Copy a Page Element in a Knack App

Streamlining Your App Development: Moving Page Elements with Ease

Hi, I’m Dave Parrish, a full-time app builder. If you’re navigating the world of app development like I am, you know how repetitive it can be. That’s why I started my YouTube channel—to share insights from my journey, including tips on efficiency that can save you time and frustration.

Why Move Page Elements?

Today, I want to dive into a practical skill: moving page elements from one page to another. This technique is especially useful when you’ve created a user role and need to replicate existing functionality without starting from scratch. Whether you're adjusting permissions or creating new user views, this method keeps your workflow efficient.

Let’s Get Started!

Imagine you’re working on a generic app with several objects and views. For instance, let’s say you have a page for managing customers and vendors. You’ve invested time into building these functionalities, but now you want to create a new view with slightly altered permissions.

To illustrate, I’ll show you how to create a new page and transfer elements over. Here’s how:

1. Create a New Page: Start with a blank page and name it—let’s call it “Test Page.”

2. Set Up User Login: Add a user login functionality, restricting access as necessary (for example, limiting it to admins).

3. Copy Existing Elements: Navigate to your vendor management view, click on the settings (gear icon), and select the elements you wish to copy.

For instance, let’s copy two elements from the vendor page over to our Test Page. Simply choose the destination, hit copy, and voilà! The elements are now transferred without needing to rebuild anything from scratch.

Customizing for User Roles

Now, suppose you want this new user role to have different permissions—say, allowing them to edit and delete items. You can easily adjust these settings on the Test Page without having to recreate the entire functionality. Just update the permissions and refresh the app.

Final Thoughts

And just like that, you've efficiently moved elements across pages! This simple process not only saves you time but also helps maintain consistency in your app's functionality. I hope you found this tutorial helpful, and stay tuned for more tips and tricks in the future.

Thanks for joining me on this journey—happy building!

You can check out my Knack database services here:  https://www.knackbuilders.com/knack-database-consulting

Interested? Book an intro call: https://calendly.com/daveparrish/callwithdave