Columns

A column is one field on a table. Every record in the table has a value for it. The column's type decides what you can store, how people enter it, how you can filter and sort it, and which views can use it. A Date column powers a calendar, a Location column powers a map, and a Status column can drive a kanban board.

In some menus SAPUGO calls a column a property, for example Edit property and Delete property. Both words mean the same thing.

Add a column#

Click Add description to explain what the column is for. Click Show advanced options to see every setting for the type, plus these general options:

Edit a column#

Click a column header to open its menu. From there you can:

• Rename the column, or pick a Property icon for its header.
• Change its Type (see Change a column's type).
• Add a Filter, or Sort ascending and Sort descending in the current view.
• Freeze up to this field so the columns up to this one stay visible while you scroll sideways.
• Hide in view, Duplicate property, or Delete property.
• Open Edit property for the full settings of the column, including its Change History.

Reorder and hide columns#

Drag a column header left or right to move it. To hide a column from the view you are looking at, choose Hide in view from its header menu.

Hiding a column in a view only changes what that view shows. To control who can see or edit a column, use base views. A base view can hide a column or make it read-only. A view built on top of it can hide more, but it can't bring back a column the base view hid.

Change a column's type#

Open the column's header menu and click Type. SAPUGO only lists the types the column can be converted to. Before anything changes, it checks the existing values and shows how many rows can be converted, how many can't, and a few sample values that would fail. You can then convert and clear the rows that fail, or cancel and fix those values first.

Some things to know:

• Converting Text to Single Select or Multi Select creates one option for each different value already in the column. A column with more than 200 different values can't be converted.
• Converting Text to Multi Select keeps each whole value as one choice. It does not split text on commas.
• Converting a Relation to Text stores the linked record's ID as text. The column stops linking to the other table.
• Type conversion isn't available on tables with 1,000,000 or more rows.
• If the column is required, rows that can't be converted can't be cleared automatically. Make the column optional first, or fix the values.
• Changing the type can remove filters that no longer fit the new type.

Other types, such as Formula, Rollup, or Files, can't be converted. Create a new column instead.

Delete a column#

Choose Delete property from the header menu and type the column's name to confirm. This permanently removes the column and all of its data from the table, and can't be undone.

If the column is still used elsewhere, for example in a formula, a rollup, or a business rule, SAPUGO lists those places and won't delete it until you remove the references.

Column types#

The type picker groups types into the same categories shown below.

Text#

Logic and choice#

Numbers, dates, and people#

Contact and location#

Relationships and calculations#

System#

Which type should I use?#

How columns work with the rest of SAPUGO#

• A kanban view groups records by a Status, Single Select, or Text column.
• A calendar view needs a Date column. A map view needs a Location column.
• A Formula reads other columns on the same record and keeps its result up to date.
• A Rollup reads records reached through a Relation and is calculated each time the record is shown.
• A computation rule writes a value into a column when a record is saved, and can look at other tables.
• Files, Page, and Rich Text columns can each appear as their own panel on the record page.

Older column types#

Some types were merged into others and are no longer offered when you create a column: Single Line Text, Multi Line Text, Currency, Percent, Duration, Rating, User, Multiple Users, and Link to Multiple Records. Existing columns of these types keep working. For new columns, use the type that replaced them:

Time series tables#

Time series tables are built for high-volume readings that are only ever added, never edited. These column types can't be added to them: Formula, Rich Text, Page, ID, Files, Location, and the Relation type that lists records linking in from another table.