Zapier: Create zap if specific column is populated

[Caoimhe_Morris]

Hi all,
I am trying to use Zapier to create an email notification when a particular column is populated.

In airtable, I have created a formula that will populate a column when a certain amount of time has passed, letting me know that I need to follow up with that account.

I’m trying to create a zap in Zapier so that when that formula is triggered and the column populated automatically, an email is sent to me to say it needs attention.

I can only seem to create a zap for a base and a tab in airtable, but not a particular column. Is there a way of doing this?

Many thanks,
Caoimhe

[JonathanBowen]

Hi @Caoimhe_Morris - what you need to use here is a zap that is triggered by a new record in a view (rather than a new record added to the base). You can create a view specifically for the zap using a filter to show only the records where your column is populated with a value (e.g. filter is “column is not empty”).

Now, when the amount of time has passed and the column is populated, the record will be available to the Zap view in Airtable and Zapier will pick it up.

JB

[Caoimhe_Morris]

Hi John,
Thank you for this! I’m afraid that hasn’t solved the issue. Under ‘customise record’, i can choose a base, a tab and a view, but I need one more step to be able to pick a column. Is it possible to add another step?

[JonathanBowen]

Hi @Caoimhe_Morris - your Zap will end up with at least two components. The first one will be “new record in a view” and when this fires the whole of the new record, i.e. all fields will be available in the Zap. You then need to add an email component action to the Zap (there is one from Zapier - Email from Zapier, I think - and there are others). Now, you can define the email that you want to send, which might include (although does not have to include) fields from the records grabbed by the first component. If I understand what you are trying to do correctly, you don’t need to define the field/column in the first component.

Make sense?

JB

[Justin_Barrett]

To put the process that @JonathanBowen mentioned earlier in another way, the field (column) trigger doesn’t get set up in Zapier. It’s set up in Airtable via the custom view you make that only shows records with that field populated. Once a record has data in that field thanks to your formula, it will appear in that view, and that appearance is what triggers the zap in Zapier. Does that make sense?

[Caoimhe_Morris]

Thanks all. Yes makes sense, I was hoping to avoid creating another tab specific for the trigger but it seems that is the way it has to be! Many thanks for your help Jonathan and Justin!