f740bac988
Co-authored-by: Félix Malfait <felix.malfait@gmail.com> Co-authored-by: Félix Malfait <felix@twenty.com>
105 lines
4.5 KiB
Plaintext
105 lines
4.5 KiB
Plaintext
---
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title: Fields
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info: "Understand the role of fields and how to handle them."
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image: /images/user-guide/fields/field.png
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sectionInfo: Flexible data model designed to support your unique business processes
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---
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import { VimeoEmbed } from '/snippets/vimeo-embed.mdx';
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<Frame>
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<img src="/images/user-guide/fields/field.png" alt="Header" />
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</Frame>
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## About Fields
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Fields are like columns in a spreadsheet. They store different types of data like text, numbers, or dates. Fields can be standard (built-in) or custom (the ones you create).
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### Standard Fields
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Standard fields come built-in with Twenty to handle common business needs.
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For example, `First Name` and `Last Name` are standard fields in the `People` object. They store text data for individual names.
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You cannot delete standard fields, but you can deactivate them if you don't need them.
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You can also customize the options of the standard ```SELECT``` type fields, for example the options for the ```Stage``` on Opportunities.
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<img src="/images/user-guide/fields/standard-fields.png" style={{width:'100%'}}/>
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### Custom Fields
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Custom fields can be added to any object. You can store text, numbers, dates, dropdown selections, and more. Use custom fields to track information that's specific to your business.
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For instance, a custom field for SpaceX could be `Rocket Active Status`, indicating if a rocket is operational.
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<img src="/images/user-guide/fields/custom-fields.png"style={{width:'100%'}}/>
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## Create a Custom Field
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To add a custom field to any object, follow these steps:
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1. Go to `Settings` in the left sidebar.
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2. Go to `Data Model`, then select the object you wish to customize.
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3. Proceed by clicking on `Add Field`.
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4. Choose a field name and type that suits your requirements. Consider adding a field description for better understanding.
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Your newly created field is now available within the application's fields. To display it on a specific view, click on the options menu, then select `Fields`.
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<VimeoEmbed videoId="927628219" title="Video demonstration" />
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**Quick way:** Click the **+** button at the top right of any object table, then select `Customize fields`. This takes you directly to the Data Model settings.
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<img src="/images/user-guide/fields/quick-new-field.png" style={{width:'100%'}}/>
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## Deactivate a field
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You can deactivate a field to hide it from the app without losing your data. Think of it as hiding the field rather than deleting it.
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Here's how you can do it:
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1. Find the field you want to deactivate in your object settings.
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2. Click the three dots `⋮` next to the field to open the menu.
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3. Select `Deactivate` from the dropdown.
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<img src="/images/user-guide/fields/deactivate-field.png" style={{width:'100%'}}/>
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What happens when you deactivate a field?
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1. **In the app:** The field disappears and you can't add new values to it.
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2. **Existing relationships:** If it's a relation field, existing connections stay but you can't create new ones.
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3. **API access:** You can still access the field and its data through the API.
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You can reactivate Standard and Custom Fields or have the option to permanently delete them.
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## Make Fields Unique
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Make a field unique to ensure distinct records cannot have the same value. For example, email addresses are unique for each person.
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If you get an error when setting uniqueness, check for duplicate values in your data (including deleted records).
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## Field Configuration Best Practices
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### Naming Conventions and Limitations
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- **Relation field names cannot be updated** after creation (impacts API structure)
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- **Singular and plural named must be distinct**: Our GraphQL API needs distinct names for mutations
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- **Protected field names**: some names are reserved for system usage (e.g., ```Type```)
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### Currency and Phone Fields
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- **Default currency**: can be configured via the data model
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- **Default country codes**: can be configured for phone fields via the data model
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### Select Fields
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- **A default option can be selected** for each Select field
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### Record Text Fields
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- **Each object has one main display field**: This field appears in the leftmost column and represents the record when linked to other objects. It must be a text field. For example, People uses `Name` as the main field, so when you link a person to a company, you'll see their name in the company's view.
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### Relation Fields
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- **Connect objects together**: Relation fields link records from different objects. For detailed information on creating and managing relationships, see our [Relation Fields](/user-guide/data-model/relation-fields) article.
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