Every field type

A database is a set of records; a field is one typed column on every record. The field’s type decides what you can store, how it renders, and which filter operators and grouping options become available.

Adding and changing a field

1. Add a field

   In a table view, click the + at the right end of the header row. Pick a type, give it a label, and it appears on every record.

   

2. Change a field’s type or settings

   Click the field’s header, then Edit field. Changing type converts existing values where it can and clears them where it can’t — a text field becoming number keeps “42” and drops “about forty”.

3. Reorder, hide, or delete

   Drag headers to reorder. View settings → Properties controls what’s visible in that view only. Deleting a field removes its data from every record, everywhere.

   

Basic types

Type	Stores	Notes
Text	One line of text	Names, codes, short labels
Long text	Multi-line text	Notes and descriptions. For real long-form, use the record’s page body instead — see below
Number	A number	Setting: precision, 0–12 decimal places
Checkbox	True or false	A single fact, not a workflow — use Status for stages
Date	A date, a date-time, or a date range	Ranges have a start and an end; the end must not precede the start
URL	A web address	Rendered as a link
Email	An email address	Rendered as a mail link
Phone	A phone number	Rendered as a call link
Place	A location
JSON	Arbitrary structured data	An escape hatch; prefer real fields you can filter on

Choice types

These are the only three types that carry options — a fixed list of named, coloured values. Options are shared by every record on the field.

Type	Stores	Notes
Select	Exactly one option
Multi-select	Any number of options
Status	Exactly one option, meant as a lifecycle stage	A new status field starts with Todo, In progress, and Done

Select and Status behave identically for filtering and grouping. Use Status when the values are stages something moves through, and Select when they’re just categories.

See Select, status, and options for creating, renaming, recolouring, and reordering options.

People and files

Type	Stores	Notes
User	One or more workspace members	Filter with is against a member; “Owner is me” is a common view filter
File	One or more uploaded files

Automatic types

These fill themselves in. They are never editable, and they are never required.

Type	Stores
Created at	When the record was created
Created by	Who created it
Updated at	When it last changed
Updated by	Who last changed it
Unique ID	A stable auto-incrementing identifier

Computed types

Also not directly editable — their value is derived.

Formula

Runs an expression over the record. Settings:

• Expression — up to 5,000 characters, e.g. if(prop("done"), "Complete", prop("name"))
• Result kind — text, number, checkbox, date, or json
• Compute mode — read (evaluated when read) or materialized (stored, so it can be filtered and sorted efficiently)

Relation

Links records in this database to records in another one. This is the primitive for any structure that spans two databases.

• Target database — what it points at
• Cardinality — one or many records per link
• Reciprocal field — optionally create the matching field on the other side, so the link is navigable from both directions

Because a relation’s value is a record, you can group a view by a relation, which is how you get sections of records bucketed by whatever they’re linked to.

Rollup

Aggregates a field on the records reachable through a relation.

• Relation field — which relation to follow
• Target field — which field on the far side to aggregate
• Function — one of: count, count_values, count_empty, count_unique, percent_empty, percent_not_empty, sum, average, median, range, min, max, earliest, latest, checked, unchecked, percent_checked, unique, show_original
• Result kind and compute mode, as for formulas

Interactive types

Type	Stores	Notes
Time tracking	Tracked duration	Settings: default mode (stopwatch or countdown) and a completion sound
Button	Nothing	Runs an action when clicked. Settings: the action to run, a label, and a variant

The two layers of a record

Every record has typed fields and a page-like body. They are not the same thing, and picking the wrong one is the most common modelling mistake.

• Fields are for facts you want to filter, sort, group, or calculate on.
• The record body is the page you get when you open a record — the place for the description, the requirements, the meeting notes, the detail.

If you find yourself putting a paragraph into a Long text field, it probably belongs in the record body instead.

What each type can do

Capability	Types
Group a view by it	Select, Status, Checkbox, Relation, Date, Number, and anything else with a formattable value
Show on a Calendar or Timeline view	Date (a Calendar view needs at least one date field to exist)
Board columns	Select, Status
Required	Any editable type. Automatic and computed types can never be required

For the operators available per type, see Filtering records.