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Getting Started

Hansel Miranda
Technical Curriculum Developer
Google Cloud

Welcome to the module on getting started with AppSheet.

 01 Signing in to AppSheet

02 Creating your first app

03 Testing your app

Agenda
04 Sharing your app

05 Lab

06 Review

In this module, you’ll learn how to get started by signing in to AppSheet using a cloud
provider account from Google.

You will explore how to create your first app using the AppSheet Editor and how to
connect it to your data source.

We’ll briefly discuss the ways you can test and share your app, and do a lab to create
a basic app using AppSheet.

Finally, we will review what was discussed in this module.

 01 Signing in to AppSheet

02 Creating your first app

03 Testing your app

Agenda
04 Sharing your app

05 Lab

06 Review

Let’s start by first discussing how to sign in to AppSheet.

 www.appsheet.com/Account/Login

You can sign in to AppSheet using this url: https://www.appsheet.com/Account/Login

The AppSheet sign-in process uses third-party authentication with data providers.

AppSheet uses OAuth for authentication and must be granted consent to manage
data that is stored with the provider.

For example, you can sign in with Google using your Google account or Workspace
credentials.
Next, choose the Google account you want to sign in to Google with.

Note that for the labs in this course, an account will be provided.
During the sign-in process, you provide consent and agree to allow AppSheet to
access and manage your files stored in Google Drive in your account.
You are then presented with a pop-up window that provides options to start creating
an app. We’ll discuss this in the next lesson in this module.
After you sign in, the My apps page of the AppSheet UI is displayed.

If you are just beginning with AppSheet and have not created any apps yet, the My
apps page will be empty.

Otherwise, this page will list any apps that have been created.
From the My apps page, you can navigate to other areas in AppSheet to:

● manage your account and team

● access sample apps
● get help by reviewing product documentation and community articles
● and much more.
 01 Signing in to AppSheet

02 Creating your first app

03 Testing your app

Agenda
04 Sharing your app

05 Lab

06 Review

In this lesson, we discuss how you can create your first app in AppSheet and connect
it to a data source.

Building an app in AppSheet is an intuitive process.

You use the AppSheet UI, which includes an editor to build and configure your app.
 Start with your Start with Start with
own data an idea sample app

There are 3 ways you can build your app using the AppSheet UI:

● The first option allows you to start by defining your app details and connecting
an initial data set from your provider account.

● With the second option, if you have ideas for your app but no existing data,
you can use natural language to describe your app functionality, and have the
data schema and source automatically generated in your connected account.

● The third option allows you to start with a sample app.

In the AppSheet Editor, you have access to 50+ publicly available templates that help
provide a foundation for common app use cases across a variety of business
functions.
 Start with your Start with Start with
own data an idea sample app

In this lesson, you will learn how to create an app by connecting to an existing Google
sheet as the data source.

We've broken down this process into 6 steps:

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01 Prepare your data

To create an app by connecting to an existing Google Sheet, you must first prepare
the sheet that you want to use.
 Spreadsheet

Spreadsheet

Primary data source

Spreadsheet
AppSheet
Google Drive
account
Spreadsheet

Spreadsheet

Spreadsheet

Your AppSheet account always has access to a primary data source from the provider
account that you initially used to sign in (for example Google Drive).

You can use spreadsheets and other documents from that account in your apps.
 Provide meaningful header columns.

Ensure that the data type format is consistent.

Orient the data in your sheet vertically.

Here are some ways to prepare spreadsheets that you want to use with your app:

● Provide meaningful header columns in bold in the first row of your sheet.
○ Naming your columns appropriately helps AppSheet identify the type of
data that is stored in each column.

● Make sure the data type format is the same for each cell in a column.
○ For example, if you have a column with dates, make sure that all of the
cells in the column use the same date format.

● Orient the data in your sheet vertically with the header row at the top and data
rows beneath it, so that a row is added to the sheet for new data.
 Headers

To make sure AppSheet can read your data correctly, set up your data with column
headers in the first row,
 Rows
of data

.. and rows of data underneath.

We will discuss preparing and leveraging data for your apps in more detail in a later
module.
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02 Connect your
data to AppSheet

After your data is set up, you need to connect it to AppSheet.

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You can connect AppSheet

to your data in 3 different ways.

AppSheet does not host your data, but does interact with it based on how you set up
your app.

You can connect AppSheet to your data in one of three ways:

Your first option is to connect your data source and set up your account from the My
account tab in the AppSheet UI.
To set up your data source from a cloud provider account, you must first sign in to that
account using your account credentials.

AppSheet supports many data source cloud providers, as shown here.

Another way you can connect to a new data source is by going to your My Apps page
and clicking “Make a new app.”
By starting with your own data, you can configure the app with a data source.

You can select a data source from your existing cloud provider account or add a new
data source from a different cloud provider.

To use a different cloud provider, you follow the same process as discussed
previously to sign in to the cloud provider account and select the data source for the
app.
Finally, if you use Google Sheets, you can connect your data to AppSheet directly
from your Sheet by clicking Tools > AppSheet > Create an app.
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03 Add capabilities to
your app with the
AppSheet Editor

After you have connected your data, you can add capabilities to your app by using the
AppSheet Editor.
 Interact with data via the app.

Perform actions by using app behaviors.

View data in the app through different types of views.

Run automated processes in response to events.

And much more...

These capabilities include:

● Interacting with data via the app.

● Performing actions by using app behaviors.

● Viewing data in the app through different types of views.

● Running automated processes in response to events.

● And much more…

To modify the capabilities of the app by using the AppSheet editor, go to the main
navigation menu on the left side of the editor, where you’ll see several menu items.

By default, the editor displays the contents of these menu items in the center section
of the UI.

Let’s review each of these options:

 Info
See and manage the
technical details of your app.

● Info - lets you see and manage the technical details of your app.
 Data
Define how AppSheet is
connected to your data.

● Data - lets you define how AppSheet is connected to your data.

 UX
Create and customize views
and the look and feel of your app.

● UX - lets you create and customize views, along with the look and feel of your
app.
 Behavior
Create buttons for navigating in
the app, initiating external links,
and triggering data workflows.

● Behavior - lets you create buttons for navigating in the app, initiating external
links, and triggering data workflows.
 Automation
Create automated processes to
run in response to certain events.

● Automation - enables you to define automated processes to run in response

to certain events.
 Security
Define security features
for your app.

● Security - enables you to define security features for your app, such as
requiring users to sign in.
 Intelligence
Incorporate machine learning
models into your app.

● Intelligence - lets you incorporate machine learning into your app, such as
sentiment analysis, predictive analytics, and optical character recognition.
 Manage
Manage app versions, monitor
usage and performance, and more.

● Under ‘Manage’ you can manage app versions, monitor usage and
performance, and more.
Finally, whenever you make edits to your app, the Save button in the top right corner
turns blue.

Make sure you click it so your edits are saved.

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04 Define how your

connected data
will be used

The next steps show how you can implement some of these capabilities in your app.

We first start with specifying how your data is used by the app.
To specify how your data is being used, go to the Data tab.
By default, the AppSheet editor lists the data source or table that was used to create
the app (here called “Customer details”).

To add additional tables to your app, click on New Table.

To select a data source from your existing cloud provider, for example Google Drive
as shown here, click the appropriate button and select the file.

You can also add a data source from a new cloud provider account by clicking the
Add button and following the steps to sign in to your account and choose your file.
To access the list of columns that make up the table, click on the Columns tab.
Here you can click the table name to see a list of columns that make up the table.
The column structure of your connected data determines the features that can be
added to your app.

For example, if you want to capture and display images in your app, there must be a
column in your table whose type is set as Image.
Here are two other examples of the properties you can set:

● If you want a table column’s value to be displayed in your app, select the
‘show’ box for that column.
● For data that you do not want displayed in the app, clear the ‘show’ box.
 ● Type lets you specify what type of data is in each column.

For example, if you have an address column in your table, you need to make sure
that the column type is set to Address.

We will describe setting up your table columns in the next module.

By clicking on the pencil icon to the left of each column, you can modify the properties
of the column to change how the app interacts with the data that is stored in the
column.
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05 Create views
and customize the
app’s look and feel

Let’s discuss how to create views and customize the look and feel of your app.
AppSheet makes it easy to create views for your app by providing ready-to-use view
templates that you can customize.

Each page you see in your app is known as a View. Note that AppSheet may suggest
Views based on the data that is connected to the app. You might want these views in
your app, but if not, you can use different types of views.

You will learn how to use views in later modules in this course.

To list existing views of the app, go to the UX tab (UX stands for user experience, or
how people interact with your app).
This tab lists the app’s primary views that are available to users when interacting with
the app. Other system views are also listed in this tab.

To create a new view for your app, in the Views section click New View.
 Update the view name.

From here, you can:

● Update the View Name.

 Select which data source the view
should use.

● Select which data source the view should use.

 Choose the type of view.

● Choose the type of view - such as Calendar, Deck, Map, Form, Chart, and
Card, to name a few. You can play around with each view to see which one
works best.
 Set the view position.

● Choose how the view can be accessed by setting its Position:

○ Along the main navigation bar at the bottom of your app

○ Via the menu in the top left corner of your app

○ By a reference from another view using the ref position

 Specify view options.

● In the View Options section, you can specify how to sort and group the data,
and other display options.
To customize your app’s look and feel, use the Brand, Format Rules, Options and
Localize tabs, where you can specify your theme, colors, logos, and more!

We will discuss this in more detail in a later module of this course.

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06 Create custom
actions

Finally, you can create custom actions for your app.

The Behavior tab in the AppSheet editor lets you set up custom buttons and actions
that can be used in a wide variety of ways.
These can be set by clicking on New Action.
Here you can set the action name and specify the type of action to occur and the
action icon.

The Workflow and Reports tabs let you set up automations, such as sending emails
or SMS texts when data is added or updated.
Workflow and Reports are very similar, with one key difference: Workflows are
automations that are triggered when certain actions occur, and Reports are
automations that run on periodic schedules.
Finally, if you want users to be able to use your app when it is not connected to the
internet, you can enable offline use in the Offline/Sync section.

Note that with the launch of AppSheet automation, the Behavior workflow and reports
features are being replaced by automation events and processes.
Actions and Automation are discussed in other courses in this AppSheet course
series.
 01 Signing in to AppSheet

02 Creating your first app

03 Testing your app

Agenda
04 Sharing your app

05 Lab

06 Review

Let’s now discuss how you can test your AppSheet app.
App preview

The simplest and easiest way to test your app during development is to use the app
preview in the AppSheet Editor.
On the right hand side in the AppSheet UI, a live preview of your app is displayed.

This is the simplest way to test your app in your browser. The preview in the editor
sidebar shows what the latest version of your app will look like on a phone oriented
vertically.

To quickly test other form factors such as tablet, horizontal phone, or full-screen
browser mode, use the link above the editor preview.
Test on mobile devices

Of course, before deploying the app, you should also test it on your mobile devices by
sending the install link to yourself or a subset of users.
To enable user testing of your app, you must first share the app with other users.

We discuss how you can share your app in the next video.
Once your app is shared with other users, they can either download the AppSheet
app on their device, or open your app in a web browser to test the app.

Once you’ve incorporated any app feedback you can officially deploy it, activating all
the services in your app.

We discuss app deployment and publishing in more detail in a later module of this
course.
 01 Signing in to AppSheet

02 Creating your first app

03 Testing your app

Agenda
04 Sharing your app

05 Lab

06 Review

We now review the different ways that you can share your AppSheet app with other
users.
When you are ready to share your app, in the AppSheet editor, click Manage, and
then Share.

You then need to decide whether to share it with anyone (public) or with a restricted
audience.
You can share your app with anyone by making it public only if the following
statements are true:

● Access to your app does not need to be secure for any reason and your app
does not access sensitive data.

● And you are not concerned about the number of active users accessing your
app.
You can also share your apps with a restricted audience to control who can
use the app, and optionally view or edit the app definition in the app editor.

In the Share App dialog, enable “Advanced”. to view and modify a user's role
and assigned app version.

After sharing the app, you can notify users by sending them a link. Click Copy
sharing links to view a list of links that you can use.

You can also send reminder emails to users who have not used your app by
clicking the envelope next to the user’s email address.
You can share your app with individual users…
…or with users in a domain.

Read the AppSheet documentation for more information on sharing your app.
Congratulations on learning how to create your first app! From here, you can continue
improving your app or start on your next idea!
 help.appsheet.com/en
community.appsheet.com

AppSheet provides numerous resources that you can use to learn how to leverage
the platform to build your own tailored apps.

Go to the AppSheet Help Center to access hundreds of help articles on various

AppSheet features.

And explore AppSheet’s active community and engage with other app creators on
specific topics and questions.
 01 Signing in to AppSheet

02 Creating your first app

03 Testing your app

Agenda
04 Sharing your app

05 Lab

06 Review

Welcome to the first lab in this course on AppSheet.

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Lab
Creating a Basic App Using AppSheet

In this lab, you …

In this lab, you learn to:

01 Create an app using the AppSheet UI.

02 Configure the app using data from a sheet.

03 Use the live app preview to modify data.

Verify that the data changes are saved in the

04 underlying data source.

create a simple app to manage business contact information using the AppSheet UI.

You configure the app using data from a sheet on Google Drive.

And use the live app preview feature in AppSheet to modify the data displayed in the
app.

You also verify that the data changes made via the app are saved in the underlying
data source (sheet on Google drive).
 01 Signing in to AppSheet

02 Creating your first app

03 Testing your app

Agenda
04 Sharing your app

05 Lab

06 Review
In this module, you learned to:

01 Sign in using a cloud provider account.

Create an app using AppSheet and a

02 spreadsheet as its data source.

03 Connect a data source to your app in the

AppSheet UI and navigate the AppSheet editor.

04 Use the column structure of data sources.

05 Create, test, and share your first app using

AppSheet.

In this module, you learned how to get started with AppSheet by signing in with a
cloud provider account from Google.

You learned about the different ways to create an app using AppSheet and the steps
involved in creating an app using a spreadsheet as its data source.

We discussed how to connect a data source to your app in the AppSheet UI and
explored how to navigate the AppSheet editor.

You learned how to view the column structure of data sources, and about the various
types of views that can be used in your app.

You learned how to share your app, and completed a lab to create your first app and
test the app using AppSheet’s live app preview.