Automation Runs More Than Once

The only way that you can reliably use the trigger for “record being updated” is if you’re using a single-select field, a checkbox field, or if the record is being updated through the API (such as updating a record with a Fillout form).

Otherwise; every time you type a keystroke; it counts as the record being updated. If you make several keystrokes in quick succession, it might be bundled together as one update. But that’s the crux of the problem.

I would recommend changing the trigger to “when a record matches conditions”.

Or, if you want to stick with “when a record is updated”, I would use a single-select field because you can also use the single-select field to deliver messages to the user as the automation is running  I explain this concept more in this thread.

Hope this helps!

If you have a budget and you’d like to hire the best Airtable consultant to help you with this or anything else that is Airtable-related, please feel free to contact me through my website: Airtable consultant — ScottWorld

As ​@ScottWorld said, you could use “When record matches conditions”...

In some cases, I have “Trigger” fields that are Formula fields (formatted as single select). This trigger field can be based on things like Last Modified Time, but you can also set it to run 5 (or longer) minutes after the last modified time in case multiple fields are being updated. You can wrap up a lot into that formula field to help you trigger when to run the automation.

Hm could you provide a screenshot of the automation trigger setup and talk a bit about how the field(s) that trigger it have their data filled in?

If you could provide screenshots of the revision history of affected records that’d be interesting too and  might let us see exactly what happened (revision history sometimes gets compressed though if stuff happened too quickly)

One thing I’d check is whether the first automation run is indirectly causing another update to the same record. For example, if a later step changes a field on the triggering record, that can create another qualifying update even though there isn’t an obvious loop in the automation. I’d also check whether other automations, scripts, or integrations are writing to that record around the same time. Does the duplicate run happen after the automation makes an update, or can it happen even when nothing else touches the record?

Hi,
You should review history.
If you update text field by typing new value, probably it runs in the middle of typing, as ​@ScottWorld said. You should update by pasting the whole value or use other field type with “instant” change like single-select etc. Example - I’m trying to type “Test” in “Notes” field in the similar case.

 

If you need the automation to be driven by a text field, another approach is to separate data entry from the trigger itself. Have users enter their text normally, then click a button in an Interface to submit it. The button can update a dedicated status field (checkbox or single select), and the automation can trigger from that field change instead of the text field. This avoids multiple runs caused by users actively typing and gives you more control over when the automation actually starts. Then you’d just have to make sure the automation resets the trigger field at the end so it can be reused.

Depending on what needs updating or how quickly you need data updated, you could also try the “When a record enters a view” trigger or the “At a scheduled time” trigger.

“When a record enters a view” is great if you want to set a specific set of conditions for it to trigger and, if needed, also include conditions once the record has been updated to filter it out of the view so it won’t trigger again.

“At a scheduled” time works great if you need to run a batch of record updates at specific times; the only downside is it may not be instant.