Can I calculate the distances between 2 tables in Glide

Good evening, fellow Gliders! I need help with something relatively simple, but I’m having trouble figuring it out.

Background: I am working on a scheduling app that assigns technicians to various venues.

To schedule technicians (from a Technicians table), I create a schedule (on a Schedules table) that references a venue (from a Venues table). Within that schedule, I then create shifts (on a Shifts table) that reference the Schedules table. These shifts are assigned to a technician (from the Technicians table). This process works fine, and I have no problems with it.

Let me explain my issue:

To increase the efficiency of the scheduling process, I would like to determine which technicians are closest to the venue before assigning them to a shift. This way, I can list them by their proximity to the venue.

I am able to calculate the distance once I assign a technician to a shift by using the distance column with relations/lookup between the technician’s address and the venue’s address. But is there a way to reference each technician’s distance from the venue’s address without needing a Shift and Schedule table in between?

There are several methods you could use. Without seeing your exact set up, I’d lean towards using a Single Value column to pull in current/latest Venue address. You could set a helper column (within user’s profile) with the address of current venue you’re creating a schedule for. Then, you can use the Single Value column on the Technicians table to pull in that address. Use the Distance column to sort the technicians!

2 Likes