How to create the set "Difference" operation in Airtable

Jim_Burke · ‎Dec 04, 2021

Hi, I’m looking or a way to combine tables in such a way to get everything in table A that is not in table B.

In my use-case, I have a list of modules (table A) and a list of people who have attended those courses (table B). I wan to find out for each person, which courses they have not attended.

Table A fields: Grade, Modules Required
Table B fields: Person, Grade, Modules Taken

Looking for Person, Grade, Modules Still to Take

I am very new to Airtable and am just finding my way. I am comfortable with tables, views and linking fields/lookups (I think), but other than scripting I can’t see any obvious way to achieve the result of a difference operation between the two tables.

I hope someone can help, thanks.

Justin_Barrett · ‎Dec 04, 2021

Welcome to the community, @Jim_Burke! :grinning_face_with_big_eyes:

That’s how I read it as well. Formulas don’t currently provide the means to iterate through collections and do complex comparisons, but it’s definitely possible using scripting.

Are you interested in learning how to code, or would you prefer to hire someone to write the script for you?

Jim_Burke · ‎Dec 04, 2021

Thanks Justin for your speedy response. I wanted to check that I hadn’t missed anything beefore I jumped into scripting.

I’m looking at Airtable to build a very small but professional application to keep track of training for our SCUBA diving club - we are not a commercial outfit so are limited in our funds. I have a few JS skills so I’ll take a look at scripting myself for now, but I appreciate your offer and if I get stuck may get back to you.

Justin_Barrett · ‎Dec 04, 2021

@Jim_Burke Happy to help! If you run into any issues, feel free to post script excerpts here and ask for input. When doing so, please remember to style them as code using the </> button on the editor toolbar, which will retain the formatting and make reviewing the script easier.