Atomic Master-Detail: A Record and All Its Line Items, Saved as One
Capture a parent record and its line items as one unit — invoice lines, order items, timesheet entries — entered together and saved atomically in a single transaction.
Model master-detail records — a parent and its line items — without stitching two tables together by hand.
Why this matters
Plenty of business records are really a header plus a list: an invoice and its lines, an order and its items, an expense report and its expenses. Modelling that with a separate table, manual lookups, and a hand-written total is fragile and leaves orphan rows behind.
InfoLobby gives you true master-detail: a parent record carries a variable-length list of detail rows — line items — entered on an editable grid on the parent form. The parent and all its lines commit in one atomic transaction, and rollup fields total the lines automatically.
Line items belong to their record — so treat them that way.
A sub-table row is a weak entity: it has no life outside its parent. InfoLobby enforces that. There is no separate grid to edit lines loose, no way to create an orphan, and deleting the parent removes its lines. The result is data you can trust the totals of.
- Use a sub-table when the detail rows belong only to their parent
- Use a lookup and a related tab when the rows are shared records
- Let rollups do the arithmetic instead of a manual total field
What changes for the team
- Enter line items on an editable grid right on the parent record
- Parent and lines save together in one transaction — no orphan rows
- Rollup fields total the lines automatically and stay in sync
- Lines can't be edited loose — they belong to their parent
Feature details
- Define a sub-table's own typed columns (text, number, date, select, calculation)
- Add rows inline — a fresh blank row appears as you fill the last one
- Roll up line totals onto the parent (sum, count, average, min, max)
- Report across the relationship — aggregate every line on the parent's report rail
- Per-line calculations for values like quantity times price
How teams usually start
- Open the parent table's Configure screen and add a sub-table in the Sub-tables (line items) section.
- Give the sub-table its columns — description, quantity, price, or whatever the line needs.
- Add a rollup field on the parent to total the lines, then enter records with their line items on the grid.
FAQ
How is a sub-table different from a related record tab?
A related tab shows independent records from another table that link back. Sub-table rows have no life of their own — they are entered on the parent, save with it, and can't be edited anywhere else.
How do I total the line items?
Add a rollup field on the parent table. It aggregates the lines (sum, count, average, min, or max) and recomputes every time the record is saved, so the total always matches the current lines.
Can I report on the line items?
Yes. A report on the parent can be pointed at the sub-table with the Report on selector, so it aggregates every line across all records on the parent's report rail.
Want this feature in a system your team can actually run?
Start with the workflow this feature supports, then add the records, views, tasks, comments, and automations around it.