Duplicate Table to Different Base

[Caleb_Weeks]

Hi AirTable Team,

Thank you so much for AirTable – it’s been so inspiring and helpful!

Feature Request: “Would it ever be possible to duplicate an AirTable Table to a different AirTable Base?”

Use Case: After creating a great Table with customized fields we realize, “This table would work great in another base we already have going. Let me just export it to CSV and Import.” While this gets us most of the way there, we lose the field type customizations in the process (i.e. Single Select, Multiple Select, Attachment, URL, Currency, etc.).

For now, I am happy to go back through the 18 fields (in our case) and customize each field type. Simply changing it to an “Attachment” or “URL” is no problem, but where it takes a little bit more time is in recreating or cleaning up the Single Select and Multiple Select options. We have a number of those fields and have to edit again, add, etc.

Idea for Implementation: Perhaps in the Table arrow dropdown we could enhance the “Duplicate Table” option that is already there so that, when clicked, it presents a new window that lets the user select which Base they want to duplicate this Table to. The dialogue/window might look similar to the one we see when we switch Bases by pressing Cmd+K: we can simply start typing the Base name with the ability to duplicate the Table to that Base. This might be one of many ways to introduce this functionality.

If the feature request ever makes it to the AirTable “Let’s do this” list, of course that would be exciting for me, but I know there are other priorities as well!

Thanks again for AirTable(!) and to the teams, friendships, and vision behind it – keep up the good work! :slightly_smiling_face:

[Gopal_Vasudev]

An excellent point. I agree. I want to use it for customer notes as well, and it is terrible that there is no feature for just moving a table to another base or copying to another base.

[Lane_Katris]

Simple, perfect solution! Not sure for large amounts of data… but I don’t have that issue yet.

[merlinregis_Thi]

since BASE LINKING is NOT YET available, can I copy a table from 1 base to another? If so, HOW?

Thanks in advance

[merlinregis_Thi]

Thanks @Katherine_Duh for moving my question here. For a few copy pastes, it IS a good solution, but I’m looking more for a GLOBAL solution.

Here’s my situation :

• Many bases offer only PART of what I want to build.
• Many of these bases have common tables
• I want to be able to build… if you permit the expression a MEGA-BASE, which would contain all of the tables of the chosen bases, INCLUDING the relations between the different tables.

Sure, I COULD copy/paste away… but I think I’d have a LOT of work in front of me. :-S

If anyone can help me simplifying this copy paste process, I would REALLY appreciate it :slightly_smiling_face:

Thanks in advance :winking_face:

[Riccardo_Contur]

Hi, I’m using this thread because the request can be related: if we have two identical tables, it would be nice to have a feature (a block maybe?) that keeps them synchronized.

What do you think?

[Luke_Gulley]

This would be a great feature!

[Upma_Arora]

Is it possible to link the copied data in case any changes are made on one will populate it on the other table?

[Jason_Friedlan1]

I would kill for this feature. We have many bases doing similar things for different products, and we update the templated base there is no way to go back and update the ones that are already under way.

[Jarret_Cassanit]

Hi, I’ve read the suggestions at the top of this thread but don’t see the prompt to copy structure. All I see is the prompt for expanding the table (see attached). Please help!

[James_Hahn_II]

I WIN! NOT YOU (code/software/etc), ME! I WIN! IT’S ALL I DO!!!

Please forgive my exuberance, it’s how I celebrate after hours of toiling away trying to get something to work. This seems simple enough, but after avoiding figuring this out for months I finally decided to give it a go on a Saturday morning. Just spent another 2 hours completely perplexed, much like @Jarret_Cassaniti above.

For anyone still struggling to figure this out, here is the workflow at last!

1. Go to the table you want to copy and select “Grid View”.
2. Remove any Group filters you have in place so you see all of the data in list like a traditional spreadsheet.
3. Click anywhere on the Table. It doesn’t matter if you click a Column, click into a Cell, or in the gray space off to the side.
4. Press Command+A (Mac) or Windows+A (PC) on your keyboard. All of the columns and rows are now a highlighted light blue.
5. Press Command+C (Mac) or Windows+C (PC) on your keyboard. You have now copied all of the rows AND the structured data for each column.
6. Click the Airtable “Go home” logo at the top left of your screen.
7. Click the base where you want to duplicate the table.
8. Click the “(+)” plus sign icon next to “SHARE” at the top-right of the first Table you see in the Base.
9. Select “Create empty table”.
10. Give your Table a name or press Enter to use the generic Table name assigned by Airtable.
11. Right-click the Attachments column and select “Delete field” at the bottom list.
12. Right-click the Notes column and select “Delete field” at the bottom of the list… You are now only left with the Name column and three rows.
13. Click the checkbox next to each of the three rows.
14. Right-click and select “Delete all selected records”.
15. Click the (+) plus sign to add a new row. You will now see the blinking | line icon indicating you can now add information to the cell.
16. Press Command+V (Mac) or Windows+V (PC) on your keyboard.
17. Cry tears of joy because you now know how to fully duplicate a table in a different base!

Only deleting the columns didn’t do the trick for me, but h/t to @James_Samuel for that advice. Once I deleted all columns AND rows, it worked like a charm.

Hope this helps save at least one poor soul from the torture of having to piecing this together without step-by-step instructions. Airtable, if you’re listening, please add this to your documentation!

Cheers y’all!

James