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Frustrated beginner needs Automations help.

  • November 20, 2025
  • 3 replies
  • 26 views
S
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Automation in Airtable

  1. I have a Donations table with the field Donor that contains a Single Line Text field with the donor name in it.
  2. I have a Summary table that is linked back to the Donations table using the Link Another Record filed with Allow Linking to Multiple Records to be selected.
  3. The linked field in the Summary table has a list of Donors from the Donations table.
  4. I want to automate the insertion of a new Donor name into the linked field in the summary table when I create a new record in the Donations table.

It seems it should be straight froward but I keep running into a problem with figuring out what to select in the Actions section.

Trigger = When a record is created

In Actions:

  1. I choose Update Record
  2. I Put in a description so I don’t forget whY I did this.
  3. Action will run Always
  4. Under Table I choose summary table
  5. Under Record ID I copied the record id from the table from formula in table. The Summary table is only  record so I just put in a formula in that row.
  6. Under Fields I have put in the field name for the Donations table link.
  7. Under that is a blue Plus Sign and Choose Field
  8. When I click it the field I need is not listed. Do I need this?
  9. If I leave it out and press Generate a Preview
  10. I get a pop up screen with what look like a list of the fields in the summary table
  11. Donations link is all crossed out. Then the rest are in yellow and say computed fields are not supported.

I really don’t think this could have been made more confusing if they sat up nights trying. I’m sure it’s easy once you have done it a few times, but for a low code/no code product this is ridiculous. The information provided is cryptic at best. And most of it useless. It requires you to know how to do it to figure it out.

Can anyone provide some clarity on this? It is silly to enter the data in two tables when you are using a computer. We call that computer as typewriter syndrome.

Any help would be e appreciated. Please tell what else you need to know.

Thank you  and please excuse the rant.

Best, Scott

3 replies

TheTimeSavingCo
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Hmm, assuming you want a single record in ‘Summary’ that’s linked to all your records in ‘Donations’, I’ve set up a base here that does that and here’s how it looks running:

And here’s the automation set up:

The automation triggers every time a Donation record is created and links the new record to a single record in the Summary table.  To get the record ID of the record in the Summary table, I created a formula field with the following formula:

record_id()

 

Not entirely sure if this is what you’re trying to do though.  Let me know if I’ve got it wrong and I’ll see what I can do to help!

Adam, Airtable Consultant - thetimesaving.company
S
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  • Scott_Brasted
  • Author
  • Inspiring
  • November 21, 2025

Yes! That ia exactly what I want. Under Fields. Is the 2nd entry a field ID? If so where do I get it? Does it matter what row it comes from?

 

Thanks 

S
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  • Scott_Brasted
  • Author
  • Inspiring
  • November 21, 2025

OK. I am still frustrated by what I see as a very unintuitive interface. I cannot fathom where the data is coming from or where to enter it in the Action side panel.

I have the following fields to enter on my screen:

Action Type (which I have set to “Update Record”

Labels (Description) [optional] which I have set to “Update Donation Link in Summary Table with New Donor With Each New Record” so I remember what this is.

Configuration

Action will run Always 

Table which I have set to Summary table

Record ID (I have do not know if this is the record of the Donations Table or the Summary table. The explanations in the side panel are useless.

Fields (+ Choose Field gives me a list of fields from what looks like the Summary table. I chose the field name that is where I want the update to go. There is another box under it with a blue plus sight in it. It gives me a pop up that I assume I choose When a record is created but the choices next to it do not make any sense.)

That’s where I am. Can you provide further illumination to this? 

Thanks, Scott

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