Use column-level data types to customize your worksheets.
In Spreadsheet.com it is easy to configure the data in each cell or column with data types. Use column-level data types to customize your worksheets. Plus, with column-level data types, you can restrict what users can input to only the type and formatting of data you want.
For instance, set columns to currency and date data types in a sales tracking worksheet. Or set columns to the user, icon, and select data type for the owner, RGB, and status columns in your project plan.
How to Edit a Column's Data Type
There are multiple ways to edit the data type of a column, cell, or range of cells that are detailed in our set of articles on data types. Also, there are some unique behaviors when converting the data type of existing data to keep in mind. But, changing the data type of a column is easy and noted below.
Begin by selecting the column for which you want to change the data type. Right click on the column header or click the downward arrow to the right of the column name and select "Edit data type..." from the dropdown. Or, select the column for which you want to change the data type and click the Edit data type button from the menu bar above the formula bar.
Selecting either option will open the Update column dialog, where you can specify the new data type for the column and rename it, if you wish.
Each data type has its own configuration settings that can be applied to the column. Configure the column to your liking and click the blue Update button at the bottom of the dialog to complete the change. Your column will automatically update to reflect the new data type chosen.
Setting a Column to Strict
All Data types can have Strict enabled. Selecting the Strict checkbox in the Update column dialog for a column will restrict users to input only data that matches that data type.
Setting a column's data type to strict removes all data that does not match that data type.
Primary Column Data Type Restrictions
The primary column only supports alphanumeric data types. The data types that can be used in the primary column are:
- Automatic
- Text
- Number
- Currency
- Percent
- Date
- Date & time
- Duration
- URL
- Phone
- Autonumber
- Column formula
While editing the data type of the primary column, you can change its data type to other alphanumeric data types only. Conversely, a column with any of the following data types cannot be designated as a primary column: Attachment, Related row, User, Checkbox, Select, Multiselect, Rating, Icon set, Related row lookup, and System columns (like Updated by and Created at).
For more information on data types, including all of the data types available and their features, check out our Introduction to Data Types article or our suite of articles on Data Types.