Welcome! 

Welcome to our 43rd edition of the Softools App Builder Newsletter, where we'll keep you updated with the latest feature updates, case studies, and community member interviews. It'll be short, sweet, and salient.

In this edition we introduce you to Lenses, How to use Rules for dynamic styling, Dashboards explained and a guide on Offline Capability. 

Without further ado, let’s dive in 

Lenses For Quick Filters

We have added the ability to save preset filters as part of the Quick Filter configuration. 

Quick Filters and Saved Filters allow app builders to set up multiple versions for analysing reports - which aims to save your time while generating contextual insights from business data. Legacy Global and Team filters can be converted to lenses to give users a faster and slicker filtering capability.

Here is a step-by-step guide for adding lenses to your already existing applications.

For newer apps, this will be an automatic feature! 

Click to read more about how to implement Lenses

Feature Improvement: Rules

Styles can enhance the usability of your apps exponentially. App Builders can use Rules to serve up visual cues and guide the users with more contextual actions and displays.

Rules enable you to apply styles to specific actions, fields, and records of your app based on triggers – the use cases for Rules are almost limitless. Rules are now available in App Studio and we anticipate a growing list of actions in the future. 

Here is the guide to using Rules and best practices you can apply to your apps right away! 

Dashboards - Useful Tips

Business teams often face information overload on a daily basis. This is why most of us turn to the “Don’t make me think” approach to using business apps – where the most useful information is most readily available for the decision-makers of a particular department. 

As per the demand of our app builder community, we’re bringing you this guide on Dashboards, which will enable you to tailor your dashboards for maximum functionality.

From organising your images, app reports, and templates to action buttons and iFrames, here is your one-stop-shop guide to making impactful decision engines for your teams.

How to Get the Best out of Softools Offline Capability

Internet connectivity is not always consistent. For reasons ranging from security protocols to just not having enough bandwidth or being in a low network zone – we all face situations where we might have to work offline and on-the-go.  Softools applications can be set to function offline to overcome connectivity issues enabling users to keep working and being able to access their information.

You can trust the platform to save all your work and progress without a connection and then synchronize when connectivity resumes.

This guide explains how Softools functions offline and what considerations you need to make so your application performs optimally. 

In the article linked below, we have covered all the necessary checklist points for you to keep in mind when using Softools in the offline mode.

Learn Softools In Days

You can learn how to create Applications on Softools online at your own pace.

If you know someone who is interested in learning how to use Softools to digitize and automate business processes or would like a refresher yourself then our next cohort kicks off on the 7th of July 2023.

Use the link below!

As a gift to our subscribers use the code SOFTOOLSABCFREE for free access.

App Builder Surgery Sessions - We Welcome Your Participation!

The surgery sessions are providing App Builders with excellent access to our experts which is helping our community get the best from our feature-packed platform.

Our operations analyst - Amy Slater - leads the sessions providing fast instant assistance and solutions to help our budding App Builders make progress.

“All of the participants were extremely engaged and very inquisitive - they were all getting through ABC very well and were creating impressive apps,” Amy said when asked about her experience of leading such a workshop. 

App Builder Surgery sessions provide ready access to the Softools experts for answering questions and sharing best practices. We have had great feedback from members of our community who have attended.

To cater for our global community we have scheduled workshops weekly with the time changing each week so there will be a session that suits your timezone at least once a fortnight.

Save your seat in your preferred session at the link below! 

Welcoming All Feedback On App Builder Training 

We are always striving for continuous improvement in everything we do, including the most beloved App Builder Certification program – which you have also taken. Given how rapidly our platform evolves, so does our training program which incorporates the latest NoCode best practices and industry-grade knowledge. In order to make our program more user-friendly, applicable and time-efficient, we seek your feedback and constructive criticism. 

You can reach out to us at the link below, and share your valuable insights or anything we can improve. The feedback can be given in written format or in-person to our program co-ordinator Amy Slater. 

That's all folks! 
 

Thanks for reading, we hope you've enjoyed our short and informative update. We look forward to launching an improvement/feature suggestion scheme, which will feature handsome rewards for the best ideas! More about that in future editions 😉

Be sure to follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn for regular weekly updates.

We Love Hearing From You!! 

If you have any feedback regarding this newsletter, we'd love to hear it! These editions aim to enhance your Softools experience - so if there's anything you'd like to hear more or less about, please do let us know! As always, you can get in touch with us via any of our social channels, or reach out to us at the link below. 

Catch up on past editions for information on previously announced new features and improvements, including Document Fields, Grid Expression Templates, Child App visibility options, and more! Click the button below!