Single select fields in Airtable
Last updated: October 15, 2026
Plan availability | All plan types |
Permissions |
|
Platform(s) | Web/Browser, Mac app, and Windows app |
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.
Single select fields in Airtable
In Airtable, fields allow you to organize all the details for any record in your base, so they can easily be sorted, managed, and analyzed. In this article, learn specifically about Airtable's single select fields and how to use then.
Single select fields are ideal for when you need to select a single option from a preset list of options. For more information about enabling AI in single select fields visit this article.
Visit your Airtable homepage.
Create or open your preferred base.
Add or edit a field.
Search for and select Single select.
Click Add option and enter your preferred option name.
From here, you can optionally click on the ⌄ icon and update your select's color.
You can also optionally toggle ON/OFF color-code options and alphabetic sorting.
Lastly, you can also reorder the select options from within the field configuration menu by clicking and dragging on the reorder icons, which appear when you mouse over the left-hand side of each option.
Click Create field.
If you need to store additional information related to each select option, consider converting the single select field into a linked record field.
Setting default values for single select fields
Configuring this option will automatically add the chosen select option to each new record created in the table where the field resides. A few notes on expected behavior:
Since this is a single select field, only 1 option can be set as the default. Multiple select fields allow you to choose more than one.
The default value you choose will only be included on newly created records. Previously created records with different values or blank values will not be updated.
This is a static option, meaning that there is no logic that you can configure in order to have the single select field default to different values based on other conditions. Consider using automations to accomplish that use case instead. Additionally, you can look at the first FAQ in this section that discusses using different views and filters or groupings as a way to have newly created records inherit a certain kind of single select value.
Default values cannot be generated in AI-enabled single select fields.
To add or adjust the default option:
Begin editing the field from its configuration menu.
Find the “Default option” section. You may need to scroll down to find this section depending on how many select options have been created and/or screen size limitations.
If a default value hasn’t already been set, this cofiguration will show up as empty. Click the ⌄ option and select the value that newly created records will default to include.
Click Save.
FAQs
Can I create inherited values for single select fields?
Yes, inherited values can be created for single select fields. First, check to see if the section here helps you accomplish you goals. If that doesn’t fit your use case, then you can implement one of the options discussed below:
You can create an individual view that filters records by a single select option, so that only records with that single select option will be shown. New records created within that view will inherit the single select value that is filtered by the condition(s) you’ve configured.
Alternatively, you can group a view by a single select field. This way any new record added to a grouping will inherit that grouping's single select value.
Can I track the revision history when a record's single select field changes?
While tracking those field changes isn't an option in Airtable, we encourage you to check out the Use automations to timestamp status updates article for workaround options.
What is the limit to the number of fields that can be added to a table?
Each table is limited to 500 fields, with a limit of 10,000 select options per select field.
How do I edit single select field options?
Open your Airtable home screen.
Open the base with the single select field options you want to edit.
Click the drop-down arrow icon to the right of the field’s name you want to edit.
Click Edit field.
Click Add option to add a new option.
Click X to the right of an existing option’s name to delete it.
Click Save.
Can I upload a list of single select field options into Airtable instead of typing them out manually?
No. Airtable doesn't currently have a built-in way to paste or upload a whole list of options at once when creating a single select field.
If you have a long list, one workaround is to use a linked record field instead, which can be populated from another table—where you could paste your list as records.
Can I prevent collaborators from adding new options to a single select or multi-select field in the data grid?
In the data layer (the base grid view), there isn’t a toggle to allow or prohibit users from adding new select options. Access is governed entirely by permission level:
Owners and Creators can add new options directly from within the data layer.
Editors, Commenters, and Read-only users can only choose from existing options; they cannot add new ones.
Field permissions can restrict who can edit the field's cell values altogether, but do not offer granular control over adding new options while still permitting cell edits.
Can I delete a select option without breaking my collaborators' filters and views?
Not necessarily - check first. Select options are part of the field's configuration, so deleting an option changes the field for everyone in the base. It is not scoped to your own view. Anything that was configured to match that option refers to it directly, including:
View filters, sorts, and groups set on the field
Record coloring rules
Interface page filters and the elements built on them
Automation conditions that check for that option
Before you delete an option, click the dropdown arrow icon to the right of the field's name, then click Show dependencies (paid plans only) to see what currently points at the field.
If your goal is to stop people from choosing an option rather than to remove it, leave the option on the field - see the next FAQ.
Can I stop people from selecting an option without deleting it?
Yes. On a form, turn on Limit selection to specific options and clear the options you don't want submitters to see. This only changes what the form offers. The field itself is unchanged, so records that already hold the hidden option keep their value, and the option still appears in the grid, in filters, and in groups.
Deleting the option from the field is a different action with a wider reach - see the FAQ above. To retire an option from new submissions while keeping your historical data, leave the option on the field and clear it under Limit selection to specific options on every form that uses the field.
Can I merge 2 select options that have the same name?
No. Each option is tracked separately from its name and color, so 2 options with identical text and color stay separate. Renaming one to match the other doesn't combine them, and each record keeps pointing at whichever option it was originally given. This is a common result of importing or syncing data from an outside tool.
To collapse duplicates into a single option, convert the field to text and back:
Duplicate the base first, so you have a copy to fall back on.
Click the dropdown arrow icon to the right of the field's name, then click Edit field.
Change the field type to Single line text, then click Save. Each cell keeps its option name as plain text.
Click Edit field again, change the field type back to Single select, then click Save. Airtable creates 1 option per distinct text value, so identical names collapse into a single option.
Check the field's option colors, option order, and default option, and set them again if needed.
Convert the existing field rather than building a replacement field and deleting the original. The lookups, rollups, filters, automations, and interface elements that point at the field keep pointing at it through a type change, but deleting the field breaks all of them.