11/1/2022 – BuiltOnAir Live Podcast Full Show – S12-E08
Duration: 44 minutes
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FULL EPISODE VIDEO
Watch the full video of the show. See below for segment details.
The BuiltOnAir Podcast is Sponsored by On2Air – Integrations and App extensions to run your business operations in Airtable.
In This Episode
Welcome to the BuiltOnAir Podcast, the live show. The BuiltOnAir Podcast is a live weekly show highlighting everything happening in the Airtable world.
Check us out at BuiltOnAir.com. Join our community, join our Slack Channel, and meet your fellow Airtable fans.
Alli Alosa – Hi there! I’m Alli 🙂 I’m a fine artist turned “techie” with a passion for organization and automation. I’m also proud to be a Community Leader in the Airtable forum, and a co-host of the BuiltOnAir podcast. My favorite part about being an Airtable consultant and developer is that I get to talk with people from all sorts of industries, and each project is an opportunity to learn how a business works.
Dan Fellars – I am the Founder of Openside, On2Air, and BuiltOnAir. I love automation and software. When not coding the next feature of On2Air, I love spending time with my wife and kids and golfing.
Show Segments
Round The Bases – 00:03:12 –
Following Articles Used in this Segment:
[BuiltOnAir Community] Slack | airtable-help | BuiltOnAir | 2 new items
[BuiltOnAir Community] Slack | general | BuiltOnAir | 1 new item
[BuiltOnAir Community] Slack | general | BuiltOnAir | 1 new item
[Airtable Community] New: Deep link a cell – Announcements – Airtable Community Forum
An App a Day – 00:20:43 –
Watch as we install, explore, and showcase the Docupilot App from the Airtable Marketplace. The app is described as “Create documents using customizable, intelligent templates and data from your base. Docupilot allows you to create your Contracts, Sales/Purchase Orders, Invoices, Employment Offer Letters, Real Estate Agreements, Marketing material and many more professional documents in PDF, Word, Powerpoint, Excel and other formats.”.
A Case for Interface – 00:28:05 –
Explore Interfaces with “Inquiry Tracker interface”.
Alli will showcase her inquiry tracker interface.
Automate Create – 00:35:59 –
Watch as we review and work through automations. A limitation of Automation scripts is the inability to create new single/multi selection options from the Script. This demo will showcase how to work around that limitation.
Full Segment Details
Segment: Round The Bases
Start Time: 00:03:12
Roundup of what’s happening in the Airtable communities – Airtable, BuiltOnAir, Reddit, Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter.
Following Articles Used in this Segment:
[BuiltOnAir Community] Slack | airtable-help | BuiltOnAir | 2 new items
[BuiltOnAir Community] Slack | general | BuiltOnAir | 1 new item
[BuiltOnAir Community] Slack | general | BuiltOnAir | 1 new item
[Airtable Community] New: Deep link a cell – Announcements – Airtable Community Forum
Segment: An App a Day
Start Time: 00:20:43
Airtable App Showcase – Docupilot – Create documents using customizable, intelligent templates and data from your base. Docupilot allows you to create your Contracts, Sales/Purchase Orders, Invoices, Employment Offer Letters, Real Estate Agreements, Marketing material and many more professional documents in PDF, Word, Powerpoint, Excel and other formats.
Watch as we install, explore, and showcase the Docupilot App from the Airtable Marketplace. The app is described as “Create documents using customizable, intelligent templates and data from your base. Docupilot allows you to create your Contracts, Sales/Purchase Orders, Invoices, Employment Offer Letters, Real Estate Agreements, Marketing material and many more professional documents in PDF, Word, Powerpoint, Excel and other formats.”.
Segment: A Case for Interface
Start Time: 00:28:05
Inquiry Tracker interface
Explore Interfaces with “Inquiry Tracker interface”.
Alli will showcase her inquiry tracker interface.
Segment: Automate Create
Start Time: 00:35:59
Airtable Automations – Creating new Selection Options in Automations
Watch as we review and work through automations. A limitation of Automation scripts is the inability to create new single/multi selection options from the Script. This demo will showcase how to work around that limitation.
Full Transcription
The full transcription for the show can be found here:
[00:01:40] All right, welcome back to the [00:01:43] BuiltOnAir podcast, season 12, [00:01:45] episode eight. Moving right along, [00:01:47] two thirds of the way done [00:01:49] for this season. [00:01:49] Good to be back with you myself, [00:01:51] Dan Fellars and we have back with us, [00:01:53] Alli Alosa, you're on mute. [00:01:56] There you are [00:01:57] Welcome back Alli [00:01:58] thank you. I'm glad to be back. [00:02:00] Yeah, very good to have you back. [00:02:03] She's been traveling the world [00:02:05] the last couple of weeks and back home. [00:02:07] So good to have you with us. [00:02:09] So it's just gonna be the two of us today. [00:02:11] We're excited to be with you [00:02:14] every week, we do a [00:02:16] full hour long episode [00:02:17] talking about all things Airtable [00:02:20] and get you up to speed. [00:02:21] I'll walk you through what [00:02:23] today's show will entail. [00:02:24] Welcome to those watching [00:02:25] live Justin all about the base. Welcome. [00:02:28] We've got [00:02:29] we always start with [00:02:31] our Round the Bases [00:02:32] talking about what's going on [00:02:33] then the different communities [00:02:35] and keep you up to date. Then we'll do a [00:02:37] spotlight on our primary sponsor On2Air. [00:02:40] Then we'll look at an app in [00:02:42] the marketplace in our App a Day segment [00:02:45] and I will be talking about Docupilot, [00:02:47] then Alli will go through her [00:02:50] interface that she built [00:02:52] on inquiry tracking [00:02:54] and then I will spotlight our [00:02:56] community and how you can [00:02:58] join and then we'll wrap [00:03:00] up with an automate create segment [00:03:02] on working with selection options [00:03:05] dynamically. So with that [00:03:09] let's go through Round the Bases. [00:03:12] We'll start off, [00:03:13] it was pretty quiet in the [00:03:15] Airtable communities this week [00:03:17] but there was one feature [00:03:19] release that came out [00:03:20] yesterday on Halloween. [00:03:22] And from Jade Rowland [00:03:24] who works at Airtable. [00:03:26] So now you can get a link [00:03:29] that will take you directly [00:03:31] to a record and highlight [00:03:34] a field. Which I thought was cool. [00:03:36] I don't know if you saw that yesterday [00:03:38] Alli? [00:03:39] I did actually I saw it this morning [00:03:41] as I logged onto the forum catching up. [00:03:44] Yeah. That's cool. That's a cool [00:03:46] way to get somebody to really get their [00:03:48] attention to the cell that you're [00:03:51] that maybe there's a change [00:03:53] that happened [00:03:54] and you sent an email and you want the [00:03:55] person to land right into that [00:03:57] expanded record [00:03:58] and show them exactly that cell [00:04:01] yeah so that's how you get it [00:04:03] if you're if you're on the record. [00:04:06] If you see this animated Gif [00:04:09] you can get it from there. [00:04:11] It also works in the grid view. [00:04:13] Which I think is really cool [00:04:15] because that's one [00:04:15] thing and the grid view is like [00:04:17] if you've got a ton of fields [00:04:19] that's always a [00:04:19] pain to try to find [00:04:21] the field you're looking for. [00:04:23] So this is helpful to share [00:04:25] specifics right there just copy U. R. L. [00:04:29] And that will work. [00:04:31] So that's a nice little bonus [00:04:34] feature for wrapping up the [00:04:36] month. A couple of questions in there. [00:04:39] Oh yeah this is worth pointing out. [00:04:41] So Kuovonne highlights what the [00:04:44] what the U. R. L. Format looks like. [00:04:46] So it looks like you [00:04:47] just add the field I. D. [00:04:49] To the end of the U.R. L. [00:04:51] So all of this is standard [00:04:53] but then the [00:04:54] if you want it to be the grid view [00:04:57] then you have to add that [00:04:58] query parameter onto it. [00:05:00] And that's exactly what I was [00:05:02] Kuovonne's always coming [00:05:03] through answering the questions [00:05:05] that I have before I have [00:05:06] to type it out like [00:05:08] thank you Kuovonne. [00:05:09] Yeah. Yeah this is useful. [00:05:11] So yeah if you're trying to dynamically [00:05:14] generate that link to use in a formula [00:05:16] or something this is the format breakout, [00:05:20] appreciate Kuovonne going [00:05:21] above and beyond as always. [00:05:23] Right. That's that's actually [00:05:25] really helpful because that [00:05:26] that seems to be a brand new thing. [00:05:28] If you want to highlight [00:05:29] a particular record in the grid view. [00:05:31] I mean [00:05:33] that was not ever an option [00:05:35] because it defaults to the expanded. [00:05:37] So that's actually pretty cool. [00:05:40] Yeah. [00:05:41] Yeah. Yeah. All right. [00:05:44] So that's kind of Airtable announcements. [00:05:48] We've got a couple other things to [00:05:52] showcase. [00:05:53] So the rest these all come from the [00:05:57] BuiltOnAir community. [00:06:00] So Nathan asks the question [00:06:02] is there a way to update [00:06:03] a roll up field of text to [00:06:05] be separated by a new line [00:06:07] like slash N. [00:06:09] And Kamille answers with the answer. [00:06:12] So there actually is [00:06:14] for a while this was undocumented [00:06:16] I think this is always [00:06:17] worth showcasing [00:06:19] because it definitely comes in handy. [00:06:21] But on the array joint function of your [00:06:24] roll up you can pass [00:06:25] in a second parameter, [00:06:27] it doesn't give it to, [00:06:28] it doesn't tell you that [00:06:30] inside the editor, but the link to the [00:06:33] documentation does [00:06:34] they updated that at some point. [00:06:37] Yeah, so definitely worth [00:06:40] I know you use this a lot. [00:06:42] One of my favorite tricks, [00:06:44] you can do so many things [00:06:46] you could do, like [00:06:47] new lines, you could make it [00:06:48] into a bulleted list, [00:06:50] you could use html [00:06:52] to create tables. There's all sorts of [00:06:54] different things that that is [00:06:56] useful for, yep, yep. So definitely worth [00:06:58] highlighting it if you're not [00:07:00] familiar with this trick. [00:07:02] And just so you know [00:07:03] this slash N [00:07:04] that's that's a pretty universal, [00:07:07] that's not Airtable specific. [00:07:08] That's a kind of universal way [00:07:10] to represent a new line [00:07:12] by having that that [00:07:13] slash N like that, [00:07:15] so that's the new line [00:07:16] representation. But yeah, [00:07:18] it can be anything like Alli was saying [00:07:21] you put in there. [00:07:23] So nice, nice [00:07:25] tidbit of info there, [00:07:29] see in this one. Okay, [00:07:32] so this was I guess there was [00:07:34] another new feature, this one didn't get [00:07:36] highlighted in the Airtable community, [00:07:39] but Kuovonne brings up that [00:07:41] if you try to duplicate a base [00:07:43] they now have a new [00:07:44] interface that makes it more [00:07:47] convenient to duplicate it. [00:07:49] Usually in the past, [00:07:50] it would always just do like [00:07:52] automatically duplicate it [00:07:53] and it would just put [00:07:54] like copy on the end, [00:07:56] I think of the name and then [00:07:58] you have to like go looking [00:08:00] for it in your base, [00:08:01] like where was that? [00:08:02] It might be at the end. [00:08:06] and but now they have a new interface [00:08:08] where it brings this up, [00:08:09] it asks you if you want to duplicate [00:08:12] the records, the comments and rename it. [00:08:16] And there's even a, [00:08:19] you can actually change [00:08:20] what workspace you put it in right there, [00:08:23] you can actually change that by default, [00:08:25] it's in the same workspace but you can [00:08:26] move it to another right there [00:08:28] so you don't have to [00:08:29] drag it after creating. [00:08:32] So [00:08:34] yeah, so that comes in handy. [00:08:38] So yeah, so that's another [00:08:40] that's another nice feature [00:08:43] that got added. That [00:08:46] can help out. [00:08:47] I think we've got one more [00:08:48] from the BuiltOnAir community. [00:08:50] This is also another thing to point out. [00:08:53] So Aparna is asking about api [00:08:55] keys and how they work [00:08:57] and how to change it. [00:08:59] So this is hopefully something [00:09:02] that will change, [00:09:03] but right now api keys are [00:09:05] tied to a specific user [00:09:08] and so whenever you're using [00:09:10] an api key for a third [00:09:11] party tool that any interactions [00:09:14] happening through that api key [00:09:17] will be done as [00:09:18] the user that that api key came from, [00:09:22] they are coming out with Oh off support, [00:09:25] so that it makes it easier for third [00:09:28] party apps to like get access [00:09:30] to your data and get your permission, [00:09:33] but that is still tied to a user. [00:09:37] So that doesn't fix this issue [00:09:41] ideally what Aperna [00:09:44] would like and what Airtable [00:09:47] should have is some kind of [00:09:49] like account level A.P. I. [00:09:51] That is kind of like the automations [00:09:54] that you know doesn't work as a [00:09:56] specific users and tied to a user [00:09:59] so that if that user leaves [00:10:00] the company you [00:10:01] don't have to replace [00:10:03] their api key everywhere. [00:10:07] Yeah [00:10:09] well it would be nice to see, [00:10:10] it would also be nice [00:10:12] to be able to limit like [00:10:13] create multiple keys [00:10:15] that are limited to [00:10:16] maybe certain bases and not all of them. [00:10:19] Because that can cause some [00:10:21] security risks or issues [00:10:23] you're sharing your [00:10:25] Zapier account or [00:10:26] you will be able to with the [00:10:29] you can limit it to specific bases [00:10:33] and and it works with at the workspace [00:10:37] level too so you can limit it [00:10:39] to a workspace or a base or everything [00:10:42] so that will help to some degree. [00:10:45] Although it'll be it'll be tricky to kind [00:10:48] of keep track of of what they do [00:10:51] have access to each key. [00:10:53] So hopefully that [00:10:55] that that's available so yeah [00:10:57] so there is improvement coming. [00:11:00] I believe it's by the end of the year [00:11:02] that should be rolling out. [00:11:05] But I think there's still more [00:11:08] to come for kind of this account level api [00:11:11] support. [00:11:14] Alright moving on [00:11:17] we've got just one thing [00:11:19] I saw on on twitter [00:11:22] so I thought this was kind of cool. [00:11:25] I think, you know, like I've thought [00:11:27] a lot about this. We've shared other, [00:11:29] this is basically, this is a [00:11:31] venture capitalist [00:11:33] that has been using Airtable. [00:11:34] This is up your alley as well, Alli [00:11:38] and built out all their, [00:11:42] you know, they call it their angel [00:11:45] investing operating system. [00:11:47] And so angel os [00:11:49] and you know, so [00:11:50] I know Airtable has a lot of traction in [00:11:54] the investment world. [00:11:56] Lots of VC firms use it. [00:11:58] And so he released it as a [00:12:01] template that you can actually [00:12:03] purchase on gum road [00:12:04] and put it up on product hunt [00:12:06] and has some, some demo videos of it. [00:12:09] So if you're in that space [00:12:11] might be worth checking out. [00:12:12] But to me the more [00:12:13] interesting thing is just to see [00:12:15] these kind of template ized [00:12:17] products going out [00:12:18] there now, I don't think Airtable [00:12:21] is quite ready for this really to flourish [00:12:25] because of the maintenance side of it. [00:12:27] You know, there isn't a way to automate, [00:12:31] you know, keeping this up to date [00:12:33] once you copy his base or his bases, [00:12:36] you know, [00:12:37] there's no way to re sync it with [00:12:40] any new features and versions. [00:12:43] So no, no concept of versioning. [00:12:47] Yeah, that is the problem. Right? [00:12:51] So when that happens [00:12:52] then I really think this could this, this, [00:12:55] this, you know, there could be [00:12:58] a very thriving community [00:13:01] of templates for sale. [00:13:03] but there are some out there, [00:13:05] I've seen some, [00:13:06] I know people that that are [00:13:07] doing it and you know, [00:13:09] just working around the limitations. [00:13:12] I've debated going [00:13:13] down that path and just decided [00:13:15] it wasn't worth it at this point. [00:13:17] but [00:13:19] we'll see others are are willing [00:13:21] to blaze that trail and figure out the [00:13:23] workarounds for now. [00:13:25] Yeah, I mean maybe that's part of it, [00:13:28] right? Like if you sell it once and then [00:13:30] you just sell it with the stipulation [00:13:32] that there aren't any updates and if you [00:13:35] get an updated version, [00:13:36] you got to pay for it again [00:13:38] or maybe you pay less, [00:13:39] I don't know, [00:13:40] but there's way but still I wouldn't, [00:13:43] I think we'll probably [00:13:44] in the future [00:13:44] have more tools that'll make that easier. [00:13:46] Yeah. And now granted this one [00:13:49] they've been using [00:13:50] for multiple years and so [00:13:52] maybe maybe it's, you know, [00:13:53] at the point where it's like, okay, [00:13:55] this is a finished product. [00:13:57] But the challenge is [00:13:58] is Airtable is going to [00:13:59] advance and introduce [00:14:01] new functionality that will, you know, [00:14:03] change how you want to do things. [00:14:05] And so I think [00:14:06] there's always going to be a [00:14:07] need for versioning and updates. [00:14:11] Absolutely. Actually Zapier, [00:14:13] not to completely go on a tangent, [00:14:16] but I noticed the other day that Zapier [00:14:18] added a small feature. [00:14:19] Where were you when you [00:14:20] publish a zap, not only can you edit [00:14:22] the zap while it's still on which that's [00:14:24] hugely helpful, [00:14:25] and then when you publish [00:14:27] your changes, you can actually add [00:14:29] a little versioning note in there. [00:14:31] So that's really helpful [00:14:33] for documentation. [00:14:33] I think I'm excited about that, [00:14:35] yep, I actually just noticed [00:14:37] that yesterday I [00:14:38] was in Zapier, I hadn't been in [00:14:39] Zapier in months [00:14:40] and was in there yesterday [00:14:42] and just noticed that [00:14:44] definitely. Yeah, so [00:14:47] yeah, otherwise any, [00:14:49] anything you've been, [00:14:50] you've been gone a couple of weeks. [00:14:51] We, so you missed some [00:14:53] of the conversation [00:14:54] since the big announcements. [00:14:55] Any commentary on big changes [00:14:57] the last couple weeks and from your [00:14:59] perspective? [00:15:00] Well unfortunately [00:15:01] I'm still digging into a lot of them, [00:15:03] haven't had all the time, [00:15:05] I've wanted to, [00:15:06] to really dig in and get to know the [00:15:07] new features or changes, [00:15:09] but I did write support [00:15:11] this morning about a small [00:15:12] little interface change [00:15:14] that I was annoyed about. [00:15:16] I won't get into the minutia [00:15:18] of that, [00:15:19] but I am excited about a lot of the [00:15:22] changes, [00:15:24] particularly I'm excited to see [00:15:26] what happens with, there was talk about [00:15:28] being able to easily identify [00:15:30] silos of data, [00:15:32] like across workspaces and I'm [00:15:34] really interested to see what [00:15:35] that will look like [00:15:37] when you've got a lot of [00:15:38] data, robust structures [00:15:40] across many bases [00:15:42] in a work space, then it gets unruly [00:15:45] and I'm excited to see [00:15:47] what they've got planned for that. [00:15:49] Yeah, we talked about that [00:15:51] a little bit there, Oh gosh, [00:15:53] what do they call it? [00:15:55] Their truth, their primary truths, [00:15:57] their primary sources [00:15:58] yeah, yeah, [00:16:01] So yeah, I think that'll be [00:16:03] interesting to see when that rolls out, [00:16:05] they said Q1 [00:16:06] at least at the enterprise level, so [00:16:10] yeah, definitely. Looking forward to that. [00:16:15] Very cool. Well let's move on, [00:16:18] we will go to our spotlight on On2Air, [00:16:22] it's an all in one toolkit [00:16:24] to run your business on Airtable. [00:16:26] If you are dependent on Airtable [00:16:28] as a core piece of your business, [00:16:30] then you definitely want to [00:16:32] check out On2Air [00:16:33] and the suite of apps that we [00:16:34] provide. We are continuing [00:16:38] our discussion of our new form [00:16:43] that is in private beta [00:16:45] and will likely be, [00:16:47] I believe we're shooting for a [00:16:50] New Year's launch, [00:16:51] beginning of January, [00:16:53] so just after the new year's we'll [00:16:56] launch this publicly, [00:16:57] but for the next two months we'll continue [00:17:00] in kind of a private beta [00:17:02] working out the kinks, [00:17:03] but it's definitely firming up, [00:17:05] we're working on some [00:17:06] some functionality that we want [00:17:08] before it goes live [00:17:09] to everybody but [00:17:11] getting great feedback from [00:17:13] our customers and happy to [00:17:15] let other people join our private beta, [00:17:18] so if you would like to try it out, [00:17:20] there is a free tier to it [00:17:22] that you can experiment with it for free [00:17:25] and use for free and so [00:17:27] reach out to us [00:17:28] and we'll get you access to it. [00:17:31] I just wanted to showcase [00:17:33] one kind of functionality [00:17:35] that you can do with [00:17:36] the form. So with the same form [00:17:39] you can configure it to either create new [00:17:41] records or update existing [00:17:44] or you can limit it [00:17:46] and say with this form I only [00:17:48] ever want to create new records [00:17:50] or only ever want to [00:17:51] update existing records. [00:17:52] But there's some cool [00:17:54] functionality within there. [00:17:56] So one thing you can do [00:17:58] if you're creating a new record, [00:18:01] you can actually use an [00:18:03] existing record as kind of your [00:18:05] your placeholder [00:18:07] for all your default values on [00:18:09] creating a new one. [00:18:10] So you can specify in here [00:18:12] the internal Airtable record I.D. [00:18:15] Of a default record. [00:18:17] So you can you can pass them in [00:18:19] as parameters into the U.R. L. [00:18:22] But an easier way is to [00:18:24] have a record [00:18:25] in your table already that has the [00:18:28] default pre fills that you want. [00:18:30] And then just specify that record I.D. [00:18:33] Here and then when anybody [00:18:35] goes to create a new record [00:18:38] it will pre fill with [00:18:39] the values from that from [00:18:41] that existing record [00:18:42] in your Airtable table. [00:18:44] Or you can do it on the fly [00:18:46] where you can actually pass in, [00:18:48] you can create a U. R. L. [00:18:50] Parameter, all that like defaults [00:18:52] or whatever you want [00:18:53] and then [00:18:57] I found a bug [00:19:00] and then [00:19:01] there we go refresher. [00:19:04] It's good to know [00:19:06] we've got some bugs still [00:19:09] that we're working out [00:19:10] but essentially you put the U. R. L. [00:19:12] Parameter in there [00:19:13] and then you can specify [00:19:17] a record I. D. In the U. R. L. [00:19:19] So you can actually have different [00:19:21] defaults to use. [00:19:23] And this is actually an easy [00:19:25] way to duplicate a record [00:19:27] because you could [00:19:28] specify the record I.D. Of the record [00:19:31] that you want to duplicate and then you [00:19:34] can change any of the fields [00:19:36] that you want [00:19:37] and then save that and it'll be a [00:19:39] duplicate of the existing record. So [00:19:42] lots of cool functionality like that. [00:19:44] You can do that both on the create or even [00:19:46] on an update. You can backfill it with [00:19:50] with [00:19:51] you can specify, [00:19:52] you know the record I. D. [00:19:54] Either in the U.R. L. Or [00:19:56] you can pass in [00:19:58] the value based off of [00:20:00] some other unique identifier [00:20:02] so it doesn't have to be the record I. D. [00:20:04] You could have another code or [00:20:06] the name and pass that as a U. R. L. [00:20:09] Parameter to specify which record you want [00:20:12] to update. [00:20:13] So lots of cool ways [00:20:14] that you can interact with your data. [00:20:17] And more advanced [00:20:18] functionality coming so [00:20:20] check out On2Air forms [00:20:23] at on2air.com and sign up [00:20:25] let us know you're [00:20:26] you're interested in the private beta [00:20:28] and we will get your [00:20:28] access [00:20:31] very cool. [00:20:32] Yeah it's good stuff. [00:20:35] Get that out there. [00:20:39] All right, let's move on. [00:20:41] We're gonna look at the marketplace, [00:20:45] there is still a market place [00:20:46] someday it will be accessible from your [00:20:49] interfaces. [00:20:51] but until then you still got to go [00:20:55] through your through the grid data [00:20:58] layout, but I wanted to show [00:21:03] you know, something [00:21:05] interesting happened [00:21:07] in the last month in the marketplace. [00:21:09] I don't know if you've, [00:21:11] if you keep an eye on [00:21:13] what's been coming out. [00:21:18] you can see there's actually [00:21:21] been quite an influx [00:21:23] of similar apps around [00:21:25] documents and so, [00:21:27] pdf.co is a pdf generator. [00:21:31] They kind of separated, [00:21:33] there's into two different [00:21:36] apps that do [00:21:37] either generating new PDFs or merging [00:21:40] multiple PDFs into one. [00:21:42] So they've got to apps, [00:21:43] there's already been form [00:21:45] stack in there for a while. [00:21:47] There's another new one [00:21:51] where you at [00:21:53] there's documint, [00:21:54] documint has been in there a while, [00:21:58] shout out. We do have an [00:22:00] integration with google docs, [00:22:02] so you can use google docs [00:22:03] as your template engine [00:22:04] to generate pdf [00:22:06] that's not yet in the marketplace. [00:22:08] There's Kuovonne's low tech [00:22:10] pdf [00:22:11] there's another one just came out. [00:22:18] where'd you go? [00:22:25] I think there's a 3rd PDF co one too. [00:22:31] Pdf generator api [00:22:33] There it is pdf generator api [00:22:36] and then obviously the [00:22:38] page designer. [00:22:39] So, yeah, so just in the last month, [00:22:42] interesting Docupilot [00:22:44] didn't show up with pdf, [00:22:45] they need to add pdf to their description. [00:22:49] but including Docupilot, [00:22:51] which is the one I'll show today. [00:22:54] But anyways there's [00:22:55] been a huge influx of [00:22:59] of pdf generation tools [00:23:01] that work with your [00:23:04] with your Airtable data. [00:23:06] And so yeah we're checking out [00:23:09] one of these likely could [00:23:11] could work with you. [00:23:13] But I wanted to show [00:23:15] how Docupilot works. [00:23:18] So Docupilot been around for [00:23:21] for quite a while. I've used it many years [00:23:26] ago with Zapier [00:23:28] and so I already had an account. [00:23:32] And so I just wanted to see [00:23:34] what their integration looks like. [00:23:36] This came out probably a month ago, [00:23:39] maybe two months ago. [00:23:41] And basically once [00:23:42] you install it you have to have [00:23:45] an api key you connect it [00:23:47] with your account and [00:23:48] then what you do is [00:23:49] you go into Docupilot. So in Docupilot [00:23:52] you create a template [00:23:54] and they kind of have their own designer. [00:23:57] And this is pretty similar to [00:23:59] pretty much how most of them work. [00:24:03] And so you have the ability to [00:24:05] kind of design it the way that you want. [00:24:07] And then if you click on this one [00:24:09] it will help you insert tokens [00:24:10] and they kind [00:24:11] of have the ability to do loops [00:24:13] and tables and conditions [00:24:15] things like that, [00:24:16] help you create a template [00:24:20] that then is available [00:24:22] to insert your data into [00:24:25] into the template [00:24:27] and then save as a pdf. [00:24:29] So here's just a very simple one that [00:24:31] just takes the name [00:24:33] and then does template. [00:24:37] You can look at the source there [00:24:39] and then But yeah you pretty much just [00:24:41] specify the field names. [00:24:43] So this you need to make sure [00:24:45] matches the same name as [00:24:46] your field names in the Airtable [00:24:50] and then you do need to [00:24:54] And so how Docupilot works, [00:24:56] it is not automated. [00:24:58] If you want to automate [00:25:00] it through Docupilot then you [00:25:02] probably have to set it up [00:25:04] in Zapier or Make. [00:25:05] But maybe some of the others [00:25:08] I know you know On2Air can automate doing [00:25:12] this all on the fly but [00:25:15] and I think some of the others [00:25:17] can as well. [00:25:18] I know Documint can as well anyways [00:25:20] Docupilot right now [00:25:21] using their app [00:25:22] you have to click on a record and then [00:25:24] it gives you all of the [00:25:26] templates that you have. [00:25:29] I'm just gonna use this test one [00:25:32] and then [00:25:33] and then you can specify to save it [00:25:36] in an attachment field [00:25:37] and you pick what attachment field [00:25:39] you want to save it in. [00:25:40] So this one only lets you select, [00:25:43] it shows all of them but only the [00:25:45] attachment fields are selectable [00:25:47] and then it shows you [00:25:49] all the Docupilot [00:25:50] fields that are in your template. [00:25:53] And I think by default [00:25:55] if the name is the same [00:25:57] then it will automatically [00:25:58] select it. Otherwise [00:26:00] you can pick a different one. [00:26:02] So this helps to map your [00:26:04] fields from Airtable [00:26:06] into your template placeholders [00:26:09] and then you manually [00:26:11] I think and then this will just [00:26:13] generate one [00:26:15] and then it put it into the product [00:26:17] images [00:26:18] Right here it's creating [00:26:20] and then there you see my pdf inserted the [00:26:24] name template. [00:26:25] So I'm on a free plan, [00:26:27] so it looks like it adds that that would [00:26:30] get taken out if you're on a paid plan [00:26:33] but definitely useful especially [00:26:36] for automating saving it back as an [00:26:39] attachment. Pretty much all [00:26:40] I would guess all the third party [00:26:42] ones have that [00:26:43] functionality to to save it back [00:26:46] except for Airtable's [00:26:47] page designer that [00:26:49] maybe someday we'll [00:26:50] we'll add that functionality [00:26:53] and be able to automate that. [00:26:55] But until then there's these third party [00:26:57] tools that can get more advanced [00:27:00] but we're checking out [00:27:01] but once you kind of [00:27:02] understand how one works, [00:27:03] they're all pretty similar [00:27:05] of how they work [00:27:06] with templates and and field names [00:27:08] and inserting your data [00:27:10] from Airtable into them. So [00:27:13] worth trying. [00:27:14] I know that's it's a pretty common [00:27:17] use case of generating [00:27:18] documents off of your data in Airtable. [00:27:22] Absolutely, yeah, I still wish [00:27:25] they would just add [00:27:27] a thing to page designer to [00:27:29] make it [00:27:30] a button that's like [00:27:32] even if it was just, [00:27:34] you know, how Docupilot works to [00:27:37] just do you want to save this back [00:27:38] like you would think that functionality, [00:27:40] I could see like the automation [00:27:42] to make it happen [00:27:43] automatically but it should be [00:27:45] in automations a task step too [00:27:48] you know, to use Page designer Yeah, [00:27:52] I wonder when when that's coming. [00:27:56] I would love that. [00:27:59] Very cool. All right, [00:28:01] so that's our app of the day [00:28:04] and now Alli's gonna show her [00:28:06] interface. [00:28:08] Excellent. So this is an interface [00:28:12] that or a base and interface that I [00:28:16] submitted to the [00:28:17] interface designer contest [00:28:19] a while ago. It did not place but I [00:28:21] still think it is worth showing [00:28:23] just because I think [00:28:24] there's some cool little [00:28:25] interface tricks going on. [00:28:29] So this is a totally fictional database. [00:28:32] These are not real names. [00:28:35] Side note, I think I've mentioned [00:28:38] this before [00:28:38] but I used Mockaroo a lot to get [00:28:40] like totally fake data [00:28:42] and they're they're really [00:28:43] really cool awesome site for [00:28:45] free. Just say what field types [00:28:46] you want and it gives you [00:28:48] like fake company [00:28:48] names and industries, whatever you want. [00:28:51] They need, they need to [00:28:53] build an app for the market. [00:28:55] They should. That would be really cool. [00:28:58] So essentially this is just a very [00:29:00] simple inquiry tracker where I've got [00:29:03] inquiries coming in from different [00:29:05] sources and then [00:29:08] they're tied to a contact [00:29:10] which is tied to [00:29:11] a company and I've got things [00:29:12] about that company getting entered. [00:29:15] Excuse me. And then I've just [00:29:17] got some Lauren ipsum here [00:29:19] for the comments. [00:29:20] But where things get I think [00:29:23] kind of cool [00:29:24] is in the interface which I'll open [00:29:27] another tab which [00:29:30] hopefully we can see, [00:29:33] can you see this other tab [00:29:34] here with the interfaces? [00:29:36] Okay, great. [00:29:38] So this is the interface [00:29:40] and so when I get leads, [00:29:43] like I actually do this in my [00:29:45] real base where I track things. [00:29:47] I don't like to automatically [00:29:49] send a reply just [00:29:50] because I like to really read [00:29:52] through what somebody said and answer any [00:29:53] particular questions [00:29:55] and have it actually be [00:29:56] like a personalized thing. [00:29:57] But there are some things [00:29:58] that I type over and over and over again [00:30:01] and that's where this interface [00:30:03] makes things really easy. [00:30:04] It actually cuts down [00:30:05] the time that I need to spend [00:30:07] responding to emails [00:30:09] by like a good amount. [00:30:10] So down here I've got this email builder, [00:30:15] so to speak, where I've set up [00:30:21] certain values and I just realized [00:30:23] I think I have a bug here. [00:30:24] But the oh this is the subject [00:30:26] just kidding the subject line, [00:30:28] so I can change the subject line [00:30:31] if I want to. I could say like [00:30:34] change that to thank you [00:30:36] and that should override [00:30:38] the subject [00:30:40] that's still saving. [00:30:41] But I've got an introduction [00:30:44] paragraph here which I could override if I [00:30:47] wanted to. [00:30:48] Then I can add a little additional [00:30:50] paragraph to like answer any [00:30:52] questions that they want like [00:30:54] whatever here. Just to show. [00:30:57] And over here on [00:30:58] the side I've got this preview. [00:31:02] Then I get down to like templated [00:31:04] things here. So if I want to say all right [00:31:06] I'm gonna offer this person [00:31:08] my hourly consulting. [00:31:10] It puts this sentence in [00:31:12] and then I could say oh [00:31:14] I also want to add the [00:31:16] details of how they work and the [00:31:17] pricing because they asked [00:31:19] specifically about pricing. [00:31:21] And then I could [00:31:21] actually reorder these [00:31:23] paragraphs around if I want to [00:31:26] and then if I want to include the link to [00:31:30] call I just have it going [00:31:32] to Calendly here [00:31:34] then I can include that there [00:31:36] and then my email lead button [00:31:38] all that does is just open up [00:31:40] you actually probably can't see it. [00:31:42] But it opens that up, [00:31:44] it's a mail to link [00:31:45] in the background. [00:31:46] So it'll open it up in my mail client [00:31:48] then I can actually adjust it [00:31:49] from there because this doesn't offer any [00:31:51] formatting options. [00:31:53] And that's something [00:31:54] I'm okay with Just because I want it [00:31:57] to be personalized. But [00:32:00] if I go back into the base, [00:32:04] I've got this whole table here where [00:32:07] I'm just [00:32:08] putting in [00:32:10] paragraphs that I use often [00:32:13] and then I can select from that. [00:32:15] So if I need to go [00:32:16] update the pricing that's [00:32:17] going to be in that email [00:32:18] goes here [00:32:21] but over on my view here [00:32:22] for my lead response fields, [00:32:24] this is where I've got all [00:32:26] my formulas that are informing that [00:32:28] email builder section here [00:32:33] and I'll show you just what the [00:32:35] mail to link looks like. [00:32:36] So this is the formula [00:32:37] that's behind this button [00:32:41] and it's just a mail to link [00:32:43] where I'm putting in [00:32:45] the subject and then the full [00:32:46] body of that preview [00:32:48] you can see in the interface here. [00:32:51] Yeah. [00:32:54] That is awesome. [00:32:57] Thank you. [00:32:58] Yeah it saved a lot of time. [00:33:00] Yeah I was gonna say [00:33:02] this is on my to do list. [00:33:04] So I might be hitting you up [00:33:07] after the show. [00:33:08] Absolutely, I'm happy to share [00:33:10] this [00:33:12] the link to copy this. [00:33:16] And then I think real quick I've got [00:33:19] cool dashboard. [00:33:20] I kind of [00:33:21] I think this is a cool little trick. [00:33:24] These are just single select fields [00:33:27] that are coming from a record picker of [00:33:30] my summary table [00:33:31] and there's only one record here [00:33:33] so it just shows [00:33:34] like this is kind of, [00:33:36] you could just ignore this at the bottom. [00:33:38] But I've put in on this summary table, [00:33:42] just these values [00:33:45] in these single select fields so that [00:33:48] I can have them as my [00:33:51] legend over here [00:33:52] because I don't love the way that [00:33:55] they work the legends work [00:33:57] in Airtable. [00:34:01] Yeah I I want them to do [00:34:03] some improvements [00:34:05] for the charts but we'll see. [00:34:07] That is so cool. [00:34:09] This is this, I mean [00:34:10] I've been thinking about like needing to [00:34:13] do this for so long [00:34:15] and just haven't had the time to do it. [00:34:18] but yeah, I mean this, [00:34:20] this is awesome. [00:34:21] I had this same philosophy of like not [00:34:24] wanting to fully automate [00:34:26] all my replies and but templatizing [00:34:29] it is really useful, kind of a [00:34:33] hybrid approach. [00:34:35] Yeah, absolutely. Yeah. [00:34:38] Some shout outs from Justin and [00:34:42] Scott. Thank you watching very cool stuff. [00:34:49] Cool. So are you willing to share [00:34:51] that with the community? [00:34:52] I think I think there [00:34:53] definitely would be interest in that [00:34:56] Absolutely, yeah, [00:34:57] I can help disseminate it [00:34:59] in the appropriate channels for sure. [00:35:01] Cool, definitely. Yeah, [00:35:02] we'll put it up [00:35:03] in the show notes. So great. [00:35:06] Very cool. Thank you [00:35:07] for sharing that. [00:35:09] I would have voted for it to win. [00:35:11] I think that's a winner. [00:35:12] Must not have understood [00:35:14] the valuable ness of it. [00:35:16] No, I think what the winners [00:35:18] were well deserved this time around. [00:35:22] Alright, let's move on. [00:35:24] Quick shout out to our [00:35:26] BuiltOnAir community. [00:35:28] If you're not part of our community, [00:35:30] we need you in there to help make the [00:35:32] community better. [00:35:33] We have thousands of Airtable [00:35:35] users in the community helping [00:35:37] each other talking about all [00:35:39] the latest and greatest [00:35:40] of what's going on in the [00:35:41] Airtable world. [00:35:42] You need to join our slack community. [00:35:44] Sign up for the mailing [00:35:45] list and participate in the podcast. [00:35:48] We'd love to have you on and show what you [00:35:51] are working on. [00:35:52] So we're always open to [00:35:54] having new guests join us. [00:35:57] Okay. Our final segment [00:36:00] I will do an automate create. [00:36:03] So this came up with [00:36:06] I was working on a client project [00:36:08] last week and I believe I knew this [00:36:11] limitation, but I had forgotten [00:36:14] and ran into it again. [00:36:16] Sometimes you forget [00:36:18] where all the where [00:36:19] all the potholes are in Airtable [00:36:22] and then you revisit [00:36:23] them. So anyways there is a [00:36:26] limitation if you are doing [00:36:29] a script within an automation [00:36:33] that you cannot [00:36:35] create dynamic options [00:36:37] from like a single select [00:36:39] or multi select field if [00:36:41] they're not already in there, [00:36:43] so you can't create new ones. [00:36:45] It will throw an [00:36:46] error. [00:36:47] If you're using the scripting extension, [00:36:50] it does work there, [00:36:51] but for some reason [00:36:53] they decided that they didn't [00:36:56] want that in the automation [00:36:59] environment. And so [00:37:01] that became an obstacle for us [00:37:04] because we were building an [00:37:07] api sync and using automations [00:37:10] and web hooks and wanted to, [00:37:13] you know sync data [00:37:14] from a third party system. [00:37:15] We didn't know if they would [00:37:18] always stay in sync [00:37:19] the different field values [00:37:21] from these two databases [00:37:23] and two systems. [00:37:24] And so we wanted to make sure we could [00:37:26] dynamically create [00:37:28] new values on the fly. [00:37:30] So I'm gonna walk through how we [00:37:34] did a work around [00:37:35] and there's a couple ways [00:37:36] you can work around that kind of [00:37:37] explore those options, [00:37:39] so so I use this base [00:37:41] it's just kind of a project [00:37:43] management marketing base [00:37:45] and it's got a couple of fields on it. [00:37:50] That you can use. [00:37:51] I'm gonna keep this simple, [00:37:54] I'll talk about how you [00:37:55] deal with multiple fields, [00:37:57] but in this, in this case [00:37:59] I'm only gonna be working [00:38:01] with with a single field. But [00:38:07] so we have our automation [00:38:09] the triggers just when it enters a view, [00:38:12] just to keep it simple. [00:38:14] And then [00:38:15] if you're this is where it [00:38:17] comes in, if you're editing, [00:38:18] if you're running a script [00:38:20] and let's say you're [00:38:21] making a call to a third party api [00:38:24] And then you want to do your update. [00:38:26] What you typically would want to do [00:38:29] is you want to perform that update right [00:38:31] here using the update record sync. [00:38:34] And you would specify [00:38:36] the values for your [00:38:39] your fields that you're updating. [00:38:42] So this one has a channel field, [00:38:44] that's a multi select [00:38:46] of where it came from. [00:38:47] And right now it does not have [00:38:50] if I look at that channel, drop down. [00:38:56] Actually, that's the wrong base [00:38:58] over here. Sorry, wrong base. [00:39:03] So if I look at this channel, [00:39:05] I've got my dropdowns, [00:39:07] Tiktok is not currently in [00:39:08] my channels. [00:39:10] Neither is BuiltOnAir. So these [00:39:14] this would error out [00:39:16] because these are not current [00:39:18] options in the drop down list. [00:39:21] And so instead of not doing it [00:39:23] that way one work around [00:39:26] I know I know I was [00:39:27] talking to somebody who [00:39:30] uses the rest api because via the rest api [00:39:34] you can do stuff. [00:39:35] So that's one approach [00:39:37] if you want to make a call to [00:39:39] the rest api that then requires you [00:39:42] to have their api key to store in here so [00:39:45] there might be reasons to not [00:39:47] want to do that. [00:39:49] But that's one approach here's [00:39:51] another approach to keep it [00:39:53] within the automation is if you use [00:39:57] just kind of explaining [00:39:59] what's going on here. [00:40:01] So inside of the scripting [00:40:03] within an automation [00:40:05] there is an input variable [00:40:07] and an output variable that are [00:40:09] globally available everywhere. [00:40:11] And the input allows you [00:40:13] to pull data in from a [00:40:15] previous step. [00:40:16] So we're pulling in the record I. D. [00:40:19] So here's our input. [00:40:21] And it's the record I.D. [00:40:22] That triggered this automation. [00:40:25] So you can get data [00:40:26] from the input. [00:40:27] You can also put data out [00:40:29] in the output that then is available [00:40:31] to any steps after this one [00:40:34] in the automation. [00:40:35] So you just do output.set you [00:40:38] give it a name [00:40:39] and then you specify [00:40:40] the value of what it's gonna be. [00:40:42] So I'm doing this [00:40:44] a little bit more dynamic. [00:40:46] So in theory I could specify [00:40:49] a different field [00:40:51] that needs to be updated. [00:40:53] So that this could support [00:40:56] multiple fields [00:40:57] that are updated now in this [00:41:00] example I can only update one at a time [00:41:04] in our real world example [00:41:05] where this issue came up [00:41:07] I needed to update multiple [00:41:09] dropdowns or single selects. [00:41:11] So I actually created [00:41:13] a whole another table that [00:41:15] allowed me to save the field name [00:41:17] and the value and then the record I.D. [00:41:20] Of where I'm updating [00:41:22] and then I set up another automation [00:41:24] that ran anytime [00:41:25] there's a new record in that table. [00:41:27] So that's a little bit more advanced [00:41:30] if you want to do multiple, [00:41:31] you could also have like field [00:41:33] one field two field three [00:41:36] on your output and then [00:41:37] just set these up. [00:41:39] But that that gets redundant [00:41:42] for a reason I'll show in a [00:41:45] second. So now these are the variables. [00:41:47] So I'm saying I want to update the [00:41:49] channel field and here's my values. [00:41:53] And if I'm doing this, [00:41:55] if I know that there's gonna be [00:41:57] times where I might have [00:41:58] a new dropdown field [00:42:00] I might just always use this approach. [00:42:03] Even if those fields are [00:42:04] already or those values [00:42:06] are already set in the drop [00:42:08] down so that I don't have [00:42:09] two ways of updating those fields, [00:42:12] I just keep it consistent because [00:42:14] even if I'm using channels [00:42:16] that already exist [00:42:17] in the dropdown, [00:42:18] this approach will still work. [00:42:20] So instead of having like [00:42:22] sometimes do it one way, [00:42:24] sometimes do another just [00:42:26] keep it consistent and do it [00:42:29] the same way so there's my output. [00:42:31] Now I'm going into this field [00:42:34] this section and I make it [00:42:37] conditional so that [00:42:39] I can look at [00:42:42] the field value [00:42:43] so I'm looking at the output [00:42:46] clear if I show this, [00:42:48] let's do that again. [00:42:49] So now I'm looking at this run script [00:42:52] and now it shows me anything [00:42:54] that I set in the output. [00:42:56] So I'm picking that field [00:42:57] and I'm saying if it contains [00:43:01] channels then run this update. [00:43:04] So if I had other fields [00:43:06] that I was potentially updating, [00:43:08] I would add those as [00:43:09] conditional steps. [00:43:10] Now what I really wish [00:43:15] okay so that works [00:43:16] and so now I'm in this update [00:43:18] because that field value [00:43:20] contains channels. [00:43:21] Now you specify what I want [00:43:24] to update and then the record I.D. [00:43:26] This is coming from my trigger [00:43:28] because we're just working with a single [00:43:30] record on this automation. [00:43:32] So I'm pulling that now [00:43:34] in this field section. [00:43:36] What I wish was I wish this could [00:43:38] be dynamic where I could [00:43:41] dynamically specify [00:43:43] the field name based off of the [00:43:45] value from my output. [00:43:47] Because that would save me [00:43:49] from having to do these [00:43:51] conditional actions. [00:43:52] I wouldn't have to set up [00:43:54] one of these updates [00:43:55] for every channel or every field. [00:43:57] Right? I could just say [00:43:59] I could just have one update [00:44:02] and it can handle any field [00:44:04] but it doesn't do that. [00:44:06] You have to specifically [00:44:08] specify the field. [00:44:10] So that's why I do okay [00:44:12] in this block I'm only updating [00:44:15] the channel field so [00:44:16] find that channel field [00:44:18] and then now within here now [00:44:21] now the value can be [00:44:22] dynamic. [00:44:23] So you have to click on that [00:44:26] little cog and specify dynamic [00:44:28] and then it gives you the option [00:44:30] to select a dynamic field. [00:44:32] I'm gonna go to my [00:44:33] output from the script [00:44:35] and specify my value [00:44:38] and now this value will [00:44:41] will update the the field. [00:44:45] And so let's test it, [00:44:47] let's test this guy and run the [00:44:51] automation, see if it works [00:44:54] and if we look at the data [00:44:57] we should now see [00:45:03] Tiktok and BuiltOnAir [00:45:05] are now in my drop down [00:45:06] and they weren't there a second [00:45:08] ago and you see here [00:45:09] this is the record I updated [00:45:11] and I specified it. [00:45:13] So that's how you can dynamically [00:45:16] add new options [00:45:18] to your to your drop down list. [00:45:21] You can't do it through the script, [00:45:24] you the update record [00:45:26] record does have extra privileges. [00:45:28] Apparently that the [00:45:29] scripting action does not. [00:45:32] So a bit of a workaround annoying. [00:45:34] I wish that they would just [00:45:37] allow you to create it in the script [00:45:39] especially because you can do it [00:45:42] in a script extension [00:45:43] because a lot of times [00:45:44] like how I ran into this is actually [00:45:47] tested my code in an extension. [00:45:49] It worked fine. [00:45:50] I then move it into the automation [00:45:53] and it starts breaking Yeah [00:45:55] I've had that exact same experience [00:45:58] with that exact same call with update [00:46:01] options async [00:46:02] yeah. So so anyway, [00:46:05] so if you're doing that [00:46:08] and wondering why it's breaking, [00:46:11] that might be a place to look. [00:46:13] And so here's some [00:46:15] options for a workaround. [00:46:17] Love it. That's super useful. [00:46:20] Yeah, good stuff. [00:46:23] And maybe someday that will get added into [00:46:27] the scripting environment. [00:46:28] So with that a little bit shorter today, [00:46:30] we've got through them quickly [00:46:32] but definitely jam packed with cool stuff. [00:46:35] I'm excited to try out your [00:46:38] interface and improve my emailing. [00:46:42] Save me a bunch of time. [00:46:45] Yeah, I'll get you that like very cool. [00:46:49] Thank you all for joining us today [00:46:52] and we this is what [00:46:54] we've built today on our [00:46:56] episode of BuiltOnAir. [00:46:57] Look forward to next week being with you. [00:46:59] Take care. [00:47:01] Bye bye.