Record number field

[javier_l]

Hi, I’m new to Airtable, and I’m trying to make a field that registers the record number “1, 2, 3…”. I need it to be able to order items and map this order to a third-party app.

Any idea how to do it?

Thanks,
Javier

[ScottWorld]

You can add an autonumber field which will give you that functionality.

[javier_l]

Thanks for your answer.

The autonumber field doesn’t provide the functionality I’m looking for.

When you reorder records with autonumber, the numbers don’t update accordingly.

[Hannah_Wiginton]

Hey Javier,

Yeah, the auto-number field could use some improvements.

Here’s an option that Kamille created

Auto-Number New Records with Prefix Ask the community

Hey all. I’ve searched a handful of times but can’t seem to find another example of what I’m trying to accomplish. I’m looking for some help with an automation or script that can automatically add the correct inquiry number. We do this manually and it’s slowing down our response time and ability to, well automate processes. Our inquiry numbers syntax: YY-NNN or an example: 21-846 The next inquiry would be 21-847. This being the two-digit current year as a prefix and then just an integer of t…

You could also use a formula field to generate a unique code for each item. You could use the Record ID and then use another formula field to extract out a portion of the Record ID as your item ID.

[Justin_Barrett]

javier_l:

When you reorder records with autonumber, the numbers don’t update accordingly.

Correct. Autonumber only records record count, not record order.

Because Airtable is more database than spreadsheet, records have no inherent knowledge of other records. Order is maintained as you drag records around, but Airtable only makes the order available to scripts that request records from a specific view. While it’s not possible to trigger an automation—which could run a script to number the records based on order—simply by changing the record order, you could trigger such an automation using other means. You could also run a similar script manually from the Apps sidebar.