[Ask a Product Expert] 20.3 Records Q&A

The addition of Records as a data source for grids is an interesting addition.  Out of curiosity, what level of granularity of control will we have when editing this setup via expression, and how will it work in general?

Does this change mean we will now (or sometime soon) gain the ability to edit Record List grids via expression?  Being forced to use the graphical editor for record grids consistently forces me to take on the order of 10x as long to do any edits, even simple ones, which is pretty frustrating.

Hi Mike! I'll respond to both of your questions individually:

1. Out of curiosity, what level of granularity of control will we have when editing this setup via expression, and how will it work in general? When you first select a Record Type as the data source for your read-only grid in Interface Designer, we set up several configurations for you -- such as the columns you have already configured for the Record List. From there, you can edit the configurations to fit the needs of your page. This means adding new columns, removing existing columns, or editing existing grid columns -- just like you do today! You also define which records features you want for this grid, such as user filters, export to Excel, the search box, actions, and the refresh button. We have new parameters on read-only grids that let you customize each of these configurations to your liking when your data is Records. 
2. Does this change mean we will now (or sometime soon) gain the ability to edit Record List grids via expression? Yes! This release has exposed the ability to edit your grid columns as expression when working on the Record List in Record Type Designer.

Both of these questions (and potentially more!) are addressed in more detail in the Appian 20.3 release webinar linked in the original post. I encourage watching at least the Records portion of that video completely if you have the time!

Thanks for the answers - in my defense, I watched the webinar live and, though I may have missed something, I felt like these questions weren't necessarily answered there.  I don't remember any particular reference being made to editability in expression mode.  I look forward to reading the release notes soon :)

Of course and no problem at all! Completely understand having watched the webinar live and missing something as the presentation moves quickly -- just wanted to call out the link in case you had missed it and wanted to re-watch the webinar.

Of course and no problem at all! Completely understand having watched the webinar live and missing something as the presentation moves quickly -- just wanted to call out the link in case you had missed it and wanted to re-watch the webinar.