Using formulas in Airtable's primary field
  • 05 Mar 2024
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Using formulas in Airtable's primary field

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Article Summary

Plan availability

All plan types

Platform(s)

Web/Browser, Mac app, and Windows app

Airtable terminology

  • Primary field - The primary field is always the first column, or field, in any table. It represents a description of each record in the table and cannot be deleted, moved, or hidden. The primary field is used as a brief description of a record in other parts of the UI.

Concatenation in the primary field 

The primary field is always the first column, or field, in any table. It represents a description of each record in the table and cannot be deleted, moved, or hidden. This article cover leveraging formulas in the primary field.

Formulas can be used with the CONCATENATE() function or the ampersand sign (&) to link data from other fields and text. Using the ampersand method, you can build a formula that combines the client name, some static description text, and the order number that looks like the example below:

{Client & ":order #"}&{Order no.}

ampersandPrimaryName

Using the same example but with the CONCATENATE() function instead. As you can see, the formula outputs the exact text string:
CONCATENATE({Client},": order #", {Order no.})

concatenatePrimaryName

Autonumbering in the primary field 

Primary field formulas can also be combined with the autonumber field type to assign each record a unique number automatically.

In the example below, the formula below concatenates:

  • the static text "MYPREFIX."

  • the variable value ( {Autonumber}) which comes from the field named "Autonumber."

  • the static text "MYSUFFIX" to create unique record names in the primary field.

CONCATENATE("MYPREFIX", {Autonumber}, "MYSUFFIX")

prefixSuffixAutonumber



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