[Question] Does using the Image Picker or File Picker consume “Updates”?
[Context]
Plan: Maker Plan
Status: Currently in development (Private/Not yet published)
I apologize for such a basic question, but I’ve noticed the number of Updates in my usage dashboard increasing day by day, and I’m trying to identify the exact cause.
Current Setup:
The app is linked to a Google Spreadsheet, but I am in the very early stages of development.
I haven’t built any Actions or Workflows that directly modify the spreadsheet data yet.
I’ve only been using native app components and basic data manipulations within the Data Editor.
If using Pickers (Image/File) does NOT consume Updates, I am truly at a loss as to why the usage is climbing. Does uploading a file via a Picker count as an Update even if the underlying row is in a Glide Table? Or could there be another hidden factor triggering the synchronization?
I would appreciate any insights into what Glide considers an “Update” during the development phase. Thank you!
File/Image pickers do not use updates on their own. The uploaded file will use storage and update the table with the url, but not necessarily cause an update.
What is more likely using updates is the fact that you are using Google Sheets as a data source. Syncing that data between Glide and Google will use updates, and changing a value in the table will also cause an update. If you use a picker to upload a file, it will update the table with the new url for that file. That table will then need to sync the updates to Google.
There is also an extra sync feature that can cause updates to count faster because the sync happens at regular intervals instead of once per data change.
To be more specific about my situation: I performed a test by adding 3 new rows to a Glide Table using a Form Screen with an Image Picker. A few minutes later, my Update count had increased by exactly 3.
If adding rows to a Glide Table is supposed to be free, why did this happen? Does the simple act of “submitting a form” or “uploading a file via picker” count as an update regardless of the table type? Or is it possible that a background sync is being triggered for the entire app (including other linked Google Sheets) whenever a form is submitted?
I would love to hear your thoughts on this specific behavior.
I would not expect extra updates from google tables if you are not using them.
Do you have any column types in you glide table that consume updates? For example, AI based columns will consume as well as some integration columns will consume updates.
No, I am not using any AI or integration columns at all. The Glide Table only contains very basic column types like Text, Date, and Image.
This is exactly why I’m so confused. Literally all I did was submit a native Form Screen 3 times with an image attached, and the update count increased by exactly 3.
Could it be that the image upload process itself forces a background sync across the app (perhaps syncing my User Profile, which is on Google Sheets)? Or does generating the hosted image URL trigger something on the backend?
I guess it could be possible that it’s doing a sync to make sure it has the latest data. You could go to your team folder dashboard and click on usage to see what is using updates.