I wonder if you guys could provide some advice regarding whether Thunkable is the correct platform for what I want to do.
Create an app for iOS and Android app stores (not web app) that is either pay to download, or download with an X number of days free trial, after which users pay to continue to use the app
The app’s function is for doctors in training to be able to keep a record/log of the procedures/surgeries they are performing for their portfolios. There aren’t any good solutions to this at the moment (I’m a cardiac surgeon in training myself) and I’d like to offer a better way that currently which is people essentially keeping cumbersome spreadsheets, which are difficult to fill out when you’re rushing in between cases/surgeries etc. Essentially it’s an app that allows X number of data fields to be entered for each surgery/procedure and logged within the app, with the option to export the data collected as an excel spreadsheet so they can see how many cases they have performed, what certain details of each case were, type of surgeries, dates, location etc.
Can I do this with Thunkable without the need to learn code, ie. just drag and drop? Or would another app builder app be more appropriate?
I also this idea is very doable. Because of the variability of the data captured, I would strongly suggest you steer clear of Google sheets and airtable and use firebase realtime db. It is a little more complex at first, but as you app develops, it will meet your needs.
You may also want to consider the possibility of downloading log to a spreadsheet as a premium (paid) feature. That purchase can be done outside of the Google play store WITHOUT violating Google policies.
I really like this suggestion Dr. Ted. I am actually working on this for my app right now the electronica behavior report card. I also recently switched the entire data collection system over to fire base as can be seen in the notes that I’ve been posting about. It really is better and so much faster. I am able to deliver much smaller data payloads to my users as well because they’re not having to filter out other users data. There’s also not an issue of pagination if the database is to return more than 100 records. I also like fire base because unlike airtable you can have unstructured data which is much nicer to work with, at least in my case
I plan to continue to polish and work on my mobile app with thunkable. However, now I will be creating a web app with bubble to allow the users to view and manipulate their data. I have a dashboard created already as a webapp with thunkable. But I believe that bubble is easier to create webapps with thunkable is when the webapp is designed to be used on a computer
I can’t claim to have understood everything you guys have mentioned so far re. firebase, and all the data related stuff however!
It’s reassuring to know that you think this can be done, though I realise I should probably have elaborated a little more about the app I plan to make.
I definitely don’t think I’ll be able to learn any code (or have time to) so it would really have to be drag and drop - is this doable with firebase?
Ideally all the data that each user enters into the app will remain on their phone rather than be stored in the cloud somewhere, and when they press export, the app automatically creates an excel sheet of the data they’ve entered.
Once the app has been made and I’m happy with the layout/UI, I don’t really think I’d like to keep updating it very much as it should already do everything I need it to - do I need to keep paying for Thunkable premium as long as the app is on the app stores? Or do I just pay for the premium whilst I am designing the app and once it’s on the App Store/Play Store I can cancel my premium membership as long as no further development is required?
I don’t mind the lack of IAP as I guess I’ll just make it a single payment to download and then no charges after that. I’m not really bothered about making a huge profit, just paying off the time investment and fees for premium Thunkable and app store fees etc.
I want the Android/iOS apps to be exactly the same (no divergence)
Does that all sound doable/reasonable with Thunkable? Or are there any alternatives I should also be doing research on before I make a final decision?
respectfully, if you dont want to learn to code, you may want to look into something like glide or adalo. not to take away from thunkable but those guys are a little more plug and play than plug and code then play.
to keep the data on the phone, you would want to use the localdDB
you dont need thunkable premium at all. i am publishing on a free account rn. i paid for it for a year but then life changed. now i dont pay, i just have a thunkable add everytime someone opens my app I provide for free.
Firebase is designed to represent a computer file folder arrangement. As long as you can reference a file located somewhere in your PC/Mac then you’re good to use the basics of Firebase (with some tweaks of course). Whenever you need a help you can post in the community and there is the expert of Firebase/JSON @drted
You don’t need to be a paid member of Thunkable to publish your apps to App Store / Play Store. The only drawback is the splash screen of Thunkable beaver that would show every time anyone starts your app.
To store data locally with the users, you need Local Data Store not LocalDB.
