I’m having the same issue that Martin M. described here (can’t use the airtable update integration to update a multiple select field): https://clayrunhq.slack.com/archives/C025KSBLPGX/p1738341052815229 Tanvi R. it looks like you might have had a solution for updating Airtable multiple select fields. Do you know if anything came of that?
We don't have specific information about resolving issues with updating multiple select fields in Airtable through our integration. However, we can provide some general guidance on using our Airtable integration to update records. Our Airtable integration includes an "Update Record" action that allows you to modify existing records in your Airtable base. To use this action, you'll need: 1. The Base ID of the Airtable base you want to update 2. The Record ID of the specific record you want to modify 3. The fields and values you want to update When setting up the update action, make sure you've correctly specified the field name for the multiple select field and provided the values in the format Airtable expects. Have you double-checked that you're using the correct field name and value format for the multiple select field in your update action?
I have tried all sorts of different ways to format the value: "list item 1", "list item 2" list item 1, list item 2 [list item 1, list item 2] ['list item 1', "list item 2'] ["list item 1", "list item 2"] The last one is what is specified by the airtable API (see image). I can also confirm that the options I am trying to set already exist in Airtable.
Based on your attempts to update the multiple select field in Airtable, it seems you're experiencing a specific integration challenge. While our Airtable integration supports updating records, there may be limitations or specific requirements when handling multiple select fields. Since you've already tried various formats including the one specified by Airtable's API, you may want to try these alternative approaches: 1. Use the Upsert Record action instead of Update Record, as it might handle the field format differently 2. If the issue persists, you'll need to request human support to help investigate this specific multiple select field behavior, as it may require additional technical investigation beyond what's documented in our resources. Please ask for a human agent to assist you with this specific integration challenge.
Is that what you were looking for?
Looks like you're still looking for help.
If you’re dealing with a specific table, drop the URL below so we can help you quicker. Otherwise, someone from our team will be in touch soon!
Hey there Mark thanks for reaching out, question what are the fields you are trying to add here?
hey LuisArturo - i’m trying to update the Contact Tag multiselect airtable field. Ultimately I want to join the airtable record’s existing tags (from a lookup in another table) with “Updated by Clay” and then update the record with the combination of tags. So, a if a contact has the tag "Tag A" , the multi-select field will be updated so it is "Tag A", "Updated by Clay" I’m sure I can figure out a formula to merge the tags though, if I can just figure out how to get it formatted in a way that Airtable will accept it!
Ah ok what the different tags you are planning on using here then.
LuisArturo The tags already in Airtable? We have "Exclude From Mass Emails" and "Primary Catalog Admin" for example, but they change and new tags might be added later.
LuisArturo I ended up abandoning this approach and using an automation in Airtable to handle tags. I tested a few more different ways to try and solve it this morning, but no luck. What I think suspect is going on here is that Clay is forcing the field to a string or before sending the update call to Airtable, but Airtable is expecting a proper array when updating multi-selects. I'd love to put in a vote for better support for Airtable's multiselect field types and better documentation of the integration overall. The workaround I figured out is ok, but handling it in Clay would be much cleaner and leave less room for error.
Hey Mark, Great to hear and thank you so much for the feedback. I will share it with the team. I'm curious, could you explain to me a little bit more what workaround you found for handling the Airtable tags? That way, if anyone else is running into this, I'll be able to share it with them as well.
Sure thing!
Create a formula in clay that returns true if you want to add a multi-select option to the record in the row (must be checkbox column type)
Create a checkbox field in airtable that you'll use to identify a record that needs a multi-select option applied
Use the "update record" airtable enrichment to update the record with the Clay column you created in step 1 mapped to the AIrtable field you created in Step 2.
Set up an automation in Airtable to trigger when the checkbox field is updated and filter it so the automation is only run when it is checked.
Edit the record that triggered the automation to apply the multi-select option you want. Editing the multi-select field in an automation will overwrite any previously selected options. If you need to persist those existing options, you can use a script step to append your new option instead of overwriting (ChatGPT o1 was able to write a script that did what I needed it to on the first shot).
It's messy, but it works 🙂
Hey Mark
Absolutely love it! Thank you so much for sharing this with us.
.png){kind=logo}
