The General section allows you to configure the data type, validation rules, constraints, and default values for a column.
To configure the general properties:
Select Setup > Columns.
The column configuration window opens. Select the pencil icon next to the column name or double-click the column name.
Select the General tab in the side panel.
You can configure the following properties:
Use the Input Type property to specify how data is entered, stored, and displayed in a column.
Powertable sheet supports a wide range of input types. The available input types are determined by the underlying SQL data type assigned to the column.
For example:
Numeric data types such as INT, BIGINT, FLOAT, and DECIMAL support input types such as Number, Single Select, Decimal, Currency, Percent, Percent Complete, and Rating.
Date and time data types support input types such as Date Time and Single Select.
Text-based data types such as VARCHAR and NVARCHAR support input types such as Text, Email, URL, Phone Number, Person (name or email), Image (URL-based), Single Select, and Check Box.
Depending on the input type you have chosen, you can set additional properties. For example, you can set minimum and maximum values for numeric input types and a list of selectable values for single-select columns.
For a complete list of supported column types and their details, see Supported column types.
Use the Constraints section to limit input values and configure field validation.
Use Minimum and Maximum to define the allowed range of values for a column. Values outside the configured range are not accepted.
These constraints are available for the input types of Number, Currency and Date Time.
Existing table values remain unchanged. When you enter values outside the configured range, powertable sheet displays a message indicating the permitted limits.
You can configure either a minimum value, a maximum value, or both.
For Date and Date Time columns, you can define a valid date range or a date-time range. Values outside the configured range are not accepted.
Use Field Validation to control the type of values that users can enter in a text column.
The following validation options are available:
When Regex is selected, specify a regular expression pattern to validate user input. Values that do not match the configured validation rule are rejected.
For decimal input type, you can configure the default number of decimal places to be displayed.
Select Allow Negative Numbers to allow negative entries in the column.
Use Default Value to automatically populate a column when new rows are created. This helps ensure that new records already contain a valid initial value and reduces manual data entry. The column values in the existing records remain unchanged.
Default values can be set using a manual static value or a formula.
To configure a static default value:
In the following example, NA is configured as the default value for the Product Description column.
When a new row is inserted, the configured default value is automatically populated, and you can later modify it when required.
Enable Reset to Default on Update to automatically reset the column to its configured default value whenever the record is updated.
When this option is enabled:
In this example, changing the product name automatically resets the product description to the default value NA.
Additional default value options are available for specific input types:
Single Select - Select a default value from the configured list of options.
Use Formula to calculate default values dynamically by using formulas.
Powertable sheet supports formulas and functions for generating default values. These values are automatically recalculated based on the underlying reference data.
Formula-based default values are supported for the following input types:
Enable Recalculate data on update to have the column automatically reset to its calculated default value whenever the record is updated.
When this option is enabled:
In this example, changing the product size calculates the default value and resets the product price to it.
