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Advanced Topics

This page covers advanced mechanics for working with connected data in AnyDB.

You do not need these concepts to model systems correctly. Use them when you need precision, automation, or advanced calculations.

Relative vs absolute references​

Relative references (within a record)​

Used to connect cells inside the same record.

Example:

  • multiply quantity by unit price
  • derive totals or status values

Relative references behave like spreadsheet formulas.

Absolute references (across records)​

Used to read a specific cell from another record.

Absolute references uniquely identify:

  • team
  • database
  • record
  • cell

Use absolute references only for special cases where data must come from a specific record. Absolute references are hardcoded and do not adapt if the record is deleted and recreated.

Referencing linked records​

When an object is linked to another object:

  • DYNREF can pull any field from the linked object
  • lookups remain live and always reflect the current value

This is commonly used for:

  • customer name on an order
  • product SKU on a line item
  • vendor address on a purchase order

Referencing attached child records​

Attached child records can be referenced from a parent.

This enables:

  • rollups (sum, count, average)
  • status aggregation
  • progress calculations

Child references are used when you need totals or summaries from many attached records.

Referencing parent records from children​

Attached child records can also reference their parent records.

This is useful when:

  • child records need contextual data
  • parent-level settings apply to children
  • calculations depend on parent attributes

This allows parent and child records to stay in sync without duplication.

Special reference helpers​

AnyDB provides helper keywords to simplify formulas:

  • CURRREC
    Refers to the current record

  • CURRCELL
    Refers to the current cell

These reduce the need to hardcode record or cell identifiers.

Template filtering in references​

When referencing attached records, you can limit results by template name

This is useful when:

  • a parent has many different types of attached objects
  • only one type should be included in a calculation

Filtering keeps formulas predictable as models evolve.