Hey monday.com users! 
Are you tired of building clunky, multi-step automations or resorting to external tools (like Make.com/Zapier) just to use data from your mirror columns? Many of you want to:
- Trigger an automation when a mirrored date passes.
- Assign a team member based on a mirrored “Person” column.
- Copy a mirrored number value to a native Numbers column to perform further calculations or analysis.
The native “view-only” nature of mirror columns in automations is a major bottleneck, forcing frustrating workarounds.
The Problem: Mirror Columns are “Read-Only” for Automations & Copying
It’s a common complaint: monday.com’s automations generally can’t react to changes in mirrored columns or directly copy their values to other columns. This means:
- Your cross-board workflows often grind to a halt.
- You need complex “helper columns” or external integration recipes to get a simple value from a mirror column into an actionable format.
- Data becomes “stuck” in a mirrored state, unable to participate in your automated processes.
Formula PRO: The Ultimate Solution for Mirror Column Actionability!
Good news! Our Formula PRO app directly solves this core limitation. We enable true functionality for your mirror columns within monday.com itself.
With Formula PRO, you can:
- Use any mirror column as a trigger for a Formula PRO recipe.
- Copy values from any mirror column to any supported native monday.com column (Status, Text, Numbers, Date, People, etc.) – making them fully usable for native automations.
- Project formula results into mirror columns if needed (“When column changes, execute formula and project the result to mirror column”).
Quick Setup: Automating Client Follow-Ups from Mirrored Milestones
Let’s say your “Client Board” connects to a “Project Management Board” and mirrors the “Next Milestone Due Date.” You want to automatically notify your Account Manager if this mirrored date is approaching.
- Board Prep:
Project Management Board:
Date column: {Next Milestone Due Date}.
Client Board: Connect Boards column: Links to Project Management Board.
Mirror column: Pulls {Next Milestone Due Date} from Project Management as {Client Next Milestone}.
Date column: {Follow-Up Date}.
Status column: {Client Alert}.
- Formula PRO Automation (Option 1: Projecting Mirror Date to Native Date):
Recipe: When mirror column changes, project mirror column value to target column.
Configuration:
Trigger: When {Client Next Milestone} changes. Project Value To: {Follow-Up Date} (on the current item).
Why this works: Formula PRO takes the date from the mirror column and copies it into a native Date column that monday.com’s automations can now fully recognize!
- Native monday.com Automation:
When {Follow-Up Date} arrives, then change {Client Alert} to 'Follow-up Needed’.
Alternatively (Option 2: Direct Mirror as Trigger):
- Many of Formula PRO’s “When mirror column changes…” recipes directly enable mirror columns as triggers for actions, effectively bypassing the native limitation.
The Payoff: Fully Automated Cross-Board Workflows!
- Native Solution: Stop relying on external tools for core monday.com automation.
- Truly Actionable Mirrors: Your mirrored data can finally drive automations, notifications, and calculations.
- Streamlined Data Flow: Easily convert dynamic mirrored values into static, usable data within any native column.
- Increased Efficiency: Automate complex cross-board processes that were previously manual or required complex integrations.
Ready to ditch the workarounds and make your mirror columns truly work for you? Formula PRO gives you access to advanced functions like IFERROR, IFNA, SKIP, EMPTY, and the ability to project formula results to columns, mirror columns, subitems, and item names!
Add Formula PRO to your monday.com board for free!
Got questions or need a hand setting up this time-saving workflow? We’re happy to help! Book a quick call
Or, just drop a comment below! Let’s make your monday.com experience smoother and more efficient. 