Using ""&z=""&Rurl() and rdr in formula URL fields
People ask all the time, "What is the "&z="&Rurl() inside some of my Quickbase buttons?". Well, not all the time, but often enough that we should talk about it.
I am referring to formulas that are inside Formula - URL field buttons like, "Add Task", "Add Document" or "Add Project". It doesn't matter if records are child or parent records you are creating. Only that you are leaving one location to manually add or edit a record and you wish to return back to the location from which you started.
Workflows that require user input
When creating a relationship, Quickbase automatically generates an "Add Record" Formula - URL field. This provides a quick way for users to create a child record. However, many people have edited their Add Record button and figured out that the "&z="&Rurl() seems to return them back to where they started from, but when they try using the function in other formulas it doesn't work all the time. The reason - it's not supposed to.
This function was an expedient way for Quickbase engineers to pass a bread crumb from the originating URL into Quickbase so that when you were finished adding or editing a record you would have a way to return to your original starting point.
There are two valid use cases for "&z="&Rurl(). One is when you use the API_GenAddRecordForm and the other is when you use the a=er function to edit a record. Bear in mind that both of these cases expect you to manually modify a record, save the record and return back to the URL from which you started. Here's an example using API_GenAddRecordForm:
And here's an example using a=er:
The thing to remember about the above two examples is that you are starting from one spot, either adding or editing a record, manually saving the record and returning to your starting spot. The "&z="&Rurl() only works in this situation.
Workflows that do not require user input
If you are using another API call such as API_AddRecord or API_EditRecord, the format for redirecting to another page is a bit different. In this case, you can redirect the final API call in your formula to an a=doredirect URL. This takes the z=rurl() concept and makes it more valuable, since it allows you to make one or more API calls, and then reload the current page. For example:
On the other hand, rdr can be used to redirect the user to a specific page. For example, after a new record is created, perhaps you want to display a "thank you" rich text page you've created. This thank you page should appear as the next step in the workflow, regardless of whether the user was on the app dashboard before they created the record, or whether they came from the table home page. For example:
For more information on creating formulas in Quickbase you can review the documentation below, or open a support case for assistance.
Further Reading:
Using Formulas in Quickbase
Formula Functions Reference
Read about GenAddRecordForm in the API Guide
Read about AddRecord in the API Guide
Read about EditRecord in the API Guide
I am referring to formulas that are inside Formula - URL field buttons like, "Add Task", "Add Document" or "Add Project". It doesn't matter if records are child or parent records you are creating. Only that you are leaving one location to manually add or edit a record and you wish to return back to the location from which you started.
Workflows that require user input
When creating a relationship, Quickbase automatically generates an "Add Record" Formula - URL field. This provides a quick way for users to create a child record. However, many people have edited their Add Record button and figured out that the "&z="&Rurl() seems to return them back to where they started from, but when they try using the function in other formulas it doesn't work all the time. The reason - it's not supposed to.
This function was an expedient way for Quickbase engineers to pass a bread crumb from the originating URL into Quickbase so that when you were finished adding or editing a record you would have a way to return to your original starting point.
There are two valid use cases for "&z="&Rurl(). One is when you use the API_GenAddRecordForm and the other is when you use the a=er function to edit a record. Bear in mind that both of these cases expect you to manually modify a record, save the record and return back to the URL from which you started. Here's an example using API_GenAddRecordForm:
URLRoot() & "db/" & [_DBID_TASKS] & "?act=API_GenAddRecordForm&_fid_48=" & [Record ID#] & "&_fid_8=" & [Est Start Date] & "&z=" & Rurl()And here's an example using a=er:
URLRoot() & "db/" & Dbid() & "?a=er&rid=" & URLEncode([Record ID#]) & "&dfid=12" & "&z=" & Rurl()The thing to remember about the above two examples is that you are starting from one spot, either adding or editing a record, manually saving the record and returning to your starting spot. The "&z="&Rurl() only works in this situation.
Workflows that do not require user input
If you are using another API call such as API_AddRecord or API_EditRecord, the format for redirecting to another page is a bit different. In this case, you can redirect the final API call in your formula to an a=doredirect URL. This takes the z=rurl() concept and makes it more valuable, since it allows you to make one or more API calls, and then reload the current page. For example:
URLRoot() & "db/" & [_DBID_TASKS] & "?a=API_EditRecord&rid=" & [Record ID#] & "&_fid_7=Approved" & "&rdr="&URLEncode(URLRoot() & "db/" & Dbid() & "?a=doredirect&z=" & Rurl())On the other hand, rdr can be used to redirect the user to a specific page. For example, after a new record is created, perhaps you want to display a "thank you" rich text page you've created. This thank you page should appear as the next step in the workflow, regardless of whether the user was on the app dashboard before they created the record, or whether they came from the table home page. For example:
URLRoot() & "db/" & [_DBID_TASKS] & "?a=API_EditRecord&rid=42&_fid_7=Approved"&"&rdr="&URLEncode(URLRoot() & "db/" & Dbid() & "?a=dbpage&pageID=30")For more information on creating formulas in Quickbase you can review the documentation below, or open a support case for assistance.
Further Reading:
Using Formulas in Quickbase
Formula Functions Reference
Read about GenAddRecordForm in the API Guide
Read about AddRecord in the API Guide
Read about EditRecord in the API Guide
