Spreadsheet like component for fast data entry.

Pat,  I’d love to see your list of specific features that would be required to bring the Table component up to this standard.  Especially with the V2 work - our intention has been to make Table more of a spreadsheet experience.  I know we aren’t all the way there - but I’d love to know what you think is missing. 

Inspiration: Smartsheet’s Salesforce integration. The Smartsheet for Salesforce Connector - YouTube

I’ve definitely heard this multiple times from our customers. We’ll definitely look for some ways to make fast data entry easier. Thanks Pat!

If you could combine that with CSV import, that would even more amazing. Load a CSV with say 5 fields per row then the ability to add (mass update) info like related records in a spreadsheet like view.

I’ve seen multiple examples of a drag-n-drop CSV importer using Skuid, so I know it’s possible…probably need to do some digging through the community a bit…for example here: https://community.skuid.com/t/paste-values-into-table

Then, you could also do something along the lines of the dynamic table creation / report builder…see example of one I did here… https://community.skuid.com/t/dynamically-create-component-upon-click-of-button

The missing “golden nugget” that would bridge those two features would be some sort of declarative creation of objects/fields…

I’m sure it’s not too far fetched. Here’s an example of a Salesforce field creator tool that runs on heroku: https://github.com/benedwards44/fieldcreator …so something like that would just need to be re-built using Skuid’s JS API.

A very clever idea would be to build this on Skuid Platform using an already provisioned PostgresSQL datasource (or something). Here’s an example I found of how to create tables & fields on Postgres using CLI: https://github.com/nmolivo/dataquest_eng/blob/master/1_production_databases/02_opt_tables.ipynb

…that example uses CLI, but since Skuid already has a CLI tool…I’m sure some dots just need to be connected to make it a seamless experience…

Ultimately, users would have to head over to Skuid Platform to take advantage of the spreadsheet-like functionality…and start capturing data on Skuid Platform…even if it’s just to send that data back over to their SFDC environment. Then users might start thinking…maybe I should just keep my data on Skuid Platform and expose it through apps built right there on Platform…

Probably more dots that need to be connected than I am making it out to sound…but I’m quite positive Skuid product team could make it happen!

Ok - you guys went down the “data loader” functionality,  which is cool.  But I’m wondering where we fall down in terms of spreadsheet like edit capabilities? 

• Arrow keys to navigate cells.
• Copy and paste groups of cells
• Easily create Rows and Columns
• Find and Replace

Pat - for rows creation, can’t you just use “Allow Inline Record Creation” on a table or a custom action that creates a new row?

For columns - the data the user enters into the user-created columns would need to be stored in the database somewhere, right?

So, if it’s running on Salesforce, you would need to have:

• a pre-built field that column corresponds to, or...
• expose to user the ability to create UI-Only fields, which would still need to be mapped to a pre-built field in order to save that data, or...
• the ability to declaratively build fields via the Skuid interface --> feeding back into my comment above, or...

I think the core things people love about excel would probably require a client app or maybe a browser plug in… 1) load large amounts of data that you can quickly scroll, filter, sort, move, edit, and perform math on. 2) formula fields on the fly that compute across thousands of records in seconds. 3) mass update entire rows/columns 4) it is essentially a developer sandbox. A novice can quickly build meaningful functionality in minutes on their own without the tech guy and a 3 month long wait. 5) pivot tables 6) advanced functions that take a lot of computing power… Short of the above, the squid table is pretty functional now… we still need to export to CSV regularly to open in excel or to upload to other systems. Some suggestions to improve tables: 1) on the fly formulas fields that the user can easily build by hitting an “add formula” button or something. These formulas could be saved in the Skuid app somewhere and loaded with the table each time. Maybe you could link the result to a database field so the calcs are done by Skuid, but the results of the formula are saved back to the database on record save. 2) on the fly pivot tables that summarize all the data based on current filters with a “load in all records” option. These could be temporary tables or the user could save them for future use. 3) custom export settings… A) I have some processes where I have users follow my well structured processes in Skuid UI to make them essentially fool proof, but the info that results needs to be uploaded into another system. So, I have to export the standard Skuid export, then modify column headers and formats to prepare the file for upload to the other system. Preferably, I would be able to set the column headers, and row selection and order (if different than what is displayed in the table) B) save those settings for future use C) there may be instances where orgs have multiple export format needs, so offering multiple export formats and allowing the user to choose which saved export would be nice. 4) copy and pasting rows and doesn’t seem like it applies as much here since the data is stored in standardized databases, but within a column, you may want to copy the first field value of formula in a specific column and paste it down through 10 rows of the column or the column entirely. It is like the Skuid mass update, but more spreadsheety. 5) import (AKA, open a CSV from desktop). I know there is some overlap with “dataloader” functionality here, but I think an important function of excel is to be able to just click a CSV and begin cutting it up. I realize that the CSV would have to be in a certain format to field match. I envision a structured upsert process where the user clicks “export template”. This would download a CSV that has the first column as the record Id’s of the records in the table, the second column would be the .Name field and all the column headers preset so that they automatch upon upload. Also, any existing reference field Id’s would also be loaded in. Then the user can add any info to any fields they want in excel and create new rows (leaving the ID field blank). Then the user clicks an “upsert CSV” button on the table somewhere. The data would be pulled from the CSV and loaded into memory and displayed in the table. Then the user could click save to commit. Inevitably, there will be snags… like a required field or a reference ID field that they skipped, or a particular validation type not respected. That is why you preload to the table. Any errant fields get ignored by the import. When the user tried to save, it points out all the issues with required fields and incorrect data types etc… 5) some sort of excel plugin to streamline the handoff between Skuid and excel 6) some sort of bid data chrome extension or desktop app or something to enhance how big data is handled in the browser. Those are my ideas. Hopefully there is some value here. Thanks for all you do!

Lol… Wait Raymond said.

Haha… this is why no one invites me to cocktail parties.

Hi @Jeanguy_Vachon, et al., I’m happy to report that Skuid now supports the spreadsheet-like “data grid” mode in the Dubai release.

The latest Dubai release 15.0.8 is now available on the Skuid Releases page.

Best practices for upgrading can be found in Upgrading Skuid on Salesforce and an overview of the installation process can be found here. As a reminder, Salesforce does NOT allow reverting back to prior versions of managed packages. Skuid always recommends installing new versions in a non-business critical sandbox environment to test all mission critical functionality before installing into a production environment. We also recommend that you update out of date themes and design systems after you upgrade.

We look forward to your feedback on this and other new features!