Intro to Record Links: A Guide to Smarter Forms

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A Record Link lets you pull in data from another app—kind of like a lookup table in Excel. It helps keep your data clean, organized, and connected.

For example:

If you have one app for "Client Information" and another for "Site Inspections", a Record Link can let you select the Client’s name (or create a new one) directly from the "Client Information" app while you're creating a record in the Site Inspections App. You can also pull in the client's contact info if it's documented in the same record!

Best part: You can avoid duplicate data entry and make sure everyone is using the same source of truth.

Here we can see a user creating a record in the Site Inspections App (top left corner). The two blue buttons are showing you the record link feature, where you can create or select a record from another app (Client Information App), and populate the information in the current record. This helps you maintain a long list of customer data and save your team time in filling out the form. Check out the Auto-populate Feature to see how you can fill in the rest of the client's contact info!

Record links are used as a "Lookup" App to select from a long list of growing data.

Are you curious if this would work for you? Do you have a list of inspectors, equipment, or asset types that you have to track or select from in your current inspection? Does your team consistently have to create new items for that list? Create a separate “Lookup” app and reference the information using a Record Link.

Great for:

Record Links: Use record links when you want to automatically display multiple fields within a record that will also match on future records. It's also helpful for maintaining large choice lists that need ongoing maintenance. For example, you currently have your users fill out all the project data on each record; record links could allow you to select the pre-existing project data and have it automatically fill out the remaining fields.

Multiple Choice: Use multiple choice when you want to have a list of options for your users to choose from, so that it reduces the time and error of filling the field out themselves. If there are no other fields related and there are limited options to choose from that mainly stay static, multiple choice would be the best choice.

Repeatables: Use repeatables if you need to track related data within a single inspection, location, or event. Instead of creating separate records each time, you can add entries inside the main parent record. For example, when inspecting multiple parks and their features like tennis courts and soccer fields, your "parent record" is the actual park, and the park features can all be tracked in repeatables.

Keep in mind, if you plan to have more than 50 child records or want to have unlimited entries, it's best to go with Record Links. Check out Repeatables and Record link Comparisons if you would like to compare further.

Still have questions? Reach out to your Customer Success Manager or email [email protected] to help talk through the best structure for your app!

(Optional but powerful): Use Selection Filters and Auto-Populate Fields to fine-tune what shows up and what fills in automatically.

Use Auto-populate when you are using another app as a look-up table, and you also have several fields from that other app that you would like to view on a record within another app. This saves your team time from having to fill in several other fields and helps keep your data accurate.

For example, when you select a client, their phone number, email, and phone number get filled in automatically.

If your linked app has hundreds of records, you can set filters to only show relevant options, making it easier for your team to find the correct record to pull in.

Example: Only show locations that match a region selected earlier in the form.

To use a Record Link, users must have access to both apps involved—the one with the record link field and the one being referenced.

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