My app’s URL: https://go.glideapps.com/app/eGWZtO5j4yqjUtGEmm7r/data
I’m finally getting around to trying to create single relationships but I seem to have screwed things up to the point that I can’t even delete my mistakes.
I’m getting dates where part numbers should be. I have no way to edit the column type or delete the column to start over.
I deleted the relation column in my GS but I still have the one in Glide Data.
I think I’m being punished for even looking at Infinity and Stackby.
Is it a column in your Sheets? Columns in Sheets can only be deleted in the Sheets, but in this case try going to your Sheets, convert the format of that column to be text (I assume you won’t do any math with part numbers), then refresh the data and see if the column type changes.
If it’s still showing as dates, make a new column using the Data Editor, set it to text or number. That column will then be shown in your Sheets, copy the part number values to that column and refresh the data.
The column is only in the Data, not the Sheets. Any attempt to change it to text converts the dates to numbers but doesn’t change the column type.
I will attempt make a new column as you suggest.
That didn’t seem to do much but maybe I created the column in the wrong sheet. I put it in the product list instead of the parts/accessories list.
No wait, I’ve been clicking browser refresh and not Sheet refresh. Duh.
Just to note, when I click on the parts item it changes from date to item number.
Okay, I created a new Part Number column in Parts and deleted the wonky date one. I have no idea how it switched from number to date/time on the original but at least that is gone.
I’m just glad I didn’t have to delete a thousand entries.
I’ll watch the tutorial once again and see if I can get any further. Thanks @ThinhDinh
Let me know if I can help. Probably the part number some how matches a Unix datetime format so Glide reads it as datetime at first.
Might be worth creating a new column within glide as a text column. That will create the column in the sheet. Then copy all of the part numbers over to the new column. Hopefully this will make the column type stick as text within glide.
Okay, I’m back to square one at least, but I could sure use some guidance on my next step.
The scenario is this. I have a Product list and an Accessories list.
Each product can have up to ten possible accessories and the accessories can go with a dozen different products.
If I need a perfect match to establish a relation, how do I list the multitude of options?
I don’t think I can have a cell with more than one item in it, whether it’s a product on the accessories list or an accessory on the products list.
Am I overthinking something?
The one that was an issue was in the Accessories sheet. I likely just screwed up the process by having relations before I had data. But forget that old problem, I now need advice on the last general question.
Surely I don’t need to create a duplication of rows in accessories to represent every product they apply to.
From watching the tutorials, it’s like when one employee works at three locations or maybe an employee reports to more than one person. It showed up on the video but was not explained.
I would create an array of accessory columns in your products sheet. Name then Accessory 1, Accessory 2, Accessory 3, etc. That is where you will list each accessory code for each product. In glide it will appear as a single array column of Accessory. Use that column to establish your relations with the accessory sheet and vice versa.
Now I have to admit to having never created an array in GS.
I’ve looked at https://support.google.com/docs/answer/6208276?hl=en#:~:text=Create%20arrays,of%20data%20in%20an%20array. but don’t feel that much smarter.
Can you or someone else recommend a video tutorial that gets me going at the most simplistic level so that I can come back tomorrow giving advice as an expert. Ha.
Just create multiple columns with the same name, followed by a space and consecutive numbers (so “Item 1” , “Item 2” , “Item 3” ). Glide will then group these columns together as an array automatically.
Thank you all for trying to clear this up for me.
While I might find it tedious to create hundreds or thousands of accessory references in such a manner, luckily I only have a few dozen or so.
Just so that I don’t seem right out of the loop, I have to put out the concept challenge of how you’d deal with a Boeing that has a million parts and options.
Maybe work the other way… Use an array of airplanes as opposed to an array of accessories. The accessories would be in a column, then you’d have multiple airplane columns (i.e. Plane 1; Plane 2; Plane 3) to create the relation. Not sure if that helps or not though!
In that case I’d have a sheet for the product, a sheet that lists the product id and the accessory id, and then a sheet to list the accessories. So basically there would be a crosswalk sheet in the middle. In that case I would create a multiple relation from the products sheet to the crosswalk sheet. Then I would create a lookup column to get an array of all related accessory id’s from the accessory id column in the crosswalk sheet. Then I would use that lookup column to create a relation to the accessories sheet. That last relation is what you would use to show a list of accessories in the product details. Of course that method uses many more rows compared simply creating an array column with only 10 accessory options. But we are building a airplane, soooo…
@Jeff_Hager and @kyleheney have given me something to think about.
Overall, I’m glad to find that it wasn’t so simple that I was missing the obvious.
I guess this is the point where I have to trust that I won’t be harmed walking off a cliff as long as I have faith in the almighty “Array”.
The array has been working out great.
I just thought I’d mention a misconception I had. I initially thought that I’d need a separate array item for each and every possible part or product number.
That is clearly not the case. Each array entry is merely a placeholder for any data in any random order.
It worked out that I only needed about 25 variants of both product and accessory.
I’m embarrassed to even admit my lack of understanding but I hope my shame helps others on the same journey as they pass my skeleton in the desert. Ha.