- 01 May 2024
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The essentials of Airtable formulas
- Updated on 01 May 2024
- 2 Minutes to read
- Print
- DarkLight
- PDF
In Airtable there are many different fields that you can add to a table; one of them is the formula field type. Formulas let you reference other fields in a table and create different functions based on the content of those fields. This article will cover how to write and format the formula field type.
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Platform(s) | Web/Browser, Mac app, and Windows app |
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Creating formula fields in Airtable
Creating formula fields
Visit your Airtable homepage.
Create or open your preferred base.
Add or edit a field.
Search for and select Formula.
Enter your formula in the provided space below "Formula."
After adding a formula, you can optionally click Format to customize your formula's results.
NOTE
Keep in mind that all formulas yield a number, date, or text results—with individualized ways to be applied.
Number formats
When the output of a formula is a number, you can format it by double clicking the field name, selecting customize field type, and then selecting formatting. Then, you can apply the following options to the output of your formula:
Decimal
Integer
Currency
Percent
Duration
Date formats
When the output of a formula is a date, you can apply the following options to the output of your formula:
Date format (local, friendly, US, European, ISO)
Include a time field
Use the same time zone (GMT) for all collaborators
Text formats
When a formula's output is text, it potentially contains a mix of dates, numbers, and/or plain text. You can format this output to match an option from a preset list of options similar to single-select-fields.
To enable single select style formatting:
Visit your Airtable homepage.
Locate your formula field and click the ˅ icon next to its name.
Click Formatting.
Toggle on "Use Single Select formatting for formula output."
Define your preferred options, and select which options to match when the formula output does not match what you've predefined.
Formula terminology
Formulas in Airtable utilize terms (e.g. "String") and symbols (e.g. "&") common to programming languages, however they are simplified to make formulas easier to write and understand. The table below lists the terms you'll encounter and some common examples of each one.