Restricting ability to create a new Kanban stack while allowing editing

[danilaroo]

In an Interface, is there a way to allow users to edit records in a Kanban element but restrict them from adding a new stack? 

[ScottWorld · Accepted solution]

Yes, you could do one of two things:

1. You could change your users to editors instead of creators to accomplish this.

2. At the interface level, you can also restrict the user from adding new options.

[jesse628wallick]

maximtimeclock@danilaroo wrote:

In an Interface, is there a way to allow users to edit records in a Kanban element but restrict them from adding a new stack? 

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Hello @danilaroo,

In Airtable’s Interface Designer, it’s currently not possible to restrict users from adding a new stack in a Kanban element while allowing them to edit records. The permissions for editing and creating stacks are linked, so if a user can edit, they can also add stacks.

However, you can control who has permission to edit by adjusting the sharing settings for the base or interface. For more detailed control over user actions, you might consider using Airtable Automations or Scripts, although these would require a more complex setup.

I hope this will Help You

Best Regards,
maximtimeclock

[ScottWorld]

That is actually incorrect.

But the good news is that all of this is very easily possible in Airtable, using one of the methods I outlined above.

[danilaroo]

Hi Scott, when I preview the Interface with my "View as" selection as an editor, I can still see the ability to add a new stack. Is that different when it's live?

Regarding #2, where is this? I can't find anywhere to disable adding new Kanban options.

[ScottWorld]

#1. Yes, the "Preview" button is kind of misleading — it only shows you the records that your users will see, but it still gives you full functionality as an Admin. If an editor actually logs into your interface, they won't have the "Add New Stack" functionality.

#2. I can no longer find the interface option to prevent users from adding new stacks, but it was there this morning when I tested this! Airtable is constantly introducing & removing features, so it's possible that it was temporarily there and will come back again later. I will sleuth around to see if I can uncover this option again.

[EaZyGreen]

I agree, the feature to disable the creation of a new stack is very much needed!

As it stands, I need my users to be able to create new records, but I really don't want them to create new stacks (aka new single select options). Especially as having the big "New Stack +" button visible in the Kanban is an invitation to click on it because it looks like you can add new records and associating it to one of the single selects, but this is not the case, it just creates a blank single select with no text...

Best option would be to replace the "create new stack" button with a "create new record" button, which then offers the possibility to connect the new record to an existing stack based on what is available in the linked single select field. Within this step, one could also include the "create a new stack" feature here, as this is something that could be useful for other use-cases.

[ScottWorld]

Your users can create new records but not new stacks if you lower their access privileges from creators to editors.

More details about the difference between creators and editors in this support article: https://support.airtable.com/docs/airtable-permissions-overview

p.s. If your company has 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