Lock only ONE column so users can't sort just that one column?

[trinculos]

Does anyone know if I can lock only ONE column in a grid/table so users can't sort just that one column?

I understand I can lock all the columns, but I thought I would double-check if I could just lock just one. Thanks!

I'm new to Airtable, so please forgive if I categorized this question in the wrong question.

[Jason_Hill]

You can edit the field permissions so nobody can edit it, but I believe they can still sort by it. It's just a block to editing.

[ScottWorld]

@trinculos

What is the goal of preventing them from sorting by a certain column?

Your best bet would be to just create different views, and have everybody use their own view so they don't "mess up" other people's views.

If you'd like to do a deep dive into views, you can check out my free Airtable training course, which you can take for free by signing up for a free 30-day trial with LinkedIn Learning.

— Scott Rose, Expert Airtable Consultant at ScottWorld

[trinculos]

It's a long story, but it has do with people fixating on just one metric that will be shown in an open, medical-related database, and turning that one metric into the only thing that defines someone (and then turning it into a hierarchy, and ignoring the rest).

 (If you saw the movie Gattaca, you may remember how society defined someone by their genetic code.) Probably TMI, but there you go...haha.

[ScottWorld]

Remember that you can lock views to prevent editors from changing the sort order. Same thing with Airtable's interfaces — you can set the sort order and make it unchangeable. So you can just set your views or interfaces the way you want them, and no editors will be able to change them.

[trinculos]

Just to clarify - This would apply to viewers of the grid/table...not other editors. Thanks!

[ScottWorld]

In Airtable, all users have full access to all grid views & all tables, unless you completely lock them off from base access and just give them interface access.

p.s. If your company has a budget for your project and you’d like to hire an expert Airtable consultant to help you with any of this, please feel free to contact me through my website: Airtable consulting — ScottWorld