For Sale, Sold, and Donated Formula

[Alba_Machado2]

Had a good formula going for the status of the books in our shop…

IF({Sales}, “ :green_circle: Sold”, “ :white_circle: For Sale”)

But then I realized, we also “ :orange_heart: Donate” and “ :beer: Trash” books (we only trash them if they get damaged, say, in a flood, and the Microsoft garbage emoji is garbage, so beer it is!).

Like the {Sales} field, the {Donations} field is a linked one, only, unlike {Sales}, in {Donations} it’s not enough to say EMPTY=For Sale and NOT EMPTY=Sold because there are three options in the Donations table {Beneficiary} single select field: Charity, Thrift, and Trash.

What’s the formula for this? Do I need to create lookup fields first?

[Alba_Machado2]

Still having a hard time wrapping my head around this one, but it worked. I’ll come back to your examples here and keep reviewing docs and YouTube video’s like
Gareth Pronovost’s Understanding IF and SWITCH Formulas in Airtable. Thanks again to you both.

[kuovonne]

You’re welcome!

Here are some thoughts to keep in mind as you learn:

• You need to know the vocabulary and grammar of the functions in your formula. The vocabulary is the exact words IF, SWITCH, etc. The grammar is where you can and cannot put spaces, where you need quotes, where you need commas, etc.) This info is available in the formula field reference.

• You need to understand nesting to combine multiple functions in a complex formula. This comes with practice, and it requires that you understand the vocabulary and grammar of the functions you want. The best tool for this is writing in a text editor with the multi-line, indented style demonstrated in this thread.

• Understanding the logic that you want to implement is also key. This can be the most difficult aspect of programming to learn, because any give coding problem can have multiple possible solutions, and sometimes errors do not show up immediately. In general, start with simple situations and gradually build up the formula.

I am considering producing some training materials for teaching how to write complex formulas, but don’t have much time right now.

[Alba_Machado2]

I hope you do produce those videos when you have time. Maybe consider Skillshare. It was the first place I checked for Airtable tutorials and they had nada there. Gareth is cool on YouTube but different learners benefit from different teachers and teaching styles (I’m a former middle school language arts teacher.) I’ll be keeping an eye out for your lessons!