Create, rename and delete a table

Make one table for each kind of thing you keep records of. You can start with an empty table and add fields, or start from a spreadsheet file (see Import records).

Create a table

1. Choose Data in the sidebar and pick the database's tab.
2. Choose New, then Table.
3. Type a Name. Sterodata suggests one that is not taken yet.
4. Check the Database the table goes into.
5. Under Start with, pick A Name column and a Notes column or A Name column only.
6. Choose Create. The new table opens, ready for fields and records.

Each table in a database needs a name of its own. Names that differ only in capital letters or accents count as the same name.

Every table also keeps four fields of its own, hidden at first: Created by, Created at, Updated by and Updated at. See Who created and changed a record.

Rename a table

1. Open the table and click its name at the top of the grid.
2. Choose Rename table.
3. Type the new name and press Enter.

A rename changes only the name people see. The table keeps its records, its fields, its links from other tables and who may open it.

The table's address in your browser holds its name, so a link to the table that someone copied before the rename no longer opens it. Send the new address.

Delete a table

1. Open the table and click its name at the top of the grid.
2. Choose Delete table.
3. Choose Delete to confirm.

The table and its records move to the trash. A message says so for a few seconds, with Undo to put it straight back. After that, restore it from the trash within 30 days: see The trash.

To delete several tables at once, choose the ⋮ beside New, then Select tables, tick the tables, and choose the delete icon.

If anything still uses the table, such as a view, a page, a form, an automation or a field of another table, Sterodata deletes nothing. It lists what uses it, each with Open, so you can take the table out of those first.

Only tables kept in Sterodata go to the trash. Deleting a table of a connected database, a Dynamic table or a Summary cannot be undone.