What you'll build
You'll be able to open any record, such as a user in your user directory or a row in a table data block, and see every record from other forms that links to it. The records are grouped by form, so one person's tasks and that same person's tickets sit in separate groups on the same screen. Click any of them, edit it without leaving the view, and go back to the record you started from when you're done.
Linking forms together isn't new. Formaloo has always let you connect records with a User Profile field, a Link to field (linked rows), or a Lookup, and those connections keep working exactly as they do today. What's new is the view from the other side. Instead of opening each form and filtering for one person, company, or ticket, you open that record and see everything connected to it in one place. There is nothing to set up and no new field to add.
When to use this
You already have records spread across several forms, and you want the full picture of one record without hunting for it. For example:
You run a CRM and want to open a contact and see their work history, payments, and every interaction.
You run a student portal and want to open a student and see their assignments and payment details together.
You support companies and want to open one and see its purchases and open tickets side by side.
You manage projects and want to open a task and see the tickets and blockers linked to it.
You run a clinic and want to open a patient and see their insurance, medical records, and billing forms in one place.
Each of these works the same way. The sections below show where to click, what the panel shows, and how editing works.
How related records work
A record shows up as related when a record in another form points to it. Formaloo recognizes three kinds of links, and any of them is enough.
User Profile field
A form can include a User Profile field that points to a person in your user directory, for example a Requester or a Borrower. Open that person and every record that names them appears.
💡 Want to give clients, applicants, or teammates their own space to submit and track requests? This is the foundational guide to building a portal and controlling who can see it. To add your own fields to each profile, see how to edit the user directory form and add custom fields to the user profile.
Link to field
A Link to field, also called linked rows, connects a record to a record in another form, such as a task linked to a project or a ticket marked as "Blocked by" another ticket. Open the project, or the ticket doing the blocking, and the records that link to it appear.
Lookup
A Lookup field that depends on a Link to field also counts. The record appears through the link behind the lookup.
💡 New to linking forms? What are linked rows and how to use them explains how to connect two forms, and how to look up the submitted data of another form covers Lookup fields.
If you're not sure which forms link to a record, the panel tells you. It lists only the forms that link to the form of the record you opened.
Open the Related records view
There are two places to start, depending on where you manage your records. Both open the same view.
From the user directory
Go to your User Directory.
Click a user to open their record.
In the record toolbar, next to Assign, Tags, and the Details toggle, click Related records.
From a table data block
Open a page that has a table data block.
Click a row to open its sidebar.
Under Assign and Tags, click Related records.
💡 Don't have a table yet? How to add and customize a table data block in Formaloo shows how to set one up.
The related records load when you open the panel. The record you started from stays one click away with Back to record.
Read the Related records panel
The panel sits on the right and is titled Related records, with the line "Records that link to this record" under it. It is built to help you recognize a record at a glance.
Groups
Every form that links to your record gets its own group. Each group header shows the form title, a count badge, and a collapse arrow, so you can fold away the forms you don't need. Groups are ordered by form title.
Cards
Each group shows its first 3 records as cards, newest first. A card lists the first 5 fields of that record in form order, as the field name followed by the answer, with the first answer in bold. Fields that don't hold a single answer, such as tables, matrices, and repeating sections, are skipped, along with content fields like sections and ending pages, and the next field takes their place. A long name or answer is cut to one line, and the full text appears when you hover over it. Choice fields show as chips, with a "+N" when there are more than fit. An empty answer shows a grey dash.
Forms with no records
A form that links to your record but has no records for it stays in the list with a count of 0 and the text No records yet.
If a card doesn't show the field you need, click it to open the whole record on the left.
Open and edit a related record
When the panel opens, the first related record is already selected and open on the left, so you can start working right away.
Click any card in the panel. That record opens on the left.
Change an answer.
Click Save in the bottom bar. The bar reads No unsaved changes when there is nothing to save.
After you save, the card in the panel updates to show the new answers.
💡 The related record opens in the same window layout as the full-page view. To see how that window handles logic, calculations, and answer piping, read how to edit records in a full-page view in Formaloo.
Nothing is saved until you click Save. If you try to switch to another record or click Back to record with unsaved changes, Formaloo asks Discard unsaved changes? Choose Keep editing to stay, or Discard and continue to leave without saving.
You can edit a related record even when its form lives in another app. The record you edit here is the real record, so your change also shows up in that form's own table.
Which forms and records you see
Related records looks across your whole workspace, not just the app you're in. The same user directory shared by two apps shows the same related records in both.
Only forms that link to the form of your record are listed.
A record that links through more than one field, or through both a Link to field and a Lookup, appears once.
A record that links to itself isn't listed under itself.
Records saved as drafts appear, and deleted records don't.
This means the count on a group is the number of distinct records, not the number of links.
A worked example
The setup
A small team runs two projects in one workspace, Tasks and Tickets, and both are connected to the same user directory. Every task and ticket has a User Profile field that names the person responsible. Fred Mercer is named on 12 tasks and 4 tickets.
Opening Fred's record
Go to the User Directory, click Fred Mercer, and click Related records. The panel shows Tasks with a count of 12 and Tickets with a count of 4. Each group shows its 3 newest cards, with Load more (9) under Tasks and Load more (1) under Tickets. The first task is already open on the left.
Working through his records
Click a ticket card and the ticket opens on the left. Update an answer, click Save, and watch the ticket's card on the right refresh with the new value. Then click Back to record to return to Fred.
Open Fred from the Tickets project instead and you see the same Tasks (12) and Tickets (4), because the panel covers the whole workspace.
What you now have
Every record you open can now show the full story around it. A patient, a student, a company, or a ticket opens with its related records grouped by form, ready to review and edit in the same view. You no longer have to open each form and filter for one record, because the records that link to it come to you.
What's next
Learn what the full-page view can do Related records open in the same window as the full-page record view, so it helps to know how logic, calculations, and answer piping behave there. → How to edit records in a full-page view in Formaloo
Get more from the table that opens it The row sidebar is where the Related records button lives in a table, so it's worth knowing how to search, sort, filter, and edit records right in the table. → How to add and customize a table data block in Formaloo
Route records to the right person Assign sits right next to Related records in the toolbar, and it sends each record to the right team member or team automatically. → How to automatically assign submissions to the right team member or team, and control what each assignee sees
Ready-to-use templates
Don't build this from scratch. We've already put it together for you.
Employee request workflow: Collects requests from employees and routes them for approval. Add a User Profile field to the request form, and each employee's record lists every request they've submitted in one Related records view.
Job applicant tracking workflow: Tracks candidates from application to decision. Link your interview or evaluation forms to the candidate with a Link to field, and each candidate's record shows that history grouped by form.
Event registration and ticketing system: Handles sign-ups and tickets for your events. Link your ticket or payment forms to each registration, and the registration opens with everything tied to it in one place.
💡 Don't have a form yet? Create one in seconds with Magic Create.
Learn more how-tos
Following a person across forms A student portal is a natural fit for related records, since each student has submissions, reviews, and payments in different forms. → How to build a student submission and teacher review portal in Formaloo
Building a CRM-style record Leads and contacts collect history over time, which is exactly what the Related records panel brings together. → How to build an AI-powered lead qualification system in Formaloo
Linking attendees to events Events and registrations are a classic Link to relationship, and the panel shows every registration from the event's record. → How to collect event registrations, manage capacity, and send automated confirmations in Formaloo