Creating new table takes too much time & sometimes crashes

[asgharali_rizvi]

Hello,

I have records of 4 thousand rows in Airtable, with around 100 views and about 50 columns. Two of them have attachments fields where we store pictures.

Every month, we need to create a new table organized by month, and we want to retain the previous month's views and settings, but the data itself is not required. Currently, I use the duplicate table feature without including records, but it has become quite problematic and slow. I am wondering if the Airtable team is working on improving their servers to address these issues.

I need some assistance. Is there any other method or workaround to synchronize all the views and create a new table for this month without including previous records?

Thank you.

[kriita54]

As i know instead of duplicating the table every month, create a base template that includes the desired views and settings. This template should be the foundation for each new month's table. After creating the new table, you can delete the previous month's records to keep the table clean and empty for the current month's data. Depending on how your views are organized, you may need to update filters or sort orders to match the current month's data. 

This method allows you to create a new table each month with the desired views and settings while keeping it empty of previous records. However, keep in mind that manual setup will still be required each month, but it might be a more manageable option compared to duplicating the entire table without records. 

[Valentino_Escal]

Hi @asgharali_rizvi,
I think the solution you might be looking for is creating a base that works as a directory. The most important information that does not need to be edited much or changed can live in this base. I will give you an example so it makes sense (your example was a month).

Step 1: In the 'Directory Base' create a table called 'Monthly Calendar'

Step 2: Create a month as one record, for example August 2023. 

Step 3: Create a View that you want to share with your problematic base. Then click the Share and Sync. button.

Step 4: Add a table in your problematic base that is the specific view that you created above.

Step 5: Create a linked record with the month 'August 2023' to whichever table/s need the information.

This is obviously a specific example, that you might not need. But hopefully it helps get the idea across. The main takeaway is that instead of creating too many tables, with duplicate information, you can have one table that works as a source of truth, in this case the month. Here is a link explains in detail how to achieve the steps I outlined - Sharing Views
Hope this helps 🤔

[kriita54]

Airtable does not natively provide a direct way to duplicate views between tables or to create a new table based on views with a monthly organization while excluding previous records. Set up an automation workflow in Zapier or Integromat to trigger the process at the beginning of each month. The workflow can use the API calls mentioned above to create the new table, duplicate views, and apply settings. 

Please note that working with Airtable's API and automation tools like Zapier or Integromat might require technical expertise or developer assistance. Additionally, the details of Airtable's features and capabilities might have evolved since my last update, so I recommend checking Airtable's official documentation or reaching out to their support for the most up-to-date information and potential solutions.

[asgharali_rizvi]

This won't work.

Let me share some screenshots with you. I am working on the same workplace and using the same base, but I must add data month-wise due to the nature of my work.

In the base, there are a lot of people, and each person is using their own view. Sometimes, one person has 3 - 4 different views.

The problem arises when I try to duplicate the month table. It gets stuck for 30 - 40 minutes, and during this time, no one can work on it. Eventually, an error message pops up, and the table is never duplicated.

Your assistance in resolving this issue would be greatly appreciated. If you have any suggestions or solutions, please let me know.

Thank you.

[asgharali_rizvi]

Please check my response on the above thread; perhaps it will be clearer this time. 🙂

[Valentino_Escal]

Hi @asgharali_rizvi 
I totally understand how frustrating this must be. I've also faced some issues with long load times and that error code. In my case, the fix was to limit the amount of information in the bases and tables. I suggest some things that could help:

Suggestion 1: Contact Airtable Support and send them the error code you are receiving. Sometimes they will ask for a video of the issue when it's happening so they can try and look deeper into the problem. 

Suggestion 2: As I said, the fix to this problem I faced was to limit the information in the bases and tables. The less data, the better the performance. Here are some interesting article that helped me out 👇 
Base Structure
Airtable Base Performance

I hope you can get this resolved! Good luck 🤞

[asgharali_rizvi]

I am attempting to reach out to Airtable support, but I must express my disappointment. It has been a month, and I have yet to receive a satisfactory solution. Despite investing over a thousand USD in Airtable, I am still facing issues.

The support experience has been frustrating, with a seemingly endless loop of interactions that have not led me to a live agent connection.