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Re: Conditional Details Pages

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Tyler_Thorson
6 - Interface Innovator
6 - Interface Innovator
Overview

Allow users to assign different detail pages based on conditions.

When a user expands a record from an interface, allow users to change which details page opens based on conditions of the expanded record.

Setting the conditions could work using a UI similar to the one conditional coloring uses.

Problem:

There are many instances where I have records that share 90% of the same info, but based on some differences - such as Type or Status, need to be interacted with differently.

For example, for my business we track furnishings and fixtures we refer to as "Items" for architectural projects. We need to ensure that certain pieces of information are recorded for each Item, but what pieces of information we need varies based on the Type of Item. There are so many different kinds of information that we need to record that we have as many as 120 different fields in our Items Table. ideally, we could show only those fields that apply based on a condition, in this case, the "Type" Field.

I.E. If an item is of the "Plumbing" Type we want to see fields like "Fitting Diameter" and "Finish", but for an Item of the "Lighting" Type we would want to see fields such as "Input Voltage" or "Socket Type".

Ideally we would be able to see all of the Items in one list, and simply have a different detail page open based on things like Phase or Type. At the moment, the only way to do this is to create a different interface page for each type of Item. This approach does not suit the way we need to organize the Items (Typically by Room), and we need to be able to see all the Items in one Grid or List, but be able to open a different Record Detail Page based on the "Type" Field.

Potential Solution:

In the attached images I included a simplified example of a Grocery Order Table.
The Orders have different Types, and for each Type I created a Details Page that shows only the relevant fields based on that type. ( I am not a Grocer so forgive my goofy and incorrect examples of data)

Produce Order.jpgDry Goods Order.jpgDairy Order.jpg

In the mock Interface Editor UI I made, users create different Record Detail Pages the same way they do now. They can then select an option for Conditional Detail Pages that functions exactly the same way that conditional color works:

Conditional Record Detail Pages.png
Users can add Detail Pages they want to open under specific conditions, assign those conditions to each Details Page, and specify their priority order and defaults.

When a user clicks on a given record in an interface, which Record Detail Page opens is then dependent on the conditions assigned above.

Other Notes:

There are situations I have come across where this change would allow me to remove complex linked table set-ups that rely on automations to maintain and create links between records. I have one base where this change would remove around 200 automation runs per day, and significantly reduce the complexity of the base.

Conclusion:

Adding this feature would make a massive difference to Airtable's overall usability for my company, and would enable a wide variety of new use-cases that otherwise depend on more complex base structures.

1 Solution

Accepted Solutions
Tyler_Thorson
6 - Interface Innovator
6 - Interface Innovator

Just wanted to let you all know that as of January 31st 2024:

Conditional Record Detail pages have been added!

See announcement here.

Big shout out to the Airtable team for continuing to add great new features.

See Solution in Thread

10 Replies 10
lizfitz
5 - Automation Enthusiast
5 - Automation Enthusiast

Amazing work! My organisation would use this feature immediately if it was available. At the moment we're having to do so many creative workarounds to try and get things in interfaces to display the way we want because of the simple lack of conditional elements in any interface except forms. Seems like a feature that would be beneficial to almost all users?

Scott_Hoek
6 - Interface Innovator
6 - Interface Innovator

I can think of about 10 places in my organization where we would use this if it was available.  Another thing to add – it would be cool if we could have button fields in a list view that could open diferent interfaces for the same record.  

Our use case is video post-production; we have a list of projects.  From this one list, I would love to be able to open a different interface page for "Music," "Editing," and "Sorting" pages for that specefic project without needing different lists for it. 

Thanks! I am glad to hear this is something other people would also benefit from.

I think that even beyond the value this could provide to users, it could also have value for Airtable's bottom line as in so many situations it would reduce the computational cost of more complex base structures, automations, etc.

Seems like a win-win for everyone, hopefully they are able/willing to implement this in the future.

samster
4 - Data Explorer
4 - Data Explorer

Please Airtable!

bcrossley
5 - Automation Enthusiast
5 - Automation Enthusiast

This would be great to see. Even as a simple workaround, having a single record detail page with conditional visibility for each field would help immensely.

wooti
6 - Interface Innovator
6 - Interface Innovator

Yep, I've needed to separate single tables into multiple tables just so I can show different Details panes within the same Interface Page. 

This feature would be greatly appreciated (and I'd need to restructure my data back to how it should have been).

alexandre_crosb
5 - Automation Enthusiast
5 - Automation Enthusiast

This would be a game changer to me. I had to put a lot of fillout forms on top of airtable interfaces just to visualize and edit different datas per type of items, which gives a poor user experience 😅

stefanielukner
5 - Automation Enthusiast
5 - Automation Enthusiast

Much needed feature for us as well!

Tyler_Thorson
6 - Interface Innovator
6 - Interface Innovator

Just wanted to let you all know that as of January 31st 2024:

Conditional Record Detail pages have been added!

See announcement here.

Big shout out to the Airtable team for continuing to add great new features.

For Business Subscriptions only? 

This feature is mandatory to prevent us from making suboptimal data structures (and by extension, CPU bloat on their end). 

This is either a little silly, or a little slimy...