Connecting Records Together

In this article, we aim to provide valuable insights on how to establish connections between your Knack records.

What Are Connections?

Connections serve as the vital links that connect your records together. By utilizing connections, you have the ability to construct sophisticated applications that are user-friendly and easily manageable.

Connections enable you to link and associate various entities together, such as:

• Invoice #123 with customer Jamie Thompson

• Student Maria Rodrigues with school Summer Heights High

• Employee Jo Richards with department Sales

These connections enable the creation of dynamic pages that exclusively display each user's relevant data, ensuring the privacy and relevance of their information. For example, by connecting invoices to specific users, you can build a customer portal where each user logs in to see and pay their own invoices. 

 

 

To establish a connection between your records, there are two stages involved:

1. Establish a connection between two tables, allowing for the linking of records.
2. Link individual records by utilizing the connection field.

The article About Connections covers the first stage of creating a connection between two tables in-depth, along with many examples of how connections are used.

In this article, we will discuss the second stage - utilizing connection fields to effectively manage relationships between records. We will explore the various options provided by Knack to establish connections between records.

 

 

Managing Record Connections

When you establish a connection between two tables, the connection field becomes the means by which you manage the relationship between individual records. The appearance of the connection field in your Live Application will depend on the Format that is set on the field- it can be displayed as a dropdown menu or a radio button.

 

The appearance of the connection field depends on the number of records in the connected table. If the connected table has fewer than 500 records, the connection field will be displayed as a dropdown or radio button, depending on the Format set on the connection field.

The dropdown option allows users to easily scroll through or search the connected records before selecting one.

However, if the connected table has 500 or more records, the only option available will be to search the connected records.

 

 

Connecting Records Together

In order to establish a connection between two records, you will need to choose a record from the connected table by utilizing the connection field on a child record.

When working in the Builder, it will appear as follows:

There are numerous methods available for establishing connections between records in Knack. You can connect records:

• In the Records section of the Builder

  • Edit records individually in the Records tab

  • Import connections with file (.csv, .json, .txt formats)

  • Automatically connect records using scheduled tasks

• In your Live App, using Form views

  • Edit the connection field in a form

  • Automatically connect records using record rules on the form submit

• In your Live App, using grid views

  • Inline edit connection fields

  • Automatically connect records using record rules when inline edits are made

• Via an integration

  • Insert connected records using a third-party service like Zapier or Make

  • Edit the connection field via the API

 

 

Editing a Connection Between Records

Editing a connection between records follows a similar process to connecting records.

Here are the available techniques for editing a connection between records:

• In the Records section of the Builder

  • Edit records in the Records tab

  • Edit connections during the import

  • Automatically update record connections using scheduled tasks

• In your Live App, using Form views

  • Edit the connection field in a form

  • Automatically update record connections using record rules on form submit (only some actions)

• In your Live App, using Grid views

  • Inline edit connection fields

  • Automatically connect records using record rules when inline edits are made

• Via an integration

  • Edit the connection field via the API

 

 

Disconnecting Records

To disconnect records, simply remove the content from the connection field. When the field is empty, the record you are viewing will no longer be connected to any other record. 

Deleting a connection between records is very similar to editing record connections.

The following techniques are available for disconnecting records:

• In the Records section of the Builder

  • Edit records in the Records tab

  • Edit connections during the import

  • Automatically update record connections using scheduled tasks

• In your Live App, using Form views

  • Edit the connection field in a form

  • Automatically update record connections using record rules on form submits (only some actions)

• In your Live App, using Grid views

  • Inline edit connection fields

  • Automatically connect records using record rules when inline edits are made

• Via an integration

  • Edit the connection field via the API

 

Display Field

The values that appear in the connection field represent a field in the connected table. This is what we call the display field. The display field can be changed in the table settings of the connected table.

For example, for a connection between Contacts to Companies, you may choose the Company Name field from the Companies table as the display field. That way, when you’re viewing or editing the connection field of a Contacts record, you’ll see the Company Name of the Company records.

 

To set the display field, navigate to the table settings. You can access the table settings by clicking on the dropdown arrow icon in the top menu when viewing the Data, Records, or Tasks tab. From there, you can modify the display field for the table.

 

 

Connecting Records in Your App

In this section, we will delve into the various methods that can be used to connect records together. For more information on the different ways to utilize connections in your app, please refer to the article titled Use Connections in Your App.

In the Records Tab in the Builder

Within the Records section of the Builder, you have the ability to view, edit, add, and delete the records in your database. It's important to note that you can only view records for one table at a time. 

 

To modify a connection field in the Builder, simply click on the connection field itself to edit it inline. Additionally, you can expand the record to edit the entire record and it's field values by clicking on the expand icon next to the specific record.

You will have the option to choose a record from the connection table and establish a connection to it:

You can utilize this method to:

• Connect records for the first time

• Edit the existing connection between records

• Disconnect records

 

 

During Import

You can use an import to create and edit connections to other records. When you import records into an existing table, you can choose which field from that table to match the column in your CSV.

Likewise, you can also match a column in your CSV to a field in a connecting table. Knack will then use that match to find a record to connect to.

 

This technique can be utilized to:

• Connect records for the first time

• Edit the existing connection between records

• Disconnect records

 

 

Using Scheduled Tasks

Scheduled tasks are an effective method for automatically updating record connections. These tasks can be used to connect to another record, update existing connections, and insert new connected records.

One scenario when you may use scheduled tasks to connect records is with daily evaluations. Some companies require Managers to evaluate their Employees on a regular basis.

You have the option to utilize a task to automatically insert a new Evaluation record that is connected to each active Employee record on the first day of every month. Furthermore, you can configure the task to automatically connect the new Evaluation record to the Manager who is connected to each Employee.

 

You can utilize this method to:

• Connect records for the first time

• Edit the connection between records (not available when inserting connected records)

• Disconnect records (not available when inserting connected records)

 

 

Directly in Form Views

In your live application, you have the option to create form views for your users, allowing them to easily edit record connections. By including the connection field as a form input, users can select a record from the connected table to establish a connection with the record in the form.

This functionality is available in forms for both adding and editing records. 

 

You can utilize this method to:

• Connect records for the first time

• Edit the existing connection between records

• Disconnect records

 

 

Using a Form’s Source

Forms can be configured to automatically establish connections between records. When creating a new record using a form, you have the option to automatically connect the new record to the record on the current page or to the logged-in user.

This functionality is available if there is an opportunity to insert connected records on that particular page.

As an example, if you have a contact directory where Contact records are connected to their associated Company, you have the option to include a form on the company details page. This form allows you to add new Contact records, automatically establishing a connection between the new Contact and the Company record you are currently viewing.

To determine if a form is automatically configured to establish a connection for a new record, you can check the data source. 

 

 

Using Record Rules on a Form or Grid

Record rules are an effective technique for automatically establishing connections between records using a form or grid view. Similar to tasks, record rules have the ability to update the record within the form or grid, modify connected records, and insert new connected records.

This feature is often used to track the last user who made edits to a record. For example, you can set up a record rule to connect a record to the logged-in user when they edit an invoice using a form.

As an illustration, let's consider the scenario where we add a record rule to a form called "Edit Invoice". In this case, the Invoice table is associated with the Manager user role, granting us the ability to establish a connection between the Invoice record and the Manager user who made the most recent edits: 

You can utilize this method to:

• Connect records

• Edit the connection between records (not available when inserting connected records)

• Disconnect records (not available when inserting connected records)

 

 

 

In Grid Views

Records can also be edited inline on grids. If the connection field is present on a grid, you can enable inline editing so users can edit the record connections. Inline editing on a grid can also trigger the record rules mentioned above.

 

You can utilize this method to:

• Connect records

• Edit the connection between records

• Disconnect records

 

 

Using Zapier

Zapier is a powerful service that enables you to seamlessly connect third-party software with your Knack account, allowing you to automate the transfer of records between these services.

By leveraging Zapier, you can effortlessly insert connected records into your database. For instance, if you utilize accounting software, you can effortlessly send paid invoice records to your Knack app, automatically establishing a connection between the invoice and the corresponding customer.

You can utilize this method to:

• Connect records

• Edit the connection between records

 

 

Using the API

Our API allows you to create custom integrations between your business tools and Knack. With the API, you can make requests to create, retrieve, update, or delete records in your Knack apps.

This means you can use our API to insert a new connected record and edit the connection field between existing records. The functionality is similar to what you would get from Zapier, but our API offers greater robustness and customization options.

You can utilize this method to:

• Connect records

• Edit the connection between records

• Disconnect records

 

Notes & Troubleshooting

For detailed troubleshooting tips and FAQs, click here: Connections: Troubleshooting & FAQs

How-To Guides

• How to Show Multiple Fields in Your Connection Dropdown

• Showing Parent-Child Records in the Live App

• Track Which User Last Updated a Record

• Show Records Connected to the Logged-in User

• Show Records Connected To The Logged-in User's Company Or Other Group

• Create an Add To Favorites Feature

• Create Dynamic Dropdowns in Forms

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