Lookup Fields

Lookups in Noloco allow you to fetch and display related information from other data tables, enhancing your data relationships and insights without duplicating data.

What is a Lookup Field?

A lookup field in Noloco enables you to pull in data from a different table based on a linked relationship. This means you can display related information from another table without manually copying the data, ensuring consistency and reducing redundancy. Lookups are particularly useful for creating dynamic and interconnected datasets, such as referencing client details in a project management table or product information in an order tracking table.

Creating a Lookup Field

1. Navigate to Your Table: Open the Noloco table where you want to add the lookup.

2. Add a New Field: Click on “Add Field” and select “Lookup”.

3. Configure the Lookup:

   • Linked Field: Select the linked field that connects the current table to the source table.

   • Field to Lookup: Choose the specific field from the source table you want to display.

Example Use Cases

• Project Management: Display client names from a clients table within a projects table.

• Sales Tracking: Show product details in an orders table.

Advanced Options

• Formulas: Combine lookup fields with formulas for advanced data manipulation.

Best Practices

• Data Integrity: Use lookups to maintain consistency and reduce data redundancy.

• Performance: Optimize lookup fields by filtering unnecessary data.

FAQs about Lookup Fields

1. What data sources are supported for Lookups?

   Noloco supports lookups from all data sources, including Noloco Tables, Airtable, SmartSuite Google Sheets, PostgreSQL, MySQL, and Xano. You can even add a lookup to a linked field that links across two different data sources.

2. What field types are supported for Lookups?

   You can use lookup fields with various data types such as text, numbers, dates, and even linked fields. The only unsupported field at the moment are file/attachment fields.

3. Can I filter the data in a Lookup field?

   No, not at the moment, you can not apply filters to your lookups, but let us know if this is somehting you want to see in Noloco.

4. How do Lookups help with data consistency?

   By referencing data from a single source, lookups ensure that any updates to the source data are reflected across all linked tables, maintaining consistency.

5. Can I use Lookups in formulas?

   Yes, you can use lookup fields within formulas to perform advanced data manipulations.

6. Are Lookups real-time?

   Yes, lookups fetch the latest data from the source table, ensuring real-time updates and synchronization. They are updated whenever one of the underlying links or values are updated.