Submitted on
Apr 06, 2016
08:56 AM
Submitted by
Michael_Gehrman
on
Apr 06, 2016
08:56 AM
Units for numer fields
Plain number fields can be highly ambiguous at times. E.g. does “width” mean widht in mm , or in inch ? When working in teams on the data, users entering data in the US might be more comfortable entering inch and users in europe would prefer cm .
This could be fixed by creating field types for length, area, volume etc. But this would lead to a whole host of field-types and would make it harder to extend further when incorperating more exotic cases like electrical current, temperature or units of time.
I would suggest to extend the number field time with an optional parameter to set it’s unit.
User Input Conversion
The Default unit is the used for by the API to return entered value. When entering a Value in a different Unit it should automatically converted. The JSON output should still be a simple number. The API-Documentation should be extended to show information about the returned unit.
Mixed unit inputs like 6"2’ should automatically be turned into a decimal value.
A user could change the unit to show in the column, without changing the base unit of the API.
Conversion in API
The API could be extended with a request parameter, to retrieve number values in a prefered unit.
Formulas
Formulas could be added, to work with units. E.G. Converting a given Unit into another (width-mm to width-inch). Or do calculate the Surface area by two given lengths.
Use Cases
A merchand dealing in different Countries. Measures entered into one Column in a metric Unit automatically update the column for Imperial units.
A property manager could enter the dimension of rooms in an apartment, automatically calculating the area of.
Developers get a unambiguous about the meaning within a number field.
Entering Temperature Data that is given in kelvin (K), celsius (degC), fahrenheit (degF)
Examples of Unit-Categories:
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Submitted on
Apr 06, 2016
06:32 AM
Submitted by
Michael_Gehrman
on
Apr 06, 2016
06:32 AM
The API Documentation is a great way, to communicate with developers!
It would be great to add a little more context to the data, to help developers handling it correctly.
The Base already has a description. This could be appended to the “Introduction” section of the API Documentation.
Descriptions for Tables and Columns
Description-Fields could be added to Tables and Columns as well. Helping to communicate the proper content of ambiguous fields.
Use Case:
Storing the production Data of print products in a base. In a print context the width of a page can be described with or without the page bleed. Additionally the description would help to communicate the unit used for the number field. A description for this field given by the author could be: »Width of the page in millimeter, measured widthout the bleed«
This could be appended to the description of the value in the API documentation.
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Submitted on
Apr 04, 2016
09:26 AM
Submitted by
Xavier_Agnetti
on
Apr 04, 2016
09:26 AM
When exporting CSV with currency fields with the Euro sign, there is “€” string replacing the € char.
Expected behavior : € should be in the CSV export just like in Airtable.
Ideal behavior : we should be able to remove the formatting while exporting in CSV. to be able to manipulate the currency values
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Submitted on
Apr 04, 2016
07:42 AM
Submitted by
Jake_Bathman
on
Apr 04, 2016
07:42 AM
Barcode lookup for products (UPC specifically) would be great, which could pull in related information about the product if found.
This would be useful, for example, when cataloging DVDs, and could pull in the title, cover art, etc.
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Submitted on
Apr 03, 2016
04:47 PM
Submitted by
Derek_Clark
on
Apr 03, 2016
04:47 PM
I use Airtable to help manage my personal & business accounting needs (instead of a dedicated accounting software like Mint, QuickBooks, or Wave) because I have full customization of the platform.
The biggest trouble with using Airtable to track my finances is that I have to manually enter each “transaction.” If Airtable used a 3rd party service like Yodlee to allow users to import their bank transactions automatically it would a very useful feature.
At that point, the only other feature Airtable would need to truly make it a fully customizable alternative to Mint or QuickBooks would be “reporting tools” but somebody already made that feature request.
Other than the lack of reporting tools, The
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Submitted on
Apr 01, 2016
08:10 AM
Submitted by
Larry_Contratti
on
Apr 01, 2016
08:10 AM
I uploaded a link to a Google Drive document to my Base. Now I’d like to get back to it from my base.
But when I click on the document link that Airtable creates in the Base, it downloads as an MS Word file.
I’d like to click on that link and go to Google Docs. Since I’m already logged into Airtable with Google, this would be a convenient round trip.
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Submitted on
Mar 26, 2016
11:43 AM
Submitted by
Michelle_Brueck
on
Mar 26, 2016
11:43 AM
I noticed that using a URL form to enter a field specified as a date.
When I click on the field it provides a calendar to select a data, which is good, but on the iPhone iOS 9.2.1 the top of the calendar was truncated precluding selection of a date early than this week.
It turned out we could also manually type into this field, however when I entered a dd value of 99
it was happy accepted. I should also note that the entry formate was different that the one species in air table for that date field.
Ideally, on the URL form we could only select from the calendar in such a way that the calendar actually was all visible, or if we had to enter a date manually, an appropriate numeric only keyboard would appear. Right now the calendar selection appears, then the keyboard appears , and pushes the calendar off the top of the screen, this is why it is truncated I think.
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Submitted on
Mar 26, 2016
11:35 AM
Submitted by
Michelle_Brueck
on
Mar 26, 2016
11:35 AM
I am working with a client to move an existing database from MS Access to AirTable.
the initial phase requires data to be collected in air table, through URL forms, and exported back to access database.
Access represents selection menus as an index into the selection menu, so an integer.
AirTable Represents a selection as a Description, I think.
It would be useful for migration purposes to do the cheat that filemaker allows.
Filemaker does this in two steps by using a value list to populate the selection and
creates the value list from a database table where one field is defined as the value
that will be entered and a second, corresponding value will also be displayed.
The value stored in the database is only the initial value, but when it is displayed
the conjoined value: e.g. for index 1 description "Alberta"
Display “1 Alberta” store 1 when selected.
Not a great solution, but the problem of disjunction is enough to discourage the first steps
to moving to air table.
Thank you
Scott
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Submitted on
Mar 26, 2016
09:13 AM
Submitted by
David_Wiese
on
Mar 26, 2016
09:13 AM
As my base builds it’s slowly becoming more evident that a node diagram can help me visualize all of the relations created. Does anyone know if it’s possible to do this with Airtable? If not, then I guess this would be a feature request.
Thanks
Dave
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Submitted on
Mar 25, 2016
01:45 PM
Submitted by
David_Wiese
on
Mar 25, 2016
01:45 PM
So, I’ve got my base set up and it’s loaded with data. Problem is when I pick a linked field the keyboard pops up as if I need to add more data and I’m presented with half a screen. Well, maybe so, but most times than not I simply prefer to swipe down to the record I need. The linked table contains part numbers and they’re sorted, so It’s easy and faster for me to swipe down the list.
Would like to see a config setting to set the default keyboard popup behavior.
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