# Is lookup considered an update?

**URL:** <https://community.glideapps.com/t/is-lookup-considered-an-update/66320>\
**Category:** Ask for Help\
**Created:** [September 19, 2023, 3:54pm UTC](https://community.glideapps.com/t/is-lookup-considered-an-update/66320 "2023-09-19T15:54:09Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Mns\_Glide](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex002/user_avatar/community.glideapps.com/mns_glide/32/2514_2.png) [@Mns\_Glide](https://community.glideapps.com/u/Mns_Glide)\
**Post date:** [September 19, 2023, 3:54pm UTC](https://community.glideapps.com/t/is-lookup-considered-an-update/66320/1 "2023-09-19T15:54:09Z")

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Hi,  
if I setup a relation and use a lookup to pull in the value from another table, does this count as an update every time a person starts the app?

Thanks

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**Author:** ![Jeff\_Hager](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex002/user_avatar/community.glideapps.com/jeff_hager/32/43_2.png) [@Jeff\_Hager](https://community.glideapps.com/u/Jeff_Hager)\
**Post date:** [September 19, 2023, 3:56pm UTC](https://community.glideapps.com/t/is-lookup-considered-an-update/66320/2 "2023-09-19T15:56:48Z")

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No. Relations and Lookups are computed on the client’s device. They don’t change any data, so it’s not an update.

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Mns\_Glide](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex002/user_avatar/community.glideapps.com/mns_glide/32/2514_2.png) [@Mns\_Glide](https://community.glideapps.com/u/Mns_Glide)\
**Post date:** [September 19, 2023, 3:57pm UTC](https://community.glideapps.com/t/is-lookup-considered-an-update/66320/3 "2023-09-19T15:57:23Z")

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thanks.

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Mns\_Glide](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex002/user_avatar/community.glideapps.com/mns_glide/32/2514_2.png) [@Mns\_Glide](https://community.glideapps.com/u/Mns_Glide)\
**Post date:** [September 19, 2023, 3:58pm UTC](https://community.glideapps.com/t/is-lookup-considered-an-update/66320/4 "2023-09-19T15:58:46Z")

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In terms of app speed, which is better … relation/lookup, or copy the value over to the table that needs the data?

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Jeff\_Hager](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex002/user_avatar/community.glideapps.com/jeff_hager/32/43_2.png) [@Jeff\_Hager](https://community.glideapps.com/u/Jeff_Hager)\
**Post date:** [September 19, 2023, 4:09pm UTC](https://community.glideapps.com/t/is-lookup-considered-an-update/66320/5 "2023-09-19T16:09:55Z")

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Theoretically…copy the value the table, but the difference would probably be negligible in most cases. Relations/Lookups are pretty efficient. Plus it might be bad practice to copy the value over, especially if the source value can change in the future and becomes misaligned with the value you copied.

There are way too many variables to decide what is, or is not, a good practice. It’s next to impossible to advise what you should or shouldn’t do because it can be different depending on the situation.