Add new value to Lookup Column from Forms

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There is a work around, but it is a bit of work to set it up. At the same time, there are some benefits:

  1. add an extra field to your form to allow the entry of a missing_lookup (I call this column missing_lookup, but call it whatever you want)
  2. make an automation to check on new rows (in Coda ‘Row changed’) in your receiving table by checking if this missing_lookup field has content (i.e. changed)
  3. optional: check if the form submission comes from someone that is in list of users who are allowed to add new items to the lookup list
  4. add a row to the lookup list with the new item
  5. if the lookup field is indeed blank, copy (with modify rows) the new item (from missing_lookup) to the blank lookup field.
  6. optional: make the missing_lookup a hidden column, since you won’t use it for anything else

You can add a checkbox column to your lookup list and mark items that are added through this procedure. This allows you to quickly check new items and see if you really want those in your lookup list, correct spelling mistakes (which corrects the new form submission at the same time). Unmark when done, or leave the mark so you can later check how often this has happened.

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