Using the summary bar in Airtable views

The summary bar is located at the bottom of some view types within a table. Certain field types will offer different summary options. Those differences are covered in more depth below.

By default, the summary function for each numeric field is Sum, and the summary function for non-numeric fields is blank. To select a different summarization function for a specific field, click on the summary bar below that field. This will bring up a menu of different summary functions. The types of summary functions available will depend on the type of field.

If you select a range of rows or cells, the summarization will only include cells that are in that selection range.

If the records in your view are grouped then your summary bar will automatically show a separate summary for each group, as well as the total summary for the field as a whole:

Certain summary functions are available in all non-calculated fields (i.e. not formula, rollup, or lookup).

They are, as follows:

• Empty

• Filled

• Percent Empty

• Percent Filled

For checkbox fields, the summary functions will display slightly differently, as Unchecked, Checked, Percent Unchecked, and Percent Checked.

Many field types will also include Unique and Percent Unique. These functions allow you to calculate the absolute number of unique values present in a field, and the percentage of cell values that are unique in a field, respectively.

Certain functions will only appear in numeric fields (i.e. number, currency, percent, and autonumber).

• Sum

• Average

• Histogram

• Min

• Max

• Range

• Median

• Standard Deviation

Certain functions will only appear in date fields. These are, as follows:

• Earliest Date

• Latest Date

• Date Range (days)

• Date Range (months)

A special summary function for an attachment field allows you to see the total size of the file attachments in the attachment field, in bytes.

The Percent unique function calculates the ratio of cells containing unique values in a field. It counts the number of distinct values and divides that number by the total count of cells in the field. This provides a useful way to understand the variety and distribution of data within a field in your Airtable base, even when values are repeated.

Example:

• Let's say you have four records. Each record contains a number field and each cell within that field contains the number 7. 

• The Percent unique summary function identifies that there is 1 unique value here, which is 7. It calculates the Percent unique as 1 (unique value) divided by 4 (total cells/records), giving 0.25, or 25%. 

• Alternatively, if you have four cells containing multiple values, like this: [1, 2, 7, 7], the function identifies 3 distinct or unique values, which are 1, 2, and 7. It calculates the Percent unique as 3 (unique values) divided by 4 (total cells/records), giving 0.75, or 75%.