# Properties

Properties are the fields a collection's pages share. The definition belongs to the collection; the values belong to each page. Use properties for what you want to filter, sort or group by, and the page body for everything else.

## Add a property

Open **Collection Settings...**, add a property, give it a name and pick a type. Fill in values on the page itself, above the text, or in a Table view.

*Properties sit above the text of the page.*

## Types

| Type | Holds | For example |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Text | A short text | Reference number |
| Number | A number | Hours, amount, rating |
| Choice | One of a fixed set of options | Status, priority |
| Date & Time | A date, with or without a time | Due date, meeting date |
| User | A workspace member | Owner, reviewer |
| Page Link | A link to another page | Project, customer |
| Tag | One or more tags | Topics |
| URL | A web address | Website |
| File | An attachment | Contract |
| Image | A picture | Cover image |
| Formula | A computed value | Hours times rate |

Pages also have built-in properties: title, collection, **Sub-page of**, icon, banner, and created and modified times.

## Choices

A Choice property has a list of options, each with a label and a color. Boards group by them, filters select by them, and you can add an option from the dropdown while filling in a page. Write down what each status means where the team will see it.

## Multiple values

Turn on **Allow multiple values** when a property needs more than one value: several reviewers, several related projects, several tags. Tag properties allow it by default. In formulas and plugins, read all the values with `record.users("Reviewers")` or `record.linkedRecords("Projects")`; the singular `record.linkedRecord()` returns only the first.

## Page links

A Page Link property (sometimes called a relation in database apps) connects a page to another page: each meeting to its project, each project to its customer. The linked page shows the connection in its backlinks, and a Related query can list everything that points at it. Use a page link when the relation is the same for every page in the collection, and an inline `@` link for the one-off mention in the text.

To limit a Page Link property to one kind of page, click the property in **Collection Settings... → Properties** and pick a collection under **Filter by Collection**. The property then only offers pages from that collection, and a title you type that doesn't exist yet becomes a new page there. A board grouped by the property can also group by a property of the linked page, such as meetings by the Status of their project. **Show all pages** removes the limit.

## What shows on the page

The property menu on a page switches between showing the filled-in properties, all of them, or a saved set. Property sets are defined in Collection Settings and chosen from the property menu on a page. Say you keep books and films in one Media collection, with Author, Pages, Director, Runtime and Rating as properties. A Books set shows Author, Pages and Rating; a Films set shows Director, Runtime and Rating. Open a book, pick Books, and the film properties are hidden.

Three more settings live next to the sets. **Pages open with** chooses what a page shows when it opens: filled-in properties, all of them, or a set. **Show when empty** keeps the properties you name visible even when they are blank, so Owner and Due date stay easy to fill in. **Compact display** puts properties on one row instead of a table. Which properties a view shows is separate and set per view.