Update record in a synced base back to the source base

[Hans_Vaagenes]

I am new to the forum, so apologie if this has been answered already.

Our company manages a group of financial advisers. We receive mail for them which is entered by one of the admin team into a single base as an attachment. A view has been set up for each adviser, which is synced across to their individual bases. Automations send an email to the relevant individual when a new record enters their view.

What we need to do is, once the adviser has read the email, have a way of them sending an update message back to the source base i.e. turn the status from unread to read. As far as I can see I need to use scripting/Integromat (or Zapier) to achieve this.

I am not familiar with either scripting or Integromat and am happy to learn how to use them. What would be helpful is some guidance from the community as to the best approach, so I can focus my attention on the right area. I have similar use cases, so a solution to this will be very useful going forward.

[ScottWorld]

Welcome to the community, @Hans_Vaagenes!

Yes, if you wanted to keep your existing setup as-is, you would need to use scripting or an automation tool like my personal favorite Integromat (I believe Integromat is much better than Zapier, and it is much cheaper too).

However, you might also want to consider a completely different approach, which I think would make things easier. Instead of syncing multiple views to multiple bases, you can just keep everything in a single base, and then use a portal tool like MiniExtensions.com to let each user login and see only their own records. While they’re logged in, they can also update whichever fields you give them permission to update.

Either of these options would take a few hours to setup, so it wouldn’t be possible for me to outline all the necessary steps here. But if you have a budget for your project and you’d like to hire an expert Airtable consultant & Integromat Expert+ Partner to help you create this, please feel free to contact me through my website:

ScottWorld • Best Airtable Consultants, Airtable Experts, Airtable Consulting,...

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[Joshua_Caldwell]

Hey @Hans_Vaagenes-

The easiest workaround that I can see from your case would be:
To include a link in the email automation

Step One:
Create a Form called Read Receipt. Have the status as the only option (or whatever else you want confirmed) You can even change (SUMBIT) to Confirm
Click Share Form copy the URL and ADD: www.URL?prefill_Status=Read
Then you can basically have your user receive the automation, they’ll open a form that auto populates the status to Read. They click confirm and the record updates. Then from there you can sync in your other automations if you have them tied to a Read view or whatever else.

[Joshua_Caldwell]

You would also need so associate the record with the one being updated so you would need a parameter around whatever unique identifier your record has

[Hans_Vaagenes]

Thanks for highlighting MiniExtensions. I had not picked up on this tool and can see a number of scenarios where it will be a good solution.

[Hans_Vaagenes]

Thanks Joshua - this looks an ideal solution. I will set it up and let you know how I get on.