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

# Fields and records

> The building blocks of a table

A table is a set of **fields**, and each row of data is a **record**.

## Field types

| Type | Use it for | Why not just text |
| - | - | - |
| **Text** | Names, notes, IDs, anything freeform | |
| **Number** | Amounts, counts, scores | So you can sort and compare properly |
| **Date** | Birthdays, due dates, calendar days | So "before" and "after" mean something |
| **Date & Time** | Timestamps, appointments | So the time of day survives |
| **Dropdown** | A fixed set of options | So values stay consistent and typos can't creep in |

> [!TIP]
>
> Reach for **Dropdown** whenever a field has a known set of values, such as status or priority. It's the difference between a table you can filter and one full of "In Progress", "in progress" and "InProgress".

## Adding records

Three ways in:

* **By hand**, typing straight into the table
* **From a flow**, using the Tables piece to create or update records
* **From a CSV**, see [Import and export](https://www.activepieces.com/docs/tables/import-export.md)

## Editing the table itself

You can rename a table, add and delete fields, delete records, or clear a table entirely.

> [!WARNING]
>
> Deleting a field removes its data from every record in the table. There's no undo.


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