Create record failed to create a new record

[fmann]

Hello All,

I have an automation that uses a for loop to create a new record based on input from a form. When the automation is tested in "run as configured" mode the new records are created as expected. However, when testing live the automation fails to create the record. However other aspects of the automation completed correctly so I know the automation is triggering as it should. The fact that the tests are working correctly makes me think that the issue lies with something on the Airtable side and not the automation side. Could this be the case?

Thanks!

[Sistema_Aotearo]

Hello and welcome to the forums!

It would be great to see the error messages you get from the "failed runs". Without this info, it'd be hard to say what the issue could possibly be!

However, from my own experience, I think the issue may possibly be one of two.

The data from your base that the automation uses may not always be consistent for aitbale to read. Not to say that your data isn't accurate, but more that Airtable has a hard time reading and matching data unless we use the inbuilt "Airtable record ID". So if your automation is linking records together, try set the tokens to list "Airtable record ID" instead of the title field.

The other possible issue is trying to update too many records at once. Each automation can only update one record per run unless you use the "Repeating Group". So for example, let's say your set-up has a "Find Record" action and then an "Update Record" action. If you are trying to update all the records found it simply won't be possible. It'll work in the testing as there's only one record found during the test.

Don't know if this is at all helpful but let me know how it goes

[fmann]

Hey There,

Thank you for your thoughts. One of the weird things about this problem is that I'm not getting any error messages. The automation runs as "successful" and everything in the automation works as it should except for the fact that no new record is created. It is even more weird because when I test the automation using the "run as configured option" it will create a new record but it won't create a record in regular usage. 

The thought about Airtable ID is a good thought and I am using it in the automation. I am not using the Airtable Id in the "create new record" action but that is because there is no clear place for it to go. 

The repeating group is also a good thought and I am using a repeating group for this automation so I am hopeful that that part is functioning correctly. 

Here is the screenshot of the automation incase that helps. Everything works except that "create Record" action

[fmann]

Sorry for one more update but I just ran another test and all actions before the repeating group work, however, both actions in the repeating group do not run (I have not received an error message). However, the repeating group does work when ran in test mode and all input seems to be as would be expected. I'm not sure why it would run during the test but not actual usage. 

[Sistema_Aotearo]

Thanks for the updates. Let me know if I got the following logic steps right.

Step 1: When the Attendance Form is Submitted start the automation

Step 2: Update the Multi-Select field to include any new names. (I think this step is where I'm confused as I don't think this is possible.)

Step 3: If there are any new names, create a record for the new name so they are on the database

Step 4: Send an email with the new names

Not sure if this is what you're thinking? This may need a bit of re-mapping of the automation or a bigger infrastructure of the data to achieve your goals. Currently looks like a few things are working against each other.

Could you provide a bit more details of what you'd like to achieve?

[fmann]

Those steps look pretty accurate. These were the only steps I could find to make it all work but it is possible that there is a more straightforward option. 

Here is the break down:

I have a form called "Program Attendance" that is connected to a table "Attendance Workspace". On the form there is a field called "New Volunteer" (single line text). The user is instructed to enter in the names they wish to add to the database using commas.

The automation is set to trigger when this form is submitted. The first step of the automation is to update the record (that was created by the form) by filling in the "New Volunteer Update" (which is a multiple select field) with the value from the "New Volunteer" (Single Line Text). Because that field is a list of values separated by commas when the multi select field is updated each name will register as its own option. This step always runs correctly when I test it.  (hopefully that made sense)

The main reason why I needed that step was because I needed the names in a list form so that I could run a "repeating group".  That means the next step in the automation is a repeating group using the "New Volunteer Input" list. That means two actions will occur for each name in the list. The first is that it will create a new record in another table in the same base. The next step is that for each name it will send an email with the name of that person on it. These are the two steps that fail to work. 

I checked the run history after I submitted a test form and it said that the group did not run because the input list was empty. However, when I checked the field just before the group it says that the list has the names that it should have. Also it is strange because when testing the automation using the automation page it clearly shows that the list has the names that it should has.

So it appears that the problem is that my list of names that I give to the "repeating group" is empty even though it is not empty during testing. Any thoughts? 

[fmann]

Here are some screenshots that help to make the above jumble more understandable: 

The trigger for this automation is the submission of a form. In my test this trigger always seems to work as expected. 

The next action is an update record action. The main goal of this action is to get some names in a list form so that I can run a repeating loop. This is done by taking a list of names separated by commas that is inputted by the form and setting a multiple select field equal to that. 

The tricky element of this is the repeating group. The list for the group is from the "New Volunteer Update '' multiple select field. When testing the automation the input of the list is as would be expected. 

However, when I run a "live" test and review the run history it says that the repeating group did not run because the list is empty. This is clearly where the problem lies. However, I do not know why the list is empty because the previous action has that list containing the elements that I would expect. Furthermore the tests show that the list does in fact have elements in it. 

Thank you for any insights that you may have into why the list is not empty during tests but is empty when running "live". 

[Sistema_Aotearo · Accepted solution]

Did a bit of testing myself and found out why nothing happens! The repeating step is using data from when the form was first submitted which means there's nothing in the Multiselect to run off yet!

The solution would be to split this automation into two separate ones. You could trigger the second automation with a "When Record is updated" and have it watching that Multiselect field.

Let me know if this works for you 🙂

[fmann]

That was it exactly! Great catch. Thank you for your help!