But what exactly is low-code development? And how does it differ from traditional development? In this blog, we examine the differences between low-code and traditional development – and help you determine which type of development is right for your business. Read on to find out more.

Understanding Low-Code and Traditional Development

Before we dig into the main differences between low-code and traditional development, we must know exactly what we’re talking about. Imagine you are looking to design a new piece of software, such as a domain checker or a customer service portal.

In days gone by, you would have had to use IT specialists to build this software from the ground up. This would have required the use of specialized coding languages, with each part of the software needing to be written from scratch. This can be a pretty resource-intensive process: you need skilled developers, the right databases and programming languages, and tools that allow you to write and manage code. Using lots of professional developers to produce software is therefore a pretty expensive venture, and it can also take a lot of time to develop software from scratch.

This meant that more companies started to look away from traditional development: instead, they opted for a low-code approach. This is where you only use a small amount of coding to produce a piece of software, as you instead use a range of pre-designed modules alongside some small modifications of the baseline code. Rather than needing an in-depth knowledge of coding languages, you’ll be able to use a visual approach to drag and drop blocks of components to build the software you need. This low-code approach, therefore, frees up companies from relying on a large team of software developers.

8 Differences of Low-Code and Traditional Development

So now you know the basics of low-code and traditional development. But to know which form of development is right for your organization, we’ll need to go into a bit more detail about the differences between the two. Here are the 8 biggest differences between low-code and traditional development.

1. Coding Knowledge

Probably the most significant distinction between low-code and traditional development is the amount of coding knowledge that is required to produce a piece of software or build an app. As you have to write the program from scratch when developing traditionally, you need a team of specialists with a deep knowledge of coding languages.

This isn’t the case with low-code development: instead, you might require just one team member with basic coding knowledge. This specialist will allow you to be confident in handling the more detailed bits of app development, but the rest of the team could be made up of people without any coding skills, like citizen developers as low-code app development largely includes a visual, modular approach.

2. Speed of Development

Because a low-code approach uses a lot of pre-designed components, working applications can be designed and ready to publish in between one to three weeks. Of course, this will be longer if you’re working on more complex software and need to put more time in to ensure quality, but low-code development is generally high-speed. This means that app development time is a key difference from traditional development. Working to produce lines of code from scratch can be pretty time-consuming, with many projects taking around six months to complete. If you need a piece of software quickly, there’s no doubt that low-code development is the path for you.

3. Agility

Similarly, making changes to apps through traditional development can also be slow and arduous. This is because you’ll have to work through hundreds of lines of code to make a change to a software feature, impacting the agility of your apps.

Low-code software, on the other hand, is much more agile – you can simply swap out modular components if you need to make a change, meaning that any errors in your development can be rectified quickly.

4. Maintenance

Maintaining your software is one of the things that businesses often fail to consider when planning app development. However, it’s crucial to regularly update your apps to make sure that they remain functional and secure.

A low-code approach will remove the burden of maintenance from your IT team – instead, the company that provides the baseline code will be responsible for updating its code, meaning that your apps will be automatically updated. When it comes to traditional development, however, you’ll need to have your teams update the code each time you need to update the software.

5. Customization

The differences in customizability between low-code and traditional development are where you can see some of the downsides of the low-code approach. As you’re relying on the provider’s components, your apps will have little customization – you can only do what is available to you in the software production tools.

However, with Comidor’s customization solutions, this limitation is significantly mitigated. Comidor offers a highly flexible low-code platform that allows for extensive customization beyond the standard components provided. With traditional coding, however, you’re in total control of what goes into your software. This means that – as long as you have the right amount of highly-skilled software engineers – you can tailor your apps so that they’re perfectly aligned with your requirements.

Through Comidor, users can extend built-in components by creating or modifying components to better fit specific business needs. Also, Comidor supports the integration of custom code, giving developers the freedom to write their own scripts and algorithms within the platform. This hybrid approach combines the rapid development benefits of low-code with the flexibility of custom coding. Last but not least, users can design complex workflows and automate intricate processes without being limited by the platform’s inherent functionalities. Comidor’s workflow designer is highly adaptable, allowing for the creation of tailored solutions.

6. Cost

Because you need to have a team of software developers to make a piece of software through the traditional approach, making apps from scratch can be much more expensive than the low-code approach.

However, low–code services are often paid for through a monthly subscription, whereas software produced traditionally is a one-off expense. This means that if you only intend to make one app, it might actually be more cost-effective to invest in a traditional coding approach.

7. Security

The security of your software needs to be one of your most important considerations. With a traditional approach, you’re reliant on your software developers to design a secure app, which will take time and resources.

However, low-code development essentially outsources security measures to the component provider, meaning that you can be confident that your software will comply with security and privacy regulations while also saving money.

8. Multi-platform

It’s also important that your apps can work effectively on multiple platforms. As in the case of security, this is part of the providers’ offering when it comes to low-code development, with many low-code apps able to work on multiple platforms. If you’re developing it entirely in-house, though, you’ll need to have specialists in cross-platform development.

Low-code vs Traditional Development: Finding the Right Choice for Your Business

Understanding the differences between low-code development and traditional development is vital for any modern business looking to create software or apps. That’s why we put together this guide to the differences between the two approaches.

But should you choose low-code or traditional development? While low-code development includes a lot of obvious benefits, such as quicker speed of development, you need to carefully consider your company’s priorities and tech stack. If you want a highly customized app, for instance, traditional development will likely be much more suitable.

Now that you know the differences between low-code and traditional development, you’re perfectly placed to make the right decision for your business. Start developing today!

The post 8 Differences of Low-Code and Traditional Development appeared first on Comidor Low-code Automation Platform.

Comidor App Designer offers a range of applications to cater to different needs. You can select the one that best suits your requirements from the following options:

1. Table applications: 
   • Sequential apps (with workflows)
   • Process-based workflow apps
   • Simple non-process-based apps (Data-driven)
2. Report applications
3. Kanban applications
4. Portal applications

Let’s explore a step-by-step guide on how to create and run a portal application.

Portal Application

A portal app serves as a gateway or entry point for employees, customers, partners, and other stakeholders, to access a wide range of services, information, processes, and functionalities allowing them to interact seamlessly with your company. A portal can take various forms, such as an employee self-service portal, a customer self-service portal, or a vendor self-service portal. These apps often provide personalized experiences by allowing users to customize their preferences, settings, and the design of the portal.

Comidor platform is revolutionizing the way businesses create portal applications with its user-friendly and visually appealing user interface. Users have the ability to create both public portal sites, which can be accessed by non-Comidor users, and internal portal apps that are accessible within the Comidor environment.

When designing a portal app, you have a wide range of components to choose from. These include text, labels, images, links, buttons, tables, grids, and more. Easily drag and drop these elements onto the canvas, arrange them according to your preferences, define the desired style, and effortlessly associate components with specific properties and data actions. You can even preview your design live as you build your portal.

Access App Designer

To access App Designer, navigate to the main menu on the left side of your screen and select the following options: App Factory > Application Builder > App Designer

In the newly opened unit, click on the “Create an App” button.

Create App

• To open the creation form, simply click on the “Create an App” icon.

• In the Application Type, select “Portal App”.

• Provide the Application Name.
• You can either choose from the existing options in the list or add a new Menu Header option. Depending on your selection, your app will be displayed in the corresponding menu header with a new icon. If you leave it empty, it will be included in the packages menu header.
• You can classify your app into a proper Category. Choose an existing category from the options provided or create a new Category. Categorization helps you easily locate your apps in the App Designer. Depending on the category you select, the app will also be displayed in the respective sub-menu.
• Collaborators are the users or groups who have access rights to this App. Choose one or more users(s), Group(s) from the list.
• Check the “Is Public?” option if you would like to make this portal accessible to non-Comidor users. By doing so, a public URL will be generated in step 6. If left unchecked, the portal app will only be accessible to Comidor users through the platform’s menu.
• There is an option to upload an Image for your App.
• Click “Save” to create your app or “Close” to cancel.

After saving your app, you will be redirected to the view form. Comidor will guide you through simple steps to design your app. Steps 1, 4, and 6 are available for this app type.

1. Dashboard

In the Dashboard step, you will get an overview of your application. Specifically, you will be able to view:

• Basic Info:
  • the Type, Category, and other parameters
  • To edit the above information, simply click on the pencil button.
  • You can lock your app by selecting the “Locked” option. By enabling this feature, only the user who locks the app will have editing permissions in all steps. Other users will only be able to view the app but will not be able to make any edits.
  • By selecting the “Has customizations” option, the application will not be exportable.
  • Add a flag to remember if this application Has application parameters.
• Collaborators: the users or groups who have access rights in this App.
• Comments: an interactive area that allows users with access to write and view comments.

4. Advanced

Maximize your use of the App Designer by taking advantage of this advanced options step. This includes incorporating Data Objects and Event Scripts into your portal app, allowing you to enhance its functionality and customization.

Data Objects

Data objects are discrete units of information that are structured and organized within a computer system or database. When we use the term “data object”, we are essentially referring to a set of data that should be considered as an independent entity. Data objects come in a variety of forms, such as data tables, lists, forms, pointers, records, files, and sets.

With data objects in Comidor App Designer, you can enhance the functionality of your event scripts in any app. It allows you to quickly and effortlessly create any type of data set you require.

• To create a new Data Object, simply click on the “+” icon.
• Create data sets, variables, lists, forms, records, or action data types and define their properties.
• Utilize those data objects in event scripts.

Event Scripts

In this tab, you ψαν write scripts for a specific Data Type to be executed before/after/during a specific event.

To create a new Event script, simply click on the “+” icon:

• Add the “Procedure Name“.
• Select the Data Type (apprec, task, process, dataset) and specify where you would like the script to be applied.
• An Event Type can be inserted, updated, deleted, etc.
• Add your code to the Procedure Body.
  •  This is designed for advanced users to document their procedures.

6. Template

In this step, you can set up your Portal template by defining all the elements, styles, CSS and Js functions you wish to include.

Layers

• On the left side of the template designer, you will find the available Layers that you have already included in your template design. Simply click on the layer you wish to edit, and the respective options will appear.

Actions in the design

• Select the preview of your portal design: Desktop, Tablet, or Mobile.
• To store all your latest changes, simply click on the Save icon.
• The refresh icon will display a preview of your portal application design, reflecting your latest changes.

• Simply click on the “View Components” option to highlight all components. This will apply a dotted border around each component.
• Get a preview of the Portal application simply click on the preview icon. Easily return to the edit mode by clicking on the respective icon.
• To view the code of your portal template design, simply click on the designated area. A pop-up will appear, allowing you to see and copy the code. When you’re done, just click on the “x” icon to close the pop-up.
• To import the code of your portal template design, simply follow these steps:
  1. Locate the pop-up window where you can type or paste the code
  2. Click on the Import button to apply the code to your portal template.
  3. If you wish to close the pop-up, click on the “x” icon.

• Toggle or Show all images in your design.
• Undo or redo your most recent changes.
• To clear your canvas, simply click on the bin icon.
• To enhance your design experience, toggle to fullscreen mode.

Blocks and Style Manager

• To add blocks to your portal app template design, simply click on the + icon located on the right side of your screen. You can then drag and drop one or more blocks onto your design. The following options are available:

  • Basic blocks: Label, Button, Div, Text, Image, Input, Textarea, Select, Check, Radio, Link, Text section.

• • Table blocks: 1 Column, 2 Columns, 3 Columns, 2 Columns 3/7, 1 Section, 1/2 Section, 1/3 Section, 3/7 Section.

• • More: Video, Map, Tabs, Custom Code, Tooltip, Form, Divider, Grid Items, List Items.

• After adding a block, you can click on the gear icon to apply settings. Each component may have different settings.

• To open the Style Manager, simply choose a block and click on the paintbrush icon.

• • Add Classes
  • Define General options
  • Dimension options
  • Decorations options
  • Extra options
  • Flex options

Custom CSS and JS

• Easily incorporate custom CSS and JS within the App Designer to unlock endless possibilities for personalization and enhanced functionality as you build your portal app.

Publish

Once you have perfected your design, simply click on the Publish button to Publish your app.

Your app is instantly published, and the HTML design is seamlessly generated. Access your portal effortlessly by using the external URL conveniently located above the designer canvas.

Share this public URL with your clients or vendors to involve them in your internal processes, or embed it on your website.

Edit Apps

If you want to edit an existing Portal Application, go to the main menu on the left side of your screen and select the icon App Factory > Application Builder > App Designer. From the list of applications, select the one you wish to edit.

• To apply any changes to the basic information of the Portal application, simply click on the pencil button.
• You can navigate through steps 1-6 by clicking on the respective step and making any desired changes. Do not forget to publish your changes.
• To export the current application, simply click on the Actions button and select Export.
• If you wish, you can delete a User App. Simply open the App you want to delete and click on the Delete option from the actions button.
  • A confirmation pop-up has appeared. Click “Confirm” to proceed with the deletion or click “Cancel“.
  • You can also check the Linked Entities that will be affected in the respective tab.
• Finally, you have the option to choose “copy” to duplicate the current application. A pop-up will appear, allowing you to define the name of the copied app.

Run App

You can view the result of your Portal Application after publishing your app by either navigating through the main menu or using the Public URL, as shown in step 6 of App Designer.

Find out more about App Designer and how to create other app types here.

The post Portal Application appeared first on Comidor Low-code Automation Platform.

The post What is Rapid Application Development: A 2023 Guide appeared first on Comidor Low-code Automation Platform.

There are various types of applications provided in Comidor App Designer. You can choose the one that fits better your needs from the following options:

1. Table applications: 
   • The Sequential process-based: Choose this type when you want to monitor processes that are simple with only sequential tasks, with scheduling, state, completion, etc.
   • The process-based workflow: Choose this type when you want to monitor process-enabled records, with scheduling, state, more complicated workflow steps, loops, automation steps, completion, etc.
   • Simple Non-process based: Choose this type of table application when you want to create a table of data-driven records. No workflows can be related to this type.
2. Report applications
3. Kanban applications
4. Portal applications: This type is used by developers to design a portal with custom objects and commands, to which non-comidor users can have access.

Access App Designer

In order to access App Designer go to the main menu on the left side of your screen and select the icon App Factory > Application Builder > App Designer

In the unit that opens, you can apply the following actions:

1. Create an App
2. Import an App
3. Reload the Database
4. Search for an existing App.
5. Apply filters based on the App type, Status (Pending Publish, Published), whether it is Basic or Supportive, and Categories, and click the “Apply” button to check the results counter and correspondingapps. 
   • In the preview of each app, you can see the title, category, and image of this app.
6. Reset all filters. All apps are shown again.
7. Open and edit an existing App.

Create Apps

• Click on the “Create an App” icon to open the creation form.

• Depending on the Application Type, different fields will appear.

• Give the Application Name and Description
• Choose a Menu Header from the existing options, or add a new Menu Header. By defining an option, the app will be displayed in your Menu icon. If left empty, your app will be shown in the menu, in the Packages menu header.
• You can also classify your app in a proper Category. Choose one Category from the existing options, or make a new Category. Categorization will help you find easier your apps in the App Designer. Based on the category you choose, the app will be also displayed on the respective sub-menu.
• Collaborators are the field where you determine which users will be able to see the application in the User Apps menu.
  • For a table app, you can also make it Process enabled, by clicking on the respective checkbox. If so, you are able to link a Workflow to your App.
• Select whether this app is Basic or Supportive.
• Define if this app has a Kanban view. If enabled, table records can be displayed on Kanban boards.
• There is an option to upload an Image for your app.
• Click Save to create your App, or Close to cancel.

Once you save your app, you are redirected to the view form. Comidor guides you through simple steps to design your App.

1. Dashboard

In the step Dashboard, you get an overview of your application. In particular, you are able to view:

• Quick Stats:
  • Number of forms, Steps, and Widgets that are created in this app
  • Graphs that show the application activity timeline and the Apps Overview status.
• Basic Info:
  • the Type, Category, and other parameters
  • You can click on the pencil button to edit the above info
    • You can define whether the application is Public or not.
    • You can lock your app by checking on the Locked option. With this option, only the user who locks the app will be able to edit the app (in all steps). All the rest users will just be able to view the app, but can not edit it.
    • By checking the Has Customizations option, the application will not be exportable.
    • Put a flag to remember if this application Has application parameters.
• Collaborators: the users or groups that have access rights in this App.
• Comments: an area where users who have access can write and view comments.

2. Process

In the second step, you can fully design your process in terms of the number and the looks of the process steps, your Data model, Table View, and User Forms.

Depending on the app type, different functionalities are available.

When the Kanban view is enabled, you have the ability to customize the fields that you want to display on the Kanban boards in the Table View. Simply click on the edit icon for each field that you want to show in the Kanban view and check the “Is Kanban Field?” option.

Before publishing the app, remember to go to the Configuration step and select the “Group By Field” and the “Title Field“. The “Group By Field” is used to categorize boards, while the “Title Field” will serve as the title for each board. This ensures that your boards are organized, structured, and tailored to meet your specific requirements.

3. Graphs

In step 3, you can design your app Graphs or Widgets. Comidor Widgets are the ideal choice for data visualization. Get the most updated data on the visualization format you define.

• Create your own personalized dashboard in seconds.
• Combine multiple views of data to get richer insight.

You can easily create a new Graph, by clicking on the “+” icon.

Find out more about all types of Widgets and how to create them.

4. Advanced

Get the most out of the App Designer with this advanced options step by including user tabs in your records or the table of your app, event scripts, and field rules to show or hide fields, sections, or tabs in forms when specific conditions are met. This step is available only to Table applications (non-process & process enabled).

User Tabs

Use tabs to have complete control over the accessibility of your application.

• The tabs appear inside records (as a tab at the left part of the record) or at the summary table of the application.
• A tab can be a table from any Comidor entity, HTML, or widget.

• You can easily create a new Tab, by clicking on the “+” icon
• The Record type is by default the name of the App and disabled
• Select the Type of Tab you wish to create (Table, HTML, or Widget)
  • In Type Table:
    • Give a Title to the Tab
    • In the “View Tab in“: choose record.
    • Select Query: the query to define which fields to be fetched as columns from which tables
    • Where Clause: type a specific condition to be met
    • Access Code defines who can access this tab
  • Select Type HTML when you want to add guidelines or other important information for a specific app:
    • Give a Title to the Tab
    • In the “View Tab in“: choose record or table.
    • Access Code defines who can access this tab
    • Unit-action – insert the HTML here

1. • Type Widget: a tab to monitor all the widgets (general or application widgets)
     • Give a Title to the Tab
     • In the “View Tab in“: choose the table option.
     • Access Code defines who can access this tab
     • After saving this tab, click on Add widget button to Select the widget you would like to be displayed
     • All added widgets are displayed in Linked widgets. You can click on the ‘-‘ to remove a widget from this tab.

Event Scripts

In this tab, you are able to write scripts for a certain Data Type to be executed before/after/on a specific event.

Click on the “+” icon to create a new Event script:

• Add the Procedure Name.
• Choose the Data Type (apprec, task, process, dataset) and define where you want the script to be applied.
• An Event Type can be inserted, updated, deleted, etc.
• In the Procedure Body add your code.
  •  This is for advanced users to write their procedures.

Field Rules

Data Objects

With data objects in Comidor App Designer, you can power up your applications and quickly and easily create any type of data set you need.

• Create data sets, variables, lists, forms, records, or action data types and define their properties. Use those data objects in event scripts.

5. Configuration

In this step, you can make the configuration of the Application.

• Decide what you would like to include from the Basic options
  • Notes, Tags, and Links
  • If the Kanban view is enabled, define the “Group by Field” and the “Title Field“. The “Group By Field” is used to categorize boards, while the “Title Field” will serve as the title for each board.
  • The ability to create, edit, and/or delete an entry
  • The History tab
  • Allow user layout change; the ability to change the table’s categorization, and the pin button to remove columns.
  • Decide if you want to have the print/export options in the summary table of this app
  • The ability to track file views
  • If the task window is maximized
  • For Process-enabled apps with workflow, you can set the app to Automatically start the process, which means the state of the app will be set to running and the workflow will start as well.
  • Decide if you want to block it from mobile
  • Decide if you want to hide the execution information
  • Define the Save and the Cancel Task buttons
  • Define a Primary Field (Record Identity: Appears in lists, etc). From the drop-down list, choose one of the fields you created in Step 2.

• Customize your data by:
  • Setting a Prefix and Suffix to the app and an Incremental No Field; select a number field from the Data Model for which you want to auto-populate a number. eg. for this app the requests will get CP-1, CP-2, etc.
  • Selecting a default categorization for the table view based on a specific field (Title, Priority, etc.) – up to level 3.
  • Choosing a specific field to display the Summary table ordered by ascending or descending order.
  • Apart from the default table filters (Period, Status), you can define your own custom filters. Choose up to 3 key value lists to be your filters in your table application.
  • Granting rights to your app; define to whom each entry is assigned, send notifications, Admin 1,2, and Supervisor. Choose users, groups, or dynamic options such as Creator, creator’s Manager, etc.
  • Setting up to 3 numeric fields, to be displayed in the table as Sums (Sum fields 1, 2, 3).

• You can fully customize the app layout, by selecting font sizes and colors in CSS Design options.

• You have the option to add your custom CSS in the Custom CSS settings.

• You have the option to add your custom Js in the Custom Js settings.

6. Analytics

The Analytics step is only available to process-enabled table apps and provides the designers, with insights into each Workflow’s real-time usage.

Dashboard tab: Set Analytics Filters to get the results you wish.

• • Narrow your results to tasks that were assigned to a specific user or group.
  • Select the period of time you are interested in.
  • Click on Refresh and the following graphs are populated: Analytics Totals, Instances per State, Tasks per User, Delayed tasks per User, Tasks per Team, Delayed tasks per Team

• Pinpoint the total and delayed instances and tasks that were created within one workflow. Cost is calculated based on the duration of each task multiplied by the cost rate of the user that completes each task. See more in the Services unit.

Analytics Preview tab: Set Analytics Filters to get the results you wish.

• Choose between Total or Delayed Tasks to be displayed.
• Monitor the Duration and Cost of each step.
• Select the period of time you are interested in.
• Click on Refresh. The diagram is updated and in each task, for each chosen filter a row is added with the data from the run time. (value & percentage).

• View workflow analytics with the “Delayed Task” Filter to measure the scheduled time and the actual time it took for a task to be completed. This feature enables users to identify bottlenecks.  Each task will have the chosen filters ((Total tasks, Delayed tasks, Cost, Duration, ineffective KPIs) with counter & percentage. The tasks with delays will be highlighted in red, whereas those with no delays in green.

• View workflow analytics with the “Total Task” Filter to measure how many times every task is executed in total. This will identify your “critical path”, and your process “optimal path” and ultimately help identify where the focus should be on for better resource management.

Publish

Finally, click on the Publish button in order to Publish your app.

Your app is ready to use!

Find out more here.

Edit Apps

If you want to edit an existing User App, go to the main menu on the left side of your screen and select the icon App Factory > Application Builder > App Designer. From the list of all applications, select the one you wish to edit.

• Click on the pencil button to apply any changes to the Basic info of the Portal application.
• You can navigate through steps 1-6 by clicking on the respective step and applying any change you wish. Do not forget to publish your changes.
• Click on the Actions button and choose Export if you want to export the current application.
• You can delete a User App if you wish.  Open the App you want to delete, and from the actions button, click on the Delete option.
  • A confirmation pop-up appears. Click Confirm to proceed with the deletion or cancel.
  • You can also check the Linked Entities that will be affected in the respective tab.
• Finally, you can choose the copy option to copy the current application. A pop-up appears where you can define the application name of the copied app.

Run Apps

• While viewing an app in the App Designer, you can easily run it! Click on the Play button on the top right of your screen and the quick add form of this app will be populated.
• In case there is no quick add form, a respective message appears and you are directed to step 2, in User forms to create a new quick add form.
• In order to view the User Apps you have created and published through App Designer, go to the menu on the left side of your screen, and select the Packages Icon. A list of all the published apps is displayed here under the category you chose in Step 1 of App designer. In case no Category is chosen, the app will be shown below Custom Apps.
• Select the one you wish to access and it will open in a new tab.

By clicking on the “+” icon you can create a new entry of this app. (In order to see the “+” icon, you should have checked first the respective option in the Configuration step of App Designer). A new tab opens with the form that was created in the App Designer. Fill in the fields and click on Save to add this entry.

If the App is process enabled and linked with a workflow it will have State (Opened, Scheduled, Running, etc.) and also some more Tabs in the left-side menu, such as Workflow tasks, attachments, and workflow audit based on the configuration of the App in the App Designer.

If you have selected the primary form of the app to be also visible in the quick add menu, you can easily initiate this App, from quick add and by clicking on the name of this form.

Import Apps

Comidor provides you with the functionality to Import User applications that are created in the App Designer in an XML format.

In order to Import an application, you have to open the App Designer.

• Click on the Import an App button.

• Choose the respective .xml file for the application you want to import and click on Save.

You can correlate the involved parties, by typing their name or choosing them from the pre-defined options in the drop-down list. The group mapping is available for:

• Groups
• Users
• Roles

After that, you have to reload the Database, by clicking on the “Reload DB required” red button on the bottom right corner of your screen.

If the Database is reloaded, go to the App Designer and publish the imported application.

Your app is ready to use!

The post App Designer appeared first on Comidor Low-code Automation Platform.

Comidor platform enables everyone to build apps within seconds with Natural Language Processing (NLP); the capability to understand language.

Get your feet wet with Low-Code App Creation in 4 steps with NLP.

In order to start an App Creation in 4 steps with NLP, click on the “+” at the top bar of your screen. A pop-up window will appear with the 4 steps to follow.

Step 1

• In the first step, you can describe your application by giving details of your App.
• Make sure you include information about the type and name of the application, the forms, and the fields you wish to include, and then click Next.
• For example, you can type: Create an application called Remote working policy. The application will contain 3 forms. Form 1 is Deliver policy document by an external consultant. It will contain one binary field with a title policy document. Form 2 is named Review document by the legal team. Form 3 has the title Share document internally.

Step 2

• The system using NLP will identify and suggest the name of the app, the number of steps, and names of fields and forms based on your description.
• You can then confirm the suggested steps and apply the following actions:
  1. Add more steps by clicking on the “+” icon
  2. Expand each step to view the name of the form and fields of this step
  3. Remove a step by clicking on the “-” icon
  4. Rename the step.
• In each form you can apply the following actions:
  1. Add more steps by clicking on the “+” icon
  2. Rename the label of the field
  3. Choose the field type (text, number, binary, etc)
  4. Remove a field by clicking on the “-” icon
     • Find out more about User forms and User fields here.

• After defining all steps, forms and fields, click on the Next button.

Step 3

• In step 3, you can create the quick add form of your application.

• Give the name of your quick add form. Note that this form will be added to the Quick add menu
• Add one or more fields and define their label and type.
• Click on the Next button to proceed.

Step 4

• Finally, define the primary field of your records
• A new record has been added to App Builder. After clicking on the Submit button you will be re-directed to App Builder.
• Click on Publish and your application is ready to be used!

• A workflow has been automatically created, with all sequential steps. You can click on the Edit Workflow button to apply any change to your workflow design.
  • Find out more about workflow designs and workflow components.

• You can edit and enhance the App you just created in the App Builder.

Edit Apps

If you want to edit an existing User App, go to the menu on the left side of your screen > App Factory>Application Builder> App Builder. From the list of the Applications, select the one you wish to edit.

• You can navigate through steps 1-10 by clicking on the respective step and apply any change you wish. Do not forget to go to step 10, to publish your changes.

You can delete one or more User Apps if you wish. Go to the menu on the left side of your screen > App Factory>Application Builder> App Builder, select one or more User Apps and click on Delete.

Run Apps

In order to view the User Apps, go to the menu on the left side of your screen, and select the Custom Apps Icon. A list of all the published apps will be displayed here. Select the one you wish to access and it will open in a new tab.

In order to run your app, go to the Quick add menu and choose the quick add form of your app. A new window will open with the form that was created in the App Builder. Fill in the fields and click on Save to add this entry.

Since the App is process enabled and linked with a workflow it will have State (Opened, Scheduled, Running, etc.) and also some more Tabs in the left-side menu, such as Workflow tasks, attachments, and workflow audit.

If you have selected the primary form of the app to be also visible in the quick add menu, you can easily initiate this App, from quick add and by clicking on the name of this form.

To learn more about App Builder capabilities click here.

The post App Creation in 4 steps with NLP appeared first on Comidor Low-code Automation Platform.

Through App builder you can design the following app types:

1. Table applications
   1. Process enabled
   2. Non-process enabled apps (Data driven)
2. Report applications
3. Kanban applications

Table Application

There are two types of table applications:

• Process enabled: Choose this type when you want to monitor process-enabled records, with scheduling, state, workflow steps, completion, etc.

• Non-process enabled: Choose this type of table application when you want to create a table of data-driven records. No workflows can be related to this type.

Users can apply the following actions in table applications:

• Access the table (access rights are specified by the designer)
• Print or export the table results
• Apply filters, categorize and search within each table
• Access, edit, or delete each record
• View records in table or graph views
• In the graph view, pie, bar, or stack charts can be easily created with real-time data and the desired filtering.

Create Apps

In order to access the Comidor No-Code App Builder go to the main menu on the left side of your screen and select the icon App Factory > Application Builder > App Builder.

In the new tab that opens, click on the “+” icon to open the creation form. In the creation form you can see 10 steps:

1. Basic Info

• In the Application Type select Table Application.
• Start typing a name for the Entity you are creating in the database.
  • You can check if this is an Existing Entity and choose from existing Units or other Apps
• Give the Application Name and Description
• You can also make this App Process enabled, by clicking on the respective checkbox. By doing so, you are able to link a Workflow to your App in step 6.
• Access Rights is the field where you determine which users will be able to see the application in the User Apps menu.
• You can lock your app by checking on the Locked option. With this option, only the user that locks the app will be able to edit the app (in all steps). All the rest users will just be able to view the app, but can not edit it.

• By checking the Has customizations option, the application will not be exportable.
• Put a flag to remember if this application Has application parameters.
• Block from mobile option disables this application to be used on mobile.
• Click on Save to Save this App. (Check Quick Reference Guide for saving options). After saving, you will be re-directed to Applications and you can click on the new App you have just created to move to step 2.

2. Data Model

In the Data Model, you can add all fields that you want to be used in the App. You can either click on the “+” to create your own custom fields from scratch or import an Excel/CSV file.

Note that, if you have selected this app to be process enabled, you can also use all process-related fields in the forms (step 4). If you left the option “is Process enabled” unchecked, you can only use the fields displayed in the Data model.

After adding all the fields you need, click on the top right of the screen “Next: Table” button, to move on to step 3. In the pop-up window that will appear, click Yes in order to reload the database so as for the new fields to be added.

3. Table

In step 3, you can determine which columns you wish your App to have in the main table. By default, all fields that were added to the Data Model will be displayed in this table. You can add more Columns, by clicking on the “+” icon and selecting the desired field.

• You can select one or more columns and delete them from Table Columns if you wish.
• Furthermore, you can drag-and-drop the Table Columns, in order to re-arrange their position in the Table.
• Click on the edit button to make any changes you need to each column
  • Add label
  • Prefix or Suffix to be displayed before or after the value of each entry
  • Select the preferred alignment
  • Define the preferred width in percentage to be displayed as default in the summary table
  • Other options like set as Not sortable and Hidden are available too

Click on the “Next: Forms” to continue with step 4.

4. Forms

In this step, you can see all the forms involved in this App. You can easily create a new form, by clicking on the “+” icon. You can follow the instructions on how to create forms in User Forms.

• If you link a workflow to this App, all forms included in this workflow will be also visible at this step.
• You can also make a form Main, which means it will be visible in the left-side menu as a tab. State the position of each form that you want to display.
• For the form, you want to start the App with, select the option “Replace existing form” in the field Primary, if you wish to initiate your app from the “+” icon of the summary table of the App.
• In the Quick field, you can choose the form to be visible in the quick add menu or in the process templates list, if you wish to initiate your app from the Quick add menu.
• Design your form easily; drag-and-drop fields and group them with Sections. Don’t forget to Publish your form after finishing your design.

You can select one or more forms and delete them from Table Forms if you wish.

Click on “Next: Tabs” to move to step 5.

5. Widgets

Comidor Widgets are the ideal choice for data visualization. Get the most updated data on the visualization format you define.

• Create your own personalized dashboard in seconds.
• Combine multiple views of data to get richer insight.

You can easily create a new Widget, by clicking on the “+” icon.

Find out more about all types of Widgets and how to create them.

6. Tabs

Get the most out of the Comidor No-Code App Builder with this new 6th step. Use tabs to have complete control over the accessibility of your application.

• The tabs appear inside records (as a tab at the left part of the record) or at the summary table of the application.
• A tab can be a table from any Comidor entity, HTML, or widget.

• You can easily create a new Tab, by clicking on the “+” icon
• The Record type is by default the name of the App and disabled
• Select the Type of Tab you wish to create (Table, HTML, or Widget)
  • In Type Table:
    • Give a Title to the Tab
    • In the Data Type choose Data record
    • Select Query: the query to define which fields to be fetched as columns from which tables
    • Where Clause: type a specific condition to be met
    • Access Code defines who can access this tab
  • Select Type HTML when you want to add guidelines or other important information for a specific app:
    • Give a Title to the Tab
    • In the Data Type choose Data record or Data set
    • Access Code defines who can access this tab
    • Unit-action – insert the HTML here

1. • Type Widget: a tab to monitor all the widgets (general or application widgets)
     • Give a Title of the Tab
     • In the Data Type choose Data record or Data set
     • Access Code defines who can access this tab
     • After saving this tab, click on Add widget button to Select the widget you would like to be display
     • All added widgets will be displayed on Linked widgets. You can click on the ‘-‘ to remove a widget form this tab.

7. Workflow

You are able to link a workflow to the App at this step. The workflow will be triggered with every entry a user creates in this app. Workflow relates tasks, run diagram, and workflow audit will be visible there too, in order for the users to get real-time information about the workflow stage.

Step 7, is only available if you had checked is Process Enabled, in step 1.

• You can select an existing workflow to attach to your App. Click on the respective button and select from the list of Workflow designs the one you wish.

• Then, you will be able to see a preview of the selected workflow design.
• If you wish to perform any changes to the workflow design, just click on Edit Workflow and you will be re-directed to another tab with the design. There you can apply any change and the workflow will be automatically updated in the App as well.

For more information on how to create Workflow go to Workflows and Workflow Automation.

• At any point, you can click on the “Change Workflow” button, at the top left of the screen, to select another one from existing workflows.
• Click on the “Next: Event Scripts” button on the top right, to move to the next step.

8. Event Scripts

In this step, you are able to write scripts for a certain Data Type to be executed before/after/on a specific event.

Click on the “+” icon to create a new Event script:

• Add the Procedure Name.
• Choose the Data Type (apprec, task, process, dataset) and define where you want the script to be applied.
• An Event Type can be inserted, updated, deleted, etc.
• In the Procedure Body add your code.
  •  This is for advanced users to write their procedures.

9. Overview

In this step, you can make the configuration of the Application.

• Decide what you would like to include from the Basic options
  • Notes, Tags, and Links
  • The ability to create, edit and/or delete an entry
  • Decide if you want to have the print/export options in the summary table of this app
• Customise your data by:
  • Setting a Prefix and Suffix to the app and an Incremental No Field; select a number field from Data Model for which you want to auto-populate a number. eg. for this app the requests will get SR.1, SR.2, etc.
  • Defining a Primary Field (Record Identity: Appears in lists, etc). From the drop-down list, choose one of the fields you created in step 2 (Data Model).
  • Selecting a default categorization for the table view based on a specific field (Title, Priority, etc.)
  • Choosing a specific field to display the Summary table ordered by ascending or descending order.
  • Defining to whom each entry is assigned, send notifications, Admin 1,2, and Supervisor. Choose users, groups, or dynamic options such as Creator, creator’s manager, etc.

• Setting up to 3 numeric fields, to be displayed in the table as Totals (Sum field 1, 2, 3).
• For Process-enabled apps with workflow, you can set the app to Automatically start the process, which means the state of the app will be set to running and the workflow will start as well.
• You can fully customise the app layout, by selecting font sizes and colors in CSS Design options.

When you have finished the configuration step, click on the “Next: Publish” button on the top right, to move on to step 10.

10. Publish

In the final step, click on the Publish button in order to Publish your app.

Your app is ready to use!

Note that you can also create an Application with NLP in just 4 steps. Find out more here.

Edit Apps

If you want to edit an existing User App, go to the menu on the left side of your screen > App Factory > Application Builder > App Builder. From the list of the Applications, select the one you wish to edit.

• You can navigate through steps 1-9 by clicking on the respective step and apply any change you wish. Do not forget to go to step 10, to publish your changes.

You can delete one or more User Apps if you wish. Go to the Quick Add menu on the left side of your screen and select the last icon App Factory, select one or more User Apps and click on Delete.

Run Apps

In order to view the User Apps, go to the menu on the left side of your screen, and select the Custom Apps Icon. A list of all the published apps will be displayed here. Select the one you wish to access and it will open in a new tab.

By clicking on the “+” icon you can create a new entry of this app. (In order to see the “+” icon, you should have checked first the respective option in the Overview step of App builder). A new tab will open with the form that was created in the App Builder. Fill in the fields and click on Save to add this entry.

If the App is process enabled and linked with a workflow it will have State (Opened, Scheduled, Running, etc.) and also some more Tabs in the left-side menu, such as Workflow tasks, attachments, and workflow audit based on the configuration of the App in the App Builder.

If you have selected the primary form of the app to be also visible in the quick add menu, you can easily initiate this App, from quick add and by clicking on the name of this form.

Import/Export Apps

Comidor provides you the functionality to Import and Export User applications that are created in the No-Code App Builder.

1. Export

You can export an application by visiting the App Builder table and select the application you want to export.

In the actions button, by clicking on “Export Application” a .xml file is going to be downloaded.

This file will be used in importing steps to other accounts.

2. Copy

You can make a copy of an application by visiting the App Builder table and select the application you want to export.

In the actions button, click on the option Copy, and in the pop-up type the Title of the copied app.

3. Import

In order to Import an application, you have to navigate to the App Builder unit.

• Click on the burger button and select “Import Comidor Application document“

• Choose the respective .xml file for the application you want to import and click on Save.

You can correlate the involved parties, by typing their name or choose from the pre-defined options in the drop-down list. The group mapping is available for:

• Groups
• Users
• Roles

After that, you have to reload the Database, by clicking on the “Reload DB required” red button on the bottom right corner of your screen.

If the Database is reloaded, go to the App Builder and publish the imported application.

Your app is ready to use!

Report Application

Comidor platform offers the ability to build easily your own Report applications through the No-Code/Low-Code App Builder. Simply follow 3 steps, as presented below.

In order to access App Builder go to the main menu on the left side of your screen and select the icon App Factory > Application Builder > App Builder.

In the new tab that opens, click on the “+” icon to open the creation form. In the creation form you can see 9 steps:

1. Basic Info

• In the Application Type select Report application.
• Select the Entity you wish to create the report for.
  • You can choose among the default Comidor units (Processes, Accounts, Tasks, etc.) or a custom table application that was already created.
• Give the Application Name.
• Access Rights is the field where you determine which users will be able to see the application in the User Apps menu.
• You can lock your app by checking on the Locked option.
• By checking the Has customizations option, the application will not be exportable.
• Put a flag to remember if this application Has application parameters.
• Block from mobile option disables this application to be used on mobile.
• Click on Save to Save this App. (Check Quick Reference Guide for saving options). After saving, you will be re-directed to Applications and you can click on the new App you have just created to move to step 3.

2. Table

In this step, you can determine which columns you wish your App to have in the report table and which filters should be included. Simply add Columns, by clicking on the “+” icon and selecting the desired field. The column list will display all fields related to the Entity that was selected in Basic info.

• Check the option Is filter if you wish this field to be included in the report’s filters.
  • If you want one field to be displayed both as a column of the report and as a filter, make sure to add it twice.
• You can select one or more columns and delete them from Table Columns if you wish.
• Furthermore, you can drag-and-drop the Columns, in order to re-arrange their position in the Table.
• Click on the edit button to make any changes you wish to each column
  • Add label
  • Prefix or Suffix to be displayed before or after the value of each entry
  • Select the preferred alignment
  • Define the preferred width in percentage to be displayed as default in the summary table
  • Other options like set as Not sortable and Hidden are available too.

3. Publish

Finally, click on the Publish button in order to Publish your app.

Your report app is ready to use!

Note: if you wish your report to have the Print and Export buttons, go to Overview and check the respective options.

The post No-Code / Low-Code App Builder appeared first on Comidor Low-code Automation Platform.