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Dynamic Airtable Record Update Issue

  • November 6, 2024
  • 3 replies
  • 30 views
K
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Hi, 

I'm using automations as a workaround to add more options to a dropdown menu, per Airtable Support's instructions, but it's not working correctly. Currently, a user can select "Other" from a single select and enter the "Other" option in a separate text field. The automation is supposed to pull that text back into the original single select field as a new option in the dropdown menu. Right now it is only pulling the starting character, rather than the whole string of text. I've tried deleting and reconfiguring several times, but it still is not working. I've attached some screenshots for clarity. 

 

Thanks for your help!

K

3 replies

Alexey_Gusev
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  • Alexey_Gusev
  • Brainy
  • 1261 replies
  • November 6, 2024

Hi,
It's hard to say without details about 'Airtable Support's instructions', almost all community members are just regular users. I guess you have a trigger 'When {Architect other entries [DON'T..... } is not empty", so automation runs right after you enter any letter in the field. 
I think you can also create a checkbox field "Add option" and change the trigger condition to run when text field not empty AND checkbox is checked. 
I can also suggest to add another 'Update record' step - when option added to select, clear text field and uncheck checkbox.

Eric_L
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  • Eric_L
  • Inspiring
  • 10 replies
  • November 6, 2024

Hi!

I just tested the method you described, and it should work. It will be hard to troubleshoot without access to the base.

I would advise to try adding a pause between the trigger and the update. This would look something like:

  1. after the trigger, add a script that waits 5, or 10 seconds (example below)
  2. add a Find Records action to find the record that triggered the automation (you're doing this to get the fresh Architect name)
  3. Create a Repeating Group using the list from step 2
  4. In that group, add the Update Record, and use the Architect name from the list item.

Like I said, it's hard to troubleshoot as is, seeing as theoretically your automation should work, but it's worth a shot. Like @Alexey_Gusev suggested, it could be a timing thing.

Here's a sample "wait x seconds" script:

function sleep(ms) { const end = Date.now() + ms; while (Date.now() < end) { // Wait for nothing } } console.log("Start"); sleep(5000);
K
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  • kaitlynaps
  • Author
  • New Participant
  • 1 reply
  • November 15, 2024

@Sachin_191 Thanks for your input! I ended up changing the trigger to "when form is submitted" to allow for more of a delay, and it worked like a charm. 


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