New Builder
Get Started
How Knack Works
Design Your Database
Manage Your Records
Build Your Live Application
View and Share Your App
Do More With Knack
Learn More
Workflow
Connect Related Data
Users & Access
Calculations & Logic
Emails & Notifications
Search & Queries
Reporting & Dashboards
E-Commerce & Payments
Builder Guide
Builder Basics
Objects & Connections
Plan Your Connections: Complex Example
Working With Objects
About Connections
Plan Your Connections: Simple Example
Connection Types
Plan Your Objects
Use Connections in Your App
Connecting Records Together
Special Objects
Connections: Troubleshooting & FAQs
Fields
Numeric Equation Functions
Field Types
Validation Rules
Date Equation Settings
Numeric Equation Settings
Formulas
Equations
Conditional Rules
Text Formulas
About Fields
Text Formula Functions
Records
CSV Format Guide for Importing
Delete Records
Import Records
Export Records
Importing Connections
Working with Records
Batch Updates
Pages
Page Menu
User Pages
Deleting a Page That's Being Linked to
Working with Pages
Navigating the Page Preview
Printing Pages & PDFs
Page Rules
Views
Table Column Settings
Maps
Source: Which Records Will the View Display
Calendars
Table Settings
Details
Menus
Using Action Links
Reports
Lists
Rich Text
Combining Fields from Connected Records in Views
Using Record Rules
Forms
Using Display Rules
About Views
Using Submit Rules
Searches
Tables
Users & Logins
Users and the Page Menu
Manage Roles & Permissions
Single Sign-On with Google, Facebook, Twitter, and Custom
Manage User Records
Logins and Registrations
About Users
Live App Security Settings: HIPAA Plans
Live App Security Settings
Tasks & Emails
E-Commerce
App Customization
FAQ
Support
Accounts
How do I cancel my Knack account?
I'm over the storage limit for my account. How do I add more storage or get under the limit?
Need account access or to transfer account access because account owner or colleague left the company
I'm over the record limit for my account. How do I add more records or get under the limit?
Is there an option to pay via invoice, check, wire transfer, or something other than a credit card?
How do I freeze or pause my Knack account?
Where can I find a copy of my receipt or invoice?
How do I add more API calls to my account?
Managing Apps
How do I change the favicon for my app?
How do I backup or export my apps and data?
How can I track what users are doing in my app?
How do I remove the "Powered by Knack" logo at the bottom of my app?
How do I give Builder access to a colleague or developer for one of my apps?
How do I white label my app?
How do I copy an app from my account to another account?
App Building
How do I show multiple dates on a calendar?
How do I add a logo to my app?
How do I find the most recent date from a connected object?
How do I create a field that always shows today's date?
Can I share or connect data between apps?
How do I create an "If, Then" or conditional equation?
How do I merge my apps, or copy pages, objects, or other app elements between my apps?
The menu isn't showing for my app on mobile devices. How do I fix that?
Is there a way to have new users be automatically logged-in after they register?
How do I bulk upload or import multiple files?
How do I move or copy fields or data from one object to another?
How can I show a customer's payment history if I'm collecting payments through my Knack app and through cash or check?
Is there a way to add a display rule to multiple columns at one time instead of having to update each column individually?
Do I need a separate user role object for my Vendors, Customers, Employees, Contacts, etc?
How can I set up my app so users see only their own data?
Can I combine two date fields into a single date field? For example, combining a start and end date into a single field?
Does Knack offer a service for building apps or have developers I can hire?
How do I bulk upload or import multiple images?
How can I change the color of something in my app?
Is it possible to display more than 100 records at a time on a table, list, or search view?
Can I?
Can I migrate or transfer data from Zoho, Quickbase, or TrackVia?
Can I add chat or messaging to my app?
Can I sell my Knack apps?
Can I use Knack on mobile devices?
Do you have a sandbox or developer environment?
Can I send SMS or text messages using Knack?
Can I integrate Knack with other data, products, and services?
Can I create invoices and accept payments?
Can I have an app in a language besides English?
Can I email PDFs or other attachments to users with Knack?
Can I add Google Analytics to my Knack app?
Can I migrate my Access, Filemaker, SQL, or other databases?
Can I prototype for others?
Can I customize the look and feel of my Knack pages?
Can I use a barcode or credit card scanner with Knack?
Other
Does Knack offer access to beta features?
How secure is Knack?
Does the signature captured through a signature field constitute a legally binding signature?
Does Knack offer a partner program?
How does Knack work on mobile devices? Is it mobile-friendly? Can users download my apps?
Is Knack GDPR compliant?
Storing sensitive data (credit cards, social security numbers, etc.)
Will Knack sign an NDA (Non-Disclosure Agreement)?
Which browsers do you support?
How do I batch download all of the images and files In my app?
Imports
I'm seeing an odd character when importing data. How can I get rid of it?
How do I update existing data using an import?
My import is failing or getting stuck. What do I do?
Can I undo or reverse an import?
I'm having trouble importing into a specific type of field. What can I do?
Some of my fields aren't importing correctly. How can I fix that?
I'm having trouble importing into a connection field. What can I do?
Can I import something other than data? Like objects, pages, views, etc?
My import is taking a long time. Can you take a look?
I'm getting an error when importing. What do I do?
Do the validation rules on fields trigger when importing data?
Can I schedule or automate imports?
Can my users import data from the live app, instead of going through the builder/back-end?
I am importing data for the first time. How do I do that?
Can I import data into more than one object at the same time?
How To Guides
Add Functionality to Your Live App
How To Create Discount Codes
Create an Add To Favorites Feature
How to Access Private Records Without a Login
Accept Payments in a Live App
Manage Your Records
Use an Edit Form to Create Records If They Don't Exist
Track Which User Last Updated a Record
Copy a Record Using Record Rules
Track When Records are Created and Updated
Create a Version History for Records
Use Zapier to Insert Connected Records
Work with Connected Records
How to Show Multiple Fields in Your Connection Drop-Down
Showing Parent-Child Records in the Live App
Forms
How to Create Dynamic Dropdowns in Forms
Add Read-Only Fields to a Form
How to Change the Layout of Forms
Create a Multi-Part Form
How to Allow Users to Add New Options in Forms
How to Add Instructions to a Form
How to Customize the Text on a Submit Button
How to Automatically Capture a User’s Location on a Form
How to Use URL Variables to Pre-Populate a Form
Customize Views
How to Add a Map to a Details View
How to Add Connection Links to Views
How to Add Inline Editing to a Table
Create a Print-Friendly Invoice Page
How to Click on an Image to Go to Another Page
How to Add Groupings to a Table
Users & Logins
Force Users to Reset Their Passwords
Save a User's Payment Method
Create a Single Login Page for Multiple User Roles
Add Read-Only Access For Users
Show Records Connected To The Logged-in User's Company Or Other Group
Show Records Connected to the Logged-in User
Create an Admin User Role to View All Records
Workflow & Automations
Add a Pipeline to Your App
Create a Registration Form with Limited Availability
Add Stages to Your App
Store Multiple Images or Files for Individual Records
Use Multiple Image Sources for a Single Image Field
Create a Button or Link that Updates a Field to a Custom Value
Notify a User That an Item is Ready for Review
Add Assignments to Your App
Using Mailchimp
Approve New Records Before Displaying Them
Workflow Tools
Add Notification & Reminder Emails to Your App
Add Status Indicators to Your App
Logic, Equations & Formulas
Start an Auto Increment Field from Any Number
Display a Message When a Deadline is Approaching
Generate Simple Numeric Barcodes Automatically
How to Set a Random ID
Calculate Age in Years from a Birthday
How To Number Line Items
Show Upcoming Birthdays
How to Extract the Start and End Dates from a Date Field
How to Display Multiple Date Formats Using a Single Date Field
Reports, Queries, and Summaries
App Walkthroughs
Build an Inventory Manager App
Build a Quiz App
Build a Warehouse Manager App
Build a Member Directory
Build an Orders App
Build a Map Directory or Store Locator App
Images & Files
Manage Your Account
Manage Your Account
About Knack Accounts
Account Plans and Billing
Managing Your Apps
Managing Your Account Settings
Sharing Apps with Shared Builders
App Settings: Map Provider
Script Attack Protection: Whitelisted Custom Code Elements and Attributes
Script Attack Protection: Protected Areas
Security & Infrastructure
Security Best Practices
Knack Status
Data Locations
Builder Security Settings for All Knack Plans
Builder Two-Factor Authentication
Performance
Table of Contents
- All Categories
- Learn More
- Emails & Notifications
Emails & Notifications
Updated
by Sarto Jama
In order to get the most out of your Knack app, you need to keep your users engaged and informed. One of the best ways to do this is to ensure they are notified of the right information at the right time.
There are two ways that you can notify your users: using emails and in-app notifications.
- Emails are sent to your users after triggering events. Emails can be used to confirm, inform or remind your users. For example, emailing a receipt once a user’s payment has been submitted.
- In-App notifications can be triggered if certain criteria are met. These notifications are displayed directly on the page. For example, displaying a warning on the page if a payment hasn’t been made by a certain date or displaying a notification if data has been incorrectly entered.
Emails
There are multiple ways that Knack’s built-in email feature can help keep you and your users informed.
Send Emails When Forms Are Submitted
Once a user submits a form in your app, you can have a follow-up email trigger. This email can be used to notify you of a new form submission or automatically follow-up with the user after they submit the form:
In the example above, the user's name, order ID, and other field inputs from the form are included in the confirmation email.
Rules can be added to your form emails so that you can specify who receives an email, and under what conditions. For example, you can create a rule that will send you a notification whenever your form is submitted and the status of an order changes.
Learn More
Send Emails When Links Are Clicked
In addition to triggering emails after a form has been submitted, you can also add email triggers to your tables, lists and other views where your data is being displayed.
These triggers display as links in your views and will send an email for that record once the link is clicked:
Learn More
Send Automated Emails on a Scheduled Basis
Emails can also be scheduled so that they are sent on a recurring basis. These emails will be sent based on the criteria that you choose and the values in your records so that you are only sent information about the records that are relevant to you. You also determine exactly when the email is sent and who the email is sent to.
Leveraging this will allow you to create automated notifications that move workflows forward and keep your business going:
There are a few ways you can leverage scheduled notifications:
- Send a daily email that will inform you of any orders that must be fulfilled.
- Send a weekly email that will notify your users of any upcoming tasks that are due for the week.
- Send a monthly summary of projects and tasks. This could include hours used against hours remaining or a list of tasks that have been completed for the month.
Learn More
- Use Tasks to Schedule Emails
- How to Send Emails
- How to Notify a User That an Item is Ready for Review
- How to Add Notification & Reminder Emails to Your App
Use Zapier for Advanced Emailing
Knack is not designed to handle group or bulk emails. This is because emails sent via Knack do not include unsubscribe links, spam prevention, delivery maximization, and other features that ensure proper delivery.
Apps like Zapier can be used to connect your Knack app with an email service like MailChimp so that you can send bulk emails and newsletters to your Knack users.
You can also incorporate Zapier's Email by Zapier integration to send emails when events happen in Knack, like record creation or updates.
Learn More
In-App Notifications
In addition to sending emails to your users, you can also have notification messages appear directly on your Live App pages. These notification options will immediately engage your users when they are using your Knack app.
Display a Notification on Your Live App Pages
You can display a notification on your Live App page using rules to define exactly when the notification displays and who it displays to.
Notifications can remind users of an upcoming due date or display a warning if that due date is past due.
For example, the following notification will display on the page once the user logs in, warning that a payment due date is past due:
Learn More
- About Page Rules
- How to Display a Message When a Deadline is Approaching
- How to Create a Registration Form with Limited Availability
Display a Notification When a User Inputs Invalid Data
You can also show notifications when a user attempts to submit a form with incorrect or missing data. This allows you to control what data users submit by enforcing the data standards that you specify.
When triggered, a notification will display on the page notifying the user that the data is not formatted correctly. The user will not be able to submit the form until that data is corrected:
Learn More
Display a Confirmation Message When a User Submits a Form
In addition to sending a confirmation email once a form has been submitted, you can also display a confirmation on the page. This can be used to notify the user that the form was successfully submitted. It can also be customized to include further instructions or contact information for a follow-up:
Learn More
Additional Resources
These are just a few examples of how you can use Knack’s email and notification features to engage your users and add additional functionality to the workflow of your app.
You can learn more about common workflow examples in our Workflow support article. For more on creating your own unique workflows, check out our Workflow Tools support article.