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Manage Your Records
How Knack Works
Design Your Database
Do More With Knack
View and Share Your App
Build Your Live Application
Learn More
Connect Related Data
Reporting & Dashboards
E-Commerce & Payments
Search & Queries
Emails & Notifications
Workflow
Calculations & Logic
Users & Access
Builder Guide
Pages
Working with Pages
Deleting a Page That's Being Linked to
Printing Pages & PDFs
Page Rules
User Pages
Page Menu
Objects & Connections
Plan Your Objects
Plan Your Connections: Complex Example
Plan Your Connections: Simple Example
Special Objects
Connecting Records Together
Use Connections in Your App
About Connections
Connection Types
Working With Objects
Connections: Troubleshooting & FAQs
App Customization
Live App Design
Embed Your App
Integrate with Formstack Documents
Integrate with Zapier
Integrate with Integromat
Working with Icons
Other Customization Options
E-Commerce
Views
Using Action Links
Using Record Rules
Table Settings
Table Column Settings
About Views
Combining Fields from Connected Records in Views
Reports
Source: Which Records Will the View Display
Forms
Searches
Using Display Rules
Tables
Lists
Maps
Details
Rich Text
Calendars
Using Submit Rules
Menus
Records
Importing Connections
Import Records
Working with Records
CSV Format Guide for Importing
Export Records
Batch Updates
Delete Records
Tasks & Emails
Builder Basics
Users & Logins
Live App Security Settings
Live App Security Settings: HIPAA Plans
Manage Roles & Permissions
Manage User Records
About Users
Users and the Page Menu
Single Sign-On with Google, Facebook, Twitter, and Custom
Logins and Registrations
Fields
FAQ
Support
Working With Support
I need help with CSS, Javascript, or jQuery.
What is a dedicated support manager?
Accounts
Is there an option to pay via invoice, check, wire transfer, or something other than a credit card?
Where can I find a copy of my receipt or invoice?
I'm over the storage limit for my account. How do I add more storage or get under the limit?
I'm over the record limit for my account. How do I add more records or get under the limit?
How do I freeze or pause my Knack account?
Need account access or to transfer account access because account owner or colleague left the company
How do I cancel my Knack account?
How do I add more API calls to my account?
Managing Apps
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 change the favicon for my app?
How do I backup or export my apps and data?
How do I white label my app?
How do I copy an app from my account to another account?
How can I track what users are doing in my app?
App Building
How do I find the most recent date from a connected object?
How do I move or copy fields or data from one object to another?
How do I add a logo to my app?
How can I change the color of something in my app?
The menu isn't showing for my app on mobile devices. How do I fix that?
How do I create a field that always shows today's date?
How do I show multiple dates on a calendar?
Is there a way to add a display rule to multiple columns at one time instead of having to update each column individually?
How can I show a customer's payment history if I'm collecting payments through my Knack app and through cash or check?
Can I combine two date fields into a single date field? For example, combining a start and end date into a single field?
Is it possible to display more than 100 records at a time on a table, list, or search view?
Is there a way to have new users be automatically logged-in after they register?
Do I need a separate user role object for my Vendors, Customers, Employees, Contacts, etc?
How do I create an "If, Then" or conditional equation?
Does Knack offer a service for building apps or have developers I can hire?
How can I set up my app so users see only their own data?
How do I bulk upload or import multiple images?
How do I bulk upload or import multiple files?
How do I merge my apps, or copy pages, objects, or other app elements between my apps?
Can I share or connect data between apps?
Can I?
Can I customize the look and feel of my Knack pages?
Can I migrate or transfer data from Zoho, Quickbase, or TrackVia?
Can I add Google Analytics to my Knack app?
Do you have a sandbox or developer environment?
Can I integrate Knack with other data, products, and services?
Can I have an app in a language besides English?
Can I use Knack on mobile devices?
Can I create invoices and accept payments?
Can I migrate my Access, Filemaker, SQL, or other databases?
Can I use a barcode or credit card scanner with Knack?
Can I prototype for others?
Can I send SMS or text messages using Knack?
Can I email PDFs or other attachments to users with Knack?
Can I add chat or messaging to my app?
Can I sell my Knack apps?
Other
Does the signature captured through a signature field constitute a legally binding signature?
How does Knack work on mobile devices? Is it mobile-friendly? Can users download my apps?
Storing sensitive data (credit cards, social security numbers, etc.)
How secure is Knack?
Will Knack sign an NDA (Non-Disclosure Agreement)?
Does Knack offer access to beta features?
Does Knack offer a partner program?
Is Knack GDPR compliant?
How do I batch download all of the images and files In my app?
Which browsers do you support?
Imports
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?
I'm seeing an odd character when importing data. How can I get rid of it?
Can I import something other than data? Like objects, pages, views, etc?
My import is failing or getting stuck. What do I do?
Can my users import data from the live app, instead of going through the builder/back-end?
Can I schedule or automate imports?
Can I import data into more than one object at the same time?
Can I undo or reverse an import?
I am importing data for the first time. How do I do that?
How do I update existing data using an import?
My import is taking a long time. Can you take a look?
I'm having trouble importing into a specific type of field. What can I do?
I'm getting an error when importing. What do I do?
Do the validation rules on fields trigger when importing data?
How To Guides
Users & Logins
Save a User's Payment Method
Force Users to Reset Their Passwords
Create a Single Login Page for Multiple User Roles
Show Records Connected To The Logged-in User's Company Or Other Group
Create an Admin User Role to View All Records
Add Read-Only Access For Users
Show Records Connected to the Logged-in User
Add Functionality to Your Live App
Manage Your Records
Use an Edit Form to Create Records If They Don't Exist
Use Zapier to Insert Connected Records
Copy a Record Using Record Rules
Create a Version History for Records
Track When Records are Created and Updated
Track Which User Last Updated a Record
Workflow & Automations
Add Stages to Your App
Using Mailchimp
Add Status Indicators to Your App
Add Assignments to Your App
Notify a User That an Item is Ready for Review
Create a Registration Form with Limited Availability
Add a Pipeline to Your App
Create a Button or Link that Updates a Field to a Custom Value
Add Notification & Reminder Emails to Your App
Approve New Records Before Displaying Them
Store Multiple Images or Files for Individual Records
Use Multiple Image Sources for a Single Image Field
Workflow Tools
Work with Connected Records
How to Show Multiple Fields in Your Connection Drop-Down
Showing Parent-Child Records in the Live App
Logic, Equations & Formulas
How to Display Multiple Date Formats Using a Single Date Field
How To Number Line Items
Show Upcoming Birthdays
How to Set a Random ID
Display a Message When a Deadline is Approaching
Generate Simple Numeric Barcodes Automatically
Calculate Age in Years from a Birthday
How to Extract the Start and End Dates from a Date Field
Start an Auto Increment Field from Any Number
Customize 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 Connection Links to Views
How to Add a Map to a Details View
How to Add Groupings to a Table
Reports, Queries, and Summaries
App Walkthroughs
Build a Quiz App
Build an Inventory Manager App
Build an Orders App
Build a Warehouse Manager App
Build a Member Directory
Build a Map Directory or Store Locator App
Forms
Create a Multi-Part Form
How to Change the Layout of Forms
How to Add Instructions to a Form
How to Customize the Text on a Submit Button
How to Limit an Uploaded File’s Size
How to Automatically Capture a User’s Location on a Form
How to Allow Users to Add New Options in Forms
How to Use URL Variables to Pre-Populate a Form
Add Read-Only Fields to a Form
How to Create Dynamic Dropdowns in Forms
Manage Your Account
Table of Contents
- All Categories
- Builder Guide
- Builder Basics
- About Your Database
About Your Database
Updated
by Sarto Jama
How the Schema Section Works
The first step in building your app is defining your data.
You do this in the Schema section of your builder, which gives you tools to define the data your app will use and store that data in a database.
You can access the schema section at any time by clicking the "Schema" tab on the left-side of the Builder:
Objects and Fields
Knack uses objects and fields to define your data.
You'll create fields for each piece of data you want to store and manage. For example, if you wanted to build an app to manage Contacts, you may include fields for name, email, and phone number.
These fields are grouped into objects. Think of an object like a spreadsheet, and each field like a column in that spreadsheet.
Here’s an example of a Inventory Manager app, with a Products object selected for editing:
All your objects are listed on the left. Click an object to edit its fields and settings. Add a new object with the green "+" button next to the ‘Object’ label.
- The selected object's fields are listed to the right. Click a field to edit and format it. Add fields by clicking the “Add Field” button above the field list then clicking on the type of field you want to add (like short text or number).
- The app’s user roles are stored here. They work similarly to other objects, but include special fields for managing user logins like Name, Email, Password, User Status, and User Roles. User roles are optional and may not be needed if you don't need your users to log in to access your app.
Click here to learn more about Objects and Fields.
Connecting Objects Together
Most apps will need more than one object. When this is the case, these objects will likely be connected to one another.
Connections define how the records in one object will relate to records in another object. Here are some examples of different connections you can create:
- Many employees can be connected to one company.
- One student can be connected to one application.
- Many managers can be connected to many projects.
Each object’s connections are listed to the right:
When you add a new connection, it creates a special connection field in that object. These fields can be used like any other field throughout your app. If you add a connection field to a form, it will operate as a "look-up" where you can select a record to connect to:
Connections will open up powerful functionality you can add to your apps:
- Displaying parent-child records in your interface. For example, click on a company and view all the employees connected to that company
- Running formulas to find the totals and averages of child records. For example, add up all the employee salaries for each company.
- Showing records connected to the logged-in user. For example, have each company log in and just view the employee records connected to their company, rather than viewing all the employee records stored for every company.Click here to learn more about Connections.
What Should My Objects Be?
For most applications, defining the objects is very straightforward. If this is less obvious here are some good ways to think about your objects:
- Think about your fields. It can help by starting to think about the individual type of data you have. List all the fields your app will need to display and manage, and then group them into the most obvious objects.
- Think about your pages. If you're adding forms, what inputs will those forms contain? If you want to display a table of records, what will the columns be? Ask yourself if each of the inputs or columns sound like they belong to the same group. If not, you may want to add them to different objects.
- Think about single versus plural. If you have something that can be plural grouped alongside something that is single, then you may want break up the plural items into a separate object. For example, let's say you want to track a company (single), but each company can have multiple employees (plural). In this case, it makes sense for employees to be a separate object that would connect to the company.
- Think about repeating data. If you are repeating the same information over and over again in your records, you may want to separate that info into its own object and connect it to your original records instead. This way, you will only have to update it once.
Click here to learn more about Planning your Objects.
Working With Records
Once you add your objects and fields, you can start to store records for each object.
Click on the Records tab on the left side of the page to access records for each object:
Each record will be actual data based on the fields you added for that object. For example, if you added an image field, you'll be able to upload an image for each record.
Click here to learn more about managing records.
Records can be added to the database directly in the builder by clicking the "Add Record" button or by importing the data via CSV. Records can also be added through the live application using forms.
Note that some apps make sense to populate directly through the builder:
- Record searches
- Product catalogs
- Business directories
The primary purpose of these apps is to display or search records, so you can add those records directly to the database.
Other apps will add records when your users fill out forms in the live application:
- Parents filling out a form to register children for a camp
- Job hunters filling out a form to apply for open jobs
- Employees filling out forms to complete a project
These apps are using forms to add and manage records, so much of the database will be populated by the app itself.
Click here to learn more about adding, updating or deleting records via the live app.
Importing From Spreadsheets
You can quickly get your data into your app by importing spreadsheets. Records can be imported into an existing object or to create a new object.
To add to or update an existing object, select the object from the left-hand menu, then click the "Records" tab and the "Import" link in the top bar:
To add a new object with an import, click on the Schema tab on the left side of the screen, then click on the green "+" button above the list of objects:
Here, you will have the option to create a new object by import:
Click here to learn more about importing records.
User Records
User records are special records that represent users who can log in and access your app.
A user record has required fields for Name, Email, Password, and others that make it possible to manage logins. Otherwise, they operate just like normal objects: you can add additional fields and connect them to other objects.
Click the "Enable Users" link to activate user logins:
Click here to learn more about users and logins in Knack.
How Will My App’s Pages Work With My Objects and Fields?
Your app’s pages are what your users see to view and update the records in your database. Each page is made up of views: visual elements like tables, forms, and searches.
When you add a view, you’ll select which object that view works with. All the fields from that object will then be available to add to the view. For example, if you added a table to display Company records, you could add any of the Company fields as columns in that table.
Click here to learn more about building your live app pages.