Selecting entry-links or entry-details in dropdown: provide extra field values to make it unique

[Filip Callewaert]

Suppose I have database for my customer projects : project title, customer, team members, ... . It is no exception that we do very similar projects with different customers - e.g. 10 cloud migration projects, with 10 different customers. 

And suppose, I have a 2nd database in which one field links to the Projects Database. There, in a project field, I want to select a value (a project title) from that related database. This is what I get: 

 

As you see, it is impossible for me to guess what item is the right one, as I miss info from other fields in that database. 
The alternative could be that we manually nest metadata-info into our titles... No, that was the eighties.

Therefore we need to be able to show extra field values, in the best case we can select what extra fields are shown and which not - a bit like we (un)select fields to define views.

[Raquel Cueto-Senra]

So, adding a primary key so that we can use secondary keys in other databases as well?

[Filip Callewaert]

I'm not sure this solves the problem. I think it is not about keys, as keys quite often are also cryptic - you cannot guess meaning behind it. 

It is how you render the link: what information is included? Normally, we get a 'name' (of the record), but what extra data from that record can be added, so the name gets more context? - do you get what I mean, @Raquel Cueto-Senra ?

[Roel Krols]

I have this same problem, I think either

• each row should have an automatic incrementing unique Identifier.

or

• user should be able to set one or more columns as row identifier.

[Filip Callewaert]

I understand the need for a unique (incremental) identifier, but that is another issue. Identifiers quite often are just codes - they don't tell me if this is the cloud migration project from client A or client B. 
I see it in other database applications that in link information you can select what extra data from the record is being shown in your dropdown, though, only the linked value (eg. project name) will be added to that field. The other data that were shown only help you contextualize the datum you want to select.