Form Preview Not Updating Dependent Fields Despite Correct Virtual Column Setup (Stuck Data)

AppSheet AppSheet Q&A
1

Hi AppSheet Community & Support,

I’m experiencing a persistent issue where dependent fields in my form preview are not updating when a Ref dropdown is changed. I’ve followed the recommended Virtual Column method, but the preview seems stuck displaying old/initial data.

Goal: In my PurchaseRequests form, when the user selects a Villa Name (from a Ref dropdown linked to the Villa table), the Company Name and Villa Area fields should automatically update based on the selection.

Current Setup (Virtual Column Method):

  1. Villa Table:

    • Villa Name (Column A, Type: Text, Key: ON, Label: ON)

    • Company Name (Column B, Type: Text)

    • Villa Area (Column C, Type: Text)

  2. PurchaseRequests Table:

    • Villa Name Column:

      • Type: Ref

      • Source table: Villa

    • _VC_CompanyName Virtual Column:

      • App Formula: LOOKUP([Villa Name], "Villa", "Villa Name", "Company Name") (or [Villa Name].[Company Name])

    • _VC_VillaArea Virtual Column:

      • App Formula: LOOKUP([Villa Name], "Villa", "Villa Name", "Villa Area") (or [Villa Name].[Villa Area])

    • Company Name Physical Column:

      • Type: Name (or Text)

      • Editable?: OFF (Unchecked)

      • Initial Value: BLANK

      • App Formula: [_VC_CompanyName]

    • Villa Area Physical Column:

      • Type: Text (or Address)

      • Editable?: OFF (Unchecked)

      • Initial Value: BLANK

      • App Formula: [_VC_VillaArea]

Problem: When I open a new form in the AppSheet editor preview and select a different Villa Name from the dropdown, the Company Name and Villa Area fields do not update. They remain stuck showing the values corresponding to the first item in the Villa table (e.g., “Co A”, “Paris”), even if I select a Villa Name that should show different data (e.g., “Villa X” should show “Co B”, “NYC”).

Troubleshooting Steps Attempted:

  • Confirmed all formulas and column types are exactly as listed above.

  • Confirmed Editable? is OFF and Initial Value is BLANK for the physical Company Name and Villa Area columns.

  • Saved the app multiple times.

  • Performed hard browser refreshes (F5/Cmd+R).

  • Cleared browser cache and cookies specifically for appsheet.com.

  • Tested in a different browser (Incognito/Private mode and a completely different browser application).

  • Ran the Deployment Check (shows no relevant errors, only warnings about the free plan and the expected “readonly flag disabled” informational messages for the formula columns).

  • Tried alternative formulas (LOOKUP vs. Dereference) in the virtual columns.

  • Temporarily removed and re-added the physical columns via Regenerate Schema.

Despite all these steps, the form preview consistently fails to update the dependent fields visually, although the configuration appears correct.

Could this be an editor bug or a caching issue beyond the standard browser cache? Any insights or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you!

2

You really should remove this part from your post:
image

3

It’s probably your app configuration. Ask your AI what configuration we’d want to see to help troubleshoot.

4

You do not want to use the LOOKUP() expression. Use [Villa Name].[Company Name] and [Villa Name].[Villa Area].

Are you certain that “Villa Name” has remained set as the Key column?

Do you have more than one row with the SAME Villa Name in the Villa table? I.e. is Villa Name unique across all the rows?

What is the expression you are using in the REF column to show the list of Villas?

1 Like
5

Hello @Clement_Messerlin,

Welcome to the community! Please allow me to investigate and we will get back to you.

1 Like