Data Model

Visualize your app with Data Model

Data Model is a new way to visually explore your app through an interactive entity relationship diagram (ERD).

This feature is currently in Preview. There may be changes before its General Availability release.

If you'd like access to this Preview feature, please join our Preview Program, and our Product team will be in touch with next steps!

Overview

With most database-driven apps, it can be difficult to get a bird's-eye view of how all your tables, fields, and connections work together. You're often stuck either looking at text-heavy database documentation or static ER diagrams.

Data Model solves this by automatically generating a clean, interactive ERD from your Knack app.

This makes it easy to see at a glance how your tables and fields are related, without having to interpret complex traditional ER diagrams. You can clearly visualize your app in a simple graphical format.

Key Features

  • Automatically generated for apps
  • Interactive diagram lets you zoom, pan, and toggle elements
  • Focus on specific tables/fields with one click
  • Declutter diagram by toggling off labels or elements
  • Show only connected fields, or show all fields
  • Get the big picture of your entire app

Problems Solved

Data Model solves several key challenges when working with complex apps:

  • No high-level app view - Data Model lets you view your entire app structure at a glance.
  • Documentation outdated & complicated - If app documentation exists, it is likely dense and out of date. Data Model always represents the current state of your app.

  • No app wide searching - Data Model's intuitive search functionality enables you to easily find and zoom in on the exact data you need across all tables and fields, including user tables.
  • Hard to see relationships - Data Model's animated connections makes following how data flows across tables easy.
  • See conditional and validation rules - Click on a field to see its underlying rules.
  • Focus on details - By zooming and toggling labels and fields, you can simplify the view to focus on key areas.

Getting Started

To start exploring your app with Data Model:

  1. Open your Knack app
  2. Select the new "Data Model" icon on the left panel
  3. Use zoom and pan to focus on areas of interest
  4. Toggle labels/elements to simplify the view
  5. Double-click tables or fields to dive in

Get started with Data Model today and gain new insights into your app!