Glossary of Airtable terminology

Airtable automations always include a trigger and one or more actions. Triggers and actions can be native to Airtable or integrated with other popular software applications. Automations are a useful feature for reducing repetitive and/or tedious tasks associated with your work.

A base is a collection of data in Airtable, designed to contain all of the information related to a project or workflow. Bases can have multiple tables, each containing data. Within each table, there are records with data for each record stored in fields.

A base collaborator has access (at a specified permission level) to a specific base without necessarily having access to other bases within the same workspace. Base collaborators have access to all interfaces associated with their specific base.

The base guide is an optional, user-generated description of the base that will appear when a user opens the base for the first time. It's also accessible to users at any time if they click on the base name to expand the drop-down.

For self-serve paid plans, any collaborator with a permission level of Commenter, Editor, Creator, or Owner is classified as a billable collaborator. Workspace owners on a paid plan are charged for the total number of billable collaborators added to the workspace. Billing is calculated differently for sales-led Enterprise Scale and Business plans.

The calendar base view and interface element allow users to view all of their records on a calendar. As long as there’s at least one date field, records can be viewed on a monthly, 2-week, weekly, 3-day, or daily calendar.

A collaborative view is a view whose configurations can be customized or modified by all base creators or editors. It's the default type of view for all new views.

• In bases: Comments can be left on individual records. To leave a comment, a user must expand the record. 

• In interfaces: Comments can also be left on individual records, but only if the interface creator has added the record comment element.

Commenter is a permission level in workspaces, bases, and interfaces. Workspace and base commenters can comment on records and create personal views; interface commenters can comment on comment fields and attachments.

A rule used to filter records; records must meet a condition to be visible in a given view or interface. A condition contains three parts: 

1. A field

2. An operator (ex. "contains," "has any of," "is greater than")

3. A value (which records are compared against)

A combination of conditions connected by a conjunction, which are used to filter records. Records must meet the conditions of the group in order to be visible in a given view or interface.

Creator is a permission level in workspaces and bases. Workspace creators can fully configure and edit all bases in the workspace; base creators can fully configure and edit that base.

A table, base, or group of records containing specific data. Users can add data to a set manually, by sync, via import, etc.

Referring specifically to field dependencies, dependencies rely on a particular field and are useful in understanding the implications of changing or deleting that field. Possible dependencies include: syncs, automations, interfaces, fields, and views. Dependencies can only be reviewed and managed in workspaces on Business and Enterprise Scale plans.

Enterprise Scale plans only

The logic that results in all users with a certain email address domain automatically becoming organization members in Airtable. Admins will always manage organization members when domain capture is enabled (i.e. there can't be unmanaged users). 

Editor is a permission level in workspaces, bases, and interfaces. Workspace and base editors can edit and create records and views, but not configure tables or fields; interface editors can update editable fields, but cannot add or edit elements.

Elements are the essential building blocks of interfaces; builders can add visual elements like grids and timelines, design elements like text and dividers, and functional elements like buttons and comments, to present their base data in a new way.

This plan is now a legacy Airtable plan, learn more here.

A kind of formula that's a combination of values, fields, and/or formulas that evaluates to a single value. Expressions can be used in formula fields, including as part of formula field functions.

Extensions are modular components that add visuals or functionality to a base. Users can create custom extensions, or they can use extensions created by Airtable or other open-source extensions.

A field is a vertical column in a table. It contains the details or data for each record in the table.

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.

In Interface Designer, the filter element allows interface users to manipulate conditions to change the output/display of connected elements. This element makes interfaces more interactive and lets users see subsets of data.

The form base view allows users to create a form to collect data that is then saved to an Airtable base. Forms can also be created in Interface Designer by selecting the form layout during onboarding, or through record pickers and record lists.

A function or numerical, text, or logical operation that allows users to output numbers, dates, strings, and more in a record based on static or dynamic information from other fields in that same record. Formulas must be added in a formula field.

The gallery base view and interface element allows users to represent their records as large cards. In particular, the gallery view/element highlights attachments—images, documents, and more.

The Gantt base view allows users to visually represent a project plan over time. It is a horizontal bar chart that helps teams clearly communicate a project’s entire timeline, from the start date to the end date, keeping track of the status of each task in the project and who is responsible for each task.

The grid base view and interface element allows users to display data as a series of rows and columns, with each record a row, and each field a column. Grid is the default view for a new base.

Enterprise Scale and Business plans only

Any user who manages membership of a user group. A group manager can also edit the name of the group they manage or delete the group.

The surface users land on when logged in at airtable.com, which serves as the central surface for using and navigating Airtable across apps, workspaces, etc.

An identity provider stores and manages users' digital identities for a digital or cloud-based app. An IdP can check identities or just provide a list of identities that another service provider (like an SSO) stores. 

An SSO will use an IdP to check user identities, but it won't store them.

A third-party service that connects to Airtable and is able to access data within a base, workspace, or interface. Jira, Zendesk, and Slack are examples of common integrations for Enterprise Scale and Business customers.

An interface is a curated representation of base data created using Interface Designer. Interfaces are fully customizable and can contain various visual elements, data sources, and permissions.

Interface Designer is the tool that lets creators build visual interfaces powered by base data for end users.

An interface-only collaborator is someone who has access to a specific interface, but not the underlying base. Only paid plan workspaces can have interface-only collaborators.

An invite can be sent to a collaborator directly via email in order to add them to a base or to a workspace.

An invite link enables anyone who clicks on it to be added to a given workspace, base, or interface at a specified permission level. Only owners and creators can create invite links.

The kanban base view and interface element allow users to visualize workflows as rows of stacked cards.

In Interface Designer, layouts are the design space framework within a given interface page, filled in with elements.

The maximum number or amount of something (users, records per base, attachment storage) allowed on a given plan.

A linked record connects to another table or record. This connection is always within the same base. Linked records allow users to create relationships or dependencies between records and to pull in existing data without duplicating it.

 The list base view and interface element allow users to represent their records as a list, showing levels of hierarchy that illustrate how records relate to each other (ex. products, tasks, subtasks).

A locked view is a type of view that base creators or editors can create to prevent all collaborators from customizing or modifying its view configurations (until the view is unlocked).

The Marketplace is where all extensions and scripts are listed. Users can directly add extensions and scripts from the Marketplace to their bases.

A user in an Enterprise Scale or Business organization with the privileges to access, set, and change things throughout the org, including: managing users, groups, workspaces, bases, and interfaces; accessing all of the admin panel; defining some org-level policies; and downloading reports.

Owner is a permission level in workspaces. Workspace owners can fully configure and edit all bases and interfaces in the workspace, and manage workspace settings and billing.

A page is a screen within an interface; interfaces can have multiple pages containing one or more elements.

 An extension that lets the user create custom PDF templates that can be populated with data from the user's base

Permissions have to do with the level of access that a user has to one or more bases within a workspace. There is a spectrum of permissions ranging from read-only access to ownership. Additionally, access can be granted broadly for a whole workspace (the user will have at least their set permission level in all bases in that workspace) or, more granularly, to an individual base. Interface permissions are covered separately here.

A developer tool that provides more security and granular control over APIs.

A type of view that base creators, editors, or commenters can create, either for themselves or to assign to others.

This plan is now a legacy Airtable plan, learn more here.

 The primary field is always the first column, or field, in any table. It represents a description of each record in the table and cannot be deleted, moved, or hidden. The primary field is used as a brief description of a record in other parts of the UI.

This plan is now a legacy Airtable plan, learn more here.

Read only is a permission level in workspaces, bases, and interfaces. Read only collaborators can view, but not edit or comment on, everything in the workspace, base, or interface.

A record is an individual item in a table. Records are the basic unit of data that are pulled into various views and interfaces. Each record can include data in multiple fields.

In interfaces, record details can be opened from a record, and can include all of the information in all of the fields for a single record in a full-size page or modal. Record details can also include any comments made on the record, and several possible record-level actions.

The revision history of a record shows the changes made to the record over time.

To invite a collaborator to a workspace, base (or a specific view within the base), or interface, either by sending a direct email invite or by generating a shareable invite link.

Single sign-on (SSO) allows users to log in to many websites or apps with one set of login details. This works through connecting with an identity provider (IdP).

A snapshot captures a version of the base at a particular moment in time, either automatically by Airtable or manually by the user. Restoring a snapshot copies it into a new base, and it does not overwrite the current version of the base.

A more specific email domain that's associated with a more generic parent domain. For example, test.example.com could be a subdomain of example.com

A feature allows users to sync records from a source base to one or more destination bases, creating a single source of truth in the data.

The act of reflecting records from a source base in a destination base.

A table holds information about one type of item — for example, products, projects, tasks, campaigns. Each base needs at least one table. Individual tables appear as their own tabs in a base.

Airtable has a template gallery with over 200 preconfigured base templates. User-created base templates can also be accessed from the Universe.

The timeline base view and interface element allow users to visualize and track records on a customizable horizontal scrolling timeline.

A place where deleted items (including records, views, extensions, workspaces, or bases) are temporarily available to be restored for seven days after deletion.

An event or change that sets an automation in motion. Examples of triggers include editing records or when a form is submitted.

Allows edits in a synced table in a destination base to be propagated back to the source base—essentially sharing a table across multiple bases.

The Universe is a platform where users can publish bases that they've created for other people to browse and copy for their own usage.

A group of organization members that allows admins to manage permissions in a more scalable way. For example, an admin can add the "Design" user group to an organization instead of needing to individually add each designer.

Enterprise Scale and Business plans only

Specific data that has been approved by admins within an organization and shared for use by other people in that organization. Verified data is shared to a library, where other members of the organization can find and access it.

Enterprise Scale and Business plans only

A repository for all of the verified data sets within an organization that is accessible from bases and managed in the Admin Panel. Only admins can approve and publish verified data sets to the library.

A view is a particular way to look at and organize the underlying data in a table. The default type of view is a grid, but other types include form, calendar, gallery, and Kanban. A given table can have multiple views (and multiple types of views). Views can also be configured based on permissions, with collaborative, personal, and locked views.

A view is a particular way to look at and organize the underlying data in a table. View types are either preconfigured ways to visualize that data, organized around use cases (ex. grid, calendar, kanban), or permissions-based (e.g. collaborative, personal).

A workspace is a collection of bases shared between a group of workspace collaborators. It is the primary billing unit for paid plans on Airtable.

A workspace collaborator has access (at a specified permission level) to all of the bases in a workspace.