How to Make Grouping Permanent in Your Airtable Interface

You’ve got a large database of plays in Airtable, and you’ve built an interface so people can browse through them.

You want to have the plays grouped by their playwrights, so it’s easier to view the data.

You found the “Group” button in the toolbar and set it up to display exactly how you want it.

The problem is that every time you open the interface, the grouping resets.

You have to click “Group” and select “Group by Writer” all over again. This makes the entire process repetitive and time consuming.

So, is there a way to lock the grouping so that the interface always opens with plays grouped by their writers?

Why the grouping doesn’t stay

The group button in the toolbar only affects the interface while you’re working in it. It doesn’t actually save any settings into the interface itself.

That’s why the grouping disappears once you close it.

How to make grouping permanent

Click directly on the part of your interface that displays the records. This might be a table block, a list block, a grid, or some other display component.

Once you’ve selected that block, look over at the settings panel on the right-hand side.

There, you’ll see options to filter, sort, and group records. This is where you set the permanent configuration. Do the following:

• Choose the “Writer” field

• Pick the grouping order you want

Now, publish the interface again.

From now on, whenever you or anyone else opens the interface, the plays will be grouped by writer automatically.

You won’t have to repeat the same steps every time.

To summarise, the toolbar grouping is only for temporary rearrangements while you’re working in the interface.

If you want the interface to always open a certain way, the grouping has to be configured inside the settings panel. That’s where the persistent rules live.