Models
      Back to home
      1. Betty Blocks Documentation
      2. Building your application
      3. Models

      Working with the data model builder

      Create and set models using drag and drop in the schema view (visual interface) or using the model list view (table view).

      The data model icon is located as shown in the example below on the builder bar. You can work with either a:

      • Visual overview (Model schema view)

      • Table overview (Models list view).

      How you navigate to work with models is explained in the following:

      The data model quick menu (A) tab is displayed as shown above.

      When you open the data model for an application for the first time, the role and user model (B) are already displayed in the quick menu tab. These models define your access to the application you are building. These models are also used as the basis for user access with roles and permissions to your live application.

      Once you have created additional models, these are also listed in the quick menu display.

      As the list expands to reflect your application, you can use the Search model field to quickly navigate to a model that you want to view or update.

      You can work with different views of the data model by clicking on the buttons (C):

      • The Model schema view button to open the visual schematic view of your data model.

      • The Models list view button to open a table list view of the models in your application data model.

      Click on the New model (D) button to open the Create new model window.

      Tip!

      The role and user models set up general access to the Betty Blocks platform. These models provide your access and should not be altered or deleted.

      Schema view

      The schema view provides a visual overview of the individual models in a data model. The initial view contains the default role and user models that provide the basis for working with an application.

      The following explains some of the navigation features available when you work with the schema view:

      A. The Schema view button is shown as active to indicate that it is the current active view.

      B. You can navigate to the data model list view by selecting the models overview button.

      C. You can add new models to your data model by selecting the New model button.

      When you work in the models schema view, you can use the mouse point to move around the canvas.

      When you press right-click, the mouse pointer hand changes to the grab hand icon and you can then move the canvas as required to bring specific models into focus.

      Data model list view

      The data model list view shows all the models within your data model in alphabetical order. When you first open the data model, the role and user model are shown in the list.

      You can use the buttons to navigate between the different views of the data model - the list view and the schema (visual) view. As shown, the model list (A) view is the currently active button. You can click the Model schema button to navigate to the schema (visual) view.

      The NAME column (B) displays the unique name for each model in alphabetical order. Click on the arrow buttons to sort the list in ascending/descending order.

      Tip! Use the arrow keys to filter the information in a column in Ascending/Descending order as required.

      The description (C) column contains any additional information that has been added to support explaining the purpose of the individual model.

      When you enable the settings model in the settings tab for a model, the settings model column (D) shows enabled (✔). This indicates that this model is part of your applications settings. The data in the model is considered static or fixed, for example, a model that connects country codes. The information in this model can be used to enrich your application's information, for example, to filter information based on country code or to setup up an action that involves checking country code details with an entry in a different model.

      Activating a model to be part of the applications settings ensures a consistent environment across all stages of your application from development to production. The records for a settings model are overwritten to all Sandbox(es) when merging environments. See What are settings models? for more details.

      Note: Sandboxes are copies of an application in which you can make and test changes and features before moving (merging) to your live application.