Customize columns
Three locked default columns plus your own custom columns, configured per section.
Column customization is per section. The Vanities section of a Cabinets sheet can have a completely different column set from the Kitchen base cabinets section in the same sheet. Customizing one doesn't touch the other.
Read columns for the full mental model.
Default columns
Every section has three columns that are always present and can't be removed or moved out of the leftmost positions:
- Item, the row's label.
- Notes, a free-text field for per-item context.
- Classification, used to tag rows (e.g. "Standard", "Upgrade", "Owner supplied").
Everything else is customizable.
Open the modal
Open a spec sheet.
Find the section you want to customize.
Click Columns on the section header.
The change applies to this section only. Other sections in the same sheet, and the same section in any other project, are unaffected.
First time customizing a section
The first time you open the modal for a section, the editable column list is pre-filled with the category's starter set (e.g. Brand, Model, Finish/Colour for Plumbing). You can keep them, edit their labels, change their types, delete the ones you don't need, or add new ones.
Until you save, the section keeps using the starter set automatically.
Add a custom column
In the modal, click + Add column.
Fill in:
- Label, what users see in the header.
- Type, Text, Long text, Number, Date, Dropdown, Checkbox, Autocomplete.
- For Dropdown: list the options. Empty option lists are not allowed.
- For Autocomplete: pick a Source category, the catalogue kind the column should pull suggestions from. All default and custom kinds in the workspace appear in the picker. Cells still accept free-text values that aren't in the catalogue.
- Optional: Required flag, required columns block the Mark complete action until filled.
- Optional: Placeholder hint shown in empty cells.
Click Save at the bottom of the modal.
Reorder columns
Drag editable columns up and down within the modal. The order applies to every item in the section. The three locked defaults stay leftmost.
Edit a custom column
Click the column in the editable list to change its label, type, options, or required flag. Changing a column's type is restricted, converting Text to Number, for example, requires the existing values to be numeric.
Delete a custom column
Click the column's trash icon. Confirm, deleting a column removes its values from every item in this section.
Deleting a column erases its data. Once you save, the values are gone. Add a new column with the same name later if you want it back, but the old values won't return.
Templates
Per-section column setups are captured by templates. Saving a customized project as a template propagates each section's column set to future projects created from it.
Tips
- Get the columns most relevant to your team's workflow into the leftmost positions of the editable list.
- Don't go overboard. Five or six custom columns per section keeps the editor scannable. For richer per-item context, use the Notes column.
- Different sections within the same category can diverge as much as you want. Vanities might only need Brand and Finish; Kitchen base cabinets might need Brand, Model, Width, Soft-close, and Drawer count.