Databases and Connected Data
What this domain covers
This is the relational heart of Airtable. You must understand how tables connect and how computed fields behave. The core relationship tools are linked record fields (which store references to records in another table) and lookup fields (which pull a value through a link). Rollup fields aggregate values across linked records using an aggregation function (sum, count, average, etc.). Count fields simply count linked records.
Concepts to master
- A link field can be configured to allow linking to one or many records, and to allow or prevent linking to multiple records per cell.
- Lookups and rollups require a link. No link, no lookup. This is the single most common trap.
- Formulas compute from fields in the same record (plus lookups/rollups already present); they cannot traverse links on their own.
- Symmetry: a two-way link shows the relationship from both tables; you can control whether the reverse field appears.
- Primary field is the record's display name; it can be a formula but cannot be a lookup in some contexts - verify before asserting.
Traps in questions
Expect questions that ask you to sum values from a related table and offer a formula as a distractor - the correct answer is a rollup. Also watch for confusion between count (number of linked records) and rollup with COUNT (which counts values, and may skip blanks).
Worked example
You have an Orders table and a Products table. To show each order's total price, link Orders to Products, then add a Rollup field on Orders that references the link and the Products price field, with SUM as the function. A formula on Orders cannot reach the Products table directly.