A Time field holds a time of day with no date attached. Think of the time printed on a schedule: 02:00 every night, whatever the date.

Here is the test: is the answer a clock time that repeats, with no date? If yes, you want a Time field. For a point on the calendar, use a Date field. For a length of time, use a Duration field.

Example: a Systems table with a field called Daily Backup Time. Each system records when its nightly backup runs. The operations lead checks that every backup finishes before the business day starts.

The Daily Backup Time field in a system record, showing 2:00 AM with the clock icon beside the label.

The field settings panel opens. It has three tabs: Settings, Defaults and Help Text. There is no AI Field Agent tab. The rest of this article takes them in that order. Save at any point with Add Field (or Update Field on a field that already exists) and come back to the other tabs later.

The field settings panel, Settings tab, with the Display Format preview, the note about the user's profile and the Require an entry switch.

The Settings tab is short. Top to bottom: Display Format and Options.

A preview of the current time in your own format, such as 8:29 PM. There is nothing to choose. A note under it reads "Times are displayed in the format that has been defined in each User's Profile."

One switch, off to start.

Require an entry in this field. On, the field shows a Required label and a record cannot be saved until a time is entered. The field turns red with the message "Time is required". Turn it on for Daily Backup Time, because a system with no backup time is a system nobody has checked.

Default Time is the time every new record starts with. The box reads HH:MM until you type one.

Daily Backup Time defaults to 02:00, the standard backup window. Most systems keep it, and the exceptions are changed by hand.

A note for the person filling in the record, up to 800 characters. Help Text Appearance shows it As A Tooltip (the default, behind an info icon next to the field name) or Below The Field Name (always visible).

Write it for someone who has never seen the field. For Daily Backup Time: "The time the nightly backup starts, in the system's own time zone. Type 14:30 for an afternoon time."

Field Permissions. Every field can carry its own permissions, which control who can see the field and who can edit it. Open the column menu and select Edit Field Permissions. Let Operations edit Daily Backup Time while everyone else reads it. See Field Permissions.

Dynamic Record Permissions. A Time field can also drive record-level rules: who can see or edit a record based on the value it holds. Every field type except Button can drive a rule. See Dynamic Record Permissions.

In a record, select the field and a list opens in 15-minute steps: 12:00 AM, 12:15 AM, 12:30 AM and so on. Pick one, or type in the box under the list. Typing filters the list, and Enter sets the time. In Grid View, double-click the cell and the record opens with the same picker. The saved value shows centered in the cell.

The field converts common forms. Type 1pm and it stores 1:00 PM. Type 115 and it stores 1:15 AM, because a time with no "pm" is read as morning. Type 13:00 and it stores 1:00 PM, which 24-hour members see as 13:00. A value that is not a time, such as 25:00, is cleared rather than saved. The time is stored as a plain clock time: 14:30 written is 14:30 read back, in a record and in a formula.

The time picker in a record, with the 15-minute list and the typed value 2:00 AM filtering it.

The operators are equal to, not equal to, greater than, less than, equal to or greater than, equal to or less than, is empty and is not empty. "Daily Backup Time is equal to or greater than 5:00 AM" lists the backups that run into the business day. Spotlight uses the same operators, and Find searches the times.

Group by this Field puts one group per time, plus (Empty). Systems that back up at the same time sit together, so a crowded backup window is easy to see.

Sort 1 → 9 or 9 → 1 from the column menu. Sort 1 → 9 puts empty values first, then the earliest time to the latest.

The field works in Lookup fields, in the filters of Lookup, Count and Rollup fields, and on the cards of Linked Record fields. A Lookup on a Backup Jobs table shows each job's system time beside the job.

A formula reads the time as text, such as 14:30. The text functions work: CONCAT, TEXT, LEFT and LENGTH, as do IS_NOT_NULL, IFNONE and = comparisons. HOUR, MINUTE and DATEADD do not accept a Time field. See Formula Field.

An Update records or Create a record action can write the field. A condition can test it: equals, not equals, changes and is empty. See Automation Actions explained.

A Time field can be placed on a form. See Form View.

Change a time. Open the record, select the field, pick from the list or type, then save the record.

Clear a time. Select the x in the box under the list, then save.

Make it required. Open Modify Field Settings, turn on Require an entry in this field, then Update Field.

Change the field type. The dropdown at the top of the panel turns a Time field into Text, Text Area or SmartDoc. See Changing a Field's Type.

Delete the field. Open the column menu and select Delete Field. The times go with it. Deleted fields sit in the Recycle Bin for 30 days.

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Last verified 1 Nov 2026.