Ability to select records from a table embedded in a form?

Question

Hello!

First post here, brand new to Quickbase.

I've done web app development before, but it was PHP + database + HTML + CSS + Java Script stuff by hand many moons ago.

I think I am looking for guidance, something like 'you need to read up on Quickbase Thingamajigs and how they relate to Quickbase Whatchamacallits', rather than a step-by-step set of instructions. If someone can point me in the right direction, I can do reading on my own time and figure it out.&nbsp;

The graphic I have below is an Illustrator mockup of what my boss wants a form to look like, I drew this by hand:

The bit at the top in Section 1 with the radio buttons and a table is what I'm interested in. The tabular rows thing is a screen grab from Excel.

I want to create a table-like entry mechanism which allows the user to select a record using the radio buttons on the left side, and details of that record populate in Section 2.&nbsp;
I would love it if that table-like entry mechanism could pull in all the records from the Transaction Table, and give the end user the ability to sort and filter records to reduce the list to a smaller one. The end user will then select the appropriate record from its corresponding radio button.
Is this kind of record-selection mechanism possible in Quickbase?

Thanks

Nick
------------------------------Nicholas White------------------------------

markshnier__you · Answer

Nicholas,As QuickBase is a rapid application development tool you don't get the same intricate control over every imaginable user interface you might want to have.&nbsp; It's more a case of you are presented with a pretty broad but not infinite set of tools and how can you get the best native functionality out of QuickBase to give a good user experience using the available tools.&nbsp;Let me start with the stupid simple solution and maybe it's good enough or we can continue discussing here.&nbsp;From your description all you are trying to do is have an easy selection of a record out of a long set of records and then allow the user to edit that record.&nbsp;&nbsp;So why not just create a report with all those column headings that you show in your image and knowing that any column heading can be a filtered, just like excel.&nbsp; When you click the funnel icon to enable the filters on the top of the columns you can filter multiple columns. In addition you get to configure up to five of your main dynamic filters which automatically appear at the top of the report.&nbsp; In addition to all those filters you can also enter a free form text field to additionally filter the results.&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;Once you have narrowed down the results that you just click the edit pencil icon on the record and you're editing the record and you save.&nbsp;&nbsp;------------------------------Mark Shnier (YQC)mark.shnier@gmail.com------------------------------

nicholaswhite · Answer

Hi Mark,Thank you for replying so quickly!

I redid my drawing to better illustrate what I'm trying to achieve.

I'm not inventing a new wheel; I'm modifying an existing one. I am working with an App which was developed a few years ago, the tabular part I'm envisioning already exists in the form of a drop list. The drop list is a little clunky, I was hoping that a table might make it easier for the users to select records.

Here's the setup of how the existing app would work after my modification:

Audits Table - a list of audit results, where selected transactions from the Transaction Table are reviewed by our auditing team, scored, and submitted.&nbsp;Transactions Table - a massive list of sales transactions
Add Audit form - form used to pull in select fields from a Transaction record from the Transactions Table, and fields where the auditing team can score the Transaction. When the form is submitted, the TRANSACTION_ID and the scoring elements from Section 3 get added as an Audit record in the Audits Table.&nbsp;Workflow:1. Auditor opens the Add Audit form
2. The Add Audit form pulls records from the Transactions Table and populates them into a tabular list seen below in Section 1.
3. The auditor looks through the list of Transactions and selects one by clicking the radio button next to it.4. The Add Audit form puts read-only data related to the selected Transaction into Section 2.5. The auditor reads the information in Section 2.6. After the auditor understands what's going on with the Transaction, the auditor goes to Section 3 and fills in the 6 audits elements based on an audit business process we have here.7. When Section 3 is complete, the auditor clicks the Save &amp; Close button.8. The Add Audit form will bundle the following information into a nice tidy data bundle (or whatever it's called in Quickbase) and create a new record in Audits Table:
TRANSACTION_ID - from the Transactions TableSCORE_1 - user input from Add Audit formROOT_CAUSE- user input from Add Audit formDROPLIST_1 - user input from Add Audit formSCORE_2 - user input from Add Audit formDROPLIST_2 - user input from Add Audit formNOTES - user input from Add Audit form

​I hope this makes sense, this stuff can be confusing.

Thanks,

Nick------------------------------Nicholas White------------------------------

markshnier__you · Answer

I can likely improve your workflow,&nbsp; but it will take a Zoom type call to truly understand your relationships and desired workflow.&nbsp; I'm willing to get on a call and then only charge for my time if we agree that I can help you.&nbsp; &nbsp;You can contact me by the direct email on my signature line.------------------------------Mark Shnier (YQC)mark.shnier@gmail.com------------------------------

evanmartinez · Answer

Hi Nick,Welcome to Quickbase and congrats on becoming a Quickbase Builder. If you are looking for some guidance on the process of Quickbase building a great resource would actually be Quickbase University. We have courses that focus on Orientation into Quickbase or App Planning that combine videos and text, you can even build along to pick things up or just jump to sections that cover topics of interest. You can also use the Exchange to grab example apps that already have forms, dashboards, reports, etc. built to see how others have created workflows and borrow ideas for pieces you like.&nbsp;It sounds like a lot of the workflow you are looking for would have Transactions as your parent record and then Audits as your child records. Then you could use a related Transactions field that will pull down a list of Transactions that you can pick from that then populate lookup fields (fields of information pulled from Parent records that are read only and change when you change the related parent). There is obviously more that goes into getting the exact experience that you are looking for as Mark mentioned, especially if there are some elements you really want to appear in a specific way. Even just watching a bit of University can help you get familiar with the key pieces of Quickbase and relationships and the terminology that is used in the platform. Best of luck with your building!------------------------------Evan Martinez------------------------------

nicholaswhite · Answer

Hi Evan,Thanks for your reply."There is obviously more that goes into getting the exact experience that you are looking for as Mark mentioned, especially if there are some elements you really want to appear in a specific way. "The vibe I'm getting, that 'displaying a list of records as a sortable, filterable table; with radio buttons on the side to load a record into the form', is not possible out of the box.I'm fortunate that this app was already built using a dropdown which gives the users the ability to select records; I'll go back to my boss to report that this will require more work than anticipated to get that dropdown to appear as a table with radio buttons.
Thank you,
Nick------------------------------Nicholas White------------------------------

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Ability to select records from a table embedded in a form?