# Referencing relationship in collection via Custom API call action (still not solved) **URL:** \ **Category:** Get Help\ **Created:** [April 1, 2026, 6:59am UTC](https://forum.adalo.com/t/referencing-relationship-in-collection-via-custom-api-call-action-still-not-solved/66137 "2026-04-01T06:59:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![galou](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/858c86/32.png) [@galou](https://forum.adalo.com/u/galou)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2026, 6:59am UTC](https://forum.adalo.com/t/referencing-relationship-in-collection-via-custom-api-call-action-still-not-solved/66137/1 "2026-04-01T06:59:13Z")
The topic was closed without being answered but it is probably still unsolved because web searches didn’t give any valuable answer. Cf. [Referencing relationship in collection via Custom API call action](https://forum.adalo.com/t/referencing-relationship-in-collection-via-custom-api-call-action/54136) , where the issue is very well described. ---
**Author:** ![galou](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/858c86/32.png) [@galou](https://forum.adalo.com/u/galou)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2026, 8:20am UTC](https://forum.adalo.com/t/referencing-relationship-in-collection-via-custom-api-call-action-still-not-solved/66137/2 "2026-04-01T08:20:24Z")
@maksim this might interest you. Did you solve it? ---
**Author:** ![Dilon](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex020/user_avatar/forum.adalo.com/dilon/32/39815_2.png) [@Dilon](https://forum.adalo.com/u/Dilon)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2026, 4:02pm UTC](https://forum.adalo.com/t/referencing-relationship-in-collection-via-custom-api-call-action-still-not-solved/66137/3 "2026-04-03T16:02:27Z")
Hi @galou, Welcome to the community! 🎉 Based on the referenced topic content, you would either need a countdown as a list in a next screen (click the button \> link to a new screen) where it finds the custom action value in the collection and then update the relation (same exact value should exists in both places) or using a MAKE scenario like @Victor did here. : [https://youtu.be/AK3qUzRiy3o](https://youtu.be/AK3qUzRiy3o) Thank you and have a great day! ---
**Author:** ![galou](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/858c86/32.png) [@galou](https://forum.adalo.com/u/galou)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2026, 4:49pm UTC](https://forum.adalo.com/t/referencing-relationship-in-collection-via-custom-api-call-action-still-not-solved/66137/4 "2026-04-07T16:49:33Z")
Hi @Dilon , thanks for the quick answer. I didn’t really understand the first solution. What do you mean with countdown? If I switch to another screen, can I come back to the original screen without user intervention? As for the second method, it’s not really acceptable because it relies on yet-another third party service. ---
**Author:** ![Jeorge](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex020/user_avatar/forum.adalo.com/jeorge/32/40256_2.png) [@Jeorge](https://forum.adalo.com/u/Jeorge)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2026, 6:49am UTC](https://forum.adalo.com/t/referencing-relationship-in-collection-via-custom-api-call-action-still-not-solved/66137/5 "2026-04-09T06:49:13Z")
@galou I think there’s a bit of overcomplication happening here. If you’re using a **Custom API action** and want to update a relationship field, the key thing you need is just the **record ID** of the item you want to relate. Adalo relationships are basically handled via IDs behind the scenes, so as long as your API call is sending that correctly, it should work. For easier access between the two collections, you can also set up **bi-directional (double) relationships**: - Link _Response → Trait_ - Then also link _Trait → Response_ This way, from either side, you can directly access the related data without needing workarounds. No need for extra screens or external tools like Make in most cases ---
**Author:** ![Victor](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex020/user_avatar/forum.adalo.com/victor/32/2054_2.png) [@Victor](https://forum.adalo.com/u/Victor)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2026, 7:00am UTC](https://forum.adalo.com/t/referencing-relationship-in-collection-via-custom-api-call-action-still-not-solved/66137/6 "2026-04-09T07:00:09Z")
@galou I would make one step back and ask the question: **why** do you want to set up the relationship with the custom action? What is the usecase / issue you’re experiencing? Any operations like these will require an access to Adalo Collections API. You **can** set up the relationship via the API. But the issue is that it is rarely needed from the Adalo app itself: it is much easier to do everything on Adalo side (e.g. run custom action → create Response record, fill it in with the results of custom action and also link it to current Trait). Also, Adalo Collections API is now available only on Team+ plans, so using it is quite a rare case nowadays (unfortunately). Best, Victor. ---
**Author:** ![galou](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/858c86/32.png) [@galou](https://forum.adalo.com/u/galou)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2026, 10:31am UTC](https://forum.adalo.com/t/referencing-relationship-in-collection-via-custom-api-call-action-still-not-solved/66137/7 "2026-04-09T10:31:37Z")
I actually realize now that I’m using a different tool but having the same issue. I’m using a custom component not a custom action, as in the referenced topic. Here is my use case: - I have two collections, let’s say, “Catalog” and “Orders”. - “Orders” contains a foreign key to “Catalog” also called “Catalog”. - I want to create a new “Orders” record and set its “Catalog” field appropriately. My first thought was that I use an "action” with `catalogId` as output argument (tried as number and string). Unfortunately, Adalo’s “Create” action doesn’t let me choose anything for the “Catalog” field (“Nothing Available”). ---
**Author:** ![galou](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/858c86/32.png) [@galou](https://forum.adalo.com/u/galou)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2026, 8:27am UTC](https://forum.adalo.com/t/referencing-relationship-in-collection-via-custom-api-call-action-still-not-solved/66137/8 "2026-04-14T08:27:01Z")
Also tried a `formValue` props both as `text` and `number` but it doesn’t work. ---
**Author:** ![Dilon](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex020/user_avatar/forum.adalo.com/dilon/32/39815_2.png) [@Dilon](https://forum.adalo.com/u/Dilon)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2026, 12:54pm UTC](https://forum.adalo.com/t/referencing-relationship-in-collection-via-custom-api-call-action-still-not-solved/66137/9 "2026-04-14T12:54:01Z")
Hi @galou, > [@galou](#): > > What do you mean with countdown? If I switch to another screen, can I come back to the original screen without user intervention? I meant the countdown trick found by Victor. : [https://youtu.be/0OLszLhb\_7k?si=3IVZHxrmKbhTfhSk](https://youtu.be/0OLszLhb_7k?si=3IVZHxrmKbhTfhSk) Something like, create the response with the custom action data along with the trait text \> link to a new screen where this countdown list avaiable \> filter the list with the saved trait text to find the correct trait from the collection \> update the response record with the found trait. Or else you need the collections api to find out the trait record. (or you could move forward with the join tables as an alternative to the relationship property. : [Adalo Join Collections | Adalo Resources](https://help.adalo.com/database/relationships/adalo-join-collections)) > [@galou](#): > > Unfortunately, Adalo’s “Create” action doesn’t let me choose anything for the “Catalog” field (“Nothing Available”). This would be because there’s no current catalog data. Thank you and have a great day! ---
**Author:** ![galou](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/858c86/32.png) [@galou](https://forum.adalo.com/u/galou)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2026, 8:20am UTC](https://forum.adalo.com/t/referencing-relationship-in-collection-via-custom-api-call-action-still-not-solved/66137/10 "2026-04-20T08:20:36Z")
Thank you all for your patience. I eventually managed to get it work with the “countdown trick”. Cumbersome but does the job. I’ll live with the screen flickering for now. Also thought about the join collections but didn’t want to create a table only for the purpose of processing data. > [@Dilon](#): > > This would be because there’s no current catalog data. What exactly is “current catalog data” in Javascript terms? I guess I’m able to create such an object but I don’t know what is the corresponding type in `metadata.json` in my custom component. ---
**Author:** ![system](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex020/user_avatar/forum.adalo.com/system/32/40401_2.png) [@system](https://forum.adalo.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2026, 8:21am UTC](https://forum.adalo.com/t/referencing-relationship-in-collection-via-custom-api-call-action-still-not-solved/66137/11 "2026-04-30T08:21:08Z")
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