---
title: "What is a field?"
slug: "what-is-a-field"
updated: 2026-04-27T19:59:20Z
published: 2026-04-27T19:59:20Z
---

> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://help.quickbase.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# What is a field?

If you ever visit the Department of Motor Vehicles or filed your taxes, you probably used forms that feature **fields**. For example, when you fill out an application for a driver's license, you enter your first name in one box, your last name in the next box, and so on. Each space that holds a single piece of information is called a **field**.

In Quickbase, fields work the same way. They hold specific pieces of information. When collected together these pieces of information form an entire record. For example, a table that tracks inventory for a toy store, might feature fields called **Toy Name**, **Manufacturer**, **Model Number**, **Amount in Stock**, and so on. Each field represents one piece of information about a particular toy. Each toy appears in your Quickbase application as a record.

## How do fields appear in Quickbase?

Fields display differently depending upon where you are working in Quickbase.

If you're filling out a form, Fields appear as empty boxes with labels. If you were to complete the form below and save it, all the pieces of information would be saved together as a record.

If you're looking at a table report, fields appear as columns:

![Table report showing fields as columns, with each row representing one record](https://cdn.document360.io/dd260e4e-10bb-4b66-8fb3-5504c272b904/Images/Documentation/spreadsheet.png)

Each row represents one record—its information split into fields (columns). For example, in the table pictured above, you can tell that *Colleen Garton*is assigned to the *Wireless initiative*project because all that information appears in the same row.

There's more to fields than meets the eye. A field always has a **type** associated with it and can have other attributes as well. You select a field type, based upon what kind of information the field will contain. For example, if a field should always contain numbers, its type would be numeric. Fields that contain names should be text type. ([Learn about all field types](/v1/docs/field-types).)

You can change other properties of a field as well. For example, if you want to force users to complete a particular field, make that field "required." If you do so, Quickbase won't let a user save a form without completing that field. Or, say you have a field that tracks inventory numbers and you never want two records to have the same one. If you make that field "unique" Quickbase won't accept a value that already exists in another record. ([Learn more about changing the properties of a field](/v1/docs/change-the-properties-of-a-field-from-a-legacy-form).)