April Interface Designer Updates

[Jordan_Scott1]

Hi all -

I hope the week is going well. I’m excited to be able to share the next wave of Interface Designer updates targeted at making interfaces even more powerful and easier to use.

• Button Element: Allows you to add a button - and configure some actions - in your interface. This will allow you to quickly approve/reject requests and gives flexibility to making status changes like assigned or complete.
  • You’ll be able to configure buttons to update a field or multiple fields of a single record with a single click. You may also choose to move to the next record.
  • You’ll be able to edit the color from 4 different options. Below are the color options and their labels. These labels are meant to be guiding principles of when to use these colors, not what they do.
    • Blue = “Primary”
    • Red = “Warning”
    • Green = “Success”
    • Gray = “Secondary”

• Calendar Element: offers the same functionality as the calendar view in an Interface. It includes the ability to customize the initial view that visitors see. This is a great way to manage your editorial/campaign calendars or to coordinate releases with product partners.

• Duplicate Element & Duplicate Interface: Duplicate an element within an interface or duplicate an entire interface. This cuts down the time spent designing your interface and makes it easy to replicate, or just utilize as a starting point.

• Right-aligned headers: Now you can put elements (like a button 👀 ) on the right-side of your header.

Additional Resources:

• Support: Duplicating an interface
• Support: Button element

If you don’t see these changes reflected right away, please try clearing your cache, and let us know your thoughts below!

[Matthew_Lanni]

I was just thinking this morning that it would be awesome to be able to put a calendar in my interface. :raised_hands:t2:

[kuovonne]

Thank you for letting us know about these new features.

Duplicating interfaces, pages, and individual elements are all super useful features.

The ability to add a button is also useful. Based on my initial look, it seems that the only thing a button can currently do is update up to 5 fields in the current record at once. It also appears that the new values must be static values. For example, the button cannot update an editable field with the result of a formula field.

Many people have been anticipating the incorporation of buttons in interfaces, and have many thoughts on all the different features that they want buttons to do. For now, I am going to simply be happy that we have this new functionality. Of course I want more functionality, but I am also going to trust that Airtable knows what people want buttons to do and that Airtable will carefully investigate the best ways dealing with those technological challenges.

[Rebecca_Elam]

Hi jordan, sorry to be that guy again but this button isn’t very helpful considering airtable has now TAKEN AWAY the ability to add existing in record buttons once the interface has been created. People need to be able to open URLs, run scripts, send webhooks and open apps. not reset field values.

[kuovonne]

@Jordan_Scott1 can you clarify if the inability to add button fields to an interface is planned change or a bug? Existing interface have button fields, and it seems that a button field can be added when first creating an interface.

Until button elements have more features, button fields that open urls serve two important purposes in interfaces that cannot be replicated with the new button element:

• opening a form to create a new record
• navigation to a specific record in a different interface page

I understand that having two types of buttons can be confusing: button elements versus button fields. I also understand that adding new features needs to be done carefully. However, removing existing features also needs to be done with care, and it feels like Airtable has removed features.

[Jen_Rudd]

Hi @Jordan_Scott1 the inability to add buttons completely changes the interface functionality that we started using months ago (enterprise account) and it’s creating mass chaos. Is there any way to roll back that functionality? Buttons are key to the workflow of being able to share links to other views and guide high level users to the correct locations without making them dig into the base itself.

[Kamille_Parks]

Jordan_Scott1:

Right-aligned headers

This sounds like a very small thing, but it was one of the simplest features I felt was lacking from Interface Designer. I’m glad new additions are still taking into account at least some of the small scale needed improvements.

With regard to Button Elements, from its description it sounds like a way to be less reliant on Automation runs, though only for specific use cases.

Would it be possible to merge the functionality of Button Elements and Button Fields? They are both useful: sometimes you need to open an external link, sometimes you need to quickly update the current record. I think it would be fine to keep them separate but both options should be there in some way.

[kuovonne]

Kamille_Parks:

Would it be possible to merge the functionality of Button Elements and Button Fields?

I would like to merge the functionality of Buttons and Automations. Click a button to run the logic in an automation.

[David_Smedberg]

Looking forward to using the button element more.

Am I crazy, or is it not yet possible to modify the icon of a button? (The lightning bolt)

For certain interfaces, I don’t think I prefer to have an icon at all, it doesn’t seem as professional as it would with only text, which is what most buttons in user interfaces use.

[Kamille_Parks]

kuovonne:

Click a button to run the logic in an automation

Sounds like the Webhook trigger. So either the Button Element or Button Fields should have an option to silently call/open the webhook address associated with the Automation, with inputs for data that should be passed to the trigger (if needed).

Though I still like having options that don’t rely on people eating up Automation runs since as of today, you cannot “buy more” if you go over your monthly limit;

[kuovonne]

Kamille_Parks:

Though I still like having options that don’t rely on people eating up Automation runs

Same here. I wish the business logic in an automation could run locally and not need automation runs. But currently the only way to run business logic like that locally is with scripting. People need a way to create and run business logic that doesn’t involve JavaScript, and currently that’s just automations (or a third party service).