Updating a Record

Overview

Apps are a collection of Records with each being one specific item within the App. To understand the Record Update functionality we will take a SWOT App which identifies Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats to our business. In our scenario, we will be looking to update a Weakness which is a business having a primitive website to now be a Strength following a new website launch.

Note: The ability to update a Record depends on your User permissions as well as your access level to the Record. If you have insufficient access to the Record then you will see this banner.

Contact your system administrator to discuss adding the the record update permission or giving you an access right to the Record if you need to update the content and see this banner.

Accessing the Record to Update

First we need to navigate to the Record that we want to update. In this case we will select our SWOT App and then find the "Primitive Website" Weakness..

1. Click the “Launchpad” located in the top-left corner of the page.

2. The Launchpad displays all available applications.

3. Select the desired application by clicking on its icon.

1. Commonly this will be configured to take you to a 'Table Report'. If not then select a table report from the left pane menu
2. Scroll down to the Record that you would like to update (In this case it is the "Primitive Website" Record.
3. If you have trouble finding the Record then use the search bar at the top of the Report.

Note: Some Reports will have filters or base filters applied which may mean you cannot see the Record you would like to update. Make sure you select a Report that will show the Record and do not have any additional filters applied. If you are still struggling to find the Record then you can search from App home by clicking on the App Title on the Left Pane Menu and then using the search at the top of the page as shown here:

Updating an Existing Record

The Softools Platform operates with autosave enabled so any changes you make will be sent to the server as you make them.

Note: If you have an App that is available offline then your updates will be stored ready to sync the next time you have Softools active in the browser and regain an internet connection. This will override any changes to specific Fields that you have also updated in the period whilst you were offline.

Fields that are editable will allow you to interact with them. In our use case we are updating this item based on a resent revamp to the business website so we will change:

1. Topic to be from "Primitive Website" to "Modern Website" - Click in the Field and Type
2. SWOT to be from "Weakness" to "Strength" - Click on the Field and pick the new selection option
3. Priority Score - This is an example of a ReadOnly Field. Further, it is ReadOnly because it is calculated via expression. For this we can hover and click on the Field to see that we need to update the Impact and Urgency to evaluate a new Priority.

By typing in the new values, clicking through to the correct image list states and selecting the correct options from the selection fields, we have now updated our position on this business item. The changes will also be logged with a timestamp against our User to show when these values were updated in the Record History

Multiple Users Updating a Record

In scenarios where multiple users can edit the same record simultaneously, the system handles field-level updates by accepting the most recent change. This means that if two users are editing the same record at the same time, the last submitted change to a specific field will overwrite any earlier updates to that field. Other fields that were not modified by the later user remain unchanged, allowing for partial updates without overwriting the entire record. This helps reduce conflicts and ensures that the latest input for each field is preserved.

Validation and Error Handling

When updating a Record we still need to be mindful of the conditions that are present in Fields, this includes:

• Required Fields which the App builder has set to be mandatory. Removing a value in a required Field will then prevent any further edits to the Record being saved.
• Each Field requires the correct data type for the type of Field. An email Field would need to have a valid email address for example
• Other expected input ranges or conditions that an App Builder can impose are minimum and maximum number values or expected regex on text entry.

A warning symbol will appear in the bottom-left corner counting errors preventing a record being created (e.g. missing required fields or invalid input formats such as an invalid email address entered into an email Field)

Note: Apps can have configuration issues such as Expression errors, if you see an error message here that is not due to a bad input into a Field then contact your App Builder and inform them so they can help you to resolve these and allow you to make updates to your Records again.

In-Line Edit

Some Table Reports will allow you to update information directly in the Report. This is dependent on the configuration of the App Builder.

• Always Editable - If this mode has been set for the Report then you can click on any editable Field in any Record Row and edit the information

• Switch Editable - With this configuration set, you can switch the Report in and out of Edit mode by using the the Edit Toggle at the top of the Report.

Pop-Up Templates

If your App Build has enabled pop-up templates then they can add buttons that will initiate a pop-up template to appear overlayed on the Report or Record depending where the Button is added to allow for edit of Fields without navigating away from the current user position. 

This will also function as per editing within a Record using Auto-Save.

Note: This could be configured as the Report On Click Action in which case it will mean a pop-up edit template is displayed and at the App Builders discretion then allow you to open the full record from there.