How to create and edit a form in Airtable in 6 simple steps

If you are used to Airtable and like their spreadsheets, you may try their online forms – and surveys - that can sync with your Airtable spreadsheets in real-time. With Airtable’s forms, you can create shareable online forms and gather data from people who don’t have access to your Airtable spreadsheet. While creating a form in Airtable isn’t the trickiest part of the tool, it is easier with some guidance. So, let’s learn how to create an Airtable form together.

Table of contents

• What is Airtable?
• How do you create a form in Airtable?
• A better alternative for more refined forms: Retable
• Conclusion
• Frequently asked questions

What is Airtable?

Airtable is a spreadsheet-based collaboration and project management tool. Don’t think that the only thing Airtable does is spreadsheets, though. You can also create forms based on your spreadsheet components and gather data from sources outside of the sheet. You can also create Airtable surveys using the forms view.

If you know Airtable, you know that the tool’s learning curve is steep. There is too much to uncover, and the onboarding could be better.

Still, if you have gotten used to Airtable enough to try out their forms, then you will have an easier time.

Let’s list out the other features of Airtable for reference, and then get into how to create a form easily.

Airtable key features

• Interface designer
• Workflow management
• Automation
• Advanced data views and column types
• Integrations with third-party apps
• Transform workflows with AI
• Scalable data model

How to create a form in Airtable

Creating a form in Airtable takes 6 steps – unless you need advanced settings. Those 6 simple steps are:

1. Sign up to Airtable if you don’t have an account yet,

2. Select your templates for a sheet, or start from scratch,

3. If you have selected a template, first go to “edit data” to reach sheet view,

4. Click “create form” at the bottom left,

5. Create your form and customize it as much as you want,

6. Click “publish form” and choose who you want to share it with.

Let’s dive a bit deeper into those steps:

1. Sign up to Airtable

If you don’t have an account on Airtable, go ahead and create one by clicking the “sign up for free button on the top right side on their website.

Then, fill out your information, and add your teammates while you sign up.

Next up, choose your colors and the name of your first workspace to create your first Airtable app.

Once you select all the options that apply to you in the following steps, you will have created your first app in Airtable.

Now, it is time to get to the sheet from which you will create a form.

2. Find the editable section

Once you create an app in Airtable, you will see the default view, and not the sheets.

To get to the airtable sheets page, click on your project header and select “view data” from the dropdown menu. Now, you should have your editable sheet in front of you.

3. Create a spreadsheet

If you have selected a template to begin with on Airtable, you will already have some material to work with for a form.

Customize it to your liking, add all the columns that you need.

For instance, if you are a content marketer and want to track the published articles, create columns for:

• Article publish date,
• Article name,
• Author,
• And article category.

The form will help the writer team edit the sheet easily by simply filling out a form after each published article.

Now that we have our sheet ready, it is time to create a form view.

4. Find the form view

When you are on the sheet, see the bottom left corner of your page to find the form view option.

From there, you have 2 options to edit your form:

1. You can either use the regular view type and create a form,

2. Or you can use the newer interface builder of Airtable and have access to more advanced settings while creating a form.

-> If you just want a simple form to share with team members, then I would recommend going with the regular form view builder. It provides enough options for a form that will be used internally and doesn’t have aesthetic concerns. But if you are going to use the form commercially or share with important stakeholders, then I would say that you need to get familiar with the interface builder and create a more comprehensive form with more advanced settings.

5. Fill your form details

From here, you can edit your form. You can:

• Change the form section headers,
• Hide or unhide different sections,
• Edit the form submission redirect links,
• And change response email settings.

All the settings beside the ones visible on the form are on the bottom of your form editor.

6. Publish your form

Once you are happy with how your form looks and want to publish it, click “share form” and copy the Airtable form link (as shown at the end on the gif above). The people who click on the link you provide them will be able to fill out the form and submit a response.

Now, every time you get a reply to the form, the data will be automatically stored in the sheet from which you have created the form.

A better alternative to Airtable for more refined forms: Retable

Fact 1: Airtable is a good solution to easily store and visualize your data sets in a spreadsheet. It’s modern looking, and it is sufficient for some use cases.

Fact 2: It has a huge learning curve and there are better Airtable alternatives that can do more for less effort.

And I now just the best one:

Retable.

With Retable, you can overcome multiple problems of Airtable forms:

1. You can change the cover image size as extended or fixed with Retable – but not with Airtable.

2. Airtable limits the header and font colors, while Retable presents you options.

3. You can send yourself and the people who filled in the form a copy of it via email automatically with Retable – but Airtable only allows you to receive a copy.

4. You can allow people to edit their answers after filling in a form with Retable.

So, why not give the better airtable alternative - Retable - a try now?

Conclusion

So, Airtable does a job of creating forms, but Retable does the same while making it easier and prettier.

Using Airtable forms isn’t difficult. It consists of 6 simple steps. As for the details, it depends on how familiar you are with the tool.

Instead, try Retable for yourself and see how easy it is right here.

Frequently asked questions

Let’s answer the most frequently asked questions about Airtable forms:

How do I create a form in Airtable?

In terms of how to create forms in Airtable, setting up a form takes 6 steps. To create a form in Airtable, just get to your view data page, and select “form” from the views menu on the bottom left.

Is using Airtable forms difficult?

If you are asking how to use forms in Airtable, then don’t worry. Using Airtable forms is easy – as long as you have overcome the learning curve of Airtable already.

Does Airtable have surveys?

You can use Airtable survey forms to create surveys and store the survey data as spreadsheets in Airtable.

What are the Airtable advanced forms?

There are two ways to create an Airtable form or survey form: You can either use the regular view type and create a form, or you can use the newer interface builder of Airtable and have access to more advanced settings while creating a form. You can also use the Airtable survey templates to create a survey out of a form and collect the answers in an organizable spreadsheet.

Is there a better alternative to Airtable forms?

Yes. Retable is a much better alternative to Airtable as Retable is much more customizable, easier to use, and offers better customer support. Retable forms are also easier to manage, and provide better sharing and data collection options.