Propagating Child Column Updates to Parent Column in Tables

Adam K. · 2025-08-14 21:25:24.367894+00

If I manually overwrite the output of a child column, is there a way to propagate that update back to the parent column? Right now an AI output says "B", but when I manually change the value to "A" (now green triangle is in upper right of cell), only "B" show's up downstream in the table.

Propagating Child Column Updates to Parent Column in Tables | Clay

5 comments

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Clay
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Manual overrides to individual cell data cannot be propagated back to parent columns. When you manually change a child column value from "B" to "A", this override stays local to that cell and doesn't update the parent column or affect downstream columns. Manual cell overrides are not published when using sandbox mode, meaning they remain isolated changes that don't propagate through your table structure.
Sources: Sandbox mode | Documentation | Clay University Sandbox mode | Documentation | Clay University
Adam K.
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Then is there a better way to handle that change? E.g. should I create a new column, and use that for down stream inputs?
Adam K.
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https://app.clay.com/workspaces/639208/workbooks/wb_0szvsv9FzAWEBhPsC63/tables/t_0szvsv9v9PsyZ5iVVG9/views/gv_0szvsv9eZMFTPgsMiZU
Luca P.
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Hi Adam - Great question! I totally understand this frustration - it's a common scenario that comes up with Clay's column relationships. What's happening When you manually overwrite a child column's output (changing "B" to "A"), that manual edit doesn't automatically propagate back to the parent column. The downstream columns are still referencing the original AI output ("B"), which is why you're seeing "B" appear in your downstream table instead of your manual edit "A". Better approaches to handle this Option 1: Create a new "master" column (Recommended) This is actually the best practice approach: ** Create a new column that combines/merges the AI output with your manual corrections ** Use this new column as the input for all downstream processes ** This way you can keep the original AI column intact while having a "clean" version for your workflow Option 2: Edit at the source ** If possible, go back to the parent column and adjust the inputs or logic that caused the AI to output "B" instead of "A" ** This will naturally flow through to child columns when they re-run Option 3: Turn off auto-update temporarily ** You can disable auto-update on specific columns while you're making manual corrections ** Then manually run downstream columns after you've finished your edits ** Just remember to turn auto-update back on when you're done Why this happens Clay's architecture treats manual edits as "overrides" rather than "source updates." The system maintains the original AI output as the source of truth for dependency calculations, while your manual edit is stored as a display override. This prevents unintended cascading changes but can be confusing in scenarios like yours. The "master column" approach (Option 1) is definitely the most reliable way to handle this - it gives you full control over what gets passed downstream while keeping your data flow clean and predictable.
Adam K.
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All set, thank you all!

Clay
APP
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Manual overrides to individual cell data cannot be propagated back to parent columns. When you manually change a child column value from "B" to "A", this override stays local to that cell and doesn't update the parent column or affect downstream columns. Manual cell overrides are not published when using sandbox mode, meaning they remain isolated changes that don't propagate through your table structure.
Sources: Sandbox mode | Documentation | Clay University Sandbox mode | Documentation | Clay University
Adam K.
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Then is there a better way to handle that change? E.g. should I create a new column, and use that for down stream inputs?
Adam K.
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https://app.clay.com/workspaces/639208/workbooks/wb_0szvsv9FzAWEBhPsC63/tables/t_0szvsv9v9PsyZ5iVVG9/views/gv_0szvsv9eZMFTPgsMiZU
Luca P.
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Hi Adam - Great question! I totally understand this frustration - it's a common scenario that comes up with Clay's column relationships. What's happening When you manually overwrite a child column's output (changing "B" to "A"), that manual edit doesn't automatically propagate back to the parent column. The downstream columns are still referencing the original AI output ("B"), which is why you're seeing "B" appear in your downstream table instead of your manual edit "A". Better approaches to handle this Option 1: Create a new "master" column (Recommended) This is actually the best practice approach: ** Create a new column that combines/merges the AI output with your manual corrections ** Use this new column as the input for all downstream processes ** This way you can keep the original AI column intact while having a "clean" version for your workflow Option 2: Edit at the source ** If possible, go back to the parent column and adjust the inputs or logic that caused the AI to output "B" instead of "A" ** This will naturally flow through to child columns when they re-run Option 3: Turn off auto-update temporarily ** You can disable auto-update on specific columns while you're making manual corrections ** Then manually run downstream columns after you've finished your edits ** Just remember to turn auto-update back on when you're done Why this happens Clay's architecture treats manual edits as "overrides" rather than "source updates." The system maintains the original AI output as the source of truth for dependency calculations, while your manual edit is stored as a display override. This prevents unintended cascading changes but can be confusing in scenarios like yours. The "master column" approach (Option 1) is definitely the most reliable way to handle this - it gives you full control over what gets passed downstream while keeping your data flow clean and predictable.
Adam K.
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All set, thank you all!