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Re: Any workaround for filter, group, and search on an embedded view in a mobile device?

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nadodi
6 - Interface Innovator
6 - Interface Innovator

Hi All,

A search of the community yielded the same question but no definite answer.

I have created a view on Airtable, shared it so users can search and find info that they need. Problem - filtering, grouping, and search work only on desktop or laptop browsers. None of those options are available on mobile devices.

Is there a workaround or some way to get at least the filter and search to work on a mobile device?

Thanks in advance.

Regards,
usha

13 Replies 13
InfoWrangler
6 - Interface Innovator
6 - Interface Innovator

I actually found a solution to this - I've been building an app on pory.io, which enables me to create an easy-to-use interface for my team so they can access, search, add, edit, and remove airtable data on a granular basis without having to be all up in the back end.

Here's what it looks like:

Screenshot 2023-01-13 113131.png

Each one of those records opens up into a detailed view that can contain any and all data from the record, including images and buttons that I've set up with prefills to help make processing inventory easy.

Yesterday I tested for the first time using the app to:

  • Add an item to inventory
  • Complete its profile
  • Generate its listing profile for the marketing dept
  • Update the active listing
  • Repost an expired Craigslist listing
  • Mark the inventory Item sold and record a deposit, which generates a delivery bill of lading and a hauling job record
  • Record final payment, which activates the hauling job record and makes it available to schedule
  • Schedule the hauling job
  • Complete the hauling job, which logs the entire transaction as complete.

I used jotforms, zapier, and esignature.io to generate the bills of sale and lading, but everything else is done through buttons on the app interface - like these on the marketing page:

Screenshot 2023-01-13 114207.png

So yes, it is possible to use Airtable as a back-end data management system while making the front end easy to use for members of your team who are not savvy enough to be editors or collaborators on the base itself.

OH - and this thread was about mobile, so yes - it works on their phones, and the information is so much easier to read and work with than it was trying to use the airtable app.

 

Ashley_Jackson
7 - App Architect
7 - App Architect

Has anyone found a solution to this in Airtable only?  I don't want to have to design a new interface when I'm already embedding.  It's so crazy that this hasn't been addressed - if ANYONE needs search and filter and sort, it's mobile users!

While this is great for internal use when you can advise people to view in desktop mode, it is not a solution for businesses who want to make it easy for visitors to take action without extra steps that most won't bother with.  A list of jobs or products, for instance, needs to be searchable without making site visitors read instructions and change browser settings.  Geesh, Airtable, get this done please!

ScottWorld
18 - Pluto
18 - Pluto

Yeah, it’s a major drawback to Airtable.

Sadly, I had 2 clients leave Airtable over this issue. They switched to FileMaker, which is the database language that I specialized in for 30 years. (If you need a referral to a great FileMaker developer, just reach out to me through my Airtable consulting website.)

If you decide to stick with Airtable, the only way to workaround this problem is to use an external interface/portal app for Airtable, all of which offer mobile friendly views that can be embedded.

A few of the leading customer portals are Noloco, JetAdmin, Softr, Pory, and Glide.

Noloco is probably the most powerful & customizable one.

The CEO of Noloco gave a demonstration of his product on this Airtable podcast episode.

I also give a brief tutorial of Noloco on this Airtable podcast episode.

And I also presented a full one-hour webinar on Noloco called Building a Client Portal on Noloco powered by Airtable.

p.s. If you have a budget for your project and you’d like to hire an expert Airtable consultant to help you with any of this, please feel free to contact me through my website: Airtable consulting — ScottWorld