Automated entry of rollup text into linked items not working w/synced tables

[F-Law_IT]

My understanding (drawn from this post: How can I make a lookup field show only unique results? - #23 by Mathias_Mayer) is that using automation to act on update of a rollup field (leveraging ARRAYUNIQUE) should work for selecting matching items in a linked items field, as though each string were entered by hand; but it does not work when operating on linked tables. It only works for choice fields in this context.

Trying to operate on field with it set to lookup generates "insufficient permission" errors. The only hint on that I found was here:

“For context, the error you are receiving can happen when the cell value for the linked record is not a valid primary cell value for the linked table (e.g. if the primary column in the linked table is a computed field).”
[ Creating the record failed due to insufficient permissions ]

Which…what? When I type the same string into the field, it finds the record. So why should this make a difference? But it is a calculated field in the source base, and a long text field in the sync’d version.

[Justin_Barrett]

F-Law_IT:

Is there some way to do it by percolating the recordIDs up as text and then using them to insert the entries, so as not to bother with the Find step?

Possibly, but in a later screenshot I noticed that you had a record ID field that was synced. Record IDs are unique to the record, even when using a synced table, meaning that the ID of the original record won’t carry through to its synced counterpart. With that in mind, you could add a new formula field to the synced table that outputs the new record ID. If you’re able to roll that up where it can be picked up by the automation, that should work.

F-Law_IT:

If I were handier with JS I’d just try to do it in a code block, from a button, and get better logging – but that’s a whole project in and of itself for someone like me. That’s why I’m here in the first place…

Are you interested in hiring someone to write a script that could take care of this?

[F-Law_IT]

Are you interested in hiring someone to write a script that could take care of this?

Possibly, at some time in the future. If I decide to stick with the platform despite this limitation and other weird oversights I’m running into in various areas. And at that point I might sweat it out as a learning experience.

But that wasn’t really the idea in adopting Airtable…I’m a veteran of the times in which you had to have VB consultants to maintain Word macros via some eldritch Access database. I’m not trying to return to them. This ought to work, so far as I can tell. I’m not trying to add a row to the synched table. I’m trying to extend it, and that’s supported. I know I sound like a broken record, but if I can insert the link manually then I don’t understand why I can’t do so via the automation. Where’s the permission failure coming from?

Why should I need to get into paying thousands dollars in additional costs to create and maintain custom code (that will have to be run manually) because Airtable is doing more marketing than maintenance? Not an auspicious trial experience.

Record IDs are unique to the record, even when using a synced table, meaning that the ID of the original record won’t carry through to its synced counterpart

Interesting. I take from that then doing it this way would require me to lookup the IDs in the destination table rather than the source. That’s doable, but I still don’t see a way to leverage that record string via the automation controls to insert the link.

[Justin_Barrett]

There may be a way to make this work, but it’s difficult to tell from a handful of screenshots and the descriptions so far. I’d be happy to meet with you directly to look this over and see if anything sticks out. If that sounds good, message me directly and we’ll set up a time to connect.