Lookup Field

Lookup field is used to cross-reference data that are kept in different tables.

Computed fields

One of the most exciting features of Baserow is computed fields (columns) which are computed, updated, and displayed automatically. There are several types of computed fields in your table that rely on other rows or actions by users to develop the field’s value, like link to table, lookup, last modified, formula and created on fields.

You set up computed fields so that they relate to other fields rather than other cells so that they apply to every row of the table and use the same computation for each row.

Using a lookup field

Lookup fields are read-only fields. When creating a lookup field you can choose a “Link to table” field in the same table and a field in the related table.

A lookup field allows you to look up a specific field in a linked row. Lookup can only be used when you have a link to table field in your table. You can copy row contents from one linked table into another linked table using a lookup field to establish relationships between two different tables.

enter image description here

For every relationship in the “Link to table” field, it shows the corresponding cell value of the related row. You can add or remove relationships via the “Link to table” field and this will automatically update the lookup field cell value. If you want to update the value, you need to find the related row and update the cell related to the chosen field in the lookup field.

A classic example of retrieving data from another table would be an Orders database. If on one table, the customer number is the identifying field for who made the order, other information about the customer, like name, address, telephone number, etc. can be collected from a customer database.

The data is easily retrieved by looking for the customer ID within the customer table and then retrieving the right information and populating the order table with the correct information. This is another way that time can be saved when you’re creating a database. This can also create table relationships that make databases more dynamic and useful.

Create a lookup field

Start by creating a link to table field before using a lookup field.

To create a lookup field,

  1. Click the plus sign + to the right of your existing fields or insert a new field next to an existing field.
  2. Select the lookup field type and input the name of the field.
  3. Select a link row field and a field to lookup
  4. Click ‘Create’

enter image description here

If you have multiple link to table fields, you will be given the choice of which link to table field to use for the lookup. Choose the field from those linked rows that you want to display after making that choice.

To change the field title, link row field or field to lookup of an existing lookup field, click on the dropdown next to the field and modify the details.

If you’re looking for something else, please feel free to make recommendations or ask us questions in our online community —we’re ready to assist you!