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Jul 14, 2023 12:24 PM
I'm not sure who to direct this to, so I hope one of you can help.
I need to get some idea of what is going on with the changes that seem to be going on. I have a interface designed for a client, and finally have reached the point were I am getting to have them upgrade their production account. To get ready I needed to make some final changes based on their feedback using my test account.
I needed to add some list pages with sidesheets that are where some fields are made editable. The ones I have on the existing test interface were easy to format and allowed resizing of the fields as well as positioning several on a line. A partial section looks like
With the changes that have been made all I can do is stack the fields with the labels to the left
This is totally unacceptable. I know it looks like a minor thing, but this was only the simplest example. When you multiply the issue over the number of fields and pages it's much more serious.
It's taken months to get everyone in agreement on how this is to look and behave, and now I can't deliver what they agreed upon.
Please let me know that you will be rolling back these changes.
Jul 14, 2023 01:15 PM
I just experienced this too. Are they removing the ability to have custom sidesheets, or are they all going to be this boilerplate list? It's a huge step-back for flexibility.
Jul 14, 2023 01:34 PM
Not everyone has access to them yet. Can you clarify any of the following so those who don’t see this behavior yet have a more complete idea of whats going on?
Jul 14, 2023 01:42 PM
This also affects full screen.
It appears to only affect new detail pages. Not existing.
Nope. Maybe they plan on implementing? I don’t know, but they’re not available right now.
I’m not sure what you mean.
I didn’t see this, but maybe it’s being rolled out?
There is no more ‘Add Element’ section.
Jul 14, 2023 02:20 PM
The behavior is the same whether it's a sidesheet or full screen.
So far it is limited to new pages, but I'm hesitant to experiment on the existing pages until I get some response from airtable. I've wasted a lot time today trying to figure out what was going on with the pages I was creating and what might be different about them, hoping to find a solution.
I don't use any of those, it's supposed to be a simple data page.
There are no sections on the page. Are we talking about the same sheets?
What screenshots? I'm referring to the simple sidesheet, that's all.
I didn't drag anything, and there is no "Add element" floating menu.
Jul 14, 2023 03:56 PM - edited Jul 14, 2023 04:03 PM
Wow. This is a really horrible change. The blue "+ Add element" button no longer appears when designing a new side-sheet. (Previously created side sheets seem to be okay, but I am afraid to touch them.) I can only add fields for the current record using the configuration panel on the right. It's like a throwback to the old record expanded view.
This button is missing when I am working on a new side-sheet or full-screen record details!
I cannot put a button wherever I want--buttons can only go at the top of a section, and if there is more than one button, it goes in a menu. What the heck? I should be able to put buttons next to the data that they relate to. I have some side sheets with multiple buttons that need to be pushed in a workflow as a person fills in data. Users fill in data, push a button, fill in more data, push another button, fill in more data, and then push another button. Properly for the workflow, the button should appear in the same section as the data, but below the data. But this design groups all for a section together at the top of the section, and even hides buttons.
These changes aren't even tied the new page layouts. I started this interface page as a blank page and started adding in elements, including elements from multiple tables.
When designing my side-sheets, I often used a two-column design. The left column was for editable values. The right column included help text and formula fields that provided feedback on the editable values. For example, if two of three fields needed values, my formula field would give warnings if only one was filled out. I also put lesser used editable fields in the right column (for example, overrides) so that those fields were out of the way when normally scanning down a column of fields to enter. My users found these designs intuitive and easy to use. They liked the help text and the formula feedback next to where they did data entry, but out of the way of the normal flow. I can no longer create these designs.
I am feeling very angry about this.
Jul 14, 2023 03:57 PM
@ScottWorld Care to share your thoughts on this change?
Jul 14, 2023 04:40 PM - edited Jul 14, 2023 04:41 PM
Reposting here for visibility, the below was originally posted here.
I now have access to the new layouts and have a few thoughts. Here is a screenshot of a full page detail layout for reference:
Positives:
Major Negatives (my personal opinion):
Nitpicking (still my personal opinion):
Potential:
In short:
Not as bad as I was expecting from looking at screenshots of un-designed pages, but worse than I'd like for the reasons above. I'm sure they can fix what I've pointed out, the question is will they (assuming many people agree that what I think are issues actually are issues)
Jul 14, 2023 04:44 PM
Thank you @kuovonne you explained many of the issues I was afraid to even attempt, and some that I was far too upset to describe in detail.
Even at the basic level, previously you could use the interface to create a form that was intuitive and followed a workflow, and with the sidesheet come very close to replicating the look and feel of the form. Easy for onboarding users. Not any longer I guess.
I also have buttons placed in sheets to update statuses based on conditions and if we can't position them correctly it's back to using automations and catching errors after the fact rather than controlling the flow.
Where is the product management? Where is the consideration for clients? Airtable as an organization just doesn't get it. It's not just the people here, it all the potential clients, even enterprise level, that get enthused by prototypes and demos only to be permanently turned off by things like the left sidebar and this mess showing up without any warning.
Jul 14, 2023 04:54 PM
Thank you for your input. I appreciate the positives you mention, but for a change like this there should have been advance warning.