A way to take data from other tables without manually selecting records

[Kyle_C]

Hello. I was working on a project when I came to a roadblock. I have been using record linking fields, lookup fields, and rollup fields to work with data between tables but that requires you to manually select which record connects to which. Example:

I was wondering if there was a way to get around that because there is a table that will likely have thousands of records so it would be nearly impossible for a single person to manage. This solution would preferably allow for the use of formulas as well but any solution would do. Thank you in advance for any advice!

[TheTimeSavingCo]

Hey Kyle, what issues did you face using an automation to handle this?

[Kyle_C]

I had to manually enter which record connected to which between tables when using a record linking field and I am looking for a way to automate that process.

[Jacque_Boltik]

An alternative to linking records / lookups / rollups is you could use an automation to create new records with those same values in a new table.
Step by step example here: How to a new record in another related table automatically - #5 by Jacque_Boltik

Drawback: One issue you may run into though is if for your specific use case you need a single record ID for the values. If you just need the data for viewing this is great. If for some reason you need it to update bi-directionally across different tables with user inputs from the table where the records were duplicated, as well as the originating table, this approach can become a bit convoluted.

[TheTimeSavingCo]

Hm, I can’t tell whether you’ve tried using automations to deal with this already or not. If you haven’t, here’s a link to the documentation Automations Overview | Airtable Support

If you have, let me know what issues you faced when trying to do that and I’ll try to help

[Kyle_C]

I never thought of that! Thank you so much I’ll be sure to try it as soon as possible.

[Kyle_C]

Thank you for the help I’ll be sure to try it soon. It seems like it’ll work!