The 8 field types

A column's type decides three things: how you enter the value, how it sorts, and how it leaves for Google Sheets. You can change it at any time from the header menu.

The eight types

Type	Use it for
Text	Names, references, one line of content
Long text	Notes, comments, postal addresses
Number	Amounts, quantities, thresholds — right-aligned, sortable
Date	Deadlines, deliveries
Select	Statuses, categories — coloured options
Checkbox	Yes/no: paid, approved, archived
Email	Contacts — click to write
URL	Links to a quote, a site, a folder

What the type changes as you type

Numbers and dates follow your account language. In English, 1,999.50 and 12/31/2026 are accepted; in French, 1 999,50 and 31/12/2026. You enter in your own language, Rowbase stores a single value.

A checkbox accepts 1, 0, true, false, yes, no. A select value that is not in the option list is kept as it is, without a colour.

Changing a column's type

Open the header menu, then Change type. Rowbase converts what it can, row by row.

Values that cannot be converted are cleared, not moved. Text like CMD-2026-0134 becomes empty if the column switches to Number. Export the sheet before a bulk conversion if you want a way back.

Changing a type only affects the open sheet: the columns of another sheet in the same table are untouched, even if they share a name.

When you switch a column to Select, Rowbase builds the option list from the values already entered, up to ten, and gives each one a colour.