Omni interfaces - problems using linked table fields

Yeah, we've seen this before with linked record fields in a few third-party interface tools. My assumption has always been that the linked field is being passed through as an object/array rather than plain display text, so the rendering layer struggles with it.

The formula field workaround makes sense because you’re essentially flattening it down to a simple string before Omni touches it. It's not ideal but we've had to do the same thing in a few places when reliability mattered more than keeping the schema perfectly clean.

— Holly @Simple Stack

​@Holly Nilson-Clay is correct, in that linked fields come through as objects rather than simply display text.  This is causing Omni to struggle to render them directly.

If you want to keep your schema clean a Rollup field using ARRAYJOIN can be easier than a formula field.  It can pull the display value from the linked record without duplicating logic.  Omni handles it the same as it resolves to plain text.

Whatever you choose, it is a workaround for an Omni rendering limitation and not an Airtable one.  Hopefully the issue will be addressed soon.

Hey! Yes, I've run into this exact issue. Linked fields in Omni-built interfaces are notoriously hit or miss, especially when the field returns an array of linked record IDs rather than a simple value. The formula workaround you described gets the job done, but it's extra overhead you shouldn't need.

What's made a big difference for me is changing how I prompt Omni. I've been using Claude connected directly to my Airtable base (via MCP), so it can inspect the actual schema before generating the Cobuilder prompt. When Claude already knows that a field is a linked record pointing to a specific table and understands the relationship, the prompts it writes for Omni are dramatically more precise. I've been able to build interfaces that correctly display linked fields without any formula workarounds, including custom elements.

The core problem seems to be that when you prompt Omni generically, it doesn't have enough context about your data model to handle linked fields gracefully. Giving it that schema context upfront changes everything.

Worth trying before you go down the formula-field rabbit hole on every linked column.