Column types

Every column in a database has a type that decides what its cells hold and how you edit them. Choosing the right type makes filters, sorting, charts and formulas work properly.

#Summary

#Add, change and delete columns

Columns are managed from the headers of the Table view. You can also manage them from a row opened as a page: add a property with Add a property, rename it by typing over its name, change its type with the menu that appears on hover and delete it with the trash icon (two taps). Formula, Relation and Rollup can only be chosen from the table, because they need setting up.

1. Add: click + (Add column) at the right of the last header. The new column is a Text column called "Column" and goes at the end.
2. Rename: click the name in the header, type the new one and click outside. Headers are displayed in capital letters, but the name is saved exactly as you typed it (this matters in formulas).
3. Change the type: use the small menu next to the name. Changing the type resets that column's settings (for example, a formula's expression) and doesn't convert existing values, so some cells may look empty or odd until you fill them again. Switching back to the previous type shows the old values again.
4. Delete: click the trash icon (Delete column) and click it again within a few seconds to confirm. The column and all its values are deleted permanently.

On touch screens, the type menu and the trash icon don't take up every header: they appear when you tap the column's name.

Columns can't be reordered. The first Text column is used as each row's title in other views and in relations, so keep a Text column first. See Databases.

On the Free plan, Formula, Relation and Rollup appear in the type menu as "Formula (Pro)", "Relation (Pro)" and "Rollup (Pro)" and can't be chosen. What counts is your effective plan: both your plan and the workspace's must be Pro or higher.

#Text

A single line of text: names, notes, codes. Click the cell, type, and click outside to save.

The first Text column is the row's title. Filters on Text columns support contains, does not contain, is, is not, is empty and is not empty.

#Number

A number, integer or decimal. Type it in the cell; it's saved when you leave the cell. Leave the cell empty to clear it.

There are no formatting options (currency, percentage, decimals): the number is shown as you typed it. To show a currency or rounded value, use a formula such as ROUND({Amount}, 2) + " €".

Number columns can be summed or averaged in chart views and in rollups.

#Select

One option from a list you build. Each option has a label and a color.

• Pick an option: click the cell and choose from the list.
• Create an option: click the cell, type in the New option box at the bottom of the list and press Enter. The option is added to the column with the next of Tylode's eight tones (apricot, pistachio, sky, wheat, peony, mint, coral and lavender) that no other option uses yet, and applied to that cell.
• Change an option's color: in the list, click the color dot to the right of the option and pick another tone.

Options appear in the order they were created, and that order is used for Kanban columns and chart categories. Options can't be renamed or deleted once created, and a cell can't be emptied again after picking an option; pick another option instead (for example, create a "None" option).

A Select column holds one option per cell. Kanban views are grouped by a Select column.

#Tags

Like Select, but each cell can hold several options at once: topics, subjects, "Urgent", "For the exam"…

• Click the cell: every option in the list has a checkbox. Tick or untick the ones you want; the list stays open so you can pick several in a row.
• New options are created as in Select (the New option box and Enter) and are added already ticked.
• Each option's color is changed with its color dot, as in Select.

The cell shows every chosen tag, each in its color. Filter with contains / does not contain (it searches the names of the row's tags) or is empty / is not empty. Galleries created from a page's fridge come with a Tags column.

#Date

A calendar day, without a time. Click the cell to open the date picker; the change is saved at once. To clear it, delete the date in the picker.

Date columns power the Calendar and Timeline views, can group a chart by day, week or month, and can be used in date formulas.

#Checkbox

Checked or unchecked. Click to toggle; it's saved at once.

Filter with is checked / is not checked. In charts, checkboxes group into "Yes" and "No".

#Person

One member of the workspace. Click the cell and choose a name from the list (members without a name show their email). Choose "—" to clear it.

A Person cell holds one person. The list includes every member of the workspace.

#Formula

Pro

A value calculated from other columns of the same row, such as a total, a days-left counter or a status text. When you choose this type, a box appears under the header: type the formula there (for example {Price} * {Quantity}) and click outside to save. The result appears in every row and can't be edited by hand.

See the full reference in Formulas.

#Relation

Pro

Links each row to one or more rows of another database in the same workspace. Under the header, pick the target in Choose a database…. Then click a cell and tick the rows you want to link; they appear as chips showing each row's title.

See Relations and rollups.

#Rollup

Pro

Summarizes the rows linked through a Relation column: how many there are, or the sum, average, minimum or maximum of one of their Number columns. Set it up under the header with Relation column…, Target column… and the aggregation.

See Relations and rollups.

#URL

A web address. Type or paste it in the cell. When the cell has a value, a ↗ button (Open link) opens it in a new tab.

#Created by

Read-only. Shows the member who created the row (their name, or their email if they have no name). Rows created through the API or Apple Shortcuts show the token's owner.

#Last edited

Read-only. Shows the date and time of the row's last change, in your language's format. It refers to the whole row, not to a specific cell, and doesn't say who made the change.

#Created time

Read-only. It records on its own the day each row was created and doesn't change when you edit the row later. Filter with is greater than (after) and is less than (before) a date, and use it to sort from newest to oldest.

#Phone

A phone number, stored as text so you can include +, spaces or dashes. When the cell has a value, a ↗ button (Call) opens it with your device's phone app (on a computer, whatever app handles phone links).

#Image

A photo per row. Click + Image in the cell and choose the file (up to 10 MB). It shows as a thumbnail; click it to open it full size. Hovering shows Change and Remove.

It's the column the Studio's Batch tool uses to put each row's photo in its design. It isn't shown on the published page or in exports.

#What can use each type

The reasons behind the gaps are explained in Views, filters and sorting.

#Related pages

• Databases
• Views, filters and sorting
• Formulas
• Relations and rollups