Linked Record Filtering

Overview

When your Airtable tables have linked record fields, CollabPortals shows them as dropdown selectors. By default, the dropdown shows all records from the linked table. Linked record filtering lets you restrict these options so users only see relevant records.

The Problem

Without filtering, a linked record dropdown shows every record in the target table. In a portal where users should only see their own data, this could expose records belonging to other users.

Example

You have a "Tasks" table with a linked record field pointing to "Projects". Without filtering:

• User A sees all projects in the dropdown, including User B's projects
• User A could accidentally link their task to someone else's project

With filtering:

• User A only sees their own projects in the dropdown
• The list is clean and relevant

How Filtering Works

Linked record filtering restricts dropdown options based on the logged-in user. When enabled for a linked record field, CollabPortals:

1. Identifies the current portal user
2. Looks at the target table (the table the field links to)
3. Filters records to only show those linked to the current user
4. Presents only those records in the dropdown

This works through the chain of linked record relationships back to the user table.

Configuring Linked Record Filtering

1. 1

   Navigate to field permissions

   Open your portal settings and go to the table that contains the linked record field you want to filter.

2. 2

   Find the linked record field

   Linked record fields are displayed with their target table name. Look for fields of type multipleRecordLinks.

3. 3

   Enable filtering

   Toggle the filtering option for the linked record field. CollabPortals will automatically filter based on the user's relationship to the target table.

When to Use Linked Record Filtering

Use it when:

• The target table contains records belonging to multiple users
• Users should only link to their own records
• You want to prevent cross-user data exposure in dropdowns

Skip it when:

• The target table is a shared reference table (e.g., "Categories", "Statuses")
• All users should see all options
• The table contains lookup data that applies to everyone

Example Configuration

Project Management Portal

Field	Target Table	Filtering
Project	Projects	On - users see only their projects
Category	Categories	Off - all categories are shared
Assigned To	Contacts	On - users see only relevant contacts
Priority	Priorities	Off - all priorities are shared

Requirements

For linked record filtering to work:

1. The target table must have records that are linked (directly or through intermediate tables) to the user table
2. The portal must have a user table configured
3. Records in the target table must have linked record relationships that trace back to the logged-in user

Next Steps

• Creating Records - How users interact with linked record fields
• Field Permissions - Control linked record field visibility
• Table Permissions - Control access to linked tables