Hi everyone,
AppSheetโs desktop user interface is officially graduating to Generally Availability (GA).
Some of you have been following this project since its beginning a long while ago, but others among you may be newer to the community. So let me quickly remind everyone what this is about with two screenshots from an AppSheet app in a desktop web browser:
Before - Legacy design on desktop browser
After/Now - Desktop design on desktop web browser
(more pictures in our Preview announcement a long time ago)
In short, weโve made significant changes to the user experience for users on desktop browsers (compared to the legacy design, not necessarily compared to what most of you have been seeing in the past year):
You can find more info in our documentation on specific changes.
Additionally, there are a number of major changes under the hood. We significantly changed our architecture and data handling and we also upgraded our tech stack, all to put you and ourselves on better footing for future development and to provide better maintenance.
So, what changes?
This launch means this new design is official and fully supported. As this project has been going on for a long while, some of you had expressed concerns whether the new design would make it to GA (โGeneral Availabilityโ) and could be removed from the platform. As a result, some of you were hesitant to use it but this announcement reaffirms our commitment to this new user interface for desktop users.
It also means the team will now support this as any other production feature. In terms of process, you can report bugs through our existing support channels.
What Do You Need to Do? Explore and Enable
While we are not making any changes to your existing apps, we encourage you to turn on the new design for your apps still using the legacy user interface. Take some time to explore the differences and test how users prefer the new design!
Many thanks to our community
This update has been a big long-running and collective effort. Weโve been previewing the new design with you and we wanted to thank you all for your support, your ideas, and the issues you reported.
I want in particular to mention a few names, in no particular order: @Marc_Dillon @Karimmc2 @Suvrutt_Gurjar @Koichi @KON_TROLL @SkrOYC @Axel_Pro @scott192 @Skip2MiLu @PocketDragon @Denzil_Snyman @checktheclaws @Rifad @kvngo94 @WillowMobileSys @dbaum @Aurelien @JPAlpano @hien_nguyen @gscriptTR @thematgallery @Izzat_Safrah @armstrob88 Many more contributed, so my apologies for not mentioning them/you here. These same AppSheet creators are also going to call us out and push us to keep on improving!
- Arthur, for the AppSheet team
FAQ
Q: What are the changes that this new design brings? Are there known issues or limitations?
A: See more info in our documentation on specific changes. On that page, youโll also find a list tracking limitations and known issues.
Q: Iโve been using this (new) user interface design for quite a while. What really changes for me?
A: The majority of creators may not notice a significant difference. Weโve made a number of changes but aside from specific issues, many of them in the past 3-to-6 months were under-the-hood improvements. Weโre very happy that youโve been using the new design and hope you like it!
Q: I donโt see this new design in my apps. How do I get to use this new design?
A: All new apps are created with the new design enabled with a few exceptions:
Q: I reported an issue related to this desktop design, but it did not get resolved.
A: We appreciate you taking the time to report any issues you've encountered. We tried to internally log and discuss all reported issues (and Iโm not talking just about those reported through the community website).
However, there are instances where we were not able to reproduce an issue, others where fixing the issue would have required us to make changes to both the mobile and desktop user interfaces, and yet others where we decided to address the underlying problem differently or later.
We also received some (good) ideas of improvements or feature requests that we could not prioritize for this launch. Beyond this launch, we will continue to improve the experience for desktop users.
From now on, you can report any new issue (or issue that we did not respond to) through one of our support channels and weโll take a look at it. Please check first the list of known issues and limitations in our documentation.
Q: Will you make the legacy user interface unavailable on desktop browsers?
A: There are currently no plans to turn the legacy user interface off. If that changes in the future, weโll make an announcement. If that were to happen, the legacy user interface would then remain available for an extended period of time after such an announcement (think of the order of 12 months or more).
Congrats!!!! Long-term effort indeed, keep up the great work!
The LegLegacy user interface should not be decommissioned until the following conditions are met
ใปKnown problems are resolved.
ใปDesktop user interfaces are at the same level as legacy user interfaces
I will argue in a separate comment that the "legacy" interface (a term I do not see as appropriate) should never be decommissioned.
I don't think it should ever be decommissioned at all. Maybe just make desktop toggle on by defoult but please don't decommission it
First of all, congratulations on the achievement of this milestone. I'm sure Desktop mode constitutes a welcome and useful option for many creators. I emphasize the word "option" because I would like to argue that there are, and will continue to be situations in which it is preferable to use an app in a way that mirrors the interface on a mobile device. For this reason, I am concerned by the use of the word "legacy." This word implies that the mode that reproduces the mobile device interface on a computer browser is a temporary vestige of a bygone age that is bound to be phased out eventually.
Here's what I currently see in my editor:
I imagine that the wording will need to change. Words like "preview" and "new" etc. will need to go. And I think it's fine for the default to be changed to "on," as it already has for me when I make new apps. But, I think it's very important that this continue to be an option, as it is now and not deprecated as a "legacy" mode. Here are a few reasons:
In conclusion, my main request is that the "option" be maintained, like many other options in the interface. And, in addition, if indeed the option is to be maintained, I would also request that those of us who prefer to simply have the mobile design mirrored in a computer browser not be made to worry by references to a "legacy" mode.
๏ผๆฅๆฌ่ชใงๅคฑ็คผใใพใ๏ผ
็ขบใใซใไปฐใ้ใใงใใญใ
ใใฎ็ป้ขใฎใใถใคใณใฏใๆฑบใใฆใใฌใฌใทใผใใงใฏใชใใ
ใขใใคใซใง่กจ็คบใใใใใซใๅฟ
่ฆใช็ป้ขใใถใคใณใ ใจๆใใพใใ
Also for big touch screens. The mobile mode is way more useful in this case given the fact that mobile was made for a touch-based devices while desktop is for a mouse-driven one
Thank you for explaining your reasoning, that is very helpful.
Hi @Arthur_Rallu
I have been waiting for a GA for this powerful feature. Thank you very much!๐
If I am not mistaken, there is one thing I would like to see added to the Known issue.
Currently OCRTEXT() does not work in New Desktop.
I believe this is an issue that will eventually be resolved, so could you please add it to the Known issue?
https://support.google.com/appsheet/answer/12407883#limitations-known-issues:~:text=legacy%20desktop...
Hi @takuya_miyai
It is already listed there - under "Optical Character Recognition".
Hi @Arthur_Rallu
My understanding is that what is listed as Known issues is the Optical Character Recognition (OCR) function, and there appears to be no mention of the OCRTEXT() Expression.
https://support.google.com/appsheet/answer/10104799?sjid=10253425955749589883-AP&hl=en
There is no indication on this site about the OCRTEXT() expression.
https://support.google.com/appsheet/answer/10106550?hl=en&sjid=10253425955749589883-AP
I have seen many citizen developers who set up OCRTEXT() in the demo but were confusing because it does not work in New Desktop mode.
I think this point should be clarified.
This probably should be pineed as the top item in the Announcements list!! I know many users who are waiting to switch to the new Desktop until this happened.
As others have said, did we really fix all the issues? About 2-3 weeks ago I noticed we still had the issue where you create a URL to link to a form along the lines of
CONCATENATE("https://www.appsheet.com/start/XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX#appName=",LinkToForm("Request_Form",...
and it will not work if the app uses the new UI
Also onSubmit action aren't working in Desktop user interface, I've reported a while ago.
Hi @tahiramjad
Could you file a support ticket with details of your use case? Assuming I'm thinking about the right functionality, the basic version was working last I checked.
Thank you
Dear @Arthur_Rallu
I really appreciate your dedication for this very good interface in appsheet.
But still has lot of issue that there. I have created lot of post and feature request i don't see any update. Please fix those issue in desktop view.
Thanks again
Saddam
Great improvement!
Is there a future project to reduce the padding or font size?
Because when you use a laptop (or a small screen), the screenยดs width only allows for 2 or 3 card blocks to appear. Couldn't the cardblock`s width be reduced to fit more?
Because having only 2 blocks wide is not practical if you have more than 100 columns of data. thanks by the way!
In the new desktop mode, the larger application is unusable, because the first application startup almost freezes for 10 minutes.
They keep trying to tell me on support that it's just a little slower and that it's my problem.
Meanwhile, when there is no Desktop mode, it works normally.
The attached video clearly proves that the application hardly moves, even after 5:30 min
Even after 5:30 minutes it's not ok and the application is almost frozen, and even then it takes 15 seconds to click somewhere else and the browser reports that the page is not responding.
So the application can't load so much in the beginning, but it has to do it in between times when the user doesn't want anything from it and let it load only what is needed at the moment.
Or rather, let it not preload anything at all, like the version without Desktop mode if you can't deal with it yet ๐
Here it is:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1RVYxuH11h3wY30XhXq1XOXUkNZUhs3hV/view?usp=drive_link
@Radim_Sochor Could you DM me your support ticket number? Thank you
Hi, sent... thank you
Has anyone else had issues with Desktop mode not respecting CONTEXT() function expected results.
I base a lot of app logic on the CONTEXT() function and I have been having quite a few issues with Desktop mode not understanding the type of view I am visualizing.
For example, if I apply the following condition to the native 'Add' button for a table:
NOT(CONTEXT("View") = 'My Dashboard')
I am still experiencing scenarios when the button continues to show up in that view (but only on desktop mode)
It has been a couple weeks since I have checked this, but I wanted to make sure I brought it up in the event that the bug has not yet been addressed.
Hi @Arthur_Rallu as I posted here I found a way how to use Actions in Form Views. But the Row Selected Event Action does not work right in Desktop Mode.
I've set an Input Action as the Row Selected Event Action. As you see in the GIF, it reacts in 2 ways: Or it opens the detail view, or it opens the input view, but behind the actual window. The Input View only opens if I first click on an inline action.
Hi Arthur,
I'd like to report an issue : use tabs in mobile view option.
It's a nice options that improves the UI on mobile. My issue is that I cannot see the tabs from the editor mode, even in device size.
The option should be 'use tabs in mobile size'.
Hi,
I'd like to report a new issue. Happening on both mobile & desktop version :
This visual bug happens in table view with data containg embeded video.
Next Bug:
In the new desktop mode, Finish view does not work (in view type Onboarding), but it selects some random view. It works in the old Desktop mode
For a "bigger" app that I updated yesterday to the new desktop mode, multiple users reported to me today that it crashed, over and over again. Couldn't find the reason (chrome browsers)
I restored the legacy mode for the moment.
โ
Sorry, a bit off-topic, but how do you make that sub-menu in the navigation menu?
I see, so basically, it's not from the navigation menu ya
Thanks for your reply
Improvement Request: The visual triggers my autism lol. In the image, I use an inline action that is supposed to be hidden, but it still appears. By 'hidden,' I mean I've removed the icon from the action, but this gap creates an imperfection in an otherwise polished UI.
Thanks @Fabian_Weller I tried this and looks like its now working
The Yes/No column type quick edit is misaligned in desktop view, resulting in a large gap in the detail view.
I think you could try using inline "Set the values of some column in this row" action with a toggle on-off icon
Yes 100%
I wanted to report the bug if itโs a bug. Iโm waiting for confirmation from Appsheet to see if itโs intended or a bug.
I reported the issue to support; here's what happened.
They are wasting customers' and Google's time on an easily understandable issue.
@devingu
The above post about alignement is clear in under a minute, yet he wasted nearly an hour of my time since the ticket was opened trying to UNDERSTAND a basic misalignment. Not just him everyone is same in support team.
@Rifad wrote:
They are wasting customers' and Google's time on an easily understandable issue.
I've got this, too. It certainly does seem deliberate.
I see your poor chat experience and I raise you my Support Enquiry experience ๐คฃ ๐ฒ
Of course I have now lost the will to live ๐
Yep, this is my experience, too. Hello, @devingu.