Applications

An application is a deployable unit inside a High Systems instance: it groups the tables, dashboards, forms, and pages that make up a working solution. You'll create an application here, see what High Systems sets up automatically, and learn how to manage its settings.

Creating and managing applications requires instance admin access. If you can't see the actions described here, check with your instance administrator.

What is an application?

Applications sit between the instance and the tables in the High Systems hierarchy:

Instance
└── Application
    └── Table
        └── Field
            └── Record

Everything in High Systems lives inside an application: tables, dashboards, forms, pages, menus, roles, and users are all scoped to a single application. When you sign in, the left sidebar shows the applications you have access to; clicking one opens its dashboard.

Creating an application

From the instance home screen, click Add Application in the top-right corner. Fill in the basics:

  • Icon: an icon to represent the application.
  • Name: the application's name.
  • Description: an optional description.
  • Date Format, Time Format, and Date/Time Format: how dates and times are displayed throughout the application.
  • Default Currency: the currency used by number fields that display as currency.

Click Save and you'll be taken to the new application's Settings page, ready to start building.

What gets created for you

When you create an application, High Systems sets up a starting structure so you can begin building right away:

  • A Default Dashboard: the screen users see when they open the application.
  • A Default Menu: the application's navigation, starting with a Homepage item.
  • Four roles: Administrator, Limited Admin, User, and Viewer, covering the common permission levels.
  • Your user account is added to the application with the Administrator role.

You don't need to configure any of this manually; it's all handled at creation time.

The left sidebar is the application's menu, built from the tables, dashboards, pages, and reports you've placed on it. A few useful things to know:

  • Click the hamburger icon in the header to collapse or expand the sidebar.
  • Press Ctrl (or ⌘ on Mac) + K to open the global search, which searches across the application.
  • Hovering over a sidebar item reveals a settings cog (for admins) that takes you to that item's settings.

Application settings

The Settings button in the top-right of the application dashboard opens the settings hub, organised into three panels:

Access

  • Users: invite people to the application and assign them roles.
  • Roles: create roles and control what each role can see and do.

Structure & UI

  • Tables: create and manage the application's data tables.
  • Dashboards: build the screens users interact with.
  • Pages: create custom pages within the application.
  • Relationships: view and arrange the entity relationship diagram showing how tables connect.
  • Menus: build the application's navigation.

Advanced

  • Workflows: automate tasks triggered by data changes.
  • Variables: store and share values across the application.
  • Properties: configure the application itself (see below).
  • Maintenance: rebuild, copy, or delete the application.
  • Job Logs: review the results of email and webhook jobs.

Application properties

The Properties panel (Settings → Advanced → Properties) is where you configure the application itself:

  • Icon, Name, and Description: renaming the application is done here by changing the Name.
  • Date Format, Time Format, and Date/Time Format: adjust how dates and times display.
  • Default Currency: the application's default currency.
  • Default Menu: the menu shown to users by default (individual roles can have their own menu).
  • Public Role: the role assigned to anonymous visitors.

Setting a Public Role opens your application to the internet: anyone with the URL can access it with that role's permissions. Leave it unset unless you intend to publish the application publicly.

Building menus

Tables and dashboards don't appear in the application's navigation until you add them to a menu. Open Settings → Menus and edit a menu (or add a new one) to open the menu builder:

  • Drag items from the tabs (Tables, Dashboards, Pages, Reports, and Forms) into the menu structure.
  • Use Group to organise items into collapsible sections, and Application Homepage to set where the app's home link points.
  • Hover over any item in the menu to customise its icon and label, or remove it with the X button.
  • Each role can be assigned its own menu (or use the Application Default) from the Roles settings, so different users can see different navigation.

Copying an application

To copy an application, open Settings → Maintenance and click Copy Application. You'll be asked whether to also copy the data: the copy includes all tables, fields, dashboards, forms, reports, menus, pages, roles, and permissions, and answering yes to the data prompt also copies every record. The copy is named "Copy of" followed by the original name, and you're taken to its Properties page when it's ready.

Copied workflows are created in an inactive state, so review and re-enable them in the new application.

Deleting an application

To delete an application, open Settings → Maintenance and click the red Delete Application button. You'll need to type delete application to confirm. You'll then be returned to the instance home screen.

Deleting an application is permanent and cannot be undone. It removes the application along with all of its tables, records, dashboards, forms, pages, menus, roles, and users. Make sure you have a backup or use Copy Application first if you might need the structure later.

Everything in this guide can also be done through the High Systems REST API. See the Applications endpoint reference for details.