Creating a new record

Overview

Apps contain Records, with each Record representing one item in the App. For example, each Record in a Projects App represents an individual Project.

This article explains how to create a new Record, including completing any required Fields and understanding values that may be populated or calculated automatically.

Note: A User must have Create permission to create Records. The App’s Workspace Experience settings also determine where its standard Add Record controls appear. If you cannot see an expected creation option, contact your system administrator or App Builder.

• Accessing the App
• Creating a New Record
• Creating Records in a Child App
• Default and Calculated Values
• Creating a Record in a Pop-Up

Accessing the App

First, open the App in which you want to create a Record. In this example, we will use the Projects App.

1. Select Launchpad in the top-left corner of the page.
2. Find the required App.
3. Select the App icon to open it.

Creating a New Record

Standard Add Record controls can appear in different Workspace locations. Depending on how the App has been configured, you may see one, both or neither of the standard controls described below.

• Select New Record in the left menu. If the menu is closed, select the menu icon in the top-left corner to open it.
• Select the floating plus button shown in the bottom-right corner of App Home, Child App Home or a Report.

Note: An embedded table Report can also provide a Create Record option in its ellipsis menu.

App Builders can control the visibility of the left-menu and floating-plus controls under App Configuration → Advanced Config → Workspace Experience. Depending on the selected option, both controls, only one control or neither control may be shown. See Advanced Config for the complete behaviour.

Selecting an Add Record control normally opens the Record creation form. For the Projects App, it looks like this:

Complete the Fields needed for the new Record. The App Builder may have configured one or more required Fields. In this example, Project Name and Project Reference are required.

• The Record remains pending and is not sent to the server until every required Field contains a valid value.
• A required Field left blank is highlighted in red and displays This field is required.
• The warning symbol in the bottom-left corner shows the number of errors preventing creation. These could include missing required values or an invalid format, such as an incorrectly formatted email address.

For more information about identifying and resolving invalid values, see Validation Errors.

Some Apps may not contain any required Fields. In that case, selecting a standard Add Record control may create the Record immediately without requiring the User to enter a value. Although not required, configuring at least one required Field is generally good practice because it helps prevent empty or incomplete Records from being created.

Once the required Fields have been completed and all entered values are valid, a confirmation message appears in the bottom-right corner when the Record is successfully created.

Creating Records in a Child App

Child Apps become available only after the parent Record has been created.

In this example, a Project can have multiple related Action Tracker Records. Once the Project has been created, the Action Tracker child App appears in the left menu alongside the other available child Apps.

The controls available for creating a child Record depend on the child App’s own Workspace Experience settings. Depending on its configuration, you may be able to:

• select the plus icon beside the child App in the left menu;
• select the floating plus button on Child App Home or an embedded Report; or
• select Create Record from an embedded table Report’s ellipsis menu.

The child App’s settings operate independently of the parent App’s settings. Once you begin creating the child Record, follow the same process used to create the parent Record.

Default and Calculated Values

Some Fields may contain values that the App Builder has configured to appear automatically when a Record is created.

Default values

A default value is a predefined value applied to a Field in a new Record. For example, a new Project could have a default Status of Active or a default Priority of 3.

If the Field is editable, the User can replace the default with a more appropriate value when creating or updating the Record.

Default values as expressions

A default value as an expression calculates a value once when the Record is created, provided that the Field does not already contain a value. For example, Project Leader could default to the User creating the Record when no Project Leader has been selected.

A default-value expression does not replace a value that the User has already entered.

Calculated values

Other expressions run after the Record has been successfully created. This means that calculated values may not appear while the User is completing the creation form.

For example, a Projects App might use Project Value and Estimated Cost to calculate Return on Investment. The result appears after the required Fields have been completed and the Record has been created.

Creating a Record in a Pop-Up

Some Apps use an On Create Action Button to provide a tailored creation experience.

When configured, selecting a standard Add Record control runs the chosen Action Button instead of following the App’s normal creation route. For example, it can open a purpose-built Create Project pop-up over the page being viewed rather than opening the full Record creation form.

Complete the required Fields in the pop-up to create the Record. Depending on how the action has been configured, you may then be able to open the full Record.

The On Create Action Button changes what happens after an Add Record control is selected. It does not determine whether that control is visible and does not grant Create permission.

App Builders can find configuration guidance in Advanced Config and Pop-Up Templates.