> ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.saphion.co.uk/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Fields > The columns of every board: the types of field you can add, how to set one up, change it, restrict it and delete it, and how groups and sections arrange the rows. A field is one fact a record holds: a status, a date, an assignee, a cost. Each field is a column on a board and a row in the record panel. You can add your own fields to the boards you manage, so a board holds exactly what your work needs. > [!NOTE] > > Anyone who can open a board can see its fields, and Managers of the board change them. ![The Column centre showing essential field types and Add to board buttons.](https://mintcdn.com/saphion/F5a0XE-YKidXHEWP/images/work/fields-1.webp?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=F5a0XE-YKidXHEWP\&q=85\&s=711625b124fbee7b35cf3281b3768ea7) The Column centre ## Add a field **1. Open the column menu** Open the menu of any column and choose **Add column to the right**. A short list of common types appears. Choose one to add it straight away, or choose **More columns** to see them all. **2. Choose a type in the Column centre** The **Column centre** groups types as **Essentials**, **Connections and calculations** and **Advanced**. Search with **Search columns**, or pick a category. Each card says what the type is for. Choose **Add to board** on a card. **3. Set it up if it needs it** A type that means nothing until it is set up opens its settings first. A Status or Tags field needs at least one choice. A Link to record, Mirror, Rollup or Formula needs its source or expression. The dialog is titled "New field" with the subtitle "Set it up, then add it to the board". Choose **Add field** when it is ready. **4. Name it** A field you add straight away opens its settings with the name ready to type over. A new field takes its type's name, numbered if the board already has one, such as "Status 2". You can also ask Beacon to add a field. See [Chat with Beacon](https://docs.saphion.co.uk/beacon/chat.md). ## Field types | Type | What it holds | | - | - | | **Text** | A short line of information. | | **Long text** | Notes with headings and bullets. | | **Number** | A quantity that can be totalled. | | **Money** | Budgets, rates and costs, in a currency you choose. | | **Percentage** | A share of something, out of a hundred. | | **Rating** | A score in stars, out of up to ten. | | **Duration** | A length of time, in hours and minutes. | | **Status** | One of a set list, each in its own colour. | | **Priority** | A Status field set up with Critical, High, Medium and Low. | | **Tags** | Any number of labels. | | **Person** | Somebody, or a team, who can carry work. | | **Date** | A day, comparable with today, with an optional time of day. | | **Timeline** | A start and a finish. | | **Checkbox** | A clear yes or no. | | **Link** | A web address. | | **Email** | A contact address. | | **Phone** | A contact number. | | **Files** | Files attached to this record: uploaded, or from this Project's files at an exact version. | | **Address** | A place, with its town, postcode and country. | | **Link to record** | A record on another board. | | **Mirror** | A field from the record a Link to record connects to. | | **Rollup** | Counted, totalled, averaged or dated (earliest or latest) from the records that point here. | | **Formula** | Worked out from this record's other fields. | | **Created**, **Updated**, **Created by**, **Updated by** | The record's own history. Nobody types these. | | **Auto-ID** | A stable reference for this record, with an optional prefix such as RFI- and a number of digits. | A Link, an Email and a Phone value open with a click wherever they appear. A Mirror, Rollup and Formula are worked out for you, so nobody types into them. If a field is worked out from another, Saphion tells you which field the value comes from. ## Change a field Open the column menu and choose **Settings**. | Setting | What it does | | - | - | | **Field settings** | Opens the full settings dialog for the field. | | **Add description** or **Edit description** | Adds a note about what the field is for. It shows as an info mark on the column heading. | | **Set as required** or **Set as optional** | A required field must have a value on every record, whoever or whatever writes it. It is marked with a red asterisk wherever it is filled in. | | **Restrict who can edit** and **Restrict who can see** | Sets who may change or see the field, by role. They open the field's **Access** section. | **More settings in the field dialog** In the dialog you also set, depending on the type: the **Name**, the **Description**, a **Default value**, **Several people** for a Person field, **Include time** for a Date, and for a number its currency, decimal places, thousands separator and unit. A Status or Tags field has its **Choices**, each with a colour, either its own or taken from a company list so several boards share one set. **Changes reviewed by** names a Permission whose holders must agree before a change to the field takes effect. Other acts in the column menu: * **Rename** the field. * **Duplicate column** as **Column only**, or **Column and values**. * **Change column type**. Saphion lists the types this column can become without losing what it means, and asks you to confirm with **Change type**. A column with no compatible type says "No compatible types". ## Delete a field Open the column menu and choose **Delete field**. The field moves to the Bin with its values and Saphion offers **Undo** straight away. An Admin, or the person who deleted it, can restore it later. See [Bin and restore](https://docs.saphion.co.uk/admin/bin-and-restore.md). > [!WARNING] > > A field that other fields are worked out from cannot be deleted. Saphion names those fields, such as a Rollup or Formula that reads it. Remove or change them first. ## Hide a field without deleting it **Hide column** in the column menu, or **Columns** in the toolbar, hides a field in your own view only. The field and its values stay on every record and it still appears in the record panel. Fields with no value fold behind **Show N more fields** in the panel. See [Boards, tables and views](https://docs.saphion.co.uk/work/boards-and-views.md). ## Groups and sections Rows can be arranged in groups. * **Group** in the toolbar groups the rows by any status, person, date or other groupable field, with an optional second level. Each heading shows the count and a total. * **Sections** are named groups a board keeps, in an order the board gives them. A board with sections shows each section as a group with its count, sorted within each. Drag a row from one section to another to move it. Choose **Group > Section** to show or stop showing them. ### Shape a board's sections On a board whose table is grouped by its sections, the people who can change how the board is built shape the sections in the table itself. * **Rename, move or remove a section.** Choose the **⋯** on a section's heading, then **Rename**, **Move up**, **Move down** or **Remove section**. Rename lets you type the new name where the old one stands. * **Add a section.** Choose **New section** at the foot of the table, type its name and press Enter. * **A section with records in it stays.** Saphion says how many records it holds. Move them to another section first, then remove it. Everyone else sees the sections without these controls. Beacon can add, rename, move and remove sections too, including a board's first section. ## How it works * **Who changes fields.** Adding, changing and deleting fields on a board needs Manager access to that board. Fields that belong to a company-wide kind of record, such as Actions, Contacts and Companies, are configured by Organisation Admins. Everyone who can open a board can see its fields, subject to any restriction on the field. * **A field belongs to the kind of record, not to one view.** Adding, renaming or hiding in a view changes only that view. Adding or deleting a field changes the board for everyone who can open it. * **Some fields are Saphion's.** A field Saphion needs, such as an Action's status or a Project's lead, cannot be deleted. Its name, description and choices stay yours to change where the menu offers them. A field a product or a connected system keeps says who manages it. * **Access follows the field.** A field you restrict is hidden or read-only for everyone without the role you chose. ## Ask Beacon * "Add a Budget field in pounds to the Site visits board." * "Add a Priority field with Critical, High, Medium and Low." ## FAQ > **Why is Add column to the right greyed out?** > > You do not have Manager access to the board, or the board is one Saphion keeps. Hover over it to read why. > **Can I change a field's type after I have added it?** > > Yes, where the new type keeps the meaning. Use **Change column type**. Saphion shows you the types that work and asks you to confirm. > **What happens to my data if I delete a field?** > > The field and its values move to the Bin. Restoring the field brings the values back. Permanently deleting it from the Bin removes them. > **How do I stop a field showing for some people?** > > Open the field's menu, choose **Settings > Restrict who can see**, and choose the roles. ## Related * [Boards, tables and views](https://docs.saphion.co.uk/work/boards-and-views.md): Filter, sort, group and save views of a board. * [Import and export](https://docs.saphion.co.uk/work/import-and-export.md): Map a spreadsheet's columns to your fields. * [Record panel and attachments](https://docs.saphion.co.uk/work/record-panel-and-attachments.md): See the fields of one record. * [Teams and Permissions](https://docs.saphion.co.uk/admin/teams-and-permissions.md): Who can configure what. This documentation is built and hosted on [Mintlify](https://mintlify.com), a developer documentation platform.