Pull-to-refresh!

I suggest searching about Google Sheets API quota and its pricing. If you’re not even willing to pay a Pro plan, you should stick with your current solution :wink:

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@TomR Glide updates when your sheet is edited by a person, and this should take at most three minutes (this is a delay that Google imposes—they will tell us about changes to your sheet at most once every three minutes). If your app is not updating, there may be a bug—please share your app link with support@glideapps.com and, if possible, tell us how to reproduce the issue or share a video demonstrating it.

More info about when your app updates can be found here: https://docs.glideapps.com/all/guides/quick-starts/getting-started/background-refresh

4 Likes

I am suffering what seems like a bug in my app. One particular column isn’t reflecting its logical changes to components in my app without a complete reboot of Glide. I see the column’s data change in the data editor, but the components that have visibility and filter changes based on that data change remain the same until I either close out the app completely (on phone) or reload the browser page. All other data columns work fine. I can even see other components updating in the app (about 10 seconds after submitting data to the sheets which causes various recalculation). This particular column in question also seemed bugged because for a while, there was a piece of data in the Glide editor in that column that was different from its sheets counterpart, and no refreshing or reloading of anything would fix it. I had to eventually just change it manually in the Glide editor (luckily it was an input column and not a formula based column)

I was reading through this thread hoping there might be some insight on this problem. That maybe it’s a temporary problem others are having.

Hi @TomR

To be honest, I have worked with Excel and Google spreadsheet, Google Forms, Google Data Studio, Glide Apps with free plan and with Pro plan and I think I know what you state.

In addition, I also know the oil market because I have developed many SCADA systems to them and I can tell you that take oil out of the ground and refine it is part of the cost structure. Many things depend on API gravity: an oil with a high API gravity is better, has a better market price and is easier to move it through pipelines and refine it!!

I agree with you regarding to use Google Forms instead of Glide ones, GF has more features, no doubt, its capability to create a “logic” and move/jump to several steps is unbeatable but if you use Google Data Studio to create pro Charts or Dashboards you will see that your Charts also have a delay of 3-4 minutes to refresh the data automatically from any Google sheet.

Of course, you can force the data updating manually (or change the date/time settings) but it’s a manual process done by user otherwise, you have to wait 3-4 min to see the newer data when you load your dashboard. To sum up, it’s a limitation ruled by Google and any software can’t avoid it.

The Pro APPs have a better behavior and refresh time than free APP.

Saludos y feliz día!

3 Likes

@TomR Also, it has to be considered that Google to Google to Google is going to have some advantages in itself, since it’s all internal to itself, but it’s a cost for third parties to query and sync data with another company like google. Pro memberships help to share that cost and any costs incurred by free users of the glide platform. Pro apps will give you background refresh, where it will force query the sheet for changes every few minutes while the app is in use. Free will only do it when you make a data change within the app. Since you appear to only be using the app to view data and not add or edit it, then it’s up to Google to send updated data when there are changes. Usually only changes directly within the sheet will cause Google to update third parties with the data. Since you use Google forms, it may be an issue to take up with Google as far as how they handle data internally and share it out through the API. Just because something is in the cloud doesn’t mean that it’s just freely available and that there are no rules or costs involved to access it.

As for the swipe thing you refer to, that is purely for us as developers of the app to see any visual design type changes faster in our app. This should have no bearing on the movement of data between glide servers and the app. This is in no way expected or required of users. I force close on my phone to see the layout changes I made seconds earlier in the glide editor. I’m not patient to wait the few minutes for the app to restart with the last design updates. You can think of it like a native app. Users can choose to update…or not update…an app anytime they want from the app store at their own descrection. With a PWA however, design changes shouldn’t take more than an hour to propagate to all users. Force close (swipe) is maybe an absolute last resort here if the design/layout change hasn’t propagated in a reasonable amount of time. Data changes that are made within the app are immediately propagated to glide’s internal data store and to all users within seconds. Usually it’s also synced to the Google sheet within seconds. Any changes made on Google’s side are completely at the descrection of Google to propagate out to all third parties like Glide.

Since Glide provides background refresh in pro accounts, this helps to resolve the issue of Google not sending out data. Again, if you are working on the sheet directly, then you should be seeing updates in the app within a few minutes (even on free apps). If not, then it’s because the data is coming from an outside source to the sheet (yes even including Google forms and importrange formulas), or you are using one of Google sheets known volotile functions. Or quite possibly there may be a bug or a drastic sheet layout change which caused it to become un-syncable without your intervention through the builder.

The internal glide sheets that were mentioned are not going to be as robust as Google or excel. At least not at first release. There is quite a bit you can do within glide now, but it’s inevitable that some things still need to be done in sheets. Hard to say what that will look like in a year. Last year there wasn’t even a glide data editor, so things have evolved quite quickly over the past months. The main advantage of an entirely internal database is that there is zero lag unlike waiting for glide and google to sync their databases. It also cuts down on sync costs because extra steps, data transfer, and overhead are dramatically reduced. Using completely internal glide data may or may not work for you on your case since you are using your sheets outside of glide for other things and aggregating data from other outside sources. It’s not that they are removing an option…just making another one available for those of us that have heavy data entry and data transfer back and forth between glide and google.

On reference to lookups in the sheet, glide is very capable of using relations and lookups to link data together and pull it into other sheets, so I’m not sure where you are having a problem there. Some very very specific functions of vlookup are not available to Glide’s relation/lookup combination, but it is so much easier
to work with. Same with column values in forms to allow data to prefill without user entry. Also the same with dropdowns in the form. The choice component is very capable of this as well as a type of data validation. I’m not sure why you couldn’t use a choice component. I will agree that data validation on text and numeric entry components aren’t the best in glide, but they are working on it. I also hope that you are customizing the components in the glide form and not just relying on the prebuilt (best guess by glide - get you started) form that you are given from the beginning. You may not be able to do everything you want in glide. Google forms is pretty advanced, but it will get you pretty close and you may be surprised how much you can do with a little advice from others. Also, never expect Google sheet specific functions, like validation, to be translated over to a third party like glide. Google is not going to sent out dropdown validation. It sends data. The data that’s on that cell in that column, in that row and sheet at that time. Anything else you will need to do within glide.

Lastly, to address your oil company reference. Yes in fact an oil companies will, do and have shut down a well if the cost to produce the byproducts are not viable. I’ve seen boom and bust in a very short amount of time, and dead wells that are functional, but too costly to run. High prices to consumers and unavoidable demand can cause high cost wells to spew oil like no tomorrow and a surge in well paying jobs. Low prices and low demand will cause those wells to shut down because the cost to value ratio is in the negative and not worth running them when supply can be controlled with overseas sources and reserve supplies. This leads to the loss of those jobs. Also things like windmills and solar are subsidized by the customer. Yes, they are charged more for energy that is essentially cheaper to make. All in all, the economics of cost vs margin and subsidization are very real things in software as well as oil and energy, but none of it is as cut and dried as it may appear on the surface.

Feel free at any time to ask questions if something isn’t working quite right. We are all here to help and have worked through several of these issues ourselves. If it’s not a direct feature, many of us have worked through complex workarounds to get what we need. Or just wait a week and who knows, there will probably be a new feature that makes life that much easier.

7 Likes

Hi,
I have a pro app and I can say it takes almost the same amount of time to refresh automatic updates as it did when my app was free.

I have zapier update my sheet when a user pays with my local payment gateway (as stripe is not supported in my country), but my glide editor updates about 3-5 minutes after my sheet. This is particularly annoying as users would think they have been scammed in those 5 minutes because they don’t see any changes after they have made payment.

Please how can I make my editor refresh quicker than it already does: I already changed my setting to ‘refresh on edit and while using the app’.

1 Like

How long does it take for Zapier to update your Sheet?

It was taking about 4 mins and that is the same amount of time it took when my account was free. Also, can you suggest a way to integrate payment into my app without using zapier or having zapier integrate directly with glide without needing to go through my sheet.

Stripe is not available in my country. How can I then create a free and pro version of my app? When zapier is flaky, glide can only be used as a trigger and not an action on zapier, and I don’t have stripe.

Please advise I’m in desperate need.

As a person in a country without Stripe as well, I understand that. However I have only built apps where Stripe is integrated, recently I have used PayHere to manage subscription flows, but that is also Stripe.

From what you said, you have a payment flow already but it is not fast enough. Have you tried a PayPal + Zapier integration?

Hi, I understand you as well.

Your plan B could be to create a dummy column into your GS in order to refresh data every time you write to any cell associated to that column.

something like this:
image

Every time a user presses this button, send a random value to your dummy column to force a updating manually.

Based on my experience with Glide (Pro plan), if an incoming reply/answer is not received about 18-20 secs after writing to GS, Glide will refresh that GS in next 4-5 min. This is what you are living.

It isn’t the perfect solution but is a useful workaround that any user will understand and use.

Saludos!

3 Likes

Thank you for this information. I have done this, I set the button action to increment by 1 every time a user presses it. It definitely works, the GS refreshes faster, thank you.

Please how is your floating button floating to the top right of your screen and not the bottom?

Hola @chijindu_okwulehie

Write this CSS code using a Rich Text component:

<pre><span><style>
.fab-target >* {
   position:fixed; 
   top:18%;
   right:5%;
 }

image

Feliz día, disfruta tu APP! :wink:

2 Likes

Thanks a lot

@gvalero
Hola Gustavo,

I am very interested in using this same refresh button, can you please help me to integrate it?

  1. how did you add that specific button design?
  2. where do you input that CSS code?
  3. what column is needed in GS and how to increment by +1 when button is pressed?
  4. where can i learn more about CSS code in glide?

muchas gracias hermano!

Hola Martin,

Have you seen this button working? Here you can test it on my APP: https://iiot-v2.glideapp.io

To know why I used it and how it works, take a look at my thread about IIoT please.

Once you have seen it, I think you will understand my next explanation better. Please advise me when you are ready.

Saludos @plusmartin

gracias gustavo,
I saw the app and the thread.
I will try to implement it, I was using a similar idea with a choice button, but I like the floating button better.
I still dont know how to use CCS to change its location, can you help me with that?

saludos

<pre><span><style>
.fab-target >:nth-child(1) {
position: fixed;
top: 14% ;
right: 2%
}

:slight_smile:

I copied the code in a rich text and yes it works. can you please explain how it does that? what does each line mean? how does it relate to the button itself?
gracias

I am not the best one to answer, as I copy and adapt.

The top and right bit is easy enough (just play with the values). Down a bit, across a bit!

@gvalero
where did you learn how to use CSS in glide?
do you have some examples of what is possible? you used it to move a button, some people use it to change background, etc.
Where can I see all the things that are possible and how to implement them?
gracias