Contents x
    Airtable automation trigger: When record updated
    • 19 Jan 2024
    • 2 Minutes to read
    • Print
    • Dark
      Light
    • PDF
    Contents

    Airtable automation trigger: When record updated

    • Updated on 19 Jan 2024
    • 2 Minutes to read
    • Print
    • Dark
      Light
    • PDF
    Article Summary

    When building an Automation, you may choose a trigger that will start the automation. The "When record updated" trigger allows you to select an entire record, or individual fields in a record, to monitor for updates. Anytime the selected fields are updated the automation will trigger (or run) the action(s) you configured. Learn more about this trigger in the article below.

    Note

    This trigger does not run when a record is created, only when it has been updated. For that kind of workflow, you might consider using the "When record created" or "When record matches conditions" triggers instead.

    Introduction

    Plan availability

    All plan types with varying limitations

    Permissions

    • Owners/Creators - Create, delete, duplicate, configure, or rename an automation and edit an automation's description.

    • Editors - View an automation's configuration or copy an automation's URL.

    Platform(s)

    Web/Browser, Mac app, and Windows app

    Related reading

    Getting started with Airtable Automations

    Configuring a “When record updated” trigger

    Step 1: Create a new automation

    To start creating an automation, from the open base of your choice click on Automations in the upper left corner of your screen to open the automation configuration window. Click the + Create automation option to begin the setup process. If you would like, you can rename the automation right away to make it easier to understand what it does.

    Step 2: Configure the trigger

    1. Click the + Add trigger option.

    2. Choose the “When record updated” option.

    3. Under the “Configuration” section choose a table where you want this trigger to watch records.

    4. Next, optionally select a view to only watch updates in that view. This can be helpful in preventing accidental automation runs since a view can contain additional filters or hide certain fields from the view. Note that if you update a field's value that is shown in your chosen view from anywhere, even in another view, this automation will be triggered. So essentially, anytime a visible field in your view changes this automation would be triggered.

    5. Then, click Select fields. You can either:

      1. Watch all - This option will watch all of the fields in the table/view. This is also a good option to use when you want to watch most of the fields and then you can toggle one or more fields off from being watched by the trigger.

      2. Unwatch all - This is a good option when you need to clear the watched fields and only select certain fields.

      3. You can also pick and choose one or more fields for the automation trigger to watch.

    Any activity in records of fields being watched will trigger the subsequent automation that you build out to run.

    Step 3: Test the trigger and continue configuring the automation

    Next, you’ll want to test the automation. You can do this by clicking either:

    • Use suggested record - Using this option will cause our system to automatically pick a test record that matches the trigger condition

    • Choose record - This option is recommended as it will help you understand the exact record being used throughout the rest of the automation setup and testing. You’ll manually choose from a list of records that matches the trigger condition.

    Once the trigger tests successfully, it’s time to configure one or more automation action(s). Consult the following documentation to continue the setup process

    Note

    Once turned on, this automation will trigger as soon as the trigger conditions are met for a record. If you need to make record changes without triggering the automation, make sure to turn the automation off while those changes are being made.


    Was this article helpful?
    What's Next