"Update record" creates additional unwanted records

[NicoB]

Hello everyone,

Always with the ultimate goal of creating the perfect automated ToDo List,
I have a script I was able to write that copies tasks from one table, pastes them into another table. The script copies the important information (task name, task categories, who's responsible and when it needs to be done). My script then links the task to the event in the ToDo Lists.

But it's impossible to copy the dependencies between my tasks (link to another record) directly into the script. In any case, I was unable to do so and no one replied to my previous post. I got around the problem by asking the script to copy the dependency links from my main table into a text column in my ToDo Lists table.

So I created a second automation to "Update record" the new records created by my script, to copy the text from the text column to the parent Task column, which is a link column to other records.
As I said, I have about ten child tasks linked to its parent task (13 parent tasks) and I guess that's what's causing the issue?

My script copies the 110 tasks perfectly, but the record update creates 35 new unwanted records. How can I solve the problem?

I've already tried using created time or last modified fields, as shown here, to delay my automation.
I've also tried limiting the update record to one view only.
But in any case, I've got 35 new records appearing ...

I don't know what's causing the problem or how to get around it. I'm open to any help or comments!
Best regards

PS :

I've tried as trigger for the 2nd automation :
When a record is created
When a record enters a specific view
When a record has a filled checkbox (Then checkbox + specific view)
When a record matches certain conditions

And each time I had 35 unwanted records created in my update record automation.

[Databaser]

I'm not a scripting expert, so my first reflex was to use an automation in combination with "record templates" (which can hold 200 new records in total) to ditch the scripting 🙃

[NicoB]

Hey @Databaser 

Thanks for your reply,

Unfortunately our small company is on "business plan", so we're limited to 100 template records :/.
I used it in my 1st version of my ToDo List when we were limited to 90 tasks, but now that we have 110, it's no longer possible and I had to resolve (and learn) to use a script

[NicoB]

Greetings,

I transformed the 1st column of my ToDo Lists database to be a formula field – thus preventing AirTable from creating new records with Update Records automation.
Name 2 is the formula column that copies only the task name ({Name})

Except ... Now it only updates half of my parent (main) tasks, and I don't understand why AirTable is doing this to me.

In fact, in my automation, if I select, for example, the record
"It will update the dependencies and copy the text from my "Parent task (text)" column to the "Parent task" column (link to another record).
But another record, configured in the same way (also a parent, main task, linked to several child tasks), for example “Congress participation”, I get the error "Field “Name 2” cannot accept the provided value: Cannot modify a computed field." except that I don't interact with this column in my automation ...

Please help me, I don't understand anything 🙏

[Databaser]

Can you share some screenshots from your automation? That will help the users here to answer. 

[NicoB]

@Databaser 

Here are some screenshots:
The 1st screenshot with the automation working (with one of the records working)

The 2nd screenshot with the same automation, which doesn't work (I've only changed the record selected for the automation test)

The 3rd screenshot to show the result when the automation tries to work. As you can see, 4 records out of 13 update, but I have the following issue in test run:

Formula "Name 2" : {Name}

Formula "Tâche parente (texte)" : ARRAYUNIQUE({Tâche parente (texte) pour script}, ", ")

Field "Name 2" cannot accept the provided value: Cannot modify a computed field.
And the error in test preview :
Updating the record failed due to insufficient permissions.

PS :

On the screenshots you can see that the trigger is "When a record enters the view" but I get the same result with
"When a record matches conditions".
"When a record is created".

[NicoB · Accepted solution]

I DID IT !! 🎉

The issue came from the names of certain tasks
In fact, some of them had a SPACE after their name
So: "Taks 1 "
And my arrayjoin added a "," creating an extra space!
I've corrected the names of all the tasks and my automation is now running smoothly

[Databaser]

Glad you found a solution. 

Tip: you can always use TRIM() in a formula field to get rid of unwanted spaces.