How to correctly map an array from a Softr module to an Iterator?

What are you trying to achieve?

Subject: What is the correct formula or configuration to pass an array from “Softr - Find Database Record” to an Iterator?

Body:

What is the standard configuration method or the correct formula to get the array of records from the Softr - Find Database Record module and pass it correctly to an Iterator? Specifically, what is the correct name (key) of the array variable I need to reference?

Current Situation and Problem:

The Softr module itself runs successfully, and its execution log (Inspector) clearly shows that it has correctly found multiple records (e.g., the log shows 3 Bundles were output). This proves that the data source is working as expected.

The core problem is: In the Array field of the Iterator module, I cannot find a parent array variable that represents the entire collection of records to map from.

1 Like

Welcome to the Make community!

You don’t need an Iterator if you do not have an array.

If you want to combine multiple bundles into an array, then you can use an aggregator.

Combining Bundles Using Aggregators

Every result (item/record) from trigger/iterator/list/search/match modules will output a bundle. This can result in multiple bundles, which then trigger multiple operations in future modules (one operation per bundle). To “combine” multiple bundles into a single variable, you’ll need to use an aggregator of some sort.

Aggregators are modules that accumulate multiple bundles into one single bundle. An example of a commonly-used aggregator module is the Array aggregator module. The next popular aggregator is the Text Aggregator which is very flexible and can apply to many use-cases like building of JSON, CSV, HTML.

You can find out more about the other types of aggregator modules here:

Question: Which is the best aggregator do you think you’ll need for your use-case?

Mapping a Specific Structure Into a Complex Field

If you have an array of collections, in programming terms, this is called an array of objects, or an array with non-primitive data types (“complex”).

The Array Aggregator module is very powerful because it allows you to build a new complex array of collections that matches a later module’s field to map multiple items (collections) to it. Such fields initially would allow you to manually add items, but you can toggle the “Map” switch to the “on” state and map a whole array into a single field.

This is done by selecting the “Target structure type” in an Array Aggregator module.

As you can see from the above example, the “Map” toggle on complex fields are used when you have an array variable (like from an array aggregator). Other combinations of modules may also allow you to generate an array that matches a future field’s array structure, like “Aggregate to JSON + Parse JSON”, or “Create JSON + Parse JSON”, but this is an advanced topic.

Question: Are you mapping your array into a field that accepts more than one item/collection?

Example

Here is an example of how your scenario could look like:


This is just an example. Your final solution may or may not look like this depending on your requirements and actual data.

For more information, see “Mapping with arrays” in the Help Centre. You should also do the Make Academy, which also covers the use of Iterators & Aggregators.

Hope this helps! Let me know if there are any further questions or issues.

@samliew
P.S.: investing some effort into the tutorials in the Make Academy will save you lots of time and frustration using Make!

Heyy @T_C Welcome tot he community!

Can you please share the screenshots of scenario, modules and outputs required to help you on this case? And what is your expected output need!

Best,
@Prem_Patel