Configuring Types and Attributes
How org admins define collaborator types and custom attributes to structure the database around the way their organization works.
Before your team can build collaborator records with structured data, an org admin needs to define the types and attributes that give the database its shape. Types determine what a record represents. Attributes determine what information gets captured for records of each type.
Both are configured directly inside the organization's Collaborators area. Inside that section, three tabs organize the workspace: Collaborators, Types, and Attributes. Type and attribute configuration happen in the second and third tabs.
Creating Attributes
Attributes are the custom fields that capture information about a collaborator. They're defined at the organization level, independent of any individual type, and then assigned to whichever types they apply to.
Open the Attributes tab to create a new attribute. Each attribute gets a name and a field type. Available field types are:
- Text: single-line text input
- Rich Text: formatted text with basic styling
- Number: numeric values
- Date: a date without a time component
- Date Time: a date with a time component
- Checkbox: a true/false toggle
- Link: a URL
- Select: a single choice from a list of options you define
- Multi-Select: multiple choices from a defined list
- File: a single file upload
- Multi-File: multiple file uploads
For Select and Multi-Select attributes, you define the available options when creating the attribute.
If an attribute already has values stored on any collaborator record, it cannot be deleted. The system will block the deletion with a notification. To stop using an attribute, remove it from the types that reference it. This hides it from new records without destroying any stored values.
Creating Types
Types are the categories that define what a collaborator record represents. Open the Types tab and create a type by giving it a name and choosing an icon.
New types start empty. No attributes are assigned until you configure them. Once a type exists, open it to manage which attributes appear on records of that type.
A type that currently has collaborator records assigned to it cannot be deleted. If you need to remove a type, reassign or delete any records that use it first.
Assigning Attributes to a Type
Open a type to configure which attributes appear on its records. From the type dialog, you can assign any of your organization's attributes to the type. Assigned attributes become fields on every record of that type.
Use drag-and-drop to set the display order of attributes within the type. That order is reflected when users open a collaborator record and fill in its details.
The same attribute can be assigned to multiple types simultaneously. A "Location" attribute assigned to both Venue and Vendor types means every record of either type carries that field, and the entire database becomes filterable by location across both types using a single shared definition.
Recommended Setup Sequence
The UI doesn't enforce a setup order. Admins can create types first, attributes first, or move back and forth as they refine their structure. In practice, starting with attributes makes the workflow smoother. Once your attributes exist, you can assign them to each type immediately as you create it, without switching tabs repeatedly.
Open the Collaborator Database
From the organization space, select the Collaborators tab at the top of the page to open the Collaborator Database.
Create your attributes
Open the Attributes tab and create the custom fields your organization needs. Think across all collaborator types, since attributes shared between types only need to be created once.
Create your types
Open the Types tab and create each collaborator category your organization works with.
Assign attributes to each type
Open each type and assign the relevant attributes. Drag to set the order they appear on records of that type.
Once types and attributes are in place, your team can start creating collaborator records. Records created without a type are valid entries in the database. They just won't display attribute fields until a type is assigned.