Field summaries in Grid View

Field summaries in Baserow transform raw data into instant insights; calculating totals, averages, and statistics automatically at the bottom of each column so you understand your data at a glance without formulas or exports.

This guide explains how to use field summaries (footer aggregations) to calculate and display totals, averages, counts, and other statistical insights at the bottom of Grid View columns.

Overview

Field summaries display calculated values in the footer row at the bottom of Grid View columns, providing instant statistical insights about your data. These calculations update automatically as your data changes, giving you real-time analytics without creating separate calculation fields or exporting to spreadsheets.

Each field type offers contextually relevant summary options; number fields calculate sums and averages, date fields show earliest and latest dates, boolean fields count checked items, and text fields count unique values. You can apply different summaries to different fields, creating a dashboard-like footer that answers key questions about your table instantly.

Summaries respect active filters and sorts, meaning they calculate based on visible rows only. This dynamic behavior lets you analyze filtered subsets without changing your table structure or creating duplicate views.

Field summaries in Baserow Grid View

When to use field summaries

Financial tracking: Display total revenue, average order value, or count of paid invoices instantly at the bottom of your sales table.

Project management: Show total hours logged, count of incomplete tasks, or percentage of completed items across your team.

Inventory management: Calculate total stock quantity, count items below reorder point, or show the most recent stock update date.

Data quality monitoring: Identify empty fields needing completion, count unique customers, or find outlier values with min/max.

Performance analysis: Track average ratings, median response times, or standard deviation to understand data distribution.

How to add a field summary

Apply summaries to any field in Grid View through the footer row.

To add a summary:

  1. Open your table in Grid View
  2. Scroll to the bottom of your table to see the footer row
  3. Hover over the footer cell beneath the field you want to summarize
  4. Click the footer cell to open the summary menu
  5. Select your desired summary function from the list
  6. The calculated value appears immediately in the footer

To change a summary: Click the footer cell again and select a different summary option. The value updates instantly.

To remove a summary: Click the footer cell and select “None”.

Summary types by field category

Lookup fields do not support summaries. For lookup data analysis, create a rollup field with aggregation instead.

Universal options: None, Empty, Filled, Percent empty, Percent filled, Unique, and Distribution summary options.

Summary options for text and selection fields

Text fields (Single line text, Long text, Email, URL, Phone number), selection fields (Single select, Multiple select), and file fields offer data quality summaries, completeness tracking:

Summary Calculates Example use
Empty Count of blank cells Missing information tracking
Filled Count of populated cells Data entry progress, Records with values, completed entries
% Empty Percentage blank Data quality score
% Filled Percentage populated Completion percentage
Unique Distinct values Customer count, category count, Number of different values

Link-to-table, Multiple select and File fields don’t support Unique and Distribution summaries.

Summary options for count, number and rating fields

Number, Count, Rollup and rating fields offer comprehensive statistical calculations:

Summary Calculates Example use
Sum Total of all values Total revenue, total hours
Average Mean value Average order value, average rating
Median Middle value Typical salary (ignores outliers)
Min Smallest value Lowest price, minimum inventory
Max Largest value Highest price, maximum capacity
Std Deviation Spread around mean Data variability, quality consistency
Variance Squared deviation Statistical analysis, risk assessment

Duration fields don’t support Variance, Std Deviation, Average and Median summaries.

Summary options for date and time fields

Date, Created On, and Last Modified fields show temporal boundaries:

Summary Calculates Example use
Earliest Date Oldest date in field Project start date, first customer
Latest Date Newest date in field Most recent activity, latest update

Summary options for boolean fields

Boolean (checkbox) fields track checked vs. unchecked states, completion tracking, binary analysis:

Summary Calculates Example use
Checked Count of checked boxes Completed tasks, active items
Unchecked Count of unchecked boxes Pending tasks, inactive items
% Checked Percentage checked Completion rate, adoption rate
% Unchecked Percentage unchecked Remaining work, gap analysis

Use case: Track project completion by showing “% Checked” on a “Task Complete” boolean field; instantly see 73% of tasks are done.

How summaries work with filters and groups

Summaries with active filters

Field summaries calculate based on visible rows only. When you apply filters, summary values automatically update to reflect the filtered subset:

This dynamic behavior lets you analyze filtered data without creating separate views or manual calculations.

Summaries with grouped rows

When using row grouping, summaries calculate across all visible rows in the view, not per group. The footer shows one aggregate value for the entire filtered dataset.

For group-level summaries, each group header displays its own row count, but statistical summaries appear only in the main footer.

Field summaries in public views

When you share a Grid View publicly, any field summaries you’ve configured display to public viewers automatically. This helps present key metrics without exposing full datasets.

Field summaries in public Grid Views

Privacy consideration: Only summaries you’ve explicitly configured appear publicly; there are no default summaries, so you control exactly what metrics public viewers see.

Use case: Share a product inventory view publicly showing “Total Products (Count)” and “Average Price” without revealing individual product margins or costs.

Frequently asked questions

Can I use field summary values in formulas or calculations?

No, field summaries are display-only calculations in the Grid View footer. They can’t be referenced in formula fields or other calculations. To use aggregated values in formulas, create a Rollup field that performs the aggregation at the data layer.

Do field summaries calculate on all rows or just visible rows?

Field summaries calculate on visible rows only; respecting active filters, sorts, and search results. This dynamic behavior lets you analyze subsets of your data by filtering first, then viewing the summary of filtered results.

Can I show different summaries in different views of the same table?

Yes, field summaries are view-specific. You can configure “Sum” in one Grid View, “Average” in another view, and no summary in a third view; all for the same field in the same table.

Why can’t I add summaries to my lookup field?

Lookup fields display data from linked tables and don’t support direct summaries. Instead, create a Rollup field that aggregates the data from the linked table; rollups support all aggregation functions like sum, average, count, etc.

No, field summaries are exclusive to Grid View. Other view types don’t display the footer row where summaries appear. If you need summary data in other views, consider creating formula fields or rollup fields that display the aggregated values.

How do I export field summary values along with my data?

Field summaries don’t export with data; they’re calculations displayed in the view interface only. To include aggregated values in exports, create formula fields or rollup fields that calculate at the data layer, then export the table including those calculated fields.

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