Can auto numbering be applied across tables, across bases?

[raduncan]

Hello.
Very new to Airtable. I am a designer working with a marketer for an events org. We are using Aritable to manage all our projects. I need a unique number for all the projects and am wondering if it's possible to auto number across multiple tables in a base, as that is how she is going to organize (tab for brochures, tab for print ads, etc.)
I also would like an alpha prefix because we will have another base for another events org that we work on simultaneously.
Ideally, I would like to have all projects in both bases just be auto assigned a unique number, but I don't know if that is possible either.

Thanks for any help!

[lindseypuccio]

Record IDs are all unique across all tables in a base - but they aren't super friendly to look at. Formula: RecordID()

I would recommend using a 3 part formula for an ID that follows the format of [Base]_[Type]_[###]. You can 'code' each additional base to be 3 letters, each type to be 3 letters, and make your autonumber also exist with 3 numbers.  That way not only do you have an unique identifier, you're telling a story with each ID to provide context. 

Formula for always having three characters with autonumber is: RIGHT("000" & Autonumber, 3)

[raduncan]

Thank you! I know nothings about automations, so I will get busy learning how to implement this.

[TheTimeSavingCo]

Ah, that's not to do with automations, but with formulas.  Check out the docs: https://support.airtable.com/docs/formula-field-overview

[Dan_Montoya]

@raduncan -- It sounds like you are planning on putting the same type of things in different bases.  If you have to do it this way, you would create a single table that has your unique project names and sync this table to all of your bases.  Each project in that customer base would link to the next available unique id.  This sounds a bit complicated though.

You can use a formula to generate a unique ID  for each project or brochure:

BASE -- Customer 1

Project Table -  Your primary field is a formula that concatentates ("Proj", {customer name}, {autonumber field)

you would end up with project names like "Proj-ACME-1", "Proj-ACME-2", etc.

[raduncan]

Thank you for that!

[raduncan]

Thank you!

[Sachin_191 · Accepted solution]

Understand where you're coming from with wanting a unique project numbering system across multiple tables and bases. Here's a couple of ways you can tackle this:

Airtable supports an "Auto Number" field, but it works per table, not across tables or bases. To get a unique number across all tables, you could create a "master table" that tracks all projects, and pull in data from other tables via linked records. That way, the auto-number is consistent.

For the alpha prefix, you can add a formula field combining the auto-number and a static prefix (e.g., "BR-" for brochures, "AD-" for print ads). 

Airtable doesn't natively support cross-base syncing of auto-numbers, but you could potentially use Make.com or Zapier to automate this process. It would involve creating a sequential numbering system in one base and having it synced across to the other when a new project is added.

Hope that helps streamline your project tracking!

[raduncan]

Thank you. This seems to be what I need. I just need to figure out how to do it. : )

[Dan_Montoya]

This can be achieved natively in Airtable by copying the autonumber to a text or number field and using that to sync across the bases.