Need a view that filters based on values in another table

In your “contacts” table, it sounds like your zip code field is just a normal text field.

You would need to convert your zip code field from a text field into a “linked record” field, which will create a brand new table for you called “Zip Codes”. (Be sure to choose the option to create a new table, and call it “Zip Codes”.)

Then, in your brand new “Zip Codes” table, add a new field called “County”. Type in the County for each zip code. It might help you to make this field a “single-select” field.

Back in your “contacts” table, add a “lookup” field which looks up the county based on the zip code.

Then, you will be able to filter your contacts based on their county.

To learn more about linked record fields and lookup fields, you may want to take 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Note that my course is very outdated because it was created many years ago in 2020 using one of the earliest versions of Airtable. However, the core concepts of linked record fields and lookup fields remain the same to this day!

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

Hey ​@DanaBergen,

You’ll want to ​@ScottWorld instructions above. And honestly.. any other instructions shared by Scott elsewhere lol. The guy knows his way around Airtable. If it solved your issue, you’ll want to mark his answer as the best solution.

If it helps, you can find a guide on how to set up Lookup Fields here. Hope it helps!

Mike, Consultant @ Automatic Nation 
YouTube Channel

Awww, thanks, ​@Mike_AutomaticN!! You’re the best!! 😎🙌

And ​@DanaBergen, Mike is one of the other top experts around these parts as well!

p.s. Mike, it looks like your link to the guide on lookup fields is the wrong link.

- ScottWorld, Expert Airtable Consultant

Oh that was just a dirty trick!!! Lol, jk. This is the correct link for the lookups guide. Thanks ​@ScottWorld :D

Mike, Consultant @ Automatic Nation 
YouTube Channel 

Thanks, that is not exactly what I want to do but pointed me in the right direction. But I don't have it working right yet. I already have a separate table with zip code, city and county, so I didn't need to create it. In my Contacts table, I changed the zip code column type to be linked to my zip code table. When I did that it offered to create look up columns, so I now have columns "City (from zip code)" and "County (from zip code)". But, when I look at a row with a zip code that I know has a corresponding row in my zip code table, I don't see anything in the new lookup columns. Is there a step I'm missing?

Okay, now I think I understand that these tables are not linked in the way I was assuming. I come from a SQL background and was expecting that I can somehow join these 2 existing tables on the zip code value, i.e. where Contacts.zip = Zipcode.zip. But it appears that linked records in airtable don't work that way.

I'm trying to avoid manually entering the counties. Maybe what I need to do is create a new zip code table in the way you describe and write a script to populate the City and County columns from my existing data. Is that what I need to do or is there a more straightforward way?

Hmm, that is just what I did, but I don't see any values for City and County. Zip code is the primary field in the zip code table.

In my Contacts table, not all records have a zip code, and some records have a zip code that's not in my Zip Code table. But I'm looking at one that does have a match, and the City and County lookup columns in the Contacts table are empty.

Can you make a Loom video of your problem? Or post several screenshots showing the problems?

I started over – deleted the lookup columns and changed my zip code field in the Contacts table back to a number field. Then again changed the zip code field to link to the Zip Codes table and created the lookup columns again. Now it works. I have no idea what I did wrong the first time…

Thanks for your help!

That’s great to hear! Glad I could help! :)

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