I’m looking to create a calendar inside Airtable that shows records from multiple tables (eg. Projects, Tasks, Appointments). ‘Solutions’ I came across are very much sub-optimal.
There is a Master Calendar Extension, but it’s paid and can’t be made visible in Interfaces
Syncing multiple Airtable Calendar Views by subscribing to them from a Google Calendar . Again, this brings the view outside Airtable again. Also, you’d actually ahve to go inside Airtable to manipulate the calendar item while loosing context of the overview of all items across different tables.
Duplicating all records inside a master table. Which creates redundancy and complexity.
Merging the different tables into one table for all Projects, Tasks and Appointments. Which breaks the two-way linked record functionality.
I thought one of the points of interfaces was to bring data from tables together. Strange they didn’t give Calendars in interfaces the ability to source from multiple tables.
Any came up with other solutions for this use-case that might be more optimal?
I think you are referring to the marketing department’s perspective of what Airtable Interfaces should do, not what it is actually capable of.
I often read their latest marketing pitch to enterprises to exercise my neck muscles. I shake my head back and forth as I read almost complete nonsense as they describe a fictional capability wrapped in an enigma.
Recommendation: step away from the implementation details associated with Interfaces and write a list of BUSINESS requirements bullets. Post them here and ask how others have addressed your vision, if at all.
One calendar to view all tables - this easily ranks in my top 10 pet hates for Airtable. It’s such a simple and featureful concept that would improve the lives of many, both users and base developers alike - and yet here we are, in 2023, still waiting and wondering if Airtable is even listening (pro-tip, they’re not).
The ugly linked record workarounds will only get you so far too. It’s one thing to link the heck out of a base to get some-kind-of multi-table calendar view - but what to do for a calendar that’s to show various dates/information from multiple bases from within a Workspace? Helper fields are one thing, but helper tables…
However, I have faith in the community, and am keen to see what solutions others may bring to the table.
Yeah, this is one of the big shortcomings of Airtable.
I have my Mac clients using BusyCal, which is the most advanced calendar program available for the Mac.
And then I have each Airtable table’s calendar show up as a different calendar in BusyCal.
One of the many great things about BusyCal is that it refreshes external calendars very quickly --you can set it to refresh every minute, if you’d like. On the other hand, Google Calendar only refreshes external calendars once per day.
This one caught my attention this week. It says all the right words, but fair warning - I don’t know crap about calendars, let alone integrating them with Airtable.
I have been experimenting with SmartSuite calendars, and it seems to check all the boxes and then some. It “feels” pretty good. But again - I’m a complete dipsh*t concerning all things calendars.
FYI, I’m the developer of the Master Calendar extension.
Like many rudimentary ui designers, Airtable’s Interface elements only accept a single data source. There would need to be a non-insignificant shift to how their “control panels” are set up to mirror what Master Calendar is capable of. Obviously its not impossible since i was able to do it as an amateaur.
List views are the only element type designed to house data from multiple sources. Its possible they may the lessons learned from there to add similar capability to other elements like Calendar. I have not yet heard any plans from Airtable to do so.
As I suspected. There seems to be an architectural impedance, a mismatch of technical discontinuity baked into Interfaces and their propriety “closed” environment.
Hypothetically, had Airtable pushed forward with its original rumored Interfaces feature based on open web technologies (HTML/CSS/Javascript), would you have been able to overcome the rigidity of the current architecture?
I often wonder why a clever developer hasn’t pursued the development of an open-web Interface for Airtable? Is it not unlike building a more complex form feature?
