Pro hack: Trigger cross-doc sync with an action (hidden formula)

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Let’s say Doc A is a data source and Doc B is where you have the sync table from Doc A. I see the process like this:

  1. Doc B inserts a row into Doc A through a Cross-doc action
  2. Doc A has an automation listening on new/updated rows in that table you just inserted a row to.
  3. When automation triggers, Doc A updates that trigger cell in Doc B through a Cross-doc ModifyRow action.
  4. Doc B has an automation listening on that cell change, as per the trick. This triggers the startsync/synctabletable scenario, and the table eventually updates.

So the idea is to replace who’s modifying that cell and triggering the sync. Previously it was Doc B who updated that value. Now it should be Doc A remotely into Doc B. This should work because the automation in Doc A will only fire when the added row has actually landed into the snapshot.

Regarding setting this up, I personally always prefer to set up any actions in buttons, not in the automation settings directly. I think editing buttons is easier, partially because it preserves newlines.

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