Tables

A table holds one kind of record. Each row is one record, and the columns are the fields on it. A Customers table has one row per customer. An Orders table has one row per order.

Tables live in your organization's database and are listed in the Database section of the sidebar.

When to create a table#

Create a table for each thing your business tracks on its own: a customer, an order, a line on that order, a vehicle, a part, a site.

Add a column to an existing table when the fact describes that one record and there is only one of it, such as a customer's email address.

Create a separate table when:

• there can be many of the fact for each record, such as lines on an order or visits on a job,
• the fact has its own status, files or people,
• or other records need to link to it.

Then connect the tables with a Relation column.

Create a table#

The table opens on its Everything tab, where you can add columns and rows right away. To add a column, choose the + button at the right end of the column headers. See Columns.

Name, icon and cover#

A table's name, description, icon and cover are its identity. They appear at the top of every access filter of that table. Renaming the title at the top of an access filter renames the table itself, not the filter.

Choose the record title#

The record title is the column used as each record's name, for example in breadcrumbs and when someone picks a record in a Relation column. Choose something short that people recognize, such as a customer name or an order number.

What every row already has#

You do not need to create these. Every row automatically has:

• a unique internal identifier,
• the time it was created and last changed,
• the person who created it and who last changed it,
• an archived state.

If you want people to see, filter or sort by these values, add a column of type Created At, Last Modified At, Created By or Last Modified By. See System. For a readable number such as INV-1042, add an ID column.

Archive or delete rows#

Archive hides a row from normal screens without deleting it. You can bring it back at any time with Revert Archive. To see archived rows, change a view's filter to show archived records, or active and archived records.

Deleting a row is a separate action. Business rules can react to creating, updating, deleting and restoring rows separately.

The table page#

Each table has a settings page. To open it, find the table in the Database section of the sidebar, open its menu and choose Settings.

The table page has four tabs:

• Overview: the number of records, storage, the record title and other details.
• Properties: every column in the table. Select one to edit it.
• Views: the views built on this table.
• Access: who can see this table in the Database section. See Access.

Choose Open data to go back to the table's records.

Lock a table#

Locking a table freezes its structure: nobody can add, change or remove columns. People can still create and edit rows. To lock a table, open the menu in the table's header and choose Lock table. Choose it again to unlock.

Who can see a table#

Access rules on the table decide who can see it in the Database section. Which rows and columns people see is decided by access filters, not by the table's access rules.

Most people never open tables directly. They work in views that you place in folders for them.

Time series tables#

A time series table is built for large volumes of time-stamped readings, such as sensor data or meter readings. Turn on Time Series Table when you create the table. A required Recorded At time column is added automatically.

You can choose how long to keep old data and when to compress it.

Time series tables have some limits:

• Rows are added through the API and cannot be edited or deleted in the app.
• Business rules and webhooks do not run on them.
• AI search is not available.
• Relation, Rollup, Formula, Rich Text and ID columns are not available.
• You cannot switch the table back to a standard table, or change the time column.

Delete a table#

If other tables still link to this one, remove those links first. You can create a backup before the table is deleted.

The table and its views stay in Trash for 30 days. You can restore them from there. After 30 days they are permanently deleted.

Related#