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    Editing the Airtable primary field
    • 21 Mar 2023
    • 1 Minute to read
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    Editing the Airtable primary field

    • Updated on 21 Mar 2023
    • 1 Minute to read
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    Article Summary

    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. And while the primary field can’t be removed, the data can be replaced by editing the field type or copying over data from another field. 

    Permissions
    • Owners/Creators 
    Platform(s)Web/Browser, Mac app, and Windows app

    Duplicating information in a primary field 

    If you plan on editing the field type but still need what's currently stored there, we recommend creating a new field to host that information.

    To create a new field storing your current primary field's information:
    1.  Visit your Airtable homepage.
    2.  Open your desired base.
    3.  Click the primary field's field header. 
    4.  Select Duplicate field. 
      1. Allowing you to duplicate the name, cells, or both. 

    Editing the primary field type

    To edit a primary field type:
    1.  Visit your Airtable homepage.
    2.  Open your desired base.
    3.  Click the primary field's field header. 
    4.  Select Edit field and click Save.
    NOTE
    Keep in mind that some information may be lost while converting the field type, which is why we recommend duplicating the field before editing the primary field type.  

    Deleting a field

    To delete a field:
    1.  Visit your Airtable homepage.
    2.  Open your desired base.
    3.   Click the field header of the field you want to delete.
    4.  Select Delete field. 
    NOTE 
    After deleting a field, it will temporarily be available to restore for 7 days. Learn more about managing deleted items in our Base trash article.

    FAQs

    What field types are supported when editing the primary field?:

    For a complete list, please review the list of supported field types.

     

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