Creating Entries

How to create new entries, add observations, and save or submit data.

Creating a New Entry

Click the + Entry button in the toolbar
A modal opens with the smarttable fields organized in sections/accordions
Fill in the required fields (marked as mandatory)
Optionally add remarks and attachments to individual fields
Click Save as Draft or Submit

Field Types

The complete reference — every value ui_smarttable_element actually accepts, with the exact JSON keys — lives on Field Types & Properties. Here's what you'll actually see while filling in an entry:

Type	Description
Text	Single-line text input. May have a file picker for server directory browsing.
Text Area	Multi-line text input.
Number	Numeric input with optional min/max validation and acceptance criteria.
Date	Date-only picker (no time component). Can default to today.
Month	Month/year picker, no day component — for fields like "Reporting Month" where a specific day doesn't apply.
Time	Despite the name, this renders a combined date and time picker, not time-only. Can default to the current timestamp.
Dropdown	Single-select dropdown from predefined options.
Multi-select	Select multiple values from a list.
Radio Buttons	Choose one option from a group, shown as radio circles.
Button Group	The same one-of-many choice as Radio Buttons, shown as a row of toggle buttons instead of radio circles.
Checkbox	Boolean true/false toggle.
Attachment	File upload field with configurable min/max attachment count.
Table	A group of the field types above, marked to repeat as multi-row data entry (Handsontable) instead of appearing once. Supports per-cell attachments, remarks, and barcode scanning.

Autofill Fields

Fields configured with autofill will show a searchable dropdown that pulls values from a related (relational) smarttable. When you select a value:

The selected value populates the current field
Any linked fields are automatically populated with corresponding values from the related smarttable

💡 Tip Autofill fields use a search-as-you-type dropdown. Start typing to filter available options from the relational smarttable.

Barcode Scanning

Fields configured for barcode scanning show a camera icon. Click it to:

Open the device camera for scanning
Or manually type the barcode value

Table Fields

Table fields provide a spreadsheet-like editing experience within the smarttable:

Add rows as needed
Each cell can have its own attachment and remark
Barcode scanning is supported per cell
Minimum row count can be enforced

Saving Options

Action	Behavior
Save as Draft	Saves the entry without submitting. You can continue editing later.
Submit	Saves and marks the entry as submitted. Validates all mandatory fields. Triggers notifications to configured recipients.
Autosave	If enabled, the entry is automatically saved at the configured interval (5s to 10m). The entry is locked to prevent conflicts.

ℹ️ Autosave Behavior When autosave is active, the entry shows a yellow "E" (Editing) badge in the table. Other users cannot edit it until you close the smarttable or an admin releases the lock.

Adding Observations

If the smarttable supports multiple observations (configured in settings):

Click the ➕ icon on an existing entry row
A new smarttable modal opens pre-filled with autofill values from the parent entry
Fill in the observation data and save

The observation count limit is set in SmartTable Settings. Once reached, the ➕ icon becomes disabled.

Default Values

Fields can have dynamic default values that auto-populate:

Current Timestamp — Fills with the current date/time on save
Logged-in User — Fills with the current user's name
Timer — Tracks time spent on the smarttable entry

Bulk Upload (Relational SmartTables)

For relational smarttables, you can upload multiple entries at once via Excel:

Click the Upload button
Select an .xlsx or .xls file
The system processes each row as a new entry
A summary shows total rows, successfully added, and failed rows