Fieldbook is Shutting Down
Fieldbook users, customers, and fans,
We’re sad to announce that Fieldbook is shutting down.
Our last day online will be Friday, June 15, 2018. After that, Fieldbook won’t be available, either on the web or via API, and any content in it will no longer be accessible.
We know that some of you have come to rely on us heavily, and that transitioning won’t be easy. We’re committed to making this as good an experience as is possible under the circumstances.
Billing
Fieldbook is free for all users effective immediately. No more invoices will be charged, and everyone now has access to all features.
Export
You can export any or all of your Fieldbook data in multiple formats:
- We’ve created a one-click export feature that will package up everything in one big ZIP file for you to download. For each book, this will contain: a snapshot JSON file, an Excel file, and all attachments (see below for what these files contain). You can start the export using this button in the upper right corner:
- Individual books can be downloaded in the same format. You can choose just JSON or just Excel, or download individual sheets as CSV: http://help.fieldbook.com/reference/import-export
- Developers may also choose to export data via our API: https://github.com/fieldbook/api-docs
For all books:
- The Excel download contains all values from all sheets, but does not include links or formulas. Instead, the contents of link and formula columns are included as data values.
- The JSON snapshot contains the full structure of your book, including column types, links, and formulas. The format is documented here: https://github.com/fieldbook/api-docs/blob/master/snapshot-format.md
Alternatives
If you’re looking for alternatives other than simply going back to spreadsheets, you might evaluate Airtable, Coda or Quip. You could also try a simple, flexible tracking app such as Trello or Asana.
Coda in particular has built a Fieldbook importer, and is offering Fieldbook users access to their private beta! Sign up at https://coda.io/fieldbook, and then read about transitioning and importing in their help center.
Also, some companies are offering special deals for Fieldbook users:
- CompanyHub is offering a lifetime deal for their new BizApps product. They say: “BizApps will give you functionality like Fieldbook and much more. It’s extremely easy to migrate from Fieldbook.” Even better, if you purchased a previous Fieldbook lifetime deal, they will give you a $49 discount on their deal (just use your deal code as a coupon code at checkout). We hope this helps you transition. Get their deal here: https://offers.companyhub.com/home/FieldBook
- Zenkit is offering a Plus plan for free, for 6 months. Register at Zenkit for free, then enter your new account details in the form here: https://zenkit.typeform.com/to/NeSIyO
If you have sophisticated needs and technical help, you might consider a simple app built on Rails or Django and a MySQL or PostgreSQL database, with an administrative plugin as needed to let you view and edit the data. You may be able to use this tool to help with the migration: https://fieldbook-to-sql.alhur.es/ (note, though, that this tool is provided by an unaffiliated third party, and we have not verified it).
CSVshare
CSVshare will be shutting down at the same time as Fieldbook (the two sites are part of the same platform). Please export any CSVshare data you want to keep.
Support
We’re here to help with the transition and will continue to answer questions on chat or via email at support@fieldbook.com.
Thank you
We started Fieldbook almost five years ago with a vision: that tools should adapt to fit users, rather than users adapting to their tools. We believed that everyone had custom needs for tracking their life and work, and we set out to give data superpowers to end users, through a relational database that was as lightweight and approachable as a spreadsheet.
You shared at least part of that vision and took a chance on us along the way. You gave us your time, attention and trust. For all that, we are grateful. It was your support, your feedback (positive and negative!) and your enthusiasm that fueled us and got us as far we went.
Getting to this decision was gut-wrenching and took months. We still believe in the vision and love the mission. But in the end, we failed to build a sustainable business. Even with a small team, we were never profitable, and we weren’t able to grow our revenue fast enough to get there. If you want to hear the story, lessons learned, and what the team is moving on to, read Jason’s blog post.
Thank you for helping make the dream possible and for giving us a shot at greatness.
Onward,
Jason, Ben, Ada & David
