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Problem with 2-way sync and duplicates

Lea_Castonguay
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I’m having an issue with two-way syncs in Airtable.

I have a Source-A table in a Base 1, which is synced to Base 2. In Base 2, the Target-A table is linked to a B table.

The problem arises when I want to remove duplicates in Source-A: I have no way of seeing whether one of the duplicates is linked to a record in B in Base 2. If I merge duplicates and delete the one that is linked to a record in B, the connection between Target-A and B is lost.

How can I prevent this loss of links?

I tried using the Dedupe extension on the Target-A table, but I got an error saying I don’t have the necessary permissions.

I understand that if Source-A is synced to multiple bases, removing duplicates can be problematic because additional data entered in Target tables isn’t reflected in Source-A.

Is there a better way to handle this situation?

 

2 replies

Lea_Castonguay
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I thought of one solution to set up an automation that updates a multi-select field in the Target-A table whenever a record is linked to a record in the B table within Base 2.

 

This multi-select field would indicate in which base the record is linked, allowing users to check and update the corresponding record in the Target-A table before deleting a duplicate, preventing any loss of links.

Will test this and give an update. 

M
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Hi Lea

You’re right—deleting a linked record can break connections. One simple step is tagging duplicates instead of deleting them immediately.

Try this:

  1. Add a "Duplicate?" checkbox in Source-A.
  2. Manually mark duplicates, then check in Target-A to see which ones are linked before deleting.

This keeps links safe for now!

If you want a smoother way to merge without breaking links, let’s talk!

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