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Multiple Records with Page designer block?

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Dustyn_Gobler
5 - Automation Enthusiast
5 - Automation Enthusiast

Is it possible to display data from multiple records on a single page in this block?

27 Replies 27

Yes, choose this and configure as needed:

f475a09d69824404aedafa1f310d8a5c1d383895.png

This doesn’t help at all.

I want 1 printed page to contain the data from multiple records.

Of course it does, have you tried?

You have to choose a Record layout different than “One per page” (obviously), and a Paper size bigger than the Record size configured in the Page Designer layout (obviously).

Screenshots here:

Same question / problem. Even when I select “in a grid” or “in a list”, I still get one record on one page. No, “one per page” is not selected, but I am getting one per page. Aggravating really.

Here’s the trick: it’s all about the relationship between your record size in Page Designer, and the page size when you print. As @Elias_Gomez_Sainz said above, the record size needs to be smaller than the page size.

For example, say you want to print a bunch of flash cards on a single page, and want them to be the size of business cards. In Page Designer, choose the business card preset as your record size, then setup the card layout. Once that’s done, click the Print button in the Page Designer view. In the print setup, the paper size will default to the same size as your record (i.e. business card size). You’ll need to change that to a larger size (like Letter), which will create a large enough “canvas” for multiple records to print on a single page.

Aladdin
4 - Data Explorer
4 - Data Explorer

I’m having the same problem, basically I’m trying to create a template on the page designer where I can export a table into a letter size document with a header at the top. I’ve added my logo and title at the top but I can only seem to add the table one field at a time and that only brings one record. is there a way to have the whole table or at least certain columns on the page designer with all the rows displayed? Or if I have to build it field by field is there a way to have rows that display the different records in sequence? Thanks!

Regan_Marshall
4 - Data Explorer
4 - Data Explorer

You may need to create another table that links to each of the records you want to display on the single block.

Once you add a field to page designer that is a Link to record field with multiple records enabled, you’ll get the option for Table, List and Inline. You can add and sort records just below this. Formatting is limited but better than nothing.

Another option is to build a “page” in Page Designer that’s just big enough for a single record. In a test, I made a custom record size that’s 927 x 20 pixels. I arranged the fields that I wanted in that space, then printed the page. In the page printing dialog, I set the page size to Letter. For the Record Layout option, I got acceptable results with both “In a grid” and “In a list,” though the former put a little more padding between records. The only downside is that you can’t add a header with this method.

One thing to keep in mind is that while it’s called “Page Designer,” it’s really not meant for designing a page full of records. It’s meant for designing the layout of a single record, a point emphasized by the fact that the Settings dialog for Page Designer says “Record Size”, not “Page Size.” Via the linking option that @Regan_Marshall mentioned, you can pull multiple records from other tables and sorta-kinda work around that, but it feels to me that some of the frustration that people are encountering stems from misunderstanding the block’s intended purpose, a purpose somewhat muddied by its name IMO.

Roland_Baker
4 - Data Explorer
4 - Data Explorer

Confirming that this feature does not work as most (including myself) probably intended. We had the same goal as @Dustyn_Gobler and it does not seem to be achievable with Page Designer. The block would have been better named “Record Designer”, @Justin_Barrett 's explanation helped and we realized it would not serve our purpose. Too bad :frowning:

Observation (mostly intended for the Airtable folks)…

It seems that the term “page” is at the core many of the misunderstandings that users seem to have about the Page Designer feature (me included).

To the vast web-centric populace, a page is an abstract idea that contains content. And content is a little less abstract but refers to data (in the Airtable context anyway). And data is a little less abstract and typically refers to records. Ergo, a page designer should support records, not [JUST] the fields of a given record.

In any case, this also demonstrates the need in the Airtable environment for user-definable enumerations of data [records] or even fields (ergo, enumerable schema data). This is a fancy way of saying a page designer should be able to loop through records and display each and desired fields from each, thus rendering a table, or a report, or whatever.

This is an expected behavior because it exists in almost every “page design” tool ever conceived for the web. As such, it is a surprise when Page Designer users encounter this cul-de-sac.

I think the answer is to consider a limited scripting model integral with the Page Designer block; a way to loop through records like a for…next, while…true, etc. Supporting these simple scripting elements would transform the current “Record Designer” into a fully functional Page Designer complete with report-writing capabilities.

And then take it to a higher level allowing users to expose pages as framed objects in other sites. Now you’ve solve a serious number of limitations reported across this forum.

Just sayin’ …

Philip_Bakelaar
4 - Data Explorer
4 - Data Explorer

so it does work to set the record size different than the page size, this is not intuitive at all but it appears to be the answer.

Ho, how? I tried and it still prints only one page even though my record is longer.

Could you please describe your setup in greater detail? What was the page size for your Page Designer layout? What print size and other options did you use?

so my problem was that each record was short and it was printing one small record on each page
I found a way to print multiple small records on each page

It sounds like you have a different problem, with one record needing more than one page to print?

Yes exactly.
I’m trying to find a workaround what seems to be a huge flaw in Airtable’ Page Designer block. I need to print an inventory list. I can’t tell in advance what will be the max size for a record or list of records.

Right now, I tried to tweek the table so that all the elements are gathered in one long record and try to print that record on multiple page but it didn’t work

I also tried the other way around, which is having the table list many records and have that run thru multiple page by stretching it across the page border but it didn’t work either.

So nothging seems to work now with this. Unless, I make short custom record pages and print multiple ones on a page, but this will result in a lot of paper waste and we sure do not want that!

Thanks for your help!

Indeed, it would seem obvious and not unreasonable to expect some degree of reporting functionality in Airtable since many business use database to do – wait for it – reporting. :slightly_smiling_face:

Unfortunately content in Page Designer tends to stay in Page Designer unless you physically (and manually) use the features provided in the block to create a process with its content. There is no automation of printing, or queuing into another process for distribution as documents consumable by third parties. And there is no API into the content created by Page Designer. Lastly, there are no capabilities to modify Blocks (like Page Designer) to create much-needed support for these requirements.

Think of Page Designer as a very friendly cul-de-sac.

This is where we come to realise that there are rigid limitations to the rendering capabilities of Airtable. I’m all for workarounds, but there are cases where the requirements - no matter how much you bend and twist them - eventually require taking on the responsibility of building a custom solution. This is why APIs exist - for those times where point (A) and point (B) are actually more like Point (A) and point (D) or beyond.

Here’s good example - this is Point (A) -> Point (Z) and quite impossible to do without using the Airtable API.

Is there any way to get a header on this new “Page” of repeating blocks?

Not currently, unless your system print dialog somehow allows you to add a header on top of the primary printed content.