> ## 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".
</Tip>

## 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](/docs/tables/import-export)

## 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.
</Warning>