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Format Formula as Checkbox

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DanielAssayag
6 - Interface Innovator
6 - Interface Innovator

I have a condition that Inputs Boolean and outputs Boolean, and i wish to make it appear (format it) as a checkbox and not as a string “true” or “false”

IF(Field1 = TRUE(), TRUE(), FALSE())

Thanks

14 Comments
JonathanBowen
13 - Mars
13 - Mars

Hi @DanielAssayag - I don’t think you can format it as a functioning checkbox, but you could implement a formula with the “true” value as an emoji:

Screenshot 2019-03-27 at 14.08.12.png

Formula I’ve used is:

IF({T/F} = TRUE(), “ :white_check_mark: ”, “ :x: ”)

More details here:

JB

Kamille_Parks
16 - Uranus
16 - Uranus

Even though this solves the issue, I also second the request for checkmarks as a formula format. Why, because emojis look different o every device, aren’t center aligned, and are harder to use as filters.

Edd_Read
4 - Data Explorer
4 - Data Explorer

Thirded, for all the reasons above :slightly_smiling_face:

Gabriel_Beaudo1
4 - Data Explorer
4 - Data Explorer

This creates a big functionality hole in the product: there is, at the moment, no way of using a formula output a bool value to be used in blocks. Or am I missing something here?

Kamille_Parks
16 - Uranus
16 - Uranus

You most certainly can use formulas for boolean values. I see this request as a purely visual preference one (matching the appearance of the Checkbox-type field over relying on emojis).

Steve_Cooke
6 - Interface Innovator
6 - Interface Innovator

I’m upvoting this too. Critically for us, it also integrates better with third party systems eg Stacker that rely on the boolean format - try using emojis and they treat the field as a string. And looks aren’t trivial - formatting a boolean formula as a checkbox makes it look better, which improves the client experience, adds value to the service, and creates a good impression!

JonathanBowen
13 - Mars
13 - Mars

This is a bit of an oldie now and still a good product suggestion. A better workaround than emojis (which was all we had back then) is to use the scripting block to update the second boolean field based on the true/false value of the first boolean field. Something like this would do the trick:

let table = base.getTable('Bool');
let query = await table.selectRecordsAsync();

for (let record of query.records) {
    table.updateRecordAsync(record, {
        'Scripted Checkbox': record.getCellValue('Checkbox')
    })
}

Screenshot 2020-06-04 at 21.46.59

Still not as automated as a formula of course.

Steve_Cooke
6 - Interface Innovator
6 - Interface Innovator

Thanks Jonathan! Haven’t ventured into scripting blocks yet - will give this a go.

Evan_Bovie
5 - Automation Enthusiast
5 - Automation Enthusiast

Like others, I would appreciate the addition of this feature. Using an emoji in a Formula makes the data less semantic for use elsewhere, and having to write a bespoke script or automation is tedious. It seems much more intuitive to edit the formatting of a Formula or Rollup.

Surfacing some other posts that requested this functionality for the Airtable product team (over 13k views in aggregate, including this post):

Lex_Postma
4 - Data Explorer
4 - Data Explorer

I would also like to echo this feature. This example has only a boolean as outcome, it would be great if we can format the outcome as such:

IF(Field=0, TRUE(), FALSE())

The interface to configure the outcome already exists for other formattable formulas. Here’s the current formatting options for a numeric outcome from a formula field:
Schermafbeelding 2021-12-31 om 11.22.04

I suggest a similar setting for a boolean outcome:
Schermafbeelding 2021-12-31 om 11.24.12