Send email if a new row is not created everyday

[Viet_Anh_Hoang]

Hello,

I have a table to track “back up” task that need to be recorded everyday. So basically, after each back up the staff need to open air table and filled in some data. I use created time to track the time the task is created and the proper workflow is to do this task daily.

Now I like to have an automated flow:

• At 7:00 pm, run a check on “back up” table,
• If there is a new record for that day, do nothing
• If there is no new record for that day, send and email to some body

I can use Zapier to send email for each new record in AirTable, but in this case it’s another way around. I haven’t find an Zapier command that could check current date and find a matching date on AirrTable, that is the basic to config such an Zap.

Any help is much appreciated.

Viet Anh

[kuovonne]

This is an interesting use case.

A script could run the check and send the email. However, someone would still need to push a button to run the script.

What about creating a tracking table with a bunch of records pre-created for future dates. Have one of the tasks be to update the record in the tracking table for the current date. Have a view that filters for records on the current date that are not done. Then have Zapier poll for new records in that view. (I haven’t worked enough with Zapier to know Zapier will update the records in the view with a date filter, but I have worked with pre-creating records for future dates and having a filtered view for the current date.)

[Viet_Anh_Hoang]

I find an work around but not quite fit to my original idea, this is similar to @kuovonne suggestion

1. Put a bunch of record with deadline
2. Have a field to track task status: completed vs incomplete
3. Have a field that calculate the date different: current date minus deadline
4. Have a view filter with 2 condition

• deadline is larger than current date
• task status is incomplete

Then use Zapier to watch this view and send email when new record meet that condition.

The only down side is that I don’t want to pre-create all the required rows, that could be time consuming if we have say many rows to make.

[kuovonne]

Viet_Anh_Hoang:

The only down side is that I don’t want to pre-create all the required rows, that could be time consuming if we have say many rows to make.

There are ways to make pre-creating rows easier:

• Create a bunch of blank rows with the keyboard shortcut. Fill in the top two consecutive dates manually. Select both dates and then drag to full. Airtable will automatically increment the dates. If you want to get ride of weekends, add a formula field to show the day of the week, filter for Saturday and Sunday, then delete all the weekend records.

• Use scripting block to create the records.

The main trick is making sure the system doesn’t break down because you get to the end of the pre-created rows and no-one remembered to pre-create more.

A workaround is to have just a handful of pre-created records at a time. Then one of the daily or weekly tasks is to make sure there is a pre-determined number of pre-creates records.