I have a feature in my app that allows me to send a Text message to my customer. I use a Webhook into ClickSend, rather than sending the text message from my mobile, thereby allowing the customer to see my personal number we use ClickSend. This way the text come from our company account, and all text messages are in one place, not spread over various staff mobiles.
In the customer record, I have a button ClickSend Message.
I compose the message and click the Submit button.
The ON SUBMIT uses a basic multistep custom action.
So that is how this feature currently works. And, this is what I don’t like about how it works.
Clicking the Submit button, it’s not obvious to some lesser minded people.
In order to achieve this I have to attach a database to it. I have all the auditing information in the ClickSend website, I don’t need it on the device.
How do I make it like this…
Click the button on the customer form
A new form appears with almost the same fields. But with the addition of a drop-down allowing you to select various template messages.
A basic number field where type the MINUTES and this number is inserted into the message. Thereby no need to edit the entire text message.
Have a big SEND button on the screen that does the Webhook action.
I don’t want to create a new record in a Text Message table. I don’t want the Submit record button.
Alternatively
If I must work with a table, I can create the record in the background on the customer action. But I don’t want the screen to look like you are editing a record. The only thing I want to be able to change is a dropdown box to choose a template message, a number field (this number is inserted into the message) and a textbox with the full message (if they want to make further edits).
I think you could accomplish this by using User-specific columns to hold the data and then a button with an action that grabs the data in those user-specific columns and then does everything else you need it to. You could probably add in something that clears the user-specific values after you run whatever is needed.
I had a look. That is still tied to a database. And if I’m not mistaken, which means a new record will have to be created, and in-turn, the Submit button appears on the form.
The submit button is the biggest fault with my current process. Some of my (no so smart) customers have trouble with the Submit button.
The way to get around that is to do what is commonly referred to as “rolling your own form”. This generally involves the use of User Specific Columns, but may or may not involve creating new rows - that’s up to you. Here is how it works:
You have a button that currently does an Open Form action. Change that to do Link to Screen → This Item
That will give you a new Details Layout with a bunch of default components. Delete all the ones you don’t want/need, and then build your form out on this screen
Each input component will need a target column. This is where the User Specific columns come in. Think of them as temporary storage.
At the bottom of the form you create, you will need to add your own Submit button. But this can be a nice big fat one that your users won’t miss
Your multi-step action that calls the webhoook, etc should be attached to the button.
Also as part of the Submit (or Cancel) action, it’s normal to clear out the values of the User Specific Columns
Covered above.
You can use a choice component for this. You just need a column somewhere in your Glide Tables/Google Sheets that contains the template definitions.
Just use a User Specific column to hold the number the user enters, and combine this with the message template using a Template Column with a replacement.
Covered above.
You don’t have to. Well, you just need one row to hold the User Specific columns. That’s it.
