Limits and Permissions
Limits
| Limit | Value |
|---|---|
| Data Sets per team | 100 |
| Fields per Data Set | 50 |
| Records per Data Set | 10,000 |
| Views per Data Set | 20 |
| Column Mappings per linked Table | 20 |
| Rows a linked Table can pre-populate | 500 |
| Total cell text in one record | 5 KB |
| CSV file size | 5 MB |
| Data Set, field and View names | 200 characters |
| Data Set description | 1,000 characters |
System Data Sets do not count towards the 100 per team — they are supplied by CheckFlow and cost you nothing.
What Happens at a Limit
Limits are enforced when you try to cross them, with a message explaining which one you have hit — for example:
This Data Set has reached the maximum of 10000 records.
A Data Set can have a maximum of 20 Views.
A CSV import that would exceed a limit is rejected in full, leaving the Data Set untouched.
The 500-row limit for a linked Table is the one most likely to catch you out, because it applies to the linked View, not the Data Set. A 4,000-record Data Set is perfectly usable in a Table as long as the View you link to filters it to 500 records or fewer.
The record count of the current View is shown in the Data Set toolbar as 248 / 10000 records, so you can always see how much headroom you have.
Permissions
Data Sets are Library items, so they follow the Library permission model — and the permissions themselves are defined on User Permissions — your Library permission combined with your folder permission on the folder the Data Set lives in.
| Action | Administrator | Library.Creator + Edit folder | Library.Creator + View folder | Library.Viewer |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| See a Data Set in the Library | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Open a Data Set and browse its records | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Switch and read Views | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| View Connections | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Export CSV | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Create a Data Set | ✓ | ✓ | — | — |
| Rename / edit the description | ✓ | ✓ | — | — |
| Add, edit and delete fields | ✓ | ✓ | — | — |
| Add, edit and delete records | ✓ | ✓ | — | — |
| Create, edit and delete Views | ✓ | ✓ | — | — |
| Import CSV (Replace) | ✓ | ✓ | — | — |
| Move a Data Set to another folder | ✓ | ✓ * | — | — |
| Delete a Data Set | ✓ | — | — | — |
* Moving requires Edit permission on both the source and destination folder.
A Data Set that is Unfiled (not in any folder) is visible to everyone in the team who has a Library permission, in the same way as any other unfiled Library item.
Deleting Is Administrator-Only
Deleting a Data Set is restricted to Administrators, even for users who can otherwise edit it. A Data Set can be feeding controls in many templates, so its removal is deliberately a higher bar than editing its contents. See Deleting a Data Set.
Linking in the Template Designer
Linking a control to a Data Set is a template action, so it needs template permissions rather than Library edit permissions:
- You need Template.Creator (or Administrator) to edit the template and save the link.
- You can link to any Data Set you can see in the Library — view access is enough. You do not need permission to edit the Data Set in order to use it.
- System Data Sets are available to everyone who can open the designer.
The practical consequence is that a Data Set in a folder you cannot see does not appear in the Link to Data Set dialog at all.
Running Checklists
There is no separate permission for using a linked control in a checklist. Anyone who can open the checklist — including people using a public share link — can see and choose from the options the linked View provides.
A linked control shows its View's records to whoever runs the checklist. If a Data Set contains data that only some of your team should see, do not link it to a control in a widely shared or publicly shared template. Hiding a column in a View is a presentation choice, not a security boundary — hidden fields are still captured in the record snapshot.
API Access
The Data Sets API applies the same Library folder permissions as the app to the member an API key acts as. A key that acts as a Member can read a Data Set only with a Library or Template permission and View or Edit on its folder, change one only with Library.Creator and Edit on its folder, and cannot delete one. A key that acts as an Administrator, or as the workspace, can read, change and delete every Data Set in the team. Write operations against System Data Sets are refused for every key.
Related Pages
- Library Roles and Permissions — the folder permissions these build on.
- User Permissions — what each Library permission grants.
- Data Sets Overview — the same limits in context.