> Properties like status, owner and due date let you run memos on a board or calendar. Add them in View settings, Edit properties. Your AI sets them too.

# Track work with properties

Properties are values like a status, an owner, a due date or a priority, and they turn a pile of memos into work you can run. 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 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. They can have types such as dates, options and people, and 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 travel with it into every collection it's in. They're stored as front matter at the top of the memo's Markdown, so they're plain text rather than typed values. A memo's description is a good example.

Use memo properties for facts about the memo itself, and collection properties for where the work stands in one collection.

## 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 their AI know what it means and when to set it. People see it as a tooltip on the property, and your AI reads it before it sets 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 do it

Once your AI is connected (see [Connect Claude to Fieldwerk](https://help.fieldwerk.ai/pz1hhc2mwy/connect-claude-to-fieldwerk.md) or [Connect ChatGPT to Fieldwerk](https://help.fieldwerk.ai/exh83fg13f/connect-chatgpt-to-fieldwerk.md)), ask it to set up tracking on a collection:

```prompt
In Fieldwerk, add a property to track progress in one of my collections. Show me my collections and ask which one. Suggest a select property with a few fixed options and a one-line description, and add it once I agree. Then suggest a value for each memo based on what it says, and set only the ones I agree to.
```

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

```prompt
In Fieldwerk, find everything assigned to me anywhere in my workspace and list it by due date, soonest first. If my collections don't track an owner or a due date yet, say so and explain how to add them.
```

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