Appsheet is not for everyone (unfortunately)

[Benni]

The statement below is false.

This forum is filled with requests for help which are then resolved with strings of code.

The effort of your community is appreciable; but with a user like me, completely ignorant of these things, all this is proving to be a great waste of time. Very frustrating.

For the sake of the truth you must correct your communication. Your application is not suitable for someone who is new to coding. Absolutely.

I hope that in the not too distant future, even people like me can get an application.

friendliness

[SmartsheetGuru]

@Benni Would you be able to be more specific about how Appsheet doesn't work for you?  

[Benni]

I'm glad you asked me this question.

I want to create an application for my voluntary association. 

I want to be able to create an Activity that says:
1) who used which vehicle. With the total kilometers of departure.
2) how many kilometers the vehicle has travelled.
3) The kilometers covered by the vehicle are added to the total kilometers of the vehicle. The next time I enter this vehicle, it will have an updated mileage total.
In another table I have a list of volunteers.
In another table I have a list of vehicles with their respective total kilometers.

I challenge any of you to develop this app without a line of code.

All this said with serenity, without controversy, with aim of being constructive.

[OptimiX_XcrY]

In the past, I would have accomplished this with only google sheet or ms excel formulas. I don't think that means coding. 

When I discovered Appsheet, I was actually trying to make my google sheets or excels to work on mobile phones even when offline (bad signal areas). I kinda just linked my already existing tables (with formulas) in Appsheet , and that was all for almost a year. It worked. It was later that I wanted more (I'm only human) , and started looking into low codes on this community and youtubes, and templates that I could easily  clone and disect.

Edit : it felt easy because appsheet formulas looked a lot like the excel and google sheet ones.

[WillowMobileSys]

---

@Benni wrote:

The statement below is false.

This forum is filled with requests for help which are then resolved with strings of code.

---

As someone who has been in app development for over 27 years, I can't say I understand what your feeling but I can say I appreciate your position.

"Coding" in this context refers to the traditional application programming process - writing paragraphs of source code in some programming language that is then compiled, linked and assembled into a program executable that then only runs on one type of device.  There is absolutely NONE of that required in AppSheet.

However, there IS a learning curve involved and Yes it is easier for those who do understand coding.  I do describe AppSheet as a "No Code / Low Code" platform.  "Low Code" in recognition that some understanding of logic, and AppSheet's expressions, is needed to create more complex apps.  But AppSheet is no more complicated than formulas in spreadsheets.

"Complex" is the key word.   

You CAN create fairly sophisticated apps in a "No Code" way.  Meaning with very little intervention from the App Creator and relying on AppSheet's default app creation, you can achieve an app that accomplishes a lot.  And for many, it's all they need.

It's when we need apps that break out of the default mold that complexity steps in.  Enter the Low Code mode.  The majority of the apps out there are apps with specific needs - specific features.  These features are not part of the AppSheet default set (yet) and therefore must be created by the App Creator.  This is where AppSheet shines!  In other similar platforms, you don't even have this option.  You are simply stuck with what they give you.

It is important to note that AppSheet is relatively young company - less than 10 years old.  The amount of included default capabilities is constantly growing.  It will take time for that portfolio of features to grow to a point that is covers the majority of apps.  I.e. the creation of apps will get easier.  But no matter how big that portfolio gets, there will always be the need to customize those default features.

[Benni]

Yes. Your application is one of a kind. This is a fact. This is why I have spent so much of my time unsuccessfully trying to create something. I'll keep trying until I get tired of it.

[WillowMobileSys]

As a side,  I read the words "you" and "your" in the comments.  I want to be sure you are aware that none of us are affiliated with AppSheet.  We are just average "joe blow's" trying to help others.

If an appsheet person responds, their profile avatar would look similar to the post in the image below.  Just so you know we were once where you are now with AppSheet!

[Jared12345]

I could not code at all when I started using this platform, I am from a business background. This platform is extremely powerful, but the learning curve is steep. 

What you need to understand in order to be able to build the app you want to build is relational databases and how they work together so that you can reference data from the different tables you mention.

There are a lot of YouTube tutorials that you can watch to teach yourself the platform but it will be quite a long journey. 

Not to build the app you want, that might take you a few hours to learn if you grasp the database concept easily.

But the journey to building more complex apps will keep you busy for a long time. If you choose to pursue that path.

And if you get stuck there are some amazing people on here who can give you advice. I couldn't have gotten to where I am in my appsheet journey without the help I've gained from them.

It sounds like you have the tables but you aren't sure how to connect them. Focus on the Ref column and how to Ref and Dereference other tables.

https://support.google.com/appsheet/answer/10106510?hl=en

[Benni]

HI

I agree with every word you wrote. 

The Appsheet community has done its best to help me, and I'm absolutely sure they will continue to do so.
I'm a truck driver (yes) the concept of relational database is familiar to me, but it is definitely limited to a theoretical approach.

I've been arguing for days, as far as I can, to tell a "field" to use the data present in another table. Yes I'm using REF , but it's like watching a deaf dialogue. Perhaps this is one of the key aspects that you should work on more and that will give you tremendous recognition. Building relationships by "taking one field and attaching it to another field". Like when you move a file to window...
Good job .

[MultiTech · Accepted solution]

---

@Benni wrote:

I want to be able to create an Activity that says:
1) who used which vehicle. With the total kilometers of departure.
2) how many kilometers the vehicle has travelled.
3) The kilometers covered by the vehicle are added to the total kilometers of the vehicle. The next time I enter this vehicle, it will have an updated mileage total.
In another table I have a list of volunteers.
In another table I have a list of vehicles with their respective total kilometers.

I challenge any of you to develop this app without a line of code.

---

Challenge accepted (^_^)

• See you Friday!

[Aurelien]

@MultiTech you just made my day 😂

[Benni]

cheers! great spirit! Thank you all for contributing to the post. 😀

[MultiTech]

For anyone wishing to see the resulting app - and to make a copy for yourself if you wish - follow the link below:

• https://www.appsheet.com//templates/An-app-to-track-vehicle-use-by-volunteers?appGuidString=b33adf52...

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

While AppSheet has an incredibly steep learning curve, it also has a correspondingly steep "benefits" curve; meaning you don't have to progress very far "up" the learning curve before you start seeing significant benefits.

[Benni]

Hi @MultiTech 

i can't solve the problem. The insights are interesting, but difficult to use in a different project like the one I created. I'll explain.

In the vehicle table, when I enter a new vehicle, I also manually enter its kilometres. It is an operation that will only be done once. The one where the new vehicle is purchased.

From then on, I would like the total mileage to update automatically. I'm not succeeding.
Keep in mind that they are able to automatically display the starting kilometers of the vehicle when it is selected. I am able to calculate the distance covered, after manually entering the final kilometres.

The problem comes when I want to update the arrival kilometers automatically, like the new departure kilometers. 

Unfortunately I don't understand much of your language, from the video it seems to me that you refer to virtual columns and other "systems" that I don't understand. I'm stuck at that last issue. 😓

I thank you for the time you have dedicated to me, even making a video!

[MultiTech]

Thanks for your message @Benni  and for taking the time to explain your problem. I understand the difficulty you're facing, and I'd be happy to help. I hope it wasn't too frustrating not have been able to understand the language from the video, but I'm happy to provide assistance to help you get the solution you need.

It looks like you've been able to take the activity starting and ending mileage and calculate the distance, perfect. It also sounds like you've been able to get the starting mileage to automatically display when someone starts a new activity.

If all this is in place, then you've got everything needed to make this work, the part that's missing is bringing the value from the vehicle's "starting mileage" into the "Current Mileage" virtual column.

• Right now, the "Current Mileage" is a virtual column that's grabbing the "last mileage" from the last activity for the vehicle.
• Add into that an IF() statement BEFORE all that other stuff:

IF(IsBlank([Related Activities]),
    [Vehicle_Starting_Mileage],
[Vehicle_Last_Activity].[Activity_Ending_Mileage]
)

By doing this, the system will "know" that no activity has been recorded for the vehicle and instead use the starting mileage entered when you first entered the vehicle into the system.

------------------------------------------------------------

You'll need the following virtual columns on the Vehicle table to make this work:

1. [Vehicle_Last_Activity]
   • Extracting the last [Related Activities]
   • Index([Related Activities], count([Related Activities]))
2. [Vehicle_Current_Mileage]
   • Using the IF() formula from above

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Let me know if you have any issues! (^_^)

[Benni]

Hi, 

MultiTech , i trying to implement your suggestion. Before starting, I want to tell you that the initial value of the kilometers is taken from a "REF" connected to the vehicle table. This is not a virtual column. Does the state of things change or can I continue with your previous indications?

[MultiTech]

Hi @Benni ,

Thank you for taking the steps to implement my suggestion. I understand that the initial value of kilometers is taken from a "REF" connected to the vehicle table. That is no problem, you can still proceed according to my previous suggestions. All you need to do is take that initial value and add a conditional branch around the formula to pull either the initial mileage, or the last mileage. Check out the formula for the [Vehicle Current Mileage] and you'll see a possible way it might work.

Let me know if you need any help in the implementation and I can provide further assistance. Have a great day!

[Benni]

Thanks, I'll get to work right away.

[Benni]

Hi @MultiTech 

Thank you for the time you dedicated to me. I have no good news.
I am unable to contextualize your suggestion in my app. 

My job is absorbing a lot of my psychophysical energies, I don't have a specific preparation, but I have to find the time to study how to use the VCs. I ask you and the community if there are sources that can prepare me for the purpose, perhaps in Italian? Thanks for your time and great patience. 🙁

[Swoopy]

I would say to anyone that AppSheet is less-code platform.

"Less-code"...not..."No-code"

[OptimiX_XcrY]

it's both

[SkrOYC]

TLDR; You don't write code per se here, but you have to know how to interpret functions (which are part of some programming languages); the inputs and outputs of them.

I'm with you on a lot of things @Benni since I also think that the way things are marketed in the main website is misleading. But this is not a debate that should be just made about AppSheet, it's instead a thing of different POV about what no-code actually is.

Some people may argue that trully no-code means just drag and drop stuff where you move around a fixed set of features.
Others may say that no-code is just not coding on a programming language like Javascript, Dart, Rust and so on but writting excel/sheet-like expressions. In this case some may say that Excel is a no-code platform and that you could code if you use VBA.

All things considered, I think that we all learn to code in different areas and Excel and Sheets is like the most basic coding most business people learn and may think it's not coding just because it's not a defined programming language or because they are just familiar with it.

[Benni]

Thank you all for your valuable contributions.