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Autofill drag with alphanumeric?

  • July 10, 2019
  • 6 replies
  • 195 views

Hi, can Airtable auto fill with alphanumeric sequence? For example, my sequence goes UF-3101, UF-3102, UF-3103, etc. When I highlight the first two cells and drag it down, it just repeated the UF-3101, UF-3102 over and over instead of adding +1.

Anyway airtable can do this?

Thanks

6 replies

Justin_Barrett
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  • Inspiring
  • 4647 replies
  • July 11, 2019

Welcome to the community, Benjamin! :grinning_face_with_big_eyes: It works for numeric fields, but not for single line text fields. If this sequence is going to continue indefinitely, I would suggest using a formula.

First make an autonumber field, which will give you an automatic numeric sequence beginning at 1. Then add a formula field with this formula (replace “Autonumber” with the name you gave your autonumber field):

"UF-" & (3100 + Autonumber)

No need to drag anything, as Airtable will continue incrementing the number each time you make a new record.


Cody_Winchester
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Welcome to the community, Benjamin! :grinning_face_with_big_eyes: It works for numeric fields, but not for single line text fields. If this sequence is going to continue indefinitely, I would suggest using a formula.

First make an autonumber field, which will give you an automatic numeric sequence beginning at 1. Then add a formula field with this formula (replace “Autonumber” with the name you gave your autonumber field):

"UF-" & (3100 + Autonumber)

No need to drag anything, as Airtable will continue incrementing the number each time you make a new record.


@Justin_Barrett , I don't see that number fields autonumber - they just copy the value when drag-copying the cells just the same as any other field type. Unless there is some other method you were describing?


Justin_Barrett
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  • Inspiring
  • 4647 replies
  • April 15, 2024

@Justin_Barrett , I don't see that number fields autonumber - they just copy the value when drag-copying the cells just the same as any other field type. Unless there is some other method you were describing?


@Cody_Winchester The Autonumber field type is what you're looking for. When setting the field type for a field, it's toward the bottom of the list. Or just start typing "autonumber" and the options will filter down to make it easier to find.


Cody_Winchester
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Thanks for clarifying @Justin_Barrett ! I appreciate it.


  • 0 replies
  • June 27, 2024

@Cody_Winchester The Autonumber field type is what you're looking for. When setting the field type for a field, it's toward the bottom of the list. Or just start typing "autonumber" and the options will filter down to make it easier to find.


Hello @Justin_Barrett 
We are a self-publishing company seeking an Airtable expert to optimize our database management and workflow automation. Our goal is to streamline our processes for managing over 6000 authors/projects annually. We would love to discuss how you can help us achieve our objectives. Could we schedule a call to discuss this further? Best regards,


Justin_Barrett
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  • Inspiring
  • 4647 replies
  • June 27, 2024

Hello @Justin_Barrett 
We are a self-publishing company seeking an Airtable expert to optimize our database management and workflow automation. Our goal is to streamline our processes for managing over 6000 authors/projects annually. We would love to discuss how you can help us achieve our objectives. Could we schedule a call to discuss this further? Best regards,


Sorry, but I'm not currently taking on contract projects.