Ability for all expressions to take REF_ROWS() columns as their "table" parameter

[Marc_Dillon]

Let’s say I have the column [Related Line Items], which is an automatically created reverse reference column, using the REF_ROWS() expression.

I can use the SELECT expression directly on it:

SELECT( [Related Line Items][Name] )

I also feel like there are other instances where I can use such a column in place of a table name, but I’m currently drawing a blank.

What you can’t do, however, is this:

MAXROW( [Related Line Items] , …)
FILTER( [Related Line Items] , …)
Etc…?

Why not?

I wish that we could use a REF_ROWS() column, in place of a table, in any expression that requires a table parameter.

[MultiTech]

Absolutely! I actually thought it was supposed to be this way; way back (years ago now) when the reverse reference was first introduced, there was talk about it working in any instance where you would use a table reference (Table[Key]).

I constantly forget that it doesn’t work elsewhere except in SELECT() and keep trying.

[Bahbus]

And you can also use them directly is template Start expressions. <<Start: [Related Line Items]>>

[Koichi_Tsuji]

Hi Matt,
I have been searching documentation, explaining revert reference on REF_ROWS() column, but I could not find much of documentation or explanation of use cases, etc, if I do not miss something.
Any idea for any materials and docs well documented?

[MultiTech]

@Steve would be the one to discuss the documentation with.

I’ll add this topic to the list of ideas for In-App Guildes.

[Koichi_Tsuji]

Sure thanks, Matt.
Obviously nothing is officially mentioned about revert reference I believe.

[MultiTech]

Hmm… yeah now that I look back at posts by Praveen I see that that term was only used by him a few times, and not to describe what I’m describing.

According to this post:

Appsheet loading time increasing with records - google sheets with security filter

if you have related tables, then there will be virtual columns auto-created to compute the “reverse references”

Seems to me the way he’s using the term “Reverse Reference” is to describe the auto-created related-records VC.

---

I’m trying to find the post where I originally picked up that vernacular, maybe I got some wires crossed.

[Koichi_Tsuji]

Hi Matt, thanks again and sorry for taking your time.
This is one of the useful and popular feature in Appsheet, but probably not officially documented with details, which is strange.

I searched with the various different terms, reverse, child records column reach out etc, but none of success, which gave me indication this is not actually documented.

Hope @Steve @Aleksi will take this and push into part of documentations.