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Print attachment (QR code) for a single record

  • February 26, 2024
  • 4 replies
  • 97 views
J
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I have built an inventory management system, where each item is a record in a table. 

I was able to add an extension that creates a QR code for each record and saves it as an attachment in PNG format.  

The intention is to print that QR code on a label, then stick it on each item in my store room. Once someone extracts it from the store, they scan the code and mark it as "OUT" to keep inventory up-to-date.

My main issue is to create a way for the QR codes (PNG attachments) to print. Ideally I would like to have a button that uses an extension or script. Once you click the button, it prints the QR code for that specific record only. 

Does anyone have a suggestion on how to achieve this?

4 replies

TheTimeSavingCo
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Hmm, I don't think this is possible via an extension / script I'm afraid.  AFAIK opening the print dialog requires access to `window`, which we don't have access to via extensions / scripting

I think you could technically do this with JavaScript and modifying the UI directly with tampermonkey or something, but it would be really really involved (like...days of work?)

As a workaround, maybe you could make an Interface that you could use to print stuff out from (somewhat) easily?



And when printed, it looks like this:

  

Adam, Airtable Consultant - thetimesaving.company
J
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  • Jeroen_Vaassen
  • Author
  • New Participant
  • February 26, 2024

Hmm, I don't think this is possible via an extension / script I'm afraid.  AFAIK opening the print dialog requires access to `window`, which we don't have access to via extensions / scripting

I think you could technically do this with JavaScript and modifying the UI directly with tampermonkey or something, but it would be really really involved (like...days of work?)

As a workaround, maybe you could make an Interface that you could use to print stuff out from (somewhat) easily?



And when printed, it looks like this:

  


Thanks @TheTimeSavingCo for the quick feedback.  I agree that days of work is a bit of an overkill. 

I looked at the interface, but could only get this in a list of all records. Ideally, I would have a button or a link on the record that brings me to the "print interface" of that specific record to print it.  Do you think that is an option?  Or you always go to the main interface and have to locate the record there to print?

TheTimeSavingCo
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Thanks @TheTimeSavingCo for the quick feedback.  I agree that days of work is a bit of an overkill. 

I looked at the interface, but could only get this in a list of all records. Ideally, I would have a button or a link on the record that brings me to the "print interface" of that specific record to print it.  Do you think that is an option?  Or you always go to the main interface and have to locate the record there to print?


Oh nah, you could use a formula field to create a unique URL for each record that'll bring you to the interface.  For example, clicking the value in the 'Link' field here:


Brings me to this page here:


And the formula is:

 

 

'https://airtable.com/appXeQ4dlxX4cJKnT/pagkyvJvXtxOCMHYz/'& RECORD_ID() & '?a33lw='& RECORD_ID() & '&home=pagAwOLyYIITuLhbP'

 

 

Link to base

---
You'll notice that this Interface layout's different from the one in my previous post.  This one gives you the little button at the top right to print the page as it's actually a full screen Record Detail, whereas the one in my previous post did not

The main reason I ended up swapping to this layout instead is that in my previous post, I actually had to click "File -> Print" via the toolbar; CMD + P wasn't working.  I wasn't certain whether it was a localized issue to my computer / browser (Firefox), so I figured I'd see if I could find a workaround, and here we are

Adam, Airtable Consultant - thetimesaving.company
ScottWorld
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  • ScottWorld
  • Genius
  • February 26, 2024

@Jeroen_Vaassen 

The simplest answer to your question is to use Airtable’s built-in Page Designer extension.

This is exactly what Page Designer was designed for, and as you requested, you can use a button to open up the extension from the specific record. 🙂

However, the bad news is that extensions can’t be used in interfaces yet (coming sometime in 2025 or 2026), so if you’re doing this from an interface, you may want to use the new print button which shows up in interface detail views.

Or, if you want to automate the process, you can always use Make’s automations & integrations to automatically create the printable document for you in another app.

Also, two of the top document-creation apps for Airtable are:

  1. DocuMint
  2. DocsAutomator

Note that many printers these days have an email address associated with them, so you might be able to automate the process of sending the documents to the printers after the document is created.

p.s. If you have a budget for your project and you’d like to hire an expert Airtable consultant to help you with any of this, please feel free to contact me through my website: Airtable consultant — ScottWorld 

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