My first topic and question in this community. *please excuse some bad English
So, I have a Coda doc that I want to use strictly for eductional purposes. It is a doc that teaches you how to do some simple budgeting and expense reports.
The doc should be a accessible to anyone using the published link. No data should be collected.
I have a form in my doc connected to tables that the user register their data in. When I was about to publish it via a public link at the first time I chose the âView and playâ - a.k.a. âPlay modeâ in the publishing settings. Then a warning shows that goes something like this âWe noticed you have a form in your doc. In order for the doc to work you have to publish it in Edit mode or embed the form via the form linkâ.
I thought - Ok, so then Iâll do that. I embedded the form. That didnât look great and the doc didnât work without the user having to be logged in. So then I used the âEdit modeâ but the doc still didnât work and the user was prompted to log in or create a Coda account. I acctually donât want the users to edit the form. And I donât want to collect or store any data. A warning message showed in both cases (embed or Edit mode) that went something like this âyou canât use the form since it is published in play modeâ (although the doc was published in Edit mode).
So then I now use the âPlay modeâ despite the warning that the form wonât work. But it does however work?! Is this pure luck or a bug? Or is it supposed to work? I fear that if I give my users the link my luck will run out, and they will eventually not be able to use the form/doc. I am worried about that since the spectrum of possible users can be hundreds of people.
Iâve been searching this Community without finding proper answersâŠ
What is it that I have gotten wrong?
The problem I have is accordingly not that the doc and form doesnât work. It does, since the users can register and learn withoutthe data being saved. Itâs my worry that it sometimes later wonât:)
So so greatful for a response for someone who has used Coda for a while.
Unfortunately this is a sore subject around here - and there are multiple threads requesting a change regarding how the general public can interact with published Coda docs.
Everything while working with Coda leads you to believe that public interactions with your Coda docs can be view only OR âEditableâ based on the link configuration.
Coda, at this point in time requires people with Edit privs to also be a registered Coda user - you currently canât have the general publicedit your Coda docs wo/having and using their own Coda account when accessing your page(s).
Iâm hoping in the near future Coda removes this restriction, since it hampers how the general public can interact with your published documents (pretty much read only.)
Thankâs so much for the reply. My question had more to do with the form-table in my Coda doc (the doc consists of 5 pages and there is form in one of them - the landning page) which seems to be working despite a warning when I published.
So, the doc seems to be open for Interacting (i.e. playing with) but not editing (altering something). Thatâs what I want (that is I do NOT want edit mode for collecting data). So everything is fine right now, but I donât see HOW it could work despite the warning that appeared regarding my form (in one of the pages)?
So for now everything IS working but SHOULD it be working ?
Here is a link.
The doc is in Swedish but âRegistrera transaktionâ means âRegister a transactionâ. When you have registrered the income or expense it shows in the âLöpande bokföringâ page which is a form of list for all incomes and expenses. Thatâs all good. It works if you try!
But can you or someone explain why it is working or have I gotten the warnings about the form wrong? I mean the warning inside Coda about that I have to embed or put the doc in Edit mode for the whole thing to be working?
Greatful for a reply. I hope you understand my main question: should my doc be working like it is or am I the only one
So Play mode is fine. I donât want anyone to change anything just try it and get the calculations. Not saving anything anywhere just Interacting like you would with a protected Excel doc.
(So i donât care about this warning that is written under the form âResponses wonât be saved because this doc is in play modeâ)
Iâm just nervous that the doc and form will stop working which wouldnât be good for my e-learning project.
If I understand you correctly, you donât want the form to store the data anywhere for your access. Itâs just there so that the person testing out your template populates it with some fake transactions.
If thatâs the case, you donât have to worry. When a doc is loaded in play mode, itâs basically loaded in a sandbox. It works (mostly) like a real doc but all the data only exists in the personâs browser tab. Itâs never stored to the actual doc. As soon as the person refreshes or closes the tab, the data they entered is gone. You can see this by entering transactions through the form and then refreshing the doc.
The warning there is for those users who actually want to collect the data but are using the wrong type of form. Unfortunately you canât get rid of those. You can replace a form with a detail view that looks like a form if thatâs what youâd prefer; it wonât have validation though.
Ah, thank you Paul!!
Youâre absolutely right. I just want the doc like a template that doesnât store any data.
But the warning about the form in Coda should have been clearer. It said something like this: âWe have noticed you have a built a form in your doc. The doc wonât work unless you embed the form or put the doc in Edit modeâ.
Thank you very very much. This put a weight of my shoulders! You deserve a gold star or some reward for helping a newbie like me !
