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Your First Object Type: Contacts

Swifty Team Dec 2, 2024 2 min read

Every business runs on records. Customers, suppliers, partners, employees — the details differ, but the pattern is the same: you need to store structured information and access it quickly.

In Swifty, the building block for all of this is the object type.

What's an Object Type?

An object type is a definition of a category of records. Think of it as a template: you define what fields exist, what types those fields hold, and how records in that category behave.

A Contacts object type might include:

  • Name (text)
  • Email (text, validated)
  • Phone (text)
  • Company (relation to another object)
  • Status (dropdown with options like Active, Inactive, Lead)
  • Notes (long text)

That's your object. Every contact you add follows that structure — but the structure itself is fully under your control.

Defining It Takes Minutes

You don't write configuration files or wait for a developer. You open the object editor, name your type, and start adding fields. Choose a field type, give it a label, set whether it's required — and you're done.

The form updates immediately. Your list view gains the new columns. The detail page adjusts to show the new fields.

Why It Matters That You Own the Structure

The alternative is common: a CRM gives you "contacts" with a fixed set of fields. Your business doesn't map neatly onto those fields, so you start using notes fields as workarounds. Or you pay for custom development. Or you just live with the mismatch.

With Swifty, there is no mismatch. Your contacts look exactly like your contacts.

What Comes After

Once your object type exists, everything else follows. You can add it to a screen, create a list view with filters and search, define a workflow for statuses, relate it to other objects, and build forms that match your exact process.

But it all starts here — with a simple definition that says: this is what a contact means in our business.

That's a foundation you own. And it changes everything.

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