Linked Records (Relations)

A linked record connects one row to another — an order to the customer who placed it, a task to the project it belongs to — turning a flat spreadsheet into a relational database. It matters because no-code database apps like Airtable and Notion look like spreadsheets but earn their power from relations: instead of retyping a customer's details on every order, you link to one customer record and reference it everywhere. This is the foundation that lookup, rollup, and formula fields build on — a lookup pulls a field across the link, a rollup aggregates linked rows (the sum of an order's line items), all anchored by the relation itself. Practically, model your links deliberately: decide one-to-many versus many-to-many up front, keep each entity in its own table rather than duplicating data across tables, and use a stable primary field so links stay meaningful. Good relational structure now prevents painful data cleanup later.