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Current Issue:
By default, Airtable automations trigger every time a defined condition is met, such as when a field is updated. However, in cases where changes happen in quick succession, the automation may run multiple times unnecessarily. This leads to inefficiencies and potential inconsistencies in workflow execution.

 

Objective:
I want to configure an Airtable automation that runs only after a certain period of time has passed since the last change, rather than triggering immediately with every update. This delay would allow for multiple consecutive changes to "settle" before the automation executes, preventing unnecessary or redundant triggers.

 

Hmm this would be a nice feature to have within the trigger, but that’s not available. The following workaround should work:

 

You can have a “Last Modified Time” field, for this datetime field. You can create a Recently Modified formula field using DATETIME_DIFF() and NOW() that checks if the field was modified in the last Grace Period time (eg. 1 hour).

 

And now you can run your action on the Update of Recently Modified - which means that it will be triggered 1 hour after the last change was made, assuming no further changes.

 

— Best, Milan - Automable.AI Free Airtable consultation

Probably the best way to trigger an automation would be to have a checkbox or a single-select field trigger your automation. The single-select field can even give you updates as to the progress of your automation, as I describe in this thread.

- ScottWorld, Expert Airtable Consultant

Create a Last Modified Time field and select just the field or fields you want to start the change when they are modified.  Then create a formula that looks at the LMT field and after a certain time period display START or whatever you want to the automation, with the trigger on condition of that formula field displaying START.

This is a formula I use for a similar purpose:
 

IF(
    DATETIME_DIFF(NOW(), {scriptStarted}, 'minutes') < 15,
    "Pending Start",
    IF(
        DATETIME_DIFF(NOW(), {scriptStarted}, 'minutes') <= 20,
        "START",
        "Processed"
    )
)

 

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