Column types
Column types
Who can do this: the Owner right on the table. Adding a column, changing its type and changing its settings are all one structural save, and the server accepts it only from someone with Owner on that table. In the per-table Manage access… dialog the same right is called Manage. People with only Edit can fill cells but cannot change columns. See the .
What it's for
A column type decides what a cell can hold, how it is entered, how it is shown and what you can do with it later: filter, sort, group on a board, put on a calendar, total in a report, expose in a form or the portal. This page lists every type, says what to use it for, and describes the settings an owner can change.
Computed types (Reference, Lookup, Rollup, Formula) have their own page: . The formula functions are on .
Before you start
How to add a column and pick a type
In the table, add a column. The Add column dialog opens.
Type a Field name, or leave it empty and the dialog names it Column plus a number.
Pick a type from the grid. Use the search box (Search field types…) to filter by name or description. Double-click a type to confirm it without pressing Create field; otherwise select it and press Create field.
Some types ask for their settings first, and the column is created only when you save them: Reference, Lookup, Rollup, Rank, Balance, Balance lookup, Sequence, Button and Attribute set. A Formula column is created at once and its editor opens.
The dialog groups the types as Basic, Date & time, Selection, Workflow, Contact, People, Media & files, Relational & computed, Ledger, Scheduling & location, Advanced, Actions and Product (PIM). This page groups them by purpose instead.
Changing the type later
Open the column's header menu and choose Change type. What happens to the values already in the column:
The save rewrites the column definition only. Stored values are not converted, with the exceptions below. The change goes into the grid's undo history.
Select and Multi-select: choosing either from a column of another type opens Convert to list (or Convert to multi-list). The values already in the column become the options. For a multi-list you pick the separators (comma, semicolon, pipe, new line) and each cell is split into several values.
Image, Image gallery, Files, Asset, Asset gallery: moving within one storage family converts the cells. One-to-many wraps the single item in a list. Many-to-one is refused if any cell holds more than one item. Moving between families (an asset type to an image or files type, or the reverse) is refused when the column has any values; an empty column can change freely. The families are: Asset and Asset gallery; Image and Image gallery; Files alone.
Moving to Status gives the column the states Draft, Review and Approved if it has none. Moving to Priority gives it the options Urgent, High, Medium and Low if it has none. Moving to External user sets its role to Submitter if it has none.
Settings that only make sense for the old type are dropped: the text validation rules when you leave Text, and Require unique values when the new type cannot enforce it.
Button, Attribute set, Variant axes, Completeness and Working calendar are not offered in Change type. See Internal or platform-managed types.
Careful: a retype does not clean up cells that no longer fit the new type. A date retyped to Number keeps its old text in storage. Convert on a copy of the table, or export first (see ).
Careful: columns that other things read (formulas, saved views, automations) can break if you retype or delete them. Deleting such a column asks you to confirm and lists what depends on it. A column that an automation names directly cannot be deleted until you fix the automation.
Tables bound to a remote data source: the server refuses adding, removing and retyping columns on them (read_only_remote_table_schema). Cosmetic edits such as rename and reorder are allowed.
All column types
There are 42 types. Every member of the DataTableColumnType list has an entry in the platform's type registry and a display name.
Text and numbers
Display name | Internal key | Use it for | What is stored |
|---|---|---|---|
Text |
| Names, titles, codes, short labels | One line of text |
Long text |
| Notes, descriptions, comments | Several lines of text |
Number |
| Quantities, measurements, counts | A number, whole or decimal |
Currency |
| Prices, amounts, costs | A number shown as money |
Rating |
| Stars for quality, priority of a lead, feedback | A whole number, 0 to 5 by default |
Checkbox |
| Yes/no flags: paid, approved, in stock | True or false |
Array |
| Free tags the user types, such as "urgent" | A list of typed words; an empty list is stored as empty |
Dates and time
Display name | Internal key | Use it for | What is stored |
|---|---|---|---|
Date |
| Due dates, birthdays, delivery days | A calendar date ( |
Date & time |
| Appointments, shifts, when something happened | A date and time with a time zone |
Choices and status
Display name | Internal key | Use it for | What is stored |
|---|---|---|---|
Select |
| One value from a list you control: size, channel, city | The chosen option text |
Multi-select |
| Several values from a list you control: allergens, skills | A list of option texts |
Priority |
| Importance of a task or request | The chosen option text |
Status |
| The stage a row is in, with rules about who may move it | The id of a state (not its name) |
People and teams
Display name | Internal key | Use it for | What is stored |
|---|---|---|---|
Person |
| Assignee, watcher, team member account | A list of team members |
External user |
| The portal user who submitted or owns a row | A list of portal users |
Groups |
| A row that belongs to one or more user groups | A list of groups |
Contact details
Display name | Internal key | Use it for | What is stored |
|---|---|---|---|
URL |
| Website or document link | Text shown as a clickable link |
| A contact's email | Text shown as a mail link | |
Phone |
| A contact's phone number | Text shown as a call link |
Files, images and assets
Display name | Internal key | Use it for | What is stored |
|---|---|---|---|
Files |
| Scans, PDFs, contracts, photos as attachments | A list of files with name, type and size |
Image |
| One picture. Older type; prefer Asset for new tables | An image address |
Image gallery |
| Several pictures. Older type; prefer Asset gallery | A list of image addresses |
Asset |
| One picture or file from the space's asset library | A link to one library item (id, file name, address) |
Asset gallery |
| Several library items, such as product photos | A list of links to library items |
Documents |
| Pages, forms, dashboards, spreadsheets or tables that belong to one row | A list of links to documents owned by the row |
Links to other data
Display name | Internal key | Use it for | What is stored |
|---|---|---|---|
Reference |
| Pointing a row at rows of another table: an order's customer | A list of linked rows (id and label) |
Lookup |
| Showing one value from a linked row, read-only | A stored copy of that value |
Rollup |
| Totalling or counting linked rows, read-only | A stored result |
Formula |
| Calculating from other cells, read-only | A stored result |
Specialised
Display name | Internal key | Use it for | What is stored |
|---|---|---|---|
Sequence |
| Invoice, order and work-order numbers | The finished number as text, such as |
Rank |
| Position in a queue or waitlist | A whole number, or empty |
Time log |
| Hours spent on a row | The total in minutes |
Button |
| A per-row button that runs an automation | Nothing |
Balance |
| Stock on hand, a customer's balance, a cash account | A running total kept from a ledger table |
Balance lookup |
| Showing a balance from another table on a row | A number worked out when read, or stored for one's own row |
Geofence |
| A place with an allowed radius, for clock-in checks | Latitude, longitude and radius in metres |
Location |
| Where a worker was when they filled the row | Latitude, longitude, accuracy and capture time |
Recurrence |
| Repeating schedules: shift templates, coverage | A structured repeat rule |
Attribute set |
| Which product fields a category requires | A list of columns with required, recommended or hidden |
Variant axes |
| Size and colour options of a product with variants | The axes (and optional SKU pattern) for a master row |
Completeness |
| A 0 to 100 score of how filled in a product is | A number, calculated |
Working calendar |
| A staff member's working calendar | The id of a working calendar |
Quick facts
Question | Types |
|---|---|
Which are read-only (the table fills them in)? | Formula, Rollup, Lookup, Time log, Completeness, Balance, Balance lookup, Sequence, Button, Rank. A Time log cell is changed only through its panel |
Which take part in text search by default? | Text, Long text, Email, Phone, URL |
Which can be added to or removed from search with a menu item? | Text, Long text, Email, Phone, URL, Number, Currency, Rating, Select, Multi-select, Status, Priority, Reference (not the computed ones) |
Can you require unique values? | On writable single-value types and on Sequence. Not offered on computed types, nor on Reference, Image, Image gallery, Files, Multi-select, Person and Checkbox |
Which can define the lanes of a Kanban board? | Select, Status, Priority, Person |
Which can place a row on a Calendar? | Date, Date & time |
Which edit through their own panel, not in the cell? | Time log, Attribute set, Variant axes, Geofence, Location, Recurrence |
Settings that appear on many types
These are in the column's header menu. Which ones you see depends on the type.
Setting | Where it applies | What it does |
|---|---|---|
Default value & auto-fill, with Default value | Text, Long text, Number, Currency, Checkbox, Date, Date & time, Select, Rating | Filled in when a new row is created and the cell is empty. A date can default to Today, a date and time to Now, or both to a fixed value. A Select default must be one of its options |
Auto-fill (same section) | Every type that is not read-only | A rule (an optional condition and a value) that is recalculated and written into the cell whenever its inputs change. Unlike a default it keeps applying after the row exists. Choose Only when the cell is empty or Always, while the condition holds. The second option replaces a value typed by hand on the next recalculation |
Require unique values | See Quick facts | Rejects a write that matches another row of the table |
Include in search / Exclude from search | See Quick facts | Adds the column to, or removes it from, the text that row search looks at |
Multi-language values | Text, Long text | The cell holds one value per language |
Barcode scanning | Text, Reference | Lets people scan a barcode or QR code to fill the cell (text) or find the linked row (reference) |
Use only in formulas (hide by default) | Column menu | Marks a helper column that is hidden unless someone shows it |
Careful: when you rename a Select, Multi-select or Priority option in Field settings, every row that holds it is updated. The dialog shows the row count first. To undo, rename it back.
Text and numbers: settings
Text and Long text
Text has a Field settings dialog with validation: Min length, Max length, Pattern (regex, full-match) and Validate as. The pattern must match the whole value. A pattern with bad syntax is ignored. Validate as applies a check-digit test after the length and pattern rules: GTIN-8, GTIN-12, GTIN-13, GTIN-14, EAN-8, EAN-13, ISBN-10 or ISBN-13 (hard-coded English labels).
Require unique values works on both. Include in search is on by default.
Example: a Text column "Barcode" with Validate as EAN-13 and Require unique values, so a mistyped or duplicate barcode is refused.
Number
Field settings offers Minimum, Maximum, Decimal places, Thousands separator, Percent format (shows 0.15 as 15%), Prefix, Suffix and Fixed values. With Fixed values the cell becomes a drop-down limited to those numbers. Without Minimum, negative numbers are allowed.
Example: "Quantity" with Minimum 0 and Decimal places 0; "Discount" with Percent format.
Currency
Field settings offers Currency, Custom symbol, Show unit as (Symbol or Currency code) and Currency code from column. The last one makes each row use the code in another column, and falls back to the column's own currency when that cell is empty or invalid. Choose Currency code for a table that mixes regional dollars, whose symbols look alike.
A new Currency column with nothing set adopts the space's Default currency (see ). If the space has none, the column shows a generic $ until you configure it. Existing columns are not changed.
Example: "Unit price" in one currency; "Invoice total" with Currency code from column pointing at a "Currency" Text column holding EUR, USD.
Rating, Checkbox, Array
Rating stores a whole number; the registry describes 0 to 5. It has only a default value.
Checkbox has Checkbox display: Display as Text, Checkbox, Badge, Toggle or Icon, a label and colour When checked and When unchecked, and Hide until set (show nothing in cells nobody has touched; an explicit "no" still shows). The labels default to Yes and No.
Array has no settings. People type each item and add it; items show as removable badges. Use Multi-select when the list should be controlled.
Dates and time: settings
Date and Date & time share Field settings:
Role: None, Planned start, Planned end, Due date, Actual start, Actual end. The role lets tasks, Kanban, Calendar and the Timeline view understand which date is which. One column per role per table: setting a role clears it from any other column.
Default value: Today (date) or Now (date and time), or a fixed one.
Duration presets (only on an end-role column): one-tap durations counted from the paired start column, in whole days on Date and in minutes on Date & time. Options: Allow an exact time, Shift when the start moves (a reschedule keeps the same length) and Counted from. The cell still stores a normal date.
Example: a "Delivery" table with Planned start and Planned end dates and the presets 1, 2 and 3 days.
Two more roles exist for specific features and do nothing until that feature is used: a scheduling role for the double-booking guard on a table with that behaviour, and a billing role read by the recurring-invoice automation. The date Field settings dialog has no setting for them.
Choices and status: settings
Select, Multi-select, Priority
Field settings edits the options: add (New option…), rename, remove, pick a Color, and Localize (a different label per language; the stored value stays the key). Select and Priority also have Cell display: Badge (default, a coloured chip) or Fill cell (paints the whole cell in the option colour; an option without a colour keeps its badge). This is presentation only.
A cell whose value is not in the list shows "—" (Select).
A new Priority column starts with Urgent, High, Medium and Low in red, orange, amber and grey.
Select can drive Kanban lanes; so can Priority. A Multi-select cannot.
Example: "Channel" as Select with Website, Phone, Walk-in. "Allergens" as Multi-select.
Status
Use Status when the stage of a row matters to people and rules: orders, applications, tickets. The cell stores the state id; the name and colour come from the state.
Configure states opens the states dialog. A new Status column starts with Draft, Review and Approved.
Enforce transition workflow is off by default. Off: any state can move to any other. On: rows move only along the transitions you allow, and required fields must be filled to enter a state.
A state can lock the row, require fields, limit who may move into it, who may edit and comment, and set a timeout that moves or notifies after a wait.
Configure processing queue opens the queue setup for the column.
Details of states and rules belong with automations: see . Example: Order status New, Paid, Packed, Shipped, with a state that locks the row after Shipped.
People and teams: settings
Person and External user
Person settings has a Role: Assignee (feeds "Assigned to me"), Watcher, Member, Contact, Submitter (stamped automatically when the row is created) and Team member account. Restrict to groups limits who can be picked to members of the groups you select; empty means everyone.
Team member account marks the User column of a staff table: one such column per table, one person per row, and a row cannot be deleted while that person still has access to the space. Fill it by inviting people (see ), not by typing into the cell.
External user holds portal users. Only the Submitter role is supported: the cell is stamped when a portal user submits the bound form. A new External user column gets that role at once.
Example: "Owner" as Person with Assignee, restricted to the group Sales.
Groups
Groups has no settings. Use it to tag a row with user groups, for example to limit who sees it or to grant access in bulk.
Contact details: settings
URL, Email and Phone have no settings. They are searched by default. Email shows as a mail link and Phone as a call link. The column settings have no validation for the address or number. Use Text with a pattern if you must enforce a format.
Files, images and assets: settings
Files
File settings has Max number of files, Max file size (MB), Max total size (MB), Allowed file types (Any, Documents, Images, Audio, Custom), Prohibit executable files (.exe, .bat, .sh, …) and Additional prohibited extensions. Executables are blocked unless you turn that off. With no limits set, only the platform's global size cap applies.
Files are served through an access check: team members with Read, portal users who can see the row, or anyone when the table is published. Files can be attached in the grid, in the portal or on a public form.
Example: "Signed contract" with Allowed file types Documents and Max number of files 1.
Image, Image gallery, Asset, Asset gallery
Image and Image gallery are older types. Asset and Asset gallery link to the space's asset library and are the better choice for new tables, for example product photos. None of the four has a settings dialog.
Documents
Documents settings (dialog Documents field) has Allowed document types (by default all six: Document, Data table, Spreadsheet, Dashboard, Form, Whiteboard) and Maximum documents per row (Unlimited when empty). The attached documents do not appear in the navigator tree.
Example: a "Job" table where each row has its own checklist form and site photos spreadsheet.
Links to other data
Reference links a row to rows of another table (or its own table). Its settings, the Configure reference dialog (Link to table, Display field, Selection as Single selection or Multiple selection, and a filter on which rows can be picked), are explained in , together with Lookup, Rollup and Formula. A reference can also be marked as a category link for product tables.
Specialised: settings
Sequence (auto-number)
Auto-number settings has Prefix (supports the tokens {YYYY}, {YY}, {MM} and a column value token), Pad width, Start at, Reset counter (Never, Every year, Every month) and Key columns (each combination of key values gets its own counter). The number is assigned when the row is created, is gapless, cannot be typed over, and is stored as text.
Numbering applies to new rows. Existing rows keep their numbers; use Reset and renumber all rows… to rebuild them, Generate numbers for empty rows to fill blanks, and Refresh out-of-date numbers… (keyed columns only).
When a source field is edited: Renumber the row, until it is locked (the default) or Keep the number it already has.
With key columns, a row gets its number only once every key has a value.
Example: Prefix INV-{YYYY}-, Pad width 4, Reset counter Every year gives INV-2026-0001.
Rank
Configure rank has Order by (one or more columns, ascending or descending), Partition by (group) (numbering restarts in each group; empty ranks the whole table), Only rank rows matching (optional) (a formula; other rows stay empty), Dense (ties share a number) and Update live on every change. Off, the rank is a snapshot refreshed on demand and can be out of date between refreshes. On, it recomputes whenever a row is added, reordered or removed, which costs more on large tables.
Example: waitlist position, ordered by arrival time, partitioned by class, filtered to rows with status "waitlisted".
Time log
Opening the cell opens the Time log panel: enter a duration such as 1h 30m, +45m or 2h, an optional note, and press Log. The panel shows Total, By me and This week. Each entry is stored separately. Logging can be disabled for a table.
Button
Configure button lists rules checked top to bottom. Each rule has Automation to run, Button label (optional) and Condition (optional). The first rule whose condition holds decides what the button does and says; if none match the cell is empty. At least one rule is needed, and every automation must belong to this same table. A button can be created only from Add column, not through Change type.
Example: a Button "Send invoice" on the Orders table that shows only when the status is Packed.
Balance and Balance lookup
For stock, customer balances and cash accounts. Balance lives on the master table (SKU, customer, cash account) and is a running total kept from a ledger table; Configure balance has Ledger table (create one first from the Ledger template in the New data table dialog), Partition by (optional) (for example per warehouse), Allow negative balances and Track reservations (pending → reserved bucket). Balance lookup shows one balance somewhere else; Configure balance lookup has Reference to master row, Balance column on master, Partition mapping, As of (historical balance) and Show (Posted, Reserved, Available). Both are read-only.
Example: Products has a Balance "Stock" partitioned by warehouse; order lines show Balance lookup "In stock" for the chosen warehouse.
Geofence, Location, Recurrence
Geofence: a point plus a radius in metres, edited in a small panel (latitude, longitude, radius). Used by clock-in and clock-out checks.
Location: a captured point. Use my location reads the device, or Enter manually takes Latitude and Longitude. It keeps the GPS accuracy and the capture time. The browser must allow location access.
Recurrence: a rule built in a panel: Repeats daily, weekly, monthly or in a cycle (N days on, N off), Every, the days, Starts on, Ends (Never, On date, After N) and dates to skip.
Example: a "Shift template" table with a Recurrence for Monday to Friday and a Geofence per site.
Product types: Attribute set, Variant axes, Completeness
These serve product catalogues. Attribute set and Variant axes are offered only on a table that has a hierarchy parent column.
Attribute set lives on a category table. Configure attribute set asks for the Target product table; then each entry marks a product column as Required, Recommended, Hidden or Optional, with an optional group.
Variant axes sits on a master product row and lists the axes (size, grind) that variant rows are generated along. Axes must be Select, Multi-select or Priority columns on the same table.
Completeness: see the next section.
Internal or platform-managed types
The owner normally does not add these by hand. Neither appears in Add column or Change type.
Display name | Internal key | How it appears | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
Completeness |
| Added automatically when a Reference column is marked with Use as category link | Read-only. Configure completeness sets Scope (overall or per language) and the colour thresholds Amber at or above (%) and Green at or above (%); the registry gives 50 and 80 as defaults. Turning the category link off does not remove the column |
Working calendar |
| Part of the space's default staff directory table | Valid only there; any other table rejects it. Working calendars themselves are managed with the |
Choosing a type
I want to store… | Use |
|---|---|
A name, title or code | Text |
A paragraph or notes | Long text |
A quantity or measurement | Number |
A price or amount | Currency |
A yes/no fact | Checkbox |
A date, or a moment in time | Date, Date & time |
One value from a fixed list | Select (or Priority for importance) |
Several values from a fixed list | Multi-select |
Free tags | Array |
The stage of a process with rules | Status |
Who is responsible | Person |
The customer or partner who sent it | External user |
A link to a customer, product or order | Reference |
A value copied from a linked row | Lookup |
A total or count of linked rows | Rollup |
A calculated value | Formula |
An attachment such as a PDF | Files |
Product photos from the library | Asset gallery |
An invoice or order number | Sequence |
A queue position | Rank |
Hours spent | Time log |
A one-click action on a row | Button |
Stock or account balances | Balance |
A work site with a radius | Geofence |
Where someone was | Location |
A repeating shift pattern | Recurrence |
Contact details | Email, Phone, URL |
Related
· · · · · · · · Platform concepts.