# Meta fields

**URL:** <https://community.glideapps.com/t/meta-fields/62321>\
**Category:** Ask for Help\
**Created:** [May 31, 2023, 3:21pm UTC](https://community.glideapps.com/t/meta-fields/62321 "2023-05-31T15:21:46Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 1

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Daniel\_Poynter1](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex002/user_avatar/community.glideapps.com/daniel_poynter1/32/59773_2.png) [@Daniel\_Poynter1](https://community.glideapps.com/u/Daniel_Poynter1)\
**Post date:** [May 31, 2023, 3:21pm UTC](https://community.glideapps.com/t/meta-fields/62321/1 "2023-05-31T15:21:46Z")

</div>

I have a question about accessing a lookup field in Airtable with a Meta field in Glide.

I have a screen with several collections. Some of them can access a lookup field in the Meta part of the component, but others cannot. The lookup fields all seem to be set up similarly in Airtable.

Another strange thing I’ve noticed: I can access a particular lookup field (like “Name (from Resource Type”) by going to Options \> Filter Data:

 ![Screenshot 2023-05-31 at 11.13.32 AM](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex002/uploads/glideapps/original/3X/3/5/35b31247d9d408f736aa56c8acefd6897610faae.png)

But I can’t show the contents of that field in the Meta part of the component:

 ![Screenshot 2023-05-31 at 11.13.42 AM](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex002/uploads/glideapps/original/3X/e/3/e38ef6ae511ba8f9e33218ed789517653ac62c71.png)

In other words, I can filter the data by the lookup field, but I can’t show the contents of that lookup field in the component. This isn’t consistent across my components. I can display some lookup fields, but not all of them.

I’ve played with this for a week or so and am at a loss. Any ideas? Thanks for any suggestions.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Darren\_Murphy](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex002/user_avatar/community.glideapps.com/darren_murphy/32/47326_2.png) [@Darren\_Murphy](https://community.glideapps.com/u/Darren_Murphy)\
**Post date:** [May 31, 2023, 4:00pm UTC](https://community.glideapps.com/t/meta-fields/62321/2 "2023-05-31T16:00:27Z")

</div>

The general rule of thumb here is that if your lookup contains a text value, then it can be used in any component that accepts a single text value. But if your lookup contains an array, then it cannot.

The easy way to tell the difference is to examine the Lookup column in the Glide Data Editor. If you see the value/s contained in a small “bubble”, then it’s an array (even if it’s just a single value).

Here is an example of a Lookup that contains an array:

 ![CleanShot 2023-05-31 at 23.58.42@2x](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex002/uploads/glideapps/original/3X/4/8/48879b9bc332c728c9dac280854b33377cdd2c11.png)

And here is an example of one that contains a text value:

![CleanShot 2023-05-31 at 23.59.05@2x](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex002/uploads/glideapps/original/3X/d/0/d06c6d630213d285fc3990fe54d88fb45c906204.png)