Field types and their settings

Every field in a FileEazy form has a type. The type decides what people can enter, such as text, a number, a date or a file, and which settings you can change. This page goes through the basic field types one by one. For how to add fields and the settings every field shares, see Design lists and fields.

Choose the right field

Choosing the right type matters. A Number field can be totalled and sorted as a number, a Calendar field can be filtered by date, and a Dropdown keeps everyone using the same spelling.

Settings every field has

Select the settings icon beside a field to open Edit Field Properties. Most settings are the same for every type:

• General: the field label, placeholder, description and tooltip, in English and Japanese.
• Data: the default value, and the Protected, Database Index, Master Field and Default Sort switches.
• Validation: Required, Unique and the other general rules. See Validation rules for fields.
• Style: how the field looks on the form (see below).
• Data Permission: who can view, create, update and delete the field. See Field and section permissions.

Text, number and calendar fields also have an Advanced tab for prefixes, suffixes, calculated values and running numbers. See Prefix, suffix and calculated fields.

Style settings

Text

For short, single-line entries such as a PO number, a person's name or a vehicle registration.

Example: a Registration Number field with Text Case set to uppercase, so "ab12 cde" is saved as "AB12 CDE".

Text fields are the usual choice for generated reference numbers, such as INV-26-218-N. See Prefix, suffix and calculated fields.

Text Area

For longer, multi-line text such as notes, a job description or meeting minutes.

Example: a Job Description field with 8 rows, the quill editor and the simple toolbar, so recruiters can add headings and bullet points.

Use plain text (none) when the text will be exported or used in reports, and a rich text editor when formatting helps people read it.

Number

For quantities, prices, scores and any value you may want to add up or sort.

Examples:

• Unit Price: decimals allowed, 2 decimal places, minimum 0.
• Quantity: whole numbers only, minimum 1.
• Asset Number: auto increment from 1, so records are numbered 1, 2, 3 and so on.

A field cannot be both a calculated field and an auto increment field. See Prefix, suffix and calculated fields.

Calendar

For dates, such as a delivery date, a date of birth or a contract end date. Switch on Time Field to record a time as well.

Examples:

• Delivery Date: Past Date off, so deliveries can only be planned ahead.
• Appointment: Time Field on, with the 12-hour format.
• Contract End Date: calculated as Contract Start Date plus 1 year, using Add Years.

Choose a date format your team reads without thinking. 27 October 2026 is the clearest when people in different countries use the same list.

Time

For a time of day on its own, such as an opening time or a shift start.

If you need a date as well, use a Calendar field with Time Field switched on instead.

Radio, Checkbox and Dropdown

These three types let people choose from a set of options. They share most of their settings.

Each type also has its own setting:

Which one to use:

• Radio for two to five options that people should see at a glance, such as Priority: Low, Medium, High.
• Checkbox for a yes/no question, such as Urgent, or a few options where more than one can apply, such as Services: Delivery, Installation.
• Dropdown for longer lists, such as countries or products, and for options that come from another list.

To fill the options from another list, and to show a value from that list, such as a country's time zone, see Use data from another list.

File

For attaching documents, photos and other files to a record. Uploaded files are kept in the File Manager.

Examples:

• Signed Contract: saved to the Contracts folder, .pdf only, exactly one file.
• Site Photos: .jpg and .png, up to 10 files.

Choose a folder for each file field, so files from the same list are kept together and are easy to find later. See Set up storage locations and Set up folders.

Advanced, System and HTML fields

Beyond the basic types, the Advanced group has fields with the right format built in, such as Email, Phone Number, Currency and Signature. The System group lets people pick real users, departments, branches, tags and records, and the HTML group adds headings, labels, paragraphs and buttons to lay out the form. For what each one is for, see Design lists and fields.

Tips

• Pick the type before you collect data. Changing a field's type later can leave existing values in the wrong format.
• Use Number for anything you will add up. A price stored as text cannot be totalled.
• Use choices instead of free text where you can. A dropdown keeps "London", "london" and "LDN" from becoming three different answers.
• Keep labels short and add a tooltip. The label names the field; the tooltip explains it.