Dynamically Retrieve a Rowlink's Column

Topic

Retrieving a cell is similar to a spreadsheet vlookup and can save you some keystrokes when setting up tables that use similar data.

Steps

  1. Build a table with data that you plan to pull into another table. Our table is named Action with columns Name and Activity.

Action_table

  1. Build a second table with two columns, Person and Assignment, and name the table Tasks.

Tasks_table

  1. In the Tasks table, select the Person column, and click the Formats button.

:hammer_and_wrench: Builder tip: The same data is being used in our two tables, but with different names, to make it easier to understand the formulas in later steps.

  1. In the Tasks table, format the Person column as Picklist & rowlink that refer to the Action table.

  2. Click the chevron in A2 and select a person from the listed choices.

  1. In B2, type an = sign, click on the blue name link in A2, click the blue [+] sign to add Action to the formula, and press Enter.

  1. Click the chevrons in the Person column to fill out the remainder of the names.

  2. Apply the Assignment column formula to the entire column.

    a. Click the blue chip in the upper right of cell B2.
    This chip notifies you that there is a format mis-match in the column that needs to be addressed.

    b. Click Apply format to column.

c. Click Apply.


Another way to achieve this

  1. Switch to Sheets view which allows you to see the entire sheet.

  1. The FINDROW() function can be used in any cell. Below we are retrieving the cell that includes Mateo from the Action table:

=FINDROW(Action, "Action[Name]=%", "Mateo")

Findrow1

  1. The same thing goes for retrieving the action. Check out the red highlight in the image to see [Acticity] being added to the end of the previous step's formula.

=FINDROW(Action, "Action[Name]=%", "Mateo")[Activity]


Going beyond one level

You can go beyond one level so =[Person][Action][Status] is valid if [Action] is a rowlink to a table that contains a [Status] column.

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