Field data types
Every field has a type — it decides how the field is validated, entered and shown. Money gets a currency picker, a date gets a calendar, an SSN is masked, a dropdown pulls from a list.
You rarely set a type by hand — SheetApps reads it from the field's name and your sample data. To be explicit, put it in the Rules sheet's Data type column (many friendly spellings work). Here is the full catalogue:
| Type | Validates |
|---|---|
| text / textarea | Free text. Add an optional length cap with text(20) — at most 20 characters (applies to textarea too). |
| integer | Whole numbers only (no decimals), e.g. counts and quantities of indivisible items. |
| number / decimal | Numbers with decimal places (aliases: numeric, decimal, float). Shows 2 decimals by default; override with decimal(4). |
| quantity | A decimal amount with a unit of measure — e.g. "12.50 kg". Gets a Unit picker so each record can choose its unit. See Currencies & units for how units are detected and shared. |
| currency / amount | Money (aliases: amount, money). Gets a Currency picker so each record can choose its currency; an empty pick uses the app's default. See Currencies & units for how the picker is detected, shared and placed. |
| percent | A percentage figure shown with a % sign (15 → "15%"). |
| date | Calendar date (YYYY-MM-DD); shows a date picker. |
| year | A 4-digit calendar year, e.g. 2026. Shown as a year dropdown; auto-detected from a whole-number column named Year / Fiscal Year / FY. |
| month | A calendar month with its year — stored as YYYY-MM (e.g. 2026-07). Shown as a month picker; auto-detected from a date column named Month. |
| datetime | A date together with a time of day, e.g. 2026-07-13 14:30. Shown as a date-and-time picker; auto-detected from cells that carry a real time component. |
| time | A time of day — HH:MM (e.g. 09:30). Shown as a time picker; auto-detected from time-of-day cells. |
| Email address. | |
| boolean | True / false (checkbox). |
| dropdown | Value chosen from a lookup list (a List_ sheet or a standard list). |
| ssn | US SSN (masked). |
| zip | 5-digit ZIP or ZIP+4. |
| phone | Phone with a country-prefix dropdown (default +1). |
| credit_card | 13–19 digits + Luhn check (masked). Only the last 4 digits are stored — the full number is checked once at save and never persisted. |
| upc / routing_number | UPC-A check digit / 9-digit ABA routing checksum. |
| url | Web/URL link. |
| file | Generic file attachment (size limit shown under the field). Images, PDFs and text preview in-browser; scripts are rejected. For specific media use the image / video / audio / doc types below. |
| image | Image upload (jpg, png, webp, gif, bmp — no SVG). Shows a thumbnail; click to view full size; download. |
| video | Video upload (mp4, mov, webm). Shows a thumbnail; click to play in place; download. |
| audio | Audio upload (mp3, wav, ogg, m4a). Plays inline with a download button. |
| doc | Document upload — read-only. PDF, text and CSV preview in-browser; Word, Excel and PowerPoint download. Only safe document types are accepted. |
| relation | Cross-form lookup: references a record in another form of the same app, by that form's business key. Renders as a searchable record picker that stores the chosen record's key. |
| ulid / nanoid | Auto-generated, read-only identifier the app fills in when a record is created. ulid — a 26-character, time-sortable id; nanoid — a compact random id whose length defaults to 21 (nanoid(10) → length 10). Both use Crockford base32 (uppercase, with the look-alike letters I L O U removed). |
How the type is decided (highest wins): (1) an explicit Data type in the Rules sheet; (2) the field name — names with
date → date, price/amount/total/cost/fee → currency, quantity/qty → quantity, count/units → integer, plus ssn, zip, phone, email, image/photo → image, video → video, audio/sound → audio, document/pdf → doc, and file; (3) the sample data's values and cell formatting — whole numbers → integer, numbers with decimals → number, and a cell formatted as money ($ € £ …) → currency; (4) otherwise text.That is the field types. For the built-in standard lists (countries, currencies, units…), region-aware formatting, and the full relation grammar, see Data type reference.