# Sheets & the field reference

Good field choices make editing, filtering, views, rules, and AI more dependable.

A sheet stores records with named, typed fields. The first field names the record. Use short names that make sense in another sheet’s linked-record picker. Edit a cell directly, or open its record to work with long notes, attachments, links, and discussion. Viewers can inspect values but cannot edit them.

## Choose a field type

| Field | Use it for |
| --- | --- |
| Text / Long text | Names, identifiers, and longer written content. Keep leading-zero IDs as text. |
| Number | Quantities and numeric values, with number, currency, or percent formatting. |
| Duration | Elapsed time entered as seconds, H:MM[:SS], or explicit units such as 1h 30m. |
| Timer | A running or stopped elapsed-time value; use its start/stop controls. |
| Rating | An integer from zero to five, presented as stars. |
| Phone | A phone value with a call action where supported. |
| Checkbox | A true/false state or completion flag. |
| Date | A calendar date for filtering, calendars, and timelines. |
| Status / Select / Multi-select | Controlled options, with consistent option colors. |
| Person | A workspace member, used for assignment and notifications. |
| URL / Email | A web address or email address. |
| Attachment | File references and uploads. The installed iPhone/iPad app uses the system file picker; the earlier Android interface accepts external file URLs. |
| Linked record | One or several records in another sheet in the same workspace. |
| Formula / Rollup | Read-only calculations or linked-record summaries. |

## Make time values unambiguous

Duration accepts 5400, 1:30:00, or 1h 30m for ninety minutes. A bare 1.5 means seconds, not decimal hours. Timer ticks are displayed locally; starting, stopping, or explicitly editing it saves state. An invalid value should be corrected rather than replaced with a guess.

## Change structure thoughtfully

Rename fields when terminology improves; rules and connections bind to stable field IDs. Before deleting or changing a field, inspect formulas, views, forms, document bindings, rules, and helpers that depend on it. Ralti validates structural changes and may require those references to be repaired first.