Sharing Table but can't view Linked records?

[Eden_Toth]

Hi everyone.

I have a base with multiple tables. The first Table is a Masterlist with records of names, job titles, affiliations, and contact information.

The rest of the tabs or Tables are personalized versions of this Masterlist, which link names back to the Masterlist using Linked Records.

I want to share each Table with the client they have been personalized to, but when I send a link to just the one table, the recipient can’t expand the linked record to see the contact information. They only seem to be able to see the linked record if I share the whole base, which I can’t do, because other clients’ information is in the other Tables.

Any ideas?

[Justin_Barrett]

Instead of building different tables for each client, keep everything in one table, and make specific views in that table for each client, then share the appropriate view link with each client. A given client will only be able to see their own view.

To do this, I suggest making a [Clients] table, and adding a record for each client. Here’s a quick dummy example (primary field only):

Back in your [Masterlist] table, add a {Client} field (Link type), and link to the appropriate client(s) from the [Clients] table.

Once all the links are added, add a new grid view to [Masterlist], and name it for your first client. Add a filter that targets the same client, then hide the {Client} field, so that it looks like this:

With the {Client} field hidden, you can share this view with your contact at K-mart, and they’ll only see the lines you tagged for them to see, without knowing anything about any other clients.

Repeat for all other clients: make a view named for that client, then add the appropriate filter.

It’ll take some time to build the views, but once that’s done, maintaining the list should be fairly easy. Do all your adding/removing of records in your main view for the [Masterlist] table, tagging/untagging clients as necessary. The views don’t need to be remade because they’ll automatically show the proper things thanks to their respective filters.

[Eden_Toth]

Thanks for your reply, Justin – I really appreciate it.

My only issue with it is that, right now, I have two or three ‘views’ set up in each client table, plus several views in my ‘Masterlist’ table… I think if I follow your advice then I’ll end up with dozens and dozens of views.

May still be worth it!

[Jenna_Kammo]

Thanks for sharing this! I’m going to try this too. Question (sorry if this is obvious, I’m brand new to Airtable). I don’t want to share my clients with the grid view. I want them to view the options I am sending with the gallery view. I want it to feel more like a proposal. Is that possible?

[Joseph]

I am also trying to do this through a form. I can setup the form with the fields that I need. However, the form will only allow for someone to select just 1 of the options in my linked table (they need to be able to do a multi-select from 50 options (50 states). I am using a form that is generated off of a table that links to other tables. @Justin_Barrett can you think of any genius creative workarounds to accomplish this?

[Justin_Barrett]

@Joseph I’m not sure that I can clearly picture your setup. As I read it now, you have a table containing state records (I’ll call this [States] for now). In your form—which is set in a different table that has a field linking to [States]—you say that it’s only allowing you to pick a single linked record instead of multiple records. Am I reading that correctly? If so, check the settings for your link field. You’ll need to have “Allow linking to multiple records” turned on in order to select multiple records.

If my understanding of your setup is incorrect, could you please go into greater detail? Screenshots would help if you’re able to share them.