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I was told Airtables had better database like features than Notion, but cant find them

 

I have 3 tables, A → B → C , and want to get data from A in C but cant find a way

For example I have a clients table, a contracts table and a monthly payments table, in payments table i link to the contract to be paid (and ofc contracts links to clients), clients table include a field security_deposit. I want to calculate the amount to pay for the given month, and include a checkbox to mark its the first payment.

 

Another thing (that Notion can actually do) is to reference a column of a linked table in a formula, I cant find away to reference data by formula in Airtables.

For example, in Notion using gui i cant do what i want, but I can use a formula to achieve it.

This would be something like: if( first, contract.map(current.client.map(current.security_deposit)), 0 )

 

I was told Airtables had better database like features than Notion, but cant find them

 

I have 3 tables, A → B → C , and want to get data from A in C but cant find a way

For example I have a clients table, a contracts table and a monthly payments table, in payments table i link to the contract to be paid (and ofc contracts links to clients), clients table include a field security_deposit. I want to calculate the amount to pay for the given month, and include a checkbox to mark its the first payment.

 

Another thing (that Notion can actually do) is to reference a column of a linked table in a formula, I cant find away to reference data by formula in Airtables.

For example, in Notion using gui i cant do what i want, but I can use a formula to achieve it.

This would be something like: if( first, contract.map(current.client.map(current.security_deposit)), 0 )

 

Hello ​@GIPeN,
Airtable doesn’t support deep formula references across linked tables like Notion. To access `security_deposit` from `clients` in `payments`, use: Bible Chat Ai

-  Lookup fields: In `contracts`, add a lookup for `security_deposit` from `clients`.
- Then in `payments`, add a lookup for that field from `contracts`.

For conditional logic like first payment, use a formula in `payments`:

```plaintext
IF({First Payment}, {Contract → Security Deposit}, 0)
```

This mimics your Notion logic using chained lookups and formula fields.

Best Regards,
Thomas Henry
 

Does this look right?  If so I’ve set it up here for you to check out

Another thing (that Notion can actually do) is to reference a column of a linked table in a formula, I cant find away to reference data by formula in Airtables.

 

Yeah that’s not a thing in Airtable I’m afraid.  Lookup fields will get you the same functionality though

https://support.airtable.com/docs/lookup-field-overview

Hey ​@GIPeN,

If you’d like to get a deeper understanding of how Airtable lookup fields work, you might want to check this guide. Whilst you are at it, you might also want to check how rollups work.

For last, you might want to send your request over to the Airtable team as a feature request/product idea by filling out this form :D

Mike, Consultant @ Automatic Nation

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