Spreadsheet App
The Spreadsheet App allows you to create searchable, interactive, and collaborative databases utilizing the data you warehouse with Acho. Whether you want to build an update-able CRM, a synchronized task management application, or easily navigate and make changes to a huge dataset - the Spreadsheet app supports all of these use cases!
To create a Spreadsheet App, first navigate to the Business Apps section in Acho Studio.
From here, you can click on the Spreadsheet option located under the App Builder heading.
You will then be prompted to give your App Project a name. After following this prompt you will be directed to your newly created App Project that contains an empty Spreadsheet App.
After being directed to the empty Spreadsheet App, you will be prompted to decide how you want to "setup" your app. You will notice the following options:
- From a project - initialize the app with data from one of your Projects.
- Blank - initialize the app without any data.
Using the Blank option will simply direct you to an empty spreadsheet with some pre-generated columns. But let's walk through initializing the app with data from a Project.
After clicking From a project, you will be guided through the data source selection which can be completed in just three easy steps:
- 1.Select the Project
- 2.Select the Table in the Project
- 3.Define the index columns
Index Columns are used to maintain the integrity and location of your imported data whenever the original source has upstream changes. The index columns you select should be "row identifiers" in that they distinguish one row from another.
For example, if your table has an "ID" column that serves as a unique identifier for each row you can simply use this column as the only index column.
However, any cells associated with an index column cannot be edited.
Once you've configured your data source and the index columns click the Import button to start the import process. In just a moment you will see a spreadsheet populated with data from the source you defined!
The Spreadsheet App offers the ability to conveniently Filter and Sort the data contained in the app. It also allows you to Hide Fields (columns).
These tools are located on the left side of the app's toolbar.
Upon clicking on any of these tools, you will see popovers with interfaces that allow you to choose the column(s) and criteria to perform a filter, sort, or hide.
If your app has Imported data, the filter and sort actions operate on the original data source not just the set of data that is displayed in your browser.
Additionally, you can use the column menu to perform quick sort actions (the caret next to the name of the column in the column's heading)
The spreadsheet app offers standard keyboard navigation that you are accustomed to in other "spreadsheet like" applications.
- Arrow keys - navigate quickly between cells with respect to the arrow's direction
- Tab key - jump to the next cell (to the right)
- Shift + Tab key - jump to the next cell (to the left)
- Enter key - quickly enter/exit editing mode
In order to add columns to the app, you can either use the column menu to insert columns in specific locations or you can use the add column tool located to the right which will insert a column as the right most column in the app.
After clicking on one of the add column tools, you will be greeted with a prompt to configure a new column. Here, you can enter the column's name, the type of the column, and default values if applicable.
Some columns offer additional configurations such as the ability to provide "options" for Single-Select and Multi-Select columns.
In general, you can edit cells by simply typing in the cell, navigating to a cell and pressing the Enter key, or by double-clicking on the cell.
Any changes you make to a cell are automatically saved and broadcasted to any collaborators also working on app!
The data sync and import tools are located on the right side of the app's toolbar.
Clicking on the Import tool will walk you through the same steps outlined in the Create a Spreadsheet App section.
Clicking on the Sync Now tool will immediately sync the app with the imported data source. For instance, if the respective Project Table had some modifications, the app can easily consume those modifications using this action.
If you have already imported data into the spreadsheet you cannot perform another import. Moreover, Sync Now is only available for spreadsheets that have imported data.