Help

Save the date! Join us on October 16 for our Product Ops launch event. Register here.

Updating Existing Linked Record

Topic Labels: Automations Formulas
185 1
cancel
Showing results for 
Search instead for 
Did you mean: 
tahsinh
4 - Data Explorer
4 - Data Explorer

Hello, 

I have 2 tables, clients and tasks. Each task has a linked record field to the client. I want the automation structured so that when Task ABC is Complete, the linked client's stage (stage is a field in the clients table) updates. I am struggling getting the record ID for the linked client record for the subsequent steps. 

1 Reply 1

Hi,
Suppose you are set automation trigger for Tasks table 'when record match condition' (Status=Complete)

The simple and a bit risky and not 100% correct way is to add Update step
and put a value of trigger record link field into [Record ID ] (to update)

Alexey_Gusev_1-1727140496898.png

Each link has Name (displayed on it) and ID (of a record linked in other table)
So you need to switch which value to pass and set ID instead of Name

Then in Fieds (to update) select Stage and choose .
Example - I set 'When Task is Done',  set Stage to Stage 3
(note: i added lookup of task Status from Tasks table. Sometimes Stage can be set with formula, using such lookup, so you don't need automations for that

Alexey_Gusev_0-1727140468730.png

Of course formula is not so 'bright' as Single-Select. But you can add color emojis with Win+.(dot)  ✔⚠😃
But that's another story.

Problem of such method - Record ID expects single ID. So, if you have 2 Clients linked, it will fail
Indeed, linked field able to hold the array of links. Putting array into a place for a single value is not good. Even if now this array has exactly 1 member.

Second method: use Find Records to find all Clients linked to your trigger record. Result can be limited to a number of records, so you can set limit to 1 and be sure that only a single ID will be returned.

Alexey_Gusev_2-1727141560565.png

Third method is closest to actual workflow - take array of IDs right from trigger record value of 'Link to Clients'
(now it's only 1 link, but if there were 10, it would work as well) and use as a list in Repeating Group
Inside Repeating Group install Update step for Stage. 

Again, don't forget to choose ID property

Alexey_Gusev_3-1727142061495.png

I linked the Task X to three Clients, set Task to Done and all three were promoted to Stage 3

Alexey_Gusev_4-1727142362307.png