I have 100+ columns with text values. How, without using the Template function, can they be combined in the same row in one cell? Combining column values using Template looks like a very bad solution. Terrible!
The end goal is to be able to use all the values of that row for a Lookup from another sheet.
Well, you could set up a template column with delimiters, which would be painful with 100+ columns, then combine that with a Split Text column to create an array.
If you are using google sheets, then you can create an array by simply naming each column the same, but append a number to the end of each heading (ex. āColumn 1ā, āColumn 2ā, āColumn 3ā, etc.). This will automatically create a single array column in glide.
Other thoughts would be to simply write all of you values into a single column cell with a delimiter, then use the Split Text column to convert in into an array to use for your lookup. This way would only require one Basic column and one Split Text column, without the need for having 100+ columns.
Thanks for your reply.
I cannot afford to do all the calculations in Google Sheets due to the limitations āSheet Editsā of Glide. Therefore - Glide tables.
Now I am acting through the Template function (while testing), because all values are entered manually using CheckBoxes.
āā¦ simply write all of you values into a single column cell with a delimiter ā¦ā - thatās what I canāt do)
I think you still could. Can you share more details of what you are trying to do? Are you using an inline list, with the checklist style, that gets items from multiple rowsā¦or is each checkbox a separate component connected to individual columns in a single row?
This correctly describes what I am doing.
After your previous post, I almost made up my mind to redo all the work and use GoogeSheets instead of GlideTable. This solves several problems at once ā¦ But it also adds others ā¦
The main question is: will my application become slower by using GoogeSheets instead of GlideTable or not?
I try to avoid doing any processing in google sheets if at all possible because there will be a delay.
If all of your checkboxes function the same for each row, I would maybe consider restructuring your data. If it were me, instead of multiple columns for the checkboxes, I would create a new sheet and put each of those column values into itās own row. This wouldnāt be duplicated date, it would only contain 100+ rows to match the number of columns you have. This way you can display it using the checklist style inline list. With this you could have a Relation to that new sheet and only look for true values. Then you can create a Joined List column of all the true values that would be in that relation. With that, you can then have a button or something with a Set Column action that would write that joined list to your existing sheet.
Now this does cause some issues when using the checklist, because each of your existing data rows would show the same checked items. This is where you need to take it a few steps further with some compound action logic that would probably be better explained in the thread below. Iām doing something similar where you can select multiple items and it sets an ID on each item in a list. This marks it as selected and changes the image from red to green. As you do that, youāll notice that itās also building a Joined List of all the selected items. The delimiter in my case is 2 spaces and a carriage return, but you could use a comma (,) or pipe (|) as your delimiter. With a save button, you could write that joined list to a basic column through the set column action. With that delimited list, you can then expand it into an array using the Split Text column and then use that for your lookup. You could write a row ID of the current row you are viewing to your user profile when you open that row, then write that value to each item you ācheckā.
Without knowing more about your specific use case, itās hard to say how well this would work for you. I know the above description probably isnāt very clear, but hopefully the example below makes more sense. I think it would work for you, but the tricky part might be if you ever need to go back in and modify the checked items. Iām sure itās still doable, but with a little more logic involved.
Take a look and see if some of this makes sense. Doing it this way would allow it to easily scale in the future if you ever needed to add additional checkbox items. You also wouldnāt have to mess with 100+ components that have to be configured on a screen.
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Many, many thanks Jeff for the detailed and valuable answer!
Now Iām not going to redo everything, because not later than March 1, everything should already work.
However, first of all, when I finish the current work, I will implement your proposed selection algorithm. At least Iāll try to do it.
Many thanks again and success in your work and life! )
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