Your first Grid

A Grid is a table of structured data. It's the starting point for everything else: forms write into a Grid, views display a Grid, flows react to changes in a Grid.

Create a Grid

1. Open the Space where the Grid should live.
2. In the sidebar, under Grids, select Add Grid.
3. Give it a name.

ApptiveGrid automatically creates a first view. You never work directly "in the Grid" — you always work in a view of it. See What is a View.

Renaming later is fine

Grids can be renamed anytime through the context menu. Links, forms, and flows keep working because they don't reference the Grid by name internally.

Create entries

An entry is a row. There are three ways to create one:

Way	When it makes sense
Directly in the table	While building and for quick fixes
Via the detail view	When many fields need filling in
Via a Form	When other people are supplying the data
Via a Flow	When entries should be created automatically

Clicking a row opens the entry in the detail view with all fields listed one below the other.

Entry limit per Grid

The number of entries per Grid depends on your plan. As you approach the limit, ApptiveGrid shows a notice.

Create fields

A field is a column. Every field has a column type, which determines:

• which values are allowed,
• how the value is displayed,
• which filter conditions are available,
• whether and how it can be requested in forms.

To create a field:

1. Click + at the right end of the column headers.
2. Give it a column name.
3. Choose the column type.
4. Configure the type if it has settings (such as select options or a currency).

Choosing the right column type

The type is the most important decision when creating a field. A rough guide:

You want to capture …	Column type
Short text, names, subject	Text
Longer, formatted text	Rich Text
Whole number (quantity, count)	Number
Number with decimal places	Decimal
Amount of money	Currency
Date without time	Date
Date with time	Date and time
Yes/No	Checkmark
One option from a fixed list	Single Select
Multiple options from a list	Multiple Select
Reference to an entry in another Grid	Link record
References to multiple entries	Link multiple records
Files and images	Files
Postal address	Address
Geo coordinates	Geolocation
Email address	E-Mail
Phone number	Phone Number
Web address	Weblink
Signature	Signature

The complete list with all settings is in the column type reference.

Automatically filled fields

ApptiveGrid fills three types itself — you can't edit them:

• Created at — when the entry was created
• Created by — who created the entry
• User — a reference to a person

"Created by" doesn't only show people

If an entry was created via a form, this shows Form link. If it came in through the API, it shows API Credentials. That helps answer where a record actually came from.

Calculated fields

Three types calculate their value from other data and are also read-only:

• Use linked value — pulls a value from a linked entry
• Calculate sum — sums values across multiple linked entries
• Formula — calculates a value from an expression

These types require an existing link. Details under Calculated Fields.

Change a field

Use the menu in the column header to change name, type, and description.

Changing the type can lose data

If you change a field's type, ApptiveGrid tries to carry over the existing values. If a value doesn't fit the new type, it's lost. For populated columns, take a CSV export as a backup first.

Two error messages come up regularly here:

"Change not possible. This field is used in a filter." A filter in a view references this field. Remove the filter, then change the field.

"The name already exists" Field names must be unique within a Grid.

Delete a field

Deleting requires confirmation, because the column and its content disappear from all entries. Check beforehand whether forms, views, filters, or flows use this field.

Next

• Link Grids — spread data across multiple Grids
• What is a View — display data in different ways
• Create a Form — let others submit data
• Column type reference — all types in detail