---
title: Columns
description: column types, authority lists, and per-column settings
---

Open **Settings ▸ Project ▸ Columns** to configure a column. Settings are stored per
project, keyed by the column's header name, so renaming other columns does not disturb
them.

## Column type

A column's type controls how qrate treats its values:

* **Text** — a plain field, checked only by spelling if you enable that.
* **Filename** — links each row to a file. See [Files and photos](/docs/files-and-photos) and
  [Diagnostics](/docs/diagnostics#what-qrate-checks).
* **Date** — checked for a valid, unambiguous date format.
* **Authority-checked** — checked against LCSH, GeoNames, or Wikidata, depending on what
  the column holds.

## Description

Add a short description to a column to document what it is for. It shows as a tooltip on
the column header, for anyone else who opens the project.

## Spell check

Turn spell check on or off per column. The languages ticked in Settings ▸ Spelling take part in
automatic language selection; the first one ticked chooses the preferred regional spelling when
variants exist.

## Value variants

Turn on value-variant review for columns where inconsistent displayed forms matter, such as
people, organizations, places, subjects, collection titles, and controlled labels. qrate
suggests similar values already present in that column but never merges them automatically.

## Authority lists

For a column checked against an authority, such as subject headings, qrate flags a value
that the authority does not recognize and can suggest the closest match as a fix.

GeoNames needs an activated GeoNames web-services account. If GeoNames rejects the account,
qrate stops the remaining requests and shows one warning. Change the account in Settings to retry.