Each month, the BuiltOnAir team reviews the monthly metrics from the Airtable Universe (click to visit Jul 2019 metrics) and provides additional insights into the stories and creators behind the bases. Find a few of the most interesting highlights below:

Editor’s Pick: Robert Delanghe

 

Airtable has consistently provided a platform for creativity. By giving just the right blend of framework and flexible customization, it’s been a drawing board for an ever-growing library of systems, tools and databases used internally and shared with the world via Universe. Professionals and hobbyists alike are able to build things with or without the more advanced formulas and functions. Some of those creators seem to effortlessly cross both the most simple and most advanced capability with ease. Robert Delanghe is one of those. 

A long-time player in the Airtable space, Robert has shown talent for both the fun side of things (see Games below) and the technical elements (Technical Bases below). We featured Robert in a recent episode of the BuiltOnAir podcast. He’s an active contributor to the official Airtable Community, answering a variety of questions about functionality and applications of ideas people have but just don’t know how to make work in Airtable. In fact, a few of the projects he has shared in Airtable Universe were inspired by questions of community members.

Technical Bases in Airtable

Sequential SKUs: A test base Robert built to see if it was even possible in Airtable, this database allows the user to output a series of inventory or stock management numbers in sequence, using formulas. A handy trick that allows people to easily track any purchasable item in a store or online catalogue. 

4 Digit Random Numbers: Similar to the above, Robert built this base to help a person in the Airtable community, and tests the limits of formula capability. The base itself will generate a random number if copied into a personal Airtable space, but the formulas can also be saved into a pre-made Airtable to fit into an already existing schema. 

Game Bases in Airtable

Blackjack: Yes, this is a fully playable game of Blackjack in the Airtable framework. Why do such a thing? In Robert’s own words “Because I wasn’t sure I could. Randomness is difficult when you can’t just call a function for it. I ended up shuffling the deck using the Airtable recordID. Feel free to look under the hood at how everything works or.. Just enjoy a game of cards.” You heard him, go give it a try!

Rock Paper Airtable: A recent winner of an Airtable contest (and also featured in a previous BuiltOnAir Editor’s Review), this base also stretches the limits by providing a fully functioning game of rock paper scissors within Airtable (seeing a trend here?). Definitely give this creative masterpiece a try also. 

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Robert Delanghe is a brilliant data designer that lets his love of games expand the limits of what’s possible. Find him on his website here, or give his episode on the podcast a listen

New Followers

Total Base Copies

Universe Highlights

New Copies

Financial Independence (Fire) Budget CalculatorA base that was on fire (no pun intended) last month, the Financial Independence (FIRE) budget calculator caught a lot of attention for advocating the “FIRE mindset” approach to finances, and provided a handy tool for tracking a path to financial independence. Submitted by new creator B D, the base features an excellent array of categories and simple functions built into it. 

Soviet Space Dogs: Also a new creator on the Airtable Universe platform, Duncan Geere added a unique database providing a library of all the dogs who participated in the Soviet space program in th 1950-1970 era. The base includes variables for each mission, the rocket used, and (of course) more information about each dog that participated.

New Likes

New Copies

Craft Project and Stash Tracker: This base was submitted by Unabridged Designs, and provides a creative way to keep track of a “stash” of yarn and other supplies for knitting, handspun and fiber projects. Each table has views to track the content grid-style as well as gallery-style. The creator also provides a huge list of links to get patterns, and a list of future goals for increasing database capability.