Autocomplete and/or validate address data

[WilliamPorter]

A number of other services that I've worked with (Tadabase, Knack, SmartSuite to name just three) have a field type called 'Address'. This streamlines the entry of addresses (by autocompleting) and at the same time validates the address. Is it possible to do this in Airtable? There's an extension in the extension "store" called LOB but I can't get it to work. And that's it. Is there a way to use a Zapier automation for example to do the validation at least, even if it's not possible to help with autoentry?

This is a huge deal for my users, who spend a lot of time entering addresses — often making mistakes that cause problems down the road. 

[WilliamPorter]

I just used Zapier to link one of my bases to BytePlant's Address Validator tool. It seems to work when I test it in Zapier: I get an "OK" response in the Zapier zap editor (at the end of the action). But I can't figure out how to capture that value and bring it back into Airtable. I have not used Zapier a lot and don't think I've ever used it for a "round-trip" automation, where I data from Airtable to an external service, and get a response back. Can anybody please throw me a clue? 

[TheTimeSavingCo]

You should be able to use the "Update Record in Airtable" action for this.  I've included a screenshot that should help clarify things

[ScottWorld]

For address validation, you can use any address validation tool on the web that has an API to tap into. Once you have access to that API, you can simply write a script, use DataFetcher.com, or use Make’s HTTP module to tap into that API.

However, all of those methods require writing your own programming code.

For an easy, no-code way of doing this that doesn’t require writing any code at all, here are your best bets for doing address validation in Airtable:

1. For address validation AFTER ADDRESSES HAVE ALREADY BEEN ENTERED INTO AIRTABLE, your best bet is to use Make’s Byteplant Address Validator, which can easily be integrated & automated with Make’s Airtable automations & integrations.

You mentioned Zapier in your post above, but I would STRONGLY recommend AGAINST using Zapier. Make is INFINITELY more powerful & customizable than Zapier, yet it is SIGNIFICANTLY CHEAPER than Zapier. I wrote an entire post here comparing Make vs. Zapier. If you've never used Make before, I've assembled some Make training resources in this thread.

2. For auto-completion of addresses WHILE USERS ARE TYPING ADDRESSES INTO AIRTABLE, you would need to use an external form product for that. You have 2 options here:

a) JotForm offers address validation, and it is free to use. JotForm only offers partial integration with Airtable, so if you need full integration, you'll need to combine JotForm with Make's JotForm integrations, and then use Make's Airtable integrations.

b) Fillout's advanced forms for Airtable offer address validation, but it requires an Enterprise account so there is a cost involved. However, in general, Fillout is the best form app to use with Airtable, because it offers hundreds advanced Airtable features that aren't available in Airtable, such as updating Airtable records with a form.

Hope this helps! If you’d like to hire an expert Airtable consultant to help you with anything Airtable-related, please feel free to contact me through my website: Airtable consultant — ScottWorld

[Florian_Verdon2]

Hey 👋🏼

I am probably a bit late but I am sure it might be helpful for others in the future.

Here is a plugin I built to handle address autocomplete in Airtable.

You just need to connect your Airtable account, then select your base, table and address fields.
The plugin will then give you a "formula" that you can put inside of a button.

It uses Google Autocomplete API so it should work worldwide with a good accuracy

Hope it might be useful to others!