Can't modify record details layout anymore

[Tuxie]

I'm in the process of building a first app and suddenly I'm having a weird problem which is driving me nuts.

In the past I was able to edit the record details page layout at will. Ie. resizing elements, reordering them to be side by side and adding text elements etc. Now for all the new record details pages I add (new and old interfaces), I can't seem to do that at all. Additionally in the side menu I have a text "This is a new record details layout experience." when it doesn't work. On the old record details pages no such text exists. Also the add element button is missing entirely on these problem pages so I can't eg. add any clarifying texts anywhere on the page. 

Did Airtable really kill that major bit of functionality or am I just doing something stupid? I can't find anywhere any info on what the heck this "new record details layout experience" is actually supposed to mean compared to old way. 

[CJSmith · Accepted solution]

Hi @Tuxie, this is indeed part of a rolling update to the interface designer, outlined in the Record Detail support article - there should be a "Send Feedback" option toward the bottom of the new Record Detail panel, and I highly encourage you to express your displeasure with the limited functionality via that feedback form (as I, and many others, have).

In the meantime, the best workaround is using the "rows" versus "columns" formatting. It's far from perfect, but the best option currently.

[Tuxie]

Yeah after writing this I found the two other longer threads here. They were way more descriptive than any of the dozens of support articles I went through. Crappy welcome for sure. Yep I've already opened a ticket as well as sent feedback but they seem to be on the slow side as  I haven't heard back anything.

[CJSmith]

@Tuxie likely not much of a consolation, but I've been a big fan of Airtable until the "interface wars" whereby Airtable started making increasingly questionable decisions about UI changes after the interface product had already come out of beta. In other words, the base Airtable product is solid, but the handling of interface updates has been far from stellar (see also: the left-hand nav controversy).

Best of luck!

[Ella]

Hi @Tuxie ,

Is there anyway you could re-link those articles that you found more helpful as I have the same problem but I cannot find those longer threads? Thanks in advance!

[Tuxie]

Hey, here's one. 

https://community.airtable.com/t5/interface-designer/2023-07-11-new-record-detail-layout-feature-set...

[Ella]

Thanks @Tuxie ! At least I know now I am not the only with this problem.