Create automation or formula to copy item data to the matching fields in subitem

[mweekend (Matthew)]

I would like to copy the item name to the subitem name. Similarly, there are other fields in the main item that I currently have to right click and copy, then paste into the subitem. This would really help streamline our process if this could be done through automation. For example, when item name is modified and subitem name is blank, enter main item name for the subitem.

[GCavin (Gilles Cavin - Reinventing Formulas in monday.com)]

Hi Matthew,

You can’t blank out a sub-item name.

But let’s say you’d want to do this with sub-items which name is set to ‘-’, it could be done with the Advanced Formula Booster.

You may be looking for a native solution, but just in case, know it can be done with this 3rd-party app that revolutionizes creating formulas in monday.

• First, it doesn’t use the formula column at all and can cast the formula results to any type of column.
• It offers a 100-line syntax editor.
• It allows you to store values in variables so that you can use them later in the formula.
• It allows you to access any item from any board. In this case, what is of interest to us is to access the sub-items of the item the name is being modified.
• The app has many other unique features, but the ones above are the ones useful in this use case.

Demo

 
Formula Syntax

The formula is pretty simple:

• On Line 1, we retrieve the list of sub-item positions to update, ie. the positions of the sub-items which name is set to -.
• On Line 2, we use this list as position indicator (#) to modify the sub-items name.

{Sub.Name}={Name} would set the name of all sub-items to the item’s name.
{Sub.Name#[Pos]}={Name} will only modify the items which position is specified in [Pos].

 
Automation
You only need one automation to get this working:

[dk_NFroehlich (Nils Fröhlich)]

I would like to add that automations should generally include the option to insert column values in the columns of items or subitems that are created by said automation. For ALL columns.

[Fantasy-Media-Team]

Hey @mweekend @dk_NFroehlich

We developed an app called subitem automations that provides robust automation capabilities to subitems. Here’s an example of how it can be applied in this case →

Using the item’s name in the subitem’s name →

Copying values from the parent item to the subitem →

You can find it in the monday.com marketplace in the platform or here - Subitem Automations - monday.com App Marketplace

Hope that helps!