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How can I filter my records via the form that generated them

  • May 19, 2021
  • 4 replies
  • 90 views
L

Hi all!

I have a couple of survey forms in one table - one is for user group X, the other is for a different user group Y. Questions are similar, so I want responses in the same table but want to be able to filter view the records by each user group (eg by form that was used to generate the record).

I thought that generating record IDs would indicate the source of which form (and therefore which user group) created the record, but it seems to be random. Is another way I can extract and filter which form generated which record?

Thanks!!

Best answer by ScottWorld

Welcome to the community, @Lauren_Lundholm!

Sadly, Airtable doesn’t offer this capability.

You could do it with JotForm, which offers native Airtable integration (and offers so much more flexibility than what Airtable offers).

Alternatively, if you wanted to do it natively in Airtable, you would need to create additional fields in your table that are “temporary fields” that only exist on certain forms. You would need to make those fields REQUIRED on your forms, so that when somebody submits a form, the VERY PRESENCE of information in that temporary field lets you know which form was submitted.

This temporary field could be as simple as a checkbox that says: “Check this box before submitting the form.” Or, it could even be a field where you collect real information in it — and then you could create some automations in Airtable to move the real information from the “temporary field” into the “permanent field” where that information needs to live.

It’s a big hassle all the way around, and I would highly recommend sending an email to support@airtable.com to request that they please improve their forms in the way that you asked about. So many people are in need of this.

4 replies

ScottWorld
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  • ScottWorld
  • Genius
  • Answer
  • May 19, 2021

Welcome to the community, @Lauren_Lundholm!

Sadly, Airtable doesn’t offer this capability.

You could do it with JotForm, which offers native Airtable integration (and offers so much more flexibility than what Airtable offers).

Alternatively, if you wanted to do it natively in Airtable, you would need to create additional fields in your table that are “temporary fields” that only exist on certain forms. You would need to make those fields REQUIRED on your forms, so that when somebody submits a form, the VERY PRESENCE of information in that temporary field lets you know which form was submitted.

This temporary field could be as simple as a checkbox that says: “Check this box before submitting the form.” Or, it could even be a field where you collect real information in it — and then you could create some automations in Airtable to move the real information from the “temporary field” into the “permanent field” where that information needs to live.

It’s a big hassle all the way around, and I would highly recommend sending an email to support@airtable.com to request that they please improve their forms in the way that you asked about. So many people are in need of this.

I
A
K
L

Welcome to the community, @Lauren_Lundholm!

Sadly, Airtable doesn’t offer this capability.

You could do it with JotForm, which offers native Airtable integration (and offers so much more flexibility than what Airtable offers).

Alternatively, if you wanted to do it natively in Airtable, you would need to create additional fields in your table that are “temporary fields” that only exist on certain forms. You would need to make those fields REQUIRED on your forms, so that when somebody submits a form, the VERY PRESENCE of information in that temporary field lets you know which form was submitted.

This temporary field could be as simple as a checkbox that says: “Check this box before submitting the form.” Or, it could even be a field where you collect real information in it — and then you could create some automations in Airtable to move the real information from the “temporary field” into the “permanent field” where that information needs to live.

It’s a big hassle all the way around, and I would highly recommend sending an email to support@airtable.com to request that they please improve their forms in the way that you asked about. So many people are in need of this.


Hi Scott! Thanks so much for your quick reply, it feels really good to know it’s not just me - really thought it would be a simple feature to add in, but it’s been puzzling me for a couple of weeks now! :grinning_face_with_sweat:

Fixed it as you suggested, with a hidden checkbox present on one of the forms. Seems to work for now. Will pass on the recommendation to air-table.

Thanks for making my first airtable community posting experience so positive :star2:

ScottWorld
ScottWorld
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  • ScottWorld
  • Genius
  • May 19, 2021

Hi Scott! Thanks so much for your quick reply, it feels really good to know it’s not just me - really thought it would be a simple feature to add in, but it’s been puzzling me for a couple of weeks now! :grinning_face_with_sweat:

Fixed it as you suggested, with a hidden checkbox present on one of the forms. Seems to work for now. Will pass on the recommendation to air-table.

Thanks for making my first airtable community posting experience so positive :star2:


Hi @Lauren_Lundholm,

You’re welcome! :grinning_face_with_big_eyes:

Oh, just to clarify, your checkbox can’t be hidden on the form itself. That’s another major flaw in Airtable’s forms — any hidden fields don’t get their values submitted to Airtable. :sleepy: :slightly_frowning_face: Please add that into your email to Airtable as well! :slightly_smiling_face:

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M
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  • MatiasTN
  • Participating Frequently
  • December 12, 2023

Data can be added onto the form via hidden fields, which will work.

(ScorrWorld I believe is talking about fields hidden by visibility rules, but the checkbox Lauren_Lundholm mentions works if hidden (and pre-populated) via url parameters).

But this solution is a bit messy since the user can edit the url and uncheck the checkbox manually (should not happen that much either).

I encountered this issue and solved it, with a work-around, by creating an automation to fill a "Source Form" field with the name of the Form from which the record was created. The automation would begin with the "When a Form is submitted" trigger and then update the newly created record with that information. (Unfortunately if you have multiple forms you have to create one of these automations for each form.)

Margaret_Picker
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