Possible to customize the display order of multiple linked records?

[Patrick_Hughes]

Hi all,

I'm running into some issues and dead ends with getting a linked field to display multiple links the way I need them. Right now, I have a linked field that looks like this:

You can see the newest records (the ones on 9.19.24) displayed first, tracking what I sent someone and when I sent it.

When I add something new in the future, I would like it to display first (i.e. to the far left), because some of these cells have 50-60 entries.. but apparently Airtable will ONLY sort these by the date a field was created? 

Also, when expanding this cell, I'm also seeking a way to either 1. limit the number of linked fields that display (i.e. to 2 or 3), and/or be able to add a new linked field at the top of this list:

Right now my only option is to scroll all the way to the bottom and add one there:

Basically, I'm trying to find a quick way to see what I last sent someone, and when I add something new, it needs to be the first thing that appears in a linked field (so I know what to reference when sending my next email).

Any advice/tips would be hugely appreciated. I already have a fair amount of automations set up, so I'd like to avoid that if possible- it seems like this is a relatively simple functionality which should be native? I'm happy to explore extensions or scripts if any of them might address or solve these issues.

Thanks very much!

[TheTimeSavingCo]

re: Linked record display order

Hmm this is sorted in the order a record was last linked, and the only way to change it would be to re-link them.  As such, I think you're going to need to use an automation for this I'm afraid.  You'd trigger it when a record gets linked, and then use a "Find Record" to find all the records linked to the triggering record, and use a "Sort List" to sort the results in the order you want.  Finally you'd have an "Update Record" step that'd put the sorted list into the field

Should work!

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re: 1. limit the number of linked fields that display (i.e. to 2 or 3), and/or be able to add a new linked field at the top of this list:

Hm I don't think either are possible at this time.  You could try writing a TamperMonkey script to move the button up top or limit the number of displayed records maybe?

[magicalpotion]

Hi @Patrick_Hughes,

Looks like your use case requires some automation as suggest by @TheTimeSavingCo.

However, if somehow you use the Interfaces, you can easily sort the linked records in a blink of an eye, without any automation.

Below you can see an example from one of my French customers. Her use case was to

    Send a custom text message via Twilio and know what was sent, who (which Airtable user), when the message was sent, its status (automatically updated with a Make automation).

The historical text messages are sorted by "Envoyé lé" (in French, "Date sent"). Therefore, if you consider using the Interfaces, you can very easily sort your displayed linked list. Cherry on the cake, you can even sort by multiple fields.

Hope it provides you some ideas. Don't hesitate to reach out for more details and giving some Kudos to this post 👏

Best,
J. Manuel