Working with record pickers

​

What is a record picker?

A record picker links entries from one database to another, so you can see related information in one place. Instead of copying data from one table to another, the record picker points to the existing record. For example, you have a Projects database and a Clients database. With a record picker, you can link a project to a client without retyping any client info. Everything stays connected and up-to-date automatically. Depending on the database you’re using, this feature may be called differently:

• Airtable, SmartSuite and Zite Database: Linked record field
• Notion: Relation
• Monday: Connected board column
• Salesforce: Master-detail relationship

​

How it works

In Fillout, the record picker field enables respondents to:

• Select existing linked records
• Create new linked records
• Edit existing linked records

This field helps you avoid duplicate entries, keeping your data organized and making it easy to navigate between related records.

​

How to pre-fill a record picker

You can pre-fill a record picker using the record’s Airtable Record ID. In this video, we show how to pre-fill a record picker using a URL parameter.

​

Prevent respondents from changing the record picker

You can choose to always conditionally hide the record picker.

​

Reference fields from the chosen Airtable record

Personalize your form by referencing fields in your form. To use how many records a respondent picked, reference Selected count. It works in calculations, logic and text.

​

Advanced customizations

In the right-hand panel, scroll down to Advanced. Here, you can customize how records are displayed and selected. You can set:

• Fields to show - select which fields are visible in the dropdown
• Field to search by - choose a different field to search by other than the primary field. Email notifications show this field’s value for the selected record. If it isn’t set, they show Answered instead.

• Filters - to limit which records can be selected in the dropdown
• Require all filters - only show records once every filter can be applied
• Limit to view (if database supports views) - restrict records to a specific view from your table and keep that view’s sorting order
• Sort by and Sort direction (under Advanced) - for Notion, SmartSuite, HubSpot, Attio, Salesforce and ClickUp, choose the field that sorts the records and whether it’s Ascending or Descending. The setting’s name depends on your database, like Sort by field or Sort by property.

Airtable and Zite databases show records in your table’s or view’s order. To change it, create a view in your database with your preferred order. Monday records can’t be sorted. Filters run on the server and keep the dropdown short and relevant, but they aren’t a way to hide records. If people filling out your form shouldn’t reach a record, keep it out of the table the picker is linked to.

​

Related articles