Odd use case blending two record types. I wa...

[Mike_A]

Odd use case blending two record types.

I want to be able to have a single table with “Activities” that include Tasks as well as Projects record types.

But, for Project records, i want to pull some data columns from another table (by ID) to reduce entry effort.

For Task records, I need to enter all data.

So, is there a slick way to use Edit_if or Appsheet formulas to allow vlookup of some Project columns while still allowing edits for all columns if it’s a Task record?

Hmm…

[tony1]

@Mike_Adler I’d make a virtual reference column that looks up the row in the other table (the one that has the pre-filled values stored).

Then, set the initial values of your other columns to something like this:

IF([Type] = “Project”, [Virtual Ref Column].[Column to fill from], “”)

That will initialize them. If you want to make them only editable if they’re not a Project type, then make the editable_if

[Type] <> “Project”

Here’s a demo that is related. It uses the same trick, but instead of looking up the row by ID, it finds the most recent row. appsheet.com - Most Recent Value - Initialize forms with most recent value Most Recent Value - Initialize forms with most recent value appsheet.com

[Mike_A]

@tony - thanks!

I had the editable_if set, and a virtual column, but let me try out using your approach to initial value and see.

Much appreciated.

One question - if I use initial value and the secondary table data changes, i would not get that update as the field already has an initial value correct?

Will have to see what happens if you delete the column value - will initial value get set again…

[tony1]

@Mike_Adler If the source data gets updated, the target table won’t be updated. This is because it’s initialized using the current value, but not linked via a virtual column’s app formula.

There’s no way to make a column editable if it has an app formula, unfortunately.