About Data Types

When you are designing a new table, you must choose a data type for each field to indicate the type of data within that field.  You choose a field's data type in Table Design view.

Field Options

In the Field Options tab below your field list, you can set additional field-level controls such as Label, Unique, and Type.

Unique Fields:

Setting a field to Unique means that the field must not be equal to another record and also must not be blank.  For example, if you denote a unique email field then if a user tries to create a new record using a previously recorded email they will receive an error message. Use the Unique attribute to prevent duplicate data.

Field Description:

The Description field allows you to write a short description of a field for future reference.  This is helpful if more than one person will be developing apps using the same table.  The content of the description field is not visible in your apps.

Data type – Quick Reference:

Data types are abstracted formats that encompass every type of data you will need to store in your database. Below is a description of each of the data types in Caspio Bridge and how they are used.

Data Type Name	Description
Text (255)	Text (255) fields store a maximum of 255 characters (letters) of text.  Text (255) is the default data type. Sample fields that would use Text (255): First_Name, State, Phone, Zip_Code
Text (64000)	Text (64000) fields store a longer length of text (64000 characters).  Text (64000) gives you the ability to store a large amount of text in a single field.  Because of their length, these fields cannot be set to unique.  Also, it may slow down your data pages to use the Contains comparison type when searching through these fields.Sample fields that would use Text (64000): Description, Comments, Resume_Text
Number (General)	Number fields store numerical data.  Number fields are useful for storing numbers and currency values with or without decimal places.  Do not use Number fields for zip codes, social security numbers, or phone numbers because this type of data is treated as text.  Number fields remove any zeros at the beginning of the data. Sample fields that would use Number: Age, Price, Salary
Number (Currency)	Currency fields store monetary data and automatically defaults to currency formatting in your DataPages.
Number (Integer)	Integer fields store integer values without decimals. Integer data type is required in order to create relationships between AutoNumber and Number fields.
AutoNumber	This is a special field that will automatically assign a unique, sequential number to each of your records.  AutoNumbers start at 1 and increase by one for each new record.  You can, however, change the starting value of your Autonumber.Sample fields that would use AutoNumber: Customer_ID, Record_ID
Date/Time	Date/Time fields store date and time data.  Date/Time fields also allow you to create TimeStamps to automatically record the time & date of a submission or update.  When Date/Time input fields, by default, include a calendar picker tool, making it easy to enter data in the accepted format.Sample fields that would use Yes/No: Date_Submitted, Date_Modified, Date_of_Birth
Yes/No	Yes/No fields allow only two possible values (yes or no, true or false, etc.)  By default a Yes/No input field will appear as a checkbox.Sample fields: Active_User, Requested_Newsletter, Published
File	The File Data Type give you the ability to associate files with a record.  File fields allow your end-users to upload a file through a Web Form.  The files are stored in your database and can be accessed and organized in a file directory located in the Files section of Caspio Bridge.  Image files can be displayed directly in your applications.  With other file types you can provide end-users with a link to download a copy of a file.Sample fields that would use File: Image, Resume, PDF_Instructions, Printable_Document
Timestamp	Timestamps are a type smart field that automatically record the time when a record is submitted and/or updated.
Password	Password fields are fully encrypted fields used to securely store password data. The data in this field is never visible through Caspio Bridge or any DataPage interface. If a user needs to change their password new data can be entered either directly in the table, or through a Password Recovery DataPage.

Sample completed design view: