Apps: Interactive Interfaces for Your Data
Lotics Apps are interactive UI components (dashboards, forms, reports, and portals) that you build on top of your database tables. They can run standalone or embed directly inside chat conversations, so your team accesses live operational data without switching tools. The AI assistant can create apps from a single sentence, or you can configure them visually.
What are Apps?
An app in Lotics is a self-contained interface that reads from and writes to your database. Unlike static reports or exported spreadsheets, apps are live. They reflect current data, accept user input, and trigger workflows. A logistics manager can open a dashboard showing today's pending shipments, click a row to inspect details, and approve a batch with a single button press. The data updates immediately across all views and for all team members.
Apps bridge the gap between raw database tables and the interfaces your team actually needs. Not everyone should navigate table views with dozens of columns. A warehouse worker needs a simple form to log incoming goods. A finance director needs a summary dashboard with charts. A customer needs a portal showing their order status. Apps give each audience exactly the interface they need, all powered by the same underlying data.
Because apps embed in the Lotics chat, the AI assistant can present them contextually. Ask "show me overdue invoices" and the assistant can display an app with filtered records, charts, and action buttons, right in the conversation thread.
Architecture: How Apps Work
Every app follows a four-layer architecture: Filters, Data Sources, Components, and Actions. Filters are UI inputs (dropdowns, date pickers, text search) that let users control what data they see. Data Sources are queries against your database tables. They fetch records based on filter values, view configurations, and permissions. Components display the queried data as charts, tables, metrics, or text. Actions execute workflows: submitting forms, triggering automations, or updating records.
This architecture means apps are composable. You can place multiple data sources on one screen, each feeding different components. A single dashboard might show a summary metric from your orders table, a bar chart from your revenue table, and a filterable grid from your shipments table, all responding to the same date range filter at the top.
Filters propagate to data sources automatically. When a user selects "March 2026" in a date filter, every data source that references that filter re-queries with the new value. Components re-render with fresh data. No manual refresh, no stale numbers.
View Types
Apps support multiple view types for displaying record data. Each view type renders the same underlying records in a different visual format, optimized for different tasks. You can place multiple views in a single app, each showing a different perspective on the data.
Grid view is the default tabular display: rows and columns with inline editing, sorting, filtering, and column resizing. Board view renders records as cards in a kanban layout, grouped by a single-select or status field. Gallery view displays records as visual cards in a responsive grid, ideal for products, properties, or any data with images. Map view plots records with geolocation fields on an interactive map with configurable layers. 3D view renders geospatial data on a globe or terrain surface for logistics route visualization and geographic analysis.
| View Type | Best For | Key Features |
|---|---|---|
| Grid | Data management, bulk editing | Inline editing, sorting, filtering, column customization |
| Board | Status tracking, pipeline management | Drag-and-drop cards, grouped by status/category field |
| Gallery | Visual catalogs, portfolios | Card layout with cover images, configurable card fields |
| Map | Location-based operations, fleet tracking | Interactive map, marker clustering, configurable layers |
| 3D | Route visualization, geographic analysis | Globe/terrain rendering, geospatial data overlay |
Component Types
Beyond view types, apps include a library of components for building complete interfaces. Metrics display a single aggregated value (total revenue, record count, average processing time) with optional trend indicators. Pivot tables cross-tabulate data by two dimensions with configurable aggregation (sum, count, average, min, max). Summary tables group records by a field and show aggregated columns, similar to a GROUP BY query.
Chart components include line charts for trends over time, bar charts for categorical comparison, and pie charts for proportional breakdowns. All charts connect to data sources and update live as filters change or new records arrive. Text components render dynamic content using expressions. You can display formatted summaries that pull values from your data (e.g., "{{total_orders}} orders worth {{total_revenue}} this month").
Input components turn apps into interactive forms: text fields, number fields, select dropdowns, date pickers, record pickers (to link to existing records), file upload areas, and toggle switches. These inputs can feed into Actions to submit data, create records, or trigger workflows. A single app can combine display components and input components, showing a report at the top and a data entry form at the bottom.
| Component | Purpose | Example Use |
|---|---|---|
| Metric | Single aggregated value with trend | Total monthly revenue, active order count |
| Pivot Table | Cross-tabulation by two dimensions | Revenue by region and product category |
| Summary Table | Grouped aggregation | Order count and total value by customer |
| Line Chart | Trend over time | Daily shipment volume over 30 days |
| Bar Chart | Categorical comparison | Revenue by sales channel |
| Pie Chart | Proportional breakdown | Order status distribution |
| Text with Expressions | Dynamic formatted content | Summary paragraph pulling live values |
| Input Components | Data entry and form submission | New order form, inspection checklist |
Actions and Workflow Execution
Actions connect apps to Lotics workflows, making apps more than passive displays. When a user clicks an action button, it triggers a workflow that runs server-side with full access to the platform's capabilities: creating records, updating fields, generating documents, sending emails, calling external APIs, and running multi-step automations with conditionals and loops.
Actions are deterministic. They execute predefined workflow logic, not arbitrary code. This means they are auditable, version-controlled, and permission-aware. A "Generate Invoice" button on a sales dashboard triggers a specific workflow that pulls order line items, fills an Excel template, converts it to PDF, and emails it to the customer. The same workflow runs identically every time, with a full execution log.
Action results can display inline within the app. After a workflow completes, the app can show a success message, display a generated document for download, or refresh a data source to reflect the changes. This creates a tight feedback loop: the user sees the outcome without navigating away.
Use Cases and AI-Assisted Creation
Teams use apps for custom KPI dashboards that pull metrics from multiple tables. Operations managers track throughput, revenue, and SLA compliance on a single screen. Data entry forms replace paper-based processes for field workers. Warehouse staff scan goods in, delivery drivers confirm drop-offs, and inspectors submit checklists, all feeding into the same database with real-time visibility for back-office teams.
Interactive reports for management combine charts, pivot tables, and summary metrics with date range filters. Customer-facing portals give external users read-only access to their order status, shipment tracking, and document downloads, with no Lotics account required.
The AI assistant can build apps from conversation. Describe what you need ("Build me a dashboard showing monthly revenue by client with a bar chart and a table of recent orders") and the assistant creates the app with appropriate data sources, filters, components, and layout. You can refine it conversationally: "Add a date range filter" or "Show the top 10 clients only." For teams without technical staff, this means production-quality interfaces in minutes instead of weeks.