Is the data in Knack all in one Object? This really requires multiple connected objects to work - so Job Type would be an Object linked to Job Categories (another Object) - in this way you can filter the Child drop down by the value selected in the drop down connected to the parent record.

Sorry - missed this - do you use Error Handlers on your Knack modules in Integromat? I always do now - usually with a Break handler with 3 retries a minute or two apart. If you do this then firstly the issue may resolve itself and if not you have more options to fix it.

Hi Keith - you download them and then upload them into your Ninox account using the Import Archive option. Ninox is like a modern web based version of Access in some ways and is extremely flexible. I don't know that much about TeamDesk (or your industry) but there is definitely the flexibility there to build a system which fit's your process properly rather that you needing to adapt to a specific system. This is the beauty of tools like Ninox. Let me know if you need more assistance.

If you give me more details, I'll try - bear in mind that I am no JS guru though!!

I like that! Thanks for sharing!

It's a question which worries me greatly - mainly on behalf of clients! The viability of any solution is heavily dependant on the complexity of the solution. I guess you're asking based on the scenario that if Knack failed as a business? For a small system you could simply export the data periodically but for anything more complex then I would propose something along the lines of using Zapier or Integromat to copy records to a set of Google Sheets or similar. Neither of these options deal with the big issue under this (hopefully unlikely) scenario - and that is that you would need to re-build your app on another platform before the data could be realistically used. This may take some considerable time. Of course the same can be said about almost all the online database platforms if their business failed - with the possible exception of Ninox because their solution is available both online and also locally on Mac, iPad, iPhone and Android. Your cloud based solution can also run locally and so you can take a regular backup of the whole solution and store it locally just in case.

I'm sure Ninox would be supportive if you contacted them about it.

I agree about conditional rules but I've discovered that their 'Equation' fields can output text values and include the if(condition, true value, false value) construct maybe it's not as important:

Hi Roger - similarities definitely outweigh differences - there must be a story there. However, I have had some communication with Tadabase and they sent me this link which is interesting: https://tadabase.io/tadabase-vs-knack It'll be very interesting to see how it develops vs Knack V2

Hi Jeremy I've added an RSS button to the blog page - I'm not really certain how these are used so would you mind checking it out? Julian

Looks like you're on the right track - how are you representing general stock movements in the new model though (internal use for example)? When I do a CRM, I normally link what you've called Interactions to other tables - in this case I guess quotes, orders etc. In this way you can add related interactions to any part of the app you need - and I would always link them to the Company as well. See how many links there are to Activities in my KasCur CRM app:

Hi Sarah I'm glad that you're enjoying Ninox - I'm a great fan! And I saw that Sakshi from Ninox has responded to you - I would take her up on her offer - and maybe start to attend some of their webinars. Re your data structure, I think I would probably do this with a table linked to Products and a Price List table (say called the third table Product Prices) so that you could hold multiple prices (by type - e.g. retail, wholesale etc) for each product. You could even set up a price list for particular customers. From a UI point of view, you could either enter prices via a Price List page or via the Product page (or both). Then, when selecting a product for an Order Line, you could use the Ninox Language to look up the correct value for that type of customer (you could hold which price list to use for the customer on their record). Hope this helps.

The reasons I thought Ninox for this particular application were the ease of producing PDFs for your invoices and also I just get the feeling that there will be some coding required here and there and the Ninox language is so easy (relative to learning JS for Knack). With Ninox, subtables can be hidden so that they don't appear as their own option on the menu and so it needn't get too cluttered - however I accept that Knack's separation of the end user and design environments and flexibility of menu structures can lead to a tidier end result - but it's less interactive as a result. You could download copies of two Ninox apps I have produced which have a fair number of tables from my business website: http://software.kirknessassociates.com/ninoxapps.html The two apps, a CRM and HR app, are both password protected (so you won't be able to change the app designs) and limited in the number of records but you should be able to get a good idea about what a Ninox app can look like. You could also take a look at a Knack HR app (shown embedded in a test site): http://propeople.kirkness.com/application.html It's worth noting that while I have an HR 'app' in both Ninox and Knack, I was never able to work through getting the leave duration calculations complete in Knack whereas it was relatively simple in Ninox (given I know the basic logic very well).

Hi Sarah I back at my desk again - and have been giving your requirement some thought. Maybe you've had a chance to look at the comparison document I've produced... (not sure where you are in the world though so maybe not). If you've looked at the blog side of this site, you'll see that I tend to focus on working with products I like and have found to be capable and well supported. At the moment this means Airtable, Knack and Ninox. Looking at your requirements, I don't think Airtable is the right platform for you - this isn't because I don't like Airtable - it's more that it isn't the best fit for some of the reasons you mention - and here are some others: 1. Assuming you have several people using your database, you are not able to create a system in which users only see the elements they require to do their jobs. 2. The User Interface is, I agree, very friendly and familiar. But for a complex database (and I think you should probably only have one) it soon becomes cumbersome and confusing. Presenting all the data in a spreadsheet type format is not ideal for systems used to automate processes and procedures. 3. It isn't possible within Airtable to automate processes - for example sending an invoice out. There are others but what you want is a recommendation and for this particular application I would choose Ninox for a number of reasons: 1. Like Airtable, Ninox has the ability to build nice looking databases with built in features for file attachments and comments. 2. It has built in features for producing PDF documents, can automatically save them as attachments and even email them to people within the app. 3. It has its own language which can really make your applications do the work for you. This is much easier to use than JavaScript and the learning curve is particularly gentle. You can read another blog post comparing it with JavaScript here. 4. You can configure security access with several types of user should you need to control who can see what. 5. It's available on multiple platforms (Cloud, Mac, iPad, iPhone and Android) with the ability to work offline using the apps - re-syncing when you re-connect. 6. It's available in China (I checked with Ninox). You can get a trial licence for Ninox Cloud from their website. I hope this helps, Julian

Hi Sarah You ask some very good questions in your post! You may find the latest blog entry helps you decide about the best platform choice - and I have a view on this myself. I'm about to go out of the office for a while and will respond to you more fully later - hopefully the article will help in the meantime. Julian

Relying on you Carl! 😀