Data input within an expanded row

[davblo]

I have a table with expandable rows.
One column contains a verbose description (say "Long_description"), so I set it "hidden" in the table rows and show it in a text component in the expandable area. I can access the data from the parent row by
{{ table27.currentRow.Long_description.}}
That works fine.
I set some columns in the main table as editable and can update them and save and changes.

But I also want to be able to update the "Long_description" shown in the expandable area. It's in a component "textInput6", so I can type text into it and update any existing content; but then {{ textInput6.value }} always shows just "null" regardless of what I have in the input component.

I can see there is a problem because textInput6 is repeated within each row, so there would have to be some way to identify which row we are in when accessing the component.

Is there any way to do this or is data updating from within an expandable area not possible?

[WidleStudioLLP]

Hey @davblo

When using Expandable Rows and attempting to update data from within these rows, you need to ensure that your components correctly reference the current row data. Since you mentioned that textInput6 is repeated for each row, you'll need to associate it with the corresponding row using the correct context.

To achieve this, you can use the currentRow context inside the expandable area. Instead of referencing textInput6.value directly, ensure that you are dynamically binding the input to the currentRow in the expandable component.

Here is a basic approach:

1. Text Input Component Binding: Set the Default Value of textInput6 to reference the desired row, for example:

{{ table27.currentRow.Long_description }}

2. Event Handler: When you want to save the updated Long_description, you can set up a query that uses the value from textInput6. To correctly reference the row being edited and apply the update, your query might look something like this:

{
  id: {{ table27.currentRow.id }},
  long_description: {{ textInput6.value }}
}

3. Save Changes: Hook up a Button component to trigger this query. When clicked, it should update the appropriate record based on the context provided by currentRow.

If textInput6.value is showing null, ensure that it correctly initializes and updates by always referencing the value based on the current expanded row state. By following this approach, you should be able to update the Long_description from within the expanded area of your table.

[MiguelOrtiz]

Hey @davblo,

In order to access textInput6's value, you need to pass the index of the currentRow that you're modifying (it works like the listViews/Repeatables), as the component's state is creating an object for each row you expand and shows the component. See example below, I have an expandable row which has a table inside it, when the row is expanded, the component's state shows an object with index 12 (the same as the currentRow) with all of the info of the table:

If I then go an expand another row, it will add another object, with the respective index of its currentRow

So for example, if you try {{textInput6[table27.selectedDataIndex].value }} it will return the actual value. You can see a related thread with solutions here:

Nested tables : seeking simple way(s) to express "this" nested table

Hey @Schteevynn, I use nestedTable[mainTable.selectedDataIndex].selectedRow. To make sure it doesn't break when user clicks on another row of the main table, I have a collapse row event every time a different row in the main table is selected, this ensures the expanded row is only for the main table's selected row

Hope this helps!

[davblo]

Thanks a lot!

So the contents of each expandable area are created in sequence as objects in an array as the rows are opened; and the index of the one currently selected is available in tableName.selectedDataIndex.

Using that I tried... (spaced out for clarity)

{{ 
    textInput6
        [
           table27.selectedDataIndex
        ]
    .value 
}}

... and it works fine.

Next I need to progress to updating tables in the expanded area - armed with the above information, hopefully, I'll be able to figure that out.

Thanks again!

[MiguelOrtiz]

Yeah, that info will help you.

I have done the same implementation (updating tables within the expanded area) so if you get stuck do let me know and I can provide more guidance!

[davblo]

One thing to add....

I was getting errors showing in the Debug window.
They were mentioning the Update query for the Expanded area textInputs.

I didn't realise but it seems that Retool "prepares" the data for Update queries when you first open a Page.

So this is before any rows or expansions are selected.

In the GUI for doing the update,
In Filter by., where I use...
Item_Id = table27.selectedRow.Item_Id
...selectedRow is null, but the GUI doesn't seem to care that it can't get
selectedRow.Item_Id - it's just marked red.

But in Key value pairs, where my values to set are of the form...

{{
  textInput6
      [
            table27.selectedDataIndex
      ]
      .value
}}

.. it objects and raises an error because at that stage...
table27.selectedDataIndex is not just null but completely undefined.

So to avoid errors it seems necessary to include a check for the "undefined" index value...

{{ 
    (table27.selectedDataIndex == undefined)?   null : 
    textInput6
    [
        table27.selectedDataIndex
    ]
    .value 
}}

[MiguelOrtiz]

Yes, those are annoying linting errors, which won't impact your application performance.

For selectedRow, you can use ehe optional chaining (?.) operator Item_Id = table27.selectedRow?.Item_Id and this will return it undefined, and no longer show red as an error.

[davblo]

Thanks, the "?." was new to me and helps in some situations.

But... I've still been getting errors relating to expandable rows and I tracked down one cause to the following.

As we mentioned in previous posts; in a table with expandable rows, components within the expanded area, say "textInput6" are created not as single items but as an array of objects with indexes "selectedDataIndex".

The problem I get is that if you click on a table row (so it is selected) but not expanded, then that row is given a "selectedDataIndex". But the actual instance of the component is not created and added to the "textInput6" array until you expand the row.

Here is an example; I expanded 3 rows so far and they have been given selectedDataIndex 13, 18 and 22. Also there are 3 elements in the "textInput6" array as you'd expect.

Now I click in another row, just to highlight it but not to expand it.
That row is given selectedDataIndex of "2", but there is no corresponding entry added to the array yet.

Since Retool goes ahead and prepares the update queries for the expanded components, it raises an error when it find an index out of bounds of the array.

Here the two States are captured at the same time, 3 rows in the table have been expanded and one more just selected

.

[MiguelOrtiz]

Hey @davblo,

When you say

...it raises and error when it find an index out of bounds of the array.

You mean only the red highlighted code, right? Or is it queries actually being triggered unintentionally?

If the former then yes, that is something that is bound to happen as the component + index is undefined. As such, if you really don't want to see the errors then you need to add a bit more logic e.g.

textInput6[table27.selectedDataIndex].value ? textInput6[table27.selectedDataIndex].value : null

The above will basically check if there is a value for what you're trying to access, if so then it will return that, otherwise it will be null, which will be an accepted value and won't show the red linting error.

[davblo]

Concerning your question...

@MiguelOrtiz

You mean only the red highlighted code, right? Or is it queries actually being triggered unintentionally?

Yes, it is an error, red-flagged in the debug window, but it is not actually running my update query. All I can guess is that Retool pre-checks, or pre-fetches the values used in all the queries.

It's debatable whether that's good, obviously it helps spot real errors in queries before trying to activate them, but it's not so good in situations where you know the values are not "ready" yet.

Thanks for your suggestion..

@MiguelOrtiz

{{ textInput6[table27.selectedDataIndex].value ? textInput6[table27.selectedDataIndex].value : null }}

..but that fails with "Error:Cannot read properties of undefined (reading 'value')" as soon as the Page is opened.

The version I'm using...
"{{ (table27.selectedDataIndex == undefined)? null : textInput6[table27.selectedDataIndex].value }}"

...doesn't fail on page opening because selectedDataIndex is undefined at that point.

It gets error-tagged when I click on a row in the table (without expanding it), because then, as I explained in my last post, selectedDataIndex gets assigned an index value, but the textInput6 object at that index value is not created until later if/when you expand the row.

So the reference needs yet another check for undefined like this...

{{
   /* selectedDataIndex is undefined when page opened */
   (table27.selectedDataIndex == undefined)?  
   null : 
  /* selectedDataIndex is defined when a row is selected, 
      but there is no corresponding textInput6 object until the row is expanded */
   (textInput6[table27.selectedDataIndex] == undefined) ? 
   null :
   /* After expanding the row the textInput6 object is created */
   textInput6[table27.selectedDataIndex].value
}}

This is the only version so far which doesn't get reported as an error when the page is opened and when a row is selected.

But I think this is a bit too cumbersome for just accessing a text field, and is likely to waste a lot of time for people trying to figure out.