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Setup flow

Formula fields

A formula field works out each row's value from the row's other fields, the
way a spreadsheet column does: a total, a status, the days left until a
deadline.

Add one

  1. Open a table and press + at the end of the columns.
  2. Name the column and choose Formula as its type.
  3. Write the formula, with a field's name in braces: {Price} * {Quantity}.
    Press a field's name under the box to put it in where the cursor is, or
    Show functions to see what you can use.
  4. As you type, the line under the box says what the formula gives on the
    first rows, or what's wrong and where.
  5. Press Add.

To change a formula later, open the column's menu (press its name).

Writing a formula

  • Numbers: + - * / and brackets, as in ({Price} - {Discount}) * {Quantity}.
  • Text: & joins text, as in {First name} & " " & {Last name}. Put text
    in double or single quotes.
  • Comparisons: = != < > <= >= give yes or no. Text is compared without
    minding capitals, so {Status} = "done" matches "Done".
  • Dates: add or take away days, as in {Start} + 14. One date minus
    another is the days between them.
  • An empty field counts as 0 in a sum and as empty text when joined.

Examples

What it shows Formula
The total {Price} * {Quantity}
With 18% tax, to the paisa ROUND({Total} * 1.18, 2)
Overdue work IF(AND(NOT({Done}), {Due} < TODAY()), "Overdue", "")
Days left DATETIME_DIFF({Due}, TODAY())
Working days in a stretch WORKDAY_DIFF({Start}, {Due})
A label by priority SWITCH({Priority}, "High", "Urgent", "Low", "Later", "Normal")
Initials LEFT({First name}, 1) & LEFT({Last name}, 1)

Functions

  • Logic: IF, SWITCH, AND, OR, NOT, ISBLANK, ISERROR, BLANK,
    TRUE, FALSE
  • Numbers: SUM, AVERAGE, MIN, MAX, ROUND, ROUNDUP,
    ROUNDDOWN, CEILING, FLOOR, ABS, SQRT, MOD, POWER, VALUE
  • Text: CONCATENATE, LEN, UPPER, LOWER, TRIM, LEFT, RIGHT,
    MID, FIND, SUBSTITUTE, REPT
  • Dates: TODAY, NOW, DATEADD, DATETIME_DIFF, WORKDAY_DIFF, YEAR,
    MONTH, DAY, WEEKDAY

They're named and written as they are in Airtable, so they'll look familiar.
One difference: DATETIME_DIFF counts days unless you give it another unit
("weeks", "months", "hours"…), where Airtable counts seconds. The editor
shows how each is written.

Good to know

  • Formulas are worked out on your server each time the table opens, so
    everyone sees the same values, and TODAY() is today where you are.
  • Renaming a field doesn't break the formulas that use it. Deleting one does:
    the formula shows it as {Deleted field} and says so in every row, until
    you change it.
  • A formula can use another formula's value, but not its own, even through
    another formula.
  • Text a formula puts together (with &, CONCATENATE, REPT or
    SUBSTITUTE) can be up to 10,000 characters; past that, the cell says so.
    LEFT, TRIM, UPPER and the rest work on a cell of any length.
  • A table can have up to 100 formula fields. A formula that takes too much
    working out, such as one searching a very long cell many times over, says so
    in its cells instead of slowing the table down for everyone.
  • DATEADD keeps to the end of a month: 31 January plus a month is
    28 February.
  • Formula cells can't be typed in: change the formula instead. Board cards,
    shared tables and guest links show their values, and the chart can add up a
    formula that gives a number.

Available from OneCamp v2.68.0 (with AI) and v1.53.0 (without AI), on every
plan, the free one included.