Each column has a type that describes the values it contains. Column types can be Text, Number, Date/Time or Location. The type is automatically detected by Fusion Tables when a file is imported, and in most cases you won't need to worry about the type.
Change column type
You must be the owner or editor of a table in order to change the column type. Columns in views and merged tables will inherit the underlying column type.
To change the type of a column in the New look:
- Make sure you're looking at Rows.
- Click the dropdown menu triangle next to the column's name and choose Change from the menu.
- Choose the new column type from the Type dropdown.
To change the type of a column in Classic:
- Choose Edit > Modify columns
- Select the column from the list
- Choose the new column type from the Type dropdown.
Types of columns
Text: The default type. When text is a URL, Fusion Tables will often automatically format it to display a hyperlink or image in the table.
Number: Integers or decimal numbers. The second column of a "two-column location" is often number column. In some cases, for example with United States zip codes, changing a column from Number to Text may give better results.
Date/Time: Dates can be sorted and filtered appropriately when the column is Date/Time. In some cases, for example with four-digit years, it may be easier to make the column type Number or Text.
Location: This column type indicates that the information in this column describes a location. The description might be a name of a place, an address, a latitude-longitude pair, or even KML. A location column is required for map visualizations.
If you have locations defined by data in more than one column, see Combine multi-column locations.