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Set Up a Lookup Field

Set Up a Lookup Field

Section titled “Set Up a Lookup Field”

Lookup fields create relationships between entities. They let a record in one entity reference a record in another — for example, linking a Contact to a Company, or an Opportunity to a Contact.

How Lookups Work

Section titled “How Lookups Work”

A lookup field stores a reference to a record in another entity. In the user interface, it appears as a searchable dropdown. When you start typing, HARi searches the related entity and shows matching records.

The relationship works in both directions:

  • On the source entity: a lookup dropdown field appears on the form
  • On the target entity: a subgrid appears showing all records that reference it

Creating a Lookup Field

Section titled “Creating a Lookup Field”
  1. Go to Settings > Entities
  2. Select the entity where you want to add the lookup (e.g. “Contact”)
  3. Click the Fields tab
  4. Click New Field
  5. Configure:
    • Label: A clear name (e.g. “Company”, “Primary Contact”, “Related Project”)
    • Type: Select Lookup
    • Related Entity: Choose the entity this field should reference (e.g. “Company”)
    • Required: Toggle on if every record must have this relationship
  6. Click Save

Using the Lookup on a Record

Section titled “Using the Lookup on a Record”

Once created, the lookup field appears on the record form:

  1. Open a record (e.g. a Contact)
  2. Find the lookup field (e.g. “Company”)
  3. Start typing the name of the related record
  4. HARi searches the related entity in real time
  5. Select the correct record from the results
  6. Save

The contact is now linked to that company.

The Subgrid (Reverse Relationship)

Section titled “The Subgrid (Reverse Relationship)”

On the target entity (e.g. Company), a subgrid automatically appears showing all records that reference it:

  1. Open a Company record
  2. Scroll to the Contacts subgrid
  3. You see all contacts linked to this company
  4. Click New in the subgrid to create a new contact with the company pre-filled

Multiple Lookups

Section titled “Multiple Lookups”

You can have multiple lookup fields on the same entity. For example, an Opportunity might have:

  • Company — The company this deal is with
  • Primary Contact — The main contact person
  • Assigned To — The sales rep (lookup to the Users entity)

Each lookup creates its own relationship and subgrid.

Lookup vs. Many-to-Many

Section titled “Lookup vs. Many-to-Many”

A lookup creates a one-to-many relationship (one company has many contacts). If you need a many-to-many relationship (a contact can belong to multiple companies), you would create an intermediary entity to connect them.

Next Steps

Section titled “Next Steps”