New database entry triggers notification to all users who have the app

[QED]

Hi,
I’m feeling a little frustrated and let down by Adalo.
I was very much given the impression that basic app where users of the app would get a notification when an action happens.
Here’s the scenario:
The app is a jobs app, when the admin posts a new job on the database I would like everyone who has the app on their device to get a push notification.

I read the ‘Trigger push notification’ in resources and it doesn’t even make sense. Point 1: generate API key in App settings - OK, do that, then what are you supposed to do with it? Nowhere in the rest of the resource does it mention it again.

Maybe I’m missing something really simple, but I cant imagine this should be that hard to do.

[Victor]

Hello @QED,

The article Trigger Push Notifications - Adalo Resources pretty much explains everything. There are animated videos which show how this works.

To send the notifications after job post being created, you just need to add an action “Trigger Notification” and in the recipients select “Users” → “All”:

Please keep in mind you need to have a native app build to make this work. Only native apps can receive Push notifications.

Best regards, Victor.

[QED]

Hi Victor,
Yep, that’s the resource I followed - see my point about the API.

So when you say a ‘native app build’ I can’t use Adalo to do this? Starting to feel even more confused.
I’ve followed the link on the resource - it’s not working, I have it on the Play store on internal testing because there is no other way to make sure that notification work in the preview.

Again, I might be missing something really simple, but I’m starting to think not and that Adalo has been a waste of time and effort.

[QED]

Or when you say native, do you mean this?

[Victor]

Hi @QED,

If you followed everything, then your set up should be finished. I hope that screenshots I’ve provided were useful as well.

I guess that API key is required for some internal purposes. It is also used for other things - Collections access via API calls and for the possibility to send Push notifications (also using API calls), but this is not related to your case.

Regarding “Native App” - the screenshot you’ve provided showing exactly this: you’re building a native app build for Android.

So I’m not sure what doesn’t work in your case and what exact problem do you have :).

There are few things to check if you have problems with push notifications:

• make sure that you have “Request Notification Permission” on in the app (usually on Home screen). Also be sure that you allow notifications for this app on your phone.
• make sure that you’re not sending notifications to yourself. In your case, if Admin user sends notifications to everyone, you should not be logged-in as Admin in this app on your phone.
• you can also test if notifications work in general for your particular app by trying to send Push using API call (though some knowledge is needed for that).

In regards to your thoughts about “waste of time and effort” - well, it’s difficult to comment on that. I’m building apps on Adalo for 2 years and for me it is a wonderful instrument

Best regards, Victor.

[QED]

I even offered up my problem in the freelance/jobs section and nobody wants to take this problem on.
Incredibly frustrating and wasting my money.

I thought this would be pretty simple to fix, but as support is only via this forum it’s become an indicator that Adalo aren’t interested.

[Victor]

Dear Neil @QED,

Just to clarify:

1. Official Adalo support ticket can be submitted here: Submit a Support Ticket
2. Adalo does not provide support via forums. Community Leaders do not work for Adalo. They and other forum members help each other to solve problems on voluntary basis, spending their free personal time and sharing their knowledge and experience.
3. If you would like to hire Adalo expert, you can find the Experts page here: Find Freelance Adalo Designers, Developers, & Agencies. Just in case: Experts do not work for Adalo - these are partner agencies and freelancers.
4. If you are not sure whom would you like to hire, there is a form in the bottom of that page you can fill in, so that Adalo can find you the matching expert.

As an advice: in order to get meaningful replies on the forum it would be nice to provide more information about the problem and try to follow the advices.
Unfortunately, from the thread above it is very difficult to understand what you tried to make things work and what is your setup. I had a look at your another thread and still the information is very scarce and unclear.

In order to diagnose the problem:

1. Did you put an action “Request Notification Permission” on the Home screen? Did you answer “Yes” to this question when you installed the app on your test phone?
   If YES, then:
2. Are the user who is sending the notification (pushing the button) is different from the user who is logged in on your test phone?
   If YES, then:
3. Try to add a standard Button on some screen, add an Action “Trigger Notification”, add “All Users” as a recipient and add some static title and body.
   Make the new build of the app.
   Test if this button works (if you receive the notification).

If you do NOT receive the notification, then most probably there is some internal Adalo problem with this exact app. Then the best way to proceed will be to contact support (see the link above).
If you RECEIVE the notification, then the problem is related to how did you set up the notifications’ sending in your app.

Sincerely,
Victor.

[QED]

Hi Victor,
Right there, you illustrate the problem perfectly.
The submit a support ticket URL is nowhere to be seen, or isnt obvious - click the help & documentation and it isn’t even obvious from there how to submit a ticket.
Re the documentation: That was (along with YouTube) was one of the first places to go to solve the issue, so for ppl like you (& others) to then post a link back to that resource didnt help the situation.

Re: Free personal time; to my knowledge, it isn’t compulsory, but that also shows a lack of effort on the part of Adalo not to actually have anybody from the company in the forums to help.

Re: Hiring an expert; I did put a post in the freelance jobs section, but yet again, no help from Adalo.

Re: As advice: I supplied all the information I could, even when ppl like you asked question I gave as much info as I could - what would be the point of witholding info and prolonging the problem?

Re: The above thread - having read it again, it says I’ve read the ‘Trigger notification’ resource and tried o use it, but to no avail.

Re Diagnose the problem: 1. Did I put an action re permission - Yes, you’ve asked this previously. 2. Yes, I have the app on 4 different devices running different google accounts. Didn’t make an ounce of difference. 3. Maybe you could have suggested this 4 days ago?

Whilst I appreciate the resources that you’ve provided on YouTube and here, I think that the 2 take aways from this is: The poor comms from adalo regarding support and Adalo shouldn’t be relying on unpaid volunteers to support a commercial venture.

In the end, I was approached by another forum user who seems to have solved the issue and added value to the app. In return I offered to pay them but they refused, so I’ll be buying some of their services in the future.
What techies often forget, and I see it alot, is they take it for granted that non-techies/or those starting out dont have the same depth of knowledge - I was formerly a chef in the Michelin star environment, I could describe how to make a souffle in about 2 sentences, but unless you are au fait with what you are doing it means nothing.

[Victor]

Dear @QED

I see no point of continuing this discussion as your complaints are addressed to a wrong person and due to passive aggressive tone of your communication.

Wishing you all the best in your future endeavours.