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Evan Davies

Building docs as powerful as apps with Coda

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Evan from Coda here. Opening this discussion for anyone who has questions or ideas around building with Coda and going for the grand prize! 🏆 Here are a few helpful links: - For inspiration on what you can build: https://coda.io/templates - For brainstorming and tracking progress: https://coda.io/t/_te6h7JnfEF9

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Sandhya Ramachandran
@evan_pryce I want to create an online magazine. While I can definitely use Coda for tracking the content, I am wondering if there is a way to even create a magazine using Coda. Would love your guidance :)
Evan Davies
@thedreamydryad That sounds like a great idea! Practically speaking, using Coda sections to separate content can feel like separate pages in a magazine, which you can link between using a table of contents. Do you have a starting point for this already? Happy to guide you if you want to send me a dm!
Sandhya Ramachandran
@evan_pryce I figured the sections, yes. But I would love to make it LOOK like a magazine with sections, etc. And yes, would love your advice :)
Gurpal Singh Kalra
@evan_pryce thanks for this. i've had an idea for a long time. this might help me get off my butt and make it.
Gurpal Singh Kalra
@evan_pryce thanks evan, i am in the midst of building something simple. could use some advice. i am building a task list so that my mother and wife can message tasks to me(through sms/whatsapp) as i keep forgetting when they tell me. and once i've completed it, they can be notified. how can i do an app interface that they can keep as a shortcut on their phones, or let them message my number and it will add to my task list? For the latter, I can only think of zapier integrations for now. Any advice? Thanks in advance
Evan Davies
@gurpal_singh_kalra1 Great use case! Yes I would definitely recommend using Zapier to handle the texting case you referenced: https://zapier.com/apps/coda/int.... You can send text from a Coda doc using the Twilio Coda Pack: https://help.coda.io/connect-you....
Evan Davies
@gurpal_singh_kalra1 Regarding shortcuts - you can have them either download the Coda app for iOS, or open the Coda link on Android and pin it to their phone: https://www.howtogeek.com/196087...
Gurpal Singh Kalra
@evan_pryce i have another question. Is there a way for me to do instances? So that my wife and mother(and other users) can have their own app?
Evan Davies
@gurpal_singh_kalra1 you can think of each doc as a separate "instance" of Coda - each with it's own permissions and data. Typically when you're creating a Coda template and sharing it (like for the Makers Festival), users can copy the doc into their own account, essentially creating their own "instance" of it per the above. If you have any other questions let me know!
Al
My name is Al, and I'm a Coda expert here to answer any questions you have about making your first doc. Happy to discuss ideas you have about the front-end, UX, and more!
Lisa Dziuba
@evan_pryce hey! Thanks for a great festival 💐 So I have a few questions: 0. With Coda I build a doc template, which can be shared on your Template section. That's how I understood your functionality 😃. Is a doc template consider as a product? 1. When I build something with Coda, it will be hosted on your coda site. Have I got it right? 2. Who owns the template (project) if it's hosted on your Coda site? 3. When we finish the project, will it be some form to hunt it? Or it will be hunted by the Product Hunt team when we send it via Submission form? Thanks!
Evan Davies
@lisadziuba Hi Lisa - great questions! Here are some answers below: 0. Yes the finished product is a doc that you'll share with the community. We'll definitely feature these on our Gallery (https://coda.io/templates/) after the Makers Festival, but for the time being all you'll need to do is share the doc publicly (with View/Play mode enabled). Here's instructions on how to do that: https://help.coda.io/working-wit... 1. Can you clarify what you mean by "hosting on Coda site"? Generally, when you build a Coda doc, it will show up in your Google Drive like any other document product (like Gdocs / Gsheets). We've built the underlying technology, but you have full access control over your docs - we don't have access by default. Does that answer your question? 2. See above. 3. I'd confirm with @emilyjsnowdon from Product Hunt, but once voting opens, all submissions should be available for folks to give love to to help determine the winner. Let me know if you have any other questions! Happy to help 1:1 if you'd like - just dm me.
Lisa Dziuba
@emilyjsnowdon @evan_pryce thanks for answering! 0. got it! 1. we usually host our products on our site, that's why I asked. You answered my question :) 3. got it! yeah, it will be nice to have 1:1. I will DM you. Thanks again 💕 Lisa
Evan Davies
Tips for all you new Coda makers out there! Here is some helpful content around the core building blocks you can use to make a doc as powerful as an app: 1. Tables - Structure your information to keep it organized (https://help.coda.io/getting-sta...) 2. Views - See your information in different ways while keeping everything up to date (https://help.coda.io/getting-sta...) 3. Formulas - Learn about your data (https://help.coda.io/formulas/co...) 4. Buttons - Create interactions in your doc (https://help.coda.io/controls/cr...) 5. Automations - Convert manual tasks into workflows (https://help.coda.io/connect-you...) 6. Packs - Connect your doc to the other tools you use (https://help.coda.io/connect-you...) 7. Mobile - See your doc come to life as a mobile app (https://help.coda.io/getting-sta...)
JDaniel Richer
@evan_pryce how can I embed HTML instead of just a link?
Evan Davies
@jdaniel_richer You can generate iframe code to embed a doc on your website (similar to what you can see in the Makers Festival homepage). Here's some info on this: https://help.coda.io/working-wit... What's your use case?
Justin Hales
@jdaniel_richer you can actually just use a Coda button to do that:
Becky DeForest
@alchen Is there a way to build user profiles from data collected by a form in Coda?
Al
@becky_deforest Can you tell me more about what type of data you would like a "user profile" to have? You could have a "Users" table that has additional columns that are formulaic based on the data you've collected from the user.
Nicolas Grenié
@alchen @becky_deforest You can embed a Typeform into Coda. And use Zapier to connect Typeform to Coda.