Sync: Building and managing apps with Google Sheets

“Sync” is a feature that allows one to build and manage apps from a Google Sheet. It is perfect for digital business cards (DBCs). (*Note that as of the initial release, only the account owner has the permision level required to sync and app to a Sheet to create new apps)

The beauty of the Sync feature is that it allows the simplicity of managing a large number of DBCs by entering the employee information in a spreadsheet, while it also allows advanced functionalities that are shared to be managed in the template app. For example, one can add a subpage of product specials, update it regularly, and have it appear in all the business cards.

There are two components of a Sync project:

• A template app 
• A Google Sheet 

(Best practice is to use the same name for both the sheet and the template app) 

The operation is straightforward. You open a template app, choose the “Sync” option, which will request access to your Google sheets. After granting permission, you then select the target Sheet and tap “Sync” in order to build or update the apps that are specified in the target Google Sheet.

Syncing is designed to build complex apps with simplified administration. In addition to the main page user experience, syncing builds the PWA app metadata, the social sharing metadata, and the saveable vCards. It abstracts as many complex or repetitive tasks as possible. For example, you add 1 profile photo, but have the option of using it as the app profile photo, the app icon, in the vCard, and as the shared favicon. 

Here is a link to a sample sheet that may be used as a template sheet and the URL of a companion app: 

Template Sheet URL:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1Su_exW8wCH7cOLVy-yf98vziMSLskvBzUmLkJVp0Qmc/edit?usp=sharing

Template App URL:

https://tapps.to/SYNC-TEMPLATE-001

This app is flagged as a template, meaning it may be copied into a different account, so you may use the above URL to copy it to your account. In this sample app, everything below the employee’s contact menu is common content that is included in one of two Group Actions. This is to demonstrate that one can add and update robust content with a Group Action.

The synced apps will inherit the properties of the template app. 

• If you add an image to the profile, favicon, or app icon in the template app (e.g., logo) then the synced apps will use that image in those positions if one is not designated in their sheet row.
• The template app’s styling will transfer to the synced apps. To update branding, update the template app and resync.

And here are images of that sheet, with a description of its fields and their uses:

1. Sync - Determines if the row will be read to create or update an app when the sheet is synced.
   1. “Yes” means the row will be synced 
2. Delete - Determines if the app will be deleted from the account.
   1. “Yes” will remove the app from the account
3. App ID - Enter the desired alphanumeric ID for the app.
4. Pub - Determines whether the app will be published
   1. “Yes” will publish the app.
5. Short Name - Enter the app’s name that will appear under the app icon when installed. 
6. Company - The company name will be used in the vCard.
7. First Name - Use in vCard and combine with Last Name for the app style title.
8. Last Name -  Use in vCard and combine with First Name for the app style title.
9. Description - Content will be used in the App Style description field. (This field contains a formula that is built from other cells, but you may directly enter any text here.)
10. Share - Content will be used in the SEO title field and will be seen when the card is shared via text message or over social channels.(This field contains a formula that is built from other cells, but you may directly enter any text here.)
11. Job Title - Content will be used in the vCard, and may be used in a sheet formula to create the “Description” or “Share” field content.

1. Photo - Enter a URL here. Store the image on Google drive and use the URL to that location.
2. Profile - “yes” uses the Photo as the app profile photo
3. Icon - “yes” uses the Photo as the app icon
4. Favicon - “yes” used the Photo as the Favicon
5. vCard - “yes” adds the Photo to the vCard

The rest of the sheet is dedicated to managing the Actions in the app and these columns are not fixed. Columns are formatted in one of two ways. 

The first format option uses an Action name as the column header and an Action endpoint as the cell value. This tells the sync engine to clone the designated Action, but to use the cell value as its endpoint. For example, use the styling and icon of a specific Call Action, but replace the telephone number endpoint with the one listed in the cell.

The second format option uses the specific term “A-N” as the column header and an Action name as the cell value. The format tells the sync engine to copy the named Action to the app and that the Action will be shared by other apps. As an example, use this format to add a single Action or add a block of content that will be updated regularly with a Group or Subpage Action. As another example, if a named Action is only listed on a single app through this format, then that is the only app that will have that Action, and thus, this format may be used to add unique content to specific apps.

Finally there is specific formatting to manage the placement of contact information, which may be added as discrete Actions or in a menu. When a Menu is added with an Action Name, use the number in the cell field to designate how many of the following columns to include in the menu. Similarly, the number in the vCard cell will control how many of the previous actions to include in the vCard.

1. 1. Menu-A33 - “Menu-A33” is the name of a specific menu action and it tells the sync engine to use that Menu Action as its template. If that template menu is anchored, then all the apps will have anchored menus. The “5” in the cell tells the engine to use the following 5 columns as the Actions to include in the menu.
   2. Call-O-A33 - Use the cell value tel. Number to clone the designated Action.
      1. Not adding a telephone number will result in this Action not being added.
   3. Call-M-A33 - Use the cell value tel. Number to clone the designated Action.
   4. Email-A33 - Use the cell value email to clone the designated Action.
   5. Link-A33 - Use the cell value URL to clone the designated Action.
   6. vCard-A33 -  “vCard-A33” is the name of a specific menu action. The "-4" in the cell tells the engine to add the previous endpoints to the vCard.
   7. A-N - Copies the Action named in the cell and adds it to the app.
   8. A-N - Copies the Action named in the cell and adds it to the app.