This simple tutorial will show you how to get a favicon from any website and save it as an attachment into Airtable. We will use the Icon Horse service to import favicons for a list of URLs.
We'll use the Data Fetcher extension's Icon Horse integration, so no code is required!
What is Icon Horse?
Icon Horse is a service that extracts the highest quality favicon file available from any website. If no favicon file is available, it will provide a suitable substitute so you don't get left with a broken image.
Create URL to Favicon Table
Create a table called 'Favicons'.
Create a field called 'URL' (with type 'URL'), then add the URLs you want to import Favicons from.
Create a field called 'Favicon' (with type 'Attachment').
Create a new Grid view called 'Needs Favicon' and add the following conditions:
The 'URL' field is not empty.
The 'Favicon' field is empty.
Install Data Fetcher
Next, you'll need to install Data Fetcher from the Airtable marketplace. Data Fetcher is free to start using and is able to import many different types of data from different APIs or websites into Airtable.
Once the extension has been added to your base, create a new Data Fetcher account or sign in to your existing account using the 'Have an account?' button on the bottom left.
Alternatively, sign-up for Data Fetcher with your Google login.
Get a Favicon from a Website in Airtable
Data Fetcher requests are how data is imported into Airtable. You can create multiple requests within one installation of Data Fetcher in an Airtable base.
Click on 'Create your first request' from the Data Fetcher home screen.
On the create request screen, select 'Icon Horse' for Application to use the Icon Horse Airtable integration.
Give your request a name, such as 'Import Favicons', and click 'Save & Continue'.
We can use the Icon Horse to Airtable integration without the need for Authorization.
For URL, we want to insert a reference to the values in our 'URL' Airtable field. To do this click the + button.
On the modal that opens, select 'Favions' for Table and 'URL' for Field. Then select 'Needs Favicon' for Run for every record in view. Click 'Confirm'.
URL should now contain a reference to the table.
Click 'Save & Run'.
The Data Fetcher request will run and the Response field mapping modal will open. Make sure the 'Favicon' field is mapped to the existing 'Favicon' field in Airtable. Then click 'Save & Run'.
You'll now see that the Favicons have been added as attachments for every record in 'Needs Favicon' (or a suitable alternative has been created).
Automatic Icon Horse Airtable Integration
Currently, you'd need to manually run the Data Fetcher request to import any updates to the Favicon files. It is possible to run the Icon Horse Airtable integration automatically at regular intervals using Data Fetcher's scheduling feature.
To upgrade your account, In Data Fetcher, scroll to Schedule and click 'Upgrade'.
Choose a plan from the different options and enter your payment details.
Back in Data Fetcher, click 'I've done this'.
Under Schedule click '+ Authorize'.
A new window will now open and prompt you to authorize the Airtable bases you want Data Fetcher to have access to.
We recommend selecting 'All current and future bases in all current and future workspaces' to avoid any issues with unauthorized bases in the future.
Click 'Grant access'.
Back in Data Fetcher, you'll see Schedule this request is now toggled on.
Select a schedule for the Icon Horse Airtable integration to run. You can choose intervals of 'Minutes', 'Hours', 'Days' or 'Months', then Click 'Save'. Any new Favicons will import to Airtable automatically on your chosen schedule.
What is a Favicon?
A favicon is an icon associated with a particular website, typically displayed in the address bar of a browser or in a list of bookmarks.
Get Favicon from Website Use Cases
- Show an icon next to a list of company URLs
- Show an icon next to user emails by looking up the domains in the emails
