Collection types and custom fields

Comics need an issue number. Wine needs a vintage. Watches need a movement. KolleK does not guess what you collect, it lets you define it. This page explains the pieces: types, custom fields, and field groups.

Collection types

A collection type describes one kind of thing you collect: Comics, Vinyl Records, Wine. It is the container for the custom fields that make sense for that kind of thing.

Types are account wide and reusable. Define a Comics type once, and any collection in your account can enable it. A collection can enable several types at once, which suits mixed collections: Noah's "Music" collection enables both Vinyl Records and CD, so each item can be catalogued as one or the other.

When an item is given a type, its form grows the custom fields that type defines.

Custom fields

A custom field is one detail a type asks for. Each field has a type of its own:

• Text, for anything free form, such as Publisher or Artist.
• Number, for Issue # or Release Year.
• Date, for a cover date.
• Yes / No, for Signed or First Edition.
• Select, a dropdown with options you define, such as a Grade of PSA 10, PSA 9, or Raw.
• Rating, up to five stars, for your personal "My Rating".

The values are recorded per item. Emma's "Amazing Spider-Man #1" has Issue # 1 and Publisher Marvel; her other comics share the same fields with their own values.

Field groups

When a type has many fields, field groups keep the form readable. A group is just a named section: the ready made Comics type groups its fields under "Publishing info" and "Condition and grading". Long forms read as tidy sections instead of one endless list.

The ready made types

A fresh account ships with a dozen ready made types so you are not starting from a blank page: Comics, Trading Cards, Vinyl Records, CD, DVD, Coins, Stamps, Books, Action Figures / Toys, Video Games, Watches, and Wine, each with sensible fields already grouped. Use them as they are, adjust them, or ignore them and build your own.

Where to next

• Build or adjust a type step by step in Set up collection types and custom fields.
• Share a type definition with someone in Import and export a collection type.
• See fields in action in Add and edit items.