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Linked Records Confusion


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Hi I am extremely confused by Airtables Linked records and dependencies. Former Access User - I am used to the process of a query design where one takes two tables, identify the matched field on both tables and then having the ability to create a new table with the records from both tables or update one table based on that field relationship. 

In airtable I can’t see to find a way to do this.

I keep creating a linked record in airtable from one table to another and it’s empty.. if I make a lookup field up it wants me to add things but I have the data in both tables I just need to manipulate.

 

I have watched and read airtable instructions over and over and it’s not clicking!!

 

3 replies

ScottWorld
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  • Brainy
  • 8776 replies
  • March 15, 2025

@lmartin

Unlike other database languages, there is no automatic relationship linking/matching in Airtable.

All linked relationships must be MANUALLY created by the user (or by an automation that you setup).

Also unlike other database languages, there is no relationship linking from one field to another field. All matching is done to the entire record… a field in one table is always linked to the entire record’s primary field in another table.

If you’d like a deep dive into how Airtable handles linked records, you can check out my free Airtable training course, which you can take for free by signing up for a free 30-day trial with LinkedIn Learning. Note that my course is 5 years outdated because it uses a very old version of Airtable, but the core concepts & lessons still remain the same.

- ScottWorld, Expert Airtable Consultant


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  • Author
  • New Participant
  • 1 reply
  • March 15, 2025

Thank your for this explanation! I was wondering why it was so difficult!


ScottWorld
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  • Brainy
  • 8776 replies
  • March 15, 2025

You’re welcome! That was actually one of my big stumbling blocks when I first came to Airtable in 2018, because I also came from a professional database development background with FileMaker! I was a FileMaker developer for almost 30 years


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