Table Structure and CSV export

[Reto_Ulrich]

I have the following usecase where I am stuck in the implementation:

I have two tables:

Table 1 - Technologies.
I have several entries in it
e.g. Skype, Teams, GoToMeeting, etc.

Table 2 - Disciplines
I have several entries in this table as well
e.g. Chat, Meetings, Planning

Now I have added a new column in table 1, in which I can select the disciplines from table 2:
e.g. Skype - Chat, Meetings

So far so good, I got this far.

What I want to do now:

Counting entries:
I want to add up in a column of table 1 how many disciplines of a technology are stored:
e.g. Skype - Chat, Meetings - 2

What is the correct formula for this?

CSV export:
For export I group table 1 by name. If I now export the CSV I get the following structure:

Colum 1 | Column 2
Skype | Chat, Meetings

But now I need to get the following structure:
Colum 1 | Column 2
Skype | Chat
Skype | Meetings

Is this possible, if yes, how? I have created the dataset so far, and could also provide this dataset via chat or screensharing.

Thank you very much for your support.

Regards, Reto Ulrich

[ScottWorld]

Welcome to the community, @Reto_Ulrich!

You’ll need to create a 3rd table, and setup a many-to-many relationship.

Here’s a guide on how to do that:

Airtable Support

Airtable's guide to many-to-many relationships

What sets Airtable apart from ordinary spreadsheet applications is its ability to link related concepts together. Knowing how to represent the relationships between different groups of objects can ...

[Reto_Ulrich]

Hello Scott

Thanks for your greetings and your support.

I am of the opinion to have made a Many-To-Many connection. Look here:

Unfortunately, the CSV export does not work as desired. I would like to have a separate line for each type when there are several links of one type, and not all links on the same line.

CSV-Export actually:
Colum 1 | Column 2
Skype | Chat, Meetings

But now I need to get the following structure:
Colum 1 | Column 2
Skype | Chat
Skype | Meetings

[ScottWorld]

Reto_Ulrich:

I am of the opinion to have made a Many-To-Many connection.

No, you have created a “one-to-many” relationship. A “many-to-many” relationship has 3 tables, not 2 tables.

Each record in your 3rd table will be the “intersection” of one unique technology & one unique description. What this means is that each record in your 3rd table will be linked to ONE unique technology & ONE unique description… and then you will do your exporting from the 3rd table.

As I mentioned above in my earlier post, you can read Airtable’s guide on many-to-many relationships here:

Airtable Support

Airtable's guide to many-to-many relationships

What sets Airtable apart from ordinary spreadsheet applications is its ability to link related concepts together. Knowing how to represent the relationships between different groups of objects can ...