Creating a Dynamic Single Select Field

[Alex_Smith]

We’ve created an address book of sorts, and I could use your help in creating a dynamic single-select field. Here’s the scenario:

We have two tables: (1) tbl_organizations and (2) tbl_individuals. Any given organization may (and often does) have multiple individuals linked to it. However, we’d also like to designate one of these individuals as the primary contact for the organization.

Here’s it written out as an example:

• Depp Organization is a record in tbl_organizations. It is linked to 3 records in tbl_individuals (Bob, Sue, and Timmy).
• Foo Organization is a record in tbl_organizations. It is linked to 2 records in tbl_individuals (Sally and John).
• I would like a create a field in the tbl_organizations. This field will be called something like “PrimaryIndividual.”
• PrimaryIndividual will populate with the individuals linked to their organization record (but no other individuals).
• As an example, for Depp Organization, the options will be Bob, Sue, and Timmy whereas for Foo Organization the options will be Sally and John.

Is something like this possible? Do folks have other creative solutions for getting similar results?

[Ben_Young1 · Accepted solution]

Hey @Alex_Smith! Welcome in!

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I’m a little bit confused about what the final product should look like.

Alex_Smith:

We have two tables: (1) tbl_organizations and (2) tbl_individuals. Any given organization may (and often does) have multiple individuals linked to it. However, we’d also like to designate one of these individuals as the primary contact for the organization.

Okay…

1. Organizations have Individuals.
   Those individuals are linked to their respective orgs.

2. Despite every individual being linked to the organization, we need to identify which contact is a primary contact.

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For the scenario you wrote out, you just need to designate the contact types in the Individuals table.
In this case, I’ve just used a single select to define common contacts versus primary contacts.

Next, I created a rollup field that displays the names of contacts that are designated as primary contacts.

I went with the rollup field because it allows me to account for organizations that might have multiple contacts that are primary account owners.

If there are multiple primary contacts, then the rollup will just add that name to a new line in the field.
Think of it as future/scale proofing your data model (if it matters to you).

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Is this along the lines of what you’re looking for?

Any additional context would be greatly appreciated so I can piece something together for you!

[Alex_Smith]

Ben, this is super helpful and exactly along the lines of what I was thinking. I really appreciate your thorough response!