app keeps it. This guide covers asking for that form, choosing the fields it offers, and changing or removing what has been saved. The desk calls a saved item a record, and that is the word used here.

Ask for a form

Describe the form the way you would describe it to a colleague. Name the thing being recorded and the pieces of information you need:

Add a form to record a new client, with their name, phone number, and email.

The builder creates the form, the place it saves to, and a list that shows what has been recorded. If you also want the list on its own page, say so in the same request.

Choose the fields

Each field holds one piece of information. Describe the fields in plain words and the builder chooses a suitable input:

• A name, a phone number, an address — a line of text
• A price, a quantity, a year — a number
• An appointment date, a due date — a date
• Paid or unpaid — a yes or no
• Notes or a description — a longer box
• A status such as new, in progress, or done — a choice from a short list

Say which fields are required and what should happen when one is missing. You can also ask for sensible starting values, such as today's date on a new appointment, and for a field that is filled in automatically, such as the date the record was created.

Each field is kept under a plain machine name, described in How your app stores data. The label people read in the app can still say whatever you like.

Edit a record

Ask for the list to be openable:

Let me click a client in the list and change their phone number.

An edit view opens the record with its current values. Only the details you change are updated; everything else stays as it was. If you would rather correct records directly in the list, ask for an editable list instead.

Remove a record

Ask for a way to delete:

Add a remove control on each saved item, with a confirmation before it deletes anything.

A confirmation prevents an accidental tap from removing the wrong record. Removed records are gone, and there is no bin to restore them from. If you need a softer option, ask for a way to mark a record as archived or inactive instead of deleting it.

What the desk can do with a record

Open the app in the desk, choose the Data tab, and pick the kind of saved item. The eye at the end of a row opens a Record window showing the record's id, the date it was saved, and every field with its value. The bin beside the eye removes the record, after a Delete this record? confirmation.

The desk does not edit records, and it cannot bring records in from a file: there is no way to upload a spreadsheet and turn its rows into records. Editing a record, and removing one from inside the app, work only for the person who saved it — unless the app has given that kind of record to you and your editors, in which case you can correct or remove anyone's record in the app as well. If a record someone else saved needs correcting, that person can change it in the app, or you can remove it from the desk.

Confirm the change was saved

Ask for a confirmation the app shows after a save, such as a short Saved message, and for the record to appear in the list straight away. To be certain from the desk, open the app, choose the Data tab, and look at the records the app has stored.

Where to go next

Search and filter adds a way to find records once the list grows, and Import and export data covers getting records back out.