Connecting to Airtable

Before you begin

• Airtable IDs currently pull into Adalo as Text. We are currently unable to support IDs that are not in number format so you will not be able to use the Airtable ID in MagicText.

There are some new changes introduced by Airtable in 2023-2024 that may affect the way you set up this integration. Please make sure you follow the instructions depending on your specific use case:

To ensure everything is clear, these are the important dates for these changes:

August 1st, 2023: Users will no longer be able to create new API keys.

February 1st, 2024 (next year): Existing API keys cannot be used to access the Airtable API.

1) Generate your Personal Access Token

In order to connect your Airtable Database to Adalo through external collections you'll need to have your Personal Access token. From /create/tokens, click the “Create new token” button to create a new personal access token. These steps can be found in Airtable's documentation but we are sharing them here so you can easily access them.

1. Login to Airtable

2. Click on your account top right

3. Midway down select < > Developer HUB

4. Click Create token.

5. Give your Token a Unique name.

6. Choose the scopes to grant to your token. This controls what API endpoints the token will be able to use.

7. Click ‘add a base’ to grant the token access to a base or workspace.

1. Once your token is created, Airtable will only show it to you once, so it's highly encouraged to copy it to your clipboard and store it somewhere safe. While you will be able to manage it in /create/tokens, the sensitive token itself is not stored for security purposes.

2) Locate the API Base URL for your table in Airtable

In order to connect your Airtable API to Adalo you will need to obtain your Base URL and set the Authorization. Note that some APIs do not require authorization, but this is not the case for Airtable. See individual screenshots for a detailed walkthrough.

1. Ensure you have upgraded to one of the paid plans within Adalo log in to Adalo > go to your account > settings > Team & Billing > Choose your plan > input credit card information.

2. In the left nav bar in Adalo click on the Database Icon, under External Collection (Connect to API) select the + Add Collection link.

3. Name your collection. The collection name should be the same name as the table in Airtable. 4. Sign in to your Airtable and open the Base that you are wanting to use. 5. Click on the Help Link at the Top right. 6. Select API Documentation at the Bottom right.

7. On the left side, click the table which you are wanting to integrate with Adalo. 8. Click List Records.

9. At the top of the code is a URL, this is your BaseURL - copy from the https: to before the ? - do not copy the ? or after as these set specific parameters. Enter this in the section for BaseURL in Adalo.

3) Set up your Authorization

1. To set the Authorization you will click on + Add Item and then select Header.

2. Note the H just under the BaseURL in the code example. Header is always the case when using Airtable, but some APIs use a query or multiple forms of authorization. 3. In the Name section input "Authorization". 4. In the Value section input "Bearer YOUR_ACCESS_TOKEN" that you generated at the beginning.

3) Set up the API Endpoints

Endpoints are words that programmatically create methods for what you want to do with your data. Typically this is what they represent: Get = Retrieve Record (Get All or use a parameter to Get One) Post = Create Record Delete = Delete Record Put or Patch = Update Record

In Airtable there are some very specific features needed to ensure your test will be successful. In the GET ALL endpoint accordion you will need to use the word records as your Results Key. (Note: for some APIs there is not a Results Key and this can be left empty, for others there may be a different keyword. You can see in the middle image below where to find the Results Key.)

Airtable is also unique in that it offers both the ability to use the PUT or the PATCH for updating a record, typically APIs only use one of these. We recommend using the PATCH endpoint when connecting Airtable because it will update the specific field in the table and leave all other inputs. If you use the PUT endpoint it will update the field you edited, but delete other fields in that row.

From this point, you are ready to hit Next. Run a Test on your API connection and hope that it is successful and will add your new external collection to your Adalo project.

You will not need to connect your external database again within Adalo (follow the process listed above) unless you add a new property column to your Airtable Base. New rows will update automatically. To connect your external database again select the three button menu next to the collection and click edit settings, and click all the way through. You will not need to update the fields again.

Troubleshooting

Q. Why did my Airtable property not show up in my Adalo External Collection? A. If the entire column in Airtable is empty the property will NOT transfer to Adalo. You will need at least 1 record with all columns completed.

Q. What are all these additional property fields and different names in Adalo? A. The word fields is before every property when the connection occurs. You can edit these when using the label in forms. There are additional fields/properties that will also be seen in the external collection in Adalo that are not needed, such as: id, attachments > id, attachments > thumbnails etc. You can delete these if you'd like. You should NEVER use the id or createdTime properties. Q. Why is there only 1 of my images/attachments in my Adalo External Collection. A. We do not support multiple attachments per property, Adalo will only bring the first attachment. You will need to separate them in Airtable in respective columns.

Q. Why are my property classification not the same? A. Airtable contains more property field classifications than Adalo. Your data is put in a Text Property in Adalo if we do not have an aligned classification.

Q. Why did my Airtable database formula not update? A. Our platform will not make entry updates on a formula property in Airtable. Example: In Airtable you have a property for Price of Item: Price of Item = $ and another property for Half Price of Item: Price of Item/2 = $/2. Adalo can not update the Half Price of Item property because this has a formula already set. You would need to update the Price of Item to run the formula.

Q. Why did my Airtable Select One property not transfer to Adalo as a dropdown menu? A. We do not currently support the dropdown property from Airtable. If your user inputs the correct item from the drop down then it will accept it, but if they do not it will not transfer. It is important to either tell your user what options they have to input or not to use this property.

Q. I tried to update my data and it erased other parts of my database? A. When you set up your endpoints check that on the update section you put PATCH instead of PUT.