Editing Airtable records on record detail pages

What are records detail pages?

Record detail pages in Airtable interfaces give your team a focused view of individual records. As a Creator, you can control whether and how collaborators edit records on these pages using the "Edit fields" control.

Editing modes overview

After opening a record detail page in edit mode, you'll find the "Edit fields" control in the "User actions" section of the properties panel. This control sets how collaborators interact with the fields on a record:

• Off: All fields are read-only. Collaborators can view record data but can't make changes.

• Inline: Fields are editable directly on the record detail page. Collaborators click into a field and update its value on the spot.

• Form: An “Edit” button appears on the record. When clicked, it opens a customizable form where collaborators make their changes and submit them all at once.

Choosing an editing mode

Off

Choose “Off” when you want collaborators to view records without editing them—helpful for dashboards, reference pages, or any page where data integrity is a priority. When you switch to “Off,” every field in the record container becomes read-only. You can then make individual fields editable if you want to allow edits on some fields while keeping the rest locked down.

Inline

Note

• Inline editing isn't available for tables synced from an external source like Jira or Salesforce. When a table is externally synced, the Inline option is disabled and you'll see a message explaining why. Depending on sync writeback support, Form editing may still be available—check out our Getting started with Airtable sync article for more context.

• Inline and Form editing are mutually exclusive. A record detail page uses one editing mode at a time—you can't combine inline editing with a form on the same page.

Inline editing lets collaborators update fields directly on the record detail page, with no extra steps. It works well for quick edits and day-to-day data entry. When you switch to Inline, every field in the record container becomes editable by default. You can then set individual fields to read-only to keep specific data locked down while allowing edits elsewhere.

Form

Form editing adds an “Edit” button to the record detail page. When a collaborator clicks it, a modal form opens with the fields you've configured. They fill out their changes and submit the form to update the record. When you switch to Form, the fields on the record detail page itself become read-only—all editing happens through the form.

Choose “Form” when you want to:

• Guide collaborators through a structured editing experience

• Set up data validation rules on submitted changes

• Control exactly which fields appear in the editing form

• Support sync writeback workflows

Configuring the edit fields setting

Note

Switching between modes can change which fields are editable. After you switch, review your field settings to make sure everything is configured the way you want.

1. Open your Airtable home screen.

2. Open the interface want to configure and enter edit mode.

3. Open a record detail page by clicking a record in a list, gallery, grid, or other layout.

4. Click the main area of the record detail page to select the record container.

5. In the properties panel on the right, scroll to the "User actions" section.

6. Find the "Edit fields" control, which shows three options: Off, Inline, and Form.

7. Click the option you want to use.

8. Click Save to confirm the change.

Customizing the edit form

When you select “Form” as your editing mode, Airtable automatically adds an “Edit” button to the record detail page. You can customize the form that opens when collaborators click it:

• Choose which fields appear: Add or remove fields to match your workflow.

• Set up validation rules: Define rules that submitted data must meet before an update goes through.

• Adjust the form layout: Arrange fields in the order that makes sense for your team.

To customize the form, click Edit on your record detail page while in edit mode, then use the properties panel to configure its settings.

FAQs