Airtable Node - Target table with table name (instead of ID)

[Felix_is_stuck]

With earlier versions of the Airtable node, I was able to target table’s by name, however I must now use the ID. This has created a problem with some of my workflows which scale across many bases. Older versions of the node still work, but whenever I try to update the table ‘name’, this functionality is lost.

So, my question is how can I continue to build workflows which target tables by name, instead of ID, when necessary?

[MutedJam]

Hi @Felix_is_stuck, I am so sorry you’re having trouble. I am not sure why this limitation was added to the current version of the Airtable node, but perhaps @sirdavidoff from our product team can share more details here.

So, my question is how can I continue to build workflows which target tables by name, instead of ID, when necessary?

For the Airtable API it shouldn’t make a difference afaik (they specifically list tableIdOrName in their API reference), so I’d suggest you use the HTTP Request node here instead of n8n’s pre-built Airtable node. While this node might change over time as well, it seems fairly unlikely that we’ll remove its ability to send custom requests

To update data a table specified by name, you could use a workflow like this (calling Airtable’s Update record endpoint):

In the example URL appwTLCOMpC9wzoUW is my base ID, Table 1 is my table name and recMhRV9gH3nuJULS is the ID of the record I want to update.

Before:

After:

Hope this helps!

[sirdavidoff]

Hi @Felix_is_stuck (great handle by the way!)

Do you mean you want to use an expression to supply the table name?

cc @giulioandreini

[Felix_is_stuck]

Thanks for the quick replies.

@sirdavidoff I cannot specify a TableName using the Airtable Node (only an ID or Link). If I try to specify a Table Name with the updated Node, I get an error. Specifying an ID works without issues.

[sirdavidoff]

Thanks. Would you like to enter/choose the table name manually in that field or set it using an expression?

[Felix_is_stuck]

Ideally, I would be able to specify either a static table name or dynamically using an expression. For my immediate problem, I could make both options work.