'Optional' columns sometimes not shown

Queries and Resources
1

  • Goal: Access all props from my user collection in firestore. E.g Some of the props such as 'blocked' are optional and are therefore, not every user has a 'blocked' prop. These props aren't always available in the table.

  • Steps: Refreshing columns, creating new table, using different Primary Keys, trying to manually add the column.

  • Details: It seems random. On some of my tables these optional props are available, or if I check with a different section of the firestore collection.

Please help!

2

Hey @Joe_dare! Have you tried using dynamic column settings? We have a great write up here on how to use it if you have issues!

I'd imagine the issue stems from the data for that 'column' not coming back consistently. Give that a try and let me know if it helps!

3

Hi @joeBumbaca,

Thanks for your reply. I did have a play around with dynamic column settings, but it doesn't seem to do anything for me as the columns I need never appear. I know the columns exist because they exist in Firestore. And bizarrely, I have similar tables in other places in my Retool app, pulling the exact same data, only these tables include the missing props.

I understand it's because I have props such as 'hidden' and 'blocked', which are optional in my schema, and therefore not available on all users - but I can't find a way to get these props to reliably appear in the table.

I keep getting asked by my team why they can't order the table by who's blocked, or see all the hidden users, and I keep saying I don't have answer yet :sweat_smile: despite it being a couple of months.

Do you have any other ideas that might help? Or is it just not possible with this kind of database structure?

Many thanks,
Joe

4

@Joe_dare hard to say without having the data to play around with. If you can send over some sample data, I can dig in and take a look.

You mention that some tables show this data. Are they all pulling from the same query? Or are there differences?