---
title: "The primary field in Airtable"
slug: "the-primary-field"
description: "The primary field is akin to the concept of a primary key in relational databases. In Airtable, the primary field is most often a text..."
updated: 2026-03-02T20:34:07Z
published: 2026-03-02T20:34:07Z
---

> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://support.airtable.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# The primary field in Airtable

| **Plan availability** | All plan types |
| --- | --- |
| **Permissions** | - **Owner** /**Creator** - Have access to all field configuration options. Additionally everything editors, commenters, or read-only users can do. - **Editor** - Can sort by, filter by, group by, or hide the field within a view. - **Commenter** / **Read-only** - Copy a field's URL |
| **Platform(s)** | Web/Browser, Mac app, and Windows app |

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.

## Reviewing and editing primary fields

To review and edit a primary field:

1. Open your [Airtable home screen](https://airtable.com/).
2. Open your desired base.
3. Click the primary field's field header.
4. Select **Edit field**and click **Save.**

## Changing primary fields

To change a primary field for a table:

1. Open your [Airtable home screen](https://airtable.com/).
2. Open your desired base.
3. Click the primary field's field header.
4. Click **Change primary field**.
5. Click the dropdown arrow under "Primary field" and select your desired primary field.
6. Click **Change primary field**.

> [!CAUTION]
> Note
> 
> When changes to a primary field are made this way, the changes will not appear in [enterprise audit logs](/v1/docs/accessing-enterprise-audit-logs-in-airtable).

## Duplicating information in primary fields

> [!CAUTION]
> Note
> 
> 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. Open your [Airtable home screen](https://airtable.com/).
2. Open the base hosting the primary field you want to duplicate.
3. Click the primary field's field header.
4. Select **Duplicate field.**
  1. Allowing you to duplicate the name, cells, or both.

## Supported field types in the primary field

Airtable currently supports customizing primary fields as the following field types:

- Single line text
- Long text
- Date
- Phone number
- Email
- URL
- Number
- Currency
- Percent
- Duration
- Formula
- Autonumber
- Barcode

## FAQs

**Can I use formulas in the primary field?**

If your table requires more than a single primary field, change the primary field to a formula type and update the name of each record using values from the other fields in your table. You can read [Using a formula in the primary field](/v1/docs/using-formulas-in-airtables-primary-field) to learn more.