Welcome to the Airtable Community!

Welcome to the June 2025 edition of The Airtable Effect —a monthly roundup of what’s new, what’s inspiring, and what’s possible with Airtable. Whether you're an everyday builder, a certified pro, or just getting started, this newsletter is for you. In each rendition of the newsletter, we’ll bring you: New product and program launches and updates The latest educational content from Airtable Academy Highlights from the Airtable Community Upcoming events you won’t want to miss You can find The Airtable Effect every month: In your inbox (are you opted into marketing emails?) On LinkedIn (make sure to subscribe to this newsletter!) In the Airtable Community (check the Onboarding Resources section) Let’s take a look back at what happened in Airtable last month. ✨ Builders and Breakthroughs Thoughtcast Introducing Builders & Breakthroughs, a brand new thoughtcast hosted by Airtable CEO Howie Liu, which features transformational product leaders from various industries building exceptional products that delight and deliver. In today's rapidly changing landscape, this shift isn’t just changing what product teams deliver—it’s fundamentally redefining their roles and how they work. We started Builders & Breakthrough to showcase how these leaders are adapting and accelerating their work to drive meaningful business results. Catch up with the first 3 episodes below: EP 1: From silicon to software, how Cisco connects the world In Episode 1, Jeetu Patel, EVP & Chief Product Officer at Cisco, sits down with Airtable Co-founder and CEO, Howie Liu for an insightful deep dive.From founding a startup right out of college, to overseeing tens of thousands of people at Cisco, Jeetu shares what it takes to lead with vision, speed, and heart at massive scale. Plus, some hard-earned insights he's learned along the way. (Check it out here →) EP 2: Creating a frictionless workday for 2.1M Walmart associates In Episode 2, Airtable CEO and Co-founder Howie Liu sits down with Ben Peterson, Walmart’s Vice President of People Product & Design, to explore how emerging technology is reshaping the way teams build. From speed and adaptability to user-first thinking, they break down what it really takes to stay ahead. (Check it out here →) EP 3: How Autodesk transforms city skylines, Olympic games, and more In Episode 3, Anthony Maggio, Head of Product Management at Airtable, sits down with Shelly La Rock, Head of Product Operations and Delivery Excellence at Autodesk. La Rock shares her journey from aspiring engineer to leading large-scale transformation at one of the most innovative design software companies in the world. (Check it out here →) 🌒 Dark Mode now live We're thrilled to announce that one of the most requested features has finally arrived: Dark Mode is now available for Airtable in a public beta! How to turn on Dark Mode Whether you're working late into the night, prefer a lower-contrast viewing experience, or simply love the sleek aesthetic, you can now switch to Dark Mode with just a click. This is available for everyone on the web, with Android and iOS support coming soon when we’re out of beta. Read the full announcement here → 💡 Community Spotlight: And one day we got BACKLINKS! ICYMI, Airtable introduced Backlinks, and this feature is an absolute game-changer. To see it in action and check out the excitement from this community, we love this post from @MikeAutomaticN: “And one day we got BACKLINKS!” A couple of days ago, Airtable finally released native backlinks silently!!!!! If you now create a linked record field to its own table, you will automatically get TWO fields which will keep the relationship fully synced as shown on the video above. Just wanted to share this with you :D Read the full post here → 📅 Community Event Calendar We’re always planning an exciting calendar of live events, user group hangouts, and office hours. Here’s what’s coming up: June 24 Airtable LA At Airtable LA, we’re bringing together builders, leaders, and doers for our biggest event yet. This isn’t about theory or hype—it’s about real-world impact. You’ll see how teams at the world’s most innovative companies are creating foundational workflows that power their most critical operations, with AI seamlessly embedded. (Register here →) Will you be at the event? Register for our AI Masterclass pre-event session , brought to you by Airtable Academy. Space is limited! June 26 | Airtable Marketing User Group Revolutionize your creative workflows! Join our next virtual Marketing User Group event to learn how marketing and creative teams can leverage Airtable for sophisticated, multi-stage approval systems. Say goodbye to bottlenecks and hello to seamless collaboration! (Register here →) June 26 | Airtable AI User Group Join our next virtual Airtable AI User Group meeting to discover how Airtable AI and Product Central can revolutionize your product operations. You'll explore real-world applications and gain practical strategies for smarter decision-making and streamlined workflows. (Register here →) June 26 | Airtable Paris User Group Are you a French speaker (or know an Airtable user who is)? Join our first virtual Airtable Paris event, focused on top Tips & Tricks to help you unlock efficiencies in your workflows. (Register here →) July 8 | Airtable Marketing User Group featuring Autodesk Don't miss our Marketing User Group event on July 8th to see how Autodesk's Worldwide Marketing team uses Airtable to expertly manage complex projects. You'll gain valuable insights and top tips from Airtable experts, including 2024 Airtable Partner of the Year, OptimizeIS! (Register here →) July 16 | Onboarding Office Hours Are you new to Airtable, need some guidance navigating a roadblock, or looking for some new build tips? Join our Scaled CSM team for our monthly session offering live Q&A, a resources overview, and build best practices. (Register here →) View all upcoming events → 🧑🏫 Academy Updates We’re always evolving Airtable Academy to reflect your feedback and learning goals: 🆕 New Launches From Workflow to App: New to Airtable? This course is the perfect starting point. Watch as we walk through the process of building an app based on a real-world workflow — giving you a clear look at how Airtable works and how to start thinking like a builder. You can follow along at your own pace, explore optional hands-on tutorials, or even experiment in your own copy of the base. It’s a low-pressure way to get familiar with the platform and the mindset behind building great workflows in Airtable. (Register here →) 🔁 Content Updates Data Layer Deep-Dive: Formerly known as ‘Building Your App’, this revamped course focuses entirely on Airtable’s data layer. Designed for builders with creator access, you'll learn how to navigate, organize, and manage data using filters, views, and other core tools. Optional advanced lessons introduce paid features like record templates, date dependencies, Airtable Sync, and the Enterprise App Library—ideal for scaling workflows. Hands-on tutorials throughout help you build real skills, step by step. (Register here →) Interface Designer Deep Dive: This updated course is perfect for anyone new to Airtable’s Interface Designer. Based on learner feedback, we’ve added a series of hands-on tutorials that walk you through every key properties panel—covering record detail layouts, forms, dashboards, custom pages, and more. You’ll start with the basics of navigation, then dive into customizing your interface step by step. (Register here →) Explore the Academy → 🚀 Product Launch Recap Catch up on the latest features that launched this month—built to save you time, streamline workflows, and unlock new use cases. ✅ Forms: Background Colors, Full-Bleed Cover Images, and Title Customization Forms just got a visual upgrade. You can now set custom background colors, upload full-bleed cover images, and define different internal vs. display titles. These enhancements help you build more branded, engaging, and context-aware forms for every use case. Use cases: Branded lead capture forms for campaigns Visually distinct feedback or survey forms Internal naming conventions for large form libraries ✅ Backlinks for Self-Linked Records When linking records within the same table (self-linking), Airtable now automatically generates backlinks—meaning both records in the relationship reflect the connection. This simplifies navigating hierarchies like org charts, task trees, or parent-child dependencies. Use cases: Bi-directional org charts with manager ↔ report relationships Parent tasks and subtasks that stay linked automatically Structured idea or content trees for planning and tracking ✅ Enhanced Gantt Timeline in Interfaces The Timeline element in Interface Designer just got more powerful. You can now show and inline-edit all visible fields alongside your Gantt bars—making it easier to manage data directly within your project view, no tab-switching required. Use cases: One-click updates to timelines, owners, and status Resource planning and workload adjustments in real time Dashboard views that balance visual timelines with editable data ✅ HyperDB HyperDB is a new storage layer outside your base that supports up to 100M records per table and connects to external systems like Snowflake or Salesforce. Enterprise teams can centralize large data sets and publish them via the Data Library for internal use—without bloating bases. Use cases: Scalable, read-only reporting on enterprise-wide data Federated data access across departments without duplication Controlled visibility of sensitive or regulated datasets ✅ Customize Sync Sources in Managed Apps and Components Admins can now choose a specific shared view as the sync source for Managed Apps and Components. This allows for more tailored, relevant datasets to be installed, ensuring each team only receives the slice of data they need. Use cases: Sync only region-specific data during app install Filter sensitive info out of component-level access Simplify user experience by narrowing focus to role-relevant data ✅ Use Managed Components with Existing Apps Managed components can now plug directly into your existing bases, tables, or fields—no rebuilding required. When installing, you can substitute in your current data structures and still benefit from the component’s full functionality. Use cases: Drop-in dashboards or workflows for mature bases Progressive modernization of older systems Adopt standard components without restructuring your data View “What’s new in Airtable” → 🧑🎓 #AirtableAcademy in the wild… Spotlighting recently certified Airtable users, learnings, and celebrations from those using the #AirtableAcademy hashtag. via Claudio Bosco: 💎 Another gem in my operator gauntlet: I'm now officially a Certified Airtable Admin Expert! Airtable is one of those tools that seems simple at first glance, but hides incredible depth. It can be used as a flexible database, connected to countless no-code tools, or even turned into a place to build clean, custom interfaces for internal products all within the same environment. And with AI capabilities becoming more and more integrated, it’s quickly evolving into a true operating system for modern workflows.I'm proud of this milestone. It's part of a broader path of certifications I'm pursuing as I prepare for a new project I’m kicking off soon (🤫). via Bibiana Correa: Over the past few months, I've worked tirelessly in AirTable to help manage and improve my team's workflow. This was a side project I had been working on by myself, with some help from YouTube, and a skill I'm still working on developing. But, I’m happy to share that I’ve obtained a new certification: Airtable Builder Certification from Airtable ! If anyone wants to talk about how to create bases for a newsroom or podcast, how to set up certain automations, and more, hit my line! via Kimberly Rhoten: Excited to share that I’ve earned the Airtable AI App Builder Certification from Airtable! 🎉This course sparked a ton of ideas for how we can streamline and elevate workflows using Airtable’s powerful AI tools—can’t wait to start putting them into action. Shout out to Mikayla LaRosa for leading such an insightful and well-designed course. Did you find the Airtable Effect helpful? Any suggestions or recommendations for future editions? Want to learn more about the Airtable Academy and/or Community programs? Or do you want to be featured in an upcoming rendition? Reach out on LinkedIn and/or on the Airtable Community (@kev) and show us what you've built in Airtable! Until next time... 🤙