Automation within Airtable Pro not working for 1 field

[Dippity]

I’m using the automations feature in Airtable.
One field is not auto-populating when the process is triggered.
I’ve also noticed that multi-select and linked records cannot be used for automations. Is there a way around this?

[Justin_Barrett]

Dippity:

I’m using the automations feature in Airtable.
One field is not auto-populating when the process is triggered.

Could you share more details about your automation setup? Only when we get specific information can we provide specific feedback and assistance.

Dippity:

I’ve also noticed that multi-select and linked records cannot be used for automations. Is there a way around this?

That partly depends on what you want to do with this data (and again, having more details will help here). If your automation setup runs a script based on the trigger, the script can pull any data it needs directly from the record. Another option is to use a formula field to turn the contents of a multiple-select or link field into a string, and then parse the string in the automation script.

[Dippity]

I also would like to automate linked records. So I have a field “Name” in Table A which is a linked record. I would like to automate it so that when a new record in Table A is created, the “Name” field in Table B will pull-in the “Name” field from Table A and still keep it as a linked record.

[ScottWorld]

Hi @Dippity!

Sorry, I don’t have an answer for you (@Justin_Barrett might have more knowledge on solving your problem than me), but my first guess is that both of those fields might be different field types. Are both of those fields set to multi-select? Also, do both of those fields have the same options to choose from?

My second guess is that maybe multi-select fields aren’t yet supported by Automations. The Automations feature of Airtable is still in beta testing, and on this page, it says: “Automations is in active development and more functionality is on the way. Automations is currently available on Pro and Enterprise plans. If you have any feedback to offer, feel free to share that with us here.”

So, you may want to submit feedback through the form on that page, and you might even get more information by emailing support at support@airtable.com.

If my 2nd guess is correct and multi-select fields aren’t supported yet, you CAN use my favorite external automation platform, Integromat, to do these updates for you.

[Justin_Barrett]

ScottWorld:

My second guess is that maybe multi-select fields aren’t yet supported by Automations.

From my experience so far, that’s correct. One of my earliest automation setups (in the earlier testing phase) involved pulling data from a multiple-select. In my case, I was already using a formula to convert it to a string, so I was still able to work with it in string format.

Dippity:

I also would like to automate linked records. So I have a field “Name” in Table A which is a linked record. I would like to automate it so that when a new record in Table A is created, the “Name” field in Table B will pull-in the “Name” field from Table A and still keep it as a linked record.

Record linking can’t be done with just the basic automation features. From the automations overview page:

Most field types are supported to include in one step to another, however, certain fields are not currently available ( Fields that cannot be selected will be greyed out 😞

• Attachments
• Linked record fields
• Lookup fields
• Multiple select fields
• Rollup fields that use just “values”
• Collaborator fields with “Allow adding multiple collaborators” toggled on

Linking records must be done via a scripting action. If you’d like help setting this up, just shout and we’ll do what we can. :slightly_smiling_face:

[Dippity]

Thanks @Justin_Barrett! I would actually really appreciate the help scripting this action!