Collaborator field type

The collaborator field allows you to select one or more names from an automatically generated dropdown list of collaborators (both workspace collaborators and base collaborators). There are additional options discussed below that allow for referencing non-collaborators as well as inviting new collaborators in this field.

Overview

The collaborator field offers a few features that are outlined more extensively below, but some highlights worth noting are the ability to:

• Notify collaborators when they are added to a record.
• Assign single or multiple collaborators to a record in Airtable.
• Add new collaborators to the base or workspace you are working in from the Collaborator field.
• Reference non-base collaborators (Enterprise-only)

Multiple collaborators

A collaborator field can be set to allow only one collaborator or to allow multiple collaborators. You can change this setting by going into the field configuration menu and checking or unchecking the Allow adding multiple collaborators checkbox.

**Hold down Cmd on Mac and Cntrl on Windows to quickly add multiple collaborators to a record at once when field is set to allow multiple collaborators.

The field icon will change depending on whether or not the collaborator field supports one or multiple collaborators.

If you convert a collaborator field supporting multiple collaborators into a collaborator cell only supporting single collaborators, only the first collaborator in a cell will be retained.

Notify collaborators

The collaborator field can be configured to notify a collaborator when their name has been added to a cell. This is particularly helpful for project management use cases or any other situations in which you need to assign records to people.

By default, a collaborator field is set to notify collaborators when their name has been added to a cell. Adding a collaborator's name to a cell has three effects:

• Any collaborator whose name has been added will receive an in-Airtable notification. (You will not receive an Airtable notification if you add yourself.)

• Any collaborator whose name has been added will receive an email at the email address associated with their Airtable account. (You will not receive an email if you add yourself. Former collaborators and unconfirmed invited collaborators will not receive emails. Anyone who has email notifications switched off will not receive emails.)

• Any collaborator whose name has been added to a record (including when you add yourself) will automatically start watching the record in question. This means that, in the future, they will get notified about comments on the record. Collaborators can set themselves back to "Not watching" manually.

You can turn off the notifications feature by going to the field configuration menu and unchecking the Notify collaborators when they're added box.

Note that collaborators will not be notified if you duplicate a collaborator field or convert a field into a collaborator field. If you assign multiple records to a collaborator with a bulk operation (like paste or the fill handle) only one notification email will be sent.

Non-collaborators

Depending upon the workspace plan that your base is associated with, there will be different experiences with this feature. If your team is collaborating in a workspace on the Free, Plus, or Pro plans, then read more below. If your team is collaborating in a workspace on an Enterprise plan, then jump to the section further down.

Self-serve experience

For Free, Plus, and Pro plan customers, any Airtable user can now be added from a Collaborator field by email. When searching for a user in a collaborator field, an "Invite a new collaborator..." option will appear. If you are already typing an email address out, then you can continue typing it and press enter. A pop-over will appear where you can choose whether the user will have access as a base or workspace collaborator and also what level of permissions they should have. 

Enterprise experience

For Enterprise plan customers, non-collaborators can also be referenced in a Collaborator field. The behavior of the Collaborator field you create will be highly dependent upon whether or not the "Notify collaborators when they’re added" toggle is turned on or off. Those differences are highlighted below. Additionally, you'll be able to hover over a user's name to find details about whether or not they have base access, as well as an "Invite to your base" link.

With notifications toggle off

When notifications are toggled off, any collaborator part of your organization's Airtable surface can be added in a collaborator field. 

With notifications toggle on

If notifications are toggled on, then you'll be prompted to invite the user as a base or workspace collaborator before adding them to the collaborator field.

Collaborator fields and forms

Please be aware that if you add a collaborator field to a form, then anyone viewing the form can see the full list of all collaborators on the base, including their profile pictures and full names (but not their email addresses). Collaborators who are added to the base after the form was created will also show up on the form.

If you have concerns regarding the full list of collaborators being visible on a form, consider making a single or multiple select field instead.

Converting to a collaborator field

If you convert an existing field into a collaborator field, every cell will either be matched with an existing collaborator or cleared. If the field matches the first name, full name, or email of exactly one collaborator, it will be converted to that collaborator. If the content of a cell matches no collaborators, or it's ambiguous (e.g. you have two collaborators with the same first name), the cell will be cleared instead.

Note that converting a field to a collaborator field will never invite anyone new to your base.

Former collaborators

If a collaborator no longer has access to your base (either by unsharing themselves, being unshared, or deleting their account), their tokens will still appear in cells where that collaborator was previously assigned, in a lighter gray color.

However, their name token will no longer appear in the collaborator selection dropdown menu.

FAQs

Can I count the number of collaborators I have in a field?

You can by adding a formula field with the below formula. Make sure to replace the term "field name" with the name of your collaborator field: 

IF({field_name},LEN({field_name})-LEN(SUBSTITUTE({field_name},",",""))+1)