Column types

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:

1. Make sure you're looking at Rows.
2. Click the dropdown menu triangle next to the column's name and choose Change from the menu. 
3. Choose the new column type from the Type dropdown. 

To change the type of a column in Classic:

1. Choose Edit > Modify columns
2. Select the column from the list
3. 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.