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RickLindner's avatar
RickLindner
Qrew Trainee
8 years ago

Trigger Quick Base Action to fire without open/edit/save record?

Hello, is there a way to cause Quick Base Actions to fire without opening, editing and saving a "parent" record?  I am using actions to relate unrelated data, and I'd like the Actions to fire periodically, without my interaction.  

Right now, I use a checkbox field called "Force Update" to trigger the Action, i.e., do a "search/replace" on my checkbox field, changing all values from true to false, or visa versa, which triggers the Action.  The problem with this is that I don't always know when it's time to trigger the Action.  I've played around using Date/Time fields and some other things that "change" but it doesn't seem to fire the Action. 

I've been working top down, though I guess I could investigate the possibility of using a reporting relationship to trigger an action in the other direction.  I'll look at that. 

In the meantime, any thoughts?   Thanks! 

Rick
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  • QuickBaseCoachD's avatar
    QuickBaseCoachD
    Qrew Captain
    8 years ago
    Webhooks, Actions and email notifications are all the same in how they fire. The record has to be changed.

    Definitely look at moving t(e Action to the child Record.
  • RickLindner's avatar
    RickLindner
    Qrew Trainee
    8 years ago
    Roger that.  There's a reason I set it up like that, for the life of me I don't remember, though I'll look at moving the action to the child.  I know this sounds silly, but I could have the child action check/uncheck my "Force Update" field which would then trigger my existing actions.  I'll first see if I can clean it up and go one-way.  Thanks.  
  • RickLindner's avatar
    RickLindner
    Qrew Trainee
    8 years ago
    I added an action to one of the Child tables, and setup a reporting link expressly for the purpose of the Action.  Then I added a Time stamp formula field to the child (using Now()) and a date/time field to the parent. 

    When a child record is added/modified, the action writes the time stamp from the Child to the date/time field on the parent, which then triggers my existing actions to go back the other way.

    All these values are being used for security & controlling which users see which records, so I'm hesitant to change it.  That said, the "out-and-back" method or "Double Action" method is working, so it's great for now.  Thanks for letting me think aloud.  Rick.