How do you set your spreadsheet right?

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1

When building an app, how do you guys go about setting up your spreadsheet?
I get easily lost and confused. Which tabs should be there, which one and how needs to be connected?

How to get started there?

I have seen @Robert_Petitto glide tutorials only and beyond impressed by how he creates detailed functionalities using spreadsheets.

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The first thing I do is make a user tab. It normally houses email, name, image, and whatever else I think I may need. Second make a tab that houses the type of data your sharing. If it is appointments then start with date and time, location, description, etc. Once you start out and get the hang of it it will all become second nature very quickly and your spreadsheet layout will be the least of your worries. I can tell you my largest app houses 207 spreadsheets with over 3000 lines of scripts/code in it and even though thats a ton I still worry more about the glide end than anything else.

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wow !! 207 spreadsheets :sweat_smile:

Do you first set your spreadsheet with all the tabs and everything or go step by step like first make a tab in spreadsheet, then create it glide. Going back and forth?

4

I try to. This particular one has spreadsheets added almost everyday. The app evolves as requests poor in. At first I would attempt to anticipate the needs but about 4 months in I just accepted that it is what it is. One spreadsheet in particular has 163 columns…thats the only pain in the ass.

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But I will say I do make on average 2 glide apps a day and after so many I just build as I go. I try to plan out the complicated stuff but in a lot of cases the attempt is feeble and gets scrapped after I see a better way.

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I agree with @Drearystate. Start small to get your primary screen set up. Need to see a list? Then create a sheet with the basic info you need. Then move on to the next function. Sometimes your initial sheet layout will need to change and you will need rebuild some parts of the app as you go. Don’t look at the big picture and think that your sheet needs to be perfect with every function and feature built in from the start. Just start with small chunks, get that piece working, then move on to the next. You will discover that your app flow may change from your original plan as you go.

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7

Jeff hit the nail on the head. If you get stuck you have an amazing community here to help in any way we can. We have people that write scripts, people that are amazing at CSS, some great layout junkies, function experts, everything…just don’t hesitate to ask and keep in mind this forum is like non other, we don’t argue we just help and recognize one another’s accomplishments.

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Thank you @Jeff_Hager and @Drearystate for the motivation.

I am trying to create Buy Me coffee clone, so what do I create next after the all users profile section?
Should I have a separate tab for collecting user posts data or create one tab with specific user info and posts?

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My general rule for data is to never duplicate data except for a key, like a row id, unique ID, or user email that you can use to link the posts to the user and vice versa. I would have a separate sheet for posts that only contains the unique value of the user who posted and the post itself.

A single app tab needs to be attached to a single sheet, but can contain all kinds of data from different sources with proper relations linking all the necessary sheets together.

Like I said, just start somewhere and start small, see how things go, and if you decide you don’t like how it’s working out, you can always change things around. Most people don’t create a perfect app on the very first try. My main app has been continuously evolving for 2 years as we get new features or I learn better ways to do things.

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10

Appreciate the kind words. Just think with the end in mind…

  • “What screens do I want?” — You can surely have more than one screen per sheet, but usually it’s a 1:1 ratio
  • “Do I need user profiles?” — If so, you’ll need a user profile sheet
  • “What layouts do I need?” — As Jeff Hager always reminds us, layouts are tied to sheets. Generally speaking, if you need separate layouts for your data, they should be in separate sheets
  • “How many rows do I expect to have in this sheet?” — As I have recently found out, multiple relations and rollup columns over thousands of rows prevent your app from loading efficiently. In this case you’d want a separate filtered sheet (using "=filter() or =query() formulas) that run these computed columns OR skip the sheet and use a Glide table

There are numerous other factors, but this is how I approach every app I start.

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It definitely making more sense now to me to have unique ID or email to link and separate tab for posts.

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12

I started with glide after your tutorials only. I watch your videos on loop lol. They are so helpful. Big thanks for creating them.

I will follow you advice and begin.

Thank you for your advice.

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13

Lol, the poster child :slight_smile:

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:see_no_evil:

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It’s odd, people always listen to you over any of us. Those tutorials man, I tell ya. I think I’ve made over 400 apps already with dozens in PRO and I’m taken with a grain of salt when Robert speaks…lol, thats life :grinning:

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Oh dang ! Not at all. Your advice is equally valued, appreciated and taken .

It’s just that when someone begins building in glide, they run to youtube first for free tutorials and they come across Robert’s tutorials.

400 apps :star_struck:? Do you have tutorials? Would reaaaaallllly help :pleading_face:

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Robert’s the tutorial guy. He takes his time with them and finds time to do them. Competing with his tutorials is just not something anyone wants to take on. He’s been making them for so long we would be the 2nd rate tutorial and no one wants to be that. But he is the face of Glide whether he wants to be or not. Not even the CEO of Glide is known as well as Robert. I’m surprised he’s not being paid by them yet.