Introduction
Welcome to the first unit of Introduction to Modules!
It’s great to see you back again, ready to continue your learning journey with Make!
In this introductory unit, you will learn more information about modules in Make.
In this unit, you will learn:
- the five different categories of modules
- the basic functions of each category
What are apps and modules?
In Make, apps let you do tasks you’d normally do in applications like Google Sheets, right inside your scenario. Each app comes with a set of modules, and each module handles one specific job.
For example, in Make Foundation, your scenario used the Weather → Get current weather module to find the weather in a city. Then, you used the Google Sheets → Add a Row module to save that weather data in a spreadsheet.
You used two modules, and each one handled a different part of the process.
Note: Apps group their modules in different ways. For example, Google Sheets (shown here) divides its modules into sections like Rows, Cells, Sheets, and Other. These groups belong to the app itself. They’re different from the main module categories in Make which you’ll focus on in this unit.
Different types of modules
All modules in Make fit into five main categories. Each one handles a few basic functions. Knowing these categories will help you feel more confident when choosing the right module for any app.
Each app organizes its modules a little differently, so it’s important to read the name and description of each one to find the right fit for your task.
Apps in Make are like library sections, such as Fiction, History, or Art. Modules are like the individual books in those sections. Each book belongs to a specific section, and each module performs a specific task within an app.
But unlike a traditional library, the books aren’t grouped neatly by topic within the section. Instead, they’re all listed together in one big collection. That’s why reading the title and description is key to picking the right one.
Let’s take a look at the first four categories
These modules all belong to apps which work with applications such as Google Sheets, Google Drive, Airtable and more. These applications store data, and these modules are used to work with that data in some way.
Search
Applications like Google Sheets or Airtable store data. This might be rows in a spreadsheet or items in a list. A search module looks through that data and sends all the found data to your scenario.
Some search modules have a filter to narrow down results, for example, to find records that contain an email address. In the Google Sheets → Search Rows module, you can use the filter to return only the rows that include your email address.
You’ll focus on search modules more in unit 2.
Using a search module is like going to your local library and asking the librarian, “Can you show me all the books about Make?” The librarian then gives you a list of all the books on that topic.
Action
An action module lets you change data in an application. This means you can add new records, delete existing ones, or update values.
For example, in Google Sheets, you can:
- Use the Add a Row module to insert new data.
- Use the Delete a Row module to remove a row.
- Use the Update a Row module to update data in a row.
You’ll focus more on action modules in unit 3.
Imagine you’re looking at a list of books about Make, and you notice your favorite one, “Make: The Automation Games”, is missing. You ask the librarian to order it so it can be added to the library’s collection.
Trigger
You can use a trigger module to detect new data in an application. New data could be new rows in a Google Sheet, new files in Google Drive, or new records in Airtable.
Trigger modules help you find updates without checking everything yourself. This saves you time and makes your scenario more efficient. For example, Google Sheets → Watch New Rows will return any new rows in a Google Sheet since the last time it checked.
You’ll focus more on trigger modules in unit 4.
It’s like going to the library every day at 4 p.m. to get a list of new books that arrived since yesterday. You do this so you can see if Make: The Automation Games has arrived.
Universal
Most common tasks like searching or changing data in an application have dedicated modules, but if you need something more specialized, you can use a universal module.
A universal module lets you send special instructions directly to an application to do things Make doesn’t have a pre-built module for yet. These modules are usually named Make an API Call and you can find them in the module list of most apps.
Don’t worry! These modules are a bit more advanced and won’t be covered in this course. But it’s good to know that Make lets you customize what your apps do.
Imagine you ask the librarian, “Can you put a sticker with my name on the new book when it arrives, so everyone knows it’s mine?” Normally, the librarian wouldn’t do this, but they agree to follow your special instructions.
Definition: An API (Application Programming Interface) is a way for applications to talk and share information with each other.
Flow Control, Tools, and Text Parser Modules
This module category includes Flow control modules, Tools, Text parser modules, and more. These modules let you add logic to your scenarios and extract or transform data.
How to add logic: In your Make Foundation Use Case, you used a Router to create different paths for your bundles. Each bundle followed a path based on the conditions you set.
How to extract data: For example, if a module gives you a long text document, you can use a Text parser module to extract all the email addresses from it.
How to transform data: You can then use a Tools module, such as a Text aggregator, to transform those email addresses into a comma separated list. This means one line of text with each email separated by a comma, like this: email1@example.com,email2@example.com,email3@example.com.
You’ll work with some of these modules later in the Make Academy.
The other category
The other category includes modules from built-in apps like Flow Control, Tools, and Text Parser. These modules help you do three main things: add logic, extract data, and transform data.
Add logic
In your Make Foundation Use Case, you used a Router (Flow control) to create different paths for your bundles. Each bundle followed a path based on the conditions you set.
Extract data
If a module gives you a long block of text, you can use a Text Parser module to extract specific pieces of information, such as all the email addresses.
Transform data
Then, you can use a Tools module to turn those email addresses into a comma-separated list. That means one line of text with each email separated by a comma.
Wrap up
Make has many apps, and each has their own modules that perform individual tasks. Modules can be divided into five categories: search, action, trigger, universal, and other.
Search, action, trigger, and universal modules all belong to apps which work with applications that you use every day. For example, you can use a Google Sheets → Add Row module to add a new row to a Google Sheet you are working with.
The other category is for modules that belong to built-in apps, like Flow control, Tools, and Text parser. These modules do not work with any application outside of Make. Instead, you use these to improve your automation. For example, you can use the Router module to create multiple paths in your scenario.