Field types

These are the values create_field() and ensure_field() accept as type, and what each type takes and returns. Quickbase refuses any other type with BadRequestError. To create fields, see Changing the schema.

tasks = qb.app("bq1234567").table("Tasks")

tasks.create_field("Start Date", "date")
tasks.create_field("Priority", "text-multiple-choice", choices=["Low", "High"])

Text types

type	Holds	Write	Reads as	Empty reads as	Takes a formula
text	One line of text	str	str	""	Yes
text-multiple-choice	One choice	str	str	""	Not tested
text-multi-line	Several lines of text	str	str	""	No
rich-text	Text containing HTML	str	str	""	Not tested
multitext	Several choices	list[str]	list[str]	[]	Not tested
email	An email address	str	str	""	Yes
url	A link	str	str	""	Yes
phone	A phone number	str	str, formatted by Quickbase: 5551234567 reads as (555) 123-4567	""	Not tested

An empty text field reads as "", not None, so check for it with if not value.

Number types

type	Holds	Write	Reads as	Empty reads as	Takes a formula
numeric	A number	float or int	float	None	Yes
currency	An amount of money	float or int	float	None	Yes
percent	A percentage: write 0.5 and it reads as 0.5	float or int	float	None	Yes
rating	A rating	float or int	float	None	Yes
duration	A length of time, in milliseconds	Whole milliseconds as an int, or a timedelta. A fraction raises InvalidValueError, as Quickbase would drop it	int	None	Yes

In a query, numbers mean the same as when writing, though Quickbase reads them differently, so F converts them: F("Done") >= 0.5 is 50%, and F("Budget") > timedelta(hours=8) or > 28_800_000 is 8 hours. A hand-written string is sent as written, where Quickbase compares a percent in whole percent, {f.GTE.'50'}, and needs a duration as text, {f.GT.'8 hours'}.

A blank number can read as 0 in a formula, so IsNull([Hours]) was false for an empty Hours field made through the API. See API notes.

Date and time types

type	Holds	Write	Reads as	Empty reads as	Takes a formula
date	A date	date	date	None	Yes
datetime	A date and time. The field then reports its type as timestamp	Timezone-aware datetime	Timezone-aware datetime	None	Yes
timestamp	The same as datetime	Timezone-aware datetime	Timezone-aware datetime	None	No: use datetime
timeofday	A time of day	str, such as 13:30:00	str	""	Yes

Other types

type	Holds	Write	Reads as	Empty reads as	Takes a formula
checkbox	True or false	bool	bool	False, so empty and unchecked look the same	Yes
user	One Quickbase user	A User, or {"id": ...}	User	None	Not tested
multiuser	Several users	A list of User, or of {"id": ...}	A list of User	[]	Not tested
file	An attachment	FileUpload	FileAttachment	None	Not tested
address	An address, as display text	Read-only: write its subfields	str	""	Not tested

A query only returns a table's default fields unless you pass select, and built-in fields such as Record Owner may not be among them.

Types you can't create

Fields of these types exist, but create_field() refuses them:

• recordid is the built-in Record ID# field.
• dblink is the list of child records that a relationship adds to the parent.

Field settings

properties holds any other settings, and is sent as it is. Quickbase refuses a key it doesn't know with BadRequestError, rather than ignoring it. These were accepted and kept, and Quickbase has more:

Key	Tested on	Example
decimalPlaces	numeric	2
doesTotal	numeric	True
currencySymbol	currency	"€"
maxLength	text	10
defaultValue	text	"Open"
comments	text	"A note about this field"
numLines	text-multi-line	3
appearsAs	url	"Link"
allowNewChoices	text-multiple-choice	False, so a value outside choices is refused. It's on by default
sortAsGiven	text-multiple-choice	True

tasks = qb.app("bq1234567").table("Tasks")

budget = tasks.create_field("Budget", "numeric", properties={"decimalPlaces": 2})
print(budget.decimal_places, budget.raw["properties"])

decimalPlaces only changes how a number is displayed: Quickbase still stores 1.5 in a field set to 0 places. Field.raw holds everything Quickbase returned for a field, including settings the SDK has no attribute for.

A few settings go beside properties rather than inside it, and Quickbase refuses them inside it. create_field(), update_field(), and ensure_field() take them as arguments:

Argument	Quickbase's name	What it does
help_text	fieldHelp	Help shown beside the field on forms. Field.help_text reads it back
bold	bold	Shows the field's values in bold
no_wrap	noWrap	Keeps the field's values on one line
find_enabled	findEnabled	Includes the field in Quickbase's search box
appears_by_default	appearsByDefault	Returns the field from a query without select
add_to_forms	addToForms	Adds the field to the table's forms. Only create_field() takes it, as Quickbase never reports it

tasks.create_field("Priority", "text", help_text="High, Medium, or Low", bold=True)
tasks.update_field("Priority", find_enabled=False)