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How Knack Works
Design Your Database
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Workflow
Connect Related Data
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Calculations & Logic
Emails & Notifications
Search & Queries
Reporting & Dashboards
E-Commerce & Payments
Builder Guide
Builder Basics
Tables & Connections
Plan Your Connections: Complex Example
Working With Tables
About Connections
Plan Your Connections: Simple Example
Connection Types
Plan Your Tables
Use Connections in Your App
Connecting Records Together
Special Tables
Connections: Troubleshooting & FAQs
Fields
Numeric Equation Functions
Field Types
Validation Rules
Date Equation Settings
Numeric Equation Settings
Formulas
Equations
Conditional Rules
Text Formulas
About Fields
Text Formula Functions
Records
CSV Format Guide for Importing
Delete Records
Import Records
Export Records
Importing Connections
Working with Records
Batch Updates
Pages
Page Menu
User Pages
Deleting a Page That's Being Linked to
Working with Pages
Navigating the Page Preview
Printing Pages & PDFs
Page Rules
Views
Grid Column Settings
Maps
Source: Which Records Will the View Display
Calendars
Grid Settings
Details
Menus
Using Action Links
Reports
Lists
Rich Text
Combining Fields from Connected Records in Views
Using Record Rules
Forms
Using Display Rules
About Views
Using Submit Rules
Searches
Grids
Users & Logins
Users and the Page Menu
Manage Roles & Permissions
Single Sign-On with Google, Facebook, Twitter, and Custom
Manage User Records
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About Users
Live App Security Settings: HIPAA Plans
Live App Security Settings
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FAQ
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Accounts
How do I cancel my Knack account?
I'm over the storage limit for my account. How do I add more storage or get under the limit?
Need account access or to transfer account access because account owner or colleague left the company
I'm over the record limit for my account. How do I add more records or get under the limit?
Is there an option to pay via invoice, check, wire transfer, or something other than a credit card?
How do I freeze or pause my Knack account?
Where can I find a copy of my receipt or invoice?
How do I add more API calls to my account?
Managing Apps
How do I change the favicon for my app?
How do I backup or export my apps and data?
How can I track what users are doing in my app?
How do I remove the "Powered by Knack" logo at the bottom of my app?
How do I give Builder access to a colleague or developer for one of my apps?
How do I white label my app?
How do I copy an app from my account to another account?
App Building
How do I show multiple dates on a calendar?
How do I add a logo to my app?
How do I find the most recent date from a connected table?
How do I create a field that always shows today's date?
Can I share or connect data between apps?
How do I create an "If, Then" or conditional equation?
How do I merge my apps, or copy pages, tables, or other app elements between my apps?
The menu isn't showing for my app on mobile devices. How do I fix that?
Is there a way to have new users be automatically logged-in after they register?
How do I bulk upload or import multiple files?
How do I move or copy fields or data from one table to another?
How can I show a customer's payment history if I'm collecting payments through my Knack app and through cash or check?
Is there a way to add a display rule to multiple columns at one time instead of having to update each column individually?
Do I need a separate user role table for my Vendors, Customers, Employees, Contacts, etc.?
How can I set up my app so users see only their own data?
Can I combine two date fields into a single date field? For example, combining a start and end date into a single field?
Does Knack offer a service for building apps or have developers I can hire?
How do I bulk upload or import multiple images?
How can I change the color of something in my app?
Is it possible to display more than 100 records at a time on a grid, list, or search view?
Can I?
Can I migrate or transfer data from Zoho, Quickbase, or TrackVia?
Can I add chat or messaging to my app?
Can I sell my Knack apps?
Can I use Knack on mobile devices?
Do you have a sandbox or developer environment?
Can I send SMS or text messages using Knack?
Can I integrate Knack with other data, products, and services?
Can I create invoices and accept payments?
Can I have an app in a language besides English?
Can I email PDFs or other attachments to users with Knack?
Can I add Google Analytics to my Knack app?
Can I migrate my Access, Filemaker, SQL, or other databases?
Can I prototype for others?
Can I customize the look and feel of my Knack pages?
Can I use a barcode or credit card scanner with Knack?
Other
How secure is Knack?
Does the signature captured through a signature field constitute a legally binding signature?
Does Knack offer a partner program?
How does Knack work on mobile devices? Is it mobile-friendly? Can users download my apps?
Is Knack GDPR compliant?
Storing sensitive data (credit cards, social security numbers, etc.)
Will Knack sign an NDA (Non-Disclosure Agreement)?
Which browsers do you support?
How do I batch download all of the images and files In my app?
Imports
I'm seeing an odd character when importing data. How can I get rid of it?
How do I update existing data using an import?
My import is failing or getting stuck. What do I do?
Can I undo or reverse an import?
I'm having trouble importing into a specific type of field. What can I do?
Some of my fields aren't importing correctly. How can I fix that?
I'm having trouble importing into a connection field. What can I do?
Can I import something other than data? Like tables, pages, views, etc?
My import is taking a long time. Can you take a look?
I'm getting an error when importing. What do I do?
Do the validation rules on fields trigger when importing data?
Can I schedule or automate imports?
Can my users import data from the live app, instead of going through the builder/back-end?
I am importing data for the first time. How do I do that?
Can I import data into more than one table at the same time?
How To Guides
Add Functionality to Your Live App
How To Create Discount Codes
Create an Add To Favorites Feature
How to Access Private Records Without a Login
Accept Payments in a Live App
Manage Your Records
Use an Edit Form to Create Records If They Don't Exist
Track Which User Last Updated a Record
Copy a Record Using Record Rules
Track When Records are Created and Updated
Create a Version History for Records
Use Zapier to Insert Connected Records
Work with Connected Records
How to Show Multiple Fields in Your Connection Drop-Down
Showing Parent-Child Records in the Live App
Forms
How to Create Dynamic Dropdowns in Forms
Add Read-Only Fields to a Form
How to Change the Layout of Forms
Create a Multi-Part Form
How to Allow Users to Add New Options in Forms
How to Add Instructions to a Form
How to Customize the Text on a Submit Button
How to Automatically Capture a User’s Location on a Form
How to Use URL Variables to Pre-Populate a Form
Customize Views
How to Add a Map to a Details View
How to Add Connection Links to Views
How to Add Inline Editing to a Grid
Create a Print-Friendly Invoice Page
How to Click on an Image to Go to Another Page
How to Add Groupings to a Grid
Users & Logins
Force Users to Reset Their Passwords
Save a User's Payment Method
Create a Single Login Page for Multiple User Roles
Add Read-Only Access For Users
Show Records Connected To The Logged-in User's Company Or Other Group
Show Records Connected to the Logged-in User
Create an Admin User Role to View All Records
Workflow & Automations
Add a Pipeline to Your App
Create a Registration Form with Limited Availability
Add Stages to Your App
Store Multiple Images or Files for Individual Records
Use Multiple Image Sources for a Single Image Field
Create a Button or Link that Updates a Field to a Custom Value
Notify a User That an Item is Ready for Review
Add Assignments to Your App
Using Mailchimp
Approve New Records Before Displaying Them
Workflow Tools
Add Notification & Reminder Emails to Your App
Add Status Indicators to Your App
Logic, Equations & Formulas
Start an Auto Increment Field from Any Number
Display a Message When a Deadline is Approaching
Generate Simple Numeric Barcodes Automatically
How to Set a Random ID
Calculate Age in Years from a Birthday
How To Number Line Items
Show Upcoming Birthdays
How to Extract the Start and End Dates from a Date/Time Field
How to Display Multiple Date Formats Using a Single Date Field
Reports, Queries, and Summaries
App Walkthroughs
Build an Inventory Manager App
Build a Quiz App
Build a Warehouse Manager App
Build a Member Directory
Build an Orders App
Build a Map Directory or Store Locator App
Images & Files
Manage Your Account
Manage Your Account
About Knack Accounts
Account Plans and Billing
Managing Your Apps
Managing Your Account Settings
Sharing Apps With Shared Builders
App Settings: Map Provider
Script Attack Protection: Whitelisted Custom Code Elements and Attributes
Script Attack Protection: Protected Areas
Security & Infrastructure
Security Best Practices
Knack Status
Data Locations
Builder Security Settings for All Knack Plans
Builder Two-Factor Authentication
Performance
Table of Contents
- All Categories
- Builder Guide
- Fields
- About Fields
About Fields
Updated
by Lesley
What are Fields?
Knack uses tables and fields to structure your data.
Fields are used to define specific attributes of a table. You can think of a field like a spreadsheet column. You'll want to add a field for each attribute you want to store for your table.
Where do I access fields?
Fields are accessed from the Data section in the Builder, in the Toolbox, by selecting the table where you want the field to be placed. The fields for that table are listed in the center column:
Manage Fields
Add a Field
To add a field, click the “Add Field” button at the top when viewing an table and select a field type. Click here for more on the different field types.
First, give your field a name.
Field types are grouped like so:
- Text: Short Text, Paragraph Text, Rich Text, Text Formula
- Number: Number, Currency, Equation, Auto Increment, and Formulas
- Choice: Multiple Choice and Yes/No
- Date: Date/Time and Timer
- File: File, Image
- Personal: Name, Email, Address, Phone, Signature
- Other: Rating, Link, Signature, Connection
- Connection: Look-up
Edit a Field
From the "Data" section in the Builder, select the table where you want to edit your field. To edit, click on the field or click the More Options menu (the “...” icon) and select “Settings” from the dropdown:
This will bring you to the field options.
Convert the Field Type
You can click on the field type text on the left and change (convert) the field type.
For example, if you change a field’s type from from short text to link, Knack will use the short text for the URL component of the link field.
But if you change a field from paragraph text to a file, Knack has no way to migrate that data, so that field’s data will be cleared for each record.
You’ll receive a message in green when you select a field type that’s compatible with the existing field type and a warning message in red when the field type isn’t compatible:
Delete a Field
From the "Data" section in the Builder, select the table where you want to delete your field. To delete, click the More Options menu (the “...” icon) and select “Delete” from the dropdown. You will be asked to confirm before the field is deleted.
Move a Field
Click and drag any field up and down to change the order it will appear in.
Copy a Field
Fields in an table can be copied by clicking the More Options menu (the “...” icon) next to the table’s name and selecting the "Copy" option:
You'll be given the option to copy the fields from that table to a new or existing table. In order to copy the fields into the same table, select the Existing table option and select the table from the dropdown:
Then you can select which fields you want to be copied:
Click here for more information on copying tables and fields.
Field Settings & Rules
Field Settings
Every field type has different settings options. Click here for more on the different field settings available.
Field Keys
Every field in your app has a unique field key, such as field_1. Field keys can be viewed and searched from the Data section of the Builder.
To show field keys, click the id icon in the top navigation to display the field key below the field names. This will also enable searching by field key from the keyword search in the Builder.

Validation Rules
Validation rules are used to prevent bad data input from your users. Read more about validation rules.
Conditional Rules
Conditional rules are used to set a field’s value based on values for other fields. Read more about conditional rules.
Use Fields in Your App
Fields can be used in a couple of different ways in your app.
Using Fields in the Builder
In the Records section of the Builder, all fields and their associated values are displayed. See the Working with Records article for details on how to edit the field value in a record.
Using Fields in the Live App
For any view created based on an table, that table's fields are accessible within that view. See the About Views article for information on how to set up views to display your field's values. The Live App's display of your field's values is also addressed in that article.
Notes & Troubleshooting
Order of Execution on Validation Rules & Conditional Rules
Validation rules are run before conditional rules on a field when a record is added or edited.
Connection fields
Connection fields are a special field type and are detailed in our Connecting Records Together article.