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Link Fields From Parent Sheets

When to Link Fields from Parent Sheets

If you have added new fields to a sheet generated from a subtable, or have added a reference subtable to a sheet and would like to add new fields from the parent sheet, you can use the link fields from parent sheets option to link the new fields.

Optionally, you can also add independent fields that belong to the parent sheet for display purposes by using this linking tool.

For example, on the Sales Order sheet, you initially created a new sheet from sales items subtable, and added a new subtable field on the Sales Order sheet that you would like to add to the new sheet created from this subtable as well. You can achieve your goal by using the link fields from the parent sheet option. If you would like to display other information related to the Sales Order on the new sheet created from subtable, such as the Sales Order Date or Order Status, then you can add these fields by using this linking tool.

Old & New Ways to Link Fields From Parent Sheets

1. If you used this method to link fields from parent sheets before 2021/01/09, these fields will be added using the old way. The added fields will have the same field IDs as the respective fields on the parent sheets, meaning that these fields will still belong to the parent sheets and are directly added to the child sheets for displaying purposes only (when linking that field from the parent sheet, it will be set as read-only by default). If you use this way to link fields from parent sheets, your fields may have filtering and sorting issues. To fix these issues, we suggest you remove these fields and add them again by linking them from parent sheets using the new way.

2. If you used this method to link fields from parent sheets after 2021/01/09, these fields will be added using the new way. The system will add the fields using the link & load tools with the keep loaded value sync with source automatically enabled. In the design mode, you will see that these fields will have an "L" icon with a gray background that is lighter than the background of the icon on a normal loaded field. These fields on the child sheet will be automatically synced from the parent sheet and are only for display purposes (when linking these fields, it will be set as read-only by default).

How to Link Fields from Parent Sheets

To use this type of linking, navigate to the Design Mode through the Change Design button. Click on Form Tools. You'll see the available parent sheets as options listed under Link fields from parent sheets, in the Sheet Linking Tools category.

When you click on the sheet name, a pop-up window will list all the available fields that can be added to your child sheet. You can drag and drop any of these listed available fields into your database design.

The available fields with a red border are subtable fields linked with the current sheet. The fields with a blue border are regular fields that belong to the parent sheet, which should be used only for display purposes on the current sheet. Don't forget to save your design before exiting the design mode.

Note: The maximum number of records you can sync at once using Link Fields from Parent Sheets is 50 records, and the system will not sync the excess records. (If you have special needs to increase this limit, please contact us.)

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