Topic
Using data cells as variables gives you the ability to store values locally on a user's device. A common use case is a form within an app that has editable fields.
Let's say you want an app for your team where they can make suggestions to improve the office. You want an editable field they can type in (the variable data cell in this case) and a submit button that takes the suggestion and writes it to a row in one of your tables. The image below shows the flow:
Steps
Builder tip: This article assumes you have a table and app ready.
- Select your app in Builder, click + Add objects
- Select Data cell from the Add Objects panel.
- Now we need to set up the data cell. Check the Editable box (this will allow the user to type in the data cell). For "Set type," select Variable. For "Set initial value," type what you want the data cell to display to the user when they access the app screen. We used Enter Suggestion Here to create an intuitive experience.
Important note: We are now going to add a trigger object (in this case a "Submit" button), so that when the user clicks the button, an automation is set off that takes whatever they typed in the data cell and writes it to a row in a table. After all, we want to make sure we store everyone's suggestions, right?
- Select the Block that contains the Data cell > click + Add objects (not shown in screenshot but just like you did in Step 1) > select Button.
- In the Actions panel of the Button Properties, click + Create an automation.
- Click + Add actions then click Add a row.
- Select the Table you want the row added to.
- In the "Take data from" field, add the Data cell from the previous steps > in the "and write to" field, add the column where you want the data to be stored > select Value since the app user isn't entering a formula in this example.
=$in the "Take data from" field, and your data cells should populate in the suggestion menu.
That's it! Your app users can now add their suggestions!
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