> Properties like status, owner and due date turn memos into work you can run on a board, table or calendar. Add them in View settings, Edit properties; your AI assistant reads and sets the same ones.

# Track work with properties

Properties are the fields that turn a pile of memos into work you can run: a status, an owner, a due date, a priority. Set them and a collection becomes a board of proposals by stage, a table of actions sorted by due date, or a calendar of site visits. Your AI assistant reads and writes the same properties, so "what's still in review for Acme?" is a question it can answer, and "mark these as sent" is a job it can do.

![A collection's table view with Stage, Owner, Due and Priority columns filled in for each memo](https://img.fieldwerk.ai/memos/kd0igx3d9u/bff8293be2ee4aea1d3d35f0@2x.png?px=1191)

There are two kinds, and they're separate:

- **Collection properties** belong to one collection. The same memo can be "In review" in one collection and "Done" in another. Boards, tables and calendars use these.

- **Memo properties** belong to the memo itself and go wherever it goes. They're stored at the top of the memo (its front matter).

## Add a property to a collection

1. Open the collection and click **View settings** on any view.

2. Choose **Edit properties**.

3. Click **Collection property** and give it a name.

4. Choose its type and, for a select, its options.

5. Add a description so people and AI assistants know what it means and when to set it. People see it as a tooltip on the property; assistants read it before they set a value.

![Edit properties open on a collection, listing Stage, Owner, Due and Priority with their types, and Collection property at the bottom](https://img.fieldwerk.ai/memos/kd0igx3d9u/a3a7eaf3498fd8c49a0cbeea@2x.png?px=600)

You can also create a property from a board or calendar while you set it up.

## Property types

| Type | Holds |
|---|---|
| **Text** | A short piece of text |
| **Number** | A number |
| **Date** | A day, or a day and time |
| **Date range** | A start and end date |
| **Select** | One option from a list, each with its own colour |
| **Multi-select** | Several options from a list (collection properties only) |
| **Checkbox** | Yes or no |
| **Person** | Someone in the workspace |
| **URL** | A link |
| **List** | Several free-text values (memo properties only) |

**Combine into a date range** turns a separate start and end date into one **Date range**.

## Set a property on a memo

Open the memo. Its properties show above the text, the memo's own and each collection's. Click a value to change it, or use **Memo property** or **Collection property** to add one.

On a board, dragging a card to another column sets the property the board is grouped by.

## Change or delete a property

In **Edit properties**, click a property to rename it, change its type or options, or **Delete property**. Removing an option clears it from every memo that had it, so check what's using an option before you remove it.

## Have your AI assistant do it

With a connected assistant (see [Connect Claude to Fieldwerk](https://help.fieldwerk.ai/pz1hhc2mwy.md) or [Connect ChatGPT to Fieldwerk](https://help.fieldwerk.ai/exh83fg13f.md)), set up tracking on a collection:

```prompt
In Fieldwerk, add a select property "stage" to my proposals collection with the options Draft, Sent, Won and Lost, described as "Where this proposal is with the client", and a date property "decision due". Then set stage to Won on every proposal that mentions a signed contract.
```

Ask across the whole workspace, not one collection at a time:

```prompt
In Fieldwerk, what's assigned to me anywhere in my workspace with a review due before Friday?
```

A good habit: give every select property a small, fixed set of options and a one-line description. Boards stay tidy, and your assistant picks the right value instead of inventing a new one.