I’m just learning Glide. A recent newsletter suggested the importance of defining different users’ roles to make sure the app offers them the appropriate data to make their workflow efficient.
My question is, why cant i control something as basic as the menu (on the free plan)? I would love to be able to control its visibilty so it doesnt appear on my splashpage. In addition, it would be advantageous if i could create multiple menus. Then, depending on a User’s role, each can see a custom menu to control their access to different aspects of the app.
As far as I can tell, Glide’s menu is a unique feature. For instance, when I hover over the menu, there’s no “eye” icon to control its visibility. This means the only way to manage the visibility of the menu is by controlling the visibility of each tab under the “Menu” umbrella, correct? This also implies that there’s always just one “Menu” tab and no way to have multiple menus that appear for use-cases, which is fine, but it creates more work as each Tab needs to have visibility defined instead of using the Menu like a Container.
Additionally, since I’m on the free plan, I don’t have access to user profiles, except for a very limited number. From what I can tell, there is no way to define the profile of a generic “Public” user. I can pull their device info in a general way to make sure items are displayed correctly for a mobile vs. pc device (using 768px screen width as the determining value), but “device info” doesn’t include unique identifiers like the IP of the device or any other distinguishing characteristic I could use to track a user to determine functionality.
I have this published as a “Public” app to allow easy access for users who may not be comfortable or familiar with technology. The general population, especially those of little means can be very leery of sharing too much information like an email address. Unfounded, but true in my experiences.
I’m working on a local resources directory to help LMI residents find essential services like free food, mental health care, clothing, utility assistance, addiction treatment, and more. Unfortunately, I’m not funded and doing this purely to benefit my community. I can’t afford a paid plan, and I don’t have coding experience. I’m learning as I go, using the basic skills I taught myself years ago while working with MS Access databases.
I agree a container-like visibility is good to have, but as long as you define logic well in your user profiles table, it isn’t much of a hassle in my opinion.
Not having access to user profiles is incorrect, you do, and the limit is because you’re on a free plan. Glide is not geared towards public-facing apps, and if you do, Maker is the best plan to do that, though you said you have to remain on the free plan.
I don’t know why you need to track the IP of the device to provide functionalities to the user. Some APIs out there do allow this though, and you can call APIs that don’t block you through CORS with JavaScript, but please be careful about this.
Yes, thank you—I understand that upgrading plans would simplify things, but it is what it is. I’m considering recruiting sponsors (non-profit supporters) or advertisers as a way to upgrade and open up the platform to more features.
The reason I’m commenting on the menu is that I want to create a splash page where users can’t access the hamburger menu (which becomes visible if I move Tabs into it) and must scroll down past banners for supporters/advertisers. While it’s easy to avoid using the Menu, leaving Tabs in the Nav bar works well on mobile devices since they appear at the bottom of the screen. However, this becomes problematic when using the app on a PC. For some reason, there are only two options for the Nav bar on a PC—top or left side—so I hit a roadblock either way. The Menu can’t be hidden without a paid plan that offers more visibility options, and the Nav bar only functions as needed on mobile.
I’ve seen other comments and tutorials explaining that standard PC design doesn’t place the Nav bar at the bottom, but why not allow designers the OPTION to do so if they choose? On a free plan, I can’t force public-access users to view potential supporters’ ads before entering the app and that ability would provide me with a “selling point” to organizations I could engage with to entice their participation. If users can skip the banners, they would be throwing money to the wind and find the situation untenable. Another option I considered is if I had a Tab with no navigation options, but a timer to automatically close the splash Tab to reveal my main Tab behind it, then advertising would be mandatory before using the app. I know with an upgraded plan and coding, it IS possible to use workarounds to create a modal popup that would accomplish. Again, no funding and coding know-how stand in my way. I’ve toyed with Notion and Airtable in addition to Glide. It amazes me how often I run into what I thought were basic functions I could use in MS Access and they are now considered “advanced” features to put behind a paywall or the platform can’t do them at all. Popup windows and the modal option are hardwired into the options in Access for crying out loud! they could easily be tied to an event or triggered by a button. It doesn’t get much more basic than that.
BTW, ThinhDinh, after exploring other platforms, to me, Glide is the best no-code choice to create the resource directory I am working on. This platform is still very user-friendly and, while being constrained from my ideal navigation options, it is a great way to get vital (potentially lifesaving) information into the hands of those who need it. It has been a pleasure engaging with Glide!