Data validation

[Adam_Reece]

I’ve just started using Airtable, and straightaway I’m wondering if it’s possible to replicate the data validation function available in Excel.

Specifically, what I’d like to do is select from a Single Select list (the field would be called Category), and in the next column/field have a Subcategory, which would give me a Single Select list with a unique list based on the selection I made in the Category field.

For example, if my Category selection was Utilities, my Subcategory selection list would include Phone, Electricity and Gas. Alternatively, if my Category selection was Travel, my Subcategory selection list would include Fuel, Public transport and Flights.

Thanks.

[Thom_Hounsell]

Bump for validation. Not sure what the point is of having email and phone number fields if they accept any characters at all. They appear to be copies of he short text field with a different icon.

[Lilia_Villa]

this is such a huge deficiency. no email or phone number field validation is probably the single biggest issue for us and why we can’t rely on airtable as a serious data management platform. its crippling for anyone that’s actually using the data to reach out to ppl via email or phone.

[Lilia_Villa]

this is such a huge deficiency. no email or phone number field validation is probably the single biggest issue for us and why we can’t rely on airtable as a serious data management platform. its crippling for anyone that’s actually using the data to reach out to ppl via email or phone.

[Dan_Weaver]

If I have fields in a table with specific types why doesn’t the form validate those types before submitting the data?

There seems little point in specifying a field type of email if someone can enter whatever they like into the form.

I realize that client-side form validation is non-trivial but there at least some native browser validations that could be implemented fairly easily.

[Joyce_Chia]

I agree that some form of data validation is really necessary, especially for the email/phone number fields. Another use case I have for it is to ensure that people accurately put in the dates/times (eg, when filling in a timesheet, that they cannot say they ‘finished’ their shift before they started it).

[Gustavo_Lopez]

@Adam_Reece I read your feature request and in my opinion it doesn’t fall into data validation (even though validation is much needed) but more as “cascading drop-down options” aka dependent drop-downs which should be also a nice feature.

[Jay_DeDapper]

I’m a little disappointed this hasn’t been addressed in any way since it was raised in 2015. Data validation isn’t really a “nice to have” in a database but a necessity. I understand there are lots of feature requests but this one seems critical. I too need it for traditional data validation but would love to see a cascading or nested drop-down function as we use data validation Excel and Sheets to build those. Can someone from AirTable respond here and let us know if this is even on your roadmap and if so where?

[OP_System]

Another +1 for this. Absolutely necessary!

[Jason_Rasmussen]

@Gustavo_Lopez, dependencies are totally a type of data validation. Only certain values are valid, but that list of valid values changes based on another field. It’s just a more advanced form of dynamic validation.

I’m +1 for needing these dependencies though. I just tried to make by first “base” and failed because my use cases all require one field’s allowed values being conditional based on another field. You’ll never be a competitor to Excel or Filemaker without validation. “Single select” just doesn’t cut it.

[Matthew_Gravell]

+1 for data validation!