Confused by screens and forms

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1

Sorry, guys, but I’m confused about which form (screen?) gets used when.

My understanding is:

  • there are screens which by default contain a collection component bound to a table showing all the table’s records
  • if I add another component to such a screen it becomes a custom screen
  • collection components have default actions: add, edit, delete
  • I can create a form in addition to screens. A whole form is bound to a table and shows 1 table record

But now my questions start:

  • the add and edit actions lead to a… form? or a screen?
  • how can I bind the default add/edit actions to specific forms?
  • the show actions do not allow for specification of a particular form (or screen). Why is that? How to show a particular form?

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Here’s what I need to accomplish:

When I add or edit a record I need to store it with a custom action. That does not work with the default add/edit forms of a collection, it seems. The only way to do it is to have a special form where I can set the submit action on the form container.
So I need a way to tie this special form to the default actions of a collection.

Or what am I missing? You see, I’m confused.

I hope someone can enlighten me.

2

I seem to have found some clarity! :partying_face:

Every collection comes with 4 forms:

  • a “form screen” to add new records; it allows editing record fields; it sports an on-submit action (that’s what I need!)
  • an “edit screen” to edit existing records; it allows editing record fields; it also has an on-submit action (that’s what I need!)
  • a “detail screen”: it does not allow editing record fields by default; it does not have submit/cancel buttons
  • a “new screen”: it does not allow editing record fields by default; it does not have submit/cancel buttons

But what’s the difference between “detail screen” and “new screen”? :thinking:

Then there are “independent forms” I can create myself based on a table. They act like “form screens” (or maybe also “edit screens”) but I have to add the respective buttons and actions myself. “Independent forms” cannot be shown from a custom action, it seems.

And I also found out: an “independent form” can be put on any screen just by adding a form container component.

My confusion is starting to clear up. But I have to say: I don’t find the naming of the parts of the UI straightforward/consistent.

Here’s my summary:

  • Glide apps consist of screens
  • A screen contains components
    • Components are either collections (of table records) or fields (for record columns)
  • A form is a screen with a form container component on it (which primarily contains fields)
    • Collections have 4 forms for adding, editing, and showing a record (their form container is hidden)
    • Forms can be created independent of collections
3

You seem to be figuring it out. If you haven’t already done so, do have a look at some of the explanations in Glide’s Documentation.

Glide Docs: Screen types

  • Detail screen: The detail screen is attached to the single row of an item of a collection. This detail screen displays the attributes (columns) of this single row so we can see the detailed information of the item.

  • New screen: The new screen is attached to a single row, up to you to decide which one. This single row can be in the current table or in a different one.

If you imagine tabs as screens stacked onto one another, a detail screen makes you go a step deeper into the funnel (a card is stacked on top), whereas a new screen allows you to skip aside from the stack and create something entirely different.

Custom forms by Darren Murphy

4

Thx for the explanations of “detail screen” and “new screen”.

5

Not directly related to this, but I like the clearness of your writing. I really hope we can help you understand Glide better really soon. Maybe you’ll be an expert in no time.

6

Thanks for your kind words! :blush:

I’m really excited about Glide and really would like to understand it in depth, the true potential and its limitations.

In October I’ll do a free workshop (4 x 2h) on Glide for non-programmer digital nomads who want to “upskill”. I believe, Glide is an ideal no-code tool to enter the world of software development for fun and profit. And I’d even add: no-design. No-code + no-design! That’s quite important because user interface design can eat so many resources w/o really adding to a software tool. (I like how “opinionated” Glide is in a very reasonable way.)

Until the workshop I need to know as much as I can :smile: to be of best service to the participants.

7

This is a very important point. I like Glide giving us a headstart on this. Too much customization also means starting many things from scratch, and if you don’t know where to start, then it can backfire.

8

I hope we meet in person someday. Where are you located? I live in Berlin and am often in Paris.

9

I live in the south of Bulgaria - but sometimes are in Hamburg or Berlin :slight_smile:
A Glide meetup over a beer would be nice.