Hi guys,
I’m having a challenge in building an app using compact inline lists. I want to essentially build a handbook. Problem is that my lists are just repeating one another. Any ideas why this is happening?
Cheers, Cath
Here’s the link - pocketbook.glideapp.io
It looks like you are close. When clicking on the l an item in the top level list, it is taking you to the details for that item. There you are adding a generic inline list that isn’t differentiated based on the item you selected. It looks like you should have a top level sheet and a second level sheet. The top level sheet should just be your list of top level items. Your second level sheet will contain the top level item it belongs to, the second level item name, and any details for when you select that second level item. You will then need to create a relation column to link the top level item in the first sheet to the top level item in the second sheet. This relation is what you will use for your compact list at the second level.
I’ve you understand that, you can take it to your third level.
And because this problem comes up a lot, I’ll say what I say on all other posts. Layouts are tied to sheets. If you make any design decisions on one item of a list, you will see that same design decisions on all list items and anywhere else in the app that refers to that same sheet.
Hi Jeff,
I’m trying to get my head around it. Would you be so kind to please look at my spreadsheet and tell me what you mean about top level and second level. I’ve tried following the glide apps video too but I don’t see how.
Many Thanks,
Cath
Your Pocketbook sheet looks good. That is your top level. I would join your Acronyms and Safety Sheet into one sheet and add a topic column to indicate which type of topic they belong to. So in the same sheet, Acronym items would also have a topic column that indicates it’s an acronym item. Safety items would have a topic column value that indicates it’s a Safety item. This will be your second level. You will they create a relation column on the Pocketbook sheet to link the topic to the topic in the sheet that contains both the acronyms and safety items.
If your structure is drastically different between all of your different topic sheets, then you could keep them as separate sheets, but you would need multiple topic columns and would only fill the proper cells for the proper relation. Then you would need multiple inline lists that would only show if the relation value is filled. That gets a bit more involved, but it’s an option if you really need it.
For an example of the first scenario, check out the Multi-Level Select example in https://concepts.glideapp.io/. You can copy the app to see how everything is structured. It should be very similar to what you are looking for.
Thanks @Jeff_Hager, will give it a go.
Cath
Hi @Jeff_Hager,
Sorry to be a pest again. I’ve spent all week trying to work this out and haven’t had any success.
Can you explain how to do it step by step for me, please?
Thanks,
Cath
We’ll focus on your safety and welfare item in the list. According to the sheet you shared, it looks like you still have Acronyms and Safety information on separate sheets. Is there any way you can join this into one sheet, or do you want to keep it as separate sheets? Separate sheets will be a little bit more work, but it’s up to you. We need to start with figuring that out before we procede.
Hi @Jeff_Hager, thanks so much for helping me out.
I’ve put everything in the top sheet so you can see how many levels I’m trying to achieve.
What would be the best way to structure it?
Cheers, Cath
There is a way to set it up all in one sheet, like you did, but you have to be really careful because you can get stuck in the same situation of the layout being stuck to that sheet.
Another way is to use your initial layout with everything is separate sheets, but to set visibility to only show an inline list that matches the Category you chose. So if you chose acronyms you would be taken to the Acronyms details. There you would add an inline list for the Acronym sheet, but only set visibility to show it if the chosen category is ‘Acronyms’
The third option is to create a sheet for each level of data. So the first sheet would contain Acronymns and Safety. The second sheet would contain your second level of data (Glossary, Personal Safety, Legalities, etc) and so on.
Here is a sheet with what I’m thinking:
Here’s some more info regarding a setup that would allow you to use one sheet for everything. I’m personally not a big fan, because it can get visually confusing for me to follow what’s happening in the sheet. The example in the link is just 2 columns, but you could also add a third column for Content and then fill each row as necessary.
https://docs.glideapps.com/all/guides/deep-dives/design/subcategories#relations-and-inline-lists
Hi Jeff, I followed those instructions but didn’t see how I could create an Inline List using the Relation Column. Can you please take a look?
Cheers, Cath
When you created the relation, did you select the ‘Multiple’ checkbox? Also, when adding the inline list (if you have already checked multiple), did you scroll through the entire list of source options for the list? Sometimes relations will show at the bottom of the list.