Sometimes, good news sneaks into our world undetected. Big int as a separate data type has been available in Dataverse for about two years now.
![The image shows a user interface for defining a schema with several fields. The fields displayed are:
- **Schema name**: With the text "lab_MediaVolume" entered in the input box.
- **Size of number**: A dropdown menu currently set to "Big".
- **Minimum value**: Set to "-9,223,372,036,854,775,808".
- **Maximum value**: Set to "9,223,372,036,854,775,807".
These values and settings are part of the configuration of a numerical range within Dataverse, dealing with a very large range of values, configured to accommodate 64-bit integers.](https://crmtipoftheday.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/bigint.png)
A big int column can be defined in UI but is accessible via API only, i.e., it cannot be used in forms, views, or formula fields.
A lazy and probably not very reliable way to allow updates in UI is to create a text field then add an automated low-code plug-in on Create and Update:
Patch(
'Table',
ThisRecord,
{
'BigIntColumn': Value('BigIntTextColumn')
}
)
Use cases:
- Rollups where the int value may overflow. For example, total volume of file attachments across large number of records.
- Timestamps or the total number of postal stamps printed in the world since 18401 – whichever you prefer.
- Population of the Northern Hemisphere.
- My weight in µg (micrograms).
- External record identifiers (real case).
- Yes, ChatGPT and I did the numbers, it’s around 650 billions ↩︎