Better search capabilities within the AppSheet editing interface

[Kirk_Masden]

As AppSheet has grown, it has become possible to develop apps in which columns, actions, and expressions interact in increasingly complex ways. The ability to build more complex apps is great but it can be very difficult to figure out what is connected to what when one returns to an app after some time has passed.

We can use our browser’s search function in some contexts to solve such puzzles but the current search function is extremely limited.

So, here’s my proposal: Add the capability to the AppSheet editor to create a text file (either to download or display in a browser winder) that includes ALL of the text in our app: all of the column names and their associated formulas, all of the actions and their associated formulas, etc. Such a text file could then be searched comprehensively using either the browser’s search function or the search function in a text editor.

Primary reason for requesting this feature: It’s easy enough to find the columns that are referred to in an expression but very hard to answer questions like “What expressions in this app refer to this column?” or “What actions in this app invoke this action?”

By the way, the AppSheet editor currently has a Spec tab in the “info” section. The animation is cool but, to be honest, I have never found this feature to be particularly useful. I think a complete list of all of the actions, columns, expressions, etc that is fully searchable would be far more useful – though not as pretty.

This request is related to an earlier one by @TalkNet_TechnoStore:

Search expressions that contain column names Feature Requests

It would be very useful if you could search within each table in the search box of the DATA> COLUMNS section. For example, put a name (or part of the name) of a column and show in color (such as when there is an error or a warning) all the columns that contain that word in the expressions. This would allow to easily locate all the dependent columns when modifications have to be made.

That post did not get any positive responses but I suspect that readers may not have recognized the utility of such a search feature.

This request is also related to the following posts I have made recently:

Is there a good way to find the connections between actions? Questions

On my app, there are quite a few instances were I have grouped actions and one or more of the grouped actions references an action on another table (parent action, child action, grandchild action). If I’ve forgotten how the actions are connected, I can start with the grouped action and eventually figure out what actions may be invoked when the grouped action is invoked. I say “eventually” because it’s not super easy. As you can see in the following example, I can see the names of the actions …

and

Does a row description really need to get evaluated like an expression? Questions

Hi! My app has gotten rather complicated so I’m in the process of adding descriptions to rows in certain tables to help me remember how they function in my app. I was a little surprised, however, to find that even a text description is evaluated like an expression and therefore can break my app. [54] The workaround is simple enough. All I need to do is put a quotation mark at the beginning and end of my text. This seems to work even if I have other words or expression in quotes inside the…

Thanks for your attention!

[Kirk_Masden]

By the way, what I have in mind is analogous to the search capability in Google sheets:

I’d particularly like to have the option to search within formulas (expressions). Perhaps checkmarks for “All tables” “All actions” etc. might be useful too.

[Fabian_Weller]

Searching the whole App can be done with the App Documentation.

Searching the whole App Tips & Tricks 💡

If you like to know where in the App you are using a column, you can use the App Documentation. [image] In this you can search for text. For example. You have created a Virtual column and you think you could delete it. But … perhaps you have used it in a workflow rule? Or in a format rule? Simply search for the column in the App Documentation to find out where it is used.

[Koichi_Tsuji]

I at least need some sort of precaution message when we delete something.
For instance, when we are in attempt to delete virtual column then, App will tell us “This vitual column is used in XXXXX. Deleting this column is going to break up the appformula in xxxxx. Are you sure?”

Something like that.

Same story for deleting Actions, workflow etc.

Now, we notice the deletion or change in app definition is breaking up something else after the editor sync to reflect such change and give us ALERT with red highlight. It bring us to debug or fix the problem. But when we notice and think “Hang on, l should NOT have done that, I should not delete this column”, but it is too late. UNDo function is freshed, so no longer to “Back to the PAST” in an instant way.

If possible, anyway.

[Kirk_Masden]

Fantastic @Fabian!! This is great. It’s interesting that 7 people have voted for this. I assume that means that at least seven people felt, like me, that something like this was necessary but, also like me, didn’t know about this feature. Of course, even better search capabilities would be nice, but what you have taught me today is exactly what I was looking for. Thanks so much!!

[Kirk_Masden]

By the way, @Fabian, I’m tempted to mark your comment as the solution but I think it would be nice to have even better search capabilities, such as what @tsuji_koichi has indicated. So, instead of closing things off as “solved” I think I’ll leave the feature request as it is. But, thanks to you, it is definitely “partially solved”!

P.S. What you have shared here will allow me to put my app on a diet (getting rid of lots of unnecessary virtual columns and actions). Perhaps I can send you a picture when my app is lean and pretty enough to wear a bathing suit to the beach again!

[Fabian_Weller]

All of my Apps are in need of a diet, too

[Kirk_Masden]

As I have mentioned elsewhere, search capabilities HAVE been improved:

Searching the whole App Tips & Tricks 💡

Search has been improved. Please see the following report from @Jamie: This won’t eliminate the need to refer to “App Documentation” in all situations, but in many cases it should be quicker and easier. Dear AppSheet people: Thank you Since you’ve added this great feature, why not announce it? I haven’t seen anything on the “What’s new” page.

“Request feature and you shall receive” – well, sometimes anyway.

[hru]

With the fact that AppSheet is now part of Google, this kind of search within AppSheet editor should probably be improved. I have voted this, just now.

A sample of AppMaker search is as below picture:

It should be possible (I just say it out-loud) that this kind of capability can be made available within AppSheet Editor. We could search for any word, and it will tell if the word is in Data / UX / Behavior or others and be drilled down to what item, where is it: in column, is it in Valid_if, Initial value, or other expressions. When clicked, it will take us to the exact location of any of our search result, where it should also indicate what other item/expression/actions are connected to the search term.

Awesome!

[Kirk_Masden]

I appreciate the improvement we’ve seen recently but, like you, I would like to see even more improvement.

[Kyle_Grieb]

Kirk_Masden:

So, here’s my proposal: Add the capability to the AppSheet editor to create a text file (either to download or display in a browser winder) that includes ALL of the text in our app: all of the column names and their associated formulas, all of the actions and their associated formulas, etc. Such a text file could then be searched comprehensively using either the browser’s search function or the search function in a text editor.

The need for the ability to export and import all data, structure and expression with meta information, has always been a desire for me. I enjoy using my IDE (emacs) and using the web browser editor as a developer interface is a bit cumbersome/slow as macros and mass editing is not available. I posted this feature before and the response was that the api is always changing, so it would be up to the developer to upload within the same version.
A button for import/export with a json/yaml file would be superb and incentivize developers to stick with the AppSheet platform. I wonder how developers with many apps to manage do so with the current interface. I would like to develop many other apps, but the data export constraint has me thinking it would be a cumbersome task to maintain and modify apps with scale.

[Kirk_Masden]

Hi @Kyle_Grieb!

I’m not familiar with IDE or the json/yaml file format, but the ability to export in the manner you described certainly sounds useful to me.

When I wrote the words you quoted, I don’t think I was aware of the ability to search the whole app, which is what I was interested in at the time:

Searching the whole App Tips & Tricks 💡

If you like to know where in the App you are using a column, you can use the App Documentation. [image] In this you can search for text. For example. You have created a Virtual column and you think you could delete it. But … perhaps you have used it in a workflow rule? Or in a format rule? Simply search for the column in the App Documentation to find out where it is used.

I have since learned that the “searching the whole app” capability, while very useful, is problematic. In fact, I think I should post an addendum about the limitations I’ve noticed. I continue to hope for improved export and/or search capabilities.

[dbaum]

Far easier searching within the app editor is still needed.

In case feature parity is of interest: I also use MS Power Apps a lot, and learned today that that platform recently introduced a really robust Search feature with exactly that functionality. I used it today to find the ~10 expressions in different places throughout an app that all needed the same change, and it was awesome. Took me about a minute to do what previously would have taken far longer. More importantly, I was confident I definitively found all the instances of the expression requiring the change. In the past, my approach would have been to assiduously review every place I could remember that I might have used the expression (and just that would have required a long time) and then done iterative testing to detect the instances I surely missed (and that would have required an even longer time).

Here's an example from the linked Power Apps article. It shows search results for "snow".

On a related note for anyone interested: Power Apps also provides a Find and Replace feature within its expression editor. As you can imagine, that's also super handy.

That's all on top of the Power Apps editor's baseline functionality that includes code completion, apply/unapply indented formatting, automatic highlighting of verbatim strings throughout an expression, dynamic preview of expression results, and other niceties.

AppSheet offers many advantages over Power Apps, but not in this area. Even the very valuable AppSheetTrainining.com extension to the AppSheet expression editor doesn't do many things that the Power Apps editor provides. Adding these types of features would greatly improve AppSheet for creators at all levels of proficiency.

[Kirk_Masden]

I am coming back to this issue after a long time because, of course, I found myself wanting better search functionality again.  In doing so, I noticed that there is one more post by @retailpartnerco that is very similar to this one:

https://www.googlecloudcommunity.com/gc/Feature-Ideas/Advanced-Search-Find-and-Replace-in-Editor/idi...

I hope the good people at AppSheet will consider these two threads together when evaluating the need for this feature.

I recently needed to identify the names of actions attached to lines.  I could do this using the "documentation" feature described above by @Fabian_Weller.   Searching in documentation for the line name helped me identify the action name more quickly (I have many, many actions and haven't always given them ideal names). This method (that is, using the "documentation" link) is not obvious to newcomers, however.  A search function at the top of the editing interface would be much more intuitive for newcomers and useful for experienced users as well.