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Event planning: using linked records for couples/groups of attendees

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RMLO
4 - Data Explorer
4 - Data Explorer

I have a base for planning a 3-day festival. I currently have it set up so each attendee has their own record, then there is a linked record to the same table (attendees) to link their plus one (or sometimes plus more than one). But since that isn’t a reciprocal link I have to go to the Plus One’s record and link back to the first attendee too (currently have an automation for this). But this solution is not very elegant. I need to use these lists to create labels and name tags and the organizers want specific formats (lady first, sometimes folks have special prefixes like Honorable or Dr), and to create accurate head counts for different events, for which their Plus One may or may not attend. I currently have roll-up fields to get head counts.

I have looked through several template bases and examples in the universe. The only other way I can find to deal with this is to create a “relationships” table where the primary field is a formula with summary info, and there is a linked record field for Couples/Groups, and add each attendee in that field.

Is one way better than the other? I’m hesitant to redesign to make a relationships table if it’s not really going to be any easier for other users to do their data entry or make a significant difference to me to get summary counts. If I do not change the design, I intend to use interfaces to simplify the data entry.

2 Replies 2

Welcome to the community, @RMLO!

It is a MAJOR bummer that Airtable doesn’t automatically create reciprocal links in the same table. As far as I am concerned, this is a SIGNIFICANT flaw in Airtable that does not exist in any other database product that I have ever used.

First and foremost, be sure to send your feedback to support@airtable.com. They famously do not listen to any customer requests, but I’m hoping that someday in the years ahead there will be an executive management shakeup at Airtable that will finally prioritize our requests. People have been requesting this one for years.

In the meantime, you can use this Javascript from @openside to manually create reciprocal backlinks in your system: Same Table Linked Records Backlinks | BuiltOnAir

Hi there!

We have an automation in our On2Air Actions app that does the automatic linking in the same table for you.

As an aside, our Actions app also includes automated documents using Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides, so if you need to create name badges, tickets, reports, form entries, etc. for your event, it’s included already in Actions.

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Hannah - On2Air.com - Automated Backups for Airtable