Field type overview
Last updated: October 26, 2026
Plan availability | All plan types |
Permissions |
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Platform(s) | Web/Browser, Mac app, and Windows app |
Related reading |
Consider having Omni create a field for you. With Omni's AI capabilities, you can use plain text requests to build, update, and query in your Airtable base. You can also create AI-powered fields called field agents.
Field type actions overview
A field type specifies the kind or format of data stored in a given field — for example, long text, date, multiple select, or attachment. Users can customize most field types within their base.
To create a field:
Open your Airtable home screen.
Open the base where you want to add a field.
Click the + icon to the right of your last field.
Select your preferred field type.
Name your field.
Click Create field.
To edit a field:
Editing a field allows you to do things like rename it, change the type, set default values and more. To edit a field:
Open your Airtable home screen.
Open the base hosting the field you want to edit.
Click the dropdown arrow next to the field you want to edit.
Click Edit field.
Different fields will have different configuration options that we outline in their specific support article.
After you are finished editing, click Save.
To edit a field description:
Open your Airtable home screen.
Open the base hosting the field you want to edit.
Click the dropdown arrow next to the field you want to edit.
Click Edit field description.
Enter your field description.
Click Save description.
To duplicate a field:
Open your Airtable home screen.
Open the base hosting the field you want to duplicate.
Click the dropdown arrow next to the field you want to duplicate.
Click Duplicate field.
To delete a field:
Open your Airtable home screen.
Open the base hosting the field you want to delete.
Click the dropdown arrow next to the field you want to delete.
Click Delete field.
Setting default values in fields
Default values aren’t supported in primary fields.
Default values appear only when new records are created. If you configure a field to have default values or update it to have new default values, the changes are not reflected in records that existed before updating the default setting.
To add default values to a field:
Open your Airtable home screen.
Open the base hosting the field where you want to add a default value.
Click the dropdown arrow next to the field you want to edit.
Click Edit field.
Enter your default value in the “Default” section.
What field types support default values?
Checkbox
Currency
Date
Multi select
Number
Percent
Single line
Single select
User
What field types don’t support default values?
Attachment
Formula
Linked record
Lookup
Rollup
Count
Created time
Last modified time
Auto number
Changing field type dependencies
After updating a field with an existing value into a new field type, Airtable works to convert those current cell values to the new type. For example, you can convert a single line text field into a single select field or user field. However, some conversions may not be possible with certain types—like converting a text field to an attachment field clears the text values as plain text values do not represent an attachment.
Changing a field's type keeps everything that points at that field. Lookup fields, rollup fields, filters, automations, and interface elements that reference the field keep working after the conversion, because the field itself still exists—only its type changes.
This is why converting an existing field is almost always better than building a replacement field and deleting the original. Deleting a field breaks every dependency that referenced it, and you have to repoint each one by hand.
For example, if you want to turn a single select field into a linked record field, edit the existing field and change its type to Link to another record instead of creating a new field alongside it. Airtable converts each stored value to a link to the matching record, and the lookup fields and interface elements already built on that field keep working.
To see what depends on a field before you change or delete it:
Open your Airtable home screen.
Open the base hosting the field you want to check.
Click the dropdown arrow next to that field.
Click Show dependencies.
The "Show dependencies" option only appears on plans that include field manager. For more information, see Airtable field manager overview.
After selecting a new field type, you have the option of customizing the field even further. Different field types have different customization options. For example:
Attachment fields have no additional customization options.
Number field allows you set whether the numbers in that field should be formatted as integers or decimals (and if so, the degree of precision for decimals), whether or not to allow negative numbers, and whether or not you want the field to have a default numerical value.
Formula fields allows you to define a formula to determine the values in that field.
Troubleshooting field type visibility
If you don't see a specific field type when creating a new field, check the following:
Verify you're working in a base table - Field types can only be added directly in base tables. If you're working in a form or a shared view, you'll need to navigate to the base/table to add new fields.
Open your Airtable home screen.
Open the base where you want to add a field.
Ensure you're viewing the base table (not an interface or form).
Click the + icon to the right of your last field.
Check your permissions - Only owners, creators, and editors can add new fields. If you have commenter or read-only access, you won't see the option to create fields.
Refresh your browser - If the field type dropdown appears incomplete or certain options are missing, try refreshing your browser or clearing your browser cache.
Check for field editing restrictions - Base owners and creators can restrict field editing permissions. If field types appear limited, contact your base owner to verify your permissions.
Required fields in Airtable
The Required toggle you set on a form — a form view, an interface form layout, or a record detail page that's set to edit through a form — belongs to that form. It blocks submission until the field has a value, and it doesn't carry over to the rest of the base.
That means the same record can be saved with the field empty when it's created or edited outside that form: directly in a grid view, through the API, by an automation's Create record or Update record action, by pasting rows in, importing via CSV, scripts/extensions, syncs, or interface pages where fields are edited inline. A grid row exists from the moment it's created, so there's no submit step to hold back.
To keep records complete outside a form, you have 3 options:
Route record creation through a form. Add a form view, or a form layout in an interface, and have collaborators create records there rather than directly in the base. Mark the fields you need as Required, and the form won't submit without them.
Flag incomplete records with a formula. Add a formula field that lists the fields still missing a value, then filter a view on it so the gaps are visible. For more details, see our Conditionally displaying missing field values in Airtable article.
Gate the next step on completeness. Where an incomplete record shouldn't move forward, use that formula from the previous bullet in the automation's trigger conditions (for example, only run when the Missing fields formula is empty), or filter the view the next team works from, so incomplete records don't show up there.
On a record detail page in an interface, setting Edit fields to Form also applies the form's validation rules when someone edits an existing record. Note that records could still be created on other interface pages that don't have this requirement set. For more details, see our Editing Airtable records on record detail pages article.