How to Add Existing Linked Records with Photos/Names Instead of IDs?

Ask the community
, ,
1

Hi everyone,

I’m trying to figure out how to add existing linked records to a current record in Softr.

For example:

  • Table A = Products

  • Table B = Shipments

When I’m viewing the detail page of a shipment (Table B), I want to add products that already exist in Table A — not create new product records.

Right now, I can do this using the Edit button on the detail page, but the linked record field only shows a list of IDs, which makes it difficult to use.

What I’d really like is a way to display the products with photos and names so I can easily browse and select which products to add to the shipment.

Is there a better way to achieve this in Softr?

Thanks in advance

2

Hi @danitran - You’ve hit one of the limitations of no-code. This is something I’ve spent considerable time navigating, as I build apps in Softr.

Related fields only display the Primary Key field. There isn’t a way to display other fields in a related drop-down field.

The are two primary options I’ve settled on - each with their one advantages and disadvantages.

Option one (the one I use most of the time)

I set the Name field as the primary field and leave it as a text field. I then add a Record ID field. Anytime I have a relationship I include the Record ID as a lookup field. This provides two benefits:

  1. The data displayed in related drop-down fields makes sense to the end-user as opposed to displaying an alphanumeric Record ID.
  2. A user can add new items from within the UI. For example: two tables - Contacts and Companies (related to each other). If a user is editing the details of a company and wants to add a new contact that is not already in the Contacts table, they can create a new contact within the Company edit form, as opposed to having to add the contact to the Contacts table first, then going to the Companies table to add them.

The drawback to this approach is that you can end up with duplicate records in your database.

Option two

Set the primary field as a formula field that populates data from other fields in the table. Using your Products table as an example: Create a primary field called Product ID and set it as a formula field that combines the Product Name and Record ID fields together. This provides context to the end user when viewing records in a related drop-down field. it also eliminates the chance of any duplicate records being created, as the formula field ensure they are all unique. The drawback to this approach is that you cannot create new records from related fields as you can in option one.

Hope this helps.