# Address Book App HELP **URL:** \ **Category:** Questions about Thunkable X\ **Tags:** beginner\ **Created:** [April 15, 2021, 11:52am UTC](https://community.thunkable.com/t/address-book-app-help/1225647 "2021-04-15T11:52:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![cd1065g](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ecd19e/32.png) [@cd1065g](https://community.thunkable.com/u/cd1065g)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2021, 11:52am UTC](https://community.thunkable.com/t/address-book-app-help/1225647/1 "2021-04-15T11:52:54Z")
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 ---
**Author:** ![suqar-skiies\_scratch](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex015/user_avatar/community.thunkable.com/suqar-skiies_scratch/32/106519_2.png) [@suqar-skiies\_scratch](https://community.thunkable.com/u/suqar-skiies_scratch)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2021, 11:54am UTC](https://community.thunkable.com/t/address-book-app-help/1225647/2 "2021-04-15T11:54:03Z")
Have you tried Firebase, AirTable, or Local DB? ---
**Author:** ![cd1065g](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ecd19e/32.png) [@cd1065g](https://community.thunkable.com/u/cd1065g)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2021, 12:13pm UTC](https://community.thunkable.com/t/address-book-app-help/1225647/3 "2021-04-15T12:13:18Z")
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… ---
**Author:** ![catsarisky](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex015/user_avatar/community.thunkable.com/catsarisky/32/100661_2.png) [@catsarisky](https://community.thunkable.com/u/catsarisky)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2021, 1:21pm UTC](https://community.thunkable.com/t/address-book-app-help/1225647/4 "2021-04-15T13:21:05Z")
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! 🙂 What have you done so far? Where are you stuck? ---
**Author:** ![cd1065g](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ecd19e/32.png) [@cd1065g](https://community.thunkable.com/u/cd1065g)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2021, 1:40pm UTC](https://community.thunkable.com/t/address-book-app-help/1225647/5 "2021-04-15T13:40:23Z")
Well persistent storage is completely confusing to me… ---
**Author:** ![cd1065g](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ecd19e/32.png) [@cd1065g](https://community.thunkable.com/u/cd1065g)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2021, 1:41pm UTC](https://community.thunkable.com/t/address-book-app-help/1225647/6 "2021-04-15T13:41:25Z")
@catsarisky This is where I am at. [https://x.thunkable.com/projects/6078425c3bf6fd00146fbc50/aecb3c15-9b95-40d1-9081-b168558adc91/designer](https://x.thunkable.com/projects/6078425c3bf6fd00146fbc50/aecb3c15-9b95-40d1-9081-b168558adc91/designer) ---
**Author:** ![catsarisky](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex015/user_avatar/community.thunkable.com/catsarisky/32/100661_2.png) [@catsarisky](https://community.thunkable.com/u/catsarisky)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2021, 2:01pm UTC](https://community.thunkable.com/t/address-book-app-help/1225647/7 "2021-04-15T14:01:08Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![catsarisky](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex015/user_avatar/community.thunkable.com/catsarisky/32/100661_2.png) [@catsarisky](https://community.thunkable.com/u/catsarisky)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2021, 2:02pm UTC](https://community.thunkable.com/t/address-book-app-help/1225647/8 "2021-04-15T14:02:57Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![muneer](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex015/user_avatar/community.thunkable.com/muneer/32/75210_2.png) [@muneer](https://community.thunkable.com/u/muneer)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2021, 2:04pm UTC](https://community.thunkable.com/t/address-book-app-help/1225647/9 "2021-04-15T14:04:57Z")
The Local Storage in the Data Sources option is also persistent so it can be selected. ---
**Author:** ![cd1065g](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ecd19e/32.png) [@cd1065g](https://community.thunkable.com/u/cd1065g)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2021, 2:08pm UTC](https://community.thunkable.com/t/address-book-app-help/1225647/10 "2021-04-15T14:08:56Z")
What do you suggest be done? ---
**Author:** ![catsarisky](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex015/user_avatar/community.thunkable.com/catsarisky/32/100661_2.png) [@catsarisky](https://community.thunkable.com/u/catsarisky)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2021, 2:41pm UTC](https://community.thunkable.com/t/address-book-app-help/1225647/11 "2021-04-15T14:41:34Z")
> [@catsarisky](#): > > 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. ^^ that? ---
**Author:** ![cd1065g](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ecd19e/32.png) [@cd1065g](https://community.thunkable.com/u/cd1065g)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2021, 2:50pm UTC](https://community.thunkable.com/t/address-book-app-help/1225647/12 "2021-04-15T14:50:51Z")
Right, but isnt local persistent? ---
**Author:** ![catsarisky](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex015/user_avatar/community.thunkable.com/catsarisky/32/100661_2.png) [@catsarisky](https://community.thunkable.com/u/catsarisky)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2021, 3:09pm UTC](https://community.thunkable.com/t/address-book-app-help/1225647/13 "2021-04-15T15:09:48Z")
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? ---
**Author:** ![cd1065g](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ecd19e/32.png) [@cd1065g](https://community.thunkable.com/u/cd1065g)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2021, 3:18pm UTC](https://community.thunkable.com/t/address-book-app-help/1225647/14 "2021-04-15T15:18:11Z")
I believe I need something to select the contact from a list, i am unsure how to do that. ---
**Author:** ![catsarisky](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex015/user_avatar/community.thunkable.com/catsarisky/32/100661_2.png) [@catsarisky](https://community.thunkable.com/u/catsarisky)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2021, 3:40pm UTC](https://community.thunkable.com/t/address-book-app-help/1225647/15 "2021-04-15T15:40:20Z")
A good first step would be displaying the list. Take a look at the documentation for the Dataviewer block. ---
**Author:** ![muneer](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex015/user_avatar/community.thunkable.com/muneer/32/75210_2.png) [@muneer](https://community.thunkable.com/u/muneer)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2021, 5:05pm UTC](https://community.thunkable.com/t/address-book-app-help/1225647/16 "2021-04-15T17:05:54Z")
@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. ---
**Author:** ![catsarisky](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex015/user_avatar/community.thunkable.com/catsarisky/32/100661_2.png) [@catsarisky](https://community.thunkable.com/u/catsarisky)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2021, 5:18pm UTC](https://community.thunkable.com/t/address-book-app-help/1225647/17 "2021-04-15T17:18:41Z")
Ah, yes, Muneer - I read your message too quickly and thought you were talking about localDB. Thanks for clarifying. 🙂 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. ---
**Author:** ![jane](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex015/user_avatar/community.thunkable.com/jane/32/27575_2.png) [@jane](https://community.thunkable.com/u/jane)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2021, 7:50am UTC](https://community.thunkable.com/t/address-book-app-help/1225647/18 "2021-04-16T07:50:13Z")
Hi there, If you are completely new to Thunkable, I would recommend checking out our [docs](https://docs.thunkable.com/) and our [YouTube channel](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rqpjqHXW-_E&list=PLB89L9PPGIrwpd62eYs6iOsHpjYboyuZE). These videos might interest you, as they relate to storing data: [Using App Variables In Your Thunkable App](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ito6O4kqUUU&list=PLB89L9PPGIrwpd62eYs6iOsHpjYboyuZE&index=8) [Using Stored Variables In Your Thunkable App](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dz-e7T8k1X4&list=PLB89L9PPGIrwpd62eYs6iOsHpjYboyuZE&index=10) [Using Cloud Variables In Your Thunkable App](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DYo2h5TXG6U&list=PLB89L9PPGIrwpd62eYs6iOsHpjYboyuZE&index=11) You can also check out these docs: [Variables](https://docs.thunkable.com/variables) [Data Sources](https://docs.thunkable.com/data-sources) ---
**Author:** ![preksha.dutt927db](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/85e7bf/32.png) [@preksha.dutt927db](https://community.thunkable.com/u/preksha.dutt927db)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2021, 1:20pm UTC](https://community.thunkable.com/t/address-book-app-help/1225647/19 "2021-04-21T13:20:55Z")
Try Glide! Here’s the link for Glide: [https://go.glideapps.com](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](https://glideapps.com/templates) ---
**Author:** ![ioannis](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex015/user_avatar/community.thunkable.com/ioannis/32/146956_2.png) [@ioannis](https://community.thunkable.com/u/ioannis)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2024, 1:25pm UTC](https://community.thunkable.com/t/address-book-app-help/1225647/20 "2024-11-08T13:25:16Z")