Address Book App HELP

I am looking to create an app that stores contacts such as a name and number. I would like it to be able to select a specific contact, and display the number associated with that contact. While being stored persistently. I am pretty new to Thunkable, and I was hoping for some help! SOS

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Have you tried Firebase, AirTable, or Local DB?

I am not even sure what that is tbh. This is for a class, and it is my first experience with coding. Im a business major lol so im lost…

I wouldn’t learn firebase first. It’s awesome, but you’re going to be happier with Google Sheets or Airtable as a first learning attempt, because they’re spreadsheet-like, and as a business major, you probably are pretty comfortable with spreadsheets! :slight_smile:

What have you done so far? Where are you stuck?

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Well persistent storage is completely confusing to me…

@catsarisky

This is where I am at.
https://x.thunkable.com/projects/6078425c3bf6fd00146fbc50/aecb3c15-9b95-40d1-9081-b168558adc91/designer

Persistent just means that it’ll still be there when you restart the app. App variables and localDB are NOT persistent - any changes you make to them are gone when you restart the app. All your other options (i.e. Google Sheets) are persistent.

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OK, great start! The only problem is that you’re storing in a localDB, which isn’t persistent. Do this: Create a new data source (look for the + button under datasources), and this time, pick a Google Sheet. (You’ll need to log into Google SHeets and make a blank spreadsheet to link to Thunkable first.)

Then you can do /exactly/ the same operation, but using that Google Sheet instead. And you’ll see your Thunkable changes show up in the Google Sheet.

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The Local Storage in the Data Sources option is also persistent so it can be selected.

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What do you suggest be done?

^^ that?

Right, but isnt local persistent?

Muneer says yes, BUT, if you’re repeatedly testing in Thunkable Live, I don’t think it behaves like it is persistent.

But, if it’s persistent enough for you, what else do you want your app to do? What does it not do now that you want?

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I believe I need something to select the contact from a list, i am unsure how to do that.

A good first step would be displaying the list. Take a look at the documentation for the Dataviewer block.

@catsarisky
The Local Storage is persistent, the Local DB isn’t. This creates a confusion but I’m very sure of it.

@cd1065g
Follow the steps of @catsarisky but choose Local Storage instead of Airtable or Google sheets.

There is one draw back though, Local Storage is limited to your mobile device only and whatever you enter will not reflect in other devices.

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Ah, yes, Muneer - I read your message too quickly and thought you were talking about localDB. Thanks for clarifying. :slight_smile:

I do think Google Sheets is going to be easier for the original poster to implement. He’s likely to have multiple contacts in the app he’s building, and the Google Sheets approach is likely to be more intuitive than stored variables, if the goal is very basic app functionality for a class assignment.

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Hi there,

If you are completely new to Thunkable, I would recommend checking out our docs and our YouTube channel.

These videos might interest you, as they relate to storing data:
Using App Variables In Your Thunkable App
Using Stored Variables In Your Thunkable App
Using Cloud Variables In Your Thunkable App

You can also check out these docs:
Variables
Data Sources

Try Glide!

Here’s the link for Glide: https://go.glideapps.com

To get free access on my “Address Book” app search for my template “Address Book” in glide’s templates to get ideas.

Link for Glide’s Template: https://glideapps.com/templates