The Link to another table column connects your tables together: from a record, you reach the linked records and their data in a few clicks. This column is configured in two places, and this article takes them in order.
To configure a Link to another table column, choose which workspace and which table in that workspace you want to link to. The numbered options on the screenshot are detailed in the following chapters.
The link target cannot be changed after the column has been created. To link another table, create a new Link to another table column.
The Link to another table column settings
The column's settings are set in two places: the configuration window, opened from the column header, which groups two tabs (Link and Default); and the column menu in the record view, for how links are displayed.
Configuration window, Link tab
The link target (workspace and table) and the six options that decide what users can do in the column: create, select, limit to a single link, prevent unlinking, filter. See the options.
Configuration window, Default tab
The default value, to pre-fill the link when a row is created, for example with the member who creates it. See the default value.
Column menu, in the record view
How links are displayed (table, cards, tags) and which view of the linked table is shown. This is set from the record, not in the configuration window. See the record view display.
Link to another table column options
The six settings of the Link tab, in the order of the screenshot. Each number points to its chapter.
#OptionWhat it does
1Creation only + Delete row when link is deletedThe column is only used to create new records in the linked table. The sub-option appears once the box is checked. See details
2Select onlyThe column is only used to pick an existing record. See details
4Prevent unlinkingLinks can be added, no longer removed. See details
5Selection filterRestricts the list of records offered, by column value or by shared link. See details
6Limit selection to elements meeting the following conditionThe rule applied by the selection filter. Required as soon as a filter is chosen. See details
Creation only
With Creation only, the column only allows creating new records in the linked table. Selecting an existing record is not offered. This is the setting for data that only exists for the current record: the lines of a quote, the steps of a file, the readings of an intervention.
Sub-option: Delete row when link is deleted
This box only appears when Creation only is checked. Once checked, deleting a link automatically deletes the linked record, in both directions of the relationship. Left unchecked, deleting the link only removes the link: the record stays in its table.
Example: a Quotes table contains service lines linked to each quote. With this sub-option enabled, deleting a service line in the quote automatically deletes the corresponding line in the Services table. Every deletion is tracked in the modification history and can be restored from the table's trash.
Warning: deleting the parent row does not delete the linked rows. In the example above, deleting the quote does not delete its service lines.
Select only
With Select only, the column only allows choosing an existing value in the linked table. Users cannot create a record from the column.
When to use it
When the linked table is a reference list maintained separately: product catalogue, client list, site list. Records point to validated entries, with no duplicate created on the fly.
With a selection filter
Combined with the Selection filter option, it limits the choice to the records relevant to the current record.
Unique link
With Unique link, the cell accepts a single link. This is the setting for one-to-one relationships seen from the record: an opportunity has one client, an intervention has one site, an order has one delivery address.
Without this option, a Link to another table column cell can hold as many links as needed: the standards applied to an intervention, or the members assigned to a task.
Prevent unlinking
The Prevent unlinking option makes a Link to another table column open to adding but closed to removal. Users can keep linking new records, but no existing link can be removed from the record any more.
It is a design setting, applied by whoever builds the workspace. It ensures end users cannot undo, in the middle of a process, a link the business considers settled.
The option is ticked in the column configuration window, Link tab, under Unique link (number 4 on the screenshot).
What changes on screen
The option hides every action that detaches an existing link. What disappears depends on the display chosen for the column in the record view and in the table view.
Display
What disappears
Tag view
The cross that removes the link, shown on each tag.
Card view
The cross that removes the link, at the end of the line.
Table view
The option to delete the link, in the right-click menu.
The add button stays in place in all three displays: creating a record and selecting an existing record keep working as usual.
The exact scope of the setting
Nobody sees the cross any more, not even the owner
The workspace owner and administrators are treated like everyone else. Their only difference is access to the column configuration, where the option can be unticked.
The setting remains reversible for anyone who can configure the column. Unticking the option makes every existing link detachable again. If the column must stay protected over time, restrict who can change its configuration: see Managing member permissions.
Two use cases
Track the standards applied to a field intervention
An intervention record has a Link to another table column pointing to a table of checkpoints or standards. The technician links what they actually applied. If they forgot one, they add it, but they can no longer remove a point already declared: the file can only be completed.
Keep the chain of assigned people
A Link to another table column connects an intervention to team members. Reinforcements can be added along the way, but nobody can erase who was assigned. The record keeps track of everyone involved.
This option protects the link, not the row: it prevents neither editing the other fields nor deleting the row itself. To choose between the different protection levels, see Choosing the right level of protection.
Selection filter and its condition
The Selection filter (number 5) restricts the list of records offered in the column. It relies on the relationships already in place between your tables. Two modes exist:
Filter by column value
The list only offers records whose column matches a value of the current record. Example: in an opportunity, only offer the contacts of the client already selected.
Filter by shared link
The list only offers records linked to the same third record, when two tables are not linked directly but through another one. Example: in a student record, only offer the teachers of the chosen class.
As soon as a filter is chosen, the Limit selection to elements meeting the following condition setting (number 6) becomes required: it is the rule the filter applies, for example Contact.Client = Opportunities.Client. TimeTonic offers you the available reference columns.
The selection filter differs from conditional selection, which is meant for strict hierarchies (department, then city, then district) with Selection-type columns. The comparison table in the dedicated article helps you choose.
Dedicated article
'Selection Filters' by Link Column
Prerequisites, step-by-step configuration, video examples and comparison with conditional selection.
In the Default tab of the Link to another table column configuration window, you can choose a default value that automatically pre-fills the column when a new record is created:
Default valueEffect
User IDAutomatically links the created row to the workspace member who created it.
Workspace codeAutomatically links the created row to the workspace itself.
Example: automatically identify a row's collaborator. If your Link to another table column points to the technical Workspace members table (automatically generated for each workspace, listing the members who have access to it) and its default value is set to User ID, every new row created in the table is automatically linked to the workspace member who just created it. This is the recommended way to associate a row with its creator without manual entry, rather than typing an identifier as free text.
Display links in the record view
Once your Link to another table column is created and configured, you can set which view of the linked table it should point to, and choose how links are displayed in the record view. Both settings are made from the record, through the column menu (the three dots to the right of its name), not in the configuration window.
Configure how links are displayed on a view (e.g. 'default', 'admin', 'user') depending on the data visibility you want to show on that record. This configuration is essential to allow selecting or creating links from the TimeTonic mobile app.
Three displays are available:
Table view
Displays links in table mode to show the most information at a glance. Best for showing many links and many fields in the record view.
Card view
Displays links in card mode, for a clean look showing the essential information. Best for showing a few links and few fields in the record view.
Tag view
Displays links in tag mode, with no extra information. Best for showing many links with no fields in the record view.
Go further
The Link to another table column is the starting point of several TimeTonic mechanisms. The following articles take over.
Linked column
Column from a linked table
Show a column of the linked table in your own table, without re-entering it.
To use the user identifier as a default value on a simple column (not a Link to another table column), in order to filter a view on the records assigned to you, see Use user ID as default to restrict access.