Turn five project records into a dashboard you can act on

Your Monday question is simple: which project decisions are late, and who is responsible? By the end of this course you will have the records, the chart, the matching project list, and a task that turns one decision into an action.

For: business owners, operations managers and developers who manage work that does not fit an existing module. Product: Appmint Studio Manager. Allow: 60–90 minutes for the main exercise; another 20 minutes for recovery and collaboration. Level: beginner with a supplied schema and query; explanations and extensions for developers. Walkthrough: local Studio Manager 0.6.2, 19 September 2026.

What you will have at the end

• A custom Design Projects collection with project, client, owner, budget, stage and decision-date fields.
• Five saved projects, including an unassigned project and a completed project that should stay out of the overdue count.
• An Overdue decisions by owner bar chart and a detail query identifying its two matching projects.
• A saved Projects — Monday view dashboard.
• A private project Workspace and an actionable task visible in My Tasks after reloading.
• Practice identifying validation problems and restoring a versioned practice record.

The batch-import section checks a deliberately invalid row in Validate only mode. You will see its row number and required-title error without adding any batch records.

What you need

Use your own training organization from Welcome to Appmint. Sign in as its owner for this exercise: you will create a collection, save records and build queries. Appmint is free; this exercise does not require an upgrade.

Download these small practice files:

Open the JSON files in a text editor so you can copy their contents. They contain no account credentials. You do not need to edit application code.

You can finish the exercise with one user and no customers. Select your own account as Owner. Leave Client empty if your training organization has no customers yet; connect a real customer later using the CRM course. A project title such as “Bennett kitchen” does not create a customer named Bennett.

The story

Cedar & Form has five design projects. A budget spreadsheet tells Jordan what each project costs, but not which decision needs attention today. Jordan needs a repeatable view that excludes completed work, includes projects without an owner, and leads to a task someone can finish.

We use 18 September 2026 as the exercise's review date. Keep that date while learning so your results match the screenshots. Later, change the review date deliberately in both queries.

flowchart LR
  A[Collection: define the six fields] --> B[Data Explorer: save five projects]
  B --> C[Data Studio: count and reconcile]
  C --> D[Workspace: assign the next action]

A collection defines the fields. A record is one project. A query selects or summarizes records. A dashboard arranges saved queries. A Workspace is the collaboration area for discussions, files and tasks; creating one does not replace your organization or automatically link it to a project record.

Part 1 — Build a form that fits your projects

1. Open Collection Builder

In Studio Manager's left sidebar, open Database → New Collection. If the sidebar is collapsed, point at the database icon to see its label, then select it to open the menu.

The builder has seven tabs: Schema Builder, Notifications, Schema Tree, JSON Schema, Form Preview, Collection Info, and Live View. On the right, Elements provides controls; Properties configures a selected field; Theme changes appearance; Magic contains interactivity settings. Save at the top saves the collection definition.

The new collection initially has a generated name. In this build, its schema also starts empty and the canvas says empty properties. That is why simply dragging a field into a new canvas may do nothing. The supplied schema in step 3 gives the canvas its object structure and fields in one operation.

2. Give the collection a stable identity

Open Collection Info. Enter:

These last two controls are switches; their default text is Use setting. Turn each on. Leave other settings at their existing values for this exercise. Do not change collection roles simply to make the builder work.

After editing Name, let the builder settle before switching tabs. The header should show Design Projects and cf_project. If that name already belongs to your earlier practice collection, reopen it instead of creating another one. Before entering the five records, inspect the existing collection in Data Explorer. Reuse a practice record already present under the same title; compare and correct its fields against Part 2 rather than adding it again. For the exact two-project query result, use only the five specified practice records. If the collection contains unrelated projects, create a separate empty practice collection with another unique identifier of 3–20 characters instead of deleting those records, and select that same collection in both queries. Additional matching records legitimately change the totals. Carry your chosen collection identifier through every later query and Trash check.

3. Paste the supplied schema

Open JSON Schema. Click inside the code editor, select all of its existing content, and paste the complete contents of design-projects.schema.json. Wait a moment before opening Form Preview.

Pasting is preferable to typing the JSON character by character: code-editor auto-completion can insert quotes and brackets while you type. If the editor reports invalid JSON, replace the whole document with the file contents; do not append the file after an existing closing brace.

The schema defines these fields:

The two lookups store a record identifier, not a typed person's name. Owner displays user email addresses in the search results. In this build, a saved lookup can show its raw identifier when reopened; that is not a second user.

4. Understand the visual editor before changing the form

Return to Schema Builder. With an initialized object schema, drag Text Field from Elements into the dashed canvas to add a field. Select a field and open Properties to edit its Name, Title, validation options and presentation.

You do not need to add more fields to the supplied schema. This is how you extend it later, for example with a site-survey note. Wait after renaming a field before editing its next property or changing selection: field-property updates are delayed in this editor.

Gotcha — “Single Selection” is a yes/no control. The palette's Single Selection item defaults to a boolean checkbox. It is not the five-stage dropdown this exercise needs. The supplied schema uses the choice-list control with a string value and five explicit options. Do not replace it with the default checkbox.

Gotcha — lookup Properties can say “No Schema Defined.” That occurred when selecting a lookup in this build. The supplied JSON configures the lookup's dataSource directly. Use Form Preview to check that it actually loads the intended collection.

5. Save, then find the collection again

Select Save at the top. Open Database → Data Explorer. In Search collections…, type Design, then select Design Projects.

Search by its title. Typing cf_project did not find this collection in the tested search, even though that identifier is displayed beneath its title. An empty search result is not evidence that saving failed.

The right side should say Design Projects — Browse and manage cf_project data. With no projects yet, choose Add First Record or Add Record.

Try it: locate Schema Tree, JSON Schema and Form Preview in the builder. Which one changes the definition, and which one lets you inspect the resulting form? The JSON editor changes the definition; preview is where you check the form people will use.

Part 2 — Enter five records and understand the stored values

1. Test the required field before entering real work

In Add Design Projects, leave Project empty, enter 18000 in Budget, and select Save.

You should see Missing required fields: title. No record is added. This is a useful check: a chart full of unnamed projects would be difficult to act on.

Enter Tutorial Bennett kitchen in Project. The stored name title in the error corresponds to the form label Project.

2. Complete the first project

Fill the rest of the form:

• Client: leave empty for the starter exercise. If you already have the intended customer, open the lookup and choose the actual result.
• Owner: open the lookup and select your own account's email address. Clicking a result selects it; typing text alone does not establish a link.
• Budget: 18000, without a currency symbol.
• Stage: open the dropdown and choose Concept.
• Next decision date: 2026-09-10.

Select Save. The drawer closes and Tutorial Bennett kitchen appears in the table.

The date input displays a calendar date. The stored value observed later was 2026-09-10T00:00:00.000Z. Our fixed-date query accounts for that representation; do not mix arbitrary localized date strings such as 10/9/26 into raw records.

3. Add the other four projects

Select Add Record for each row below. Keep Client empty unless you have a real matching customer. “Your account” means select the same user you chose for Bennett kitchen.

The empty budget means “not entered,” not a confirmed zero. The empty owner is deliberate: an operational report should expose work that nobody owns.

The table displays only a subset of the schema fields. The missing date column does not mean the date was lost. Use a row's Edit pencil to read its form or Edit Raw JSON to inspect its stored structure. Close the raw editor without saving if you are only inspecting it.

4. Predict the answer before building the chart

On the exercise review date, 18 September 2026:

Your target is two projects, grouped into one assigned and one unassigned. A project due on September 18 itself is not overdue under this exercise's “earlier than” rule.

Part 3 — Create the chart and prove its numbers

1. Open the query editor

Choose App Root → Dashboard Builder in the sidebar. The application heading is Data Studio. Choose New Query.

The editor has a title at the top, a collection selector, a code area, Run, result rows, chart preview, and chart controls. Enter Tutorial Overdue decisions by owner in the title and select Design Projects in the collection selector.

2. Paste and run the count query

Paste the overdue count pipeline into the code editor, replacing its starter query. Select Run.

Its three stages do specific jobs:

1. Match: keep a nonempty string decision date before 2026-09-18 and a stage other than Complete.
2. Group: count matching records by data.owner; missing owners become Unassigned.
3. Sort: put the groups in a predictable order.

The result should show 2 rows · 2 fields, with count equal to 1 for your user's identifier and 1 for Unassigned. Two result rows are two groups; the sum of their counts is the number of projects.

The data. prefix matters. Project fields live inside the record's data object. Querying owner instead of data.owner targets a different part of the record.

3. Choose and save the chart

Under CHART TYPE, choose Bar explicitly. In FIELD MAPPING, set Category (X-Axis) to _id and Values (Y-Axis) to count. Leave Split by (optional) at None. Select Save.

The long identifier on one bar is expected: the query groups by the stored user ID. A production dashboard can resolve that identifier to a readable name, but do not replace it with a hard-coded employee name that would mislabel somebody else's data. The Unassigned bar is already readable and immediately actionable.

4. Save a detail query using the same filter

Choose New Query. Enter Tutorial Overdue decision detail, select Design Projects, and paste the overdue detail pipeline. Choose Run, then Results only in the editor's output-view toolbar. Save the query.

You should see Tutorial Ahmed studio and Tutorial Bennett kitchen, with their owner, stage and decision date. These are the two records represented by the chart.

This is the reconciliation: the detail query has two project rows; the grouped query totals two. Both use exactly the same first filter stage. If they disagree after later edits, compare the collection, review date, excluded stage and empty-date handling before blaming the chart.

Gotcha — the date is fixed, not automatic. Opening this saved query next month does not change 2026-09-18 to today. For a later review, update the cutoff in both queries. The exercise uses a UTC date boundary; agree on the business timezone before implementing a dynamic daily report.

5. Assemble the manager's dashboard

Choose New Dashboard and enter Tutorial Projects — Monday view in Dashboard title….

On the right, open Queries. Drag Tutorial Overdue decisions by owner from the list into the central Empty Dashboard area. The heading changes from zero sections to 1 section.

Select the dashboard's Save. A second form titled Save Dashboard opens. Set Name to tutorial-projects-monday, check that Title is Tutorial Projects — Monday view, leave the generated section settings in place, and select the form's Save.

Do not stop after opening that form: the save result in this walkthrough was Data inserted after submitting it.

6. Reopen the saved result

Use the item picker at the top left, choose Home, and select Refresh. The home list should show your dashboard and queries. Open Tutorial Projects — Monday view and check the mode button. If it says Editing, select it to switch to Viewing; an already reopened dashboard may start in Viewing.

The saved card displays the result table and the chart. Both show the same two owner groups.

The table and chart should appear together without a configuration warning. If either result is empty, open the saved query, check its selected collection, and run it again before changing the dashboard layout.

Check yourself: is an unassigned project a reason to drop a row from the chart? No. It is a reason to assign the next action.

Part 4 — Turn a finding into a task

1. Open Workspace and create a private project space

Choose App Root → Workspace. The left rail has Home, Inbox / Mentions, My Tasks, My Calendar, and Recent Files. These are personal views across the spaces you can access.

Beside WORKSPACES, select the plus button titled New workspace. Enter:

• Name: Tutorial Bennett kitchen — private.
• What it is for: Decisions and files for the Bennett kitchen project.
• Private: checked.
• Ends on (optional): leave empty for this ongoing practice space.
• Members: leave empty to start with your own account only.

Select Create. The heading should say Workspace · private · 1 member.

Private limits access to people added or invited to the space. Public allows people in the organization to read it; joining allows participation. Use a private space for client-specific project material. An expiration ends access; it is not the same as deleting its contents.

2. Write a task with a clear finish line

Inside the space select Tasks → New task. Fill:

Leave files and expiration unchanged. Select Create task.

The task appears under To do. The form explains that assignees are notified; this exercise assigns only your own training account. When using this with colleagues, choose the actual responsible person rather than assigning everyone in the space.

3. Check it from the assignee's view

Reload Studio, open Workspace, and select My Tasks. You should see Tutorial Confirm lighting plan, its project-space name, and To do status.

An unassigned task does not appear in a particular person's My Tasks. Workspace membership and task assignment are different decisions: membership gives access; assignment identifies responsibility.

The workspace also exposes Activity, Files, Calendar, Agenda, Analytics, and Members. Keep project conversation and files together there. The collection remains the structured source for the dashboard; a similarly named workspace is not an automatic database relationship.

Part 5 — Recover a practice record and inspect an import

Recover a versioned project

Use only the disposable practice project for this exercise. Confirm that Enable Versioning was turned on before deleting it; Trash retention is conditional, not universal.

1. Open Database → Data Explorer → Design Projects.
2. On Tutorial Okonkwo bathroom, select the row's Delete trash icon. Read the confirmation and select Delete. It leaves the project table.
3. Open the dedicated Trash application at /app/trash on the same Studio address you already use. On the tested build, the sidebar's Trash icon instead opened an older generic table whose columns did not expose a useful restoration action.
4. Locate Tutorial Okonkwo bathroom, check SOURCE DATATYPE matches your chosen collection identifier (cf_project if you used the example name), and select its Restore action.
5. Return to Data Explorer → Design Projects and confirm the project is back. The successful result matters more than a stale Trash list that has not yet refreshed.

Delete inside Trash permanently removes the retained copy. That is different from Restore. Restoring the record is also different from restoring an earlier budget value: record-version history and deleted-record recovery solve different problems. This walkthrough verifies the deleted-record path only.

Inspect a batch before writing it

Open the practice CSV. The middle row deliberately has no title. You already saw the record form reject that error; the batch exercise checks whether the importer catches it too.

1. Open Database → Import, Export Data → Start New Import.
2. In Select Data source, choose Paste JSON or CSV.
3. Paste the complete CSV into the editor and select Process Data. Wait for processing, then select Next. If the editor overlaps the button, use Tab to focus Next and press Enter.
4. In Preview, check that three rows appear and the middle title is empty. Choose Next.
5. In Define Collection, select the existing Design Projects collection. Check that title, budget, stage and nextDecisionDate map to fields with those same names. Choose Next.
6. In Finish, check Validate only. Leave Update existing records at Always add a new record for this diagnostic. Choose Finish - Import Data.

The report should say Validation found errors — nothing was written, with Rows read 3, Created 0, Skipped 2, and Failed 1. Under Rows that failed validation, row 2 reports title must have required property 'title'. The two valid rows are counted as skipped because Validate only does not write them.

Keep Validate only enabled. Correct the missing title in a copy of the source file and validate that copy before considering a real import. For this exercise, stop after inspecting the error report and return to Data Explorer: the original five projects should still be the only records. The dashboard does not depend on batch import.

For a later real import, choose an update-match field only if it uniquely identifies a record in your organization. Matching on a repeated project title can update the wrong project; always adding rows on a retry can create duplicates. Inspect the resulting records as well as the job totals. This walkthrough did not execute the faulty batch or an update-in-place import.

Part 6 — Extend the model carefully

Make the dashboard current. Keep the fixed date for practice. For daily operation, define whether “overdue” means earlier than today's business date or earlier than the current instant. Update both queries together and test a decision due today, yesterday, tomorrow, and a completed project. A report's title should explain a fixed cutoff when one is used.

Connect clients. Create or locate the real customer through the CRM course, then use Client to select it. A lookup's stored ID is the link. It does not create a customer account, invite the customer, or grant access to every project.

Expose selected projects in a portal. Continue with Create a client dashboard. Showing all cf_project records on a customer-facing page would expose other clients' projects. Apply customer identity and server-side authorization deliberately; hiding a field on a form is a presentation choice, not access control.

Automate the next action. Continue with Automate a business handoff after the collection and records are reliable. Enabling the collection's workflow flag does not define the trigger, responsible person, retry behavior or completion rule.

Field rules and history. The builder's Magic panel is the place to explore field interactivity. If a date field is hidden when Stage becomes Complete, that does not imply the stored date has been cleared. Retain the explicit Complete exclusion in the query. A record-history restore, a field-visibility rule and a deleted-record restore require different checks; do not substitute one for another.

If something goes wrong

What happened behind the scenes

Where next

Use the business handoff course to connect project changes to repeatable work. Use the client dashboard course for a customer-facing view. The permissions course explains how to control who can manage the underlying data.