Mirror fields are a powerful resource in Aptly. With Mirror Fields, you can display information from one board to another board (or several boards) by linking card fields. It’s important to understand the purpose of your boards along with the information you choose to share.
In this article, you will learn:
- What Mirror Fields are
- How Mirror Fields work
- How to use Mirror Fields in Aptly
- Where to view linked Mirror Fields
- Mirror Fields in Propertyware
What are Mirror Fields?
Mirror Fields are a way for you to take original information from one card and show the same information on a different card. Even though these cards live on 2 different boards, the mirror field reflects data from the anchor card.
For example, on the Unit card, you have a property manager listed in a contact field. You also want to make sure that the property manager is shown on the lease because they are the primary contact for that unit. You can use a mirror field on the Lease and link it back to the unit card. The information will update on the lease if the property manager ever changes on the Unit Card.
Originating Card Fields act as the source of truth - the anchor. That information is what everyone can trust to be accurate and true. A Mirror Field is like a boat tethered to the anchor.
- Upon creation, a mirror field can be set as read-only. Selecting Read-Only maintains that the originating card field maintains the truth and all mirror fields simply reflect the truth.
- Editable Mirror Fields will change the data for all cards including the source of truth - the anchor card.
How Do Mirror Fields Work?
A mirror field reflects or shows data from a linked anchor card field.
How to Use Mirror Card Fields in Aptly
Setting up a mirror field is similar to the way that you set up a Card Field. Card Fields are found in the Board Settings menu on the left in Card Settings.
- Click + Add Field.
- Select Mirror Card Field.
- Select the board and the card field that you would like to link to the current board.
- Click Save.
The added Mirror Card Field will be located at the bottom of the Fields List.
How to Use Mirror Fields with Bi-Directional Syncing
Mirror Fields are a great way to have information from one source displayed on multiple boards while maintaining the same information for all boards. However, things can get tricky when Mirror Fields are not set to Read Only.
With a Propertyware and Rentvine integrations, data in Aptly syncs bi-directionally (if enabled) - information passes back and forth. Now, when changes are made in Propertyware or Rentvine, data is not updated in Aptly until the scheduled sync. However, if a change is made in Aptly, it will update in Propertyware or Rentvine in real-time. This is important to keep in mind when adding Mirror Fields to boards that tie back to Locations (sources of Truth).
Frequently Asked Questions
I’ve added a mirror field to a card, but the information is not populating in the field. What’s going on?
When adding a mirror field, the data in the field will not automatically populate until a change is made to the card. One way to quickly update a card is to add a checkbox field to the card where you can update many cards in list view or set up an automation to mark the checkbox. This will cause the mirror field to update as well.
I added more options to my dropdown field, why aren’t they showing in the mirror field?
Mirror dropdown fields do not automatically update with dropdown options if they are changed or added on the anchor field. If a change is made to the anchor field, you’ll need to manually update any mirror fields. You can view any connected boards under Card Settings > Connected Boards.
