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# Column browser

> Use the Mammoth Column Browser to search, hide, show and explore columns in a View, and the Column Manager to rename, retype, reorder or remove them.

The **Column Browser** is a floating panel in the data editor for working with the columns of a View. It lets you search and select columns, hide or show them, and open them as Explore Cards. For deeper changes—renaming, reordering, changing a column's type, removing columns, or adding batch info—it opens the **Column Manager**.

## Open the Column Browser

Click the **Column browser** button (the column icon) at the left edge of the data grid, or click the column count in the status bar below the grid ("N columns", or "X of N columns" when some are hidden). Its tooltip reads "Search and select columns to hide, show, explore, rename, reorder or retype."

The panel opens as a floating dropdown, with the search box ready for typing. The button is unavailable in a View-only workspace. The Hide columns, Show columns, Show only these and **Column Manager** actions are also unavailable when:

- the grid is in edit mode or preview mode—exit it first
- the pipeline has a task in error

## Scope: View versus dataset

The table shows which changes stay local to your View and which affect the whole dataset.

| Change | Where | Scope |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Hide / Show columns | Column Browser or Column Manager | **View only** |
| Open in Explore Columns | Column Browser | **View only** |
| Rename, change type, or remove a source column | Column Manager | **You choose**: this View only, or the entire dataset |
| Reorder columns, add a column, change columns created by pipeline tasks | Column Manager | **View only** |
| Add batch info | Column Manager | **Dataset**: all Views of the dataset are affected |
| Copy column names | Column Manager | Copies to your clipboard only |

When you save such a change in the Column Manager, a confirmation step asks you to **Apply changes to…** either **This view only** or **Entire dataset**. Changes to the entire dataset modify the dataset schema for all Views, and Mammoth warns you that they may affect other Views, pipelines, and connections that depend on the columns.

## Panel layout

The Column Browser has two panels:

Left panel—column list. At the top are a select-all checkbox, a **Bulk select** dropdown, and a **Search columns…** box. Each row shows a checkbox, position number, type icon, column name, and an eye button to hide or show that column. Hidden columns are shown dimmed. A pin icon marks frozen columns, and an Explore icon marks columns that already have an Explore Card open. The bottom of the list shows "Showing all N columns", or "Showing X out of N columns" when some are hidden, plus the number selected.

Right panel—the **Actions** list (Hide columns, Show columns, Show only these, Open in Explore Columns) and the **Column Manager** button.

## Select columns

Check one or more columns in the left panel to enable actions. The footer shows how many columns are selected.

Click the dropdown arrow next to the select-all checkbox (**Bulk select**) to quickly select columns by type or visibility. Each option applies to the columns currently listed, so a search narrows it:

| Option | What it does |
| --- | --- |
| **Text**, **Numeric**, **Date** (under **Filter by type**) | Shows only columns of that type and selects them. Choose the same type again to show all columns |
| **Visible Columns** | Selects the visible columns |
| **Hidden Columns** | Selects the hidden columns |
| **Invert selection** | Flips the current selection state |

### Search columns

Type in the **Search columns…** box to filter the column list. Matching text is highlighted. If nothing matches, the list shows "No matching columns".

## Hide and show columns

These actions are **view-scoped**—they affect only the current View.

### Hide columns

Hides the selected columns. Hidden columns disappear from the data grid but remain in the dataset. Available when at least one selected column is currently visible.

### Show columns

Makes the selected hidden columns visible again. Available when at least one selected column is currently hidden.

### Show only these

Hides every column **except** the ones you have selected. Useful when you want to focus on a specific subset.

You can also click the eye button on a column's row to hide or show that column on its own.

## Open Explore Cards from the Column Browser

**Open in Explore Columns** opens an [Explore Card](https://docs.mammoth.io/learn/explore-discover/explore-cards-overview) for each selected column, adding to whatever Explore Cards are already open rather than replacing them—a quick way to bring several specific columns into the Explore panel at once.

This action works for any column type. It is unavailable when every selected column already has its Explore Card open. Unlike the hide and show actions, it also works in edit mode and preview mode.

## The Column Manager

Click **Column Manager** in the Column Browser to open the Column Manager. Its tooltip explains that you can rename columns, change their type, reorder, hide or remove them in this View or across the whole dataset. The button is unavailable in edit mode, preview mode, when the pipeline is in error, and in View-only workspaces.

The Column Manager shows a table of your columns with their position, type icon, name, data type, source, and a **Visible** toggle. Your edits are collected as pending changes. Nothing is saved until you click **Save changes**, and the footer counts them ("N pending changes"). **Discard changes** throws them away.

### What you can do

- **Rename a column**—click the name or the edit icon and type a new name. The row shows the old name, an arrow, and the new name, with **Undo rename** to revert. Every column needs a name, and two columns cannot share a name.
- **Change a column's type**—use the **Data type** dropdown on the row (Text, Number, or Date).
- **Reorder columns**—drag a row by its handle (**Drag to reorder**).
- **Hide or show**—use the **Visible** toggle on the row.
- **Remove a column**—use the remove button on the row. A removed row is struck through and shows **Removed**, and **Restore column** brings it back before you save.
- **Add column**—adds a new column row that you name and type.
- **Format names**—rewrites all names in one go as snake_case, camelCase, or Title Case. **Describe** lets you describe the format you need ("Describe the format you need...") and click **Generate** to have AI propose the new names.
- **Copy column names**—copies the column names to your clipboard.

Rows show a label for each pending change: New, Removed, Renamed, Reordered, or Type changed.

### Work with several columns at once

Check several rows and a floating bar shows "N selected" with actions to hide, show, show only these, remove, change type, format the names, or clear the selection. Use the dropdown arrow next to the select-all checkbox (**Select by filter**) to select Text, Numeric, or Date columns, visible or hidden columns, or to invert the selection.

### Save changes

When you click **Save changes**, Mammoth asks **Apply changes to…** if you structurally changed a column that comes from the dataset's source data. Reordering, hiding, and showing columns, new columns, and columns created by pipeline tasks apply to this View only without the question. The choices are:

- **This view only**—"Affects only" the current View; the dataset and other Views stay unchanged. Renames, reordering, and visibility are applied directly as View display settings. Structural changes (adding, removing, or retyping columns) open the Functions panel with the matching task so you can review it.
- **Entire dataset**—"Modifies the dataset schema for all views."

Mammoth warns you if other tasks, Views, or metrics still use the columns you are retyping or removing, and lets you confirm or cancel.

## Adding batch information columns

The **Add batch info** button in the Column Manager toolbar opens a dropdown titled **Add Batch Info to Dataset** with the note "All views of this Dataset will be affected."

Tick the columns you want, then submit. Untick a column that was added earlier to remove it. Columns are prefixed with `batch_[column name]`.

Available batch columns:

| Column | Type |
| --- | --- |
| **Batch ID** | Number |
| **Date** | Date |
| **Source (JSON)** | Text |
| **Name** | Text |
| **Row Count** | Number |

Batch info columns are locked in the Column Manager table. They are managed for the whole dataset, so use **Add batch info** to add or remove them.

## Quick reference: when each Column Browser action is available

| Action | Requires selection? | Extra conditions |
| --- | --- | --- |
| **Hide columns** | Yes—1+ columns | At least one selected column must currently be visible |
| **Show columns** | Yes—1+ columns | At least one selected column must currently be hidden |
| **Show only these** | Yes—1+ columns |—|
| **Open in Explore Columns** | Yes—1+ columns | Unavailable if every selected column's Explore Card is already open |
| **Column Manager** | No | Unavailable in edit mode, preview mode, pipeline error, or View-only workspaces |

## Column type icons

Each column row shows an icon for its type: Text, Numeric, or Date. The same icons appear in column headers in the data grid.

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Source: https://docs.mammoth.io/learn/explore-discover/column-browser.md · Updated: 2026-10-13