Managing Connections

What You'll Learn

This guide explains how to edit, update, and delete connection fields in your Knack application. You'll discover how to modify connection settings safely and understand the potential impacts of changing existing connections.

Editing Connections

Once you've created connections between tables, you may need to modify their settings. Here's how to edit an existing connection:

1. Go to the Records or Fields tab
2. Find the connection field and click on the ellipsis (⋮) in the field header
3. Click the ellipsis (⋮) menu
4. Select "Edit field settings"

Available Settings

When editing a connection field, you can modify:

• Field name
• Description
• Required status
• Default value
• Relationship type
• Display format (dropdown or radio buttons)

Warning: Editing connection settings can impact existing relationships and elements. Plan changes carefully.

Deleting Connections

If you need to remove a connection field completely:

1. Navigate to the Records or Fields tab.
2. Find the connection field and click on the ellipsis (⋮) in the field header.
3. Click the ellipsis (⋮) menu.
4. Select "Delete".
5. Confirm deletion.

Caution: Deleting connections will break existing relationships and may affect elements and pages that rely on these connections.

Impact of Changing Connections

When modifying or deleting connections, be aware of the potential impacts:

Editing Impacts

• Changing field names may affect elements that reference the connection
• Modifying relationship types could alter how data is displayed
• Making a field required may cause issues with existing records
• Changing display formats might affect user experience in forms and views

Deletion Impacts

• Elements using the connection field may stop working
• Data relationships will be lost (though the individual records remain)
• Pages displaying connected data will need to be updated
• Forms with connection fields will need to be modified

Best Practices for Connection Management

• Document your connections and their purposes
• Test changes in a duplicate application before modifying production connections
• Update affected elements and pages after changing connections
• Communicate changes to users who interact with the affected tables
• Conduct thorough testing after making connection modifications

Common Questions

Q: If I delete a connection field, will it delete the records in the connected tables?
A: No, deleting a connection field only removes the relationship between tables, not the records themselves.

Q: Can I change a One-to-Many connection to a Many-to-Many connection?
A: Yes, but this may affect how existing data is displayed and could require updates to elements and pages.

Q: Will changing the Display Field in a table affect my connections?
A: Changing the Display Field will affect how records appear in connection dropdowns but won't break the connections themselves.