In Preview: New UI design for desktop users

[Arthur_Rallu]

Hey everyone,

We’re excited to announce we are now previewing our new visual design for applications that are accessed on desktop browsers. 

Currently, your AppSheet applications tend to follow mobile design patterns even when your users have large screens and these patterns can be confusing to desktop users. The new design lets these desktop users navigate their apps more easily and access information in context, and provides an efficient way to create and update records without losing context. App creators can also present more information by leveraging the larger screens but still keep it organized.

Here are some before and after images that better illustrate the design changes.

Legacy Design - Screenshot #1: Sifting through a collection of records grouped by City and State after selecting a State (Deck View)

Legacy Design - Screenshot #2: Looking at a specific record after selecting that record in the screen above (Detail View)

Before - Legacy design on desktop browser

Legacy Design - Screenshot #3: Editing an existing record/Creating a new record (Form View)

New Design - Screenshot #1: Seeing your data in context (Deck View + Detail View)

After/Now - Desktop design on desktop web browser

New Design - Screenshot #2: Focusing on a specific record (Detail View)

New Design - Screenshot #3: Editing in place an existing record

New Design - Screenshot #4: Creating a new record (Form View)

What’s next? Well, this is still a work in progress. We’ve been gathering feedback from a number of design partners, including some of you in the AppSheet Community, and we know there is more to do before it can properly support all of your applications. At this stage, we feel that it would be good to let you play with the new design and to give you an opportunity to share your feedback - what you like, what doesn't work, what you think could use some improvements. This represents a significant change and your feedback will help us guide our next steps. 

As this feature is in Preview, you may see visual changes in your apps as we work to improve the new desktop design in real-time. We don't recommend using the new desktop design in your production apps.

Thank you 

The AppSheet Team

FAQ

How do I get access to this new desktop design?

We are currently slowly ramping this new experience over the next week or so, so you may not see this option in the editor immediately.  

For each application, you can opt-in to use the new desktop design. You can toggle between the new and legacy desktop modes, as desired.

Follow these steps to enable the new design in your app:

1. Open the app in the app editor
2. Navigate to the UX > Options pane
3. Enable the Desktop mode (Preview) option - see screenshot below
4. Save the app in the Editor

All users of this application that access the app on a desktop browser will then see the new design after their next sync.

How do I configure the design of my app? I don’t see any new settings in the Editor!

There are minimal changes to the Editor for now. Mostly, the same settings are leveraged to specify the desktop and mobile designs. Let me give you an example.

Your apps have “primary views” and “menu views”. With the new desktop design, all of your views will be accessible from a side menu. That menu will list first the “primary views” and then the “secondary views”. In the future, we will adjust the configuration settings and in particular the language so that it makes sense for both mobile and desktop apps. For example, position values of "left most" and "right most" don't make sense for the new desktop design with its vertical menu structure.

We’ll be giving app creators more controls over some features that are currently set by default.

Is there some documentation or more information on what changed?
See Optimize the user experience using the new desktop design (Preview). We’ll update it over time.

Is there a list of functionalities that are known to not work with the new design?

Yes.
First, here is a list [as of July 31st] of (high-level) issues and requests that were reported to us and that still need fixes or assessments. Some of them are independent of the desktop mode, but we're still listing them here since people may want to know about them and so they don't need to report them unless it was reported for different app configurations :

General theme	Issues
Form View	Follow-up actions (reopen, next view, click-on-save action) do not get triggered or executed properly; sometimes it is dependent of the app configuration and sometimes it is not Delete and Done buttons are missing to delete new child row Some performance issue when there are many Enum value buttons and format rule(s)
Navigation expressions: LINKTOROW(), LINKTOFORM(), etc	When used in emails When used to go to Dashboard Views
Format rules	They don’t properly show up in a dropdown (for Enum, Ref, etc) They don't always show up in the group-by section They don’t show up new headers
Detail View UI	- In some configurations, showing the wrong display names in a Detail tab - Requests to show the image label in the Detail tab - Edit-in-place in Dashboard view - Sync gets the app user out of Editing mode in a Detail View
General UI	- Improvement requests on the subnav bar (e.g. larger text button, better responsiveness w.r.t. title, actions, text) - Clicking in grey area around onboarding view should not navigate the app in the background - Filtering on Dashboard - Tooltip for icon action buttons - Chart Views do not behave like other views
Localization of strings	Some strings are missing
CSV import/export	Error message when action was successful Export data based on what is visible to the user
Other app functionalities	- Missing Share, Feedback buttons - App Gallery behaving differently - Support of Amazon Cognito (missing account icon) - OCR not working on Desktop
Functionalities for app creators	“Preview as” is not available for the desktop emulator

Second, here is a list of some issues and feature requests that we know we are not going to tackle, at least for now.

Supporting multiple navigation actions in a grouped action	This is not something that we support. The team very intentionally did not want to support this. App creators should not rely on it and it won’t work in desktop mode.
Multiple requests to improve the Table View UI	We got requests to improve the Table View in general. The requests are valid, but that is out of scope for desktop mode. Changes we would be making would also impact the legacy UI and mobile apps.
LINKTOPARENTVIEW() not supported	For desktop users, there are better options to navigate back: the browser’s back button and the breadcrumbs.
Font size changes (via app settings) lead to layout issues	Generally, we recommend using the browser’s zoom which does a better job at resizing the app.
Background image

See also Limitations and known issues. 

How do I provide feedback?

Please share your feedback in this thread below this message!

[jsutton-cn]

Love the new desktop look - very similar to what I did with dashboards but much cleaner this way.

One issue I see is that linktofilteredview displays differently in mobile vs. desktop view.  The filtered view works properly and only shows what should be displayed once I drill down into the menus, but all enumerated fields are shown even if there shouldn't be any records in the filtered view.  Count is also affected as seen in screenshots.

Mobile:

Desktop:

Would love to get this solved!

[JackTingle]

Can you still go into filtered view via the map using the new UI?

[mykrobinson]

This is a rather long thread, forgive me if this is already reported. I have an app i am testing the new desktop view with. One of my forms has a date column, and a VALID IF expression that is designed to only allow the user to enter daily totals if the date selected doesn't already have an entry. The valid if expression is as follows

COUNT(
FILTER(
"Daily Totals",[Date]=[_THISROW].[Date])
)
=0

This works fine with the older version, but enabling the new desktop preview causes the form to fail upon trying to create a new entry, even when the data does not contain a row with the selected date. I turned off the desktop ui preview, and its working fine again. 

[mykrobinson]

Interesting. I tried changing my VALID IF statement to:

NOT(
IN([_THISROW].[Date],
Daily Totals[Date]
)
)

and i still get this error. The record has not been written to the spreadsheet yet. I actually deleted today's record and refreshed to test with the plan to re-enter the data, but no joy.

[mykrobinson]

to clarify, i realize you can see some data with today's date to the left in the screenshot, but that is actually dynamically showing up as i enter the information into the form, it is not actually written to the table yet 🤔

[Arthur_Rallu]

Hi @mykrobinson 

Thanks for sharing. Overall, a number of people have reported issues around Form Views displaying inaccurate values when they are being computed by an expression.  I believe this might be another example. 

I've added this issue to the list of known issues in the original announcement so it's more visible. 

[bowker6789]

I have noticed that one of the computed columns shows the correct value up until another column is edited while in form view, could this be the same error as you mention above, I was thinking it was the formula. This doesn't happen all the time either which is strange.

[SamBayerZXZ]

CONTEXT("ViewType") = "Form" doesnt work when UX - Options - DesktopMode is ON

When Show_if on field is CONTEXT("ViewType") = "Form" it work when add record and it doesnt when then edit this record.

[khuslid]

Yes, I've seen the same. And this is a very common solution to use so a bug that should be prioritized. But pressing EDIT does not show the FORM view. It looks like you're still in DETAIL view but with some kind of QUICK EDIT? At least the name of the form does not show when pressing EDIT.

[Andrew_W]

Excellent addition to the Appsheet platform, THANK YOU!
One issue I found is that entering new addresses does not seem to allow to pick them from the list as it does in the legacy (mobile) view.

In the legacy view once you start typing the address in the new form, suggested addresses appear below, ensuring the accuracy. In the new Desktop view this useful feature does not seem to work.

[SkrOYC]

Are you talking about enum/enumlist? It works on my side, can you share a screenshot?

[Andrew_W]

I'm talking about the address column, which normally populates from Google maps.

[Arthur_Rallu]

Yes, it's a known issue. Another user reported it as well. I've just added it to the list in the original announcement. Thanks for confirming. 

[Andrew_W]

Is there any updates on the Address column functionality in the Desktop view?

[Antonio_Laurean]

The search doesn't work at all (does not appear). The enumlist ("enviar email para contactos:") contains hundreds of data (names) and the reference is "no options".

[Avdom93]

Hi, the new view is great! Loving it

I know this is in preview, however 'is part of' tables don't seem to calculate amounts to the main table when using SELECT() once a is part of item is added. But this works when desktop view is not active. Not sure if this a mentioned issue or not.

Edit: Looks like you can't reference data from a child table column to the main table column while the entry is fresh.

[SkrOYC]

Have you tried using the [Related ...] column?

[hien_nguyen]

Please update show group of thousand seperated number in Group aggregate like current version.

Thanks,

[Karimmc2]

Just as feedback: I have noticed the "All"  Button is not being affected by the localize All. Can I change this somewhere else or is it supposed to be also translated by the All in the localize settings?

[SkrOYC]

---

@Karimmc2 wrote:

Can I change this somewhere else or is it supposed to be also translated by the All in the localize settings?

---

This is one of the bugs that hasn't been resolved

[Skip2MiLu]

I note sure if I noticed this before 🤔 but it nice way to go back to specific view. I really like it as it give you options to go one level back or right back to the beginning. 

I have however also noticed a serious bug in the process that has made my app unusable in the desktop view. 
I have a feeling is related to the above new feature 🤔

So selecting the group does not seem to filter for records of that group as it used to before. 
It will incorrectly navigate back original view.

@Arthur_Rallu not sure if you guys are aware this bug. Below is gif to illustrate the issue. 

 

[Skip2MiLu]

@Arthur_Rallu Any idea when the bug causing the filters not to work is planning on getting a fix. It is probably. The above bug is worse that the filter bug....but I definitely missing the ability to use filters. They working find on mobile though

[Arthur_Rallu]

Yes, this was rolled out very recently to address some of the issues around navigation. For instance, it was reported that a user could not go back to a dashboard after expanding one of its subviews. We're providing some navigational breadcrumbs so users can go back more easily. 

Thanks for reporting the bug. Not sure at this point if it's related or not. I could not repro so far. 

[Skip2MiLu]

I really like the navigational breadcrumb implementation. You have my vote!👏

I am fairly confident that the bug I am experiencing is related to the new breadcrumb navigation as my app was working fine the day before I noticed the new navigation feature and did not work the 1st day I noticed it. 
I have however noticed that my other apps are working fine.
I have however noticed that the app with the issue is using specific Home Menu LinkToFilteredView and Sub Menu LinkToView Event Actions on View Row Selection to create a app launcher Home Menu> Sub Menu type experience as seen in my Gif. 

I would advice that try reproduce the bug by using a similar app setup that has Home Menu LinkToFilteredView and Sub Menu LinkToView Event Actions on Row Selection and maybe with more than one column grouping. 

I think this will give you the best chance of reproducing the same bug.
Let me know

[Skip2MiLu]

@Arthur_Rallu 
Below post link to possibly consider when fixing / getting the Filtering out of preview as per your post.

Dependent Filtering 

 

[khuslid]

Great improvement, but maybe a bit early? Really looking forward to this working properly!:)

Another bug: If you have a column set as required, but have no data there (due to an import directly to the DB) , it shows all possible values as inactive buttons. Looks very strange....

[khuslid]

Another bug: When pressing EDIT in a detail view, the name of the form view does not show. Not sure if you actually are in a form or just a quick edit of the detail view.

Looks like just a quick edit of the detail view, since the name of the detail view still shows, and form columns (based on CONTEXT(VIEWTYPE) = "FORM") does not appear. 

[khuslid]

And of course very annoying that the display name of the detail view does not show at all.

Our apps uses informal expressions in these Display names, and now all this vital info is gone...

[SkrOYC]

---

@Skip2MiLu wrote:

Below post link to possibly consider when fixing / getting the Filtering out of preview as per your post.

Dependent Filtering 

---

This is already working since... months?

[Mich91]

• Expressions containing the CONTEXT() functionality may not evaluate properly
  Please fix it, because not working INITIAL VALUE when i use
  

  SWITCH(CONTEXT("View"),

  
  buy_Form,
  "Покупка",

  buy_for_Form,
  "Покупка за",

  send_Form,
  "Передача",

  in_Form,
  "Надходження",

  exchange_Form,
  "Обмін",

  deposit_Form,
  "Депозит",

  comeback_Form,
  "Забрати тару",

  give_Form,
  "Передати тару",

  
  "Виберіть операцію"
  )

[khuslid]

Regarding CONTEXT and FORM, I've been checking some more.

The new desktop UX does not open the form at all when editing. So if your form has a column order and different colums than detail view, it will not work at all.

This is really essential, and I cannot understand why Appsheet releases this test version before this is in place.... No forms will actually work?! Just quick edit of the detail view.... 

[khuslid]

FYI: Solution to CONTEXT and FORM issue is to copy all system generated EDIT-actions, and then hide them. Use the copy instead. Works perfectly;)

[khuslid]

Yet another bug:

The filter (the down-arrow that now has been separated from the search area) does not work properly.  It just filters out random values and does not really work at all.

[Comercial_Maqst]

I got another bug. Inconsistency to sort items, I set SORT BY date descending, but it doesnt respond positive to it.

[KON_TROLL]

True. The filter option (the down arrow) does not work at all in the new desktop mode.

[amyplin]

Hello, I'd like to take a look at filtering happening in your app - I'll send you a direct message!

[KON_TROLL]

I just checked again now, and it looks like the filter now works. Has there been an update? But feel free to look into our app, I've sent you direct message...

[KON_TROLL]

Sorry, no. Now it is not responding. Looks very unstable... Works in some views and not in others...

[Antonio_Laurean]

Hi. I believe there is a bug in Desktop mode (Preview) (I believe it was already reported, but I am not sure). “Enviar email para contactos” (send email to contacts) is a dropdown Enumlist. It has a hundred contacts, but it appears that there are no options. It also does not perform the search.

I have tried the Desktop mode (Preview) and it is a great feature. Is there any way to resolve this quickly?

[Luke_H]

Agreed, my issue is the enum dropdown list that is ref based is dreadfully slow now. It was working and now it takes 10 or so seconds to populate any results. 

It seems as though it has to do with how many items are in the ref list. When its a small list, <50 its fast, when its 4,000 its very slow. This is not the response we get on the legacy version, it is fast no matter what