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Table metadata settings control how Metabase displays and interprets your database tables and columns. These settings only affect Metabase’s interface—they never modify your actual database.
Admin users can grant table metadata permissions to other groups, allowing them to customize how data appears in Metabase.

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Accessing metadata settings

Table metadata settings are available in the admin panel.
1

Open admin settings

Click the grid icon in the upper right and select Admin
2

Go to Table Metadata

Click the Table Metadata tab
3

Navigate to your table

Use the search box or tree navigation to find your database and table

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Table settings

Customize how tables appear and behave in Metabase.

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Table name and description

Click the table name box to edit how it appears throughout Metabase. Use friendly names instead of technical database names (e.g., “Customers” instead of “dim_customer”)
Add context about what data the table contains and when to use it. Descriptions appear in the data reference and tooltips, helping users find the right table

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Table visibility

Control whether tables appear in the query builder and data reference. To hide a table:
  1. Find the table in the left sidebar navigation
  2. Click the eye icon next to the table name
To hide all tables in a database:
  1. Find the database in the left sidebar
  2. Click the eye icon next to the database name
Table visibility is not a security feature. Hidden tables don’t appear in the query builder, but users with SQL access can still query them with statements like SELECT * FROM hidden_table. For true data access control, use data permissions.

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Table sorting

Control the order of columns in your table:
  • Automatically: Metabase decides the best order
  • Database order: Matches the column order in your database
  • Alphabetically: Sorts columns A-Z
  • Custom: Drag and drop to arrange columns, then click “Done”

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Sync and scan operations

Sync table schema

Updates Metabase to reflect recent schema changes in your database

Scan field values

Refreshes the values used to populate filter dropdown menus

Discard cached values

Clears cached values so Metabase fetches fresh data for filter widgets
For more information about sync behavior, see Syncs and scans.

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Field settings

Fields (also called columns) can be extensively customized to improve how they display and function in questions.

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Field name and description

1

Edit display name

Click on the field name to change its global display name in Metabase (e.g., “auth.user” → “User”)
2

Add description

Click the description box below the name to add helpful context
Add descriptions when columns contain abbreviations, codes, zeroes/nulls with special meaning, or placeholder values like “9999-99-99”.

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Field preview

Click the preview button to see sample data from a field in three views:
  • Table preview: How the field appears in table results
  • Detail: How the field displays in expanded record views
  • Filtering: How the filter widget will appear for this field

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Field data properties

The actual column name in your database. This cannot be changed from Metabase
The column’s data type in your database (text, number, date, etc.). Cannot be changed directly, but you can cast to different types
Convert fields to different data types for Metabase’s use without changing your database:Text to datetime:
  • ISO8601→Date
  • ISO8601→Datetime
  • ISO8601→Time
Numeric to datetime:
  • UNIXSeconds→DateTime
  • UNIXMilliSeconds→DateTime
  • UNIXMicroSeconds→DateTime
  • UNIXNanoSeconds→DateTime
Text to numeric:
  • String→Integer
  • String→Float
Other conversions:
  • Float→Integer
  • Datetime→Date
Casting changes only affect how Metabase interprets the data. Your database remains unchanged. For unsupported casting options, create a SQL question or database view instead.

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Semantic type

Semantic types add meaning to your data, enabling special features and better visualizations. Common semantic types:
  • Email: Validates email format, enables mailto: links
  • URL: Displays as clickable links
  • Image URL: Shows images inline
  • Currency: Applies currency formatting
  • Category: Enables dropdown filters
  • Entity Key/Foreign Key: Defines relationships between tables
  • Score/Rating: Special formatting for numeric scales
Available semantic types depend on the underlying data type. Set to “No semantic type” if none fit. For a complete reference, see Semantic types.

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Field visibility

Control where fields appear in Metabase:
Default setting. Fields appear in all views and the query builder

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Filtering behavior

Customize how fields behave in filter widgets.

Search box

Shows a search input with autocomplete suggestions

List of all values

Displays a dropdown with checkboxes for all distinct values (up to 1,000)

Plain input box

Simple text input without autocomplete

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Enabling dropdown filters

If you want a dropdown filter with all values:
1

Set semantic type

Change the field’s semantic type to “Category”
2

Change filtering option

Set filtering to “A list of all values”
3

Wait for scan

Metabase will scan the field and cache up to 1,000 distinct values
Dropdown filters work best for fields with fewer than 1,000 distinct values. For larger datasets, use “Search box” instead.

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Display values

Map field values to more readable alternatives.

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Foreign key mapping

Display related information instead of IDs: Example: Show product names instead of product_id numbers
  1. Select the field containing IDs
  2. Choose “Display values”
  3. Select the related column to display (e.g., products.name)

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Custom value mapping

Map specific values to custom labels: Example: Map 1, 2, 3 to “Low”, “Medium”, “High”
1

Set filtering type

Change filtering to “A list of all values”
2

Open display values

Select “Custom mapping” from the display values dropdown
3

Map each value

Enter display text for each value under “Mapped values”

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Field scanning

Manually trigger value scans for specific fields:
  1. Navigate to the field in Table Metadata
  2. Click the Field values button
  3. Choose to scan or discard cached values
Metabase uses scanned values to populate dropdown filter menus. This doesn’t affect your database—only Metabase’s cache.

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Field formatting

Control how field values display in results and visualizations. Options include:
  • Number formatting (decimals, separators, units)
  • Date and time formats
  • Currency display
  • Link formatting
For detailed formatting options, see Field formatting.

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JSON unfolding

Extract nested data from JSON columns into separate fields for easier querying. For information about working with JSON data, see Working with JSON.

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Metadata permissions

By default, only admins can edit table metadata. You can grant metadata editing permissions to specific groups:
  1. Go to Admin > Permissions
  2. Select the group
  3. Navigate to Data Permissions
  4. Set “Manage table metadata” to “Yes” for specific databases
For more details, see Manage table metadata permissions.
Metadata permissions allow users to change how data displays but don’t grant access to data they couldn’t already see.

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Best practices

Replace technical names with business-friendly terms (“Customer” instead of “dim_cust_base_v2”)
Document what each table and field contains, especially for ambiguous or calculated values
Proper semantic types enable better visualizations, filtering, and data exploration
Reduce clutter by hiding technical IDs and fields users don’t need for analysis
Put important fields first using custom sorting to make data exploration more intuitive
After updating metadata, build a sample question to verify fields display and filter correctly

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Metadata vs. permissions

Understand the difference between these two concepts:
FeaturePurposeWhat it controls
Metadata settingsImprove data displayHow data appears in Metabase
Data permissionsControl accessWho can view and query data
Hiding tables or fields through metadata settings does not restrict access. Users with SQL privileges can still query hidden items. Use data permissions for true access control.

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Further reading

Semantic types

Complete reference for all available semantic types

Field formatting

Customize how values display in results

Data permissions

Control who can access and query your data

Syncs and scans

Understand how Metabase updates schema and values

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