Not every field needs to be shown when a record is created.
Some fields are filled automatically, others only become relevant later in the process. With show after creation, you can keep those fields out of the creation flow and show them only after the record has been created.
For example:
System-managed fields like unique ID, created on, or last modified by can stay hidden during creation, because they are generated by Tape and do not need user input.
Fields used for later process steps can appear only when they become useful.
Internal fields, automation fields, or reference fields can stay out of the way until the record is ready to be reviewed, assigned, enriched, or processed.
How to use it
Switch to the new record experience in one of your database apps
@Leo is there a reason why the Basic Block fields like text headings, boxes, or page dividers can’t use this show after creation feature?
Many of our use cases that we’re trying to use this ‘show after creation’ option are fields which are grouped in a box together. We can’t put this cool rule on the box unfortunately. Also, it’s also being funny and not letting us select multiple within the box. So we have to unbox, select the group, change that setting, and then put it back into a box and format it.
@Leo is there a reason that a field can’t be BOTH Show after creation AND Hide when empty?
I have fields that I want to hide during the creation process and also keep hidden if empty once the record is created.
Unfortunately current settings don’t allow this.
thank you so much for the feedback. That makes total sense.
The good news is: we already have this in mind, and the current behavior is intentional. Display options for fields are designed as quick shortcuts for the most commonly used display settings, similar to what was possible in Podio and other systems without needing to build a more complex layout setup.
These include:
Required
Always show
Show after creation
Hide if empty
View only
Always hidden
These options currently only apply to fields, because some of them are very field-specific. For example, “Required”, “Hide if empty” or “View only” naturally makes sense for a field, but not necessarily for a text heading, divider, or box.
For more advanced scenarios, we plan to extend Rules significantly. With Rules, you’ll be able to control any block based on the record state, for example whether the record is currently being created or already exists. This will also be important for things like tabs and more advanced layouts.
So the idea is:
Display options = quick field-level shortcuts for common use cases
Rules = advanced control for fields, boxes, headings, dividers, tabs, and other layout blocks
This will also allow combinations like showing something only after creation while still hiding it when empty.
In addition to Rules, it will also be possible to create dedicated layouts for record creation. This will make it even easier to handle cases where the creation experience and the view or edit experience should behave differently. So there will be multiple ways to achieve this, giving users maximum flexibility when building more advanced layouts.
We wanted to provide these Display options as shortcuts so users can already cover the most common use cases quickly, without needing to configure full Rules. Once the remaining field types are released, we’ll continue expanding these layout and rule capabilities based on priority.
Thanks again for pointing this out. This is exactly the kind of feedback that helps us prioritize the next improvements.
How to use it
Thank you.