Automation: Working With Linked Records Arrays in Conditions

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Hello!

I’m trying to achieve the same effect as this post but running into problems actually inserting the string value of a linked record’s recordID as a dynamic automation value.

Automation Assistance - Linked Records Scripting app

If there is only one linked record, an update action can get the id of that linked record without resorting to scripting. In the “Update record” action, select [Table B] as the table containing the record. Then for the record Id, select the triggering record, then the linked record field. This method will only work if there is only one linked record. If there are multiple linked records, you will have to resort to scripting or use another method of deciding which record to update.

I’ve followed the directions from this post. I converted the array of linked records to a string for use in the automation. However, the automation interface does not present me with an “Insert” button for this string value, only a “continue” button which also leads me nowhere.

I’ve attempted this using both the formula and rollup fields. For each of these methods, I’ve appended a &"" to force the value to a string. I’ve also attempted to use the “Insert Records As [List/Grid]” feature with my string but this does not appear to function after running a Action Test.

Here are some nitty gritty details about the general project I’m building.

I have an Items table and an Updates table. Each Update record references just one Item record and also references the last-entered Update record, creating a linked list I need for calculating some metrics.

I am looking to create an automation that effectively creates this linked list of updates automatically in order of update submission. I want the automation to look like this:
Step1 - Trigger: new record created

• in updates table
  Step2 - Action 1: Find records
• in updates table where:
• [item] contains [step1:item]
• [latest_update] is unchecked
  Step3 - Action 2: Update record
• in updates table where Record ID is [step1:Record ID]
• set field last_update to [step2:Record ID]

Any help is greatly appreciated.
Thank you!

[Justin_Barrett]

Unfortunately the “Find records” action is only designed to work with the two “Send email” actions (Airtable’s and Gmail’s). According to Airtable support (via another user who asked), it’s technically not supported when feeding its results into anything else. To request support for updating records from the results of “Find records”, I recommend reaching out to Airtable support directly.