Trigger script actions from interface

[Simon_Malaret]

Hello everyone,

I have used scripts a lot in the Automations pannel. However, I'd like to create more user friendly experiences using the Script Extension.

Upon creating my system, it appears that buttons that trigger script extensions can not be run from an Airtable interface. Can anyone confirm that? Is there a way to create better experiences directly in the interface pannel by allowing users to follow a set of actions as defined in those scripts? Can it only be run from the data pannel?

Thank you very much,
Simon

[ScottWorld]

From an interface, you can trigger an Airtable automation. Airtable’s automations have the ability to run certain types of scripts.

However, if you need the scripting extension because it offers more JavaScript functionality than Airtable’s automations, that is not possible to do natively in Airtable’s interfaces.

The only solution that I know of for this problem is to use external apps that support running full JavaScript code, such as 0CodeKit. This can be fully automated by using Make’s 0CodeKit automations.

So, from within Airtable’s interfaces, you can trigger your full JavaScript code by using one of 3 methods:

1. Write a custom script inside your Airtable automation that communicates directly with 0CodeKit. Be careful with this method, because Airtable’s automation scripts have a maximum time limit on how long they can run (and it is a very low amount of time).

2. You can have your Airtable automation call a webhook in Make to perform your JavaScript automation there, because Make has a much longer time limit (40 minutes) and as I mentioned above, Make also has full support for 0CodeKit. I discuss how to call webhooks in Make in this thread.

3. Bypass Airtable’s automations altogether by simply placing a button on your interface. This button can open a Make webhook URL directly, which would then run your Javascript code in 0CodeKit. This would enable you to bypass Airtable’s automations altogether, and you can also setup a custom webhook response to be shown to your user in their browser window. I show how to do that in this episode of the BuiltOnAir podcast (although I show how to do it in the context of an email).

There is a small learning curve with Make, which is why I created this basic navigation video to help. I also provide the links to a few other Make training resources there as well. For example, as I mentioned above, to instantly trigger your Make scenarios from Airtable, check out this thread.

p.s. If you have a budget for your project and you’d like to hire an expert Airtable consultant to help you with any of this, please feel free to contact me through my website: Airtable consulting — ScottWorld