Connecting Data Across Different Tables Made Easy with Linked Records

Say Goodbye to manually entering updates across multiple work-stream. Using Zoho Tables link records, discover the dynamic relationship between your tables with no more duplication or conflicting edits. You can now experience the Zoho Tables' powerful feature by connecting all your pertinent data together.

While managing a workflow, a great deal of information needs to be tracked to stay on top of which team member is working on which project, or which supplier is being contracted for the purchase of certain commodities; keeping all the information in separate tables can be overwhelming and hard to follow!

In Zoho Tables, you can store each data set as separate tables, yet avoid working in silos by enabling linked records that create dynamic relationships between your records.

The three significant steps in setting up a streamlined workflow using linked records are as follows.

• Formulate your relationships
• Create your relationships
• Exploit your Relationships

Formulate your relationships

1. What information are you tracking?
   
2. How is the information organized in individual tables?
   
3. Which field of a table holds the information that you are primarily looking for?
   
4. How all the individual tables with data can be interconnected to create the desired workflow?
   

Let's look at an example of a team engaged in bug tracking. There are three major aspects they are mainly focusing on: List of bugs reported, List of Developers assigned to work, and listing of features detailing the bug's category. Each list can be saved as a separate table, but that doesn't mean they need to live separately.

In the above image, we have outlined individual tables for each list of activities. You may refer to it to understand how to connect your records to the related item to customize a workflow.

Create your relationships

The list of activities as individual tables is saved as follows:

1. Table 1 - Bugs Reported
   
2. Table 2 - Developers Assigned
   
3. Table 3 - Feature 
   

Now the first step is to create a link between table 1 and table 2 to assign developers to each bug reported by the team.

Let's go to the Table to create a link.

Step 1- Select the link record field from the list of fields available

Step 2- Choose a table to link to (Developers Assigned) 

Step 3- From the Advanced option, choose a display field (Developer Name). The display field refers to the field from which you want to retrieve records.

Step 4- Click on Create

Now that your link field has been created, a reference field is also created for the related table.    

Exploit your Relationships

The linked record fields maintain real-time data integrity across the tables in your workflows. Changes to any one of the linked records will update the information in all connected records instantly, enabling a single source of truth throughout the interface. 

Restrict Link Selection to a View

The view feature in Zoho Tables supports creating a copy of your tabular data with a filtered condition without altering/disrupting the master tabular data. As a part of the linked records process, by enabling Restrict link selection to a view, users can limit the selection of records restricted to the data saved in a view. As a result, the Link record picklist will only display the records from the selected view to choose from.

This process is described in three stages as follows:

1. Enable Filtered View
2. Restrict Link Selection to a View
3. Access Records Limited to the Linked View

Example: Let's use the same bug tracker scenario to comprehend this feature better.

1. Enable Filtered View

Table 1 - Bugs Reported

Table 2 - Department Employees list (Includes developers and other functions) 

In this case, as we need to assign the bugs to the developers, we have to create a view of Table 2 and enable a filter in the designation field to filter only developers from the department employees list. This filtered view is to be named as developers, i.e. Table 2 - Department Employees  & View - Developers

Now that we have the list of developers saved as a separate view under Table No. 2, the next step is to enable restricted link selection to this view.

2. Restrict Link Selection to a View

Let's get back to the table to create link

Step 1- Select link record field from the list of fields available

Step 2- Choose a table to link to - (Department Employees)

Step 3- Choose a display field - from the Advanced option - (Developer Name).

Step 4- Enable the toggle option to Restrict selection to a view

Step 5 - Find the View  (Developers)

Step 4 - Click on create

3. Access Records Limited to the Linked View

In the below GIF, after saving the table with a filtered condition as a separate view and restricting link selection, you can see only the records limited to the view "developers " under the table "department employees." 

Link Multiple Records 

Zoho Tables supports many-to-many relationships which help you link multiple records in a single cell, i.e, even if you already have one record linked to a cell, you will still see the + icon to pick as many records as you want to serve your needs.

Link & Retrieve Records From Any Field of Your Choice

Linked record in Zoho Tables is designed exclusively for ease of use. A user can create links between records by choosing any field of the other table as a display field without restriction. It simplifies the process of linking records by allowing you to connect easily and retrieve records from a desired field.