A walkthrough of connecting to your data, what data sources are available and some basics on managing your data connections
Connecting your Data
Connect works with both manually entered data and your external data sources to drive the content of in-app widgets and components dynamically. Additionally you moderate data to show only the items you want from the data source.
Before you connect your data sources you will need to have access to Connect. If you are unsure if you have access follow this link to learn more about Getting Started with Connect.
You can connect the following data sources to a Connect App:
Connect to even more using Zapier or our REST API.
Connect is a data first custom content design tool.Once a data connection is established, you can build an app with drag and drop actions or choose to connect your data to widgets for added functionality. To learn more about creating an app follow this link Creating an App from Scratch
Regardless of whether you are creating an app from scratch or from a template, to connect to a data source click Data in the left hand panel.
The data connections menu will appear. Here you can create a connection or choose from an existing connection. Click the Create a Connection button to create a new connection. If you have already created a connection you can scroll and choose the connection by name from the list below.
You will see a new window with different data connection options. Choose the data source you want to connect. Please take a look at our other help documents that outline connecting to each data source at Screenfeed.com/support
Depending on the data source you will either see fields to enter source information or sign in information to get your data connected.
Once your Data is connected you will see a Data Points menu of your data items in the left hand panel.
There are controls to preview different records, review your data settings and moderate your data at the top of the Data Points menu.
Click Settings to open the data connection settings.
From Settings you can rename the data connection, adjust the syncing frequency, redefine the column data types, enable moderation or disconnect the data from the data source.
Clicking Moderate from the Data Points menu will open a window where you can enable moderation by approval or removal.
Toggle on moderation to see moderation method settings.
There are two methods of moderation used when moderating a data source. Approval where you select items to show in your connection or Removal where you select items not to include.
Choose the method you would like to use, then select the unique identifier. To use moderation your data set must have a column containing a unique identifier for each record that will never change. This is important for Connect to keep track of which record you have previously approved or removed.
You can approve or remove records from your data connection either by clicking on Data grid or from the Data points Menu.
If your moderation type is set to Approval only items you select will be available in the connection. To approve an item click on the corresponding row number then choose Approve Record,
To see only your approved items click on the Approved sort button above the table.
Click Save Changes in the top right corner of the window when finished.
If your moderation type is set to Removal all items by default will be included in the connection. Click on the corresponding row number to the item in the table then choose Remove Record.
To see only the items that have not been removed click on the Included sort button above the table.
Click Save in the top right corner of the window when finished.
To return to the Data Grid view from your app choose Data from the left hand panel then view in the Data Points menu.
From the Data Points Menu
Once moderation is enabled, you can choose to approve or remove a specific record by clicking on the approval/removal button.
When clicked it will show the record has been approved or removed.
While editing an App in App Builder, select a widget to add to your app from the left menu. Then select the widget on the canvas. On the right side of the window you will see a properties panel appear.
Click on Data to show the Data properties for the widget. Click on Connect to Data Source to connect to your data.
Click on the data type that matches your data source under the Create a Connection section to create a new connection to your data.
You will see different options depending on the data type chosen. For example for a URL connection or google sheet you will see a URL field to paste in your URL.
If your data source is a spreadsheet you will be asked to define columns and indicate if a column is a header, Each data type will give you the option to preview the data at this step in order to validate it is connecting properly.
Connect will try to automatically detect the data type of each column or element. You can make changes to the column type by clicking on the corresponding dropdown under Column type.
If you add a data source from a URL you can choose an interval for the data in your connection to refresh, this can be set to Never, Hourly, Daily or Weekly. You can change this setting when editing a connection. See editing a connection below for more details.
Since data connections are shared within your account for other apps make sure to name the connection something recognizable. At this point an account is defined by each company that could allow coworkers to use your data in other apps.
Once you have a connection selected the window will return to the app builder. The widget should automatically reflect the information in your connection. You should also see the connection name listed under the widget settings under Data.
Instead of creating a connection from app builder you can create independent connections that are not associated with an app.
Create a new connection to your data source by starting in Connect and choosing Connections from the menu on the left.
Click on Create New Connection to create a new connection to your data source.
Click on the data type that matches your data source to create a new connection to your data.
You will see different options depending on the data type chosen. For example for a URL connection or google sheet you will see a URL field to paste in your URL.
If your data source is a spreadsheet you will be asked to define columns and indicate if a column is a header, Each data type will give you the option to preview the data at this step in order to validate it is connecting properly.
Connect will try to automatically detect the data type of each column or element. You can make changes to the column type by clicking on the corresponding dropdown under Column type.
If you add a data source from a URL you can choose an interval for the data in your connection to refresh, this can be set to Never, Hourly, Daily or Weekly. You can change this setting when editing a connection settings.
Since data connections are shared within your account for other apps make sure to name the connection something recognizable. At this point an account is defined by each company that could allow coworkers to use your data in other apps.
Click Continue and you will return to the Connections menu, where you can see a list of your established connections.
Starting in Connect click on Connections on the let menu.
Click on the connection you would like to edit.
Edit the details of the data connection by clicking on the settings tab, here you can change the name sharing and syncing settings. Changes to the data connection properties will be reflected in any connected app.
You also can manage your data connection from inside an app. Either by choosing the settings button on the Data Point menu.
Or by clicking on the connected widget then choosing Data then Manage
See a preview of the existing schema under the data grid tab.
Optionally you can download the existing data to your computer as a csv or json file by clicking on export.
Replace the data in the widget by choosing the Replace Data tab.
Select an existing data connection or create a new connection to use to replace the data connection. Follow this link more information on creating data connections
Once the replacement data has been chosen or created, you will be presented with a preview of the replacement data. Click on Looks Good, Continue to begin mapping the data.
Match what the appropriate replacement data columns from the replacement connection by clicking on each drop down field then click continue.
Click continue to finish replacing the data in the widget.
You also can adjust more settings of the connection by clicking on the Settings tab.
From here you can adjust sharing, add Columns to manual connections and change the moderation settings.
If you have a data connection from a URL and wish to convert it to a manual connection you can choose to Disconnect the data connection from the data source.
To manage your connections in Connect. First select Connections in the left menu. You will see a list of your connections.
Click the duplicate button to create a duplicate connection.
You will see a window for editing the new duplicated connection. By default the duplicate connection will be named with the same name as your connection with (Duplicate). The duplicate connection will not be connected to any apps.
Click on the Trash icon to delete the connection.
If connected to an app you will see a warning including any app that is using the data connection.
Click on the connections button to see any apps that are using the connection.
You will be presented with a window that lists any apps using the connection. You can click on the app name to edit the app in app builder.
Click on the Moderate button to make changes to the moderation settings.
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