3/4: Have multiple forms per table.

Question

Having only one form per table is too limiting. For this tool to work for me (and to compete with Airtable, for example) I need to have the ability to view table data in several formats depending on the need. Moreover, it would be good to be able to set user credentials allowing access to all or some of these multiple forms.

A way to achieve this without too much programming it would seem is to simply allow tables to be duplicated in the Manage Table lists while giving an opportunity to assign a caption or alias to these duplicated tables.

Also, while I'm a very new user of dbFront, there doesn't appear to be a way to save common filters or filter on a prompted value. Moved to: Saved Filters and Sorting

Comments

Part of your request is a duplicate of another feature request.  Please vote for: https://dbfront.com/qa/319/control-table-visibility-through-ad-security-groups

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Moved and added a link to your other request explaining the filtering request.

Answer 1

Solution #4: Create Multiple Layouts per Table (TODO)

Having multiple form layouts per table within a single application is interesting and I have had other requests for this feature.

The biggest question to consider is how deep the configuration duplication goes and how much configuration would be shared between the forms.

NOTE: Please vote on this Feature Request and this Answer if the other proposed solutions are not enough. Please also provide a use-case in the comments so that I can understand what your are trying to accomplish.

Answer 2

Solution #1: Create a Separate Application (DONE)

Create a separate database connection and in this way create a completely separate application with completely different security, form layouts and reports.

This solution is appropriate if you are serving different departments (HR vs Finance) or completely different user classes. e.g. Internal users vs Public users vs Vendors.

This is also the most secure solution since you can use database security to ensure that each user group can't possibly bypass dbFront security to access more than they should.

Comments

Is it possible to copy an existing database connection?

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Do you want to copy the connection and the configuration or only the connection?

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Both, potentially. If the workaround for this question is to create separate connections, just trying to see if there's anything I can do to make the process easier. I'll ask it as a related question.

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There is no automatic way to duplicate a connection and all of its configuration.  What you can do is: 1) Create a new connection manually using the same security so that the same database objects are available. 2) Export and then Reimport the database configuration from the source connection to the destination configuration. Please see: https://dbfront.com/exportimport.

Answer 3

Solution #2: Visibility Conditions to show different parts of the Form (DONE).

This solution is appropriate if the purpose is to have the form layout respond to the current record's status.

dbFront has the ability to hide and show field groups in addition to the ability to manage button visibility. This can be used to hide or show fields based on the contents of the current record or any data reachable via a joined view.

You can also hide or show fields and buttons based upon the current %username% or fields in the users profile.

Answer 4

Solution #3: Personal Custom Layouts (DONE)

Power-users can optionally customize table and form layouts to suit their needs and switch back and forth as necessary.

The custom layout is unique to that user and will follow them wherever they login to dbFront.

For more details see: Custom User Layout