"Link if already exists, otherwise create" functionality

We know that the auto-linking is pretty cool

…but what if there is not a target record that matches the link criteria?

Here’s a use case:

  • User creates an Event record in October
  • A formula field calculates the first date of that month
  • The auto-link rule specifies that it should create a relation between entities in the Events and the Periods tables by matching first date field
  • The Period does not exist
  • The auto-link fails silently

(I know this is not the best example since you can set up automations to create a Period entity on the last day of each month, but you get the picture)

Another use case:

  • A website has a contact us form
  • The customer enters their details and a message
  • The website uses the Fibery API to POST the form, mapping it to a Ticket entity
  • The Ticket should attach automatically to a Person entity (email address match, or maybe email + first name + last name if people share)
  • The Person doesn’t exist
  • The auto-link fails silently

Can automations detect when linking was attempted but found no results?