Deck and table view types

The deck and the table view types have similar capabilities, but your unique use case will determine which view type is a better fit for your application. 

The table view shows information in a very compact way allowing you to quickly scroll to find a row. For a table view example, see the Job_Inline table view in the Field Delivery sample template.

The deck view shows information about each row in a "deck-of-cards" format including an image. If the data doesn't have an image, you should consider adding a virtual column with a thumbnail image constructed with the formula: TEXT_ICON(INITIALS([Column_Of_Type_Name]))

In addition to the image, the deck view will display two text columns as well as any action buttons for phone numbers or emails. The display columns are chosen in the following order: Row Label, Virtual Columns of type Name, Name type columns, key columns, required columns, normal columns in sheet order.

The deck view also has an option to select a layer of data to display as a secondary view. This nested view provides a way to visualize lists of related data created by building references between tables. 

The nested views can be other tables, decks, galleries or charts - for example, a quick snapshot of a product inventory bar chart for each company displayed in a deck view:

To enable a nested view, locate the Nested Table Column field within the deck view and choose a related list of items. Customize the view type of that related list by finding the corresponding inline ref view that was automatically created when the relationship was created. 

Get started

Get started with:

• Deck views by using the:
  • Leads deck view in the Lead Tracking sample app
  • Repair manual feature sample
• Table views by using the:
  • Vendors nested view in a deck view in the Inventory Management sample app
  • Interactive map dashboard feature sample

Create a deck or table view

To create a deck or table view:

1.  Create a view, as described in Create a view.
2. To configure a deck view:
   • Select deck as the View type when configuring the deck view details, as described in View details.
   • Configure the deck view options.
   • Configure the Display, Behavior, and Documentation settings, as described in Configure the view.
3. To configure a table view: 
   • Select table as the View type when configuring the deck view details, as described in View details.
   • Configure the table view options.
   • Configure the Display, Behavior, and Documentation settings, as described in Configure the view.
4. When you are done, save your changes by selecting one of the following:
   • Save - Save the app.
   • Save & verify data - Save the app and verify that it is runnable based on external dependencies.

Configure the deck view options

Configure the deck View options by using the settings described in the following tables.

Setting	Description
Sort by	Sort the rows by one or more columns. Click Add and select the column name and whether to sort in Ascending or Descending order. Repeat to configure additional sort by rules.
Group by	Group rows by the values in one or more columns. Click Add and select the column name and whether to sort in Ascending or Descending order. Repeat to configure additional sort by rules.
Group aggregate	Display a numeric summary of the rows in each group. Select the format to use for the display from the drop-down list.
Main image	Image column to display for each row. Select an image column from the drop-down or select one of the following values: Auto assign (column) - Let AppSheet automatically assign a value. Column that is auto-assigned is shown in parentheses. None - Don't set this option.
Primary header	Top text to use for each row. Select a column from the drop-down or select one of the following values: Auto assign (column) - Let AppSheet automatically assign a value. Column that is auto-assigned is shown in parentheses. None - Don't set this option.
Secondary header	Bottom text to use for each row. Select a column from the drop-down or select one of the following values: Auto assign (column) - Let AppSheet automatically assign a value. Column that is auto-assigned is shown in parentheses. None - Don't set this option.
Summary column	Top-right text to use for each row. Select a column from the drop-down or select one of the following values: Auto assign (column) - Let AppSheet automatically assign a value. Column that is auto-assigned is shown in parentheses. None - Don't set this option.
Nested table column	Nested table containing a list of Ref values. Select a table from the drop-down.
Image shape	Shape used for the Main image. Select Square, Round, or Full.
Show action bar	Enable to show action buttons at the bottom of each row.
Actions	Action buttons to display in the action bar. The actions are ordered automatically by AppSheet. To manually control the action order, do any of the following: Click Add to add actions that you want to display in the order you want them to appear. Click  to drag an action to a different order. Click  to delete an action. If you changed the action order, click Reset to switch back to the AppSheet automatic order. Position your cursor over the action and click  to open the action configuration in a dialog. You can edit the action configuration and click Done, or click Go to action to open the action in the Actions panel.

Configure the table view options

Configure the table View options by using the settings described in the following tables.

Setting	Description
Sort by	Sort the rows by one or more columns. Click Add and select the column name and whether to sort in Ascending or Descending order. Repeat to configure additional sort by rules.
Group by	Group rows by the values in one or more columns. Click Add and select the column name and whether to sort in Ascending or Descending order. Repeat to configure additional sort by rules.
Group aggregate	Display a numeric summary of the rows in each group. Select the format to use for the display from the drop-down list.
Column order	Display columns in a different order than they appear.  See Control column order.
Column width	Control the width of the columns. For example, select Narrow to fit more data on the screen.
Enable QuickEdit (beta)	Enable to allow edits to be made directly in the table view.  Note: This feature is in preview.

When creating actions for a table view, if the Position setting for an action is set to Inline for a specific column, the action replaces the column content instead of displaying alongside it. If you want to see both the action and the content, you should create another column to attach the action to. For example, attach the action to the Email column so that both the  Name column contents and the action item display in the table row, as shown in the following figure.