QuickBase Straight Up is published by The Data Collaborative, which works with both developers and users to locate areas where QuickBase instruction is needed.
We think that Contact Sync is simple enough to stand on its own, but to clear up any potential confusion, here’s a step by step guide to syncing your contacts:
1. Log in to QuickBase Nation. Don’t have an account yet? We forgive you. But seriously, set one up now. They’re free.
2. Enter your QuickBase login info.
3. Pick your contacts table from the list provided. Fill in your application token, if necessary. (Confused about app tokens? Check out QuickBase’s support article.)
4. Fill in the name and email fields from the table in the menus provided.
5. Enter your Constant Contact login information, and select the contact list that you would like to use when transferring contacts.
6. You’re now faced with the two panes of the synchronization screen. Transferring contacts from QuickBase to Constant Contact is easy: select the QuickBase contacts you want to transfer to Constant Contact and press the right arrow. You can select multiple adjacent contacts with the shift key, and multiple separate ones using the command key on Mac or the control key on Windows.
7. Then, select the CC contacts that you’d like to send to QuickBase, and press the left arrow.
8. There is no 8. You’re done.
Enjoy your newly synchronized contacts! As always, we’d love to hear from you if you have questions or comments. Drop us a line.
Recently, with little fanfare, QuickBase began to include jQuery, the most popular client-side Javascript library, in all applications. You’d have to be eagle-eyed to catch this, though, because there’s no obvious indication of the change. To see for yourself, take a look at the source code of any page on QuickBase.com. Near the top, you’ll notice a block of code that looks like this:
<script src=”/js/utils.js?jst=2″ type=”text/javascript”></script>
<script src=”/js/jquery-1.4.2.min.js” type=”text/javascript”></script>
<script src=”/js/jquery-ui-1.8.custom.min.js” type=”text/javascript”></script>
<script src=”/js/jquery.ui.autocomplete.js” type=”text/javascript”></script>
Et cetera.
If you’re not in the know about JavaScript, chances are high that your reaction to that text is a mixture of revulsion and dread. But if you are familiar with the versatile web scripting language, you’re probably drooling over the wealth of newfound possibilities made available by the inclusion of jQuery in QuickBase. If this is the case, please take a moment to clean and sanitize your keyboard. We’ll wait.
So, non-droolers, let’s try to demystify this situation, beginning with the basics. A JavaScript library is a collection of pre-written controls for JavaScript, intended to simplify the coding process by providing shortcuts and expanding the functionality of the scripting language. jQuery is one such library, and its ease of use in areas such as event handling combined with its integration of modern browser technologies such as Ajax has made it the most popular of its kind.
To supplement jQuery’s out-of-the-box functionality, Intuit has also opted to include some plug-ins that make the library even more versatile. One such add-on is jgrowl, a lightweight notification system that creates text bubbles which float over the page content. jgrowl notifications can be implemented with a line of code as simple as:
<a onclick=”$.jGrowl(’Hello!’);” href=”javascript:void(0);”>Click here</a>
creating a link which yields the following friendly little box:
Plenty of resources are available to help you move beyond the basics of jQuery and JavaScript as a whole. Once you begin to discover the functionality and flexibility that jQuery brings to your dashboard, you’ll be sold. And of course, drop us a line if you have some wisdom to share, or even if you just want to brag about your coding genius. We’d love to hear from you.
If your business has an approval process (perhaps for purchase orders, or contract approval), then you probably want to keep a record of who signs off and when.
Adding an append-only multiple-choice approval field to your application is a perfect way to streamline your process. Such a field can allow a series of people to leave an approval “stamp” on a record that no one else can fake, and by using an append-only field, you can ensure that previous approvals cannot be overwritten. This handy feature will allow you to see a complete history of a record’s approval status.
To get started on adding your approval field, first create a new multiple choice text field with a name like “Approval.” Edit the field, and set the Append Only option under Text Options to “Yes - Expanded Style.” You can leave all of the append options as they are.
If it is not set already, set the Data Entry type to “Multiple-choice,” and create a series of options such as “Approved,” “Rejected,” and “Postponed.”
Now, when editing a record, in addition to setting the approval status, you can view the complete history of other people’s actions.
Another use of append-only fields is to create a log of progress updates, where users can add entries that will be added to a list of all previous updates.
