Email to database

How it works

1. 1

   Forward the email to your ForwardThis address with some simple instructions, like "add a row to the Suppliers base: name, email, payment terms".

2. 2

   The details are taken out of the email and matched to the column names the table already has, so Name, Email and Payment terms fill themselves with no mapping to set up first. A detail with no column to go in is listed back to you, along with the columns the table does have, rather than being dropped into the nearest one.

3. 3

   The record is created. In the same forward ForwardThis can put the email's attachment into an attachment column, comment on the record, or update a record that is already there instead of adding a second one.

4. 4

   You receive a confirmation email with a link to the record, plus an undo button if something doesn't look right.

FAQs

How do I send an email to a database?

Forward the email to your ForwardThis address with some simple instructions, like "add a row to the Suppliers base: name, email, payment terms". The details are matched to the table's own columns, the record is created, and ForwardThis replies with a link to it. The first time, you will need a free ForwardThis account with your database connected - it takes about 30 seconds.

Which databases does it work with?

Airtable, Notion and Coda. The forward reads the same in all three: name the base, database or doc and the table, and the details land as a new record. Notion has one extra step at the start, because a Notion database is only reachable once it has been shared with the ForwardThis connection inside Notion.

Do the details have to match my columns?

The values are matched to the column names the table already has, so "name, email, payment terms" fills Name, Email and Payment terms. Each one is written in the shape its own column wants, so a date goes in as a date and a single-select as one of its options. Anything with no column to go in comes back in the reply with the list of real columns, and a table that does not exist gets a question rather than a guess.

Can it attach the email's file to the record?

In Airtable, yes: the attachment goes into an attachment column on the record, up to 5 MB for a single file. Notion and Coda have no equivalent, so a record there carries the details from the email and not the file itself.

Can it update a record that is already there?

Yes. Give it some text that appears in the record and the matching one is edited rather than duplicated, across one column or several at once. In Airtable and Coda the approval shows the before and after for every column it is about to change, so you are looking at the actual edit before it happens.

Can it read the figures inside an attached PDF?

No. ForwardThis reads the email and the attachment's file name, not what is inside the file. A total written in the message becomes a column value; the same number sitting only inside the PDF does not. Put the figures in the email, or ask for the file to be attached to the record in Airtable and read it there.

Does it work with Outlook and other email apps?

Yes. ForwardThis works with any email provider: Gmail, Outlook, Apple Mail and everything else. If it can forward an email, it works.

What happens to my email afterwards?

It gets deleted. ForwardThis holds your email briefly in case you press undo, then removes it completely. Nothing is stored long term.