Fields view in Table Builder
Modify the table properties and manage the table fields by using the default Fields view on the Data tab in Table Builder.
Before you begin
- Launch Table Builder. For more information, see Accessing Table Builder.
- (Optional) Choose a domain to work within (if not global). For more information, see Domain separation and Table Builder.
- (Optional) Choose an application scope to work within (if not global). For more information, see Using an application scope with Table Builder.
Role required: personalize_dictionary or AES user role and delegated developer permissions. For more information, see Delegate developers using AES.
Procedure
- Use the following procedures to edit tables using Fields view in Table Builder.
Parent Topic:Data in Table Builder
Add a table column in Table Builder
Store more information in a table record by adding a table column.
Before you begin
Role required: personalize_dictionary or AES user role and delegated developer permissions. For more information, see Delegate developers using AES.
Procedure
Navigate to the Data tab.
Note: Fields view displays by default. You can also access the Fields view from the Additional actions menu (
Additional actions menu.\).
Select + Add new field.
On the resulting blank row, fill in the desired properties for the new data table column.
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Column label | Unique label for the column. |
| Column name | Database name for the column. |
| Type | Type of information that the column contains. For example, to contain plain text in the column, select String. Depending on the type that you select, fill in the additional fields to further define the table column. For example, if you select String, define the character limit of the string input. Or, if you select Choice, define the choices that users can choose from. See Field types. |
| Reference | Table that is associated with the column. This field applies only if the column type is Reference. |
| Max length | Maximum number of characters that users can enter in the field. |
| Default value | Value that populates the field automatically after a new record is created. |
| Display | Option to set the column as the display value for the table. A reference field shows the display value of the table to which it is referring. For example, the Opened by column of the task table refers to the user table. Because the display value of the user table is the user name, the Opened by field shows something like Beth Anglin or Joe Employee. When you select a display value, choose the table column that would act as an appropriate title for individual records. Only one column can act as the display value for a table. |
| Updated | Information about when the table was last updated. |
- Select Save.
Result
If you preview the table, you can see the new column that was added to your table. For more information on previewing a table, see Preview your data in Table Builder.
Delete a table column in Table Builder
Delete a column from your table using Table Builder.
Before you begin
Role required: personalize_dictionary or AES user role and delegated developer permissions. For more information, see Delegate developers using AES.
Procedure
Navigate to the Data tab.
Note: Fields view displays by default. You can also access the Fields view from the Additional actions menu (
Additional actions menu.\).
- Next to the table field row you want to delete, hover over the leftmost column, and select the Open side panel icon (
Open side panel icon\).
- At the top right corner of the side panel, select the trash icon (
Trash icon.\) to delete the field.
**Note:** Your table includes several default columns \(including Created and Updated\), that you can't delete. Also, you can't delete columns that are extended from another table or columns where data records are already present. To delete the column, you must first delete the existing data.
- Select Delete in the confirmation dialog.
Result
If you preview the table, you can see that the table column is no longer used in the table. For more information on previewing a table, see Preview your data in Table Builder.
Change a column label in Table Builder
Modify the label that uniquely identifies the data that is stored in it to users.
Before you begin
Role required: personalize_dictionary or AES user role and delegated developer permissions. For more information, see Delegate developers using AES.
About this task
A column label is the text that's visible to your users when they're reading or updating application data. For example, if you create a form for requesters to fill in, each column label appears as a form field label.
Use a column label that describes the specific information that you expect users to enter. For example, to prompt a user to add comments, you would use the column label "Comments" instead of "Text".
Procedure
Navigate to the Data tab.
Note: Fields view displays by default. You can also access the Fields view from the Additional actions menu (
Additional actions menu.\).
Change a column label in the Column label column, by updating the text in the corresponding row.
For example, to change the label of the "Office location" column, you would select the cell that says "Office location" and enter a different label.
The column label updates automatically after you select another cell.
Select Save.
Changing a table column name in Table Builder
Change the database name for the column. You may opt to change the column name manually if a reviewer finds that the column name in the database was causing issues in testing.
Before you begin
Role required: personalize_dictionary or AES user role and delegated developer permissions. For more information, see Delegate developers using AES.
About this task
Note: You can't change the column name for existing fields that have information in them saved already.
A column name is the text that an administrator uses to track column data in the database. A column name is created automatically after you enter a column label. In Table Builder, if you change the column label, the column name also changes automatically.
Procedure
Navigate to the Data tab.
Note: Fields view displays by default. You can also access the Fields view from the Additional actions menu (
Additional actions menu.\).
Change the column name in the Column name column by updating the text in the corresponding row.
For example, to change the name of the "Office location" column, you would select the cell that says u_office_location and enter a different name.
The column name updates automatically after you select another cell.
Select Save.
Change a column type in Table Builder
Change the type of field that will store information for rows in a table column. For example, if your table is tracking dates, you would want to select the Date column type.
Before you begin
Role required: personalize_dictionary or AES user role and delegated developer permissions. For more information, see Delegate developers using AES.
Procedure
Navigate to the Data tab.
Note: Fields view displays by default. You can also access the Fields view from the Additional actions menu (
Additional actions menu.\).
Select a cell and clear the text from the Type column.
From the list, select a column type.
You can search the list by entering new text. For example, to find all the string types, you would enter
string.If required, define the column type with more information.
For example, if you select Choice, define the list of choices that users can select from.
The column type updates automatically after you select another cell.
Select Save.
Edit field properties in Table Builder
Edit field properties such as the field label, type, and default values in Table Builder.
Before you begin
Launch Table Builder. For more information, see Accessing Table Builder.
Role required: personalize_dictionary or AES user role and delegated developer permissions. For more information, see Delegate developers using AES.
Procedure
Navigate to the Data tab.
Note: Fields view displays by default. You can also access the Fields view from the Additional actions menu (
Additional actions menu.\).
Select a field you want to modify in the table.
For information about basic field properties, see Field Configuration.
Next to the field you want to edit, hover over the leftmost column, and select the Open side panel icon (
Open side panel icon\).
Make your changes to the field properties.
For information about modifying a field's UI policies, see Modify a UI policy in Table Builder.
Note: The Config tab on the right stays open even if you switch between the Data and Forms tabs.
Select Save.
Add a default value to a table column in Table Builder
Define the default value to populate a table column automatically after a user creates a record.
Before you begin
Role required: personalize_dictionary or AES user role and delegated developer permissions. For more information, see Delegate developers using AES.
Procedure
Navigate to the Data tab.
Note: Fields view displays by default. You can also access the Fields view from the Additional actions menu (
Additional actions menu.\).
Add the default value of a column in the Default value column by updating the content in the corresponding row.
You define the default value by selecting a cell and then entering the value. The value that you enter depends on the column type. For example, if the column requires a choice, you would select one of the choices that you defined in the Type column.
The column name updates automatically after you select another cell.
Select Save.
Select a column as the table display value in Table Builder
Select a column value that will be displayed in the reference fields of other tables. For example, the Opened by column of the task table could refer to a specific column in the user table so it can display a user name.
Before you begin
Role required: personalize_dictionary or AES user role and delegated developer permissions. For more information, see Delegate developers using AES.
About this task
A reference field shows the display value of the table to which it is referring. For example, the Opened by column of the task table refers to the user table. Because the display value of the user table is the user name, the Opened by field shows something like "Beth Anglin" or "Joe Employee". When you select a display value, choose the table column that would act as an appropriate title for individual records.
Only one column can act as the display value for a table.
Procedure
Navigate to the Data tab.
Note: Fields view displays by default. You can also access the Fields view from the Additional actions menu (
Additional actions menu.\).
Check that all selections are cleared from the Display column.
To clear a selection, toggle off the switch as shown in the following example.
Toggle off.
From the Display column, select one row to act as the table display value.
To select a row, toggle on the switch as shown in the following example.
Toggle on.
- Select Save.