Design useful attributes

Attributes define the details an object stores. A project might have a name, status, budget, and target date. Each project record supplies its own values for those attributes.

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Choose the right type

Kato also supports types such as Location, Rating, Personal Name, and Formula. Use the options that fit your workflow; you do not need every type in every object.

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Add an attribute

In the object’s Attributes settings, choose Create attribute. Give it a clear name, select its type, and configure the options the type requires. For select attributes, use a short set of choices that the team understands. An attribute definition applies to the object. Its value belongs to an individual record. Adding a Budget attribute creates a place to store each project’s budget; it does not assign the same budget to every project.

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Example: add a project status

Use this example only if your object does not already have an attribute for the same purpose. The option names below are a suggested workflow, not required Kato defaults.

1. Open the object’s Attributes settings and choose Create attribute.
2. Set Attribute Type to Select and Name to Delivery status.
3. Add a description explaining how your team uses it, such as “The current stage of delivery, updated by the project lead.”
4. Under Options, add Planned, Active, and Complete. Give each a clear meaning before your team starts using it.
5. Review any Required setting. Require a value only if the person creating a record can reasonably supply it at that time.
6. Save the attribute. Open a project record and select Active.
7. Show the attribute in a view and confirm the value appears on the intended record.

Use Multi-Select when several options can apply at once, such as Design and Development services. A single current stage is usually easier to interpret as Select, where one option applies.

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Configure values for the work you do

For a budget, choose Currency and review the currency and decimal-place settings. A text field containing “five thousand” cannot serve the same purpose as a monetary value when you need consistent comparisons. For a date, distinguish a day-level target from a precise appointment. Use a date for “due on Friday” and a date/time value when a specific time is part of the fact. For a related client, use a link field instead of copying the client’s name into text. A text value may describe a client but does not establish a relationship with that client’s record.

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Troubleshoot an attribute

Changing the schema affects more than one record. Before removing an attribute, check which views and workflows use it and review the confirmation carefully.

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Keep the structure understandable

Use specific labels such as Target date instead of Date 2. Check whether an existing attribute already covers the information before adding another. Some system attributes are managed by Kato and cannot be edited or reordered like custom attributes. Automatically populated attributes may also be read-only.