Create Record Automation w/ Formula Field

[Chafen_Suttle]

Hi everyone!

So, we have a google calendar synced to our base in a table. We are trying to take the information in that table’s description field and extract elements (which we did with the regex formula) and create a new record in a separate table with that information. It’s giving us problems. It doesn’t allow us to use a field with a formula on the create a record. Any suggestions?

[Justin_Barrett]

@Chafen_Suttle This is a repeat of a question that you posted yesterday. Please refrain from posting the same question more than once. This is a community of fellow users, and everyone has different schedules, so please allow at least a few days for your question to be seen, especially on a weekend (and a holiday weekend for some). If you don’t see a response within a week or so, that might be a good time to bump your original thread with a follow-up comment, but starting another thread less than 24 hours after the first with the same question just adds clutter to the forum.

[Chafen_Suttle]

Thank you for spending a good while typing a paragraph instead of assisting. Much appreciated.

[Justin_Barrett]

Could you post a screenshot or two showing what you’re trying? I just ran a test and don’t have the problem that you describe.

[Chafen_Suttle]

[Chafen_Suttle]

How do we transfer the field information from one table to another then when creating. It’s a REGEX formula.

[Justin_Barrett]

Formula fields can only retrieve data from other fields in an existing record. They can’t have data added to them directly.

Your original message says:

Chafen_Suttle:

We are trying to take the information in that table’s description field and extract elements (which we did with the regex formula)

If those various formula fields are operating on the contents of a {Description} field, then you need to insert your data into the {Description} field. The formulas in the other fields will then run and produce the desired output.

[Chafen_Suttle]

What do you mean insert the data into the {Description} field? We have a table with a {Details} field then we used a couple formulas in that table to create another field id:

Regex({Details},“Name: ([^\n]+)”) = Name Field

When we go to automation though we select create a record and try to put name and name from one to the next it doesn’t allow.

[Justin_Barrett]

Chafen_Suttle:

What do you mean insert the data into the {Description} field?

Your original post says that the formulas are built to extract data from “that table’s description field”, which led me to think that you might have a field named {Description}. However, your latest comment refers to a {Details} field, so maybe that’s the target.

For example, I can see from your automation screenshot that you have an {Email} field that is a formula. If I understand your setup correctly based on your description, that formula is extracting the email from another field using a regular expression. Is that other field the {Details} field, or something else?

To backtrack a bit more, here’s how I’m understanding the big picture of what you’re trying to accomplish…

• You have a calendar in Google Calendar.
• When a new entry is added to that calendar, it triggers the automation in Airtable.
• In Airtable, you’ve got a table prepared to extract specific data from the Google Calendar entry using formulas.
• You’re trying to figure out where to insert the data from Google Calendar so that the formulas can extract email, name, etc. correctly.

Is that an accurate assessment?

If so, the problem is that you can’t insert data directly into a formula field. Formulas only operate on data retrieved from other fields in a record. That’s why I said you had to insert the data into whatever field is being read by those formulas.

[Chafen_Suttle]

So you saying that we need to perform the REGEX Formulas in the Google Calendar Table the automate the create a record with the corresponding field in the other table?