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How to enable update mode

Only allow editing for records whose full data those respondents should be able to see. Editing a linked record acts as a key to the entire record: respondents who can open it can view every field on that record, even fields that don’t appear as questions in the subform. This is what lets the subform use any record field for pre-filling, answer piping, show/hide logic, and calculations. To limit what’s loaded, you can restrict prefilled data so the subform only loads fields mapped to questions.
1

Connect to your database

On your Fillout form, navigate to Integrate in the top menu to connect to your preferred database. In this example, we’ll choose Airtable.Screenshot 2025-09-24 at 7.00.27 PM.png
2

Add the linked record field

Once connected, fields from your database will appear in the left-hand panel. Drag and drop the linked record field to your form.Screenshot2026 03 17at7 47 58P Mcopy
3

Allow editing records

Click the field’s settings icon to toggle the Allow editing records switch.Screenshot2026 03 17at7 48 15P Mcopy
The default label button for linked record fields is “Add”. To edit this, go to Button display in the right-hand panel.
To edit the form used for creating linked records, click Edit subform.The editing form is separate from the record creation form, so changes to one don’t show up in the other.Changes save to the record as soon as the respondent submits the editing form, even if they don’t submit the main form.
4

Publish and share

Click Publish in the upper right corner and share or embed your form.Screenshot 2026 03 17 At 7 48 33 PMNow, respondents can update linked records in your database quickly with your Fillout form.

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Relevant articles

Create new linked records

Let respondents create from a record picker.

Work with linked record pickers

Set pre-fills, reference fields, and more.