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Section 2: Working with data

Getting data into apps​

Get data from a model​

The backend of an app can have a multitude of functions or models that may do a variety of calculations. These models typically have inputs provided by the app user and returns outputs when run.  This video shows how to build a workflow that will automatically run a model when an app user changes the model inputs.

When models have multiple inputs or take longer to run, use a button to run the model instead of triggering it automatically. This video shows you how.

Get data by uploading/downloading files​

In the early stages of app development, a model may not be available to generate data. In this case it is convenient to upload mock data. Workflow builder contains a number of components that can be used to upload files, download files and convert the uploaded tables to the native SDD format.

Uploading and downloading files require permission from the app builder, so the first step to uploading and downloading files is to update the app permissions.  The clip below shows the steps.

Step 1: Setting app permissions​

Step 2: Build file uploading capability​

Remember to make this type of workflow triggered, rather than running automatically.

Step 3: Download a file and convert to SDD format​

Return data tables from nested data structures Models can return nested data structures, but nested tables cannot be displayed on graphs. The "Lookup key on object" workflow step can be used to find particular tables or data points in model outputs. This component is particularly useful when combined with SDD manipulation components, because SDD manipulation components require an SDD table as input.

Manipulating data​

Filtering​

Building filtering workflows is straightforward. The SDD Filter component takes an SDD table as input and filters the table on a selected column and selected criteria. The video shows a common example where a multi-select dropdown filters the data for a graph.

Simple table manipulations​

A variety of workflow builder components are available to manipulate table data. Common aggregation functions (such as sum, average, min, max etc.) are supported.  This video shows how to group