Prefer Video? Watch the Tutorial - Introduction to tabs.

A Block is just an empty container until you begin adding tabs to it. Tabs define how you will store your information. They are the fundamental structural component inside a Block, just like a table in a database. As a Builder, you will build the tab first, then build the fields that will be tracked on that specific tab.

Before you begin adding tabs to your block, it's important to plan ahead. Think through how you will structure the information in your Blocks so that you build the right tabs. Write your plan down on paper, or draw it on a whiteboard. Develop use cases to help flesh out your requirements.

Use this article to learn how to add and modify tabs.

Adding a new tab 

Step 1. To create your tab, first, open the Block where you want to add the tab, and click + Add tab in the left panel for that Block.  This option is visible only to builders. 

Step 2. In the Add new tab modal, style the tab by entering a NAME, RECORD NAME, and ICON that best represent the purpose of the tab: 

2a. The text you enter for NAME appears both as the tab name and at the top of the page body section when a list of records is displaying.

2b. For RECORD NAME, use a word that reflects a single instance of the things you are tracking.  This name appears at the top of the details page for a single record. 

When you first add a new tab, leave the RECORD IDENTIFIER field as is. This field may never become relevant, but you may want to change it after you've added fields to the tab.  

Step 3. Click Save to complete adding the tab to the Block.

Modifying a tab

Step 1. To modify an existing tab, first select the tab in the left panel. If you are a builder, the Action dropdown appears when you click the tab name, displaying the available actions.

Step 2. Edit Tab Properties 

2a. Select Edit tab properties to open the same modal that you used to create the tab. On this screen, you can make any desired changes, and then click Save to apply your changes.

2b. One change you may want to make after fields have been added to the tab is to update the RECORD IDENTIFIER. The value you configure for record identifier controls the display in various places in the Block, including in the header of each record.

2c. Another change you can make is to define the format of the first column in the spreadsheet view. The column can include either a page icon or the system ID.  Users can click the first column to load the details page for a specific record. This column is locked and is always visible when users scroll to the right in the spreadsheet. For this reason, if your tab has a lot of records, it may be helpful to use the system ID instead of the page icon in the first column.

2d. In the Edit tab properties modal, select the Show the system ID... check box if you want to show the system ID instead of the page icon in first column. Regardless of the configuration, users can click in this column to launch the details page for the record. 

Step 3. Move tab up / Move tab down

Use the Move tab up and Move tab down options to change the placement of the tab within the left panel for all users of the Block. Each time you click one of these options, the tab moves up or down one place, depending on which option you clicked. 

Step 4. Deleting a tab

You can delete a tab and all of the data associated with it. If you select Delete a tab and then confirm that you want to proceed, the data that was residing in the tab will be deleted and cannot be recovered. Users will be warned before proceeding and will need to confirm that they want to delete the tab.   

 🔔 Note: By default, only the first six tabs of a Block display. If more than six tabs exist, a More option appears in the left panel. Users can click More to expand the display to see more tabs.  When the view is expanded, users can collapse the view of the additional tabs by clicking Less. 

Prefer Video? Watch the Tutorial - Introduction to Tabs.