# NocoDB 2026.05.0 — 2026.05.0: Multi-Column Form Layouts & Custom Display Values on Linked Records
- Product: NocoDB (https://whatsnew.fyi/product/nocodb)
- Vendor: NocoDB
- Date: 2026-05-08
- Version: 2026.05.0
- Original notes: https://github.com/nocodb/nocodb/releases/tag/2026.05.0
- Permalink: https://whatsnew.fyi/product/nocodb/releases/2026.05.0
What's New is an index, not a publisher: every entry below links to the vendor's own release notes, which are the authoritative source. Entries are labelled where they are hand-curated sample data, pre-releases, or drawn from a secondary source such as a developer blog.
Reuse: the summaries, labels and curation here are © What's New. Quote freely with attribution and a link back; wholesale republication of the corpus is not permitted — terms: https://whatsnew.fyi/terms. The vendors' own release notes remain their publishers'.
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- **added** — Multi-Column Field Layout in Forms allows grouping related fields side-by-side in equal-width columns, up to 5 fields per row, with responsive collapse to single column on mobile
- **added** — Custom Display Value on Linked Records lets you override the default display column on a per-link basis across grid, gallery, kanban, link picker, expanded forms, calendar, timeline, map view, audit logs, and formula references
- **changed** — Multi-Field Link Picker Search now matches across multiple fields again with virtual scrolling and chunked cache for smooth performance on large tables
- **changed** — Timeline View now updates in realtime when bars are added, moved, or resized by collaborators
- **fixed** — NocoDocs search and replace on large documents fixed freeze and out-of-memory crash
- **changed** — User cells in shared and public views now expose only name and avatar, with email addresses removed from cell payload
- **fixed** — Form show-on-condition for V2 LTAR fields now evaluates against the linked record's display value
- **changed** — Form view hides AutoNumber and UUID fields since they cannot be set by form submitters
- **fixed** — Snapshot creation and restore fixed missing date import, tightened snapshot-name validation, and sanitises derived base titles automatically
#### 🚀 [NocoDB](https://nocodb.com/) : Feature Release
##### Availability
| Feature | CE / Free | Paid / Enterprise |
|---|:---:|:---:|
| Multi-Column Field Layout in Forms | ❌ | ✅ |
| Custom Display Value on Linked Records | ❌ | ✅ |
| Multi-Field Link Picker Search | ✅ | ✅ |
##### Multi-Column Field Layout in Forms
> Multi-Column Field Layout is available on the **Plus** plan and above on Cloud, and with **Enterprise** license on self-hosted.
Form fields have always stacked one per row. That works for short surveys, but on longer forms it stretches the page, splits up related inputs, and pushes respondents to drop off partway through what should have been a quick submission.
**Multi-Column Field Layout** lets you group related fields side-by-side in equal-width columns. Put first and last name on the same line, fit city, state, and zip into a single address block, or group any inputs that belong together, up to **5 fields per row**.
To group fields, drag a field card onto another field's row in the form builder. Both snap to equal width and share the row. **Long Text**, **Attachment**, and **JSON** fields always occupy a full row, since their inputs are too tall or wide to share.
Your layout carries through to the shared form URL. On desktop, fields render exactly as configured; on mobile (under 768 px), rows collapse to a single column for readability.
[Learn more about Multi-Column Field Layout →](https://nocodb.com/docs/product-docs/views/view-types/form#arrange-fields-in-multi-column-rows-)
##### Custom Display Value on Linked Records
> Custom Display Value is available on the **Plus** plan and above on Cloud, and with **Enterprise** license on self-hosted.
Linked records have always shown the primary display value of the linked table, usually a name or title. That works until two contacts share a name, the finance team needs an account's external ID for reconciliation, or a support rep wants to see a customer's tier at a glance. The wrong column makes linked pills harder to scan and forces extra clicks to confirm context.
**Custom Display Value** lets you override the default on any `Link to Another Record` (LTAR) field, on a per-link basis. Pick the column that makes the most sense for that link: an email on Tasks → Owner, an external ID on Deals → Account, a tier on Tickets → Customer.
Your choice applies everywhere a linked record appears: cell pills in grid, gallery, and kanban; the link picker dropdown; expanded forms; calendar and timeline inline cards; map view tooltips; audit log entries for link and unlink events; and references in search, filter, sort, group-by, and formula. The setting is preserved across export, import, and base duplication.
[Learn more about Custom Display Value →](https://nocodb.com/docs/product-docs/fields/field-types/links-based/link-to-another-record#custom-display-value-field-)
###### Multi-Field Link Picker Search, Restored
The link picker dropdown search now matches across multiple fields again. In 2026.04.0, search was [scoped to the display value column only](https://nocodb.com/docs/changelog/2026.04.0#ltar-linked-record-search-display-value-only) for reliability. With this release, broader field search returns, and the dropdown uses virtual scrolling with a chunked cache so it stays smooth on tables with thousands of linked records. Available across all plans.
##### Improvements and Fixes
- **Timeline View now updates in realtime** - Bars added, moved, or resized by another c
_[Truncated at 4000 characters — full notes: https://github.com/nocodb/nocodb/releases/tag/2026.05.0]_