Airtable

Puntos a favor

I like this software so much that I pay for it monthly, and I don't consider 25 a month "cheap" for me. But it has been so useful that I can't imagine not having access to all the features.

It's complicated to say what I like most because that entails an explanation of what it does. It basically combines spreadsheets with databases and then allows you to view your data in a multitude of customizable ways. And share just the parts you want to share, or all of it. You can also add collaborators or have clients input information directly through forms. You can take all of this and embed it on your website or on facebook.

The various views can be a gallery of photos, or a more standard spreadsheet, or you can output it to lists like an address list, or set it up to print labels of just the records you want to include.

You can use it for project management and production queues, keeping track of vendors or clients, sorting and updating inventories. It's really brilliant to the point that I've moved away from other spreadsheet programs, task management systems and photo gallery software in favor of using Airtable.

Puntos en contra

It's not perfect! There are a few things I haven't figured out how to do or it's fairly clunky still. But much of that is my own lack of skill in certain areas. I'd love to utilize API but I'm still too much of a novice to really figure it out. Once I do, though, I feel like it will take my website to another level.

One of the features is the ability to take a group of records and output it into a format you create. It would be great if there were some templates available for this sort of thing, but I'm not even sure how that could be implemented. It could just be my own laziness!

Puntos a favor

Airtable brings actual structure to our working environment. We use for a team of 15 to track tasks, projects, and even for lightweight documentation of work done or where stuff is. I really like the flexibility and the ability to create just about anything with it and still make the finished product look nice. The UI is what people first comment on when I invite them to our shared set of bases--either "it looks great" or "this is easy" or something like that. I especially love the integration with Zapier so that if you need to go outside an Airtable base, you probably won't have to do manual entry--it can sync with your other app.

Puntos en contra

With the free version, you will hit the record limit will pretty easily. I wish they had a lower-priced plan that was above the free version, but below their much more expensive tiers.
A second huge miss is that there was really no way to do rich text. That severely limits the usefulness for using Airtable as any kind of repository for content or anything like that. Basically you convert everything to HTML markup and store it as plain text in Airtable, but like I said they have promised to fix this . . .

Puntos a favor

1. I Like the point and click linking of info on one tab to info on the same or another tab
2. The controlled vocabulary function (selection of values)
3. one to one and one to many relationships handled seamlessly (multiple / single select)
4. Formulas are easy to use
5. Rolls up summarise linked data in the linked records
6. Count give a count of the # of linked records
7. Look up function carries information from the link records
8. You can embed whole files as an attachment direction linked to the record

Puntos en contra

1. We have to pay $20/user/month to use the blocks. While it saves a lot of time, we only use a few blocks
2. Great for small teams but gets expensive for larger teams as cost is per user.

Puntos a favor

When I first started to use Airtable, I came away deeply frustrated with it's usability. It's sometimes slow, straightly obtuse to use and has many "pending features" that would be extremely helpful for some of the simplest of tasks.

However, there came a time when I had to organise a league table for a tournament over the internet, and all of sudden, Airtable clicked.

What Airtable is good at is creating a database of entries for a specific use, so for example, making an internet registration form where a user can enter data and "register" their interest in a particular thing is so quick and easy to do.

I created an application form which auto stored the data into a highly organised table that I could then use however I wanted (I created a league table from the registered users with ease and shared the results of the league as the scoring progressed) - all via the internet, I don't know of a way that I could have achieved this without AirTable, Google Docs would have been a possible solution, but Airtable allows you to add attachments easily (so images, etc) as well as allowing you to manipulate (And hide) data in any way you can think of using Rollups and Lookups - two of it's most powerful features.

Once you get used to it, Airtable becomes useful, and I can see myself using it again and again when I want to organise a very specific and distributed task on the internet.

Puntos en contra

Don't think this is Excel in a different disguise, it's not, it's not as adaptable and not as powerful as Excel. You couldn't use it to track a project or manage a holiday system or anything like that, but creating a full customer list for a newsletter? Yep, easy, that's the kind of thing it DOES do really well.

It could use a few more features on the free tier of the software (the paid tier unlocks "blocks" - which is a strange name for plugins, which allow you to view the data in different visual ways but ultimately it's not as well integrated as it should be and therefore has a limited use)

Another thing is that Airtables mobile interface is woeful compared to it's desktop version, and for some reason you can't access the desktop website via mobile. I have no idea what compelled them to make this decision but it's something they need to address in the future. The mobile layout is next to useless.

Puntos a favor

They's a lot you can achieve with Airtable. Templates makes it easy to customize for different needs. It's a good tool for simple scheduling and task management.

Puntos en contra

I would like to setup email reminder based upon dates or certain conditions of a cell. Right now it lacks the ability to do it.