Re: Updating Airtable Records With Integromat
Just one way. Airtable automatically makes reciprocating links. So after making the link from [Imported Table] to [Stamp Format], you’ll see a matching link on [Stamp Format] pointing to [Imported Table]. Same thing for [Keywords].
SCOTT# has nothing to do with either the stamp format or the keywords. SCOTT# is part of what identifies a single stamp, so it should be part of the stamp record only.
I wasn’t sure what you meant when you said “I also linked SCOTT# field”, so I took a look at your updated table, and found that you’d added the SCOTT# values to the [Stamp Format] table as additional primary values. Those should all be removed. The only records in the [Stamp Format] table should be for actual stamp formats. You also won’t need a {SCOTT#} link field in the [Stamp Formats] table.
I think you might have misunderstood my comments on how to use this new [Stamp Formats] table (and [Keywords], as it’s doing basically the same thing), and I’ve also learned a little more since my last post, so I’ll re-do my suggestion with greater clarification of the process.
If I understand your project correctly, you’re migrating a stamp collection tracking system from Google Sheets into Airtable. As Integromat is going through Sheets data, it’ll pull up a row with stamp info: SCOTT#, description, stamp format, keywords, etc. The problem you had before when the {Stamp Format} field was a multi-select was that you couldn’t add a new format that didn’t already exist in the list. With the new field pointing at another table, and with the “Smart Links” feature of the Airtable module in Integromat, you won’t need to worry about that.
When editing the Airtable module to create (or update) a record, make sure that the “Smart Links” option (at the very bottom of the module settings) is checked on:
With that set, you can insert a pointer to the stamp format item coming from your Google Sheets module step into the “Stamp Format” field setup. Click on the “+ Add Item” link in the middle of the field, click in the Value field in the popup, choose the appropriate item from the Sheets module step, then click “Add”. You should have something like this:
Because of the “Smart Links” feature, it won’t matter that what’s coming from Google Sheets is a string like “Series of 4”. It will try to make a link based on the text. If’s there a matching record in [Stamp Formats], it’ll link to it. If it doesn’t exist, it’ll make a new record with that name, then link to it.
The problem isn’t with new vs updated records. The problem is with the available options in the multi-select. For example, if your multi-select field has three options named OptionA, OptionB, and OptionC, you can have Integromat fill in any of those for a new or updated record, and it won’t choke. But if you try to give it OptionD, that’s when the error pops up, I’m guessing because it’s tied directly to the field setup. That’s why the linked table workaround is preferable. Using Integromat, you can make new linked records on the fly, but not new multi-select (or single-select) choices.
